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Central Standard

Seg 1: Billboard Affirmations | Seg 2: K'Tina | Seg 3: Drunken Fiddles

Segment 1: A hopeful billboard has a story behind it.

When artist Nicole Leth lost her father to suicide, she told herself she would focus all her energy on spreading positivity. Now a billboard in Kansas City stands testament to that promise.

  • Nicole Leth, artist

Segment 2: A Kansas City musician rocks the violin in her new EP.

Tina Bilberry, known to fans as K'Tina, is a KCK-native who fuses international sounds inCrossed Conversations. Here's her story.

Segment 3: Creating a safe space for learning to play an instrument as an adult.

Making music should be fun. But when adults squeak through their first violin lessons, they may not get the compassion a child might receive. Enter Drunken Fiddles.

  • Wendy West Comens, student, Drunken Fiddles
  • Laurel Parks, musician and founder, Drunken Fiddles
  • Valerie Lewis, student, Drunken Fiddles

People don't make cameos in news stories; the human story is the story, with characters affected by news events, not defined by them. As a columnist and podcaster, I want to acknowledge what it feels like to live through this time in Kansas City, one vantage point at a time. Together, these weekly vignettes form a collage of daily life in Kansas City as it changes in some ways, and stubbornly resists change in others. You can follow me on Twitter @GinaKCUR or email me at gina@kcur.org.
Anne Kniggendorf is a staff writer/editor at the Kansas City Public Library and freelance contributor to KCUR. She is the author of "Secret Kansas City."