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How popcorn and movie theaters met

Popcorn wasn’t always seen as the ultimate movie snack, but one woman from Kansas City helped change that. Plus: Some Kansas schools are easing up on playground rules in hopes of improving kids’ physical and mental health.

A century ago, popcorn was actually banned from cinemas. A Kansas City widow named Julia Braden was one of the first popcorn vendors to talk her way inside the lobby. From the KCUR podcast A People’s History of Kansas City, Mackenzie Martin has the story.

Most schools have rules for recess that forbid any kind of rough-and-tumble activities, because they want kids to be safe. But some Kansas schools are trying a new approach that lets children play more freely, as Suzanne Perez of the Kansas News Service reports.

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