Kansas City Today

Jackson County legislative Chairman Manny Abarca, now a candidate for county executive, was banned from Paseo Academy for what school officials deemed “unsafe” behavior in the building. We’ll hear details of the letter to Abarca from Kansas City Public Schools’ legal counsel.

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway calls crypto currency ATMs “getaway cars for fraud.” She discusses how her office is cracking down on the scams, and how to identify the red flags — plus talks about ongoing lawsuits over redistricting.

Kansas City hosts its FIFA World Cup games starting next month, and one Olathe teacher is making sure her students know what's happening — and who's coming to town. We'll hear how local students are becoming experts on the different countries who will play in Kansas City this summer.

With the costs of groceries rising and food assistance falling, community gardens can help keep healthy produce on a family's table. Hear how food banks and other groups around Kansas are growing their own.

School districts across the Kansas City metro are navigating financial challenges as they cope with fewer students and state funding shortfalls. Plus: Researchers believe that Gen Z may be reaching for a cigarette more often than members of older generations.

After the World Cup, Kansas Citians relying on public transportation will find it even harder to catch a ride to work. Inadequate regional funding is forcing the KCATA to slash routes in September.

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled last week that the congressional maps lawmakers drew in 2025 to give Republicans a boost in this year’s midterm elections will stay in effect. What could this mean for the political future of Democratic U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II?

Kansas City is bustling today, but it wasn’t always destined to be that way. Hear how Irish immigrants literally carved the city's first streets.

Two nonprofits are building a network of donors and supplying breast milk to Kansas hospitals to support new moms who aren't able to produce their own. Plus: Some farmers are changing the model of community-supported agriculture to appeal to today’s consumer preferences.

The Kansas City Council recently removed a 75-year-old rule that required businesses to provide a certain number of parking spots. Some residents and visitors say the change will exacerbate an already frustrating parking situation.

An Olathe native will officiate some of the 2026 FIFA World Cup matches. We’ll learn what it took to land a spot on the referee crew and how he’s preparing for the massive event.

After passing a $51 billion budget, Missouri lawmakers return to Jefferson City for the final week of this year's session. Hear what's in and what's out of this year's funding package, and which big issues remain on the agenda in this final week.

During the first weekend in May, Latinos from across Kansas City celebrated 100 years of a beloved Cinco de Mayo fiesta at the Guadalupe Centers. What began as an annual celebration of Mexican immigrants and their cultural roots has grown into a weekend-long block party filled with music, food and the chance for longtime supporters to reconnect.

Tornado warning sirens have been a frequent sound in the Kansas City area so far this year. This month is likely to be much of the same, according to Zachary Leasor, a state climatologist with the University of Missouri.

It’s getting more difficult to find an attorney in rural Kansas as people retire, so the state is offering incentives to attract a new generation of lawyers. Still, filling the civic leadership roles left by veteran lawyers will not be easy.

Residents of a rural Johnson County community are confronting a new data center proposal from San Francisco-based Beale Infrastructure, just weeks after they blocked a similar proposal.

Pastor Adam Hamilton, of Leawood, went on a tour of Kansas the last couple of months to explore running for the U.S. Senate. Now, he's officially in — as a Democrat. We'll discuss how Hamilton's entrance has injected energy and controversy into the race to unseat Republican Sen. Roger Marshall.

When a Kansas City opera held auditions of older dogs for a new production, canine owners around the metro answered the call. Meet the working dogs trying out for a critical role in “Of Mice and Men." Plus: We'll take a tour of the Kansas Statehouse and a new mural depicting 13 women’s civil rights advocates.

Newly appointed University of Missouri-Kansas City Police Chief Daniel Graves faces opposition from the university's student body. In 2021, Graves wrote a letter advocating for former Kansas City Police Detective Eric DeValkenaere, who was convicted of killing 26-year-old Cameron Lamb.

In rural southwest Kansas, high-flying fighters are working to spread lucha libre, traditional Mexican wrestling. The sport carries cultural history and uses wrestling to address modern challenges in the world. Plus: From Starbucks lattes to new dietary guidelines that prioritize it, protein is everywhere. But what do nutritionists have to say about it?

When Congress ended pandemic-era free lunches for public schools in 2022, student meal debt skyrocketed in Kansas. One Wichita-area 6th grader launched her own fundraiser to tackle students’ lunch tabs at her school district. Plus: "Cow goggles" are allowing farmers to see through bovine eyes, and potentially improve animal welfare.

Interim Jackson County Executive Phil LeVota spoke with KCUR's Up To Date on Friday about why he jumped into this year's election for a full term, despite repeatedly promising not to. Then, hours later, LeVota announced he would drop out.

The Kansas City Royals finally picked a spot for their new ballpark: Crown Center. While the financials have yet to be figured out, one architecture expert says that the initial design and location look good — with one exception.

In Kansas, radical abolitionist John Brown is associated with a violent period of the state’s history in the lead-up to the Civil War. One hundred and seventy years later, some modern day activists and educators are still debating his legacy.

Property taxes dominated the conversation in this year's Kansas legislative session — but infighting mean that lawmakers left without delivering any of their promised reforms. However, the GOP-dominated legislature managed to pass some big bills, sometimes over the veto of Gov. Laura Kelly.

