Frank Morris
Frank Morris has supervised the reporters in KCUR's newsroom since 1999. In addition to his managerial duties, Morris files regularly with National Public Radio. He’s covered everything from tornadoes to tax law for the network, in stories spanning eight states. His work has won dozens of awards, including four national Public Radio News Directors awards (PRNDIs) and several regional Edward R. Murrow awards. In 2012 he was honored to be named "Journalist of the Year" by the Heart of America Press Club.
Morris grew up in rural Kansas listening to KHCC, spun records at KJHK throughout college at the University of Kansas, and cut his teeth in journalism as an intern for Kansas Public Radio, in the Kansas statehouse.
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The second largest Native American city in North America may have been in Kansas. In 1601, a group of Spanish conquistadors stumbled on a vast city. By the time French explorers showed up in the area a century later, the inhabitants had been decimated by European diseases and the city was gone. It's in Arkansas City, Kansas, where locals had been pulling "literally tons" of artifacts from plowed fields for years. But it wasn't until a high school kid with a metal detector found a Spanish cannon shot, that a local archaeologist knew he had a match.
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President Trump has proposed spending cuts to programs that prop up rural areas that voted for him. While some policy experts bemoan that, there are rural voters who fully support those cuts.
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Decades ago, Garden City, Kan., embraced the meat industry, and immigrants flocked there for jobs. The city worked hard to absorb newcomers, but now its economy and diverse community are in jeopardy.
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NAFTA critics say money and jobs go to Mexico, but U.S. companies, like Kansas City Southern, do benefit. The company, built around trade with Mexico, has been hit hard by Trump's victory.
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White nationalists were early, enthusiastic supporters of Donald Trump in the election. But the so-called alt-right has splintered since Election Day and now looks less potent than it once appeared.
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Donald Trump has championed gun rights, but it turns out, the Obama years have been good for the U.S. gun industry. In Kansas, the prospect of a Clinton win sparked some to spend big on guns.
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The Fort Calhoun nuclear plant in Nebraska shuts down Monday, 17 years ahead of schedule. It is just the latest U.S. nuclear plant to close because it can't compete with other cheaper energy.
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Five of the largest agrochemical chemical companies are currently involved in mergers that may lead to four companies controlling many of the basics that big grain farmers use to grow food globally.
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A Kansas waterslide recently decapitated a 10-year-old boy, and the tragedy is raising new questions about thrill ride regulation. No federal agency oversees amusement parks or water parks.
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A group called Truckers Against Trafficking is helping states enlist truckers to spot and report forced prostitution. The effort has sent traffickers to prison and liberated hundreds of sex slaves.
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The business community, including solidly GOP-leaning groups, oppose the bill, after seeing the effect of similar measures elsewhere. The blowback has surprised Christian conservatives in Missouri.
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Lead, the "useful metal," was the pride of the Romans. For the last 5,000 years, it was used in products ranging from water pipes and makeup to wine — until we discovered how poisonous it is.