Kansas City Today

Missouri state Sen. Greg Razer isn't seeking another term, which leaves his Kansas City seat up for grabs. We’ll meet the two Democrats vying to represent the 7th District.

The August 6 primary election will likely be highly consequential for the heavily Democratic area. Missouri state Rep. Patty Lewis and Pat Contreras will compete to face Republican Joey LaSalle in November. Brian Ellison spoke with both candidates 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, Celia Morton 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.

Got an old instrument collecting dust in your basement? One Kansas City fundraiser enlists regional artists to turn them into reclaimed works of art. Plus: Business owners in rural areas are struggling to find younger buyers.

When old instruments no longer make beautiful music, one Kansas City fundraiser is putting the call out to local artists to turn them into works of art. KCUR’s Julie Denesha reports on Art that Blows, an annual auction that raises money to help make music more accessible to kids.

Longtime small business owners from the Baby Boomer generation are reaching retirement age. But many struggle to find someone who’s willing to buy the business and keep it running for another generation. Harvest Public Media contributor Brian Beach reports on how the wave of retirements is hitting rural communities especially hard.

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, Celia Morton and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Lisa Rodriguez.

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

Kansas City's Country Club Plaza is under new ownership, more than a year after its previous owners defaulted on loan payments. The new Dallas-based management group has some big and expensive plans to revitalize the struggling shopping district.

In this conversation from KCUR's Up To Date, Brian Ellison spoke with HP Village President Ray Washburn about how the out-of-state group plans to revitalize the struggling shopping district.

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, Celia Morton and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Lisa Rodriguez.

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

A growing number of young potential voters are increasingly frustrated by the politicians they have to choose from. One Kansas City resident says the age of candidates is a big reason why. Plus: Two years after Kansas lawmakers reshaped the state’s four congressional districts, there’s a scramble for an open seat in the 2nd District.

Polls show President Joe Biden has lost significant support from voters under 30 — but they have not necessarily gone to former President Donald Trump. KCUR’s Zach Perez spoke with one young voter to get his perspective on what might drive voters away from the candidates, and to see if he agrees with what polls and national headlines say about his generation’s politics.

When Kansans elect their U.S. Congress members this fall, it’ll be the first time there’s been an open seat in the 2nd Congressional District since the lines were redrawn in 2022. The district covers much of the eastern third of Kansas and is attracting a lot of attention. Kansas Statehouse reporter Daniel Caudill and political reporter Zane Irwin looked into the race for the 2nd District.

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 Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Lisa Rodriguez.

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

A new policy at Kansas City Public Schools has changed the minimum grade from zero to 40%. Hear how it’s intended to help struggling students catch up.

During the last school year, Kansas City Public Schools launched a new grading policy intended to help struggling students catch up if they’ve fallen behind. Now, the lowest possible grade a student can get on an assignment is 40% even if the student got everything wrong or didn’t turn it in at all. KCUR's Nomin Ujiyediin spoke with education reporter Maria Benevento of the KC Beacon, who looked into the origin of the policy and how students and teachers feel about it.

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 Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Lisa Rodriguez.

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

The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday reaffirmed that abortion rights are protected by the state constitution, and that lawmakers seeking to restrict abortion must meet a high “strict scrutiny” test. It was a decision that cemented Kansas' role as a key abortion access point for patients across the broader region.

In two 5-1 opinions, the court built on a 2019 decision that said Kansas' Constitution protects abortion rights — striking down a pair of abortion laws passed by the GOP-dominated Legislature. KCUR's Nomin Ujiyediin spoke with KMUW's Rose Conlon about the decisions and what they mean for Kansas.

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, Celia Morton and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Lisa Rodriguez.

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

Half of Team USA’s shotgun trap shooters are from the Kansas City area. So what is it about Missouri and Kansas that makes for such good Olympic shooters? Plus: A Missouri professor is the first woman to join the American wheelchair rugby team at the Paralympic Games.

Four trap shooters, total, will go to the Paris Summer Olympics for Team USA: two women and two men. Turns out this year, half of those athletes are from the Kansas City region. For KCUR, Greg Echlin reports on two of the world’s best competitive shotgun shooters. (And a warning: This story includes the sounds of gunshots.)

During the school year, Sarah Adam is an assistant professor of occupational therapy at St. Louis University. But this summer, she’s turning her studies toward Paris, and the 2024 Paralympics. St. Louis Public Radio’s Abby Llorico spoke with the first woman to make the wheelchair rugby team about what it means for her and her sport.

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, Celia Morton and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Lisa Rodriguez.

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

A bill in the Kansas Legislature would have provided millions of dollars to build homeless shelters across the state — except lawmakers let it die in committee. Plus: Could manufactured housing like mobile homes help solve the affordability crisis?

For the last two years, Kansas lawmakers have considered ways to address growing homelessness in the state. But so far, little help has come. As Dylan Lysen of the Kansas News Service reports, groups helping unhoused people are frustrated with the lack of support.

The Biden Administration wants the nation’s house hunters to give manufactured homes a try, because they’re more affordable. Meanwhile, officials are close to updating construction codes to make the homes more climate-resilient. But as Holly Edgell of the Midwest Newsroom reports, some housing experts say the new homes still are not safe enough during extreme weather.

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, Celia Morton and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Lisa Rodriguez.

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

In one corner of Wyandotte County, only about 3% of voters participated in the last election — and it's not because they don't care. Plus: We'll hear from a newly-naturalized American citizen in Kansas City who's excited about their first chance to vote this year.

National elections are dominating the news, but the Kansas City area has state and local elections, where turnout is routinely much lower. In the first of a series talking to eligible voters in our area, KCUR’s Laura Ziegler went to one of the lowest turnout precincts in Wyandotte County to ask nonvoters: Why?

Nearly 900,000 immigrants and refugees became U.S. citizens in 2023, and the rapidly growing demographic could impact elections. KCUR’s Lawrence Brooks IV has the story of one newly naturalized citizen in the Kansas City metro, voting for the first time to make her voice heard in American democracy.

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 Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Lisa Rodriguez.

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

The Kansas Department of Corrections is using opioid settlement funds to pay for a program to reduce opioid overdose deaths. Opioids like fentanyl are a major driver of rapidly rising overdose deaths in Kansas. Also, headlines from across the metro.

One of the many ways the state of Kansas and community organizations are spending funds from national legal settlements against prescription opioid makers is to pay for a program aimed at reducing opioid overdose deaths. The state expects to receive more than $340 million over the next 18 years. Dylan Lysen, of The Kansas News Service, broke down the threat of overdose among people leaving prison, and how the distribution of naloxone, a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose, could save lives.

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 Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Lisa Rodriguez.

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