Monroe Dodd

Monroe Dodd, 77, longtime Kansas City newspaperman, died Aug. 7, 2026, after a 10-year battle with prostate cancer.

Receiving his bachelor’s in journalism from the University of Kansas, Dodd began working in 1971 at the Miami Herald as a copy editor, rising to assistant news editor in his five years there.

In 1976, he returned to the Midwest, where he spent most of his career at The Kansas City Times and, later, The Kansas City Star, after the two papers merged. He was named managing editor of The Times in 1984 and served in various other editing, leadership and mentoring roles throughout his career.

After retiring, he worked with The Star’s website and book divisions in roles that included editing, writing and production management. He worked on The Star’s 1999 local history book, Kansas City: An American Story, and wrote and edited numerous other books about the region’s history, including the Kansas City Then and Now series.

Dodd is survived his wife, Jean; a son, Monroe, and a daughter, Marian; three grandchildren; and many more family and friends.