Kansas City Today

The Independence School District is the latest Missouri district — most of them small and rural — adopting a four-day school week. Independence says it made the change to help recruit and retain staff amid an ongoing statewide shortage of teachers. KCUR's Jodi Fortino reports how the decision creates more opportunities, and questions, for both faculty and students.

Most of us have extra clutter lying around the house. But sometimes the issue is more extreme and can rise to the level of hoarding. Experts say the problem is on the rise in Kansas because of an aging population and a lack of mental health providers. Rose Conlon of the Kansas News Service reports.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Paris Norvell, 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

Kansas’ foster care system is failing to meet requirements and expectations, according to a federal review. The review and audit found issues within Kansas’ foster care system regarding a lack of mental health access and inconsistent data sharing between foster agencies.

KCUR's Brian Ellison spoke with attorney Teresa Woody, litigation director at Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, and Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services Secretary Laura Howard about the review.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Paris Norvell, 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

Jackson County’s “Community-Backed Anti-Crime Tax,” or COMBAT, turns 30 this year. The program has been hailed for its contributions to crime reduction, but KCUR's Lawrence Brooks IV reports it's difficult to measure the program's influence.

For a third consecutive year, homicides in Kansas City are skyrocketing — and many of the victims are mothers. After shootings, headlines tend to focus on suspects, victims and charges. KCUR's Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga highlights the lasting pain suffered by family and friends who are left behind.

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

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Trevor Grandin, Byron Love, and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

The Marion County Record will get its equipment back from law enforcement, after the county prosecutor found insufficient evidence to suggest a crime. Even without their equipment, journalists at the paper worked late into the night to publish their first issue since the widely-criticized raid. “SEIZED … but not silenced,” its headline read. Rose Conlon reports for KMUW.

Senior citizens who want to live in the same rural towns where they grew up face a growing problem: how to get around. Unreliable transportation means many of them have trouble shopping for groceries, visiting family and getting to medical care. Andrew Lopez visited southwest Kansas to learn more about the problem, and at least one possible solution.

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

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Paris Norvell, Byron Love, and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Lisa Rodriguez.

The police department in tiny Marion, Kansas, faces a growing wave of litigation over its raid on the Marion County Record newspaper. The raid allegedly violated state and federal laws and has become a test of free speech protections. But even amid all the national attention over the case, staff at paper continued to work to deliver another edition on deadline.

Myzelle Law, 19, was a sophomore defensive lineman at MidAmerica Nazarene University in Olathe. He collapsed after a voluntary workout July 22 and died a week later. Law is the third Kansas college football player in five years to die after practicing in the heat. KCUR's Sam Zeff attended his funeral in Overland Park.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Paris Norvell, 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 Friday, police officers in Marion, Kansas, raided the offices of its local newspaper, the Marion County Record, along with the home of Eric Meyer, the paper's publisher. The police — who obtained a search warrant by a county judge — claimed to be investigating allegations of "identity theft," after the newspaper obtained public records of drunk driving violations by local restauranteur Kari Newell.

On Up To date, KCUR's Steve Kraske spoke with Sherman Smith, editor in chief of Kansas Reflector, about what exactly happen and the legality of the situation going forward.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Paris Norvell, 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 new statewide rule introduced by Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft has librarians concerned for their ability to curate their collections in a way that serves the entire community.

From St. Louis On The Air, Missouri Library Association President-elect Kimberly Moeller talks about how libraries are responding to the new statewide rule, how children may be affected and the broader cultural and political challenges facing libraries.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Paris Norvell, Gabriella Lacey, 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.

Around 300,000 complaints have been called in to Kansas City's 311 program since March 2021. The issues range from trash, street maintenance and property violations. The KC Media Collective analyzed the problems, where they are and how long they take to be fixed.

KCUR's Nomin Ujiyediin sat down with Flatland's Julie Freijat and the Kansas City Beacon's Josh Merchant to get an update on Kansas City's 311 program.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Trevor Grandin, 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.

Clinton Lake in Kansas has fewer microplastics than most freshwater lakes, according to a global study recently published in Nature. A microplastic is any plastic particle that measures at 5 millimeters or less.

On Up To Date, KCUR's Steve Kraske spoke with Ted Harris, a researcher at the Kansas Biological Survey, about the study's findings.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Paris Norvell, 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 group of Midwestern shrimp farmers are on a mission to provide Americans with better-tasting, sustainable shrimp. The industry struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic, but as Harvest Public Media's Lilley Halloran reports, farmers remain hopeful that indoor shrimp farming will come back stronger than ever.

Former Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon jumped back into the political fray when he joined the group No Labels. He's helping the centrist political group combat efforts to keep a possible third party presidential ticket off the ballot in certain states. But as St. Louis Public Radio's Jason Rosenbaum reports, the move puts him in direct opposition to some of his fellow Missouri Democrats.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Paris Norvell, 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.