Frank Morris

By Frank Morris

Kansas City, MO – It looks like banking isn't the only industry coming in for some added regulatory scrutiny from the Obama administration. US Attorney General Eric Holder and Agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack have launched a series of workshops probing anti-trust issues in agriculture. Some big agribusiness firms say the forums will showcase a well functioning, free market. But, many producers think they'll expose a system increasingly hostile to the traditional family farm.

GET BIG OR DIE

Kansas City, Mo. – The Pew Center for the States finds that state pension funds have promised retirees $1 trillion more than they have on hand to pay. Missouri's pension system is in relatively sound shape, but the one in Kansas is among the most troubled in the nation.

Kansas City, Mo. – A federal judge in Kansas City has sentenced three men for selling fraudulent credentials they claimed would make people immune to the requirements of citizenship.

The men are involved in the "sovereign citizens movement", an ultra-right wing outfit that rejects most federal government authority.

Kansas City, Mo. –

Luke Ulrich, who grows corn and soybeans south of Lawrence, is thinking about spring. It's time to buy seed again, but hundreds of seed companies have gone under in the last two decades.

Kansas City, MO – The President of the Kansas City Wizards soccer team says work will start next week on a new stadium near the NASCAR track in Wyandotte County. That's bad news for Kansas City officials, who had, until recently, still hoped to lure the project back to the old Banister Mall area.

Kansas City, MO – Mayor Funkhouser dismissed the city manager Thursday afternoon, and asked him to leave the City Hall immediately. Six Kansas City council members supporting Wayne Cauthen said they were shocked today when they were notified that they'd be voting on his termination at today's council session. Councilman Ed Ford characterized it as a lack of respect.

MR FORD : "Government by ambush, is not the appropriate way for us to make what is probably the most important decision we make, which is the hiring and firing of a city manager."

Kansas City, MO – For the last couple of years, feed prices have been so high that US farmers lost money on almost every pig they raised. China was one of the bright spots for US producers, their third largest, and fastest-growing export market. But H1N1 put a stop to that. Chinese officials said they were worried about catching "SWINE" flu from eating US pork, even though you can't. It was just cover, according to Ron Plain an agricultural economics professor at the University of Missouri.

Kansas City, MO – EBay has pulled the plug on an auction planned to raise money for the man accused of murdering Dr. George Tiller in Wichita.

A group of virulent anti-abortion activists had planned to auction artifacts of their movement to generate money for Scott Roeder.

Witnesses say Roeder shot and killed Gorge Tiller last spring.

Tiller had performed thousands of late term abortions.

Kansas City, MO – Union workers at the Ford Claycomo Assembly Plant have soundly rejected contract change concessions and the Sunday vote has national implications.

According to UAW local 249 officials, eight percent of rank and file voted in favor of concessions, soundly rejecting company proposals.

Ford wanted the changes to cut labor costs to put them on par with Chrysler and General Motors.

Kansas City, MO – People from the city, neighborhood associations and the federal government officially broke ground on a new bus rapid transit corridor along Troost Avenue yesterday.

It's an almost 31 million dollar project, with four out of five of those dollars coming from Washington.

The MAX will run deluxe buses, three of them hybrid electric models, from South East Kansas City through downtown.

Kansas City, MO – First thing Saturday morning at the big truck stop out in Oak Grove, Missouri the restaurant is not quite half full of truckers.
Jones: My name is Dee Jones. Dee is a nick name that I've gone by for 66 years, and I'm known nationwide by it.

Like many of the other guys Dee Jones is here killing time, and making calls, looking for work.

Kansas City, MO – Republican lawmakers are criticizing an Obama administration plan to move suspects held at Guantanamo Bay to a combination prison and court house facility. Administration officials are reportedly looking closely at two sites, one in Michigan, the other in Kansas. KCUR's Frank Morris reports.

Kansas City, MO – Trucking companies are posting big losses as the recession drags on. One of the largest, YRC Worldwide, lost more than 300 million dollars in the second quarter, and may be headed for bankruptcy. KCUR's Frank Morris reports.

The amount of stuff shipped by truck, as measured in tons, fell off steeply last year, and hasn't come back. It was down more than 13% in June. That makes for a lot of idled or under filled semis and steep losses for trucking companies.

Kansas City – In this recession pre-paid, the low end of the mobile phone market, is hot. Sprint established itself as a price leader in that segment early this year, coming out with its Boost, 50 dollar a month, unlimited voice plan. Virgin Mobile matched that. Now with Sprint taking over Virgin, the Overland Park based company will gain more than 5 million customers . But analyst Christopher King doesn't see a lot in the deal for Sprint, beyond that.