© 2023 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
KCT_logo.jpg
Kansas City Today
Every Weekday

Kansas City Today is a daily news podcast from KCUR Studios bringing you all things Kansas City, wrapped up in 15 minutes or less. Whether you’re an early bird or a night owl, it’ll be waiting in your feed every weekday. Hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin.

  • Since Roe v. Wade was overturned, abortion rights groups have been resorting to increasingly scrappy tactics in their quest to keep abortion accessible across the country. Thanks to volunteer pilots, some are flying into Kansas by plane. Plus: Midwest farmers have tripled their use of cover crops, and a new farm bill might make them even more popular.
  • The Kansas House last week narrowly passed a "school choice" bill that would shift public tax dollars to private schools, much to the frustration of public school leaders and Gov. Laura Kelly. The Kansas State Board of Education opposes the bill, saying there's no way to track how students are doing.
  • Since 1992, Broadway Café in the heart of Westport has remained a central part of Kansas City's coffee scene. Plus: Ice skaters in mid-Missouri have to drive up to two hours in order to find a rink where they can practice their sport, but these two teens aren't letting that stop them.
  • Young people with intellectual disabilities often get placed in foster care because their challenges are more than their families can handle. Kansas lawmakers and foster agencies hope they can help keep some of those kids in their original homes. Plus: Teachers at Kansas City Public Schools will soon be paid the highest starting salaries in the region.
  • Kansas City’s state-controlled police board is trying to use the courts to increase police funding. Advocates are worried it could strain the city's resources even further, while failing to improve police services.
  • There’s a push in Missouri, Kansas and Washington, D.C., to restrict foreign ownership of farmland, and growing tensions between the U.S. and China are a big reason why. Plus: States like Kansas and Missouri put a hard cap on the amounts that juries can award in non-economic damages for medical malpractice cases, but who does that actually help?
  • Kansas City's municipal elections are coming up on April 4, with three ballot questions and three dozen candidates up for a vote. The election will determine the direction of the city for years to come.
  • A Republican state representative from St. Charles wants to legalize psilocybin, aka magic mushrooms, for medical treatment in Missouri. Plus: Manor Records closed its brick-and-mortar store in Strawberry Hill and is focusing on its true mission: making money for local musicians.
  • A federal judge this week struck down a Missouri law that banned state and local police from enforcing federal gun restrictions, but the state attorney general vowed to take the case to the Supreme Court if necessary. Plus: Black students in a Missouri school district want diversity programs — and the safe spaces they created — restored at their schools.
  • Missouri started selling recreational marijuana about a month ago, and experts say the state’s relatively low prices and taxes have already created a “canna-tourism” industry. Plus: One of the best women in college basketball right now is from tiny Green City, Missouri, and she’s determined to push her Central Missouri Jennies deep into the NCAA Division 2 tournament.