Mientras Estados Unidos se prepara para la Copa Mundial de la FIFA 2026, es difícil recordar que el fútbol profesional en este país parecía un sueño imposible. Pero un empresario de Kansas City, más conocido como el fundador de los Chiefs, era un firme creyente. Desde los intentos fallidos de crear una liga nacional, pasando por la creación de la MLS y el primer estadio de fútbol de Estados Unidos, Lamar Hunt estuvo siempre presente.

As the United States prepares for the 2026 World Cup, it's hard to remember that professional soccer in this country once felt like an impossible dream. But one Kansas City businessman, better known as the founder of the Chiefs, was a steadfast believer. From the failed attempts at a national league, through the creation of MLS and the very first U.S. soccer stadium — Lamar Hunt was there.

On June 8, 1966, an F5 twister touched down in Topeka, Kansas, killing 17 people and injuring hundreds. All of these years later, some locals still wonder if it happened because the city ignored an urban legend.

The American Historical Association awarded A People's History of Kansas City from KCUR Studios its top prize for historical podcasts. The annual Sinclair Prize recognizes the skill and artistry of podcasting that disseminates historical knowledge to the broader public.

A local weather phenomenon holds that the 6,100-person town of Tonganoxie, Kansas, can weaken and divide thunderstorms and tornadoes. Experts are mixed on its existence — and what causes it — but locals say otherwise.

El artista español Luis Quintanilla huyó de la Guerra Civil Española para escapar de la persecución, pero la mayor parte de su obra fue destruida. Hoy en día, uno de los dos únicos murales que quedan, se encuentra en un rincón de la Universidad de Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). Recién restaurada, la extraña y fascinante obra maestra de Quintanilla es un testimonio de los inmigrantes y del peligro del autoritarismo.

Artist Luis Quintanilla fled the Spanish Civil War to escape persecution, but most of his work was destroyed. Today, one of his two remaining murals sits in an otherwise ordinary corner of the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Newly restored, Quintanilla’s bizarre and enthralling masterpiece stands as a testament to immigrants and the danger of authoritarianism.

In 1977, Judy Heumann led a 26-day occupation of a federal building that pressured the government to enforce a key civil rights law known as Section 504. Decades later, as the Missouri and Kansas attorneys general try to weaken those protections, activists are putting up another fight.

Signed 35 years ago this month, the ADA was the world’s first comprehensive civil rights law for people with disabilities — guaranteeing equal opportunity in public accommodations, employment, and more. But it likely wouldn't have passed without the relentless pressure of grassroots activists and Kansas Republican Bob Dole.

Kansas City será la ciudad más pequeña de Norteamérica en ser anfitrión de la Copa Mundial de la FIFA 2026. Pero es posible que no hubiera adoptado este deporte en absoluto, de no ser por el esfuerzo de los primeros inmigrantes que lucharon por este deporte, incluso antes de que existieran los campos de fútbol.

Kansas City will be the smallest city in North America to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. But it may not have embraced the sport at all, if not for the efforts of early immigrants who fought for the beautiful game — before there were even soccer fields to play on.

As the gay rights movement began picking up steam in the 1970s, Barbara Grier co-founded the largest lesbian publishing company in the world — right from her Kansas City home. Grier was bold, controversial, and unstoppable in her mission to make books reflect the people and love stories in her life.