Up To Date

Mayor Quinton Lucas says that Kansas City "doesn't necessarily have legal responsibility to inspect and guarantee" the safety of buildings after initial permits are approved. But he now wonders if the city can do more to prevent events like the deadly collapse of the Family Dollar on Broadway Boulevard last month.

Kansas City was recently dubbed the eighth most dangerous city in America. Local experts want residents to better understand the conditions that drive violent crime — and what will fix them.

Hailes spent the last several years in New York, where she performed in "Hadestown" on Broadway and started her own solo career. She's back in Kansas City ahead of a show at The Blue Room on August 5.

Kansas City first responders get bit, spit on and cursed at while on the job. In one recent case, a firefighter paramedic died after being stabbed in the chest. Increased attention to these incidents has sparked increased protective training by the Kansas City Fire Department, and proposed federal legislation from a Missouri U.S. Senator.

Film crews seem to be getting more common in Kansas City thanks to state and local tax incentives. Two veterans of the Kansas City film industry also remember the 1990s as a heyday of filming in town.

Missouri lawmakers overturned a paid sick leave law, and advanced an amendment to overturn abortion rights, only six months after voters originally passed both measures. Now, the bipartisan group Respect Missouri Voters wants to put a new initiative on the ballot to prevent that from happening.

As the Kansas City Current prepares for a match against Racing Louisville on Friday, the team currently sits miles ahead of the rest of the league in the NWSL standings. How has this team been so successful?

Chiefs training camp is well underway up in St. Joseph, Missouri. The Kansas City Star's Blair Kerkhoff discusses the atmosphere among players, the team's major on-the-field storylines and the latest on stadium talks.

Kansas Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids said that Kansans will begin to feel the effects of the spending cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program at the beginning of the year. She spoke with KCUR's Up To Date about the recent budget bill signed into law by President Trump.

President Trump is asking Missouri Republican lawmakers to re-draw its congressional districts around Kansas City, aiming to flip Rep. Emanuel Cleaver's seat. It's part of a larger push to redraw congressional lines to benefit Republicans ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

Six candidates are hoping to replace Tyrone Garner as the next mayor of Kansas City, Kansas. KCUR's Up To Date spoke with Gwendolyn Thomas ahead of the August 5 primary — and we interviewed three other candidates in an episode last week.

IRIS workers say they were misled about pay and aren't being treated fairly by their employer zTrip. Drivers demanded the right to unionize last year.

Final preparations are underway for the KC Streetcar's Main Street extension grand opening on Oct. 24. And the riverfront extension is expected to launch in early 2026.

Missouri ordered retroactive limits on property assessment increases in Jackson County. But, according to county assessor Gail McCann Beatty, that order means "inequities will remain."

The hit Apple TV+ series "Ted Lasso" is filming its fourth season around Kansas City this week. Locations include on the Country Club Plaza and in Blue Springs, where residents of the neighborhood were allowed to watch some of the filming — and meet Jason Sudeikis.

Millions of women use birth control to prevent unintended pregnancies and for other medical necessities. But a new report found that Kansas' policies on contraceptives and family planning are the worst in the country.

The primary election for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas mayoral race is August 5. Up To Date spoke with three of the candidates.

Public media organizations in small towns and rural areas relied more heavily on funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting than their urban counterparts. Now that funding is rescinded, here's how two in Kansas and Missouri are planning for the future.

Primarily known as live performers, Lawrence-based MoonShroom fuses Americana twang, rock and jam band energies into a "grassadelic" sound on its new record "Take a Trip."

The agriculture industry has been among the hardest hit by President Trump's tariff agenda. Still, Rep. Sam Graves, a farmer and the U.S. Representative for Missouri's 6th Congressional District said he thinks farmers support the president's actions.

A hair metal band recruited by the CIA, fake newlyweds and retellings of "The Great Gatsby" are among the stories selected by Up To Date's panel of readers as the best books to pick up this summer.

SomeraRoad, a real estate and development firm, is undertaking a massive redevelopment project that will transform the West Bottoms over the next several years. The firm hopes to make the Kansas City neighborhood into a must-see "destination."

