Kansas City Today

In April 2025, Kansas City voters will weigh in on a proposed $474 million bond issue to improve local schools. Kansas City Public Schools hasn't passed a bond in nearly 60 years. How does the district plan to "level the playing field" for its students?

Kansas City Public Schools will ask voters to approve a more than $400 million bond proposal to repair aging infrastructure and update learning environments for students in the district.

The financial move is the next step of Blueprint 2030, the district’s long-term strategic plan to expand student opportunities like foreign language classes, instrumental music, science labs, elective courses, project-based learning and field trips.

KCUR education reporter Jodi Fortino has been covering the story. She spoke with Up To Date's Steve Kraske about the proposal.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted today by Luke Martin. It is produced by David McKeel and KCUR Studios. It's edited by Madeline Fox, Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

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

The Crossroads bar Society has become Kansas City's hub of Latin dancing. For beginners, it's a place to practice your moves. For experienced salseros, it's an "injection of life." Plus: Frog gigging is a dying art that still draws thousands to Missouri marshes.

We’re bringing you an occasional series about Kansas City’s neighborhood joints and the customers who bring them to life. Today, reporter Celia Morton introduces us to the Latin dancers of the Crossroads bar Society.

Each summer, thousands of Missourians spend their nights hunting frogs. They use long poles with three-pronged spears — known as gigs — to catch them. As St. Louis Public Radio’s Lauren Brennecke reports, catching frogs for dinner is a tradition that’s lasted for generations.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted today by Luke Martin. It is produced by Celia Morton, Byron Love and KCUR Studios. It's edited by Madeline Fox, Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

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

Much of Kansas City experiences some heat island effect. As global temperatures rise, Kansas City planners and environmental experts are trying harder to make these hot spots cooler. Plus: Missouri hasn't just outlawed abortion — it's also funding anti-abortion organizations that are working in neighboring states.

Nearly 75% of Kansas City, Missouri residents live in a heat island, where temperatures can be at least 8 degrees higher on any given day. That presents serious health and energy concerns. KCUR’s Noah Taborda has more about the people most affected and efforts to cool them down.

The Missouri Legislature expanded a tax credit for people who donate to crisis pregnancy centers, right around the same time that the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The resulting prohibition of nearly all abortions in Missouri led those groups that try to steer people away from abortions to bring the fight to other states.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Jonathan Ahl spoke with Jeremey Kohler of ProPublica, who investigated how these taxpayer-subsidized groups operate.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted today by Madeline Fox. It is produced by Celia Morton, Byron Love and KCUR Studios. It's edited by Madeline Fox, Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

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

In November, voters in Missouri will have the opportunity to raise the state's minimum wage for a third time. Hear from organizers who support the ballot measure. Plus, we'll bring you headlines from around the metro.

This November, Missouri voters will weigh in on whether to raise the state's minimum wage, which they've approved twice before. It would also let the roughly one in three Missouri workers who earn minimum wage accrue up to seven sick days a year.

KCUR's Brian Ellison spoke with Kay Mills, campaign strategist at Missourians for Healthy Families & Fair Wages, and Bill Thompson, a former low-wage worker who's been involved in the campaign to raise the minimum wage in Missouri.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted today by Luke X. Martin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox, Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

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

Teenagers now average nearly five hours per day on social media — but it’s not always great for their mental health. Plus: We'll hear from a new teacher in Kansas about what she’s hoping from her first year on the job.

Going back to school can be exciting, but data shows it also coincides with a surge in mental health problems in teens. And as rates of depression and anxiety rise, Kansas health care professionals are increasingly focusing on the role social media plays. Rose Conlon of the Kansas News Service reports from Derby.

Another school year is underway in Kansas. And for some teachers, this will be their first time welcoming students and taking charge of a classroom. Suzanne Perez of the Kansas News Service talked with a first-year teacher in Wichita who’s feeling a little bit like the kindergartners in her class.

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

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

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

Advocates for abortion rights in Missouri say they are feeling cautiously optimistic about the statewide vote coming up in November.

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in 2022, Missouri was one of the first states to ban abortion in nearly all circumstances. But last week, Missouri announced that there were sufficient signatures for a citizen initiative to be on this November’s ballot.

KCUR's Brian Ellison spoke with Emily Wales, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains about the potential for Amendment 3 to enshrine a right to reproductive health care — including abortion — in the Missouri Constitution.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted today by Brian Ellison. It is produced by Celia Morton, Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox, Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

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

In the late 1800s, a new dance took the country by storm, and Kansas City was home to one of its biggest stars. Meet Doc Brown, “Prince of the Mincing Step," “King of the Order of Mixed Gaits," and “Cakewalk Champion of Missouri and the World.”

The “cakewalk” might have looked like your typical showy, 19th-century promenade, but the American dance form has deep roots in Black resistance. KCUR’s Mackenzie Martin and Julie Denesha have the story of Kansas City's own famous champion of the dance, Doc Brown.

To hear a longer version of Doc Brown’s story, check out the new episode of A People's History of Kansas City.

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

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

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

Ten of the 24 people injured by bullets at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting were younger than 18. Six months later, those survivors respond differently to loud noises, celebrations and things they used to love to do. Plus, what rising cases of bird flu in dairy cattle mean for people selling and drinking raw milk.

Six months ago, thousands of Kansas City Chiefs fans went to Union Station to celebrate the Super Bowl victory. Twenty-four left with bullet wounds, nearly half of whom were under 18. Countless more children experienced the trauma first-hand. These kids continue to endure fear, anger and sleep problems. KCUR’s Peggy Lowe and KFF Health News's Bram Sable-Smith report.

Raw milk has seen a rise in popularity in recent years. More than 30 states allow its sale for human consumption in some form, including Missouri and Kansas. But food safety officials have long warned of the risks of drinking unpasteurized milk. Now an outbreak of bird flu in dairy cattle has raised new health concerns. Harvest Public Media’s Skyler Rossi reports on what that means for people producing and drinking raw milk.

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

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

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

When a low-income driver in Kansas fails to pay their traffic tickets on time, it could turn the fine into thousands of dollars of debt. Plus: Some Kansas districts are scaling back on screen time for students.

Unpaid traffic tickets can end up costing low-income Kansans thousands of dollars. Cities can send unpaid fines and fees to collection agencies and add interest on top. As Dylan Lysen of the Kansas News Service reports, critics say the system is unfair to lower income Kansans who already could not afford the initial fine.

Even before COVID-19 ushered in remote learning, Kansas districts were doubling down on technology. But things are starting to change. As Suzanne Perez of the Kansas News Service reports, concerns about too much screen time have some schools rethinking the value of computers in the classroom.

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

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

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

Kansas City Public Schools are preparing for high temperatures when students return to the classroom later this month.

The district released students early during the first week of school last August because many of its high schools didn’t have air conditioning units in all classrooms, and the existing units were struggling to keep schools cool — putting kids at risk for heatstroke and dehydration.

KCUR's Lisa Rodriguez spoke with education reporter Jodi Fortino about how Kansas City schools plan to keep students cool.

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

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

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