Crysta Henthorne News Today

An investigation into systemic police corruption in Kansas City, Kansas, the podcast from KCUR Studios and the NPR Midwest Newsroom was recognized as one of the best works of investigative reporting of 2022.

Chapter 4: The chameleon. Once interested in becoming a Catholic priest, Roger Golubski spent 35 years in the Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department, which had a reputation for racism and corruption. The secret to Golubski’s career was his use of “confidential informants,” whom he cited to secure countless convictions — including at least one person who was innocent. Now, Golubski is facing a federal indictment for kidnapping, raping and assaulting women.

Chapter 3: Stacey Quinn's story. Kansas City, Kansas, detective Roger Golubski started taking advantage of Stacey Quinn when she was only a teenager, according to her family. Local activists allege this was a pattern for “Golubski’s girls”: The detective would pick up vulnerable women in the neighborhoods he patrolled, sexually abuse them for years, and manipulate them into silence. And just like Stacey Quinn, many of them were murdered.

More residents of northeast Kansas City, Kansas, are seeing the connection between the factories in their neighborhoods and their own health problems. As one activist puts it, "People see their lives are getting harder and that alone is evidence that they want to do something about it."

Missouri ranks seventh in the nation for electric vehicle use. But around Kansas City, public chargers are most often found west of Troost Avenue, which for decades has represented the city's economic and racial dividing line.

Donnelly College students learn about environmental ethics both in class and in their community. Adding solar power to a new building and growing neighborhood gardens, the college is trying to lead by example.

City leaders are focusing on expanding the city's greenery to help fix the causes and effects of global warming. During the day in Kansas City, areas of asphalt and buildings can be as much as seven degrees hotter than outer-lying areas.

Local homeowners have taken up the cause of No Mow May, which encourages people to temporarily pause their lawn-mowing in order to support the bees, butterflies and moths vital to pollination. In early spring, weeds are some of their prime food sources.

Although energy efficiency measures are shown to lower utility bills, it's the upfront costs that play more into whether a consumer will invest in renewable energy. “We care about society," one Missouri researcher says, "but we care more about our own selves.”

Despite long wait times between buses, confusing route changes and other inconveniences, these Kansas Citians use public transit not because they have to, but because they want to. Here's why that matters.