Kansas City Today

The 1954 landmark Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education marks its 70th anniversary today. While lead plaintiff Oliver Brown is the most well-known figure in the desegregation case, there were 12 Black women alongside him. Plus: A small Kansas college is trying something unique to recruit Black baseball players.

Lead plaintiff Oliver Brown is the most well-known figure in the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education ruling, which declared that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. But there were others alongside him in Topeka. For KMUW, Carla Eckels reports on the "Women of Brown" on the landmark case's 70th anniversary.

Not all high school baseball players get the chance to pursue their sport in college. For minority students, the opportunity is even smaller, making it hard for them to stay connected to the game after college, too. But Greg Echlin reports for KCUR on one tiny institution in Overland Park making a deliberate effort to change that with local kids.

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.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 70 years ago that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional in its landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision. But the case may have played out differently if it hadn’t been for a tenacious group of women in Johnson County, Kansas, who led their own integration lawsuit five years earlier.

From the KCUR podcast A People’s History of Kansas City, Mackenzie Martin 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 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.

Abortion is almost entirely illegal in Missouri, which has been one of the big battleground states for reproductive rights. All four of Missouri's Catholic bishops have given a significant amount of money to keep it illegal. However, a recent study shows many parishioners don’t agree with their church’s leadership on the issue.

NPR's Katia Riddle came to Missouri to talk to some of them about how they reconcile their politics with their faith.

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.

It's been three months since the mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade that left one person dead. As part of a series called "The Injured," KCUR checked in with some of the gunshot survivors who are still living with bullets inside them.

KCUR’s Peggy Lowe reports that medical guidelines aren’t exactly clear about what to do with the bullets.

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.

It’s been almost two weeks since the Kansas Legislature adjourned, after a tumultuous session where the GOP-led House and Senate frequently clashed with Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly over everything from abortion rights and gender-affirming health care to how the state raises money and spends it.

KCUR's Brian Ellison sat down with the Kansas News Service's Statehouse reporter Daniel Caudill to discuss what the legislative session did, and did not, accomplish.

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.

For the past three years, a bar in Kansas City’s Crossroads has attracted pool sharks and eager amateurs alike. Meet the cast of regulars at Chartreuse Saloon. Plus: A world-renowned ceramic artist educated in Kansas City has returned to teach the next generation.

We’re bringing you an occasional series about Kansas City’s neighborhood hangouts, and the customers who bring them to life. KCUR’s Isabella Luu introduces us to the pool playing regulars of Chartreuse Saloon in the Crossroads.

World-renowned ceramic artist Richard Notkin gained acclaim making teapots with an anti-war messages. Notkin has returned to Kansas City, where he learned his craft. KCUR’s Julie Denesha reports on the lessons he’s passing down to today’s budding artists.

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.

Prairie Village is considering a 30-day minimum stay rule for short-term rentals, which would essentially ban most Airbnb and Vrbo properties. It's the latest city in Johnson County to take up the issue.

Fairway, Shawnee, and Merriam have all considered the issue in recent months, especially as local governments look towards the potential influx of visitors to the Kansas City metro for the 2026 World Cup.

Up To Date's Steve Kraske discussed short-term rentals with reporter Juliana Garcia, who has been covering the story for the Johnson County Post.

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.

It’s Environment 101: Trees help save the planet. But not everywhere. New research clarifies that deploying trees against global warming backfires in parts of the U.S. and Canada, including much of the Great Plains.

“Trees are great in the right place,” said Susan Cook-Patton, a senior forest restoration scientist at The Nature Conservancy. “But they’re not uniformly awesome across the globe.” Celia Llopis-Jepson of the Kansas News Service brings us that story.

Learn more about prairie conservation on the KCUR podcast Up From Dust.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Madeline Fox 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.

Between efforts to get abortion rights enshrined in the constitution, legalize sports gambling, and raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, Missouri has multiple citizen-led ballot measures in the works for this year's elections.

Advocates of each campaign submitted signatures last week to get on either the August or November ballot in Missouri. Up To Date’s Steve Kraske spoke with Jason Rosenbaum from St. Louis Public Radio about what these citizen-led ballot measures are, why they’ve gained traction, and who is the driving force behind them.

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.

Missouri voters must weigh in again on a constitutional amendment requiring Kansas City to increase its minimum funding of the police department, after the Missouri Supreme Court ruled last week that the language on the original measure was so inaccurate it misled voters.

In November 2022, Missouri voters passed a constitutional amendment requiring Kansas City to increase the share of its general revenue it allocates to the KCPD every year from 20% to 25%.

Last Tuesday, in response to a lawsuit filed by Kansas City mayor Quinton Lucas, the Missouri Supreme Court found that the language on the original measure was so inaccurate that it cast doubt on the fairness of the election. The court ordered a new statewide vote on the question for Nov. 5, 2024, and issued its own ballot title and fiscal summary.

Host Nomin Ujiyediin sat down with KCUR's Celisa Calacal, who has been covering the story, to discuss the Supreme Court's finding, and how changing the measure's language could impact the outcome after a revote.

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.