Steve Kraske
Executive Producer and Host, Up to DateWhen I host Up To Date each morning at 9, my aim is to engage the community in conversations about the Kansas City area’s challenges, hopes and opportunities. I try to ask the questions that listeners want answered about the day’s most pressing issues and provide a place for residents to engage directly with newsmakers. Reach me at steve@kcur.org or on Twitter @stevekraske.
I got a call out of the blue one day from then-news director Frank Morris who asked if he would be interested in hosting a show. I didn't think I had the time, but thought it over and decided to give it a shot. Now, more than 20 years later, I'm glad I did.
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The Missouri General Assembly appears poised to approve incentives to help the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals build or renovate their stadiums. But questions still remain over whether the teams will take the offer, or move to Kansas instead. -
This Saturday, 10 contestants will take the stage at Old Shawnee Days and compete for a spot in the final round of the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest. The qualifier has already drawn more eyes to this year’s festival, and organizers are expecting to see a jump in attendance. -
Staff at SEA LIFE Aquarium in Kansas City are working with federal and state agencies to restock the American paddlefish, the last remaining species of its kind in the world, in the Missouri River watershed. -
Recent reports of immigrants being picked up by ICE after appearing at Kansas City immigration court have caused a surge in attendance of concerned advocates and attorneys. These advocates say the arrests are an intimidation tactic, as the Trump administration tries to speed up deportations. -
As Kansas City’s Pride Month celebrations mark their 50th anniversary this year, festival organizers say anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric from the Trump administration has caused a severe loss of sponsorships. Even with a reduced budget, PrideFest plans to bring new resources to help fill a growing gap for the LGBTQ+ community. -
After years of rejection, Overland Park native Shelby Floyd felt her dreams come true as she won the HBO Max reality competition show "Second Chance Stage." The singer-songwriter taps into the highs and lows of her journey in her first single "Sad Girl Spring." -
A local civics bee competition in Harrisonville, Missouri, challenged students' knowledge and ability to make a difference in society. Now students from Harrisonville and Raymore-Peculiar schools will compete in the state competition. -
For years, tech companies have secretly used pirated e-book libraries to train their generative artificial intelligence models. "It horrifies me," says Kansas author Bryn Greenwood, whose books were among those stolen. -
President Trump's tax-cut bill, which was narrowly approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday, could dramatically cut funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Kansas City advocates say this would harm the nearly 850,000 residents between Missouri and Kansas that depend on food benefits. -
Missouri House Speaker Jon Patterson, who represents Lee's Summit, says next year's vote on whether to ban abortion again might not be the end of efforts around how the state regulates the procedure.
