Zach Perez
Community Engagement ProducerAs KCUR’s Community Engagement Producer, I help welcome our audiences into the newsroom, and bring our journalism out into the communities we serve. Many people feel overlooked or misperceived by the media, and KCUR needs to do everything we can to cover and empower the diverse communities that make up the Kansas City metro — especially the ones who don’t know us in the first place. My work takes the form of reporting stories, holding community events, and bringing what I’ve learned back to Up To Date and the rest of KCUR.
What should KCUR be talking about? Who should we be talking to? Let me know. You can email me at zjperez@kcur.org or message me on Twitter at zach_pepez.
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Residents of the Westside neighborhood say that gentrification — like the upcoming Pennway Point entertainment district — is forcing the Latino community out of the neighborhood with rapidly-rising property taxes. -
Development in recent years has transformed the county's west side. And though the county still sees many challenges, especially to the east, community stakeholders are optimistic about paths to the future.
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Manhattan, Kansas, is just a two-hour drive from Kansas City. With lots of great restaurants, event spaces and proximity to the gorgeous Flint Hills, it’s more than just a place to catch a Wildcats football game (although you can do that too!).
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The doctors, surgeons and psychologists of the Kansas City metro often see the worst parts of the area's growing problem with gun violence. Several of them are attempting to better prepare the medical students who work alongside them for the reality of dealing with this public health crisis on a day-to-day basis.
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Since March 29, Kansas City Police have received 296 calls related to street racing and sideshow activities. While the city has invested in some new infrastructure, such as installing plastic discs in the ground that make it harder for stunt drivers, the changes haven't held up as well as officials hoped.
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KCUR's community engagement team is holding listening sessions and interviews across Kansas City, as part of a year-long initiative to learn how diverse Kansas Citians feel about guns and the rising rates of gun violence, and to hopefully find solutions to the issue.
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Jenay Manley, a single mom and organizer with KC Tenants, is running for Kansas City Council’s 2nd District At-Large seat against Lindsay French, a lead designer at TJP Strategies. If elected on June 20, Manley would be the first Black person to represent the Northland on City Council.
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The open seat is being vacated by Lee Barnes, Jr., who is term-limited out. Voters will choose between Michael Kelley, a political newcomer, and former Hickman Mills school board member Darrell Curls.
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Kookin’ Cousins Kitchen, a Kansas City-based kitchen rental and culinary instruction facility, opened its doors in March of this year. Since then, it’s offered residents the chance to hone their cooking skills through a series of classes, and test out their ideas for new restaurants and businesses.
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Yarl, who was shot in early April, is recovering from his physical injuries. His mother says his mental recovery has been tough.
