Kansas City Today

For many people, artificial intelligence and chatbots have become a part of daily life. That includes some Kansas lawmakers, who are using chatbots to help keep track of bills or gather information in a fast-paced legislative session — since they have no guidelines for responsible use of AI.

Lately, it feels impossible to scroll through social media or get customer service help online without running into artificial intelligence. And in some states, AI is even being used in the legislative process. Zane Irwin of the Kansas News Service reports on how lawmakers in the Sunflower State are using chatbots.

Contact the show at [email protected]. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Jacob Smollen and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Emily Younker.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

Parts of Wyandotte County have long experienced flooding from the Kansas River. A multi-year levee project is designed to address the problem, but some residents and experts say more attention must go to the impact of decaying underground infrastructure.

The Missouri and Kansas Rivers have frequently been the source of catastrophic flooding, challenging levees meant to hold them in check. New construction on the Kansas City Levee protects much of Wyandotte County and will be done this year. Yet, KCUR's Brandon Azim discovered that flooding from another source is still a problem.

Contact the show at [email protected]. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Jacob Smollen and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Emily Younker.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

The federal government promised Kansas City $59 million in security funding for the World Cup, but a partial shutdown put that money in limbo — with just months before the games kicked off. Plus: Mosses are the underdogs of the plant world. Now a group of scientists is coming together to protect them.

Kansas City’s first World Cup game kicks off in three months, and organizers are working in high gear to make sure the city is ready to host the biggest event in its history. But cities across the country were getting nervous as the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security delayed the distribution of millions in funding. KCUR's Halle Jackson spoke with Up To Date host Steve Kraske about what happened to the money.

More than 1,600 plants and animals are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. But out of all of those, only one is a moss. Harvest Public Media’s Kate Grumke reports on a new effort to protect these tiny plants that are important, but often overlooked.

Contact the show at [email protected]. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Emily Younker.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

More and more Missourians are waiting in jail for services from the state’s mental health department, which has a backlog of more than 500 people with stalled cases. Hear what mental health directors are telling state lawmakers.

Missouri Mental Health Director Valerie Huhn told state lawmakers the department and courts need options to get defendants treatment in their communities. KCUR's Nomin Ujiyediin spoke with social services reporter Steph Quinn of Missouri Independent about the waitlist.

Contact the show at [email protected]. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Brian Ellison. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Emily Younker.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

Kansas lawmakers are considering restricting student protests after high schoolers organized walkouts across the state in protest of immigration enforcement. We’ll hear from three students about their experience. Plus: We'll go inside the Greenhouse Print Space, a Kansas City studio keeping hundreds of years of printmaking technology alive.

Earlier this year, students at several high schools across Kansas organized walkouts protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Now, state lawmakers are looking to restrict student protests during the school day. KMUW’s Daniel Caudill spoke with three students — Beronika Jurado, Gabby Delaney and Ellie Swindle — at Derby High School near Wichita who participated in a walkout, and asked them to talk about their experience.

A creative space hidden in the historic West Bottoms houses hundreds of years of printing technology, and hosts classes and clubs where Kansas City artists and hobbyists can create new art. KCUR’s Julie Denesha takes us inside.

Contact the show at [email protected]. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Emily Younker.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

The Leavenworth City Commission voted to grant CoreCivic a special use permit to operate an ICE detention center, which will be central to President Donald Trump's mass deportation efforts. The vote came despite intense community opposition and a yearlong legal battle.

The decision allows the private prison company to operate its dormant 1,000-bed facility as a detention center on behalf of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. KCUR's Up To Date host Steve Kraske spoke with Zane Irwin, who is covering the controversy.

Contact the show at [email protected]. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Jacob Smollen and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Emily Younker.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

A Kansas law forced a foster family to decide between asking their adopted son to move out when he turned 18, or send four younger boys out of their foster home. State lawmakers are considering a bill to make sure other foster families are not forced to make the same impossible choice. Plus: Is there any real meat to this new protein craze?

A Kansas law is forcing some foster parents who have adopted to choose between their kids or give up their license to be foster parents. As Dylan Lysen of the Kansas News Service reports, child welfare advocates and lawmakers are working to fill a hole in the law that’s tearing families apart.

Contact the show at [email protected]. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Laura Ziegler. It is produced by Jacob Smollen and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox and Emily Younker.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

Sometimes, after an accident, medical bills force families to give up nonessential expenses, like their kids’ sports. A local charity is helping families in that situation. We'll hear from the organization’s founder and families the group has helped.

About 72% of Americans with medical debt say it came from a short-term medical expense, like an accident or hospital stay. That’s according to data from KFF, a nonpartisan health research organization. Those costs can mean families have to give up nonessential expenses, like children’s sports programs. A charity is helping kids in Kansas and Missouri finish the season. Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga of the Kansas News Service reports.

Contact the show at [email protected]. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Madeline Fox. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox and Emily Younker.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

Electricity prices are increasing and are now the fastest driver of inflation. Plus: Some lawmakers want to break up Missouri’s electric monopolies, but it's unclear if that could lower monthly bills.

Since 2021, electricity prices nationwide have increased nearly 40%. In Missouri, families below the poverty line spend nearly a quarter of their income on those utility costs. As KBIA’s Jana Rose Schleis reports, these rising costs have become political, and experts say the power to respond lies with state lawmakers.

Contact the show at [email protected]. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Emily Younker.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

Kansas City was one of many U.S. cities with laws against jaywalking until advocates realized that police were mostly handing out tickets to Black men. Here's how Kansas City repealed its ban and reclaimed the right to jaywalk.

Kansas City helped start a trend by becoming the first major city in the U.S. to repeal its ban on jaywalking. It was a full-circle moment because Kansas City had also been the first city to restrict jaywalking — and was the birthplace of the word itself. From A People’s History of Kansas City, Mackenzie Martin reports.

Contact the show at [email protected]. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Emily Younker.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.