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11-18-12 KC Currents Full Show Click on individual stories below
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Navajo Code Talker Chester Nez
For the past several years, the numbers of nontraditional college students have been increasing. But last Monday, as part of a Veterans Day observance, the University of Kansas awarded a degree to one of its least traditional graduates ever: a 91-year-old former Navajo Code Talker.
No More Twinkies? Hostess Brands Is Shutting Down
Hostess Brands Inc., with around 200 workers at its Lenexa plant, announced Friday morning it would make good on its promise to shut its doors if workers in at least a dozen of its 33 plants didn’t return to work. The company, whose Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and Wonder Bread are icons in the history of the American diet, said a nationwide strike had made it impossible for it to climb out of bankruptcy. Kansas workers were some of the first to walk out, saying concessions in the most recent round of contract negotiations were simply unacceptable.
Livestrong Sporting Park: Still A Good Name?
Now that the season has ended for Sporting Kansas City, the question lingers on whether the soccer stadium in KCK will continue to carry on with its name of Livestrong Sporting Park. The Livestrong Foundation announced that Lance Armstrong is no longer on its board of directors. And those in charge were well aware of the controversy surrounding Armstrong when they chose to partner up with the foundation.
Feds To Setup Insurance Exchanges In Kansas And Missouri
Immediately after the presidential election, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon announced the state would not be setting up its own health insurance exchange. Next door in Kansas, Governor Sam Brownback made a similar announcement. Exchanges are online market places where people will soon go to compare and shop for health insurance. The federal health law requires all states have them up and running by January first of 2014, as part of the law’s attempt to make health insurance more accessible. Kansas and Missouri’s recent decisions to stay out of it mean the federal government will likely come in and manage the exchanges instead.
Study Sheds Light On Texting And Driving
Why do people—especially young people—continue to text and drive even when they know it’s dangerous? Are they actually addicted to texting? These are questions that intrigued KU psychology professor Paul Atchley in a study he conducted on texting and college students.
Dust Bowl Memories Offer Warning For Today
The Dust Bowl of the 1930s left an indelible mark on the Midwest and on history. That story is explored in a new documentary from Ken Burns airing this week on PBS. And there could still be lessons to learn from this man-made disaster.
Tips, Red Flags To Consider When Donating To Charity
In times of natural disaster, we tend to see the best of humankind. But sometimes, we also see the worst. After the 2011 Joplin tornado, some scam artists posed as charities—and that’s happening again on the East Coast in response to Hurricane Sandy.
Terry Evans: Revealing The Secrets Of The Prairie
It’s fitting that the first career retrospective for photographer Terry Evans takes place in her hometown of Kansas City, Missouri, at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art where she took art classes as a child. For decades, Evans has documented the Midwest prairie, its people and artifacts; more recently, she’s explored her new hometown of Chicago, and the oil and gas industries, always examining the relationship between people and the land.
