Jacob Smollen
KCUR Studios intern, 2025-2026Jacob Smollen is the 2025-2026 intern for KCUR Studios.
He graduated in May 2025 from Brown University, where he was the podcast editor, and a city and state politics editor for the school’s newspaper, The Brown Daily Herald. Last summer, Jacob wrote for a small newspaper on Cape Cod called the Provincetown Independent.
Jacob is originally from Philadelphia, but his mother was born in Kansas City and his grandmother grew up here, so he’s excited to explore and get to know the metro.
In Jacob’s free time, he watches (and plays) a bunch of sports so he’s especially looking forward to seeing the city’s sports culture.
Email him at jsmollen@kcur.org.
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The Trump administration is trying to ease a farm worker shortage in part by cutting mandatory wages for foreign guest workers. But both immigration hardliners and labor advocates are pushing back. Plus: More urban schools in Missouri are finding value in teaching their students about the farming process. -
In 2022, Joplin Police sniper Keaton Siebanaler mistakenly shot and killed 2-year old Clesslynn Crawford during a hostage standoff. For almost four years, the city of Joplin fiercely guarded the identity of "Sniper 1." But KCUR and The Midwest Newsroom fought in court to name Siebanaler — who was just hired by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
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Kansas lawmakers wrapped up most of their annual work at the end of March, including passing a number of bills related to schools. Legislators return to the capital this week to vote on an override of the governor's vetoes.
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Voters around Kansas City went to the polls yesterday, and we'll break down the elections. Plus: A community health center in southeast Kansas is working on solving rural health workforce shortages by introducing elementary schoolers to... frog dissections.
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The World Cup comes to Kansas City this summer, and many fans will want to stay up late watching and partying. Kansas is close to approving longer hours for serving alcohol during the event, after Missouri passed its own law, so bars and restaurants don't lose business across the state line.
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On International Transgender Day of Visibility, Kansas should remember the accomplishments of Dr. Alan L. Hart, a doctor and author born in Halls Summit in the late 19th century. In 1917, he made history by becoming one of the first known trans men in the country to undergo gender affirming surgery. -
Rural communities across Kansas are losing their grocery stores, and small towns are coming up with new ways to revive them. But some of those solutions have not panned out.
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Independence, Missouri, residents will vote on April 7 for their next mayor and to fill two at-large city council seats. Recent debates over tax incentives for a massive data center could factor into the races.
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For many people, artificial intelligence and chatbots have become a part of daily life. That includes some Kansas lawmakers, who are using chatbots to help keep track of bills or gather information in a fast-paced legislative session — since they have no guidelines for responsible use of AI.
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Parts of Wyandotte County have long experienced flooding from the Kansas River. A multi-year levee project is designed to address the problem, but some residents and experts say more attention must go to the impact of decaying underground infrastructure.
