Kansas City Today

The Kansas City Chiefs are headed to their fourth Super Bowl in five years. In accordance with public radio tradition, KCUR has made a friendly bet with our friends at San Francisco's KQED.

Up To Date's Steve Kraske spoke with KQED's morning news anchor Brian Watt about the barbecue and bread on the line, and the feelings in the Bay Area leading up to Sunday's game.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Laura Ziegler. It is produced by Trevor Grandin 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.

Sports bettors in Kansas are backing the Kansas City Chiefs to win the Super Bowl for a second year in a row. And Taylor Swift fans appear to be getting in on the action. But Kansas is likely going to make less money than usual if the Chiefs win. Kansas News Service reporter Dylan Lysen and editor Stephen Koranda discuss how the big game could lead to a small payout for Kansas.

Kansas City groundskeeping legend George Toma made a big splash at last year’s Super Bowl, but the field conditions in Arizona made headlines in all the wrong ways. This year, in Las Vegas, the NFL wants to avoid a repeat of those turf woes. As Greg Echlin reports for KCUR, Toma isn’t on the scene to monitor it — for the first time ever.

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

Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce have been the focus of numerous right-wing conspiracy theories since the beginning of their relationship. Some conservative politicians and news outlets have suggested, without evidence, that Swift is working as an operative for the Pentagon or the Democratic Party.

Jonathan Weisman, a politics writer who has been reporting on this story for the New York Times, spoke about the theories and the politics behind it with Steve Kraske 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 Gabe Rosenberg. 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 an internationally televised broadcast, FIFA World Cup officials announced on Sunday that Kansas City will not only host one of the quarterfinal matches in 2026, but also four group-stage matches at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. The dates of those games are June 16, 20, 25 and 27.

Kansas City is one of 16 sites in North America to win World Cup matches. Up To Date's Steve Kraske talks what it takes to plan an event of this magnitude with Katherine Holland, executive director of KC2026, and Joe Reardon, president of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.

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 a rough start to the year in the Missouri Senate. The Republican leadership of the body, led by Senate President Pro Tem Caleb Rowden, has tangled since day one with a group of senators calling themselves the Freedom Caucus.

That group has said they have one goal: Making it harder to amend the Missouri constitution. They’ve held up the governor’s appointments and filibustered even the daily approval of the Senate journal. What they’ve demanded is priority treatment for legislation that would set a higher bar for ballot efforts — like the ones that are coming on enshrining abortion rights.

KCUR's Brian Ellison asked Rudi Keller of the Missouri Independent about the group and its chances of succeeding.

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

Danielle Nicole's new album, "The Love You Bleed," sees her shaking off an old blues. The Kansas City artist is realizing her worth and taking back her music. KCUR's Bill Brownlee has the story.

Kansas is in unique company as one of the few states that have yet to legalize marijuana in any form. A new push for legalization may shift the needle. The Kansas News Service's Daniel Caudill and Stephen Koranda spoke about the status of marijuana legalization in 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 Trevor Grandin 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

Kansas City drivers dread pothole season every spring, but it came early this year after area roads thawed out from a bitter cold streak. KCUR's Jodi Fortino shares details about the city's plan with Steve Kraske on Up To Date.

Ukrainian-Americans in Kansas are worried about whether the U.S. will send Ukraine more military aid. That includes Wichita plastic surgeon Nataliya Biskup, who left Ukraine as a child. She recently returned to operate on soldiers injured in battle, and spoke with Rose Conlon of the Kansas News Service about the trip.

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

The Jackson County Legislature went against Executive Frank White last week when it overrode his veto of a ballot measure to help fund stadiums for the Chiefs and Royals.

Jackson County voters will decide in April whether to extend a 3/8th-cent sales tax for the next 40 years. But there are still many unknowns with the stadiums.

Up To Date's Steve Kraske spoke with two Jackson County Legislators, Megan Marshall and Jeanie Lauer, who voted to sustain White’s veto and say the ballot language doesn’t provide nearly enough information for voters.

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.

Sister Berta Sailer — the public face as well as the emotional DNA of Operation Breakthrough, one of the largest and most comprehensive childcare agencies in the Kansas City region — died last Thursday due to complications from Alzheimer's disease. Sailer devoted her life to helping children and families and personally fostered some 75 kids.

KCUR's Laura Ziegler reports on Sailer's life and long-lasting legacy.

Ralls County School District in rural northeastern Missouri is one of the first in the state to receive electric buses from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Program. The federal initiative has sent at least one electric bus to nearly every U.S. state with thousands more on the way.

Kate Grumke reports for Harvest Public Media.

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 Lisa Rodriguez and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson focused on child care, infrastructure, workforce development and education in his final State of the State address, priorities that even gained him praise from Democrats. Steve Kraske, host of KCUR's Up to Date, spoke with the outgoing governor about his long career in government and politics.

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