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Treece, Kan., Fast Pitch Softball, Grand Marquis

Zack Lewandowski
/
KCUR

Kansas City International Airport Weighs Proposed Changes

Kansas City International Airport is looking at a potentially major change: tearing down the current three terminals and moving to a single, new terminal on the site of the current terminal A. The one terminal idea came to a head in 2008 when the Master Plan called for a new, central terminal south of the current airport. That came just four years after the airport wrapped up nearly $260 million in renovations.

Controversial Medicare Bid Program Takes Next Step

Medicare patients who have diabetic testing supplies delivered to them are in for some changes which started on July 1. It's all part of an effort by the Medicare program to save money and cut down on fraud. But some people are worried about unintended consequences.

Treece, Kansas: Ghost Town In The making

Treece, Kan., was incorporated in 1918 as a home for lead and zinc miners. After WWII, the industry began to drag. The area's last mines closed in the 1970s, leaving behind a small community of the children and grandchildren of miners. Treece is part of Tar Creek, the largest EPA superfund site in the United States. Poor mining practices left the ground unstable and susceptible to sinkholes. Mountains of "chat," the toxic remnants of the mining, surround the town. According to a 2009 EPA test, 8.8 percent of children in Treece were shown to have elevated blood-lead levels, compared to just 2.9 percent statewide. The residents of Treece asked the government for help. In 2009 Congress passed a bill authorizing funding for a voluntary buyout. 

Mexican-American Softball Tradition Lives On In Kansas

Mexican-American fast-pitch softball has historic roots in Kansas and Missouri. Every summer, Mexican-Americans play a game that is wrapped up in family ties and traditions, including a tournament in Newton, Kan., that's the oldest of its kind.

Sylvia Maria Gross is storytelling editor at KCUR 89.3. Reach her on Twitter @pubradiosly.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Susan admits that her “first love” was radio, being an avid listener since childhood. However, she spent much of her career in mental health, healthcare administration, and sports psychology (Susan holds a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Bloch School of Business at UMKC.) In the meantime, Wilson satisfied her journalistic cravings by doing public speaking, providing “expert” interviews for local television, and being a guest commentator/contributor to KPRS’s morning drive time show and the teen talk show “Generation Rap.”
As a health care reporter, I aim to empower my audience to take steps to improve health care and make informed decisions as consumers and voters. I tell human stories augmented with research and data to explain how our health care system works and sometimes fails us. Email me at alexs@kcur.org.
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