KMUW | Wichita Public Radio

Annual Convoy Of Hope To Be Held At Two Locations

The annual Convoy of Hope Wichita event will take place at two locations on Saturday to accommodate a growing number of people. Bethel Life Center. 3777 S. Meridian, is now in its seventh year of hosting the event. It is Wichita’s affiliate of the nationwide nonprofit Convoy of Hope, which combats hunger and poverty. Stacie Cathcart, head of the event and pastor at Bethel Life Center, has witnessed the event change from a back-to-school drive to a community gathering with numerous sponsors...

Amid National Hepatitis A Outbreaks, Kansas Requires Vaccine For Schoolkids

Get Up To Date On Abortion In Kansas: The Stats, Laws And Lawsuits

Leavenworth County, Kansas, May Not Be The Catastrophic Opioid Hotspot That New Data Appear To Show

By Alex Smith • Jul 18, 2019

A newly released database shows that Leavenworth County, Kansas, had one of the highest concentrations of opioid pills per person in the United States between 2006 and 2012.

While those numbers might suggest a hidden calamity in eastern Kansas, the vast majority of those pills were actually processed by a Veteran’s Administration fullfillment center, rather than distributed locally, according to the data.

After 13 Years, South-Central Wichita Is Looking At A New Plan

By Kylie Cameron • Jul 17, 2019

The Wichita South Central Neighborhood Plan is unveiling its new initiatives at an event this weekend.

The South Central Neighborhood Plan Pop-Up Event is on Saturday, July 20, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the SoCe Neighboring Movement office, 417 E. Gilbert St. It is free to the public.

The Neighboring Movement is seeking input on the plan it will be presenting.

Kansas Mom Hopes Her Family's Story Will Help Convince Lawmakers To Expand Medicaid

By Anne Kniggendorf • Jul 16, 2019

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Laura Robeson quit her job as a fourth-grade teacher to care for her son, who has cerebral palsy and other health problems. But as politicians considered cuts to various health care programs, she felt compelled to become an activist, working with others to speak out for families like hers.

That culminated at the State of the Union Address in February. Kansas Congresswoman Sharice Davids chose Robeson to attend as her guest, providing a real-world example of the role federal healthcare policies play in a citizen's life.

Treating Kids' Peanut Allergies With Peanuts Might Work — Or Cause More Reactions

By Alex Smith • Jul 16, 2019

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When Porter Hall of Raymore, Missouri, was a year old, he broke out in hives after eating a spoonful of peanut butter. It led to a scary night in the emergency room and a diagnosis of peanut allergy.

But today, Porter, who’s now five, is giving peanuts another shot with the help of Kansas City doctors, who have been giving him tiny doses of peanuts over the course of months.

This oral immunotherapy treatment isn’t a cure, but doctors say these tiny exposures may help to reduce or prevent severe reactions – although some critics are warning families to consider the risks.

These Programs Will Pay Kansas Farmers For Crops They Won't Harvest

By Corinne Boyer • Jul 16, 2019

GARDEN CITY — Three years ago, rancher and farmer Jay Young got intrigued by a YouTube video.

A North Dakota farmer championed the idea of cover crops — plants that would be considered weeds in many other contexts — as robust plants for his cattle to graze on.

Young applied the cover crop strategy – rotating rye, radishes, turnips, oats and barley – to his land just east of the Colorado border. The plants held the soil in place, trapped nutrients in the ground and made the ground nicely spongy.

Kick Push: Rental Scooters Are Now On Wichita Streets

By Kevin Benavides • Jul 15, 2019

Electric scooters have hit the streets of Wichita.

Mayor Jeff Longwell held a small ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday morning at the corner of Second and Main streets, officially launching the program.

"This new method of transportation will add vibrancy to our downtown, and it'll make getting around a little easier," Longwell said.

Transit director Mike Tann says that 500 scooters were deployed Monday around the downtown area, but more than 1,100 will be available over the next few weeks.

WPD Chief Gordon Ramsay Concerned About Police Shooting Investigations

By Associated Press • Jul 12, 2019

Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay testified in a newly released deposition that he was so concerned about the fairness of internal department probes of police shootings in Wichita that he removed the high-ranking officers overseeing them and detectives conducting them.

Leaders To Look At Higher Pay For Kansas Legislature's Staff

By Associated Press • Jul 12, 2019

Stephen Koranda / Kansas Public Radio/File photo

Leaders of both parties in the Kansas Legislature agree that they need to develop a plan for raising the pay of their full-time employees and part-time staff.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the Legislature's seven-member Coordinating Council of its top leaders plans to examine pay issues. The leaders are concerned that lawmakers are having trouble retaining staff and attracting temporary workers during their annual sessions.

JBS Accounts For A Quarter Of Pork Bought By The Federal Government To Offset Trade Losses

By Chris Walljasper • Jul 12, 2019

A Brazilian-owned meat processing company undercut its competition by more than $1 per pound to win nearly $78 million in pork contracts through a federal program launched to help American farmers offset the impact from an ongoing trade war.

As a result, JBS USA has won more than 26 percent of the $300 million the USDA has allocated to pork so far — more than any other company, according to an analysis of bid awards by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.

GOP Threat Ends Kansas Governor's Food Assistance Extension

By Associated Press • Jul 12, 2019

Stephen Koranda / Kansas News Service/File photo

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly on Thursday dropped a policy that allowed several thousand Kansas adults to keep receiving food assistance after failing to meet a work requirement, reversing course days after the state's Republican attorney general threatened to file a lawsuit.

