Kansas City Today

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, who has represented much of Kansas City since 2005, may be the target of the country's next redistricting effort. If Missouri joins Texas in redrawing congressional lines to benefit Republicans, Cleaver warns that lawmakers will "need to dig three graves."

Cleaver spoke to Up To Date's Steve Kraske about President Trump's redistricting push, and his warnings for the state of American democracy.

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 Madeline Fox, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Only months after paid sick leave went into effect in Missouri, it ended. A workers' group wants to put the benefit before voters again as a constitutional amendment, which Republican lawmakers have vowed to fight. We hear from workers in their own words. Plus, in the early 1900s, three Wyandot Nation sisters barricaded themselves in a tribal burial ground in downtown Kansas City, Kansas, to save it from destruction. We'll hear about the new art installation that tells the story of the Conley sisters.

Missouri’s law mandating paid sick leave ended Thursday. A majority of voters approved Proposition A last year. The measure raised the minimum wage and allowed employees to earn sick days. Missouri lawmakers overturned the paid sick leave portion in the spring. Many, like Republican Sherri Gallick from Belton, cited the cost it would add to businesses. Missouri Jobs with Justice plans to bring the issue back before voters as a constitutional amendment. KCUR’s Savannah Hawley-Bates spoke with two workers in Kansas City who will lose their paid sick leave today.

The Wyandotte County Museum will unveil a new art project this weekend. It commemorates the three Wyandot Nation sisters who saved a tribal burial ground in what is now Kansas City, Kansas. KCUR’s Julie Denesha spoke with Neysa Page-Lieberman, founder and artistic director of Monumenta, an initiative that helps present undertold stories in public art.

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.

A Black transgender woman sued the Missouri Department of Corrections, claiming officers kept her isolated for six years based on a policy that singles out people with HIV. Missouri is now changing its policy as a result of that settlement.

Missouri kept a transgender woman at a correctional center in solitary confinement for years. After she was released, she sued the Department of Corrections, alleging officers kept her isolated because of her HIV status. The Midwest Newsroom’s Kavahn Mansouri and The Marshall Project’s Katie Moore report the suit was settled this month, and will result in some major changes. A warning: This story references self harm.

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 Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Frequent Kansas City visitor Taylor Swift is entering her engagement era to Chiefs tight end and fellow podcaster Travis Kelce. Plus: We'll hear about how the four-day school week is working in Missouri and other Midwest states, while some Kansas families are going back to the one-room schoolhouse.

As school starts up in the Midwest, many students are returning to a new schedule — with more districts in Missouri and Kansas opting for a four-day school week. District leaders say they see benefits like improved teacher recruitment and better student behavior. But some research warns there could be academic losses over time. The Midwest Newsroom’s Nicole Grundmeier reports.

There’s a growing trend in education, and you might say it’s a step back in time. More Kansas families are leaving traditional public or private schools and opting instead for "microschools," which serve small groups of students in a one-room-schoolhouse format. Suzanne Perez of the Kansas News Service looks at how one Wichita microschool is expanding and gaining national attention.

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 Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

State fairs offer tradition, blue ribbons and fried classics like funnel cakes. And many fairgoers have traditions of their own. Harvest Public Media takes an audio tour of four state fairs around the Midwest. Also, Kansas is known for its massive wheat production, but it has fallen behind because of a lack of new hybrids. Seed companies and universities are making changes that could impact the farmers, and economy, of Kansas.

State fairs are a riot of sights, sounds and smells. Each year, as summer turns to fall, fairgoers take in livestock competitions, carnival rides and lots of fried foods. Harvest Public Media transports us to four state fairs across the Midwest.

Kansas is known as the bread basket of the world because of its massive wheat production. That's changed in recent years. With poor profits and drier climates, wheat has been harder to manage. But as Calen Moore of the Kansas News Service reports, new innovations could rejuvenate the wheat state.

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

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

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

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey surprised many when he announced he would be stepping down from the role to become the co-deputy director of the FBI. It satisfied Bailey's ambition to join the Trump administration, but the role he'll play isn't clear yet.

Steve Kraske spoke with Justice reporter Jake Rosen of CBS News about Bailey's appointment on KCUR's Up To Date.

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 Madeline Fox, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Betty Bremser has been running Foo's Fabulous Frozen Custard for nearly 30 years, turning the Brookside locale into a dessert destination and the start of many local teens' careers. But Bremser is hanging up her scoop at the end of the month.

Bremser, who is also a French teacher at the Kansas City Academy, is selling Foo's to two former employees. She talks about the shop and her plans for the future with Steve Kraske on KCUR's Up To Date.

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

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

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

Kansas City and the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority finalized a contract last week after months of fraught negotiations, avoiding a possible shutdown of bus service. But the contract brings back fares for most riders.

A new contract between the city and the transit agency puts an end to months of conflict since the last contract expired at the end of April. It means bus service will continue in Kansas City, with the addition of $2 fares for most riders. KCUR’s Savannah Hawley-Bates explains what’s in the contract — and what's not.

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 Carter Galloway 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.

More than 3,000 refugees in Kansas City have gotten help acclimating to their new homes since 2014 thanks to Della Lamb Community Services. Many of these new arrivals face unique health challenges, so a local crew of medical students from Kansas City University is volunteering their help.

KCUR's Noah Taborda reports on how medical students and a refugee resettlement agency are giving refugees clarity in an otherwise obscure system.

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 Carter Galloway and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Voters in Prairie Village, Kansas, will be faced with an unusual question on their ballots in about three months: Shall the city abandon the mayor-council form of government? We'll hear about how a fight over zoning and housing wound up in a legal battle over the city government's structure itself.

Even if voters agree to "abandon" the current structure this November, though, there's no plan for replacing it with a different model. On KCUR's Up to Date, host Brian Ellison sat down with Johnson County Post reporter Juliana Garcia to discuss the issue.

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 Carter Galloway and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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