A Kansas City nonprofit has spent the past decade using donated flowers from special events to brighten up the rooms of seniors living in health care facilities. And now, there’s a new initiative: scholarships. Hear more about how this nonprofit is supporting the next generation of local florists.

Since January 2025, more than 3,200 people from nearly 80 countries have been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Missouri. We learn about new figures obtained through a public records lawsuit released by the Deportation Data Project.

A nonprofit program in Kansas City believes songwriting can help teens through mental health challenges. We'll stop by Rebel Song Academy to hear how students are finding their calm through music.

The Trump administration is trying to ease a farm worker shortage in part by cutting mandatory wages for foreign guest workers. But both immigration hardliners and labor advocates are pushing back. Plus: More urban schools in Missouri are finding value in teaching their students about the farming process.

In 2022, Joplin Police sniper Keaton Siebanaler mistakenly shot and killed 2-year old Clesslynn Crawford during a hostage standoff. For almost four years, the city of Joplin fiercely guarded the identity of "Sniper 1." But KCUR and The Midwest Newsroom fought in court to name Siebanaler — who was just hired by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

Despite efforts from the Columbia community, Owen Ramsingh, the Columbia man detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement last year, has been deported to the Netherlands. Ramsingh is now adjusting to his new home.

Kansas City officials announced a $600 million funding plan to help pay for a downtown ballpark for the Royals. Mayor Quinton Lucas spoke about the proposal, and answers criticisms about a lack of public vote, with KCUR's Up To Date.

Johnson County's Negro Creek runs through southern Overland Park and Leawood, and went mostly unknown and unmapped. But when social justice protests emerged in 2020, people took notice and petitioned to change the name. After years of research and public discussions, the creek will keep its name, but get new signage explaining its history.

Kansas lawmakers wrapped up most of their annual work at the end of March, including passing a number of bills related to schools. Legislators return to the capital this week to vote on an override of the governor's vetoes.

Voters around Kansas City went to the polls yesterday, and we'll break down the elections. Plus: A community health center in southeast Kansas is working on solving rural health workforce shortages by introducing elementary schoolers to... frog dissections.

Voters around Kansas City are headed to the polls to decide the fate of a critical earnings tax, local school board races and more. Plus: The Missouri House is considering bills regulating AI-generated intimate depictions of minors, and requiring adult content websites to verify the age of users. But critics have raised free speech concerns.

A judge ruled that the Republican-leaning “Missouri First” congressional map will be in effect for the November election. Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway has filed a lawsuit to stop a referendum effort, claiming that voters don't have the power to overturn the map.

Missouri’s 2026 election cycle got a jolt last week when longtime Republican U.S. Rep. Sam Graves announced his retirement. His departure could tell us a lot about where the GOP stands going into the midterm elections — and could make the 6th Congressional District race a lot more competitive.

Kansas City recently passed a $2.6 billion spending plan that keeps expenses relatively flat. But, some departments like police are still seeing growth, despite some opposition. We'll break down the city's spending and why you should care about it.

The World Cup comes to Kansas City this summer, and many fans will want to stay up late watching and partying. Kansas is close to approving longer hours for serving alcohol during the event, after Missouri passed its own law, so bars and restaurants don't lose business across the state line.

The Hickman Mills School District is trying to help fill its budget shortfall by asking voters to approve a $20 million bond and free up more money for operating expenses like teacher pay, staff benefits and more.

Voters in Kansas City, Missouri, will soon decide whether to renew the city's earnings tax on wages, salaries and profits. If the measure fails, Missouri law forbids the tax from being revived, so Kansas City will need to find another source for hundreds of millions of dollars.

Captain Ahab’s preoccupation with a white whale is set to music in a new Kansas City world premiere. It’s Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick,” told in authentic, 19th-century sea shanties.

Rural communities across Kansas are losing their grocery stores, and small towns are coming up with new ways to revive them. But some of those solutions have not panned out.

Independence, Missouri, residents will vote on April 7 for their next mayor and to fill two at-large city council seats. Recent debates over tax incentives for a massive data center could factor into the races.

Health conditions like concussions and tinnitus don’t usually present externally, and patients can often feel incredibly isolated. But one University of Kansas professor is researching how music can offer relief.

Missouri lawmakers are returning from a break at the midway point of this year’s legislative session. Among the biggest issues are a Republican proposal to end the state income tax and expand sales taxes, a criminal justice overhaul, and a bipartisan bill to crack down on "date rape" drugs.

A dispute over a mural outside a hamburger restaurant in Salina, Kansas, could go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Plus: Three massive bronze bison sculpted by a Missouri artist are joining the collection at the largest natural history museum in the world.

For many people, artificial intelligence and chatbots have become a part of daily life. That includes some Kansas lawmakers, who are using chatbots to help keep track of bills or gather information in a fast-paced legislative session — since they have no guidelines for responsible use of AI.

Parts of Wyandotte County have long experienced flooding from the Kansas River. A multi-year levee project is designed to address the problem, but some residents and experts say more attention must go to the impact of decaying underground infrastructure.