Kansas City

The honor bestowed on Tom Masterson came with a free trip to the Super Bowl and a chance to win NFL Fan of the Year.

The federal government is by far Kansas City’s largest employer and a major economic engine, with agencies like the IRS, EPA, Social Security and more in town. Experts warn the region’s economy will feel the pain when jobs disappear.

Robert Galica, an immigrant from Mexico City and a Chiefs fanatic, started hosting tailgates at Arrowhead Stadium in a school bus in 2013. He's grown those tailgates into a successful business, the "Red Machine," which has helped him to find community and a sense of belonging in the U.S.

Celebratory gunfire is illegal under a new Missouri law, but police fielded dozens of calls after the AFC Championship win on Jan. 26. As neighborhoods brace for even bigger celebrations if the Chiefs win the Super Bowl on Feb. 9, police are saying the law is hard to enforce.

Sharon Kinne, who fled Kansas City in 1964 after being acquitted of two murders, was the subject of one of the longest outstanding murder warrants in the area. She was convicted of another murder in Mexico in 1964, escaped from prison in 1969 and died in 2022 in Canada.

After a tense win in the AFC Championship against the Buffalo Bills, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs will return to the Super Bowl for the third year in a row — and they'll face a familiar foe.

Many of Kansas City's best-regarded culinary luminaries are represented in the nominations, including The Town Company and Chewology. But the list also includes some restaurants off the beaten path.

The Kansas-Missouri border splits Kansas City, and divides the metro region more evenly, and sometimes problematically, than any American metro region cut in two by a state line. It affects how public transit and emergency services work — and puts the metro in the middle of a tug-of-war for business. Nomin Ujiyediin sits down with The Beacon's Mark Wiebe to discuss how Kansas City's state line poses unique challenges, from economic border wars to transportation shortages. We also learn more about the positive outcomes that have come from the two states working together, from bringing the World Cup to Kansas City to renovating Union Station. Contact the show at news@kcur.org. Follow KCUR on Instagram and Facebook for the latest news. Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Olivia Hewitt, Byron Love, and KCUR Studios, and edited by Lisa Rodriguez and Gabe Rosenberg. You can support Kansas City Today by becoming a KCUR member: kcur.org/donate

Kansas City Council passed an ordinance adding formerly incarcerated people to the city's list of protected classes. The move means that people can't be denied employment, housing, or business for having criminal backgrounds.

The lawsuit paints a picture of a city government that resists releasing public information and takes requests for records as an affront. It also outlines several instances where Kansas City Hall failed to promptly release records or even respond, as they're required to under Missouri law.