Commentary & Podcasts

Strong Verbs! | YSIW

"Last night I lay down my book and sunk into a deep sleep." Yep. That's the sentence Fletcher received from Kathy and Ross, and it sent him on an emotional journey.

A Musical Life: William Mitchell

Marginalia: Abi Maxwell

KMUW Music

Darrell Scott On The Dignity Of Songwriting

By Jedd Beaudoin • Jul 19, 2019

Darrell Scott will perform at the Bartlett Arboretum in Belle Plaine on Sunday, July 21.

The Nashville-based musician has written songs that have been covered by the Dixie Chicks, Brad Paisley, Keb Mo and Faith Hill in addition to an ever-growing collection of albums released under his own name. In 2010, he appeared on Robert Plant’s Band of Joy album and was a member of the former Led Zeppelin vocalist’s touring band over the following year.

Scott recently spoke with KMUW about his earliest writing experiences, the power of poetry and isolation in creativity.

New Album From Soul Legend Patrice Rushen

By Carla Eckels • Jul 16, 2019

Sunday, July 21

Sunday on Soulsations, hear soul legend Patrice Rushen. She’s known for her work as a composer, multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter, and music director. Her 1982 single, "Forget Me Nots" will be among her most memorable songs featured on a new compilation, Remind Me: The Classic Elektra Recordings 1978-1984.

The Mavis Birthday Celebration Continues

By Chris Heim • Jul 15, 2019

July 19/21

Crossroads continues the July feature celebrating the 80th birthday of Mavis Staples with music from one of her solo albums produced by Prince, in guest appearances with Pops Staples and Luther Dickinson, and with the Staple Singers – plus a cover of a Staples classic from the latest album from contemporary Sacred Steel band, the Lee Boys.

Also featured in this show, the latest from Rick Vito (ex-Fleetwood Mac and Bob Seger), Robin Trower, Grady Champion (with a tribute to soul blues star Z.Z. Hill), Billy Branch (with a tribute to blues harp great Little Walter) the Texas Horns, and Jimmie Vaughan.

Roma Music, Nelson Mandela Day, Brazilian Birthdays & Remembering Joao Gilberto

By Chris Heim • Jul 15, 2019

Monday, July 15

Global Village marks birthdays of Cameroonian musician, writer and African music advocate Francis Bebey, Indo-jazz pioneer Joe Harriott, reggae vocalist Gregory Isaacs, and Brazilian saxophonist, clarinetist and composer Paulo Moura. Plus music from bossa nova legend Joao Gilberto, who recently passed away, the Miles from India project bringing together Miles Davis alums and Indian musicians to revisit and reinvent some of his classic compositions, and the latest releases from Lucibela, Coladera, and Dong Xi.

Tuesday, July 16

Global Village marks birthdays of salsa star and political activist Ruben Blades, reggae artist Desmond Dekker, West Coast Latin jazz pioneer Cal Tjader, and Brazilian guitarist Bola Sete – plus music from the famous ‘white album’ from the late bossa nova great Joao Gilberto, from Fanfare Ciocarlia, the group featured on the Global Village at the Savannah Music Festival show later this month, and the latest titles from Argentina’s Las Hermanas Caronni, Afro-Latin group Yapunto, Ivorian reggae star Tiken jah Fakoly, Slovakian band Banda, and the Putumayo World Peace compilation.

Wednesday, July 17

Global Village highlights some female artists from Asia this time, including Chinese pipa player and Silk Road Ensemble member Wu Man, Chinese pipa player and music educator Gao Hong, Vietnamese singer Huong Thanh, and from Central Asia, Yulduz Usmanova. Plus some different approaches to Indian music from Trilok Gurtu and Nordic Raga.

Thursday, July 18

Global Village marks Nelson Mandela International Day – a special day of commemoration, celebration, and public service designated by the United Nations in honor of South African leader Nelson Mandela’s birthday. The show highlights music in honor of Mandela and the fight against apartheid in South Africa that still resonate today, including works from a number of musicians from South Africa. We’ll hear selections from Hugh Masekela, Miriam Makeba, Artists United Against Apartheid, 2020 NEA Jazz Master Abdullah Ibrahim, Brenda Fassie, Harry Belafonte, and more.

Friday, July 19

Global Village heads to the Balkans for a variety of sounds and artists, including a number of Roma artists for the July feature. We’ll hear music from the Romanian brass band Fanfare Ciocarlia (the featured artists in this month’s Global Village at the Savannah Music Festival concert program), Bulgarian wedding band leaders Ivo Papasov and Yuri Yunakov, the Gypsy Groovz Orchestra, the Barcelona Gipsy Balkan Orchestra, traditional Romanian Roma band Taraf de Haidouks, and more.

The Appleseed Cast Moves Forward With 'The Fleeting Light Of Impermanence'

By Jedd Beaudoin • Jul 12, 2019

The Fleeting Light of Impermanence is the latest release from Lawrence's The Appleseed Cast. The record was issued June 28 and is the veteran act's first album in six years.

Formed in 1997 and initially based out of Los Angeles, the original lineup quickly decided to leave California for a life on the road. Cars were sold, leases given up and by 1998, The Appleseed Cast had cut its debut album, The End of the Ring Wars.

Noteworthy

Neighborhood Food Pantry Program Moves Into Wichita Church

Shelves of food, bottled water and personal care products fill the old choir room at St. John’s Episcopal Church on North Topeka in downtown Wichita. It's the new distribution center for the growing Wichita-based food pantry program Paxton’s Blessing Box.