Kansas City Today

Rural communities across Kansas are losing their grocery stores and small towns are coming up with new ways to revive them. But some of those solutions have not panned out. Contact the show at news@kcur.org. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news. Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Jacob Smollen and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and Em...

Independence, Missouri, residents will vote on April 7 for their next mayor and to fill two at-large city council seats. Recent debates over tax incentives for a massive data center could factor into the races. Contact the show at news@kcur.org. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news. Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Jacob Smollen and KCUR Studio...

Health conditions like concussions and tinnitus don’t usually present externally, and patients can often feel incredibly isolated. But one University of Kansas professor is researching how music can offer relief. If you’ve ever had a health issue that isn't clearly physical, you know how frustrating it can be to describe the symptoms only to be dismissed by friends, or have doctors tell you there’...

Missouri lawmakers are returning from a break at the midway point of this year’s legislative session. Among the biggest issues are a Republican proposal to end the state income tax and expand sales taxes, a criminal justice overhaul, and a bipartisan bill to crack down on "date rape" drugs. Missouri Independent political correspondent Jason Hancock gives Up To Date's Steve Kraske the rundown of wh...

A dispute over a mural outside a hamburger restaurant in Salina, Kansas, could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Plus: Three massive bronze bison sculpted by a Missouri artist are joining the collection at the largest natural history museum in the world. A mural depicting hamburger-like UFOs in Salina, Kansas, is at the center of a dispute that could end up going all the way to the U.S. Su...

For many people, artificial intelligence and chatbots have become a part of daily life. That includes some Kansas lawmakers, who are using chatbots to help keep track of bills or gather information in a fast-paced legislative session — since they have no guidelines for responsible use of AI. Contact the show at news@kcur.org. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news. Kansas City T...

Parts of Wyandotte County have long experienced flooding from the Kansas River. A multi-year levee project is designed to address the problem, but some residents and experts say more attention must go to the impact of decaying underground infrastructure. Contact the show at news@kcur.org. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news. Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It...

The federal government promised Kansas City $59 million in security funding for the World Cup, but a partial shutdown put that money in limbo — with just months before the games kicked off. Plus: Mosses are the underdogs of the plant world. Now a group of scientists is coming together to protect them. Kansas City’s first World Cup game kicks off in three months, and organizers are working in high...

More and more Missourians are waiting in jail for services from the state’s mental health department, with a backlog of more than 500 people with stalled cases. Hear what mental health directors are telling state lawmakers. Missouri Mental Health Director Valerie Huhn told state lawmakers that the department and courts need options to get defendants treatment in their communities. KCUR's Nomin Uji...

Kansas lawmakers are considering restricting student protests after high schoolers organized walkouts across the state in protest of immigration enforcement. We’ll hear from three students about their experience. Plus: We'll go inside the Greenhouse Print Space, a Kansas City studio keeping hundreds of years of printmaking technology alive. Earlier this year, students at several high schools acros...

The Leavenworth city commission voted on Tuesday to grant CoreCivic a special use permit to operate an ICE detention center, which will be central to President Trump's mass deportation efforts. The vote came despite intense community opposition and a yearlong legal battle. Contact the show at news@kcur.org. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news. Kansas City Today is hosted by N...

A Kansas law forced a foster family to decide between asking their adopted son to move out when he turned 18, or send four younger boys out of their foster home. State lawmakers are considering a bill to make sure other foster families are not forced to make the same impossible choice. Contact the show at news@kcur.org. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news. Kansas City Today i...

Sometimes, after an accident, medical bills force families to give up nonessential expenses, like their kids’ sports. A local charity is helping families in that situation. We'll hear from the organization’s founder and families the group has helped. About 72% of Americans with medical debt say it came from a short-term medical expense, like an accident or hospital stay. That’s according to data f...

Electricity prices are increasing and are now the fastest driver of inflation. Plus: Some lawmakers want to break up Missouri’s electric monopolies, but it's unclear if that could lower monthly bills. Since 2021, electricity prices nationwide have increased nearly 40%. In Missouri, families below the poverty line spend nearly a quarter of their income on those utility costs. As KBIA’s Jana Rose Sc...

Kansas City was one of many U.S. cities with laws against jaywalking until advocates realized that police were mostly handing out tickets to Black men. Here's how Kansas City repealed its ban and reclaimed the right to jaywalk. Kansas City helped start a trend by becoming the first major city in the U.S. to repeal its ban on jaywalking. It was a full-circle moment because Kansas City had also been...

The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority promised free bus rides for those who need it, as it brings back fares this June. But riders and nonprofits are still waiting to see how that will work. Plus: Missouri cattle farmers who contract red meat allergies from alpha-gal syndrome are suddenly put at risk by their livelihood. Contact the show at news@kcur.org. Follow KCUR on Instagram   and Fac...

On Tuesday, the U.S. and Israel continued attacks on Iran that started over the weekend. Now, President Donald Trump is saying the war may continue for weeks to come. Many Iranians and Iranian Americans are celebrating the potential for democracy in the country, but are anxious about the expanding violence.  Contact the show at news@kcur.org. Follow KCUR on Instagram   and Facebook for the latest...

Kansas City Council voted to relax some controversial portions of its energy code that builders said made it harder to build affordable housing — or anything. Over the past few years, the city has seen a drop in new home construction compared to surrounding cities and suburbs, but the standards aren't the only reason. KCUR's Nomin Ujiyediin spoke with The Beacon's workforce and economic impact rep...

Kansas legislators have had an unusually busy year so far — most recently the passage of a law that restricts bathroom usage for transgender people, and prohibits gender changes on IDs. We'll hear about what's been passed at the halfway point, and what's still to come. Zane Irwin of the Kansas News Service walks KCUR's Brian Ellison through where we are, and what we should expect in the remaining...

The Missouri Republican Party is mulling over how national headwinds could affect key state legislative races and ballot initiatives, such as an abortion ban and redistricting referendum. Plus: Missouri colleges and universities are racing to fulfill a new request for student data from the U.S. Department of Education. The Missouri Republican Party is riding an unprecedented wave of success into t...

Increased immigration enforcement in Olathe is worrying the community. Students across Johnson County have staged protests against ICE, but a recent school walkout led to an altercation with pro-Trump students and several arrests. Contact the show at news@kcur.org. Follow KCUR on Instagram   and Facebook for the latest news. Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Jacob S...

Urban rivers are struggling with water pollution, as the Blue River in Kansas City shows. Restoring riverside woodlands and other natural areas could lead to a healthier river. Contact the show at news@kcur.org. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news. Kansas City Today is hosted by Frank Morris. It is produced by Jacob Smollen and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Made...

The Kansas City Police Department paid nearly $11 million to settle settlements over police misconduct and wrongful deaths during this fiscal year. As Kansas City faces budget issues and World Cup security demands, some city leaders want to exert more control over these growing legal costs. Up To Date host Steve Kraske spoke with KCUR investigative reporter Peggy Lowe about the public concern over...

Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe has proposed having citizens vote to phase out the state income tax over the next five years. But is that a viable option for the state budget?  Brian Ellison spoke with Amy Blouin, president and CEO of the Missouri Budget project, about the details of the governor's proposal and how it may hurt the average Missourian more than help.  Contact the show at news@kcur.org....

Artist Heidi Pitre’s new show brings together literature, nostalgia and pen-and-ink illustrations on vintage library checkout cards. Pitre brings her library card art to — where else? — the Kansas City Public Library. Before computers, borrowing a book from the library meant writing your name on a 3-by-5-inch card, and the librarian would stamp it with a due date. When you returned the book, the l...