Kansas City Today

Musician Katie Crutchfield, better known as Waxahatchee, broke through with her acclaimed 2020 album "Saint Cloud." She then moved to Kansas City with her partner Kevin Morby, and leaned into a calmer lifestyle.

The singer-songwriter spoke with Steve Kraske on KCUR's Up To Date about the release of her new album "Tigers Blood," out March 22, and preparing for a world tour that kicks off in her new hometown next month.

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 and Lisa Rodriguez.

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

Missouri artist Kahlil Robert Irving reflects on current events through an innovative combination of ceramics and digital collage. His exhibition now on view at the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art comes on the heels of the 31-year-old artist’s high-profile exhibitions in New York and Minneapolis. St. Louis Public Radio’s Jeremy Goodwin reports.

KC Craft Ramen opened in June 2023 in the parking lot of the Walmart Supercenter near 119th Street and Metcalf Avenue. Despite its suburban facade, this lively spot is unlike any other ramen shop in Kansas City. KCUR's Claudia Brancart has the story from 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 Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by David McKeel and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox.

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

On the day of the Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade, Jason Barton drove 50 miles from Osawatomie, Kansas, to downtown Kansas City, Missouri, with his wife Bridget, her 13-year-old daughter Gabriella and Gabriella’s school friend. When they finally arrived home that night, they cleaned blood from Gabriella’s sneakers and found a bullet in Bridget’s backpack.

Although the Bartons aren’t included in the official victim numbers, they were traumatized, physically and emotionally, and pain permeates their lives. Bram Sable-Smith and Peggy Lowe report for KFF Health News and KCUR.

After years of frustration with mega companies, four Kansas pharmacists are working to change the pharmacy benefit manager trade from the inside out — by creating their own, different kind of pharmacy benefit manager called Oread Rx. KCUR's Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga has this story.

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.

This time a month ago, Kansas City was still coming to grips with a Super Bowl victory celebration turned upside down in an instant by a mass shooting. Shocking as it was, shootings of the same basic type happen almost twice a day in the United States. KCUR’s Frank Morris reports on how the shooting fits into a pattern of violence.

Cockfighting, the practice of fighting roosters, has been around for centuries. In the U.S. it’s been illegal since 2007, both at the federal and state level. Yet thousands of roosters, known as game fowl, are still raised across the country — including in Missouri.

Now there's one state considering lowering the penalties for cockfighting, and as Harvest Public Media’s Anna Pope reports, people from both game fowl and animal rights groups are watching carefully.

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 and Lisa Rodriguez.

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

On March 8, participants in a fundraiser for the Johnson County Republican Party at the Overland Park Convention Center beat up a mannequin that had been adorned with a mask of President Biden.

State party chair Mike Brown and county chair Maria Holiday said the mannequin was part of a display by a vendor in the exhibit area at the event, not something the party supported. They said it showed poor judgment by the vendor, but that they weren’t responsible for that.

And they blamed critics, including former state party chair Mike Kuckelman, for stirring up the controversy.

KCUR's Brian Ellison spoke with Kuckleman about the controversy, and about where he believes the Kansas GOP should be applying their focus in 2024.

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

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

Kansas City Royals officials and community organizers are vying for residents' support before the upcoming vote in Jackson County to extend the 3/8th-cent stadium sales tax. Despite a lack of detail about the proposed Crossroads stadium, Royals owner John Sherman says a new ballpark — and the proposed development around it — will keep Kansas City a "major league city."

Up To Date's Steve Kraske spoke with Sherman about the agreements the team has in the works and addressed some residents' questions.

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

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

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

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas says he plans to vote to extend a 3/8-cent sales tax when Jackson County residents head to the polls on April 2. The money raised would help fund renovations to Arrowhead Stadium and a new downtown ballpark for the Royals, but Lucas still has questions about the project.

"It would mean a lot for my 'yes' vote — it would make it stronger — if, at the very least, we have pledges to Crossroads businesses, we have an understanding of what the footprint is," Lucas told KCUR. "And, frankly, I think that we just (need to) get some of those answers as soon as possible."

Up To Date's Steve Kraske sat down with Lucas to discuss his concerns about the Royals stadium proposal.

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.

Republicans have recently increased their opposition to financially assisting Ukraine. It’s also become a rallying point for the GOP base.

Still, opposition isn’t universal among Missouri Republicans — or the Democratic candidates who want to run against them. Jason Rosenbaum with Saint Louis Public Radio has that story.

It's not exactly new for teachers to give their students jobs like line leader or door holder, but at Woodman Elementary School in Wichita, students are paired with an adult outside of school who supports them in taking on new responsibilities.

School Psychologist Jamie Johnston said the idea is for students who are acting out to receive attention for positive behaviors rather than negative ones. Suzanne Perez with the the Kansas News Service has more.

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.

In Johnson County, Kansas, and Jackson County, Missouri, more than half of undocumented immigrants say they were uninsured between 2014 and 2016, according to a report published by the Migration Policy Institute. In Wyandotte County, about three-quarters reported the same.

Even immigrants who do have insurance are more likely to report skipping or delaying needed care. KCUR's Noah Taborda has that story.

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

The two Kansas Senate bills appear to be a direct response to last year’s contentious fight over zoning that played out in Prairie Village. One bill would sharply curtail a city’s ability to rezone private property, and the other would strengthen petitioners’ efforts to put a question on a local ballot.

Up To Date's Steve Kraske sat down with Johnson County Post reporter Juliana Garcia to discuss her latest coverage of the Prairie Village zoning conflict.

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

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