Kansas City Today

New Madrid, Missouri, seems obsessed with the fault lines under its surface, but few residents in the area have insurance in case a big earthquake hits again. Plus: Some places in southwest Kansas may only have 25 years of water left. One proposal to help would take river water from near Kansas City and move it to western Kansas.

The New Madrid Seismic Zone is centered on the southeast Missouri county of the same name. It sees hundreds of earthquakes every year. In the 1800s, months of earthquakes caused destruction that would be catastrophic today. Experts say there’s up to a 40% chance of a big one in the next 50 years, but KBIA’s Harshawn Ratanpal reports the people who live in this rural, close-knit community have bigger problems that are leaving them unprepared.

The Ogallala aquifer that sustains parts of western Kansas has been declining rapidly. In southwest Kansas, some places may only have 25 years of water left, but there haven't been any major conservation projects in the area. Instead, some farmers are focused on getting more water with an aqueduct that would run across the state. Calen Moore of the Kansas News Service reports.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Lisa Rodriguez and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Under President Trump’s executive orders on immigration, steps are being taken to detain and deport people in the U.S. without legal status. How are governors and law enforcement agencies in Missouri and Kansas responding to the directive?

On Up To Date, KCUR's Steve Kraske talks with the Midwest Newsroom's Holly Edgell about what local law enforcement is — or is not — required to do to comply with raid and deportation efforts.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Olivia Hewitt and KCUR Studios, and edited by Lisa Rodriguez and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Last summer, Kansas City banned landlords from rejecting tenants solely because of how they pay their rent, their credit score, or previous evictions. Now, a Missouri Republican representative, who's a landlord himself, wants to overturn that law.

Kansas City's source-of-income discrimination ban has been controversial since the start — two landlords sued the city soon after. And now, it’s become another battlefront in the state legislature’s effort to restrict which laws its biggest cities can pass.

KCUR local government reporter Savannah Hawley-Bates sat down with assistant news director Madeline Fox to talk about what the city has seen in the months since the city ban was enacted, and what might happen 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 and KCUR Studios, and edited by Lisa Rodriguez and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Religious and moral leaders around the Kansas City metro consider how to guide their communities during the next Trump administration. A local rabbi and reverend share how they lead during turbulent times.

Last week, President Donald Trump began his second term with a flurry of executive orders, taking aim at legal and illegal immigration, rolling back recognition and protection for transgender and nonbinary people, and much more.

KCUR's Up To Date guest host Brian Ellison asked the Rev. Laura Phillips, pastor of Overland Park Christian Church, and Rabbi Doug Alpert, of Congregation Kol Ami in Kansas City, what Trump’s second inauguration means for their congregations.

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 and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Popcorn wasn’t always seen as the ultimate movie snack, but one woman from Kansas City helped change that. Plus: Some Kansas schools are easing up on playground rules in hopes of improving kids’ physical and mental health.

A century ago, popcorn was actually banned from cinemas. A Kansas City widow named Julia Braden was one of the first popcorn vendors to talk her way inside the lobby. From the KCUR podcast A People’s History of Kansas City, Mackenzie Martin has the story.

Most schools have rules for recess that forbid any kind of rough-and-tumble activities, because they want kids to be safe. But some Kansas schools are trying a new approach that lets children play more freely, as Suzanne Perez of the Kansas News Service reports.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love, and KCUR Studios, and edited by Lisa Rodriguez and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Hundreds of unhoused people in Kansas City have been sleeping outside, even in the recent frigid temperatures. We asked them to explain — in their own words — why. Plus: sports betting will soon be available in Missouri, but public health experts worry about the effect online betting will have on gamblers' mental health.

Homeless shelters that are at capacity have been adding beds to accommodate overflow guests as freezing temperatures remain throughout the metro. But for many unhoused people in Kansas City, restrictions like pets, a lack of transportation or mental illness deny them access to those beds. KCUR's Brandon Azim spoke with people sleeping outside in the cold.

Missouri gamblers soon won’t have to cross the state line to bet on their sports teams after voters legalized sports gambling in November. But, public health experts worry gambling on your smartphone makes it too easy to slide into addiction. Zach Dyer with KFF Health News takes us to one parking lot in Granite City, Illinois, where some Missourians have been going to place their bets.

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 and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

A Kansas City doctor is behind a report about the unique injury risks of cheerleading, and is calling for a series of changes to improve safety — including recognizing it as a sport. Plus: Researchers still know little about why concussions are increasing for female athletes.

Cheerleading is the fastest-growing female sport in the country. A routine usually includes some incredibly athletic and increasingly complex stunts. As KCUR’s Noah Taborda reports, a Kansas City doctor is analyzing injury risks and working on ways to make the sport safer.

Concussions are on the rise for female athletes. But Dr. Jamil Neme, the director of the Concussion Clinic at SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital says there’s very little science to explain why. St. Louis Public Radio’s Marissanne Lewis-Thompson spoke with Neme about the gender disparities in concussion research, and what he thinks has led to this trend.

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 Lisa Rodriguez and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

The Kansas-Missouri border splits Kansas City, and divides the metro region more evenly, and sometimes problematically, than any American metro region cut in two by a state line. It affects how public transit and emergency services work — and puts the metro in the middle of a tug-of-war for business.

Nomin Ujiyediin sits down with The Beacon's Mark Wiebe to discuss how Kansas City's state line poses unique challenges, from economic border wars to transportation shortages. We also learn more about the positive outcomes that have come from the two states working together, from bringing the World Cup to Kansas City to renovating Union Station.

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, Byron Love, and KCUR Studios, and edited by Lisa Rodriguez and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

A Lee’s Summit Republican is the first Asian-American to be Missouri’s speaker of the house. We'll get to know Rep. Jon Patterson, who hadn’t held elective office until coming to the House six years ago.

Missouri state Rep. Jonathan Patterson, R-Lee's Summit, is not only the first Kansas City-area legislator elected to be Missouri House Speaker since before the Civil War, he's also the first Asian American elected. He spoke about the significance of his new role with KCUR's Brian Ellison.

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 Lisa Rodriguez and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

The Kansas City Chiefs are preparing for Saturday's divisional playoff game against the Houston Texans. Fox Sports host and Kansas City native Nick Wright says that Patrick Mahomes and the team look prepared for a Super Bowl three-peat.

Last year, the Chiefs' path to the Super Bowl was one of the most difficult in NFL history. The team played the top two AFC teams on the road before taking on the NFC's top-seeded team in the big game.

Fox Sports host and Kansas City native Nick Wright joined Brian Ellison on KCUR's Up To Date to share his thoughts on the Chiefs' league-best season before this weekend's playoff game.

The Chiefs-Texans divisional playoff game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18 at Arrowhead Stadium. You can watch on KMBC 9 or on ESPN, or stream on ESPN+.

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 and Gabe Rosenberg.

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