Kmbc 9 Storytellers

The 19th Amendment was ratified 100 years ago this week. In this episode, we bring you bonus material from our Chronicle: "Pioneers. Patriots. Trailblazers." Hear more from our interview with former US senator Nancy Kassebaum Baker. She reveals what it was really like being the only woman in the chamber for two years, and tells Haley about the issue that drew the ugliest phone calls from constituents. Then, a look at the ways black women (and men) were kept from voting even after the 15th and 19th Amendments.

KMBC Chronicle: Pioneers. Patriots. Trailblazers. airs on KMBC Tuesday, August 18th at 7pm. In this episode, Haley sits down with Executive Producer Cara Doyle for a behind-the-scenes look at the project, which is 18 months in the making. You'll hear clips from the upcoming hour-long documentary about the pioneering women of Kansas and their role in the suffrage movement. This Chronicle is produced by an all-female team here at KMBC.

A pair of Covid-19 survivors are issuing a warning about the virus. One is 75, one is a 41 year old father. Both spent weeks in the hospital, some of that time on a ventilator. This week, we catch up with Anil Gharmalker and Jay McKell, who have survived the virus.

KCMO Health Director Dr. Rex Archer describes a backlog in testing as testing increases. KMBC 9's Emily Holwick joins Haley to explain what's behind the lag in reporting results and why the delay is dangerous. Emily also asked Dr. Archer about a recent political tweet that drew calls for his resignation. John's Hopkins Covid-19 Tracker https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

In Parsons, Kansas, Gilbert Baker is gaining recognition. Worldwide, his work is famous. Baker created the LGBTQ Rainbow Flag, a symbol of the gay rights movement. Baker hadn't lived in Parsons for decades preceding his death in 2017. He grew up in the small Kansas town but left after high school. In 2020, the city of 10,000 people is looking for ways to possibly recognize this famous native son.

On June 15, 2020, the US Supreme Court ruled to extend workplace discrimination protections to gay and transgender Americans. A Grain Valley, Missouri native's case was among a few that led to the LGBTQ victory. Sadly, Don Zarda died in 2010. In this episode, I talk to Don's sister, Melissa.

Pastor Cassandra Wainright, president of the Concerned Clergy Coalition of KC joins Haley for a continuing discussion about racial inequality in Kansas City.

Rose Simmons lost her father in the 2015 Charleston church massacre that killed 9 black parishioners at Mother Emanuel AME Church. Kansas City Police invited her to town to deliver her message of forgiveness in 2019. This week, she joins Haley to talk about the anger in America over the death of George Floyd and where we go from here.

A year after the May 28, 2019 EF4 Linwood Tornado, many communities are still rebuilding. In this episode, we revisit Pendleton's Country Market outside Lawrence, Kansas to learn about the rebuilding that continues. Haley talks with owner John Pendleton about what lies ahead for the business that's been in the family for 70 years. https://www.pendletons.com/

Politics may have played a role in increasing the death toll during the 1918 Influenza pandemic in Kansas City, Missouri. Retired UMKC medical librarian and R.N. Susan Sykes Berry joins Haley to explain the city's "dysfunctional" response to the pandemic due to its political boss system.

In the second part in our series on the 1918 influenza pandemic, we look at correspondence from General Leonard Wood at Camp Funston, Fort Riley. There were thousands of men who were sickened at the camp. His letters detail some of the struggles to care for the ill, while keeping out loved ones who rushed to help. Haley talks to KSU medical history professor Heather McCrea, who walks us through the parallels between what was happening with the disease 102 years ago, and the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020.

This is the first in a series of episodes looking back at the Influenza pandemic of 1918 and its lessons for modern times. Historian Bill Sellers of the National History Academy joins Haley in this episode to discuss the outbreak at the Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Missouri in the fall of 1918. Sellers has close family ties to the story. His great-grandfather was in charge of Wentworth when the outbreak began following a parade in town. The episode begins with the obituary of a 17 year old cadet who fell ill and died from complications of the flu in December 1918.

As Kansas nears the peak of Covid-19, Health Secretary Dr. Lee Norman joins Haley this week to discuss everything from his goals for testing to the state's empty PPE warehouse.

A Kansas City design and innovation firm gets to work trying to protect doctors and nurses from Covid-19. Dimensional Innovations CEO Tucker Trotter joins Haley to discuss their projects to deliver PPE to hospitals in the Metro. Open-source face shields: https://dimin.com/face-shield/?nab=1&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bing.com%2Fsearch%3Fq%3Ddimensional%2Binnovations%2Bface%2Bshield%2Bopen%2Bsource%26form%3DEDGTCT%26qs%3DPF%26cvid%3Dc8a809c4b7a647e7be57648101456db4%26refig%3D6030773afe48405eb5ac9164510fa79a%26cc%3DUS%26setlang%3Den-US%26plvar%3D0

A Kansas nurse volunteers in a New York hospital, fighting Covid-19. Now, she's back and talking with us about the grim realities medical workers are facing. Hanna Crosby also shares her plea for listeners in Kansas and Missouri.

Plenty of industries are hurting with the economy essentially shut down, even "recession-proof" businesses like distilleries. KC's J. Rieger & Co. switched its business model in a couple of days to start cranking out thousands of gallons of hand sanitizer. The lines for bottles stretched two miles on March 19th. Still, it's barely enough to keep the lights on and as J. Rieger president Andy Rieger says, the ongoing pandemic is about to force some difficult choices. https://www.jriegerco.com/

Doctors know the coronavirus emerged in a market in Wuhan, China. Today, we're looking back at another epidemic that is believed to have killed 50 million people worldwide: the 1918 Influenza pandemic. Many historians and scientists have traced the origins of that disease to Haskell County, Kansas and/or modern-day Ft. Riley, near Manhattan, Kansas. Kansas State University medical historian Heather McCrea joins Haley to talk about how the epidemic may have started and spread. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/journal-plague-year-180965222/

The Kansas Attorney General announced Lamonte McIntyre will finally receive $1.5 million in compensation for spending 23 years in prison for a double murder he did not commit. This step means the state will also finally expunge McIntyre's record, more than two years after he was released from prison. This week, an interview with McIntyre on what helped him work through his anger as a young man serving a life sentence, and what he still struggles with today.

On February 10, 2020, the city discovered an animal hoarding situation in an east Kansas City duplex. An estimated 300 rats, guinea pigs, geckos, rabbits, and other small animals were living in cages inside one of the two units. Reporter Bianca Beltran interviewed the owner, a neighbor, and animal advocates about the case. She joins Haley to explain the connection between this case and issues of mental health, housing, and city ordinances. On February 13, 2020, after the recording of this podcast, the city charged Mikabel Montero and Natasha Acosta with three counts of animal cruelty in the case. See Bianca's original report here: https://www.kmbc.com/article/more-than-200-animals-found-inside-kansas-city-home-in-deplorable-conditions-john-baccala-kansas-city-missouri/30856869

The Kansas City Chiefs are in the Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years. This week, we're talking to KMBC reporter Matt Flener, who is in Miami, about everything from a $100,000 Airbnb, to the athletes' reactions to Kobe Bryant's death. Matt also tells us about his interview with two of the children of the late Derrick Thomas. Thomas was a Miami native who spent his NFL career with the Chiefs before his death in 2000. See Matt's story: https://www.kmbc.com/article/derrick-thomas-children-thrilled-chiefs-in-super-bowl/30682489