Sam Zeff

UMKC may have to pay hundreds of thousands to its exiting basketball coach Marvin Menzies is leaving at the end of the season, but his $350,000-a-year contract runs until April 2027.

www.kcur.org/sports/2026-...

UMKC may have to pay hundreds of thousands to its exiting basketball coach Marvin Menzies is leaving at the end of the season, but his $350,000-a-year contract runs until April 2027.

It's not like a Charlie Weis or Cuonzo Martin buyout, but it looks like UMKC will be on the hook for hundreds of thousands of dollars. www.kcur.org/sports/2026-...

Lenexa police, city officials have hands made of ham, and egg on their faces A young man writes a column for the newspaper, and surveillance ensues.

open.substack.com/pub/kansasci...

Lenexa police investigated author of column criticizing the department. He's 'pissed off' A KCUR investigation discovered the department used the city’s license plate readers to track the writer’s movements and it issued a “be on the lookout” for him.

I found a little Don Lemon action in Lenexa.
www.kcur.org/politics-ele...

Lenexa police investigated author of column criticizing the department. He's 'pissed off' A KCUR investigation discovered the department used the city’s license plate readers to track the writer’s movements and it issued a “be on the lookout” for him.

www.kcur.org/politics-ele... You don’t have to be Don Lemon to be caught up in chilling free speech action by the authorities

More criminal charges filed against Jackson County Legislative Chair Manny Abarca Abarca has been charged in Hutchinson, Kansas in addition to charges in Kansas City and Johnson County.

BREAKING: www.kcur.org/politics-ele...

UMKC gives KCUR and others one month to leave 'deteriorating' Troost Avenue building The university has been monitoring the safety of the building on 48th Street and Troost Avenue for several years. Several organizations, including KCUR and Classical KC, must be out by Jan. 31.

www.kcur.org/news/2025-12... A month. How much more time do you need to move a whole radio station to a yet undetermined location?

Why are Lenexa Police so closely tied to this controversial officer training company? The Lenexa, Kansas Police Department uses a company called Force Science to train its officers on use of force tactics. But experts in law enforcement say the company's research doesn't stand up to sc...

www.kcur.org/news/2025-12...

I've just learned I will be honored with the Draft Kings Bancroft Prize for History and Three-Way Parlays.

#blessed

CoreCivic may capitulate to Kansas city's permit demand after latest loss in prison fight • Kansas Reflector CoreCivic is looking at all options, including applying for a special use permit from the city of Leavenworth, a spokesman said.

CoreCivic may capitulate to Kansas city’s permit demand after latest loss in prison fight | via @crazeywriter.bsky.social #ksleg

4 Republican states will help Homeland Security obtain driver’s license records • Stateline Four Republican states have agreed to help the Trump administration gain access to state driver’s license data through a nationwide law enforcement computer network as part of the administration’s hun...

NEW: Some Republican states will help Homeland Security obtain driver’s license records for agency’s powerful citizenship program, court document shows

stateline.org/2025/12/01/4...

Source: KCUR - Kansas City news and NPR

Clay County residents have lost millions to a new scam. Bitcoin makes it hard to trace In the last two years, victims in Clay County have lost $3 million to scammers who fabricate fees for missing jury duty and other cons. The scammers then have them convert money into Bitcoin so it's h...

www.kcur.org/news/2025-12...

It cost Kansas City $500,000 total to fire Brian Platt, city's hidden documents reveal One agreement pays Platt $192,000, and the second, $308,000. The Kansas City Council fired Platt in March after losing a whistleblower lawsuit that cost the city almost a million dollars.

www.kcur.org/politics-ele...

It cost Kansas City $500,000 total to fire Brian Platt, city's hidden documents reveal One agreement pays Platt $192,000, and the second, $308,000. The Kansas City Council fired Platt in March after losing a whistleblower lawsuit that cost the city almost a million dollars.

Well, it took a couple of tries to get the city to give up all the documents but now we know exactly what it cost to part ways with former city manager Brian Platt www.kcur.org/politics-ele...

