Cody Newill

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KCUR 89.3 has hired reporter Christopher Haxel as a member of the inaugural cohort of Audion Fellows, who will spend two years reporting on the role of guns in American life as part of a new national “Guns & America” reporting collaborative.

All 10 fellows will work in public media newsrooms across the country. 

KCUR was named "Radio Station of the Year" by the Kansas City Press Club's Heart of America Awards and took home nine Gold Awards for breaking news, investigative reporting and more. The station also received two first place awards from Public Radio News Directors Incorporated, or PRNDI. 

The Kansas City Press Club honors journalists from western Missouri and eastern Kansas each year. KCUR received nine Gold Awards, nine Silver Awards, three Bronze Awards and several honorable mentions. 

Every Friday during Morning Edition on KCUR 89.3, listeners get to hear intimate conversations between everyday people through StoryCorps — and soon Kansas Citians will get a chance to tell their own stories when the StoryCorps MobileBooth Airstream comes into town this summer.

At KCUR's RadioActive Friday, StoryCorps founder Dave Isay formally announced the MobileBooth tour stop.

KCUR has been awarded six regional Edward R. Murrow Awards this year, the most ever received by the station for its journalistic efforts. 

The station was also involved with two additional awards through collaborations with KBIA in Columbia, Missouri. The prestigious awards, announced Wednesday, come from the Radio Television Digital News Association, which has honored exceptional works of journalism since 1971. 

NPR Music's Tiny Desk Contest is kind of a big deal. From Tank and the Bangas to Fantastic Negrito, thousands of artists and bands from across the world enter each year for a chance at a featured video behind NPR Music's hallowed desk.

Social media platforms are increasingly important for sharing information and getting news from around the world. But changes to Facebook's News Feed algorithm that are meant to emphasize family and friends' posts will make it harder to get the news you need from KCUR.

We know — that last sentence put you in a cold sweat. Don't panic, folks. There's an easy way to make sure KCUR's content makes it to your feed:

Updated Wednesday, 3:15 p.m.

Kansas City Mayor Sly James announced Wednesday a new online campaign to attract Amazon's $5 billion second headquarters project to KC. His plan? Reviewing products on Amazon with Kansas City twists.

KCUR has learned that Chiefs Quarterback Alex Smith listens to NPR on his way to practice.

In an interview with sports reporter Graham Bensinger, Smith says that he listens to NPR when he's driving to work out, going to play at Arrowhead Stadium and pretty much everywhere else too. 

Updated: Friday, Nov. 3, 1:45 p.m.

Former Eastern Kansas VA Hospital physician assistant Mark E. Wisner was sentenced Friday to 15 years and seven months in prison for sexually abusing patients. 

Wisner was convicted of one felony count each of aggravated sexual battery and aggravated criminal sodomy and three misdemeanor counts of sexual battery in August.

Across the United States, millions got a near-once-in-a-lifetime chance to view a total solar eclipse Monday. In the weeks leading up to the event, lines of people looking to get special solar eclipse glasses stretched outside of shops. And even Amazon had to issue a recall for some glasses that weren't up to snuff.

By this point, you've surely heard that there's going to be a total solar eclipse across the United States on Aug. 21. If not, here are some links to help you get up to speed.

Updated, Tuesday, 2:21 p.m.  

Streetcar extensions. Minimum wage hikes. Clay Chastain's latest light rail plan. It's okay, we're also feeling a little déjà vu over the issues on Kansas City's Tuesday, Aug. 8, ballot.

University of Missouri-Kansas City Chancellor Leo Morton on Tuesday announced he plans to retire from his position at the end of the next academic year.

Morton has served as chancellor since 2008. Prior to that appointment he was senior vice president and chief administrative officer for Aquila Inc. and also held positions at AT&T, General Motors and Corning Glass.

Have you ever hung out with a stranger without talking for two minutes straight? And I’m not talking “two minutes” that are actually just 30 seconds that felt longer. I’m talking standing or sitting straight-backed, with no words exchanged. Just staring deeply into a person’s eyes in total silence.

Well, here at KCUR, our reporters do that a lot.

Now why would we subject ourselves to this strange act day in and day out? Because, dear reader, “natural sound” is crucial to helping us make our audio work shine.

How does President Donald Trump fit within the tradition of the presidency? Is his style beholden to his voters? And is his New York swagger and often controversial rhetoric — not to mention the Tweets — good for America?

Updated 2:40 p.m. Monday: Oak Park students are being reunited with the parents after an anonymous threat prompted the lockdown and evacuation of the high school.

Between 1,300 and 1,400 students were in the building Monday, according to Jon Bazzano with the Clay County Sheriff's Office. They were bussed to Staley High School, where their parents could pick them up.

More than 100 literary nerds and public radio geeks packed recordBar Tuesday for reBOUND, an annual book exchange hosted by Generation Listen KC and the Young Friends of the Kansas City Public Library. 

So you voted in the presidential election last year and felt all warm and fuzzy because you did your civic duty. Yay! Or maybe you didn't (or couldn't) but now you want to make a change.

The race for the highest executive office in the United States may be settled, but KCUR is here to break down Kansas City, Missouri's special April 4 election for you. 

First, make sure you can vote (if you're registered already, click here to skip down to the issues)