Two members of the St. Joseph, Missouri, school board say they’ve been harassed because of their progressive political beliefs. They say they're being targeted by a multimillion-dollar national organization dedicated to promoting Christianity in public schools.

Over the past couple of years, volunteer school board members in St. Joseph, Missouri say they’ve faced harassment from community members and a multimillion-dollar national Christian organization because of their political beliefs. KCUR’s Nomin Ujiyediin has been investigating their experiences, and told KCUR’s Madeline Fox it’s part of a broader national trend of school boards and other local elected officials dealing with increased negative attention.

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

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

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

The late Kansas Sen. Bob Dole was a champion for disability rights. One of his biggest accomplishments was getting the Americans with Disabilities Act passed, 35 years ago this week. We'll look back on the role Kansas played in this landmark civil rights law.

The Americans with Disabilities Act was signed into law 35 years ago this Saturday. It’s the first comprehensive civil rights law for people with disabilities, and it almost didn’t pass. It took years of protests, and advocates from across the country, including the late Republican Sen. Bob Dole. From the KCUR podcast A People’s History of Kansas City, Mackenzie Martin has the 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 Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

In western Kansas, rural hospitals have been closing or are perpetually understaffed, leaving residents to drive anywhere from an hour to multiple hours for doctors appointments. Plus: Scientists are working on a new framework that factors climate trends into how we think about drought.

Western Kansas is the place for a quiet, rural lifestyle. But with that comes shortages when you need to see a doctor. Rural Kansans on average travel twice as far for medical care than their urban counterparts. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have found that largely due to this difference in access to health care, rural residents are more likely to die early than urban residents. Calen Moore of the Kansas News Service reports.

Drought is defined as an abnormal period of dryness. But climate change means today’s normal might not be the same as yesterday’s. Climatologists are now coming together to figure out how to characterize drought because their proclamations have real, practical consequences. Some federal policies that give farmers emergency relief money are tied to the drought monitor. Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk's Harshawn Ratanpal 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 Carter Galloway and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Public radio and television stations in rural areas may be hit the hardest after Congress clawed back $1 billion for public broadcasting.

High Plains Public Radio, which broadcasts in western Kansas, lost 15% of its operating costs, according to executive director Quentin Hope. And in southern Missouri, general manager Rachel Knight says Ozarks Public Radio has lost 10% of its budget and Ozarks Public Television has lost one-third of its budget.

Hope and Knight sat down with Up To Date host Steve Kraske to discuss the impacts of the rescission on their rural stations.

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 Carter Galloway and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Talks of overhauling the U.S. Postal Service have picked up since President Donald Trump began his second term. With service cutbacks already underway and privatization on the table, rural residents are bracing for more disruptions. Plus: There are more than 40 species of fireflies in Missouri, but for the past few years, people have been concerned about the populations diminishing.

As a government agency providing a public service, the U.S. Postal Service is not required to make a profit. But it is not supposed to lose money, either, which it has done every year since 2007, according to its annual reports. Rural communities have already experienced cuts as a means of pulling the Postal Service out of the red, and the current administration has also resurrected the issue of privatization. The Midwest Newsroom's Nick Loomis reports on growing concerns from rural residents.

Many Missourians probably have memories of sitting outside on hot summer nights watching lightning bugs. But during the past few years, there have been reports of fewer insects, which is why many Missourians have shared their surprise and pleasure at seeming to see more this year. KBIA's Rebecca Smith reports on the reemergence of fireflies in Missouri.

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 Carter Galloway and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Congress has approved a plan to claw back funding from U.S. foreign aid programs and public broadcasting organizations like NPR and PBS. What does this mean for KCUR? The station's general manager and interim content director discuss how this could impact our work.

Steve Kraske was joined on Up To Date by Sarah Morris, KCUR's general manager and a board member for NPR, and Lisa Rodriguez, interim director of content-journalism, to talk about the future of public media and the challenges ahead for KCUR.

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

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

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

Some artists shy away from using AI. Kansas City photographer and digital artist David Morris embraces it. Hear how a local creative harnesses AI to bring his vision to life, and where you can see it! Plus: A Kansas City bookselling icon is retiring after years of tracking down Black books and vinyl. Now, a new generation is stepping up to preserve her legacy.

Artificial intelligence had a hand in a new art installation at a Kansas City Streetcar stop. David Morris’ abstract digital collage is called “Music is Community," and it’s part of this year’s “Art in the Loop” program. KCUR’s Julie Denesha spoke with Morris about how AI shapes his work.

Willa Robinson has been collecting and selling Black books and vinyl in Kansas City since the 1990s. She’s now retiring and closing what’s considered the longest-running Black-owned bookstore in Missouri. KCUR’s Celisa Calacal sat down with Robinson to talk about her collection, the legacy she’s leaving behind, and what’s next for the storefront.

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, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

In recent years, most Kansas City suburbs have cut transportation funding, which means fewer and slower buses. Local officials are racing to fix that. Plus: High school graduation rates in Kansas are higher than ever. But some people worry that the growth of credit recovery programs could be lowering standards for students.

Many suburbs in the Kansas City metro have fewer and slower buses because of cuts to transportation funding. Regional cooperation for transit programs also has been lacking. KCUR's Savannah Hawley-Bates reports on how Kansas City’s transit system is in a death spiral, and what can be done to fix it.

In Kansas, some educators and community members worry that the growth of credit recovery in high schools may be boosting graduation rates without ensuring that students actually learn the material and meet state standards. The Kansas News Service's Suzanne Perez 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 Carter Galloway and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Panasonic's highly anticipated $4 billion electric vehicle battery plant opened in De Soto, Kansas, this week. But problems with Tesla, tariffs and tax breaks have investors worried. Leaders of the plant believe it's just a bump in the road.

The Kansas News Service's Zane Irwin covered the grand opening of the Panasonic plant, which aims to employ 4,000 people and have eight fully operational production lines by the end of 2026. He discussed its potential, future and possible challenges with Up to Date host Steve Kraske.

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, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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

Scientists in a Columbia, Missouri, lab have studied how toxic chemicals affect animals and ecosystems since the 1960s. But President Trump's proposed budget would likely mean lights out. Plus: Hydroelectric power is a mainstay of the United States electrical grid, but federal hurdles could take plants offline.

The White House wants to cut the budget of the Ecosystems Mission Area, the research arm of the Department of the Interior, by 90%. KBIA’s Harshawn Ratanpal reports about the potential threat to the Columbia Environmental Research Center.

Hydropower is one of the oldest sources of energy. It dates back at least 2,000 years, when water mills would crush grains and break ore. Today, hydropower accounts for nearly a third of renewable energy in the U.S. Harvest Public Media contributor Teresa Homsi reports that federal hurdles may prevent older hydroelectric plants from staying online and new projects from getting off the ground.

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 Carter Galloway and KCUR Studios, and edited by Madeline Fox, Emily Younker and Gabe Rosenberg.

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