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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A recent Pew Research Center study estimated that 36.2 million Latinos will be eligible to vote in 2024, making them the largest racial or ethnic minority voting bloc in the United States. As Latino communities in the Kansas City metro grow in size, advocacy groups and supportive elected officials are working to educate and empower potential voters.
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Since recreational weed was legalized in Missouri, thousands of residents say they get a greater high than from the pot they used to buy. It's spurred many consumers to ask: "Has weed gotten stronger?"
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Riding a bike to get groceries, walking from your house to the bus stop, or even just getting a ride to work can be a challenge in Kansas City in severe winter weather. While the city and state transportation officials clear streets, residents without cars say bike lanes, sidewalks and bus stops don't get the same attention.
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The Kansas City Chiefs take on the Miami Dolphins at Arrowhead Stadium on Saturday night in what will likely be the venue's coldest game ever. KCUR's Up To Date spoke with three Chiefs reporters about the matchup, and heard from two season ticket holders about how they're preparing for the frigid temperatures.
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Saturday’s playoff game between the Chiefs and Dolphins could see temperatures drop as low as negative 4 degrees, even before wind chill. Here's what Kansas City fans should know before they head to Arrowhead Stadium.
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Instead of sending trees and broken lights to the local landfill, here’s how and where you can recycle those unwanted holiday wares.
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Across the U.S., thousands of children and young adults serve as informal interpreters for family members that don’t speak English. Many of them find pride in being of service to their families, but experts worry that this pride may be masking more serious long-term effects.
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The Kansas City Chiefs are heading to Frankfurt, Germany, this Sunday, Nov. 5, to take on the Miami Dolphins — but that means the game will be a lot earlier than usual. We put together a list of morning watch parties where Chiefs fans can catch the game, grab some breakfast and maybe enjoy a few beermosas.
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For the Palacio family, Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, is a chance to reintroduce lost loved ones to a world that never got to meet them. Using one of the holiday’s most well known traditions, the building of the ofrenda, the family creates intimate glimpses into the lives of those who have passed on.
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The Migrating Assembly for Stories and Art, or M.A.S.A., started as a group of Latino artists who had migrated to Kansas City looking for support and community. Now they're organizing in an effort to showcase their work beyond their own communities.