Top Stories
KMUW reporters and producers share the stories that helped shape their 2025.
Carlos Moreno
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KCUR 89.3
Courtesy of Eric Larson
Kate Grumke
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Harvest Public Media
Local news
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Wichita will hold a special election on March 3 on a citywide sales tax proposal. Sedgwick County election officials say that about 26,000 voters will be directed to alternative polling places come election day. -
The Center for Healthcare Quality & Payment Reform, a national policy organization, found 68 rural Kansas hospitals are at risk of closing, including 30 at immediate risk. Revenue isn't keeping up with costs. -
The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to send “bridge” payments to farmers who grow soybeans, cotton and other crops before March. Commodity groups and economists say the aid brings relief to farmers and their lenders, but they need long-term solutions. -
This week on "The Range," what’s behind the push for a new sales tax? Also, finding art in the world of aviation. -
What’s behind the push for a new sales tax? Wichita voters will decide in March whether to enact a 1% city sales tax for the next seven years. The revenue would be directed at public safety, housing and cultural investments.
NPR News
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J. Scott Applewhite/APDefense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday that Elon Musk's artificial intelligence chatbot Grok will join Google's generative AI engine in operating inside the Pentagon network, as part of a broader push to feed as much of the military's data as possible into the developing technology. -
Steve Helber/APA federal judge ruled Monday that work on a major offshore wind farm can resume, handing the industry at least a temporary victory as President Trump seeks to shut it down.
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More than 2,000 federal immigration agents are in Minnesota, and that number is expected to increase. On Monday, an NPR reporter witnessed multiple instances where immigration agents drove around Minneapolis — and in parking lots of big box stores — and randomly questioned people about their immigration status. -
People across the country gathered to protest against ICE over the past week. -
After the social media app's AI chatbot started generating sexualized images of women and children, two countries have blocked it and several more have launched investigations. -
There's a growing move to end what some call "the orphan tax" and stop states from taking benefit checks from children and youth in foster care. -
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dropped its advice that kids get an annual flu shot at a time when flu cases and hospitalizations are surging.
Commentary & Podcasts
On this episode of Marginalia, Beth Golay speaks with author Stefan Merrill Block about his memoir, "Homeschooled." Plus, book critic Suzanne Perez reviews the novel, "The Ten Year Affair" by Erin Somers.
Jason McDonald/Searchlight Pictures
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Searchlight Pictures
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