Steve Kraske

Host of Up to Date

Steve Kraske has been the political correspondent for The Kansas City Star since 1994. He covers national, state and local politics with a special focus on the Iowa presidential caucuses every four years. Kraske first came to The Star in 1986 and covered the Kansas City Police Department and state government in Jefferson City and Topeka. Before arriving in Kansas City, he worked at daily newspapers in Iowa and Illinois and at United Press International in Madison, Wis. Kraske is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he received a bachelor's degree in journalism. His parents live in Stillwater, Minn. In 2001, he and a team of Star reporters won the Missouri Press Association's top government-reporting award for a series of stories on the death of Gov. Mel Carnahan. In 1991, he was awarded a John S. Knight Journalism Fellowship at Stanford University.

Pages

Up to Date
11:41 am
Thu January 26, 2012

The Weekend To-Do List

Looking for a few things to get your attention this weekend? Up to Date's Brian McTavish offers up a few options in his Weekend To-Do List for January 20-22, 2012.

Read more
Up to Date
5:10 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Parents, Teens, & ADHD

Why have we seen so many children, teenagers, and adults diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?

Symptoms of ADHD include lack of attention, hyperactivity, and impulsive behavior.  And for parents with teens, ADHD can be a troubling diagnosis on top of an already difficult period in a child's life.  Many teens have trouble following through on instructions and don't seem to listen when spoken to directly, but it's important to know when a teen is just being a teen...or when their condition requires special attention.

Read more
Up to Date
10:53 pm
Tue January 24, 2012

Elizabeth The Queen

Elizabeth The Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch, is a biography of one of the most public—and yet most private—people in the world.

Read more
Up To Date
1:33 pm
Tue January 24, 2012

ALS Research Discoveries Hold Promise; Drug Shortages Cause Scares

New insights about the development of ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, can help explain what causes nerve- and muscle-cell failure in sufferers, and researchers hope the new knowledge will help design drugs to combat the disease.

Read more
Up to Date
2:12 pm
Mon January 23, 2012

The Techsperts: Cut Your Cable TV?

Roku 2 Internet TV box

A recent study shows that 9% of U.S. cable subscribers dropped their cable TV subscription in 2011. Why? Perhaps some of them did so because of the economy, but more did so because they're able to get their favorite TV shows through the Internet - on their schedule.

Read more
Up to Date
1:21 pm
Fri January 20, 2012

KCMO City Council Reacts To Proposed City Budget

Credit Library of Congress
Kansas City, Missouri City Council Chambers

Kansas City, Missouri City Manager Troy Schulte’s recently proposed budget recommendations for 2012 include a number of cuts, most notably a reduction of more than 100 positions in the fire department. On Wednesday, Fire Chief Smokey Dyer told the City Council’s public safety committee that the proposed cuts would violate national fire safety standards.

Read more
Up to Date
11:44 am
Fri January 20, 2012

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Comes To Kansas City

For more than forty years, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has married the intricate rhythms and harmonies of the native South African musical traditions. The ten member vocal ensemble has recorded forty albums and sold more than six million records.

Read more
Up to Date
10:18 am
Fri January 20, 2012

Brubeck Brothers Continue Family Legacy

The Brubeck Brothers Quartet: Dan Brubeck (drums), Mike DeMicco (guitar), Chuck Lamb (piano), Chris Brubeck (bass & trombone)

The Brubeck Brothers Quartet, which features two members of one of America's most accomplished musical families, performs this evening at 8:30 at Johnson County Community College.

Read more
Up to Date
4:30 pm
Thu January 19, 2012

The Ethics Professors: Are Resolutions Too Hard To Keep?

So here we are three weeks into the year.  How about a show of hands: how many of you have already broken your new year’s resolutions?

Read more
Up to Date
11:29 am
Wed January 18, 2012

Snips, Cuts And Slashes In Missouri

Higher education is on the chopping block once again in Jefferson City.

Read more
Up to Date
10:00 am
Wed January 18, 2012

Chiefs: Dysfunctional On The Field...And At The Office?

Kansas City Chiefs Training Facility and Administrative Offices

According to a Kansas City Star article by sportswriter Kent Babb, "secrecy, intimidation, fear and a watchful eye have become hallmarks of working for the Chiefs."

Read more
Up to Date
12:12 pm
Tue January 17, 2012

New Kansas City Chief Focuses On Community Policing

KCMO Police Chief Darryl Forté

The Kansas City (Missouri) Police Department searched far and wide for a new chief last year. Finally, they chose from within its ranks: Darryl Forté.

Tuesday on Up to Date, Steve Kraske welcomed Chief Forté to talk about Kansas City's consistently-high homicide rate, community policing, and his background. 

Read more
Up to Date
11:31 pm
Sun January 15, 2012

The Pullman Porter: "World's Most Perfect Servant" Or Symbol of Racial Oppression?

Bellman, concierge, housekeeper, valet:  If the Pullman porter’s job was complex, his place in the American consciousness is even harder to pin down. 

Read more
Up to Date
3:21 pm
Fri January 13, 2012

The Journal Of Best Practices

There comes a time in every marriage when many wives begin to wonder “What the heck is wrong with my husband’s brain?!”

Read more
Up to Date
1:28 pm
Thu January 12, 2012

Kansas Governor Calls For Tax Cuts And Changes In School Funding Mechanism

At his annual State of the State address on Wednesday night, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback advocated a plan to cut taxes for roughly 1.6 million Kansans

He also outlined a plan to change the way Kansas public schools are funded, and called for the Kansas Legislature to fix the Sunflower State's state employee pension plan.

Read more

Pages