def get_stream_status(conn, stream_name):
    """
    Query this provided connection object for the provided stream's status.

    :type conn: boto.kinesis.layer1.KinesisConnection
    :param conn: A connection to Amazon Kinesis

    :type stream_name: str
    :param stream_name: The name of a stream.

    :rtype: str
    :return: The stream's status
    """
    r = conn.describe_stream(stream_name)
    description = r.get('StreamDescription')
    return description.get('StreamStatus')
