Peggy Lowe
Peggy Lowe joined Harvest Public Media in 2011, returning to the Midwest after 22 years as a journalist in Denver and Southern California. Most recently she was at The Orange County Register, where she was a multimedia producer and writer. In Denver she worked for The Associated Press, The Denver Post and the late, great Rocky Mountain News. She was on the Denver Post team that won the Pulitzer Prize for breaking news coverage of Columbine. Peggy was a Knight-Wallace Fellow at the University of Michigan in 2008-09. She is from O'Neill, the Irish Capital of Nebraska, and now lives in Kansas City. Based at KCUR, Peggy is the analyst for The Harvest Network and often reports for Harvest Public Media.
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A Kansas family remembers Valentine's Day as the start of panic attacks, life-altering trauma and waking to nightmares of gunfire. They wonder how they'll recover from the Kansas City parade shooting. -
Slaughterhouse and meat processing plant workers have some of the most dangerous jobs. One of the most common injury is musculoskeletal disorders, brought on by thousands of daily repetitive motions.
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The classic Midwestern casserole, which turns 60 this year, has come to mean more than just a mashup of processed food. Even those who grew up with it but can't abide it admit: It tastes like home. -
Last fall, a University of Kansas professor criticized the National Rifle Association in a tweet. Wednesday, the Kansas Board of Regents approved a strict social media policy for university employees.
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Starting in the 1980s, leaders in Garden City, Kan., decided that they were going to treat the immigrant influx as a blessing, not a curse. Working conditions are tough, but the jobs offer decent wages, and a good support system provides a brighter future. -
In March 2012, two Missouri high school athletes were charged in a sexual assault case — and the charges were dropped three months later. Now, a county prosecutor will ask a judge to look at accusations. The firestorm surrounding the case was fueled in part by "hacktivist" crusaders Anonymous. -
Tyson Foods said it will stop using the controversial drug, which fattens cattle, because of potential animal welfare issues. But many in the beef industry say the company is just interested in boosting exports to countries like China and the European Union, where growth-promoting drugs for meat production are banned. -
In the past three years, Midwestern farmers have seen flooding, then record-setting drought, and now flooding again. "As much as we think we have things cornered and we know what's going to be happening, you just don't know what will happen," a meteorologist says. -
It isn't clear yet whether U.S. regulators will approve the takeover of the iconic American company by China's Shuanghui International. There are concerns that Shuanghui could ratchet up production to feed the growing demand for meat in China. -
Before the American Revolution, a huge tree has been standing in central Missouri, growing to 90 feet tall. The beloved bur oak, which everybody calls "The Big Tree," has survived all kinds of punishments during 350 years on the prairie. But last year's record drought was rough on the tree, causing it to wilt and alarming two locals who nursed it back to health.
