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Is Missouri doomed to fail in drawing new legislative maps?

Missouri is taking up the daunting task of state legislative redistricting, but many people doubt the commissions will succeed. Plus, students at Missouri’s HBCUs got a big surprise when the schools forgave their loan debt using federal pandemic relief funds.

Missouri’s state legislative redistricting process is rushing towards its deadline, as the House and Senate commissions hear testimony about what the new maps should look like. But not many people who follow the process are confident the commissions will succeed. As St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum reports, failure could make for big problems in next year’s election cycle.

The COVID-19 pandemic imposed financial burdens on many, which caused college enrollment to drop and student debts to increase. Harris Stowe State University in St. Louis, one of Missouri's two Historically Black Colleges and Universities, decided to use CARES Act funding to cancel $330,000 worth of debt from hundreds of students. Dr. LaTonya Collins Smith, interim president of Harris Stowe, talks with Brian Ellison on Up To Date about the decision's impact on students.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and edited by Gabe Rosenberg & Lisa Rodriguez

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As a newscaster and a host of a daily news podcast, I want to deliver the most important and interesting news of the day in an engaging and easily understandable way. No matter where you live in the metro or what you’re interested in, I want you to learn something from each newscast or podcast – and maybe even give you something to talk about at the dinner table.
As an on-demand producer, I am focused on using my skills and experiences across multiple digital applications, platforms and media fields to create community focused audio, video and on-demand products for KCUR Studios. The media that I produce aims to inform, entertain and connect with the Kansas City metro area as we continue to learn from each other. Email me at byronlove@kcur.org.
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