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A new life for old instruments in Kansas City

Got an old instrument collecting dust in your basement? One Kansas City fundraiser enlists regional artists to turn them into reclaimed works of art. Plus: Business owners in rural areas are struggling to find younger buyers.

When old instruments no longer make beautiful music, one Kansas City fundraiser is putting the call out to local artists to turn them into works of art. KCUR’s Julie Denesha reports on Art that Blows, an annual auction that raises money to help make music more accessible to kids.

Longtime small business owners from the Baby Boomer generation are reaching retirement age. But many struggle to find someone who’s willing to buy the business and keep it running for another generation. Harvest Public Media contributor Brian Beach reports on how the wave of retirements is hitting rural communities especially hard.

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