Kansas
Leavenworth, Kansas, relents and will allow a private prison to reopen and house immigrants
TOPEKA, Kan. — A Kansas town known for its prisons is allowing a shuttered private prison to reopen and house immigrants detained for living in the U.S. illegally after a nearly yearlong legal fight amid a massive national push for new detention centers.
The City Commission in Leavenworth on Tuesday approved a permit to private prison operator CoreCivic. Members voted 4-1 to approve a three-year permit with conditions that set minimum staffing levels, ban the housing of minors and provide for a city oversight committee.
“If they don’t follow those guidelines, we can pull the permit,” Mayor Nancy Bauder said before the vote.
The 1,104-bed Midwest Regional Reception Center is 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of the Kansas City International Airport. CoreCivic, one of the nation’s largest private prison operators, said the center will generate $60 million annually once it’s fully open.
Leavenworth, Kansas, sued CoreCivic after it tried to reopen the shuttered prison without city officials signing off on the deal.
The legal battle played out in state and federal courts, with the Department of Justice siding with CoreCivic in legal filings. The department argued that the city was engaged in an “aggressive and unlawful effort” to “interfere with federal immigration enforcement.”
It appears to be the only such legal battle nationally to delay a private prison from opening amid President Donald Trump’s push for mass deportations. The city argued that requiring a permit would prevent future problems, while CoreCivic maintained that it didn’t need a permit and the process would take too long.
Leavenworth was an unlikely foe because the GOP-leaning city’s name alone evokes a shorthand for serving hard time. Prisons employ hundreds of workers locally at two military facilities, the nation’s first federal penitentiary, a Kansas correctional facility and a county jail, all within 6 miles (10 kilometers) of city hall.
CoreCivic stopped housing pretrial detainees for the U.S. Marshals Service in its Leavenworth facility in 2021 after then-President Joe Biden called on the Justice Department to curb the use of private prisons. The American Civil Liberties Union and federal public defenders said inmates’ rights had been violated and there were stabbings, suicides and even one homicide.
The city’s lawsuit described detainees locked in showers as punishment and accused CoreCivic of impeding city police force investigations of sexual assaults and other violent crimes.
Almost four dozen people spoke in opposition to the permit before the commission’s vote. Bauder admonished the crowd several times for being too noisy, and police removed a protester who yelled vulgar comments.
“We, we the people of Leavenworth, are not fooled and we don’t care about their money,” David Benitez, a city resident, told the commission.
Some backers of the permit cited the potential boost to the local economy. Two CoreCivic employees argued for approval, and one of them, Charles Johnson, of Kansas City, Kansas, said his job gave him purpose and allowed his family to get off of state assistance.
“The people I work alongside are caring, professional and committed to doing things the right way,” he said, his comments drawing boos from critics outside the commission’s meeting room.
City Commissioner Holly Pittman said because the city “stood firm,” it could negotiate conditions on the permit. She said denying it would risk a potentially expensive lawsuit.
“I will not gamble the financial stability of this city,” she said before voting yes. “Let me be clear: Approval does not mean endorsement.”
Kansas
Salvador Perez attended the Ecaudor-Curaçao match at Arrowhead. So did other royals — from the Netherlands
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Royals captain Salvador Perez, along with teammates Starling Marte and Carter Jensen, attended Saturday evening’s World Cup match at Arrowhead Stadium.
So did some other royals!
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands began Saturday by cheering the Dutch past Sweden in Houston.
The monarchs ended the day by watching Curacao make some history against Ecuador in Kansas City.
The small island nation of Curacao is a constituent country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and that makes King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima the heads of state. So, after a quick flight north Saturday, the royal couple dutifully swapped out their bright orange scarves of Het Oranje Legioen they wore to their earlier match with bright blue ones for The Blue Wave.
Curacao, the smallest World Cup team in population and size, made its tournament debut last Sunday in a 7-1 loss to Germany. But it bounced back from that defeat to earn a 0-0 draw with La Tri and earn its first-ever point in the tournament.
