Kansas City Today

Missouri lawmakers arrived this week in Jefferson City for the start of the 2026 legislative session, which runs until mid-May. Gov. Mike Kehoe is pushing to eliminate the state income tax, but a smaller budget will likely force spending cuts.

Eliminating the income tax, in particular, has drawn some criticism over how the state will make up the lost revenue. St. Louis Public Radio’s Sarah Kellogg reports on the expectations of the legislative session.

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 Madeline Fox, Gabe Rosenberg and Emily Younker.

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

The state of Kansas is luring the Kansas City Chiefs across the state line with funding from STAR Bonds, a unique kind of tax incentive. The team plans to build a $3 billion stadium in Wyandotte County and a practice facility worth hundreds of millions of dollars in Olathe.

So, what are STAR Bonds and how do they work? KCUR's Up To Date host Steve Kraske spoke with Zach Mohr, an associate professor at the University of Kansas School of Public Affairs and Administration, about the strategy and concern behind the financial incentives.

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 Madeline Fox, Gabe Rosenberg and Emily Younker.

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

A new exhibit at the Nerman Museum in Overland Park packs a punch with ceramic lipsticks, guns, and colorful pastel flowers. Over her five-decade career, Kansas City clay artist Linda Lighton created sculptures that speak to some of the thorniest issues of our time.

KCUR's Julie Denesha looks into the retrospective "Linda Lighton: Love & War," which runs through May 3, 2026.

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, 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.

Missouri lawmakers have passed historically expensive budgets in recent years, but next year will likely be different, according to Missouri state Sen. Maggie Nurrenbern, a Democrat from Kansas City. The state's revenue has flatlined when adjusted for inflation, and a surplus of federal money is no more. Nurrenbern said that math means Missouri won't be able to fund all the services it has in prior years.

St. Louis Public Radio's Sarah Kellogg and Jason Rosenbaum spoke with Nurrenbern, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, about her concerns over passing a tighter Missouri budget next session and her fiscal priorities.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Brian Ellison. This episode was produced by Jacob Smollen and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox and Gabe Rosenberg.

Support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

Native freshwater mussels do important work filtering the water in Midwest rivers. These animals are in trouble, but Kansas has a plan to help them. Plus: We'll hear from farmers around the central U.S. about what made this such a tough year, and what may come in 2026.

Native fish and mussels are signs that a river is healthy. But some of them are vanishing from Midwest waterways. Now Kansas has a plan to help 21 species, including a rare mussel called the Neosho mucket. From the Kansas News Service podcast Up From Dust, Celia Llopis-Jepsen reports.

Across the U.S., 2025 was a hard year to be a farmer. The shakeup of markets and federal programs this year made an already fragile farm economy even more uncertain. As Harvest Public Media's Hope Kirwan reports, producers are still feeling the fallout of these changes and trying to figure out what they mean for 2026.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Madeline Fox. This episode was produced by Gabe Rosenberg and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Madeline Fox.

Support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

The Kansas City Chiefs' planned move across the state line marked an unusually bipartisan success for Kansas elected leaders. In most other ways, state politics in 2025 were marked by Republican wins and Democratic frustrations.

KCUR’s Brian Ellison spoke with Zane Irwin of the Kansas News Service about the year in Kansas politics, and about what to expect as we look ahead to an election year in 2026.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Frank Morris. This episode was produced by Jacob Smollen and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox and Lisa Rodriguez.

Support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

The year 2025 marked the start of a new governor's term in Missouri, and the deepening of Republican control of the General Assembly. As the year ended, the blame and sorrow over the state losing the Kansas City Chiefs were just beginning.

KCUR’s Brian Ellison sat down with Jason Hancock of the Missouri Independent to look back on the year in state government and politics, and to get a preview of what to watch for in 2026.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Frank Morris. This episode was produced by Jacob Smollen and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox and Lisa Rodriguez.

Support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

As 2025 nears its end, we’re catching up on the biggest stories we reported this year.

KCUR's Nomin Ujiyediin kept up with federal workers as they weathered mass layoffs and the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. She spoke with KCUR’s Brian Ellison about how that impacted their jobs and mental health.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Jodi Fortino. This episode was produced by Suzanne Hogan and KCUR Studios, and edited by Emily Younker.

Support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

2025 brought a lot of grief for governments in Kansas City, Missouri, and Jackson County: the the expensive departure of the city's highest-paid official, a property tax scandal that left the county's top lawmaker rebuked, and the Chiefs' planned move to Kansas. But there's something to look forward to, too: the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

KCUR's Missouri government and politics reporter Savannah Hawley-Bates dives into the woes that were, in a year filled with lowlights.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. This episode was produced by Luke X. Martin and KCUR Studios, and edited by Lisa Rodriguez and Emily Younker.

Support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

A Kansas City cookbook author gives us a glimpse of her warm kitchen this winter season. Plus, while many people go online or to the mall to shop for presents, some rural towns go all out to try and attract holiday shoppers.

New York Times bestselling cookbook author Erin Jeanne McDowell has been baking tasty treats for holiday tables since she was a teenager. KCUR’s Julie Denesha reports on what McDowell’s cooking up this season.

Some rural towns are known for their holiday festivities. Tourist dollars are a big part of their local economy. But as Harvest Public Media's Tadeo Ruiz Sandoval reports, getting people to town each year means new events.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. This episode was produced by Lisa Rodriguez and KCUR Studios, and edited by Emily Younker.

Support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.