KCUR - Site Search | KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR

Jimmy Van Heusen with Frank Sinatra in the 1950s. Van Heusen wrote dozens of songs for the crooner and became Sinatra's close friend and confidant.

The Composer Who Tested Fighter Planes And Partied With Sinatra

A cool ladies' man with a shaved head, Jimmy Van Heusen was one of America's greatest popular composers. He wrote "Darn That Dream," "Swinging on a Star," "All the Way," "High Hopes," "Here's That Rainy Day," "Come Fly With Me" and more.

Sept. 11: The U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, was aflame after coming under attack.

Petraeus Supports White House On Post-Benghazi Accounts, Lawmakers Say

The doors were closed so the nation wasn't be able to watch. One week after his scandal-tinged resignation, former CIA Director David Petraeus fielded questions from members of both the House and Senate intelligence committees.

The reporter's mother, Nawal Elbager, of Khartoum, Sudan, shows off her falafel.

When It Comes To Falafel, The Flavors Of Home Can Vary

A reporter's quest to understand differences in regional recipes of the Middle East staple yields homespun stories about their provenance.

Castor (Reginald Smith Jr.) and Patience (Talise Trevigne) toast to their reunion before discussion what motivates Castor's visit to the sea island homestead.

'Castor and Patience' opera explores systematic barriers to Black land ownership

Cousins struggle with debts and may have to sell property long held by their family in a work created by former poet laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy K. Smith and composer Gregory Spears.

This field in northeast Iowa is among farmland sold at auction in July, sections of which sold for as much as $19,600 an acre. In Iowa and other states across the Midwest farmland prices are up significantly.

More Midwest states are moving to block foreign ownership of farmland in 2024

At least 21 states are considering legislation to block foreign companies and individuals from purchasing farmland. The issue has gained momentum in recent years.

Fog rises off the Missouri River in front of the Missouri State Capitol building on the morning of Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, in Jefferson City, Mo.

Missouri Freedom Caucus holds up Senate over demands to make constitutional amendments harder

Members of the Missouri Freedom Caucus blocked action on the governor's appointments, calling for action on legislation that would make it harder for residents to amend Missouri’s constitution. Any ballot issue reform would have to be approved by voters.

Over half of the patients at Planned Parenthood’s Kansas clinics now come from Texas due to the state’s near-total abortion ban.

Doctors say Kansas law asking women why they're getting an abortion is unconstitutional

Kansas abortion providers are seeking to expand an ongoing lawsuit challenging several abortion restrictions.

Taylor Swift in a red Chiefs sweatshirt cheers next to Brittany Mahomes and child.

Taylor Swift donates $100,000 to fundraiser for Kansas City woman killed in Chiefs parade shooting

“Sending my deepest sympathies and condolences in the wake of your devastating loss,” the GoFundMe donation read. “With love, Taylor Swift.” Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a mother and a local radio DJ, is so far the sole person killed in the mass shooting at Union Station.

Griffin Hall is the pipe sergeant for Kansas City St. Andrew Pipes and Drums, a band that’s been around for six decades.

This Kansas City bagpiper is about to test his sound in Scotland

Kansas City bagpiper extraordinaire Griffin Hall has been nerding out on Scotland’s national instrument since he was 12. This month, he’ll have a chance to play and compete with a world-class pipe and drum band there.

This will be President Biden's first meeting with King Charles since his coronation. The two men have met before, including at the UN climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, on Nov. 2, 2021.

Up First briefing: Biden at NATO; Missouri governor race; Tennessee trans care ban

Biden will attend NATO this week, where the war in Ukraine will be a main focus. The first major Democratic candidate has entered the race for Missouri governor. And a gender-affirming care ban takes effect in Tennessee.

Search results for