In 2024, KBIA added several new staff, and with them came new investigations, podcasts and service to under-covered communities in Mid-Missouri.
KBIA's long-form journalism is typified by our 2024 series The Weight of Evidence. This five-part investigation began as service to a listener who'd provided a tip that a small town was disposing of its drug evidence in a public dumpster. After KBIA's stories aired, the town stopped the practice and bought an incinerator to dispose of the paraphernalia more safely. Further, the public felt empowered to speak truth to power and now feels more agency to influence how the city council does its work.
0:00-3:57: The Weight of Evidence Part Four: The Disposal Dilemma
KBIA's new staff established an environmental reporting desk in 2024. They led coverage of the evolving debate about marijuana and hemp in Missouri...
3:57-7:55: Parson’s executive order causes hemp industry uncertainty
...served as watchdogs over energy companies trying to raise rates, and spawned an inaugural seven-episode season of a series called The Next Harvest, which helps to show how farmers are trying to overcome deeply ingrained policy and tradition to make their practices more sustainable.
7:55-12:09: Regenerative farming practices require unlearning past advice
KBIA journalists also spent considerable time in 2024 working on podcasts which give voice to communities that are often overlooked. Our podcast River Town told stories of rural Missourians living along the Missouri River, and how the water influences their lives. These stories include tales from those with indigenous ancestry, who seek to keep their traditions alive.
12:09-15:09: River Town Episode Four: A River Blessing
Another podcast, Alphabet Soup, seeks to re-frame the narratives of the LGBTQ community. It was created when listeners said the only stories they seemed to hear about LGBTQ people were when problems arose or rights were threatened. So Alphabet Soup focuses on queer joy and demystifies terminology by showing a wider variety of viewpoints or lifestyles than is common in news media.
15:09-19:08: Tisya Cooke: "I'm still loved by the people around me."
KBIA also spent considerable time covering the 2024 election cycle, notably focusing less on so-called "horse race" coverage and more on the issues affecting Missourians. This coverage did not end with KBIA's three-hour live broadcast of results on election night, but extended to the consequences of voters choices (both intended and unintended) after the ballots were counted.
19:08-24:06: Live coverage of 2025 election night
Many of these stories involved the potential impacts of ballot measures, from legalizing sports betting to raising the state's minimum wage, to re-legalizing abortion rights.
24:06-27:51: Will legalizing sports gambling in Missouri really support education?
And, even before the anti-DEI changes wrought by the incoming Trump administration, KBIA was covering efforts locally to curry favor with Republican politicians — sometimes ones made at the expense of minority students.
27:51-31:14: Racial criteria already removed by UM from millions of dollars in student aid
KBIA thanks you for your consideration.