Kansas Citians have a strong showing in leadership positions this legislative session —including Missouri's new House Speaker, Lee's Summit Republican Jonathan Patterson. It's the first time a Kansas City-area speaker was elected since 1857, which Patterson said is "very significant" for people in the region.

Fox Sports host and Kansas City native Nick Wright joined KCUR's Up To Date to share his thoughts on the Chiefs' league-best season before this weekend's playoff game. But no matter what happens, Wright says Patrick Mahomes and the team already transformed Kansas City into "one of the epicenters of the sports world."

Video creators around Kansas City are concerned about their livelihoods and Congress' ability to limit free speech if the Supreme Court upholds a ban of the video-sharing app TikTok. Up To Date spoke with @Andr3wsky and the brothers behind @Twinsauce about their future if the social media app disappears.

Concerns about an outbreak of avian influenza have increased nationwide. Two Kansas health experts discuss how to limit its spread, and why public health risk still remains low.

As a teen, Elana James grew up busking on the streets of Kansas City. Now a professional musician, James is the co-founder of Hot Club of Cowtown, a jazz and swing band that's performing at the Folly Theater on Jan. 18.

"Mapping the Heavens: Art, Astronomy and Exchange Between the Islamic Lands and Europe" features paintings from the collection of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, rare books from the Linda Hall Library and other sources to tell the story of how scientists across time, place and religion expanded early knowledge of astronomy.

Kansas City Restaurant Week, which runs this year from Jan. 10-19, will give local diners a chance to get out of the house after the blizzard and explore the city's diverse eateries — with special menus and deals. A portion of Restaurant Week proceeds will also support local charity House of Hope.

Kansas Republicans head into this year's legislative session on Jan. 13 with an even greater supermajority. And GOP leaders have their sights set on property tax cuts, although Democrats are wary of repeating the mistakes of Kansas' past.

A Kansas City judge temporarily lifted Missouri's abortion ban in December. However, she left licensing restrictions on the books, which means it's impossible for Planned Parenthood Great Plains to resume performing the procedure yet.

Tricia Rojo Bushnell is the executive director of the Midwest Innocence Project. She joined KCUR's Up To Date to for our new series "5 Questions" to discuss what she's reading, streaming and more.