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City Hall Occupation | Missouri Ballot Issues | An Opera A Day

Ryan Sorrell of Black Rainbow clarifies a point during a press conference Monday at the People's City encampment at Kansas City city hall.
Carlos Moreno
/
KCUR 89.3
Ryan Sorrell of Black Rainbow clarifies a point during a press conference Monday at the People's City encampment at Kansas City Hall.

The co-founder of a new Kansas City organization on why protesters are camped out at city hall, Missouri voters face two big issues on the November ballot, and how listening to an opera a day changed one Kansas Citian.

Segment 1, beginning at 3:56: Protesters at Kansas City, Missouri city hall say they're not going anywhere until their demands are met.

Black Rainbow is one of the Kansas City groups organizing the current protest, after a video of Kansas City, Missouri police arresting a pregnant woman circulated online. Among their demands, co-founder Ryan Sorrell says, is firing Chief Rick Smith and decreasing the police budget by 50% to support other services needed in the community.

Segment 2, beginning at 20:45: What your votes on Missouri Amendments 1 and 3 actually mean this November.

Missouri voters face two big issues on the November ballot. Amendment 1 would impose term limits on the lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor and attorney general, while Amendment 3 would change the redistricting process that Clean Missouri envisioned when voters adopted it in 2018.

Segment 3, beginning at 41:17: How an opera a day changed this Kansas Citian.

Kansas City music contributor Bill Brownlee usually listens to jazz, blues and rock 'n' roll. But for the last 200 days, he's been listening to an opera a day. The music reviewer described how it was a month into the challenge before he loved the genre. "It's just like the Ramones with violins," said Brownlee.

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.
Chris Young is an Assistant Producer for KCUR’s Up To Date. Contact him at chrisy@kcur.org.
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.
Mackenzie Martin is a senior podcast producer at KCUR Studios and host of the podcast, A People's History of Kansas City. Contact her at mackenzie@kcur.org.