© 2024 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
Up To Date

Seg. 1: Merits Of A Case Against Schlitterbahn. Seg. 2: The Early Years Of Martin Luther King Jr.

Laura Spencer
/
KCUR 89.3
Ten-year-old Caleb Schwab was killed in August 2016 while riding the Verruckt water slide at Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kansas.

Segment 1: Criminal charges in Schlitterbahn death come amid push for tighter regulations on Kansas amusement parks.

Last week, three Schlitterbahn employees were indicted on criminal charges related to a boy's death in 2016 at the Kansas City, Kansas, water park. Today, we discussed the merits of cases, and found out how state law is evolving in response to the incident.

Segment 2 beginning at 26:23: A new play by Kansas director Kevin Willmott explores Martin Luther King Jr.'s college years.

In September 1944, a 15-year-old Martin Luther King Jr. was accepted to attend college. How did a "free atmosphere atMorehouse" College influence a young man who skipped 12th grade but became one of the century's most recognized civil rights leaders? Playwright Kevin Willmott joined us to discuss the history behind his newest work, Becoming Martin.

  • Kevin Willmott, writer, director and University of Kansas professor of film and media studies

'Becoming Martin' runs Sept. 18 - Oct. 21 at The Coterie Theatre, 2450 Grand Ave., Suite 144, Kansas City, Missouri  64108. For more information, visit TheCoterie.org.

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.