Kansas City Today

It’s been a year since the Royals announced a plan to move their stadium downtown. While we still have a lot of questions, we know taxpayers are likely to foot much of the bill. The Royals say in the long run it will cost more to stay at the current Kauffman Stadium, but is that true? KCUR’s Savannah Hawley-Bates set out to find out.

The Osage tribe lived in Kansas and Missouri before they were forced to move to Oklahoma in the 1800s. After oil was discovered on their new land, many members of the tribe were murdered for their wealth and property.

“Killers of the Flower Moon” was a best-selling non-fiction book that tells that story, and now it’s a blockbuster movie directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio. And the community where many of the murders took place is wrestling with how to open up about this painful past. Harvest Public Media contributor Allison Herrera takes us to Fairfax, Oklahoma.

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

What do Tuesday’s election results say about the state of politics in Johnson County, Kansas? One interpretation is that the county is continuing its trend of becoming much more Democratic. Up to Date host Steve Kraske spoke with Kansas State Rep. Stephanie Clayton, who represents several municipalities in Johnson County, and political columnist Steve Rose about the Kansas side of the metro.

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

A year after the legalization of recreational marijuana in the Show-Me State, Missouri has seen a boom of cannabis employment and over $1 billion in sales. As recalls take products off the shelves, dispensaries start to unionize and microbusiness licenses are sold to the highest bidder, retailers hope the momentum doesn't slow down.

KCUR's Steve Kraske spoke with the Missouri Independent's Rebecca Rivas about the state of the industry and what the future of legal weed looks like here.

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

Solar power in Kansas is booming, with hundreds of megawatts expected to come online over the next several years. But many rural communities are skeptical of out-of-state solar developers and are tightening regulations as the energy source grows. KMUW’s Celia Hack reports for the Kansas News Service.

In 1985, a young writer and photographer duo embarked on a project to document life and history in Independence, Missouri. Almost 40 years later, KCUR’s Julie Denesha reports, the two are back at work on new words and photographs documenting people who live in the shadow of a president.

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, 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

What happened in last night's elections? Kansas City voters approved a local sales tax to fund public transit, affordable housing opponents dominated races for city council in Prairie Village, and conservative school board candidates lost their races in several Johnson County districts. Reporters from the KCUR newsroom bring you the latest results.

Over the past decade, renewable power on the Kansas prairie typically meant one thing: wind turbines. But solar energy in Kansas is booming, with companies flocking to the state in the hopes of developing utility-scale solar farms. KCUR's Celia Hack reports on the expansion.

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, 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

Conservative candidates for school board seats across Kansas have repeatedly asserted that scores on the state standardized test show schools are failing. They say the scores are proof that teachers are spending too much time on social-emotional learning and interpersonal skills — and not enough time on reading, writing and math.

KCUR’s Madeline Fox sat down with education reporters Suzanne Perez of the Kansas News Service and Jodi Fortino of KCUR to talk about whether scores really are falling and what the exams can — and can’t — tell us.

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, 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

Shawnee, Prairie Village, Lenexa, Leawood, Overland Park, the United Government of Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte County are all holding council elections on Tuesday, Nov. 7, along with school board and mayor races.

Some of the contests are pitting candidates with decidedly different priorities for affordable housing, development, and the character of their cities and their leaders. Plus, Kansas City has some important ballot items of its own.

Brian Ellison spoke with Kyle Palmer, editor of the Shawnee Mission Post and Blue Valley Post, and Josh Merchant, a reporter for the Kansas City Beacon, for an overview of what you and your neighbors are making decisions about.

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

Shawnee, Kansas had stayed a relatively calm suburb of Kansas City, but the last few years have proved otherwise. Lawsuits, staff turnover and a recent sexting scandal have roiled city hall, right before a municipal election. KCUR's Frank Morris asks the question: Who's responsible for all the trouble?

William Jewell College established a Racial Reconciliation Commission in 2021 with the hopes it would investigate and express the truths behind the institution's racial history. One of the products from this effort is the "Canon for Racial Reconciliation."

Classical KC's Brooke Knoll spoke with the piece's composers about their intentions and hopes for the music.

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

On Monday, a Kansas judge temporarily blocked several of the state’s abortion restrictions, including a 24-hour waiting period and a new law that required providers to give patients medically unsupported information about reversing the effects of abortion pills.

In his order, Johnson County District Judge K. Christopher Jayaram wrote that the restrictions “[appear] to be a thinly-veiled effort to stigmatize the procedure and instill fear in patients that are contemplating an abortion, based upon disproven and unsupportable claims.”

KCUR's Steve Kraske sat down with Rachel Mipro from the Kansas Reflector to break down the order, which has already renewed the battle over abortion rights 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 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

A research journal called the Middle West Review released the results of what it describes as the “largest-ever study on who considers themselves to be Midwesterners.” Researchers collected about 11,000 responses from 22 states, including the 12 designated as Midwest by the U.S Census bureau, and 10 on the fringes of what might typically be considered the region.

KCUR's Nomin Ujiyediin spoke with Jon Lauck, Editor-in-Chief of the Middle West Review, about the survey and what it tell us about Midwestern identity.

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