Kansas
Elections are coming up, and the Kansas City metro needs a lot more poll workers
Election officers across the Kansas Metropolis metro are in want of employees for the upcoming major on August 2 — which can see aggressive occasion contests for U.S. Senate in Missouri, and a proposed modification in Kansas that may eradicate the constitutional proper to abortion.
Sara Zorich, the Democratic director of the Jackson County Board of Elections, says COVID knocked out loads of their employees over the previous two years. Though they’ve sufficient readily available for this election day, election boards depend on backup and standby employees in case folks cancel on the final minute or get sick.
“We at all times want quantity,” she says.
Plus, Jackson County lately mixed polling places, which suggests they want extra folks working at every website to cope with the rise in voters.
Relying on their place, election employees can earn between $100 and $200 for the day. However the cash doesn’t appear sufficient to entice employees.
“We’ve reached out to excessive faculties. We’ve reached out to high schools,” says Tiffany Ellison, the Democratic director of elections in Clay County. “There simply doesn’t appear to be loads of curiosity.”
Ellison says they’ve tried to entice native companies to supply days off for employees, however daycare stays an issue.
“We’re not having loads of nice success,” Kieffer says. “It looks as if we rely closely on our older residents. They appear to be slightly extra civic aware”
All of the election officers KCUR contacted for this story say they want judges of any stripe, however they’re particularly involved about what’s going to occur when older employees retire if there’s few folks to fill their place.
“For many years and a long time, that’s the way it’s at all times occurred,” says Shawn Kieffer with the Kansas Metropolis Board of Elections. “We’d like the youthful technology to step up and work the polls.”
Election officers say they generally get college students to indicate up as soon as, however not often see them once more.
Nearly as tough as discovering younger ballot employees is discovering the best steadiness of Republicans and Democrats. Every polling location is required by state statute to have an equal variety of judges from every occasion.
Kieffer says as a result of Kansas Metropolis leans Democratic, they at all times have an abundance of Democrat judges for poll-watching duties, whereas Republicans are more durable to search out.
Jackson County has the same drawback, however the roles are considerably reversed.
Tammy Brown, the Republican director on the Jackson County Election Board, says that some cities in japanese Jackson County are closely Democratic — akin to Independence, Raytown and Grandview — whereas others — like Lee’s Summit and Blue Springs — are closely Republican.
Brown says they can preserve steadiness by swapping judges between the completely different municipalities to make issues work out — they even mortgage out Republican judges to Kansas Metropolis.
Home Invoice 1878, the expansive elections legislation signed by Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on June 29, will make it simpler for election jurisdictions to swap employees in an effort to preserve a political steadiness on the polls. However these modifications don’t take impact till after the August major.
“So long as we will get our judges to not demand to remain in their very own metropolis and can journey for us, then we do OK,” Brown says.
Kansas
Family of man killed by Kansas City, Kansas police officer sues chief, Unified Government
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) – The family of a man shot and killed by a Kansas City, Kan. police officer filed a lawsuit against the officer, the police chief and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County.
According to the lawsuit, an officer shot 50-year-old John Anderton in the back five times as he ran away from an emergency scene in February 2023. Anderton died from his injuries.
The Wyandotte County District Attorney investigated the shooting and determined the officer was justified in shooting Anderton.
According to the DA’s investigation, Anderton failed to follow the officer’s orders and reached for a gun when the officer fired at him.
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Anderton’s brother disagrees according to the lawsuit filed Jan. 14.
The lawsuit claims the police officer violated Anderson’s civil rights when he used excessive force and shot him.
The shooting happened as crews responded to a call about two people overdosing in a house near N. 55th Street and Haskell Ave.
The lawsuit said Anderton tried helping his friends by performing CPR. He left after paramedics arrive. The lawsuit said Anderton left the house because he was concerned that staying would exacerbate his chronic COPD.
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The officer stopped Anderton as he left the house.
The lawsuit states the officer “suddenly demanded” Anderton to put his hands on top of his head. That’s when Anderton tried to run away. The lawsuit claims the officer fired a dozen shots at Anderton. Five of the bullets hit him, including two in the back and one in the back of the head.
The lawsuit claims Police Chief Karl Oakman and the Unified Government of Wyandotte County are responsible because they should know how the officers are trained to use force.
