Kansas City’s morning talk show Up To Date is back live on air again, from a small makeshift basement studio. But host Steve Kraske says his team is making it work.
Ever since KCUR had to suddenly vacate our offices on the UMKC campuses, with no workspace to go to, staff have been scattered around the Kansas City metro. That meant, for several weeks, Up To Date was unable to broadcast live.
Now, they’re back — albeit crammed in the basement of a Troost Avenue building. As Steve puts it, the new space doesn’t have all the bells and whistles that his team are used to (he misses being able to take listener call-ins) and most of KCUR’s staff can’t even fit.
Still, Steve’s team is embracing their “pirate radio” work style, and making the best out of a strange situation.
🎤 Hosted by Steve Kraske (@stevekcur )
🎬 Filmed and produced by Zach Perez (@zach_pepez )
💻 Edited by Gabe Rosenberg (@gabrieljr )
#kansascity #pirateradio #talkshow
The future of KCUR is in your hands. We’ve lost $850,000 annually in federal funding. And we’re looking for a new home, thanks to a no-longer-habitable building that’s been our base for decades.
Your support matters, because KCUR is now fully funded by you, the community that we are committed to serving each and every day.
Invest in Kansas City journalism by becoming a KCUR member: KCUR.org/give
If you live in the Kansas City area, we’ve got three podcasts you need to be listening to.
📰 Kansas City Today: A daily podcast covering the top headlines from Missouri and Kansas that’s just 15 minutes or less, and features original reporting from KCUR’s local newsroom.
🎙️ Up To Date: A daily talk show meant for honest conversations about what’s happening in the Kansas City region, and how it affects our lives.
📖 A @kcpeopleshistory : A history podcast about the Kansas City stories they aren’t teaching you in schools.
You can find all of these podcast Apple, Spotify, and wherever you subscribe to podcasts – or head to KCUR.org
🎤 Hosted & edited by Gabe Rosenberg (@gabrieljr )
🎬 Filmed & produced by Zach Perez (@zach_pepez )
#kansascity #podcast #kcpodcast #kcexplore #stayinformed✅
🍖🥓🤤 Happy #NationalBBQDay Kansas City! We’re not taking sides because we truly love aspects of every barbecue joint in this city — but we’ll always have a soft spot in our hearts for the mouth-watering flavors at @gatesbbqkc , Kansas City’s oldest Black-owned restaurant chain.
Unlike other pitmasters and restaurant owners, Ollie Gates doesn’t hide his incredibly famous barbecue sauce recipe. In fact, in June 1999, he showed @marthastewart48 how to make his famous ribs step-by-step on national television. 👀
That’s the sort of public service we can get behind. 🫡
Hear the origin story of Kansas City barbecue in our episode, “Kansas City’s barbecue king.” Link in bio.
Ever noticed the crumbling slab of limestone near downtown?
It’s all that’s left of 120 feet tall bluffs that once hugged the Missouri River by Kansas City.
The bluffs made it difficult to traverse the landscape and expand our then-growing city.
So in the mid-1800s, a Catholic priest named Father Bernard Donnelly recruited hundreds of Irish immigrants for a dangerous but critical task: digging streets for the city from rocks and mud.
KCUR’s Jacob Smollen reports on how just a few hundred men carved many of the roads we travel today.
You can hear the full story on a new episode of @kcpeopleshistory . Listen to “Carving Kansas City out of limestone” at KCUR.org or your favorite podcast streaming app.
🎙️Hosted by Jacob Smollen (@jacob.smollen )
📹Produced and filmed by Zach Perez (@zach_pepez )
#kansascity #irish #immigrants
Kansas City bus riders will see a temporary boost in service during the World Cup. But by the end of summer, the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority will cut more than one-fourth of its weekday routes.
The KCATA approved its 2026-27 contract with the city of Kansas City, Missouri, at a special board meeting Thursday. The contract provides more than $85 million for the transportation agency, which is a funding increase from recent years and includes $1.8 million for the city’s rideshare service, IRIS.
But with a nationwide trend of higher transportation costs and a lack of regional funding, officials said that’s not enough to prevent cuts.
Residents in a Northeast apartment complex won historic rent protections in 2023. As those are running out, they’ve expanded their tenant union. They demand repairs and affordable rent from their landlord.
Yisroel Levovitz, the landlord of the North Lawn properties, did not respond to KCUR’s request for comment.
The tenants live in three different buildings Levovitz owns through Wiser KC along North Lawn. They have a supermajority union they organized through the citywide tenants union @kctenants . After trying and failing to negotiate with Levovitz, they’re giving him until May 15 to meet with the union at the bargaining table.
School districts across the Kansas City area are facing challenges as declines in local, state and federal funding drive them to consider school consolidations, staffing cuts and diving into their reserves to balance their budgets.
Kansas schools say funding loss is driven by enrollment declines and special education funding shortfalls, while schools on the Missouri side say a plan to give taxpayers relief after overpaying their bills would claw back millions of dollars from their budget.
The Missouri Supreme Court has confirmed a redrawn congressional map that takes aim at the state’s 5th District, a longtime Democratic stronghold.
Incumbent Congressman Emanuel Cleaver now prepares for a slate of new challengers to his seat.
Former Coldwater, Kansas, Mayor Joe Ceballos surrendered to federal immigration agents at a detention center in Wichita on Wednesday.
He has said voting was an “honest mistake” because he believed his permanent legal status allowed him to vote.
Original reporting and photos by @KMUW
Finding a parking space in downtown Kansas City could get a bit harder thanks to a new change in city parking requirements.
Last week, the city council drastically altered a decades-old piece of city code that required new businesses and residential buildings to have a certain amount of dedicated parking spaces.
City officials say the change will help spur development and create more affordable housing. Some residents aren’t so convinced.
KCUR’s Brandon Azim breaks down what the changes mean and how local residents think they could backfire.
🎙️Hosted by Brandon Azim (@from_kc_with_love )
📹Produced and filmed by Zach Perez (@zach_pepez )
#kansascity #parking #affordablehousing
The Missouri Supreme Court unanimously ruled Tuesday that People Not Politicians’ submission of referendum signatures did not automatically suspend a congressional map lawmakers passed in 2025.
In the wake of that decision, People Not Politicians officials want Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to approve their referendum, suspend a map passed in 2025 targeting Rep. Emanuel Cleaver and guarantee a map approved in 2022 that’s friendlier to the Kansas City Democrat is in place for this election cycle.
But that’s not likely to happen. Hoskins told reporters he’ll likely decide on the fate of the referendum in late July or early August. And he’s dismissing the idea waiting that long could sew electoral chaos.
You can read more about what’s next in the Missouri redistricting saga by tapping the link in our bio.
Cover photo: @jasonrosenbaum
