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Kansas City Mayor Lucas | Colleges, Coronavirus & Students

Lisa Rodriguez
/
KCUR 89.3
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas is calling for a series of changes to the police department that would, among other things, require officers to intervene when they see another officer using excessive force.

A conversation with Kansas City's mayor about police reform and leadership, and the city budget. Plus, is it fair that universities are blaming their students for the spread of the coronavirus on campus?

Segment 1, beginning at 3:40: Kansas City's mayor isn't asking to defund the police, just to reform them.

Kansas City's mayor isn't calling for the firing of Kansas City police Chief Rick Smith, either. What he is asking for is a series of changes to department policy that would, among other things, require officers to intervene when they come across other officers using excessive force.

Segment 2, beginning at 30:44: Can colleges and students work together to stop the spread of the coronavirus on campus?

It's tough to be a college administrator right now, but some think it's a mistake for universities to blame students for outbreaks of COVID-19. One Missouri professor who wrote about the issue for The Atlantic says students are inevitably going to socialize, and the playbook colleges use to govern campuses needs to incorporate that.

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.
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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.
Whether it’s something happening right now or something that happened 100 years ago, some stories don’t fit in the short few minutes of a newscast. As a podcast producer at KCUR, I help investigate questions and local curiosities in a way that brings listeners along for adventures with plot twists and thought-provoking ideas. Sometimes there isn’t an easy answer in the end – but my hope is that we all leave with a greater understanding of the city we live in. Reach me at mackenzie@kcur.org.