Kansas City Today

Over the next decade, New York-based developer SomeraRoad has plans to spend $400 million to redevelop over 20 acres in the historic Kansas City neighborhood. The company said it wants to build 1,200 apartments, offices, restaurants and a hotel in the roughly six-block area north of 12th Street between Hickory and Santa Fe.

The city approved pre-development plans late last year, and last week signed off on plans to demolish the abandoned Weld Wheel building, which could begin as early as this summer. However, some community members in the West Bottoms have voiced concerns over how fast development is occurring — and whether the rapid change will price them out of the area.

On KCUR's Up To Date, host Steve Kraske talked with Keven Collison, founder and editor-in-chief of CityScene KC, Bella Patina co-owner Nick Allen, and Historic West Bottoms Association president Tom Esselman about the development and what locals are excited and worried about.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Madeline Fox. 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

Legal abortions are down across the United States. But some states where the procedure is protected, like Kansas and Illinois, are seeing increases. The Midwest Newsroom's Farah Yousry explains how the shifting abortion landscape is driving numbers down as patients and providers navigate new challenges.

Liver transplants save lives, but there aren't nearly enough organs to go around. Now, thanks to a new change in how livers are distributed, Kansans are at a particular disadvantage. The Kansas News Service's Rose Conlon highlights how the new rules have sparked debate about the inequities present at every step of the transplant process.

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

Kansas City Today is hosted by Laura Ziegler. 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

Sixty years ago, the pro football draft laid the foundation for the Kansas City Chiefs’ first-ever Super Bowl championship. As Greg Echlin explains for KCUR, it also helped create a historic family accomplishment that has lasted 43 years.

The Biden administration wants the United States' carbon footprint to be at net zero by 2050. As part of that goal, the federal government is offering big incentives to remove carbon dioxide, including from ethanol plants. There are three major pipeline proposals that would capture CO2 from ethanol plants around the Midwest and store it underground. As Harvest Public Media's Katie Peikes reports, while the ethanol industry is fully on board, researchers and environmentalists question the climate benefits.

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 Hickman Mills school district seated its new school board Monday night. That was supposed to happen last week, but that meeting ended early when two members walked out. KCUR’s education reporter Jodi Fortino spoke to Madeline Fox about the ongoing tensions that led to chaos — and what it means for the school district moving forward.

For weeks, Missouri Republicans have been seeking to bar minors from getting gender-affirming care. But Attorney General Andrew Bailey took a drastic change of course: His emergency rules include adults and could place barriers for them to access therapies and surgeries. St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum reports that the rules are creating alarm among LGBTQ communities here and around the country.

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

During the pandemic, school districts could offer free meals to all students, regardless of their income. Now that schools are charging for lunches again, many Kansas City area families are coming up short, and as KCUR’s Jodi Fortino reports, school lunch debt is soaring.

Kansas schools are reporting a surge of disruptive behavior by students, including violence against teachers. As Suzanne Perez of the Kansas News Service reports, the subject has caught the attention of teachers unions and state lawmakers, but solutions are hard to find.

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 shooting of 16-year-old Black teen Ralph Yarl has captured national attention, with questions circling over law enforcement's handling of the case, the role of Missouri's "Stand Your Ground" law and what it says about racism in the city.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas joined KCUR's Steve Kraske on Up To Date to talk about the case, his concerns about the laws around guns in Missouri, what's going on with the new city jail, and how the city is preparing for the NFL Draft just days away.

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

It's been an emotional week in Kansas City following the shooting of Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old Black teen. The man who shot him, Andrew D. Lester, has since been charged with two felonies and plead not guilty to both. So far, no hate crime charges have been filed. KCUR's Lawrence Brooks IV has a recap of the past week's events.

Monarch butterflies can't reproduce without milkweed, and as conservationists worry about monarch populations, some Kansans are itching to help. The problem? Many city codes prohibit its growth. KCUR's Celia Llopis-Jepsen speaks with homeowners risking fines to plant it.

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

When Andrew D. Lester, an 84-year-old white man, shot Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old Black teen, last week, it sparked protests in the city and outrage across the country. Now, Lester has pleaded not guilty to felony charges. St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum talked with St. Louis University law professor Anders Walker about how Missouri’s "castle doctrine" and "Stand Your Ground" laws likely won’t help Lester.

Earlier this year, millions watched in shock as NFL’s Damar Hamlin went into sudden cardiac arrest on live TV. His life was saved, and many credit that to a quick response plan and a machine called an AED. Lawmakers in several states — including Missouri — are now considering legislation to require AEDs in schools. But as Elizabeth Gabriel reports for Side Effects Public Media, mandating these devices is a complicated decision.

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

Hundreds of protesters rallied in front of the federal courthouse in downtown Kansas City in support of Ralph Yarl, the 16-year-old who was shot twice when he rang the doorbell of the wrong house last week trying to pick up his brothers. The shooter, Andrew Lester, turned himself in to law enforcement Tuesday afternoon and subsequently bailed himself out. He's charged with felony assault and armed criminal action. But protesters say those charges aren't sufficient — and they continue to question why law enforcement took so long to arrest him.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas is wrapping up his first term and is all but guaranteed to win another. He made a lot of promises to voters during his first campaign. KCUR’s Celisa Calacal checks in on whether he delivered.

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

Following a weekend of protests in Kansas City, Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson charged 84-year-old Andrew Lester with two felonies in the shooting of 16-year old Ralph Yarl. Lester, who is white, shot Yarl, who is Black, twice when Yarl was trying to pick up his siblings and mistakenly knocked on the door of Lester’s home in the Northland.

Yarl went to the hospital and is now at home recovering — but the incident has garnered national attention as another high-profile shooting of a Black person. KCUR’s Savannah Hawley-Bates has been covering this story, and has more on what we know about the case so far and how the community has reacted.

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