“It is an extra-special World Cup because we have both the Netherlands and Curacao,” Willem-Alexander told RTL-TV. “So we have twice as many teams to cheer for. A great opportunity to cheer on both the Blues and the Oranges. All in all, it will be a special World Cup for me with two teams, and I naturally hope they go extremely far.”
The Netherlands moved one step closer to the World Cup knockout round after a 5-1 win over Sweden.
Brian Brobbey and Cody Gakpo scored two goals apiece to help coach Ronald Koeman’s team bounce back from a disappointing draw in its opener and move atop Group F. The Netherlands concludes group play against Tunisia on Thursday in Kansas City.
Curacao is still alive, too, after Eloy Room made 15 saves — one off the World Cup record — to earn a draw with Ecuador. It concludes Group E play on Thursday against the Ivory Coast in Philadelphia at the same time Ecuador is playing Germany in New York.
It is quite rare for sitting monarchs to come through the area. Queen Ann of Romania attended the dedication of the Liberty Memorial, which is where Kansas City is holding its World Cup FanFest, in the 1920s, while King Gustav XVI of Sweden made a stop in the small Kansas town of Lindsborg when he was passing through the Midwest in the 1970s.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Kansas
1 man dies after being shot June 9 in Kansas City, Missouri; police working to identify person of interest
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department is working to identify a person(s) of interest in a June 9 shooting that led to the death of one victim.
Police were called around 6 a.m. on June 9 to the area of Independence and Monroe avenues in Kansas City, Missouri.
Responding officers found an unresponsive man behind a residence in that area. He was transported to the hospital for life-threatening injuries, per KCPD.
Police were notified Friday night that the shooting victim died.
KCPD said Saturday “detectives have made headway identifying subject(s) of interest.”
Anyone with information on the incident is encouraged to call KCPD Homicide detectives directly at 816-234-5043 or the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline at 816-474-8477.
—
If you have any information about a crime, you may contact your local police department directly. But if you want or need to remain anonymous, you should contact the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com. Depending on your tip, Crime Stoppers could offer you a cash reward.
Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.
Kansas
1 man killed, 5 others wounded in mass shooting Friday night near East 19th and Vine streets in KCMO
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — One person was shot to death and five others were wounded by gunfire Friday night in the 18th and Vine Historic District in Kansas City, Missouri.
Police said officers were in the area of East 18th Street and Paseo about 10:30 p.m. when they heard gunshots.
The officers moved to East 19th Street between the Paseo and Vine Street to check for shooting victims, according to a police department news release.
They found one man who had been shot and was unresponsive, along with two women who had been shot.
The man was declared dead at the scene.
One of the women suffered serious gunshot wounds and the other woman suffered non life-threatening wounds, according to the police department news release.
Officers at the shooting scene were notified three more shooting victims from the same area had been taken to a hospital by a private vehicle.
An adult male and female were reported in stable condition late Friday, while a second adult male suffered critical gunshot wounds, according to police.
Police said their preliminary investigation revealed the victims were standing on 19th Street between Vine and Paseo when people began shooting in several directions.
All the shooting victims were hit by gunfire in that area, according to police.
No word on what led to the mass shooting and at least one murder.
This is a developing story and will be updated when new information is available.
—
If you have any information about a crime, you may contact your local police department directly. But if you want or need to remain anonymous, you should contact the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com. Depending on your tip, Crime Stoppers could offer you a cash reward.
Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.
-
Indianapolis, IN2 minutes agoMore than fun and games: Meet the family behind an Indianapolis Clowns legacy
-
Pittsburg, PA7 minutes agoSouth Side Street Fest opens to largely positive reviews
-
Augusta, GA14 minutes ago2nd annual Juneteenth trail ride draws crowds in Augusta
-
Washington, D.C17 minutes agoDouble shooting reported near U Street corridor
-
Cleveland, OH22 minutes agoOhio’s 2nd Buc-ee’s approved in Richland County amid neighbor opposition
-
Austin, TX29 minutes agoMissing Austin woman Ghadah Alharbi found Safely, APD confirms
-
Alabama32 minutes ago
FOX54 News Huntsville
-
Alaska37 minutes agoDFFP Responds to Joaquin Fire 31.5 Miles Southwest of McGrath
