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Seg. 1: Former Kansas Ag Secretary's Run For Governor. Seg. 2: Is Being Black A Health Risk?

Luke X. Martin
/
KCUR 89.3
Democrat Josh Svaty won his traditionally red district's vote for a seat in the Kansas House four times.

Segment 1: Former four-term state representative and agriculture secretary Josh Svaty wants the state's top job.

Josh Svaty stepped into politics as a 22-year-old Kansas state representative. The Democrat grabbed his seat from a Republican incumbent in the heart of the state, and went on to serve three full terms in the House. He started a fourth, but left the Legislature to become Kansas secretary of agriculture. Today, the farmer and businessman told us about his gubernatorial hopes, and his stance on issues like abortion, the Second Amendment and education funding. 

  • Josh Svaty, Democratic candidate for Kansas governor 

Segment 2, starting at 27:17: African-Americans have a higher risk of developing serious health problems.

Is being black in the U.S. a health hazard? That's what one journalist wrote in the latest edition of The Atlantic.In some areas of the country, there is a 20-year life-expectancy gap between whites and blacks, who suffer disproportionately from a slew of serious health problems. We learned how social and environmental factors contribute to these health disparities, and asked what needs to happen to close the gap.

When 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.