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Building an experimental music scene in Kansas City

A pair of noisy upstarts are out-hustling the establishment to create a space for themselves in Kansas City's jazz scene. Plus: A Platte City man with Down syndrome has built a life with a job he loves and a place of his own to call home.

Kansas City’s historic jazz scene hasn’t always made room for the most “out-there” of improvisors. Now, a pair of noisy upstarts are out-hustling the establishment to create a space for themselves. Bill Brownlee reports on the founders of the Extemporaneous Music and Arts Society.

When Dustin Sheridan was born in 1975, there weren’t many resources for people with Down syndrome. But as the decades passed, he was able to find the tools and opportunities that helped him live on his own in Platte City, Missouri. Rosie Pasqualini of NPR’s Next Generation Radio reports.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg.

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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.
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