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'My kid is lead poisoned'

Kansas and Missouri have some the nation's highest rates of elevated blood lead levels in children, leaving families to deal with health consequences. Plus, bird flu is sweeping the Midwest.

Researchers have known for decades that lead poisoning can cause developmental delays and learning problems in children, even at low levels. And yet, lead still lingers around many Midwest households, leaving families to deal with the acute and long-term impacts of exposure to the neurotoxin. The Midwest Newsroom's Niara Savage and Allison Kite report.

A deadly strain of bird flu is spreading across the country. So far, more than 22 million commercial and backyard birds have died from illness or have been killed to stop the spread — including more than 400,000 in Missouri. As Harvest Public Media’s Katie Peikes reports, most of the affected flocks are commercial, but backyard flocks are no less susceptible.

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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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