Kansas City Today

Buying a new band or orchestra instrument could get a lot more expensive. Kansas City music store owners have been hit hard by President Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs with Europe and China, and the path forward remains unclear. Plus: A prominent Kansas abortion clinic has a new leader with plans to expand access.

Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has raised taxes on imports from dozens of countries. It’s been a rough ride for small businesses that import goods from abroad — which includes music stores in Kansas City. KCUR’s Julie Denesha reports.

Three new members are joining the board of Wichita, Kansas, health care provider Trust Women, including a new president and CEO. KMUW's Rose Conlon reports how the new leader of the nonprofit plans to protect reproductive rights.

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 Lisa Rodriguez, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Nearly 20,000 people are released from Missouri prisons each year. Going home is an adjustment — and a relief. Hear from one man who returned home after 37 years. Plus: Get caught up on news from around the metro.

Paige Spears was given more than a life sentence for an armed robbery where no one was physically injured. But in March, he walked free from the Farmington Correctional Center after 37 years behind bars. KBIA's Rebecca Smith brings us his 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 Lisa Rodriguez, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Midwesterners typically head to the woods to find morels because the mushrooms have a lifecycle that’s hard to replicate at farms, but that could change. Plus: Why it’s so hard for the farming industry in Kansas to switch crops.

Springtime in the Midwest means mushroom hunters head to the woods. They’re typically looking for morels. But as Harvest Public Media’s Kate Grumke reports, some Midwesterners are also working on a way to farm the elusive mushroom.

Western Kansas has a scarcity of water, and farmers there may need to switch the crops they grow if they want to conserve the precious resource. But it’s incredibly hard to make major changes to the massive Kansas agriculture industry. Calen Moore of the Kansas News Service reports on some of the barriers to alternative crops.

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 Lisa Rodriguez, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

The Kansas City Council has found its next city manager. Get to know Mario Vasquez, the first Latino to permanently hold one of most powerful positions in the city. Plus: Stay up to date with the latest political headlines from around the region.

Kansas City Council voted 11-2 earlier this month to hire Mario Vasquez as the city manager. The vote came a little more than two months after former City Manager Brian Platt was suspended and fired when the city lost a major whistleblower lawsuit. Vasquez spoke with KCUR's Up To Date host Steve Kraske about his new job and how he got there.

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.

Abortion is heading back to the ballot, after Missouri Republican lawmakers fell back on a little-used rule to shut down a Democratic filibuster and push through a ballot amendment to ban abortion again. They used the same maneuver to repeal a paid sick leave law — just months after Missouri voters approved both.

Steve Kraske spoke with Jason Rosenbaum of St. Louis Public Radio about the state of the Statehouse after the controversial decision, and the fate of abortion rights in Missouri.

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 Lisa Rodriguez, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

The concept of diversity, equity and inclusion has been thrust into the political spotlight as President Donald Trump targets programs on college campuses that try to support historically underrepresented groups. But Kansas experts say that DEI is being misrepresented.

DEI efforts at universities are aimed at supporting people from identity groups traditionally underrepresented on campus. Daniel Caudill 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 Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Olivia Hewitt 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.

For the last few months, transgender service members have had to wrestle with the reality that they’ve been deemed unqualified to serve in the U.S. military. Hear more from an officer stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, who is directly affected. Also, The Natural Resources Conservation Service turns 90 this year. But the agency, which sprung out of the Dust Bowl, has lost employees and could see major funding cuts.

A presidential memo earlier this year revealed plans to remove transgender service members from the military, a plan the Supreme Court has temporarily allowed. The order directly affects Army Major Kara Corcoran who is trans and stationed at Fort Leavenworth. Corcoran shared audio diaries about her experience since the memo was made public. KCUR’s Noah Taborda reports..

This spring the Natural Resources Conservation Service marked its 90th birthday. The NRCS was born out of the Dust Bowl. For decades since then, the agency under the US Department of Agriculture has helped farmers better manage their land. But as Harvest Public Media’s Anna Pope reports, NRCS has seen a big exodus of employees and faces the possibility of massive funding cuts and consolidation under the Trump administration.

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 Lisa Rodriguez, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Bruce R. Watkins Drive took three decades to build, and resulted in the destruction of 2,000 homes and the displacement of thousands of Black residents. Kansas City officials and longtime residents hope a new federal grant can reconnect the neighborhoods torn apart by Highway 71, but mending old wounds won’t be easy.

From the podcast A People's History of Kansas City, Celisa Calacal and Suzanne Hogan have the 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 Olivia Hewitt 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.

Sen. Josh Hawley spent his first time in office building up his reputation as an arch-conservative — and in the Jan. 6 insurrection linked himself to President Trump and the MAGA movement. But in several ways, the Missouri senator is also positioning himself as a champion of the working class.

Robert Draper, domestic politics reporter for the New York Times, joined Steve Kraske on Up To Date to discuss the sometimes perplexing policy positions of Missouri Republican Sen. Josh Hawley.

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.

A Roeland Park man legally protected under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals was not allowed to reenter the United States after visiting a family grave in Mexico. He's now back on U.S. soil, after he sued the Trump administration. Hear what Evenezer Cortez Martinez has to say about his experience.

Cortez Martinez and his attorney Rekha Sharma-Crawford spoke with KCUR's Nomin Ujiyediin about the deportation and lawsuit.

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 Madeline Fox, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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