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Hyatt Regency skywalks disaster in focus; panel to discuss news coverage

The lobby of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City after two skywalks fell and killed 114 people on July 17, 1981.
The lobby of the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City after two skywalks fell and killed 114 people on July 17, 1981. File photo.

A panel discussion about the 1981 Hyatt Regency Hotel disaster and the subsequent news coverage that earned a Pulitzer Prize for The Kansas City Star and The Kansas City Times will be presented Tuesday by the Missouri Humanities Council.

The event will be 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Theatre Room 103 of the Student Union, 5100 Cherry St., on the campus of the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Guest speakers will include reporters Kevin Murphy and Steve Paul and structural engineer Wayne Lischka. The discussion will be moderated by Steve Kraske of The Star and KCUR-FM.

The collapse of two skywalks during a music event in the lobby on July 17, 1981, killed 114 people and injured more than 200.

Matt Campbell: 816-234-4902, @MattCampbellKC

This story was originally published September 18, 2016 at 6:18 PM with the headline "Hyatt Regency skywalks disaster in focus; panel to discuss news coverage."

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