Frank Morris

Report Questions Crop Insurance Structure

Frank Morris — Thu, 02 May 2013 17:02:02 +0000

Taxpayers are contributing billions more than necessary for farmers’ crop insurance, according to a new report from the Environmental Working Group (EWG).

The study, which examined the 2012 crop year, argues that big subsidies channel farmers into lavish policies that in some cases paid drought-afflicted farmers last year more than they would have earned with a good harvest.

The Epic Tale Of A Man, A Motorcycle And A Breast Cancer Bracelet

Frank Morris — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Earlier this year, Luis Belaustegui set off on a long, brutal, exotic journey, in an unprecedented way.

Belaustegui is a motorcycle racer from Argentina who lives in Kansas City. His adventures – and misadventures— in Peru, Chile and his native Argentina, come from racing in the Dakar Rally.

From Flush To Fertilizer: City Farms Recycle Waste

Frank Morris — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 22:15:26 +0000

While most Americans don’t farm, they do contribute to agriculture by buying food at stores and restaurants. And about half of us make an additional donation in the form of fertilizer. With spring at hand, farmers are getting ready for planting. That means enriching the soil and that may just involve you.

Cities Turn Sewage Into 'Black Gold' For Local Farms

Frank Morris — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 21:22:00 +0000

On a normal day, Kansas City, Mo., processes more than 70 million gallons of raw sewage. This sewage used to be a nuisance, but Kansas City, and a lot of municipalities around the country, are now turning it into a resource for city farmers hard up for fertilizer.

After the sewage has been processed at a treatment plant, it's piped out to Birmingham Farm on the north side of the Missouri River.

Tim Walters is the chief agronomist for Kansas City who runs Birmingham.

After Years Of Struggle, Veteran Chooses To End His Life

Frank Morris — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 21:42:00 +0000

After a dozen years at war, an estimated 2 million active-duty service members will have returned home by the end of 2013. Some reintegrate without much struggle, but for others it's not so easy. The psychological wounds of war can sometimes prove to be just as fatal as the physical ones.

For injured veterans such as Tomas Young, life is a daily struggle. But this Iraq War veteran, who says his physical and emotional pain is unbearable, has decided to end his life.

At War

Before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Young was an athletic, rambunctious 22-year-old.

Iraq War Veteran Tomas Young Signs Off With 'Last Letter'

Frank Morris — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 01:03:06 +0000

Nearly two million active duty U.S. servicemen and women are due back home by the end of this year. Many have struggled to reintegrate, but few more profoundly, or more publicly, than Tomas Young of Kansas City. Young now says he’s ready to take his own life, but not before making one more stand against the war that wrecked his body.

Legendary Broadcaster Walt Bodine Dies At 92

Laura Ziegler and Frank Morris — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 16:23:56 +0000

Longtime journalist, author and talk show host Walt Bodine died early Sunday morning. He was 92.

'Anti-Smurfing' Campaign Targets Meth Cook Suppliers

Frank Morris — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 19:28:38 +0000

Missouri holds the dubious distinction of being #1 in domestic methamphetamine production. State Attorney General Chris Koster and Jean Peters Baker, the Jackson County Prosecutor, unveiled an effort to curb meth by shaming people who help drug producers get around limits on pseudoephedrine sales.

Drought-Stricken Plains Farmers 'Giddy' Over Heavy Snow

Frank Morris — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 21:42:00 +0000

Two rapid-fire snowstorms belted Kansas with more than 2 feet of snow this week.

Major Storm Blankets Kansas City

Frank Morris — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 10:42:00 +0000

Transcript

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

A lot of kids have the day off from school today, thanks to a huge winter storm in the Midwest. A foot of snow fell on Kansas City, one of the worst storms in the city's history. That city declared a state of emergency, as did several others in the region. Frank Morris, of member station KCUR, reports.

FRANK MORRIS, BYLINE: The storm hit hard right before morning rush hour with wind, muffled thunder and lightning diffused through a sky that seemed almost saturated with snow.

Snow Snarls Traffic, More Snow Expected

Frank Morris and Dan Verbeck — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 00:56:26 +0000

It was a bad day to try to get around in Kansas City. KCI essentially closed at mid-morning with about 300 flights cancelled. Although flights are expected to resume later tonight, more cancellations are all but certain tomorrow morning. Driving was terrible, too.

Plaza Explosion Timeline Raises Questions

Frank Morris — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 02:09:11 +0000

The investigation into the blast and fire that rocked the Country Club Plaza and destroyed JJ’s Restaurant has entered a new phase.

Blame Elusive In Plaza Blast

Frank Morris — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 20:46:10 +0000

Workers using heavy equipment to install fiber-optic cable hit a gas main hours before the blast. According to the Kansas City Business Journal, gas company workers showed up about 20 minutes later.

They were still on site later when firefighters responded to the leak, about 45 minutes before the explosion.

Fire Hits Plaza Business

Frank Morris, Steve Bell, Elana Gordon and Emilie Mutert — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 01:05:39 +0000

A fire caused by an apparent gas explosion near JJ's Restaurant on the Country Club Plaza has sent at least 14 people to area hospitals with injuries, some of them critical. The fire started around 6:00 Tuesday evening.

Update 7:07 PM. Residents from a nearby apartment building were evacuated. Some are reporting that there was a strong smell of gas earlier in the afternoon. One resident of the nearby building also told reporters someone was operating a backhoe in the area earlier in the afternoon.

Evan S. Connell On 'Mr. and Mrs. Bridge'

Laura Spencer and Frank Morris and New Letters on the Air — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 22:52:37 +0000

Kansas City native Evan S. Connell died Thursday at the age of 88. His fiction and non-fiction works were wide-ranging, but he was probably best known locally for his two novels, "Mrs. Bridge" and "Mr. Bridge," about a fictional well-to-do Kansas City family.