Kansas City Millennials Talk Politics At First Generation Listen KC Event

By Steve Kraske,

Published October 23, 2014 at 4:43 PM CDT

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Up To Date's Steve Kraske asked the crowd at Generation Listen KC's inaugural event this question about the massive amounts of student loan debt piling up in the United States: "Why are you putting up with it?"

Alyson Raletz / KCUR

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Generation Listen KC co-chairs Kathleen Saysoff and Nic Zweifel welcomed a crowd of roughly 50 people to the group's inaugural event in its Forward Promote series.

Alyson Raletz / KCUR

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Generation Listen KC distributed "I Vote Royals" pins to commemorate the World Series watch party KCUR sponsored after the elections discussion.

Alyson Raletz / KCUR

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Chelle O'Reilly, a Generation Listen KC leadership council member, and many other audience members spoke their mind during the elections discussion.

Alyson Raletz / KCUR

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Nicholas Segura also vented at the microphone during the discussion about young voters.

Alyson Raletz / KCUR

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Charlie Upchurch, left, a member of Generation Listen KC leadership council, attended the World Series watch party with Logan Ellis.

Alyson Raletz / KCUR

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Up To Date's Steve Kraske, who led the voter discussion, poses with KCUR coworkers before the event. From left is: Gina Kaufmann, host of Central Standard; Kraske; Matthew Long-Middleteon, Central Standard producer; and Matthew Hodapp, KCUR volunteer.

Alyson Raletz / KCUR

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At least 50 people attended Generation Listen KC's first event at Snow and Company Wednesday night.

Alyson Raletz / KCUR

Generation Listen KC is a new networking group through KCUR aimed at engaging and connecting with millennial public radio listeners in the Kansas City area.

As part of its Forward Promote series, Generation Listen KC invited Up to Date's Steve Kraske to speak with young voters about the upcoming elections at the group's inaugural event on Wednesday night.

Recorded live at Snow and Company in the Crossroads Arts District, the open mic conversation covered why millennials don't vote, whether lawmakers care about their concerns and how younger voters can learn about and become a force in politics.

Listen to part of the discussion, which aired Thursday on Up To Date, and look at a slideshow of photos from the event above.

Generation Listen KC's next event, "The Science of Online Dating" is set for Nov. 12 at the Brick in Kansas City, Mo. Follow the group's Facebook page for more details.