For the second episode of Believe in KC, Wes Rogers, candidate for Kansas City Mayor, sits down with Ashley Aune, the Missouri House Minority Leader from the Kansas City Northland. The heart of it: how a blue city gets real things out of a red state capitol, and when the state just needs to let Kansas City cook. Amendment 5, the August 4 ballot measure that would swap Missouri's income tax for higher sales taxes on nearly everything from child care to haircuts, and what that means for a border city where shoppers can cross the state line in five minutes. Medicaid cuts that land on University Health, Swope, and City Hall. The divorce law Ashley fought for years to pass so pregnant women can leave a marriage. The three state lawmakers coming home to run for City Council. The streetcar north of the river, real trains to St. Louis and Lawrence, and keeping our graduates in Kansas City. And what it takes for a mayor to actually deliver with Jefferson City: relationships, results, and being in love with this city.

Follow Ashley Aune at ashleyformissouri.com, on Instagram @ashleyformissouri, and on TikTok @ashley4mo.

For the first episode of Believe in KC, Wes Rogers, candidate for Kansas City Mayor, sits down with Valerie Hughes, a Kansas City licensed therapist who specializes in human sexuality. They start with conversion therapy: what it actually is, why it so often targets kids, and the lasting harm it leaves behind. From there the conversation opens wide. Fear, faith, and the economics underneath the backlash. How people really change their minds, and why curiosity beats arguing. Social media. Housing as the one lever that moves everything else. Getting more of Kansas City's LGBTQ residents onto the boards and commissions that run the city. Criminal justice, mental health, and who we lock up. It is honest, funny, and wide-ranging, and it ends with a message to anyone who has been through conversion therapy: in Kansas City, you are welcome.

Reach Valerie Hughes at valeriehugheslpc@gmail.com.