Kansas City's longest-ever rent strike

Kansas City Today

Tenant union members at an Independence apartment building are in their third month of a rent strike. Has it been worth the risk? Plus: A Kansas native explains how Truman Capote and Harper Lee ended up joining her family for Christmas dinner.

In downtown Kansas City and eastern Independence, tenants withheld their rent payments October and November in response to deteriorating conditions and landlords who turned a blind eye to issues like persistent pests, mold and faulty appliances. As KCUR's Celisa Calacal reports, residents at Independence Towers residents are continuing the rent strike into December, while the union at Quality Hill Towers voted to pause their strike and pay rent this month.

Many Kansans know Truman Capote spent considerable time in the state, working on what would become his most famous full-length novel, “In Cold Blood.” Far fewer people know he spent at least one Christmas in the Sunflower State — but writer Rosemary Hope remembers. Hope shares the story of the time Truman Capote and “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper Lee ate Christmas dinner at her family home in Garden City.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Luke Martin. It is produced by Olivia Hewitt and KCUR Studios, and edited by Lisa Rodriguez and Gabe Rosenberg.

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