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Up To Date

90-Mile View: Howard Blender

There are few images of the West as iconic as cattle and few people as optimistic as a cattle rancher.  Just ask Howard Blender.

Following in his father's footsteps, Blender has been raising cattle in the Flint Hills of Chase County, Kansas for most of his 63 years.  Today he talks with Steve Kraske about life on the tall grass prairie: decreasing water, increasing feed prices, a Farm Bill still not formulated, and how he maintains that optimism in the face of it all.

When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.
As senior producer of Up To Date, I want our listeners to hear familiar and new voices that shine light on the issues and challenges facing the myriad communities KCUR serves, and to expose our audiences to the wonderful and the creative in the Kansas City area. Just as important to me is an obligation to mentor the next generation of producers to ensure that the important conversations continue. Reach me at alexanderdk@kcur.org.