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Spokespeople for both the police department and Wyandotte County declined to comment due to pending litigation.
The lawsuit asks for a jury trial and demands more than $75,000.
Copyright 2025 KCTV. All rights reserved.
Kansas
Max Jones’ Effort For Kansas State Can Translate To Wins
Even with Kansas State’s loss to Texas Tech Tuesday night, there was still much the Wildcats could appreciate.
One was Max Jones’s level of play, as he finished with 10 points and nine rebounds. But amidst his solid performance, a ton of plays beyond the box score made the difference. He kept them afloat in the second half when Texas Tech looked like they were going to turn the game back into a blowout.
“I promise our fans that we’ll put dudes on the floor that are gonna give an effort that’s worthy of wearing a K-State uniform. And if they’re not gonna be gritty and tough like Max Jones and some of the other guys showed tonight, then they won’t be on that floor,” coach Jerome Tang said.
Jones has been one of Kansas State’s most consistent scorers, scoring close to his median every game. Despite the three-game losing streak, he’s put up double-digit performances while regularly getting to the free-throw line. Jones’ stability and aggressive play make it easier for Tang to know what he can provide nightly.
Nevertheless, Kansas State needs to start winning conference games. Jones says there’s “not a lot of pressure” to immediately win, but a fifth Big 12 loss will only fuel outside doubts.
“I’d just say we gotta keep getting better,” Jones said. “I feel like today we got a lot better, and a lot better in practice before this game. We gotta take one game at a time, and just take each game like it’s our last and just try to win.”
Jayden Armant is a graduate of the Howard University School of Communications and a contributor to Kansas State Wildcats on SI. He can be reached at jaydenshome14@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.
Kansas
Kansas influencer SB Mowing raises over $750K for elderly homeowner who faced fine from city for overgrown lawn
A Kansas influencer raised over $793,000 to save a disabled elderly woman who faced a hefty fine from her town for failing to trim her overgrown yard.
Spencer, a content creator known for his landscaping business SB Mowing, said he met homeowner Beth last summer when a town official familiar with his social media videos contacted him and asked if he could help fix her lawn.
He was warned that Beth, who uses a cane to move around her property, needed to trim the yard or pay $240 for the town, which was not revealed in the video, to cut it for her.
‘I’ve spent a month trying to get someone to come mow,” Beth said in a video uploaded on Jan. 10. “They won’t answer their phones.”
Beth revealed that the town officials had implemented a date for when she was required to have the yard cut before she faced the financial loss.
Spencer described the lawn that surrounded Beth’s small white house as unkept and was “getting crazy.”
“I can get that taken care of for ya,” Spencer assured her, offering his landscaping service at no cost.
“I can’t believe it that’s great,” Beth replied.
Spencer transformed her lawn by clearing grass from the driveway cracks, trimming the bushes, removing trees and mowing very tall grass.
“I cried on and off just listening to your machine,” Beth told Spencer after the big reveal.
Spencer added that he was happy to help Beth as she became emotional over the gesture.
“Your work makes me twinkle so I really appreciate you. I can’t tell you how much. No one’s been happy to help me,” she added.
On top of the lawn issues, Spencer then noticed the home needed improvements to accommodate Beth, who was “in desperate need of help.”
Spencer launched a GoFundMe when he noticed how Beth’s old stairs posed an issue for her to walk on and that the driveway cracks could cause her to fall.
The small business owner raised over a half million dollars within a day to help her “gain accessibility and comfort” on other parts of her property.
Funds raised will help address accessibility issues she faces including building a new ramp outside so it’s easier for her to get to her front door, a smooth driveway and a chair lift that will allow her to get up and down stairs for her laundry.
The money will also pay a lawn care company to maintain her yard for the “next few years” because Spencer lives too far away.
The elderly homeowner was stunned when she received the life-changing donation.
“I can’t even cry,” Beth said. “I can’t even think.”
“I never expected help ever, ever, ever. I always help people until I got down and out,” Beth added.
“We’re gonna be able to do a little bit more than just your driveway and your ramp here,” Spencer revealed.
Spencer is making sure all the money that was raised doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
“I am also working with an attorney to set up a trust for her to make sure that all of the funds are protected,” Spencer wrote in an update on the GoFundMe page. “I don’t want anybody trying to take advantage of her and I want to make sure that the funds are used properly.”
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