Kansas City Today

College students across the country have been protesting Israel’s war in Gaza for months. Now, students in the University of Missouri System are demanding that its endowment stop investing in Israeli companies and weapons manufacturers.

Host Nomin Ujiyediin spoke with Alex Cox, a rising senior at the University of Missouri School of Journalism and a reporter at the Columbia Missourian, about why people are calling for divestment and how the protest movement at Mizzou is going.

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

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

A Kansas City man traveled with his daughters to all 50 states, a journey of bonding and self-discovery. Plus: Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly says if lawmakers can’t come up with a tax-cut plan the state can afford, she’ll keep calling more special sessions.

Chelan David's “Beautiful States of Mind: A Father and Daughters’ Pilgrimage to all 50 States” is both a travel guide and a memoir of David's bonding experiences with his girls. Looming in the pages is David's childhood kidnapping by his own father. Anne Kniggendorf speaks with David about his book.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly is calling lawmakers back to Topeka on June 18 for a special session. The governor and lawmakers have been at odds over tax cuts. J. Schafer, reporting for the Kansas News Service, spoke with the governor about how the two sides could come together. They also talked about one of her top remaining priorities: Medicaid expansion.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Luke X. Martin. 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.

Missouri State Senate Minority Leader John Rizzo is leaving office to become the next executive director of the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority. After this spring's failed stadium tax vote, what will this new role have in store for him?

For the past several years, Rizzo has been the top Democrat in a Missouri Senate dominated by Republicans. Now he's about to become the next executive director of the Jackson County Sports Complex Authority that will play a big role in keeping the Royals and the Chiefs in Kansas City for years to come.

Up To Date's Steve Kraske sat down with Rizzo to discuss his time in the Senate, why the stadium vote failed, and what has to happen to retain both professional sports teams in the area.

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 David McKeel and KCUR Studios, and edited by Luke Martin and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

A $2.8 billion settlement involving the NCAA sent shockwaves through the college sports world last week and paved the way for schools around the country to pay student-athletes directly for the first time. It'll be a big change for the University of Missouri, the University of Kansas, Kansas State University and other local powerhouses.

It's been called historic, precedent setting, and the end of amateur athletics. A recent court settlement involving the NCAA and its five power conferences will pay nearly $2.8 billion in past damages to current and former college athletes, while also paving the way for a brand new system to share revenue with athletes.

Steve Kraske with Up To Date spoke to Kansas City Star sports reporter Blair Kerkhoff about the lasting effects the new system will have.

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 Anna Schmidt and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Two years ago, Kansas voters defeated an effort to end abortion in the state, leaving intact constitutional provisions that the state Supreme Court says guarantee that right. Since then, battles between anti-abortion and abortion-rights advocates in the state have only intensified, playing out each year in the Legislature and in the courts.

KCUR's Brian Ellison spoke with Rose Conlon, who covers reproductive health care for the Kansas News Service, to review the latest round of legislative battles, as well as the unexpected closure of one of the state’s busiest abortion clinics.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Brian Ellison. It is produced by David McKeel and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

The Kansas City Current's new riverfront stadium was built with a small, expensive parking lot for a reason: to encourage fans to use other types of transit. But as KCUR’s Savannah Hawley-Bates reports, the city’s public transportation infrastructure hasn’t caught up.

Exciting and eccentric entertainment hits the streets of Lawrence this weekend at the Busker Fest. KPR's Tom Parkinson spoke with producer Richard Renner and the festival's music coordinator, Larry “Tal” Carter.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Madeline Fox. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Three interns in the Missouri Legislature recently helped Missouri school districts gain access to federal funding to help students experiencing homelessness. Why were schools missing out on funding, and how did the interns find it?

This year, three interns at the Missouri Legislature who worked for Representatives Deb Lavender, Peter Merideth and Maggie Nurrenbern received a resolution commending them for a unique project. Santino Bono, Alanna Nguyen and Dylan Powers Cody found out that Missouri school districts had access to about $9 million in federal funding to help students experiencing homelessness. But many districts weren’t using that money.

Host Nomin Ujiyediin spoke with intern Santino Bono and Representative Deb Lavender to discuss how he and his fellow interns reached out to dozens of education officials, legislators and homeless liaisons across the state to connect them to resources before a September deadline — and what comes next.

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

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

Western Kansas is projected to see large population declines in the coming years, but immigration may be the key to stemming the losses. The communities that have embraced their diversity have seen their population stabilize and the local culture shift. Plus: To stay open, rural nursing homes across the Midwest are prioritizing nurses.

Immigration has redefined southwest Kansas over the last 40 years. The communities that have embraced their diversity have seen their population stabilize, bucking the trend of rural areas losing population. And this new diversity might end up being what saves these rural communities from deterioration. Calen Moore with the Kansas News Service brings us that story.

In the last few years, more than 100 nursing homes closed in the Midwest. Industry leaders often blame staffing shortages. Others say the quality of care isn’t up to par. Nebraska Public Media’s Aaron Bonderson reports for the Midwest Newsroom that some rural communities are re-envisioning how to make these homes survive.

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 Anna Schmidt and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Black women hoping to conceive using donor sperm often have to choose a donor from a different race or put their fertility journey on hold because of a shortage of Black sperm donors. One woman tells us her story. Plus: Parts of Missouri, Kansas and other Midwest states are still in drought, despite recent rains.

For people trying to conceive using donated sperm, finding a Black sperm donor can be really hard. In some cases, it’s impossible. Researchers at the University of Kansas are trying to identify why the shortage exists. Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga of the Kansas News Service has more.

Planting is well underway across the Midwest. But farmers are still grappling with dry conditions that led to lower than normal corn yields last fall. This is the third year of a near historic drought for parts of the Corn Belt. As Harvest Public Media’s Grant Winterer reports, producers are making adjustments as this growing season begins.

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 Gabe Rosenberg.

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

A gridlocked Missouri Senate was unsuccessful in passing a measure to change how voters can amend the state constitution. But the legislature did pass measures relating to public safety and ranked-choice voting.

After a record-setting 50-hour filibuster by Democrats, a divided Republican majority failed to pass its top priority, an effort to make it harder for voters to pass amendments to the state's constitution. Missouri will likely see an amendment in November that would enshrine abortion rights in the state.

KCUR's Brian Ellison sat down with Missouri Independent reporter Anna Spoerre, who was covering the end of the legislative session in Jefferson City, to discuss what happened this session.

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 David McKeel and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox and Gabe Rosenberg.

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