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Up To Date

Seg. 1: Henry Bloch's Life | Seg. 2 Childhood Literacy In Kansas

Segment 1: Kansas City mourns the death of philanthropist Henry Bloch.

Henry Bloch, co-founder of the tax preparation firm H&R Block and World War II veteran, has had an immense impact on Kansas City. His legacy will persist through the institutions he helped established and support. Today, a look at how his contributions were aimed to serve the community he loved. 

Segment 2, beginning at 25:44: In Kansas, 63% of fourth graders are not reading at grade level.

Research shows that students not reading at their grade level have a higher probability of not graduating high school, living in poverty and entering the prison system. For parents looking to help their child catch up, reading in short increments, multiple times a day is one easy way to boost early childhood literacy.

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.