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.
- Phillip Berenbroick, Public Knowledge senior policy counsel
- Frank Lenk, Mid-America Regional Council director of Research Services
- Mark Davis, Kansas City Star business reporter
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.
