Kansas City Today

The Keystone pipeline break in north-central Kansas didn’t spill regular crude oil. It spilled a thick and viscous substance that's making clean up more difficult. Kansas Public Media's Blaise Mesa and Celia Llopis-Jepsen review what's known so far about the spill.

Despite receiving monetary rewards for the care they provide, Kansas nursing homes are facing backlash and criticism for an environment that is less than inviting. 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 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 and Missouri have seen drug deaths skyrocket amid the opioid epidemic and the rise of fentanyl. Celia Llopis-Jepsen with the Kansas News Service spoke to one man — Tanner — about his ongoing fight with addiction and how medication has helped. We’re using his first name only to protect his identity.

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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

The Kansas City Board of Police Commissioners last week selected a new KCPD chief. Stacey Graves has been with the Kansas City Police Department for over 25 years and served as the acting deputy chief before swearing in to her new position. She is also the first woman to hold a permanent position as leader of the KCPD.

But her selection does come with plenty of controversy. Up To Date host Steve Kraske spoke with KCUR investigative reporter Peggy Lowe, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, and Kansas City Defender founder Ryan Sorrell about Graves' hiring and how the community is reacting.

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

It’s never been easy for Laura Kelly. For four years as a Democratic governor in a state capitol where Republicans hold almost all the other levers of power, any success has necessarily involved pragmatism, compromise and patience.

With voters sending Kelly back to Topeka for a second term, what will be different — and what won't?

Kelly spoke with KCUR's Steve Kraske on Up To Date about her hopes and plans for her next term as governor.

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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

For more than two years, a Kansas City activist group has held weekly demonstrations to honor people killed by the Kansas City Police Department. Now, Friday Night Protest has taken another step in advocating for victims of police violence. As KCUR’s Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga reports, they’ve built a police accountability group unlike any other.

A group of Kansas Citians traveled to this year’s World Cup in Qatar, with preparations in mind for the 2026 tournament. Kansas City will be one of 16 North American host cities for that tournament. But, as Greg Echlin reports for KCUR, anticipation for the world’s biggest single-sporting event goes well beyond local organizers.

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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

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft argues that his new proposed rules for libraries will help protect children from "non-age-appropriate materials," but many library administrators say it's a nonissue. They worry the restrictions will deny equal access to information.

Up To Date's Steve Kraske spoke with Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and Kansas City Public Library Director of Policy Cindy Hohl about the proposal.

Comments on the rules are being accepted until Dec. 15 and can be mailed to the Office of the Missouri Secretary of State, P.O. Box 1767, Jefferson City, Missouri 65102, or by email to [email protected]. You must include "rule number 15 CSR 30-200.015" in your correspondence.

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

Many people end up in the justice system because of mental health issues, drugs or PTSD from serving in combat. But jails and prisons aren’t usually well-equipped to treat those underlying issues. As KCUR’s Noah Taborda reports, that’s why some Kansas City-area jurisdictions are setting up specialty courts.

People in the Midwest and High Plains are used to severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. But there’s a weather phenomenon that’s becoming a more common part of their vocabulary: derechos.

A year ago, a derecho swept across the central U.S. including Kansas and Missouri, bringing widespread damaging winds, tornados and killing at least five people. As Harvest Public Media's Katie Peikes reports, scientists are grappling with what the future of derechos could look like.

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

The Kansas City Police Department seems to be be closing in on hiring its next chief, even amid controversies surrounding the hiring process and allegations of unethical behavior.

Speaking to Steve Kraske on Up To Date, Mayor Quinton Lucas criticized how the state-controlled police board is choosing a new chief, a decision that could come as soon as Tuesday. "It is not the type of way you wish to do these processes," Lucas says.

Meanwhile, a bombshell whistleblower complaint broke over the weekend, where a former top lawyer for the KCPD alleges the department unlawfully closed records that should be have remained public under Missouri's open records law and allegedly hid evidence from prosecutors.

Lucas said the allegations could trigger a further federal investigation into “a total lack of institutional control at KCPD."

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

Local libraries could soon find themselves without state funding after a recent rule proposal by Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft. The rule seeks "to protect minors from non-age-appropriate materials" and requires libraries to certify their compliance in writing or risk the loss of funding.

In response, 12 former library directors and administrators penned a letter of opposition that was recently sent to Ashcroft.

Up To Date's Steve Kraske spoke with two of the letter's signatories: former director of the Trails Regional Library Karen Hicklin and retired director of the Mid-Continent Public Library Steven Potter. Ashcroft did not respond to a request for comment.

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

Tuba Christmas has been around in Kansas City since 1974, so Trombone Christmas is a bit of an upstart. But more than 100 trombone players are already signed up for the annual event. Organizers Will Biggs and Frank Perez spoke to 91.9 Classical KC’s Brooke Knoll about the upcoming event at Kansas City's iconic Union Station.

Ky Anderson was a successful working artist in New York, with solo exhibitions of her large-scale, abstract paintings around the country. But after a quarter-century of painting in cramped studio spaces, she’s back home in Kansas City with a bigger studio and bigger ambitions. KCUR’s Julie Denesha has this story.

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