Kansas

Kansas City voters to decide April 8 on funding for proposed detention center

Published

12 months ago

March 11, 2025

Kansas City voters to decide April 8 on funding for proposed detention center

KSHB 41 reporter Isabella Ledonne covers issues surrounding government accountability and solutions. Share your story with Isabella.

Kansas City, Missouri, leaders want to build a new jail as one solution to the problem of crime in the city.

Kansas City does not have its own municipal detention center.

In less than a month, voters will vote to decide how the proposed detention center will be funded.

If Kansas City builds its detention center, it would go next to where Jackson County is building its jail.

It would cost more than $200 million to build, which is an expense Kansas City Councilman Crispin Rea explained is only possible if voters renew the public sales tax.

Jack McCormick

“We’ve already paid this tax for 15 years,” Councilmember Rea said. “There will be no increase in sales tax. It will be a quarter-cent sales tax, which is what we have utilized in the past.”

The tax currently funds public safety infrastructure, including Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department and Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department buildings and resources.

“Kansas City residents pay this tax, but so do a lot of visitors,” Rea said. “Anytime someone is coming and making purchases in Kansas City from outside of Kansas City, they’re paying into the sales tax, and we get to utilize that revenue to make our city safer.”

Multiple businesses suffered from the recent string of property crimes.

The Bar West Plaza has been broken into twice. Owner Amy Turpin supports the detention center as a part of the solution.

“More taxes, we all can’t wait for that,” Turpin laughed. “But if it’s for the better, then we’ll just have to suck it up.”

Grunauer Restaurant is located in the Crossroads Arts District, the center of where property crimes have been occurring in Kansas City.

The restaurant’s owner explained that a local detention center is an important part of public safety in the city.

“Not having a detention facility for a city our size is a major handicap for police to be able to do their job,” Nicholas Grunauer said. “The benefit of paying taxes is that you have a safe and stable community. This isn’t necessarily going to guarantee that, but it’s a necessary step to tackle a lot of these quality of life issues.”

Everyone agrees that Kansas City, Missouri, crime needs a strong solution, but there’s a disconnect on what should be funded by taxpayers.

“It’s about trust, it’s about accountability, and it’s about whether our city makes fiscally responsible decisions,” Decarcerate KC Executive Director Amaia Cook said.

At a town hall forum Monday in south Kansas City, opponents of the sales tax renewal argued the money should go toward crime prevention, not incarceration measures.

“I don’t want us, our kids, and our grandkids having to pay for a tax that isn’t going to address these root causes and going to continue to cycle people in and out of jail,” Cook said.

Proponents like Councilwoman Melissa Patterson Hazley noted a concerning challenge of not having a local detention center.

“These [repeat offenders] are fully aware that they can keep misbehaving, and there’s not really a lot that we can do about it,” she said.

Another problem is that offenders placed in Vernon and Johnson County jails aren’t under Kansas City jurisdiction, often leading to premature releases.

“If we have somebody who is combative or extremely mentally ill, [the jails] are saying we won’t take them, and we have no place to put them,” Municipal Court Judge Martina Peterson said. “They release them back on the street.”

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Kansas

Former Kansas high school wrestling coach charged with producing child pornography

Published

1 hour ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Former Kansas high school wrestling coach charged with producing child pornography

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – A former Kansas wrestling coach was charged with creating child sexual abuse materials by secretly recording minors showering during an athletic competition.

According to court documents, 37-year-old Ryan Brungardt of Salina is charged with two counts of production of child pornography and one count of attempted production of child pornography.

Brungardt is a former employee at Lakewood Middle School and former wrestling coach for Salina Central High School.

Brungardt is accused of using a cellphone to record three minors while they showered in a locker room during the Tournament of Champions, a wrestling tournament was held at Newton High in January 2024.

Brungardt made his initial court appearance for the criminal complaint on Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brooks G. Severson.

A detention hearing is scheduled for Monday

Investigators are in the process of reviewing additional seized cellphone videos in this case that are suspected to have been recorded at wrestling meets in Newton, Hays, Garden City and Salina during the 2023-2024 wrestling season.

Anyone who believes they witnessed crimes or any suspicious activity at these events is asked to contact the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at (785) 600-8790 or report at www.kbi.ks.gov/sar.

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