Kansas

Could Chiefs move to Kansas? State takes step toward trying to lure team away from neighboring Missouri

Published

2 years ago

June 22, 2024

Could Chiefs move to Kansas? State takes step toward trying to lure team away from neighboring Missouri

On Friday, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly made a move that will enable the state to lure the Kansas City Chiefs as well as the MLB’s Kansas City Royals from Missouri, via ESPN. Kelly signed legislation that will help both professional sports teams pay for new stadiums if they indeed decide to change locations.

The Chiefs have had every intent to remain at Arrowhead Stadium, extending the lease in a renovated facility and stadium complex that would keep the franchise in the state of Missouri for the next several decades. The renovation plans still have a hurdle to clear, however, and the state of Kansas is officially ready to pounce.

Earlier in the week, Kansas lawmakers approved a House bill that would change certain criteria for STAR (sales tax and revenue) bonds qualification, via the Associated Press. STAR bonds are a financing tool that allows Kansas municipalities to issue bonds to finance the development of major commercial, entertainment and tourism projects. The measure now goes to the Kansas Senate.

The attempt to lure the Chiefs to cross the state line from Missouri to Kansas has been in play. The bill will also require any pro sports team development to include a 30,000-plus seat complex with at least $1 billion in investment. This is also an attempt to lure the Kansas City Royals’ new MLB stadium plans into Kansas.

The Chiefs announced plans to renovate GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium this year, but those plans may be changing, thanks to some developments back in April. The voters in Jackson County, Missouri, rejected a sales tax measure that would have helped fund major renovations to Arrowhead Stadium and a new downtown ballpark for the Royals.

With the measure not being passed, the Chiefs may have to look elsewhere and build a new stadium. A potential move to Kansas doesn’t force the Chiefs to relocate to another city if they can’t reach a deal with Jackson County. Kansas legislation doesn’t have to put a stadium sales tax up to vote, giving the Chiefs an option they’ll strongly consider.

“I do feel very much a sense of urgency, and we will approach it from a broader perspective going forward because time is short for us at this point. So, we need to see what other options are out there for us,” Chiefs CEO Clark Hunt said back in April, via a transcript provided by the team. “I really can’t speculate on how any of that is going to turn out.

“GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium is a special place for our family and our fanbase. That was one of the reasons we focused on it with the last effort. Going forward, it may make more sense for us to be in a new stadium.”

The Chiefs will have options in building a new stadium, which appears to be the plan going forward with the STAR criteria passed. Hunt isn’t abandoning an opportunity to remain at Arrowhead Stadium, but getting a new stadium is gaining traction.

The new stadium may not be an open-air stadium, either.

“We were obviously very focused on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Obviously it’s a special place for our fanbase and I believe it could be a special place for our fanbase for another 25 years with the right renovation,” Hunt said. “But we’re just going to have to be open minded in how we approach this.

“That may involve a new stadium, and it could be an open-air stadium or it could be a dome stadium.”

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Kansas

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

Published

7 hours ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

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

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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Kansas

Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union

Published

20 hours ago

March 3, 2026

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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

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

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

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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.

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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