Brandon Azim
Solutions ReporterI was raised on the East Side of Kansas City and feel a strong affinity to communities there. As KCUR's Solutions reporter, I'll be spending time in underserved communities across the metro, exploring how they are responding to their challenges. I will look for evidence to explain why certain responses succeed while others fail, and what we can learn from those outcomes. This might mean sharing successes here or looking into how problems like those in our communities have been successfully addressed elsewhere. Having spent a majority of my life in Kansas City, I want to provide the people I've called friends and family with possible answers to their questions and speak up for those who are not in a position to speak for themselves.
Contact me at brandonazim@kcur.org.
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A temporary city policy allowed 16 bars to stay open and sell alcohol until 5 a.m. during the World Cup. Some owners said businesses saw an influx of foreign visitors because of it, and now want the city to make the change permanent. -
Over the last three years, Kansas City Police Department statistics show a decrease in both homicides and nonfatal shootings. Police and community partners attribute the drop to a combination of preventive tactics. -
The Goodwill Excel Center graduated its first class of five adults in June 2026. This tuition-free program offers adults who didn't complete high school a credit-bearing diploma. -
The final day of the FIFA Fan Festival drew soccer fans from all over as reigning champion Argentina took on Switzerland at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday. Argentina emerged victorious with a 3-1 score over the Swiss. -
Switzerland faces Argentina, the Messi-led juggernaut and returning World Cup champions, this Saturday night at Arrowhead Stadium. Kansas City's FIFA Fan Festival hopes to close with a bang, offering big-name headliners like Sheryl Crow, Tech N9ne and The All-American Rejects. -
Both residents and visitors cheered on their favorite team, only one of which will advance on Friday night in the tournament. -
The Valor House is located at the St. Michael's Veterans Center, which offers permanent housing to homeless veterans in Kansas City. Its campus now has three housing complexes with 179 units for veterans. -
Only 2% of pilots and aviation engineers are Black, data shows. Red Tail Academy is enrolling Black young adults in an effort to grow that number and to take advantage of the benefits of careers in the aviation industry. -
Kansas City G.I.F.T, a nonprofit focused on growing Black entrepreneurship, will distribute a guide in June that features 30 Black-owned businesses. The hope is that the World Cup, predicted to bring in more prospective shoppers than Kansas City has ever seen at once, jumpstarts long-term growth. -
A labor group submitted more than 4,500 signatures for a ballot measure that would give Kansas City voters final say over the city's $600 million financing package for a Crown Center ballpark. Organizers say that money is better spent on improving living conditions for residents.
