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The future of downtown

The Kansas City Downtown Council’s 10-year strategic plan envisions a different look for the city's core. But who gains and who loses in the development plan? Plus, we'll learn about the dangerous trek that many enslaved people in Missouri risked to reach freedom in Kansas.

The Downtown Council of Kansas City released a new strategic plan last month imagining what the city could look like by 2030. The plan broadens the definition of downtown to surrounding neighborhoods, but some residents worry that focusing resources on the city's center only benefits a small, privileged segment of the population. Up To Date host Steve Kraske discusses the plan with neighborhood leader Patricia Hernandez and urban planner Graham Smith.

Slavery in Missouri is sparsely researched and rarely discussed. When it is, it’s described as having been “less severe” than in the Deep South. But western Missouri’s unique geography made it a dangerous place to be in bondage. Luke Martin has the story of how the muddy Missouri River was all that separated enslaved people from Kansas, and freedom.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love with Trevor Grandin and edited by Gabe Rosenberg and 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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