Kansas City Today

Without much fanfare, Kansas City’s nine-member Charter Review Commission has been discussing changes that could make it harder to recall officials, challenge City Council votes and propose citizen initiatives. Before May 18, the commission must decide which measures to recommend to the Kansas City Council for a vote.

Host Brian Ellison talked with Kansas City Beacon Reporter Josh Merchant about why the commission is in such a rush this year, and what changes are expected to take place.

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, 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 number of anti-trans restrictions and regulations have passed in Kansas this legislative session, and in Missouri, two bans are on their way to Republican Gov. Mike Parson, who is expected to sign them. The policies are causing many in Kansas City's trans community to fear for their safety. KCUR's Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga tells the stories of Kansas Citians making the move to safer states.

Early in the pandemic, Dave Hughes lost his job and his place to live. After finding refuge under a bridge in the middle of Kansas City's Brush Creek, Hughes made friends with a lonely duck. KCUR's Frank Morris has the story of how Ahmed the duck changed the way Hughes saw the world.

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

After the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, Missouri became one of the first states to pass a law declaring that fetuses are people and allowing them legal protections. Now, that law is at the center of a lawsuit regarding the death of Kaitlyn Anderson, who died in 2021 while six months pregnant.

Host Nomin Ujiyediin talked with KFF Health News reporter Bram Sable-Smith about that case and fetal personhood laws around the U.S., and their impact on pregnant people after the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

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

Houses sell for more money in neighborhoods with big, leafy canopies. So pests that can kill many trees quickly can pose real economic dangers. Kansas and Missouri communities are now hedging their arboreal bets. Celia Llopis-Jepsen of the Kansas News Service reports.

Three companies are proposing pipelines across the Midwest to capture carbon dioxide from ethanol plant, pipe it and then store it underground. The plan is to inject the CO2 deep into rock formations under Illinois and North Dakota. Harvest Public Media’s Sarah Nardi reports on why geologists say the two states are ideal for carbon storage, and why some landowners are pushing back.

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

The Kansas City metro area can be a tough place to give birth. Rates of death or close calls for mothers after giving birth are high, and between 2012 and 2016, 662 babies died. KCUR’s Noah Taborda reports how some Kansas City groups are trying to improve birth outcomes, especially for Black and brown babies and their parents.

Rural hospitals are struggling everywhere, but nowhere is the situation more urgent than in Kansas. According to the most recent data, 80% of the state’s 104 rural hospitals are losing money. More than half could be on the brink of closure. Jim McLean of the Kansas News Service has the story of one of those hospitals and the hard choices that the people who depend on it are making to keep it open.

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

The last week of Missouri’s legislative session has finally arrived. In a year that has been filled with high-profile, messy debates over controversial issues — including a lot of efforts targeting the rights of transgender residents — lawmakers haven’t passed all that many pieces of legislation. Whether that holds true will be known in the next five days, which could be the most productive of the session — or perhaps the least productive of all.

Host Brian Ellison spoke with Jason Hancock, editor and chief of the Missouri Independent, to talk about what's happened this session, what hasn't, and what to watch for in the final days.

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 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

Despite more than 300,000 people attending the NFL Draft over three days in Kansas City and huge promises for local spending, many small businesses actually saw sales decrease — leaving them stuck with extra inventory they had bought to prepare.

Host Nomin Ujiyediin sat down with Startland News reporter Matthew Gwin to learn why local and small businesses feel let down by the draft, and what contributed to low community foot traffic.

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 appointed 13 members to a new commission on reparations this week. The group will study how to best make reparations to Kansas City’s Black community for centuries of slavery, segregation and racism. The panel now has one year to prepare a preliminary report of it's findings.

On KCUR’s Up To Date, host Steve Kraske sat down with three people who have been involved in the commission: Third District Councilwoman Melissa Robinson, who helped form the panel, and members Cornell Ellis and Linwood Tauheed.

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

The sprawling Meta data center campus was hailed as a project that would bring jobs and investment to Kansas City's Northland. But a new report alleges Turner Construction, the general contractor behind the campus, skirted city rules on hiring minority businesses — and that city officials tried to silence the Civil Rights office director when she sounded the alarm.

KCUR also learned that Kansas City was billed nearly $11,000 by private investigators to follow and surveil the official, who was one of the highest-ranking Black women at City Hall, in order to prove that she was violating the city's residency requirements.

Host Nomin Ujiyediin sat down with KCUR reporter Celisa Calacal to learn more about what exactly happened and how the city has responded.

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 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

Since Kauffman Stadium's opening in 1973, union labor has been integral to its rise. With the prospects of a new stadium on the horizon, local labor groups want to make sure that unions remain at the forefront during the discussion of this major works project. KCUR's Savannah Hawley-Bates reports on the labor groups fighting for their seat at the table.

The national farm bill must be renewed by Congress every five years. With a divided House and rocky debt ceiling negotiations, the 2023 Farm Bill could face some push and pull. Harvest Public Media's Xcaret Nuñez breaks down the bill's parts and why it matters.

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