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The future of boxing is in Independence, Missouri

Boxing's popularity has faltered with younger generations, but a referee and a gym in Independence, Missouri, want to bring it back — and help young athletes leave their personal fights behind. Plus: How White Castle got its start in Kansas and created a playbook for American fast food.

A new generation of fighting champions may be training right here in Kansas City. A gym in Independence, Missouri, is teaching boxing with the hope of creating community. KCUR's Lawrence Brooks IV reports on the "sweet science" that is keeping young people away from the street life.

The White Castle chain began in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas, where its ingenious small burgers kicked off a national craze and inspired imitators of all shapes and sizes. But over a century later, White Castle has entirely vanished from its home state. And the story of how it introduced America to the hamburger has largely been overshadowed by its fast food rivals. From the KCUR podcast A People’s History of Kansas City, Mackenzie Martin has the story.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Trevor Grandin, Byron Love, and KCUR Studios, 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.
Trevor Grandin is a contributing producer for KCUR Studios.
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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