KC Currents

By Susan B. Wilson

KANSAS CITY, KS – Driving through Overland Park on the southern end of the I- 435 loop, KCUR's Susan B. Wilson noticed a large rotating object protruding into the sky. Curious, she took the highway exit and brings you this story about the Windjet 5, a small wind turbine that is showing Johnson County what the future of sustainable building design might look like. And sounds like.

By Susan B. Wilson

KANSAS CITY, MO – For over 60 years, the Johnson County Sun covered suburban news. But on Tuesday, August 16, its parent company, NPG Co., told the staff of 20 that the paper would be coming to an end.

By Sylvia Maria Gross and Susan B. Wilson

By Sylvia Maria Gross

OLATHE, Ks. – A national tragedy was brought very close home this week when the remains of several of the soldiers killed when a Chinook helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan returned to the area.

30 Americans and eight Afghanis were on board and they all died. It was the single largest loss of US troops since the war began in Afghanistan almost ten years ago. And five of the 38 people who died in that helicopter crash had a connection to this region.

It's often a challenge for even the most hard-core jazz buffs to remember Missouri's pre-ragtime composer known as Blind Boone.

By Alex Smith

KANSAS CITY, MO – The National Endowment for the Arts recently announced a pledge of $200,000 to help restore the long-abandoned Boone Theater in the 18th and Vine District. While it's a welcome boost for the neighborhood, even many Missourians are hard-pressed to remember the 19th century composer and pianist for whom the theater was named.

By Rachel Christia, produced by Gina Kaufmann

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The maddening nature of bureaucracy is part of today's American journey. But what if bureaucracy had a voice, and could speak on its own behalf?

Singer, IT professional, and "non-aspiring actress" Rachel Christia told this story about working as a customer service representative for an insurance company at the America Now & Here Story Slam, organized by Gina Kaufmann.

By Sylvia Maria Gross

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – When Mi-Ai Parrish arrived at the Kansas City Star last month to become its publisher, she was replacing a local, who had been at the paper for 25 years. (Mark Zieman went on to become a vice president at McClatchy, the company that owns the Star.)

By Sylvia Maria Gross and Susan B. Wilson

KANSAS CITY, MO – A recently-signed Missouri law caught the attention of techies and teachers around the country this week. The Amy Hestir Student Protection Act takes effect on August 28, 2011. It was named after a woman who says she was sexually abused as a child by a teacher in Missouri. Most of the bill sets up tighter safeguards for identifying predatory teachers or school personnel, and preventing them from moving to other districts. .

By Susan B. Wilson and Elana Gordon

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A local historian says the old Quindaro ruins are the largest existing underground railroad site in the country. But today, it's mostly covered in vegetation. To find out more about what's happened to the site, and what might come of it, KCUR's Susan Wilson spoke to Nathan Barnes, Wyandotte County's Commissioner for the first district, which includes Quindaro.

By Dan Verbeck

Kansas City, MO. – If you have a curious nature, those moments happen, when you pass by something around Kansas City that's out-of-the-ordinary. You know the sensation. You see a structure or thing or place and you can only say to yourself, "What is that?" KCUR's Dan Verbeck chanced upon one of those and has some background of one of the city's larger 'white elephants.'

The young musicians of Kansas City Youth Jazz perform Sunday at Penn Valley Community College to honor founder Leon Brady, who retired in June.

By Alex Smith

By Laura Ziegler and Brenna Daldorph

KANSAS CITY, MO – The hot weather has many of us wearing as little as possible: tank tops and shorts are pretty standard for women who are going to be outside for any length of time. But this isn't the case in every culture or time period.

By Brenna Daldorph

KANSAS CITY, MO – As a designer, Michael Curry's most important tool is his printer. But Curry's printer is a little different: he can print items in 3-D. Hear how Curry's whimsical designs (Giant Lego men? A talking head model of Stephen Colbert?) and his use of a home 3-D printer might just change the way we manufacture goods.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Many bargain-hunting foodies in Kansas City are rejoicing this weekend. The grocery store chain Trader Joe's has finally opened its doors in two locations: Ward Parkway Mall and on 119th Street in Leawood. For ten years, local customers have been begging the company to open a store here.

By Laura Ziegler

Prairie Village, Kansas – It's a small glass front office on Roe Avenue with a simple sign above the entrance - The Cremation Society.

The name always called to mind other groups I knew little about but invested with some mystery - The Royal Order of Hibernians or The Society of Creative Anachronism.