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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More than a year after Missouri voters narrowly approved the legalization of sports betting, the books are now open across the state. Missourians wagered more than $543 million in December, although the state made little tax revenue from that. Now a bill could legalize video lottery terminals. -
Kansas has one of the highest rates of Parkinson’s disease diagnoses. Groups there are helping people slow the progression of the disease through activities including exercise and art classes. Plus: Nipple tattoos are an option for the many American women who survive breast cancer and end their treatment looking for a way to reconnect with themselves and their bodies.
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A trial that could determine the future of abortion access in Missouri has wrapped up, and the decision is now in the hands of a judge. Planned Parenthood is suing to get several laws targeting abortion providers off the books, but the state got its chance this past week to defend the regulations.
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For much of Kansas City’s homeless population, seeking medical treatment is not only hard, it can also be demeaning. One nurse practitioner made it her mission to change that.
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Kansas Citians are taking to the streets to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. After the killing of Renee Good, a former Kansas City resident, a demonstration marched through the Country Club Plaza. Meanwhile, local groups are warning each other about potential ICE activity.
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Tumbleweeds have taken over the High Plains. The plant thrives so well in the western part of Kansas that sometimes they can shut down entire neighborhoods or highways. Plus: An inconspicuous insect is changing what survival looks like as climate change remains a threat.
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A data center in the Crossroads is one of the first in the country to get a loan for clean energy. Plus: Scientists across the central U.S. say they have experienced a year of change and uncertainty under the second Trump administration.
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A huge tree is being cut down in Kansas City's Historic Northeast. The burr oak predates even the Revolutionary War and survived as the city sprang up around it. But after a lightning strike and years of disease, Frank the Liberty Tree has reached its end.
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Missouri lawmakers arrived this week in Jefferson City for the start of the 2026 legislative session, which runs until mid-May. Gov. Mike Kehoe is pushing to eliminate the state income tax, but a smaller budget will likely force spending cuts.
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The state of Kansas is luring the Kansas City Chiefs across the state line with funding from STAR Bonds, a unique kind of tax incentive. The team plans to build a $3 billion stadium in Wyandotte County and a practice facility worth hundreds of millions of dollars in Olathe.
