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Independence starts a 4-day school week

This school year will look a lot different for students in Independence, who head back to the classroom this week. Independence is by far the largest district in Missouri to make the switch to a four-day school week. Plus: Dealing with household clutter is a part of life, but for some Kansans it spirals into hoarding.

The Independence School District is the latest Missouri district — most of them small and rural — adopting a four-day school week. Independence says it made the change to help recruit and retain staff amid an ongoing statewide shortage of teachers. KCUR's Jodi Fortino reports how the decision creates more opportunities, and questions, for both faculty and students.

Most of us have extra clutter lying around the house. But sometimes the issue is more extreme and can rise to the level of hoarding. Experts say the problem is on the rise in Kansas because of an aging population and a lack of mental health providers. Rose Conlon of the Kansas News Service reports.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Paris Norvell, 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.
Paris Norvell is a freelance podcast 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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