Kansas

Disabled Kansas man who mows lawns gets new garage built by neighbors

Published

11 months ago

April 8, 2025

Disabled Kansas man who mows lawns gets new garage built by neighbors

BUCYRUS, Kan. — If you drive through rural Bucyrus, Kansas on almost any day, there’s a chance you will pass Kenny Kenley on his lawn mower.

“I love working. I never stop,” Kenley said. “It relaxes me.”

Kenley moved 30 years ago from Michigan to Bucyrus.

Jack McCormick/KSHB

Kenny Kenley

He loves living in rural Kansas.

In 2009, Kenley’s health declined, taking away mobility in his legs.

He was diagnosed with cancer, spending two years on life support, and also lived through seven heart attacks.

“It’s a little bit rough,” he said.

Nearly all of Kenley’s life is spent in a motorized wheelchair.

Kenny Kenley — A disabled Bucyrus, Kansas landscaper received a well deserved equipment shop from his neighbors at Guetterman Famile Farms.

Since his health declined, he’s been committed to defying the odds.

“They didn’t think I was going to make it,” he said. “They kept telling my wife I was going to die. My wife told them, ‘You leave that man alone, because he’s going to make it,”‘ Kenley said. “When I got out of the hospital, I told my wife, ‘I gotta start mowing. I gotta do something.”‘

With limited use of his hands and legs, Kenley spent the next year teaching himself how to get from his wheelchair into his riding lawnmower.

“Nothing ever gets me down,” he said.

That attitude drew the attention of the farmers across the road at Guetterman Family Farms.

“Kenny is the unofficial mayor of Bucyrus,” Mike Guetterman told KSHB 41. “He kind of looks out for everybody here in town. Coincidentally, we kind of look out for him as well. He’s been a blessing to us.”

The Guetterman Family offered Kenny a job mowing grass around their property.

Most days, Kenny’s up at 5:30 a.m., priming his lawnmower for sometimes 10 acres of grass to cut.

“He goes the extra mile,” Guetterman said. “You think it would just be enough to come and ride his mower. But as soon as he’s done mowing, he gets his weed eater and he’s riding his weed eater, in his chair, and weed eating all the property. How many people are there world like that?”

As a gift of appreciation, Guetterman Family Farms poured a slab of concrete and framed a shop behind Kenley’s home to store his equipment.

“You couldn’t ask for better people,” Kenley said with an ear-to-ear smile. “I love them like family.”

It’s his perseverance through all the bad times that Guetterman says he admires.

“He’ll call us and say, ‘I’m in the hospital. I had a heart attack.’” “You think Kenny is about done, but three days later he’s mowing again,” Guetterman said. “You think you have problems in your life, as far as aches and pains here and there… Kenny don’t have to do nothing. But he wants to.”

Guetterman says their family’s act of kindness is more about community and the positive attitude Kenley embodies.

“I told myself there is nothing I can do about it, so I might as well go ahead and get it done,” Kenley said. “This grass ain’t getting brown, it’s getting green! As long as it’s green, I’m mowing.”

That’s the Kenny Kenley inspiration.

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Kansas

Storms late Friday night into early Saturday morning caused damage across the Kansas City area

Published

6 hours ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Storms late Friday night into early Saturday morning caused damage across the Kansas City area

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Severe weather hit the Kansas City area late Friday night into early Saturday morning, leading to damage across the metro.

At St. Paul’s Episcopal Day School, located near 40th and Main streets in Kansas City, Missouri, one of its fences was taken down due to the storm, as well as a tree that fell away from the property.

KSHB 41

Fence down at St. Paul's Episcopal Day School

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A tree fell onto the front of a duplex and a pickup truck in Merriam at around midnight. No injuries were reported.

tree down at 52nd and Knox Ave in Merriam

In addition to the damage, a flood warning has been issued for the Marais Des Cygnes River at Osawatomie until early Monday morning.

As of 4 a.m. Saturday, the stage was at 27.9 feet, according to the Miami County Sheriff’s Office.

The river is expected to crest Saturday afternoon at 28.6 feet, higher than the 28 feet at which low-lying areas along the river begin to flood, authorities said.

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Kansas

Storm causes power outages in Kansas City metro

Published

18 hours ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Storm causes power outages in Kansas City metro

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Residents are without power after a storm swept through the Kansas City metro late Friday night into Saturday morning.

According to Evergy’s power outage map, as of 12:22 a.m., 76 active outages are causing 1,628 customers to be without power.

Over 1,000 customers are without power in the Kansas City area.(KCTV5)

WEATHER UPDATES: First Warn Weather Day: The final round of storms on the way. Here’s what to expect

This is an active situation. KCTV5 will make updates to this story as they’re made available.

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Kansas

Chiefs President: New team facilities in Olathe will connect with schools, city

Published

1 day ago

March 6, 2026

Press Room

Chiefs President: New team facilities in Olathe will connect with schools, city

KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers Johnson County. She’s reported on the Chiefs’ decision to move its team facility to Olathe since the team made the announcement in December. That coverage has included amplifying the voices of residents who have different perspectives on the project, which has ranged from excitement to scrutiny. Share your story idea with Elyse.

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Kansas City Chiefs President Mark Donovan said Friday the team is drawing inspiration from recent team headquarters projects with the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys as they develop plans for their own new headquarters in Olathe.

In December, the club reached an agreement with Kansas officials to move across the state line. The agreement called for a $3 billion, domed stadium in western Kansas City, Kansas, and a new team headquarters and practice facility near Kansas Highway 10 and Ridgeview Road in Olathe.

Donovan’s remarks on Friday came during the Olathe Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Meeting at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center.

Elyse Schoenig/KSHB

The Olathe Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Meeting on Friday, March 6, 2026, at the Embassy Suites Hotel and Conference Center.

The chamber’s theme for 2026, “Olathe Rising,” appears well-timed as the Chiefs work to build out their team headquarters vision.

Donovan said the team and its partners have been busy behind the scenes and hope to have updates on the project in the near future.

He said the club will look to work with the Olathe School District and the Olathe City Council in their plans.

The club is exploring a unique component to the facility by incorporating flag football into the project.

Flag football has been a priority of the club and the National Football League. The sport will make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

In April, the Kansas State High School Athletics Association is set to vote on whether to sanction girls’ flag football as a high school varsity sport.

Funding for the club’s Olathe project will come in part from the sale of bonds paid for by certain sales tax revenues.

In February, the Olathe City Council approved participation in a STAR bonds district to build the team’s new headquarters and training facility at College Boulevard and Ridgeview Road.

Elsewhere on Friday, Kansas legislators introduced the Kansas Sports Authority Act. The act would create a nine-member board to oversee all aspects of sports facility construction.

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