Laura Ziegler
Community EditorI partner with communities to uncover the ignored or misrepresented stories by listening and letting communities help identify and shape a narrative. My work brings new voices, sounds, and an authentic sense of place to our coverage of the Kansas City region. My goal is to tell stories on the radio, online, on social media and through face to face conversations that enhance civic dialogue and provide solutions.
I have been a producer with NPR in Washington D.C. and a national NPR reporter covering the Midwest. Email me at lauraz@kcur.org or reach me on Twitter @laurazig.
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As Kansas City heads toward a record setting year of homicides, these Black women say guns are not the problem but a symptom of underlying problems. They're also buying guns and learning how to use them safely. -
SleazyWorld Go, who calls Kansas City home, is one of hip-hop’s most exciting new voices. His songs about the city's epidemic of violence earned him a spot in XXL Magazine's Freshman Class of 2023. Plus: Kansas City physicians are preparing medical students for the inevitability of gun trauma.
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Three people were dead and five more were left with non-life threatening injuries after a shooting in the early hours of Sunday morning near 57th Street and Prospect Avenue.
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As kids flock to libraries for summer reading programs, one of the most popular programs is Read to a Dog. Children get ten minutes to read a book of their choice to a therapy dog — or sometimes cat — trained to listen and watch calmly and without judgment.
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Tommy Williams shot and killed a man in 1990. He has now served 32 years of three life sentences, with no chance of parole. In a long conversation at the Crossroads Correctional Center in Cameron, Missouri, he talked about his life on the streets, what he sees in the young men who come to prison and his regrets.
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As post-Roe abortion bans swept the United States, legal abortions dropped nationwide — but not in Kansas. Plus: how new rules in Kansas are making it even more difficult for patients to get life-saving liver transplants.
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As the 16-year-old recovers at home and the alleged shooter, Andrew D. Lester, awaits trial after pleading not guilty to two felony charges, a diverse group of residents showed up this week to protests. The case has reignited anger about race, guns and policing.
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The Citizens Association started in the early 1930s and once held enormous influence over city elections. Its power has waned in recent years, but a new, more diverse group is reshaping the organization.
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Lawmakers in Kansas and Missouri are passing bans on transgender kids' participation in sports and restrictions on gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth. We hear from the parents of a transgender teenager in Kansas City, who describe the immense mental and physical toll these political debates are having on their family.
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The parents of a trans, non-binary teen tell their story as lawmakers in Jefferson City work to pass a slew of anti-trans bills.
