Up To Date

When The Quarantine Hit, Kansas City's Interest In Genealogy Took Off

By Steve Kraske,

Published October 29, 2020 at 3:25 PM CDT

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Man researching family genealogy on a computer in a library. — The Midwest Genealogy Center has free resources to research family history.

People across the nation have rekindled old hobbies or started new ones in the midst of COVID-19. One pastime that has become increasingly popular is researching family histories.

The Midwest Genealogy Center, a part of the Mid-Continent Public Library, has free resources for those digging into the past and librarians who can help people research their distant relatives.

Cheryl Lang, manager at Midwest Genealogy Center
David Jackson, director of the Orderly Pack Rat and author of "Kansas City Chronicles: An Up-To-Date History"

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Up To Date Genealogy Coronavirus Mid-Continent Public Library Kansas City Missouri (KCMO)history research Talk Show Podcast

Steve Kraske

When I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.

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Mackenzie Martin

Whether it’s something happening right now or something that happened 100 years ago, some stories don’t fit in the short few minutes of a newscast. As a podcast producer at KCUR, I help investigate questions and local curiosities in a way that brings listeners along for adventures with plot twists and thought-provoking ideas. Sometimes there isn’t an easy answer in the end – but my hope is that we all leave with a greater understanding of the city we live in. Reach me at mackenzie@kcur.org.

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Liam Mays

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