Kansas City will pay nearly $200,000 to fired city manager Brian Platt Former Kansas City Manager Brian Platt was fired by City Council in March, after the city lost a whistleblower retaliation lawsuit he was involved in. KCUR obtained details of the $192,000 settlement ...

BREAKING: www.kcur.org/2025-11-12/k...

Kansas City grocery stores say that SNAP cliff is forcing them to 'cut way back' For some grocery stores in the urban core, up to 60% of their business comes from shoppers using federal food benefits. A SNAP shutdown just before Thanksgiving and Christmas could be particularly bad...

Cuttig SNAP is awful for, well, everyone. www.kcur.org/politics-ele...

How a Kansas college runner ended up 'on the verge of death' after 102-degree practice Delia Montes was one of two cross-country athletes at Dodge City Community College who were treated for heat-related conditions after practicing on the hottest day of the year. Former athletes and tra...

“You know, they don’t call off the war when it’s too hot. You just don’t call off the war when it rains,” the Trustee board chair said. www.kcur.org/sports/2025-...

How a Kansas college runner ended up 'on the verge of death' after 102-degree practice Delia Montes was one of two cross-country athletes at Dodge City Community College who were treated for heat-related conditions after practicing on the hottest day of the year. Former athletes and tra...

www.kcur.org/sports/2025-...

Excessive heat makes sports in the Midwest more dangerous. Can a key weather metric help? Wet bulb globe temperature uses a combination of weather data that indicates how conditions will affect the human body. But there is no universal standard, leaving just what amount of heat is dangerou...

www.kcur.org/health/2025-...

Copper thefts are soaring in Missouri, as Trump's tariffs drive up the price In the last six months of 2024, some 6,000 incidents of copper wire theft were reported in the U.S. Only Texas and California had more than Missouri.

www.kcur.org/news/2025-09...

Copper thefts are soaring in Missouri, as Trump's tariffs drive up the price In the last six months of 2024 some 6,000 incidents of copper wire theft were reported in the U.S. Only Texas and California had more than Missouri.

While your catalytic converter is a little safer, your copper is not. www.kcur.org/news/2025-09...

The Battle At Tuttle Creek | Fountain City Frequency To understand the battle at Tuttle Creek you need to know just how bad the flood of 1951 was in Kansas. 

Turns out, this was a concern decades ago when the dam was being proposed. The controversy became a propaganda film fountaincityfrequency.com/archiverpodc...

Here is the little-known, but fascinating story, of how Tuttle Creek Lake even came to be. fountaincityfrequency.com/archiverpodc...

Wyandotte County residents will pay more in taxes after contentious budget process Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, commissions voted Monday to raise property taxes but also cut the Board of Public Utilities PILOT fee.

www.kcur.org/politics-ele...

Two men arrested in Utah after bomb found under news vehicle Men could face terrorism-related and weapons charges after officials say explosive ‘had been lit but failed to function’

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Wyandotte County residents will pay more in taxes after contentious budget process Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, commissions voted Monday to raise property taxes but also cut the Board of Public Utilities PILOT fee.

www.kcur.org/politics-ele...

About this Florida vaccine story:

When they were little - 1 yr and 3 1/2 - my two older boys, who’d had all their shots, got whooping cough.

We asked their pediatrician what would’ve happened if they hadn’t been vaccinated.

“Oh, they’d have died.”

Episode 1: Queen Bey from KCK | Fountain City Frequency In this premiere episode, we meet Queen Bey—born in Kansas City, Kansas, in 1937—via the final interview she gave before she died in 2024. Raised in a Muslim household in a segregated city, Queen Be...

In the 10 years I've produced Archiver #podcasts, I've never been more inspired by a subject. Here is episode 1 and make sure to subscribe. fountaincityfrequency.com/archiverpodc... #kansascity #music

Kansas college soccer player collapsed from heat a day before track athlete was hospitalized Family and friends of Delia Montes, a cross-country runner at Dodge City Community College who is hospitalized for heat exhaustion, gathered over several days this weekend to support her and her famil...

I’m just getting started on this. www.kcur.org/health/2025-...