Kansas City Today

Republicans Andrew Bailey and Will Scharf are both running to be Missouri’s next attorney general, but another name is also a consideration: Donald Trump, who has yet to endorse a favorite. Plus: The lieutenant governor's office doesn't normally draw much attention in Missouri, so why has the race gotten so crowded?

Two Republicans are running for Missouri Attorney General, including the current office holder. Andrew Bailey, whom Gov. Mike Parson appointed to the position in 2022, faces Will Scharf in the Aug.6 primary. As St. Louis Public Radio’s Sarah Kellogg reports, in the middle of a contentious campaign, former president Donald Trump looms large.

Unlike many other states, the lieutenant governor in Missouri doesn't run on a ticket with the governor. Instead, voters elect the state’s second-in-command. As KCUR’s Noah Taborda reports, five Republicans are out to capture the nomination despite the position's limited authority.

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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.

Kansas City has long been associated with barbeque, fountains and jazz music — but accordions? Meet the 90-year-old woman who is keeping the city's rich legacy alive. Plus: Kansas City journalist Ebony Reed takes an "immersive" dive into the nation's racial wealth gap in her new book.

Kansas City has a rich accordion history thanks to one nonagenarian icon who is still conducting, teaching and playing. Classical KC’s Christy L’Esperance spoke with JoAnne Cochran Sommers about turning Kansas City into an "accordion town."

Ebony Reed’s new book, “Fifteen Cents on the Dollar,” brings years of research about the racial wealth gap to life. In it, the Kansas City journalist and her co-author, Louise Story, hit the road to chronicle the lives of seven Black Americans. Reed spoke with Kansas City Public Library’s Laura Spencer about the reporting and the important distinction she draws between “wealth” and “income.”

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Kansas City Today is hosted today by Nomin Ujiyediin. 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.

The Park Hill School District in Kansas City's Northland is considered a destination for students with disabilities.

But some families’ negative experiences show how hard it is to meet the federal mandate to educate students with disabilities — in even the best-resourced districts. KCUR's Jodi Fortino reports.

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Kansas City Today is hosted today by Nomin Ujiyediin. 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.

The hottest congressional race in Kansas this year is for the 2nd District, which is wide open after incumbent Republican Jake LaTurner decided not to run for re-election. Plus: The race for Missouri Secretary of State has a surprisingly large Republican primary field.

Five Republicans and two Democrats are running in Kansas' 2nd Congressional District, for the chance to help shape national policy and represent more than 730,000 citizens. As Zane Irwin of the Kansas News Service reports, the candidates are all trying to stand out.

The Secretary of State is the top election official in Missouri. And the Republican primary in August includes the current House Speaker, several state legislators, and some newcomers to elected office. With about three weeks left until the August Primary, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum spoke with statehouse and politics reporter Sarah Kellogg about the race, including why there are so many candidates.

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 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.

20-year-old Ephren Taylor III is running in the Democratic primary for the Kansas Senate's 4th District, challenging longtime incumbent state Sen. David Haley. In a KCUR debate, the two candidates clashed on taxes and whether the state should bring over the Chiefs.

Steve Kraske spoke with the candidates about the issues they say are impacting their district — which includes parts of Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte County — and the state of Kansas.

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 Madeline Fox, Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

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

Three Democrats are facing off in the 2024 Democratic primary for Jackson County Prosecutor, after Jean Peters Baker announced she would not run for re-election. We'll hear from two of the candidates about their stances on abortion, the death penalty and more.

Democratic candidates John Gromowsky, the Jackson County assistant prosecutor, and Melesa Johnson, Kansas City's director of public safety, met for a debate on KCUR's Up To Date. Stephanie Burton, a defense attorney, declined to participate due to scheduling conflicts.

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Kansas City Today is hosted today by Luke Martin It is produced by Byron Love, Celia Morton 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.

Thousands of people took over the small town of Sedalia, Missouri, on this day in 1974 for the Ozark Music Festival, a party full of nudity, drugs and rock 'n' roll music. Half a century later, people still talk about the lore from that hot wild weekend. Plus: One very fluffy prison resident is changing the men around him in a Missouri correction facility.

The temperature was over 100 degrees on the weekend of July 19 in 1974, when the small town of Sedalia, Missouri, hosted a massive rock ‘n’ roll festival: The Ozark Music Festival. It would never happen again. From the KCUR podcast “A People’s History of Kansas City,” David McKeel has the story.

Prison can be a lonely, violent place. But one program — or more specifically, one dog — at the Algoa Correctional Facility in Jefferson City, Missouri, is changing that. KBIA's Rebecca Smith reports.

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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.

Kansas City is one of the deadliest major cities for pedestrians. And a quarter of the traffic deaths over the last few years happened on just a few streets, which have become wider and faster than necessary over the decades. How did Kansas City get this way, and how is the city now working to make its streets less dangerous?

The Beacon reporter Josh Merchant discusses a series of stories about Kansas City's dangerous streets and what's being done to make them safer for drivers, bikers, and pedestrians — including bringing back red light cameras and changing intersections to roundabouts.

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 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.

New rules from the Biden administration will force most Kansas nursing homes to hire more staff, and owners aren’t happy. Plus: The USDA's new program SUN Bucks doles out $40 per month over the summer for each eligible child. However, 13 states turned down the funding.

By 2027, a majority of Kansas nursing homes will need to hire more staff to comply with new federal rules designed to reduce neglect. Nursing home owners say it could put them out of business. But as Rose Conlon of the Kansas News Service reports, advocates say the new rules don’t go far enough.

Summer break can be the hungriest time of the year for children who rely on free and reduced lunch at school. This year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture also rolled out a new program called SUN Bucks to provide eligible families $120 per child for groceries over the summer months. But Harvest Public Media’s Anna Pope reports that 13 states opted out of the program — leaving almost 10 million children without food benefits.

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 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.

Law students at UMKC's Expungement Clinic helped nearly 60 people clear their criminal records, giving them better opportunities for jobs and housing. But the clinic's funding has run out. Plus: Foster group homes are meant for youth with significant behavioral and mental health issues, but Missouri doesn't have enough beds for girls.

As many as 2 million people in Missouri have some sort of criminal record. That can prevent people from getting jobs or homes after they’ve done their time. KCUR’s Brandon Azim tells us about a UMKC program that helped some Kansas Citians get their lives back on track — until its funding ran out and it had to close.

When a child enters the foster care system, the primary goal is to place them with a family member. But when the foster child has significant behavioral or mental health conditions, they are placed in a residential facility with staff trained in specialized treatment. In Iowa and Missouri, there is ample space for boys in those centers, but not for girls. The Midwest Newsroom’s Kristofor Husted 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 Byron Love, and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox and Lisa Rodriguez.

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