Addiction resources go unused if people aren't willing to talk about substance use in the first place. A local nonprofit, First Call, is helping Kansas Citians find available support.

Many Latino- and immigrant-owned businesses are struggling to make ends meet as a result of decreased foot traffic along Central Avenue in Kansas City, Kansas. Many reports that sales are down between 30 to 60%, and a community leader says the losses are driven by fears of ICE raids and the impact of President Trump's tariffs.

At the All-Star break, the Kansas City Royals find themselves with a record of 47-50, behind several other teams in the American League vying for a spot in the playoffs. How will general manager J.J. Picollo address the team's needs in the coming weeks?

Gwen Grant spends a lot of time uplifting and advocating for Kansas City's Black community, but what does she do with her down time? She joined KCUR's Up To Date for an installment of our series "5 Questions."

Kansas City's taco scene has it all: out-of-this-world al pastor, tender tripa and even veggie delights, all wrapped in corn tortillas or flour. Here's where to find the tastiest street tacos, Sonoran-style tacos and more across the metro.

Charlie Shields, the CEO of University Health in Kansas City, says federal Medicaid cuts passed in President Trump's recent budget bill are likely to pose challenges for the hospital system. University Health relies on Medicaid reimbursements more than other providers in the metro.

Andre Harris, founder of the nonprofit Dads Against Crime, says that Kansas City's violent crime problem can't be fixed if people can't feel comfortable talking to law enforcement and discussing mental health.

President Trump's “One Big Beautiful Bill” cuts about $1 trillion in federal Medicaid funding. Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley helped push for the inclusion of money for rural hospitals, but experts say it's just "a drop in the bucket" — and could force even more providers to close.

Jackson County's legislature has certified a recall election against County Executive Frank White Jr., although the date has yet to be determined. Legislative Chair DaRon McGee says the recall vote is about White's mishandling of property taxes, but White says the campaign against him is politically motivated.

Kansas City awarded $800,000 in grants to three nonprofits that serve homeless youth— an effort to protect the metro's at-risk residents and prevent adult homelessness.

On Monday, lawmakers in Kansas opted to extend the deadline for state incentives, so that the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals have more time to negotiate building new stadiums across state lines. Kansas House Minority Leader Brandon Woodard joined KCUR's Up To Date to explain where things stand.

Melesa Johnson is six months into her role as Jackson County Prosecutor after winning election last year. Faced with concerns about burglaries and property crimes, Johnson has drastically increased the rate at which her office has pursued charges, and points to the success of a deterrence initiative.

"Whack Job: A History of Axe Murder' by Rachel McCarthy James traces the foundational and violent role of the axe from prehistoric times to the present. And — yes — the infamous Lizzie Borden case does get a chapter, as do a pair of relatively recent Kansas City murders.

The New York Times published a list of the "100 best movies of the 21st century" so far. So KCUR's Up To Date assembled a panel of Kansas City movie critics to weigh in on the list — which they criticized as not diverse enough — and to find out what movies they'd rank at the top of the chart.

Americans have less national pride than ever, according to new Gallup polling, with a big split along party lines. For many Kansas City residents, patriotism means more than a reflection of support for national political figures.

In bestselling author Michael Grunwald's new book "We Are Eating The Earth," he highlights how agriculture is dramatically contributing to climate change. He's speaking next week at the Kansas City Public Library.

Youth violence has fallen in Wyandotte County, in part due to the ThrYve program. Barry Anderson took part when he was a student at Wyandotte High School, and credits the program with teaching him basic life skills necessary to attend the University of Kansas.

Housed at both KU and UMKC, the university centers protect and support individuals with developmental disabilities. Now, they're at risk of closing under President Trump's proposed budget.

Illegal dumping has been a problem in Kansas City for decades. Now, a year after the city instituted tougher penalties on offenders, Council member Crispin Rea says things are moving in the right direction.

Taxpayers in Kansas and Missouri still don't know if they'll be asked to help fund the stadiums for the Kansas City Royals and Chiefs. The lack of transparency and public participation from the teams has some people questioning if a deal is in their best interest.