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Missouri again votes to increase Kansas City police funding

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Missouri again votes to increase Kansas City police funding


KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Voters across Missouri are once again deciding on a big funding issue for the police department in Kansas City.

It’s Amendment 4. Voters decided on it two years ago. But in April, the Missouri Supreme Court ordered the state to run the vote again following a lawsuit form Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas.

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Amendment 4 passed pretty overwhelmingly two years ago and amendment supporters seemed confident it would again.

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The Missouri Supreme Court ruled after the vote back in 2022 the ballot measure was misleading because it said it wouldn’t increase city spending. Now it says it could cost the city up to $38 million a year but also points out the city is already funding the department at what that new minimum level would be of 25% instead of 20.

Lucas has previously said the amendment hurts the city’s ability to work with police on creative solutions and is against anything that means more state control of local policing.

The Missouri lawmaker who first proposed the amendment in 2022 after the city had been looking to move millions in police funding into other crime prevention programs argues Kansas City has local control with KC residents on the police board.

“What the mayor wants is political control of the police department to rest within City Hall and I think the last thing we need is a bunch of woke politicians in City Hall defunding our police department. So I’m comfortable with the structure we have right now and I hope we keep it into the future,” said Missouri Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R-Parkville).

See the latest headlines in Kansas City and across Kansas, Missouri

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Other than the mayor, the board of police commissioners positions are selected by the governor.

Another vocal opponent of the amendment Tuesday has been MORE2, saying they aren’t against police funding, but against people who don’t live here deciding how the city should spend its money.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.



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RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Friday after Tuesday sub-state wins

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RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Friday after Tuesday sub-state wins


TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Below is a look at the results from Tuesday night’s high school basketball sub-state semifinals in Northeast Kansas.

Editor’s Note: This story will be updated with what schools are hosting when that information becomes readily available.

WIBW Scoreboard

BOYS

5A East Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

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  • KC Washington 68, Highland Park 38
  • Shawnee Heights 49, De Soto 37 (will play Leavenworth Friday)

5A West Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

  • Topeka West 55, Hutchinson 32 (will play Bishop Carroll Friday)
  • Emporia 61, Great Bend 41 (will play Maize South Friday)
  • Seaman 73, Valley Center 51 (will play Hays Friday)

3A West Franklin Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

  • Burlington 60, Osage City 35 (will play Baxter Springs Friday)

3A Sabetha Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

  • Hiawatha 73, Oskaloosa 48 (will play Heritage Christian Friday)
  • Silver Lake 58, Sabetha 39 (will play Perry-Lecompton Friday 7:30 p.m.)

GIRLS

6A West Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

  • Washburn Rural 60, Wichita South 32 (will play Derby)
  • Topeka High 69, Maize 45 (will play Liberal)
  • Manhattan 67, Free State 21 (will play Wichita East)

4A East Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

  • Rock Creek 71, Parsons 23 (will play Tonganoxie)
  • Wamego 54, Labette County 33 (will play Bishop Miege)
  • Hayden 2, Athison 0 (will play Baldwin)

2A Eskridge/Mission Valley Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results

  • Rossville 71, KC Christian 49 (will play Maur Hill-Mount Academy)
  • Lyndon 61, Jeff. Co. North 31 (will play Valley Heights)
  • Valley Heights 65, Doniphan West 41 (will play Lyndon)



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Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union

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Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union


In early 2026, the Kansas state legislature passed SB 244, a law which prohibits transgender people from using public restrooms on government property that align with their gender identity and establishes a private right of action that allows anyone who suspects someone is transgender and in violation of the law to sue that person for “damages” totaling $1,000.

The law also invalidates state-issued driver’s licenses with updated gender markers that reflect the carrier’s gender identity. In February 2026, transgender people across the state received letters from the state Department of Revenue’s Division of Vehicles informing them that their driver’s licenses “will no longer be valid,” effective immediately. SB 244 also prohibits transgender Kansans – or those born in Kansas – from updating the gender marker on state-issued birth certificates and driver’s licenses in the future.

The same day SB 244 went into effect, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP filed a lawsuit challenging SB 244 in the District Court of Douglas County on behalf of two transgender men who had their driver’s licenses invalidated under the law. The lawsuit charges that SB 244 violates the Kansas Constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of speech.

“The invalidation of state-issued IDs threatens to out transgender people against their will every time they apply for a job, rent an apartment, or interact with police,” said Harper Seldin, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “Taken as a whole, SB 244 is a transparent attempt to deny transgender people autonomy over their own identities and push them out of public life altogether.”

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Kansas City man sentenced for cocaine trafficking, possession of illegal firearm

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Kansas City man sentenced for cocaine trafficking, possession of illegal firearm


KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A Kansas City man was sentenced in federal court for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy and possession of an illegal firearm.

According to the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, 22-year-old Antoine R. Gillum was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole.

His sentencing stems from a June 2024 incident in a metro gas station. KCPD investigators contacted Gillum inside and found that he had discarded a 9 mm pistol in an aisle between the merchandise. He also discarded a pill bottle containing multiple illegal substances: cocaine base, oxycodone/acetaminophen and oxycodone.

Officers searched the vehicle Gillum had arrived in and found approximately 32 grams of cocaine base.

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On May 6, 2025, Gillum pleaded guilty to one count each of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Jennings. It’s a part of ‘Operation Take Back America,’ a nationwide Department of Justice initiative to eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations.

No further information has been released.



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