Noah Taborda
Health and Wellness ReporterStaying mentally and physically healthy can be a lot of work — exercising, eating right, and navigating our complicated medical system. As KCUR’s health and wellness reporter, I want to connect Kansas Citians with new and existing resources to improve their well-being and tell stories that inspire them to enjoy healthier lives.
I started my journalism career in public radio at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri, covering local government while earning a bachelor’s degree in radio broadcasting at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. I then worked as an intern at KCUR on the Central Standard show and in the newsroom before covering the state government for the Kansas Reflector. I am also a 2020 Air New Voices Scholar.
Reach me at noahtaborda@kcur.org.
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KC Water will use nearly $2 million in new state funding to search for lead pipes in historically disadvantaged neighborhoods, starting this spring in Lykins and Columbus Park. -
A new partnership will create a theranostics health care platform in the region with radiopharmaceutical production and therapy, molecular imaging, and clinical trials all at the same location. One Kansas City health care system will be among the first to offer the treatment to children. -
City Council restricted the sale of 7-OH, a derivative of kratom that’s marketed as an energy booster. Public and professional opinions remain split over purported health benefits, potential addiction risks and the ease with which minors can get ahold of the products. -
Last month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revised and reduced the childhood immunization schedule, paring down the recommended vaccines. That change won’t impact access to vaccinations, but Kansas City health officials believe it will heighten the burden on parents and providers. -
Suicide deaths crept up last year in Johnson County, Kansas, but officials warn the numbers are preliminary and don’t signify a trend. Public health authorities say they will adjust their efforts to focus more closely on access to guns, mental health care, and the social factors that might lead a person to take their own life. -
Missouri Planned Parenthood clinics can currently perform procedural abortions but state laws limit the scope of care, and medication abortion is blocked. A trial in Jackson County could clarify which state-imposed standards abortion providers must meet. -
Missouri abortion trial's first week highlights punitive regulations on providers: 'I felt targeted'For the tens of thousands of Missouri women seeking abortions and the clinic staff charged with offering this health care, the past decade has presented harrowing challenges. That’s what attorneys on behalf of Planned Parenthood argued in the first week of a trial in Kansas City that could reshape Missouri abortion regulations. -
Missouri voters enshrined the right to an abortion in 2024, but several abortion restrictions remain state law. A Jackson County judge temporarily blocked those laws, and Planned Parenthood is now seeking to permanently strike those laws to ease abortion access. -
For nearly a century, the city’s drinking water purification process has taken place with few major hiccups at a lone Briarcliff facility. But KC Water leaders say maintenance costs are climbing and aging concrete is a concern. They’re urging support for a new treatment plant in Kansas City. -
The ballot measure also includes a ban on gender affirming health care for minors. Judges reissued the summary statement that voters will see on November 2026 ballots to make clear rights were being repealed, not newly established.
