Kansas City Today

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has made a splash in the first six months since his appointment by Republican Gov. Mike Parson. It’s still more than a year before he hopes to win election for a full four-year term.

Host Brain Ellison spoke with Chuck Hatfield, who worked in the attorney general’s office under Democrat Jay Nixon for a decade, about how the role has changed and what the future may hold.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Brian Ellison. 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

Willie Carlisle has built a fan base in Kansas City. The Ozark-based singer is attracting international attention for his "peculiar" take on folk music. KCUR's Bill Brownlee caught up with Carlisle to talk about his monumental rise.

The pallid sturgeon has been around since before the dinosaurs and thrived in what would become the Missouri River. Having made it through multiple mass extinctions, the sturgeon populations have plummeted in the last 90 years. Harvest Public Media’s Elizabeth Rembert reports on the larger problems heralded by the sturgeon's decline.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Luke X. Martin. 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

The Kansas City Royals are drumming up support for a new downtown ballpark. But trust among many urban residents is shaky because of another baseball facility close to downtown: the Urban Youth Academy. Greg Echlin reports for KCUR that many in nearby neighborhoods believe the academy has strayed from its original goals.

For generations, Kansas schools have taught reading in ways that don’t work for many kids. That’s starting to change, and Suzanne Perez of the Kansas News Service reports that some lawmakers want to ban old methods and fast-track the new science of reading in Kansas classrooms.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Luke X. Martin. 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 City Mayor Quinton Lucas sailed to reelection in Tuesday's municipal election. The new city council will also welcome seven newcomers. KCUR's Celisa Calacal has the full election results.

East High School in Kansas City will offer Cherokee this fall to help pass an endangered language on to the next generation. Like many other Indigenous languages, the Cherokee language is at risk of dying out after centuries of forced assimilation.

Host Nomin Ujiyediin sat down with KCUR education reporter Jodi Fortino to learn more about the school's decision and why it plays such a fundamental role in keeping the language alive.

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 City’s tenant union formed a political organizing group last year to help elect progressive candidates. Their endorsed candidates did well in the primary, and today on general Election Day, KC Tenants Power will see if they succeeded in changing the balance of power in the city. KCUR’s Celisa Calacal breaks it all down.

Missouri lawmakers will likely try again to ask voters to make it harder to amend the state constitution. But as St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum reports, there’s not a lot of confidence that any proposal will find favor with Missouri voters — which may impact whether the state expands access to abortion.

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 Luke X. Martin. It is produced by Paris Norvell and KCUR Studios and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Lisa Rodriguez, and Madeline Fox.

Across from the Truman Library and Museum in Independence sits McCoy Park, a beautiful green space. But few park goers know that directly below their feet is the rubble of what was once a vibrant Black neighborhood.

Today, not a single house stands from the area known as The Neck. As KCUR's Savannah Hawley Bates reports for A People's History of Kansas City, The Neck was completely destroyed by urban renewal. But its former residents are still seeking justice to ensure their story is not forgotten.

An earlier version of this story ran on Jan. 31, 2023.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Brian Ellison. It is produced by Paris Norvell 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 state Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R-Parkville) proposed a bill that could increase compensation for exonerees if they waive their right to file a lawsuit. Despite its good intentions, advocates say the legislation may do little for those wrongfully imprisoned.

Up To Date's Steve Kraske spoke to Tricia Rojo Bushnell, executive director of the Midwest Innocence Project, about this new bill and its shortcomings.

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

U.S. President Andrew Jackson was a slaveholder and a major architect of the forced relocation of Native Americans. He's also the namesake of Jackson County, Missouri, and statutes of him currently stand in front of courthouses in Kansas City and Independence.

A county-wide vote to remove the statues failed in 2020, but now, Jackson County legislators are once again considering dismantling the statues.

Host Nomin Ujiyediin spoke with KCUR reporter Sam Zeff about the history of Jackson, the controversy over the statues, and what might happen next with the legislature.

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

As Kansas City's homicide rate remains stubbornly high, KCUR has been talking with community members about how to stop the violence. That's what led Laura Ziegler to a conversation with a Missouri man who's spending 3 life sentences in prison. He told her the threat of prison and stricter gun laws won't deter people from committing gun violence.

A growing legal movement across the globe to grant natural entities like forests and rivers the same legal rights as humans is catching on in the US. As Juanpablo Ramirez Franco with the Mississippi River Ag and Water Desk reports, that’s setting the stage for a nascent movement on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers.

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

New restrictions on Missouri libraries have led one Kansas City-area library system to ban LGBTQ Pride displays in its children’s and teen sections.

The Mid-Continent Public Library said the decision was made to comply with Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s new rules forbidding libraries from having displays of “age-inappropriate” materials in areas designated for teens and children. If libraries don’t comply, they risk losing state funding.

Brian Ellison spoke with host Nomin Ujiyediin about how the new rules are affecting libraries and library staff.
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