Elizabeth Ruiz
Producer, Up To DateWhen you listen to Up To Date, I want you to understand decisions being made in the city, feel inspired by community members, and empathize with people who've had different experiences. As an Up To Date producer, I connect you to the news through conversations with community members and elected officials. Contact me at elizabeth@kcur.org or on Twitter at @er_bentley_ruiz.
-
After years of rejection, Overland Park native Shelby Floyd felt her dreams come true as she won the HBO Max reality competition show "Second Chance Stage." The singer-songwriter taps into the highs and lows of her journey in her first single "Sad Girl Spring." -
A local civics bee competition in Harrisonville, Missouri, challenged students' knowledge and ability to make a difference in society. Now students from Harrisonville and Raymore-Peculiar schools will compete in the state competition. -
Spanning local legends to contemporary up-and-comers, "Jazz KC Portraits" captures the musicians and stories of Kansas City's jazz scene. On display at the Harry S. Truman Library & Museum in Independence, the exhibit also reveals the connection of President Truman to the city's early jazz era. -
The UMKC Conservatory announced a planned expansion for its facilities that will aim to increase "performance, classroom and collaboration opportunities for students and the Kansas City community." The first phase is estimated to cost $35 million. -
Kansas City artist Paris Williams has been writing songs since he was 13. His music is a blend of the rap and R&B he listened to with his parents, and the indie, pop and punk his classmates listened to growing up in Muskegon, Michigan. You can hear him perform later this month at Manor Fest. -
Thousands of military members are pending discharge from the military after President Trump's ban on transgender people was allowed to go into effect. One Army major stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, tells Up To Date why she'll continue to resist the ban. -
A memo from President Trump earlier this year revealed plans to remove transgender service members from the military — a plan the Supreme Court has allowed to be enforced while the legal battle plays out. Thousands of transgender service members now face the possible end of their careers. -
Arts organization in Kansas City are under financial pressure after the Trump administration rescinded grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Spinning Tree Theatre is one of hundreds of organizations who were notified by email last week that their grant had been withdrawn. -
President Trump signed an executive order directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to immediately cut funding for NPR and its member stations. KCUR's general manager and interim director of content explain what we know about the impact to KCUR and Classical KC. -
The changing political landscape around clean energy makes for an uncertain future for Kansas students training for jobs at the multi-billion-dollar Panasonic Energy plant in De Soto, Kansas.
