Kansas City Today

The federal government is going on four weeks of being shut down. Beyond the 30,000 federal workers around Kansas City who are working without pay, the shutdown also has trickle-down consequences for local mental health departments.

The Johnson County Mental Health Center provides counseling, substance use treatment, psychiatric medication and other services. It also runs a 988 suicide hotline, and is anticipating a 14% rise in calls to that number and its local crisis line by the end of the year. KCUR's Nomin Ujiyediiin spoke with center Director Tim DeWeese, who says the federal shutdown is stressing out the center’s clientele and staff, and putting a strain on resources.

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 and Madeline Fox.

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

The traffic cones have all but left Main Street as the Streetcar Extension opens after more than three years of construction, but now drivers will face a new obstacle: transit-only lanes. Plus: Raising giant pumpkins is a labor of love for some Midwest growers, and the pumpkins keep getting bigger and bigger.

The KC Streetcar’s Main Street Extension opens today and will take riders all the way from the River Market to the University of Missouri-Kansas City. KCUR’s Savannah Hawley-Bates reports on the new rules for drivers along that route.

It's peak pumpkin season. With pumpkin spice lattes now as much a tradition of the season as pumpkin pies, our love affair with this orange gourd is bigger than ever. But did you know there is a thriving community of Midwestern growers harvesting pumpkins bigger and heavier than you can imagine? Harvest Public Media contributor Peter Medlin reports on what it takes to raise giant gourds and why these growers do it.

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 and Madeline Fox.

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

Companies are racing to roll out nuclear reactor designs that would be faster to build and could meet rising demand for energy from AI data centers. Two nuclear companies have proposals for new reactors in Kansas. Plus: Data centers are fundamentally changing the landscape for electric utilities in Missouri and beyond.

Two companies have revealed plans in recent weeks to potentially build nuclear reactors in Kansas. Their proposals are very different, but both are part of the race to open a new chapter in the history of U.S. nuclear power. Kansas News Service reporter Celia Llopis-Jepsen and editor Stephen Koranda explain.

As large data centers move into Missouri, they will require huge amounts of electricity. St. Louis Public Radio’s Kate Grumke spoke with Ari Peskoe, director of the Electricity Law Initiative at Harvard Law School, about data centers' impact on the electric utility environment and your electricity bill.

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 Emily Younker and Madeline Fox.

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

Thousands of volunteers in Missouri are trying to get enough signatures to force a statewide vote on a congressional map, which state lawmakers recently gerrymandered to favor Republicans. But state officials aren't making it easy for them. Plus: U.S. farmers are experimenting with short corn. It's corn, but shorter!

Missouri lawmakers recently gerrymandered the state’s congressional map after President Donald Trump set off a nationwide redistricting battle to try to maintain control of the U.S. House in the 2026 midterms. Volunteers are spreading across Missouri to try to get enough signatures for a statewide referendum. KCUR’s Savannah-Hawley Bates reports.

Change might be on the horizon for the Midwest’s most iconic crop. The U.S. produces more than a third of the world’s corn, and most of that grain comes from a swath of the central U.S. called the corn belt. Harvest Public Media’s Kate Grumke reports some Midwestern farmers are planting a new variety of corn that might be an improvement over what’s in fields now.

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 Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Missouri legislators recently approved the use of millions in state funding for MOScholars, a K-12 school scholarship program that had previously been supported by tax-deductible donations. But an investigation found that nearly all of those state-funded vouchers were used for religious schools.

The majority of the six educational assistance organizations, which administer the scholarships, have religious affiliations. KCUR's Nomin Ujiyediin spoke with the Missouri Independent reporter Annelise Hanshaw about the impact of direct state funding for these private-school vouchers.

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 Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Republican leaders are responding to an investigative report that exposed racist messages shared by Young Republican organizations in Kansas and around the country — while Gov. Laura Kelly says the Kansas GOP is setting a poor example. Plus: Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway is laying out her agenda, particularly on crime and abortion.

Politico exposed racist and homophobic messages sent by leaders of the Kansas Young Republicans, which included slurs against gay people and Black people, as well as references to Nazi and white supremacist ideology. The Kansas GOP has distanced itself, but Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly said the party modeled similar behavior in its own social media posts. Zane Irwin of the Kansas News Service spoke with NPR's Ailsa Chang on All Things Considered about the fallout.

It’s been a little over a month since Gov. Mike Kehoe appointed Catherine Hanaway to be Missouri’s attorney general. The Republican officeholder is laying out her priorities around fighting crime and defending the state’s abortion laws. St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum talked with Hanaway about her vision for the statewide office.

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 and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

The University of Missouri–Kansas City recently restored one of the last remaining murals of a nearly forgotten Spanish painter. Hear the story of Luis Quintanilla and how he ended up in Kansas City.

In a corner of the University of Missouri-Kansas City, there’s a forgotten piece of art history: one of the last surviving murals of a Spanish artist who escaped fascism to come to the U.S. From the KCUR podcast A People’s History of Kansas City, Nomin Ujiyediin brings us this story.

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 and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Missouri schools now have a bell-to-bell cellphone ban in place. How are students and teachers adapting?

Missouri has joined more than 30 states in banning or limiting the use of cellphones in schools. All schools in the state now must have a policy to restrict students from using cellphones and other personal electronic devices to communicate with each other throughout the day.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Hiba Ahmad worked with student journalists at Rockwood Summit High School near St. Louis to learn how they've been navigating the transition.

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 and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Kansas has more rural hospitals at risk of closure than any other state. Changes at the federal level are further complicating the situation, leaving hospital officials planning for the future.

Under President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill," Medicaid reimbursement rates will start decreasing in 2028 — threatening the already-fragile ecosystem for rural hospitals. But as Noah Taborda of the Kansas News Service reports, a change to a Kansas tax will give struggling hospitals a few years of cushion to implement long-term strategies.

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 Emily Younker, Madeline Fox and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Troost Avenue was a racial dividing line for decades. Missouri’s recent redistricting efforts now use the street to split Kansas City into separate congressional districts. Plus: The Trump administration is promising billions in bailout money for farmers affected by tariffs and facing a tough economy this year.

Last month’s redistricting battle in Missouri resulted in a new map that carves Kansas City into three congressional districts. It also redrew a historic Kansas City dividing line: Troost Avenue. Community leaders worry the new divide will mean the needs of underserved urban neighborhoods go ignored, KCUR’s Celisa Calacal reports.

The Trump administration is promising billions in a bailout for farmers, but the trade war with China has cost producers one of their biggest markets. Meanwhile, crop prices are down while the cost of farming is way up. Harvest Public Media’s Joe Schulz reports on what the bailout will mean for the farm economy.

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 Emily Younker, Madeline Fox and Gabe Rosenberg.

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