Deep Background

Funding the police department is one of any city’s highest priorities. The Kansas City Police Department’s role in civic life is under scrutiny today, though public support for law enforcement is generally high. On today’s Deep Background podcast, Star reporters Glenn Rice and Mike Hendricks join Dave Helling and Derek Donovan to discuss budgets, reform and the police’s relationship with the public. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's Deep Background podcast, Kansas City Star reporters Katie Moore and Steve Vockrodt join hosts Dave Helling and Derek Donovan to talk about the protests that have been going on in Kansas City and around the world in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in a Minneapolis police officer's custody. Kansas City is committing to police body cameras and other reforms, but will that solve the problem? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kansas City is just one of about 100 cities where demonstrators are taking to the streets in the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. The Star's Mara Rose Williams talks about what she saw at the Country Club Plaza. McClatchy Washington bureau reporter Bryan Lowry also joins Dave Helling and Derek Donovan to talk about Roger Marshall, Bob Hamilton and the race for the Senate in Kansas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the coronavirus pandemic swept through the country, Missouri lawmakers curtailed their session to avoid large groups. This time, though, things got pretty wild - and the General Assembly set its sights on reversing the Clean Missouri redistricting and ethics reform initiative that voters approved by 2-to-1 in 2018. The Star's Jefferson City correspondent Crystal Thomas joins Dave Helling and Derek Donovan on today's podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's Deep Background podcast, Kansas City Star reporters Sarah Ritter and Eric Adler join Dave Helling and Derek Donovan to talk about the road back from the coronavirus shutdowns. Are people taking social distancing measures seriously? And is it surprising that during this politically fraught era that this global health crisis turn into a left-versus-right debate? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Deep Background podcast returns as Dave Helling hosts Star reporters Steve Vockrodt and Kevin Hardy to discuss how Kansas City and the surrounding area is coping with the coronvirus pandemic. What has been holding up testing for weeks — and are people just no longer willing to shelter in their homes? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Star reporters Katie Bernard and Eric Adler have been covering the coronavirus outbreak and what it means to the Kansas City area. University classes in person are canceled; NCAA basketball will be played without spectators and Mayor Quinton Lucas has declared an unprecedented state of emergency. Will these measures stave off a disaster - or is it all overreaction? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's Deep Background podcast, Colleen McCain Nelson and Melinda Henneberger join their Star Editorial Board colleagues Dave Helling and Derek Donovan to discuss the wild ride of this year's Democratic primaries. Just a few weeks ago, pundits were ready to write off Joe Biden's bid for the White House. But now that the field is down to two contenders, will Democrats rally behind the candidate they think is the best chance to unseat President Donald Trump? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's always much discussion of the Kansas City Police Department's budget. The topic of body cameras is on the agenda yet again. But several mitigating factors - especially the fact that the city doesn't have local control over the department - continue to stand in the way. Toriano Porter joins his editorial board colleagues Dave Helling and Derek Donovan to talk about these and other police-related topics on this week's Deep Background podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Did Kansas Citians get any big surprises from Quinton Lucas’ first budget as mayor? The Star’s City Hall reporter Allison Kite joins Dave Helling and Derek Donovan of the editorial board to talk about it. Also, development writer Kevin Hardy joins the podcast to talk about Cerner Corp. and its apparently stalled plans to develop retail near its huge Innovations campus along Bannister Road. Read the stories we discuss: ‘Only a beginning’: Mayor Quinton Lucas promises equity in first State of the City What’s next for Cerner’s Bannister development after standstill with Kansas City? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On the Deep Background podcast, Johnson County reporter Sarah Ritter joins Dave Helling and Derek Donovan of the editorial board to talk about the Shawnee Mission School District’s recent decision to impose a three-year contract on teachers. Will Kansas’ arguments about school funding ever end? Also, they talk about the debate in Overland Park about tax incentives to promote private businesses to investment in the community. Are they the right mechanism to keep the city growing? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts retiring, there are three candidates with name recognition vying for his seat: U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall, state Senate President Susan Wagle, and Kris Kobach, who lost the race for governor to Laura Kelly in 2018. Also, three new faces seek to unseat Sharice Davids in the 3rd District for the U.S. House. Will Kansas Republicans come together? Michael Ryan joins Dave Helling and Derek Donovan to talk about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On today's Deep Background, The Kansas City Star's Colleen McCain Nelson joins Dave Helling and Derek Donovan to discuss the role of editorial board endorsements in today's fragmented media world. Iowa enjoys an outsize influence in the presidential campaign, and Americans care what The Des Moines Register thinks because of its extraordinary access during the primary. But what role would a regional paper such as The Kansas City Star play in endorsing a presidential candidate who won't have the chance to sit down with the members of the editorial board? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How did Chillicothe, Missouri, farmer Randy Constant get away with one of the biggest agricultural frauds in American history? Star reporter Mike Hendricks joins Dave Helling and Derek Donovan to talk about what it may mean for the organic food market in the future. Steve Vockrodt also joins us to discuss allegations that UMB, one of Kansas City's premiere financial institutions, about allegations that the bank mismanaged the Thomas Hart Benton estate, as well as possible misconduct among its management ranks. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of Mayor Quinton Lucas' highest priorities is finding meaningful solutions to the violent crime epidemic that makes Kansas City far more dangerous than most other cities its size. Star reporter Allison Kite joins Dave Helling and Derek Donovan of the editorial board to discuss the mayor's plans. Also, reporter Kevin Hardy talks about the big layoff Hallmark announced this week. What lies ahead for one of Kansas City's flagship businesses as it navigates the drastically changing world of retail? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Kansas City Star's Laura Bauer and Judy Thomas spent a year investigating the United States' foster care system. A quarter of those in our prisons started out as foster kids - and there are no easy solutions in sight. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Star opinion writer Melinda Henneberger joins her editorial board colleagues Dave Helling and Derek Donovan to discuss Sarah Gonzales-McLinn, who was only 19 when she killed Hal Sasko, the man 33 years her senior who she said treated her like his "personal Barbie doll." Gonzales-McLinn will be in court Monday, and a Douglas County District Court judge will hear evidence that might lead to a new trial. Read Melinda's column about the case here, and thanks for listening to Deep Background. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reporter Eric Adler joins Dave Helling and Leah Becerra to discuss the story of Carol Dille, an eccentric neighbor in midtown Kansas City. Then Sarah Ritter, a reporter, discusses public incentives for a huge project in Overland Park. Read the stories we discussed: Amid $500,000 homes, KC neighbors wage decades-long fight against woman’s ‘rat house’ - https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article236906633.html Reverse Robin Hood syndrome’: Overland Park Council approves $200M tax break deal - https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article237964979.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Justice Horn, the student government president at University of Missouri-Kansas City, and Alex Dwyer, a July graduate from the University of Kansas, sit down with The Star education writer Mara Rose Williams and Deep Background host Dave Helling to discuss the growth of conservatism on college campuses. For further reading: College conservatives say their numbers are growing. Or are they just getting louder? - https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article237165489.html MU claims recovery from racial protests, boasting another record fundraising year - https://www.kansascity.com/news/state/missouri/article232492142.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly recently sat down for an interview with members of The Kansas City Star's Editorial Board, to talk about taxes, schools, Medicaid, and a host of other issues. This edition of Deep Background contains excerpts from those discussions. Dave Helling hosts. For further reading: Medicaid work rules would come at high cost to Kansas, Kelly official warns lawmakers - https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article237536114.html Kansas tax outlook improving, but state still set to spend more than it receives - https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article237109454.html Editorial: Kansas is third-worst in nation for retirement, report says. Are high taxes to blame? - https://www.kansascity.com/opinion/editorials/article237555884.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices