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Seg. 1: A Sprint Merger Could Reshape Kansas City Region. Seg. 2: Pony Express Legends Live On.

Julie Denesha
/
KCUR
A possible merger between Sprint and Washington-based telecom T-Mobile could impact the employment of thousands of metro residents who work at Sprint's Overland Park headquarters.

Segment 1: A merger with T-Mobile could change Sprint's long-standing relationship to the metro.

The latest numbers suggest Sprint has around 6,000 employees in the Kansas City area, but they used to employ more than 20,000. Now, a proposed merger with T-Mobile, based in Bellevue, Washington, is throwing the remaining jobs into question — not to mention the sprawling corporate headquarters in Overland Park. Today, we explored what the merger could mean for the region, and what Sprint's role in the community has been over the years.

Segment 2, beginning at 24:44: 'The Brief, Legendary Ride of the Pony Express.'

The original Pony Express lasted a mere 18 months, but there are few stories that better evoke the western frontier of this nation. In the second half of the program, we learned about the young men and boys who made the old mail service work, and heard about the travails they endured to get mail from Sacramento, California, to St. Joseph, Missouri, and back.

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.