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Courtesy of Jim Portuguez / Crysta Henthorne KCUR 89.3 FMKansas 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. -
Michael Stubbs/University Press of KansasGay rights activism at the University of Kansas was led in the 1970s by the Lawrence Gay Liberation Front, but it took 10 years and a lawsuit for the student group to gain official recognition. Now, Katherine Rose-Mockry, retired director of KU’s Emily Taylor Center for Women and Gender Equity, has pieced that history together.
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The Kansas City, Kansas Street Blues Festival was created as a place for a small group of influential blues artists from northeast Kansas City, Kansas, to share their music with their community. Now, however, so many of these artists have died that the event organizer doesn’t believe he’ll be able to continue the festival. -
Don Henry was a 1930s college kid from Dodge City, Kansas, who left everything he knew to join the fight against fascism. His life moved one music professor to put the story down in song. -
Independence, Missouri, was the epicenter of westward expansion in pre-Civil War America. Hiram Young, a formerly enslaved man, became the wealthiest man in the county by building wagons and ox yokes, before almost losing it all. -
As Kansas City’s first Black-owned housing co-op, Parade Park helped residents pursue the American Dream of owning a home and building a community. But after 60 years, it’s uncertain if it can survive foreclosure and redevelopment. -
The state constitution itself has its roots in the bitter days of Bleeding Kansas. One proposed version that granted the right to vote for free African Americans was rejected by a pro-slavery Congress. -
This isn't the first time Missouri has banned abortions. Residents may have heard ghoulish tales of “Doc Annie” Smith, a physician who looms large in Missouri’s mythology for performing illegal abortions in the early 1900s. Today, the truth about her work has largely disappeared. -
Since Kansas City's right-to-counsel program took effect on June 1, a group of attorneys collectively have taken on 139 new cases of tenants facing eviction. Kansas City sees an average of 9,000 evictions every year. -
Chillicothe, Missouri, has an unusual claim to fame: It’s the town where pre-sliced bread first debuted back in 1928. The state has even declared July 7, Sliced Bread Day, as an official holiday. But despite being less than a century old, the origin of this revolutionary pantry staple was almost lost to history. -
At the height of the space race in the 1960s, Air Force Captain Ed Dwight was chosen to attend a special astronaut training program. He tells the story of what happened next. -
Chris Goode has launched a petition demanding the city change Troost Avenue — named after Dr. Benoist Troost, who owned six enslaved men and women. -
The project, which goes beyond well-known historical mainstays like baseball, jazz and barbeque, highlights local African Americans who influenced Kansas City, and national, history. -
Before becoming dependent on the automobile, Kansas City was once known for its expansive public transit system. At one point, it had one of the largest cable car networks in the country.
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For years, residents have heard they're getting more green space, walking trails and projects to preserve their rich history. Now, community groups and the Unified Government are planning a trail and green infrastructure connecting Kaw Point to the Quindaro Townsite. -
In 1872, what's perhaps the world's best-known folk song was written in a tiny cabin in Smith County, Kansas. -
"Making History" was supposed to be on display in the Missouri State Museum in the Capitol until Dec. 26, but it was removed within days of its installation in September after GOP lawmakers complained to the governor's office. -
Built in 1968 as an architect's residence, the Campbell Dome House recently won a designation on the Kansas Register of Historic Places. After sitting empty for years, this futuristic landmark is finally being restored by the descendants of the engineer who built it. -
The fashion merchandising and design department at Johnson County Community College is teaming up with the Johnson County Museum for a new exhibit with a 1950s focus. -
Dig into the bedrock of our region with a look through Kansas City's geological history. -
The mirror ball that hung from the ceiling inside El Torreon at 31st and Gilham witnessed some of the wildest moments in Kansas City’s music history: the roaring '20s, a roller skating craze, and a 1970s rock 'n' roll haze. After years in storage, this cultural touchstone is back on the scene. -
The fossils of the now-extinct worms had been tucked away for decades in the University of Kansas paleontology collection before researchers reexamined them. -
Arthur Bryant took over his legendary family's barbecue joint in 1946, the same year the first Gates Bar-B-Q restaurant opened. Years later, both Kansas City restaurateurs take their rightful place in the American Royal Barbecue Hall of Fame. -
Some Missouri lawmakers are "appalled" after an exhibit documenting the history of the LGBTQ rights movement in Kansas City was removed just days after it was installed in the state capitol.
