© 2026 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Putting the blue back in the Blue River

Urban rivers are struggling with water pollution, as the Blue River in Kansas City shows. Restoring riverside woodlands and other natural areas could lead to a healthier river.

The Blue River in Kansas City is, like many urban rivers in Kansas and Missouri, suffering from pollution and overdevelopment. It also has diehard fans with lifelong connections to it. Celia Llopis-Jepsen from Harvest Public Media reports that they’re taking steps to restore clean water and a thriving habitat.

Contact the show at news@kcur.org. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news.

Kansas City Today is hosted by Frank Morris. It is produced by Jacob Smollen and KCUR Studios, and edited by Gabe Rosenberg, Madeline Fox and Emily Younker.

You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate.

I’ve been at KCUR almost 30 years, working partly for NPR and splitting my time between local and national reporting. I work to bring extra attention to people in the Midwest, my home state of Kansas and of course Kansas City. What I love about this job is having a license to talk to interesting people and then crafting radio stories around their voices. It’s a big responsibility to uphold the truth of those stories while condensing them for lots of other people listening to the radio, and I take it seriously. Email me at frank@kcur.org.
Jacob Smollen is the 2025-2026 intern for KCUR Studios. Email him at jsmollen@kcur.org.
KCUR is here for Kansas City, because Kansas City is here for KCUR.

Your support makes KCUR's work possible — from reporting that keeps officials accountable, to storytelling that connects our community. You can make sure the future of local journalism is strong.