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Segment 1: How newly-elected lawmakers get up to speed before taking office. There's new staff to meet, colleagues to greet, committee assignments, and dorms to move into — well, that last one might not apply, but becoming a new state lawmaker can be a lot like going off to college. We spoke with two freshman lawmakers from the Kansas City area about making the transition to the statehouse. Missouri Rep.-elect Matt Sain , D-Kansas City Kansas Rep.-elect Rui Xu , D-Westwood Segment 2, beginning

Segment 1: After a failed gas tax proposal, how does the Missouri Department of Transportation continue to keep roads and bridges safe? Voters this month denied the state transportation department additional tax money to increase their budget, but the agency will still be held responsible for maintaining a safe and sound network of roads and bridges. Today, we asked the organization's leader how that will happen, and why he thinks the ballot measure failed in the first place. Patrick McKenna ,

Segment 1: Former DESE commissioner says, "the decison to bring me back needed to be about doing what's best for the children in the state of Missouri." Margie Vandeven served as the commissioner of education from 2015 until then-Gov. Eric Greitens manuevered to have her removed in December 2017. An interim commissioner was put in place, but Greitens resigned later because of an unrelated scandal. So when the state Board of Education began its search this year for a permanent commissioner,

Segment 1: Medical cannabis is now legal in Missouri, but doctors are not trained on how to prescribe the drug. It's been two weeks since Missourians voted to allow the use of medical marijuana in the state. However, because cannabis is still illegal at the federal level, research on its efficacy and side effects is limited. The executive dean of the College of Osteopathic Medicine at the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences spoke to concerns physicians have about recommending a

Segment 1: How rising temperatures and a changing climate will affect the tallgrass prairies. The consequences of climate change are usually pictured as melting ice caps and islands being swallowed by rising sea levels. In the Midwest, where unpredictable weather is a staple of life, biologists say climate change is also altering the landscape of the tallgrass prairie, "one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world." Mary Knapp , Kansas State assistant climatologist Jesse Nippert , lead

Segment 1: Kansas city of 10,000 has survived its hospital closing and may be the model for other rural communities. For the last eight years, non-urban communites have seen a high number of hospital closings across the nation. That included the small town of Independence, in the southeast corner of Kansas. To fill some of the void, a health care clinic with an emergency room was opened. Today, we heard from the chairman of the American Academy of Family Physicians, and an author with the Kansas

Segment 1: Vince Ortega has a long history working with COMBAT and the Kansas City Police Department. It's been 29 years since Jackson County voters first approved the Community Backed Anti-Crime Tax , or COMBAT, aimed at funding drug prevention, treatment and criminal justice programs. After turbulent times over the last two years, which saw oversight of the program shift from the county executive's office to the county prosecutor, the task force has a new leader. Today, he shared his

Segment 1: Is the U.S. "locked in" to a two-party system? Independent candidate Greg Orman recieved 6.5 percent of the vote in the Kansas gubernatorial election this year, and independents don't fair much better nationally. So is there still hope that a third party candidate can eke out a win? Today we discuss how our two-party system differs from other democracies, and what it could take in our current climate for a third party to find success. Scott Morgan, Kansas Party of the Center leader

You may not remember where you put your keys or what you had for breakfast. But if you’re a sports fan, you probably know exactly where you were when your team won it all because, unlike the blur of our modern daily lives, sports moments are rooted in time, and place. Victor Wishna explains in 'A Fan’s Notes.' It was an exciting double dose of football here on Sunday. The red-hot Kansas City Chiefs flashed just enough firepower to dispatch the overmatched Arizona Cardinals and continue their

Segment 1: Democrats now only hold one statewide seat in Missouri — the state auditor. While Democratic candidates made up ground last week in states like Arizona, Nevada, and even Kansas, they still are at a disadvantage in Missouri. Sen. Claire McCaskill's defeat shows that most rural areas believe the Republican Party is what the state needs moving forward. Today, we discussed what the Democrats can do to claw their way back to power in the Show-Me State. Eli Yokley , reporter for Morning