Luke X. Martin
Culture EditorAs culture editor, I oversee KCUR’s coverage of race, culture, the arts, food and sports. I work with reporters to make sure our stories reflect the fullest view of the place we call home, so listeners and readers feel primed to explore the places, projects and people who make up a vibrant Kansas City.
I was born in Manhattan, Kansas, and raised in Wichita where I fell in love with public radio listening to member station KMUW. I got my start pulling early morning DJ shifts at the student-run radio station KJHK while studying English at the University of Kansas.
I was previously an intern for KCUR's Up To Date, and joined the staff as associate producer in 2016. I have reported on government and politics in the Chicago metro area, and national security and defense in Washington. My work has appeared online at UPI.com, The Daily Caller, Politics Daily and The Pitch.
I have a master’s of journalism from the Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University. If you see me along a running trail or track in Kansas City, please offer me some water or a high five.
My email is luke@kcur.org.
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Artist Tom Corbin was chosen for the job by a committee that included members of the Truman family. His statue of the 33rd president, who was from Independence, Missouri, was dedicated this week. -
Whether it's a torta, a BLT, bánh mì or a grinder you're craving, here's where to find the best in the metro.
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As temperatures climb, so do cravings for anything cold. From sweet to savory, and everything in between, Kansas City's food scene has almost all palates covered.
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The project, which goes beyond well-known historical mainstays like baseball, jazz and barbeque, highlights local African Americans who influenced Kansas City, and national, history.
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Apartment complex gyms are often well-stocked but underused. Aja Radel and Mallory Jansen want to change that — and help people maintain healthier lifestyles in the process.
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Along one of Kansas City’s most storied avenues, a new mission is taking shape in a 140-year-old stone structure, where Chef Shanita McAfee-Bryant is working to create a new, food-based solution to urban hunger and unemployment.
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Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said her review of police body camera footage shows the woman was “continually displaying a weapon during her encounter with police and also appeared to be attempting to flee.”
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One national alumni group spent two decades collecting, preserving and archiving material from throughout the history of Lincoln College Preparatory Academy. It's finally open to the public.
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Two federal efforts — one in Congress and one at the U.S. Interior Department — could affect the search for marked and unmarked graves at the Shawnee Indian Mission in Fairway and Haskell University in Lawrence.
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After a wave of anti-Asian violence across the country last spring, Kansas City came together to show solidarity for local Asians, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Is the support holding up?
