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Up To Date

Seg. 1: DC Lobbyists Help Congress Consider Kansas City Companies. Seg. 2: Ron Elving & Ken Rudin.

Ben Schumin
/
Wikimedia Commons
K Street in Washington has long been known as a center for the lobbying industry, think tanks and advocacy groups.

Segment 1: Are lobbyists the secret to keeping local companies competitive?

Ask a typical voter how they regard lobbyists, and you might get a wrinkled nose and a response suggesting lobbyists represent everything wrong with American politics. But can a case be made that lobbyists actually add value to a political system overrun with people trying to influence elected officials one way or another? As we continue our visit to NPR Headquarters in Washington, we met a pair of lobbyists who troll congressional hallways to get their perspective on what lobbyists actually do.

Segment 2, beginning at 23:05: Political perspectives on the 2018 midterm and beyond.

We’re less than a month from a critical set of midterm elections, and then, in an instant, the talk will turn to 2020 and this nation’s next presidential election. We took a look at where Missouri's U.S. Senate race stands, snuck a peek at the Kansas gubernatorial election, and looked ahead at who the Democrats might put up to face Donald Trump (presumably) in 2020.

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.
As culture editor, I oversee KCUR’s coverage of race, culture, the arts, food and sports. I work with reporters to make sure our stories reflect the fullest view of the place we call home, so listeners and readers feel primed to explore the places, projects and people who make up a vibrant Kansas City. Email me at luke@kcur.org.