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Sundays at 5pmRebroadcast Mondays at 8pm Host: Susan B. Wilson Producer & Co-Host: Sylvia Maria Gross Assistant Producer: Alex Smith Contact: kccurrents@kcur.org or 816.235.6696Follow our Tweets: www.twitter.com/kccurrents For a weekly reminder of what's coming up on KC Currents, send an email to kccurrents@kcur.orgThe Latest From KC CurrentsPlanting New Grocery Stores In Rural Food Deserts Rural America is losing its grocery stores. Fewer people are living in the countryside, and mom-and-pop markets can't compete with big chains. But as KCUR's Sylvia Maria Gross reports, some small towns are finding creative ways to buck the trend. K-State Program Supports Rural Groceries With grocery stores in rural Kansas closing at record speed, having access to healthy food is a growing issue. Sylvia Maria Gross interviews K-State Professor David Proctor about what options are available for small town groceries.

Midtown Superman, Reading The Rock, KC Psychfest

Getting To Know Midtown's Running Superman

You may have seen him around town: on the plaza, near city hall, or at Arrowhead on game days. He runs miles at a time, day and night, through rain and snow, dressed as Superman. Go for a jog with KC’s “Midtown Superman,” and hear the story behind his running evangelism.

Reading The Rocks In Kansas City

Imagine a Kansas City covered by ice sheets, oceans that ebb and flow, or lush rain forests with soaring ferns and palm trees.  These were some of the different landscapes that covered this area millions of years ago.  The exhibit Kansas City Millions of Years Ago: What the Rock Record Tells Us at Commerce Bank’s Box Gallery tells the story of our region’s prehistory - curator Richard Gentile, a professor emeritus at UMKC, walks us through it.

PsychFest Showcases Experimental Music in KCK

In 2011, a handful of artists and musicians started the gallery and band venue FOKL in Kansas City, Kansas, in order to provide a non-commercial stage away from the bar scene in midtown and downtown Kansas City, MO. Next weekend, FOKL will host its biggest annual event: a weekend-long experimental music showcase.

Kansas Seeks Turning Point For Rural Communities

With rural populations declining, the state of Kansas wants people to know that it can pay to move to rural Kansas-- literally. In 2011, the state launched a one-of-a-kind program offering financial incentives for settling in one of 50 designated counties. Reporting for Harvest Public Media, Justine Greve finds that despite cuts across the state budget, these Rural Opportunity Zones have lots of support.

Three Generations Of Puertoriquena Poets

The poet Gloria Vando is known in Kansas City for helping found the Writer’s Place.  And writing runs in her family.  Last year, Vando, her mother Anita Velez-Mitchell and her daughter Anika Paris, who’s also a composer, published a book together that intertwines verses written by all three.  It’s called Woven Voices – three Generations of Puertoriquena Poets Look at Their American Lives.  And although none of them live in KC anymore, the book was edited here by Linda Rodriguez and published by Scapegoat Press.  Vando and Paris recently spoke to New Letters On The Air's Angela Elam.

Sylvia Maria Gross is storytelling editor at KCUR 89.3. Reach her on Twitter @pubradiosly.
A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Susan admits that her “first love” was radio, being an avid listener since childhood. However, she spent much of her career in mental health, healthcare administration, and sports psychology (Susan holds a PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and an MBA from the Bloch School of Business at UMKC.) In the meantime, Wilson satisfied her journalistic cravings by doing public speaking, providing “expert” interviews for local television, and being a guest commentator/contributor to KPRS’s morning drive time show and the teen talk show “Generation Rap.”
As a health care reporter, I aim to empower my audience to take steps to improve health care and make informed decisions as consumers and voters. I tell human stories augmented with research and data to explain how our health care system works and sometimes fails us. Email me at alexs@kcur.org.
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