Frank Morris
National CorrespondentI’ve been at KCUR almost 30 years, working partly for NPR and splitting my time between local and national reporting. I work to bring extra attention to people in the Midwest, my home state of Kansas and of course Kansas City. What I love about this job is having a license to talk to interesting people and then crafting radio stories around their voices. It’s a big responsibility to uphold the truth of those stories while condensing them for lots of other people listening to the radio, and I take it seriously. Email me at frank@kcur.org or find me on Twitter @FrankNewsman.
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The U.S. trade war with China is coming at a tough time for American farmers, who are already dealing with lower crop prices and higher costs for farm necessities. Tariffs are likely to push crop prices further down, while increasing the costs for fertilizer and farm equipment. -
President Trump said that he is standing up for skilled workers and farmers by slapping tariffs on imports but farmers aren't happy. "It is being economically drawn and quartered," one Kansas farmer said. -
The USDA's Rural Development agency has provided billions of dollars each year to small towns, farmers and businesses. Now staffing upheaval and budget cuts brought on by the Trump administration may be eating into the agency’s effectiveness. -
Twisters that tore through Union County, Missouri, killed 6 people. One couple survived against incomprehensible odds in a trailer obliterated by the storm. -
While tax season ramps up, the Trump administration’s wave of federal employee layoffs is expected to hit the IRS offices in Kansas City this week, according to one union leader. Workers with less tenure at the already-understaffed location are likely to be most affected. -
Although it's now on hold, The Trump Administration's move to stop foreign food aid shut off a market that farmers have relied on for 70 years. It has triggered a Republican push to resurrect the "Food for Peace" program. -
The price of beef is at all-time highs, but a major policy initiative of the incoming Trump Administration could drive them higher. In an industry that's already strapped for workers, mass deportations could put some ranchers and feedlots out of business. -
The NFL’s Chiefs are having a great year, but they aren’t the only successful football team in town. Kansas City’s other Chiefs — a wheelchair football team — is undefeated, built around an outstanding quarterback, and playing for a second national championship. -
Fighting fires has evolved, but federal safety regulations haven’t changed for nearly half a century. Now the Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed new safety standards. It's great news for career and paid firefighters, but volunteer departments say the new rules could bog them down with expensive and irrelevant regulations. -
Commercial chicken farmers literally bet the farm, spending millions of dollars on land and enormous chicken houses to raise birds they never own — putting their livelihoods in the hands of a single company that is both their supplier and sole buyer. When Tyson closed a processing plant in southeast Missouri, some farmers facing bankruptcy decided to sue.
