Kansas

Flash flooding not unfamiliar site for those living in south Kansas City

Published

2 years ago

July 2, 2024

Flash flooding not unfamiliar site for those living in south Kansas City

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Flash flooding that made its way through the Kansas City area Monday morning isn’t an unfamiliar site for those living in south Kansas City, Missouri.

KSHB 41’s Megan Abundis caught up with neighbors and some who are experiencing homelessness who live near Indian Creek Greenway and W. 103rd Street and State Line Road.

“The trail goes right through here — you see where it goes up, it goes underneath the bridge at State Line,” said Brad Buss, who lives near the area.

KSHB 41 News staff

Brad Buss

Many people came to see the swelling Indian Creek rushing waters.

“I see some ducks swimming; they are enjoying this. This is just a lot of rapidly moving water,” Buss said. “You can see a lot of debris coming down the river. There are not enough easy ways for things to drain. It’s going to be a while before these trails can be used again.”

Mary Nestel, another longtime south KCMO resident and insurance agent, said the flooding kept her busy.

“My morning as an insurance agent has been a little crazy,” Nestel said. “I’ve had several calls of flooded basements; I ran home to check mine. Thank God I’m OK, but living this close to the area is always a concern.”

Nestel grew up in the area and has seen the flooding many times before.

“They did a project where they lowered the land under the bridge under Wornall that was supposed to help defer some of this, but some of this we are seeing; we’ve never seen it like this,” Nestel said. “My main concern is some of the homeless that are living around here might be gone, and they could have been asleep under the bridge.”

Jonathan Baker said he lives near the area that flooded and woke up to chest-high water in his tent.

“Yeah, it was high,” Baker said.

Baker said he hasn’t been able to locate his partner or her dog since the flooding happened.

“A buddy of mine said he was trying to wake her up,” Baker said.

Kansas City Fire Department Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins confirmed the department received Baker’s report Monday afternoon.

Hopkins said KCFD spent two hours looking through Indian Creek using a drone but have not recovered anyone.

Nestel’s concerns also extend to knowing what debris could be coming down Indian Creek Greenway.

In January, KSHB 41 was on this part of the trail, sharing the story of a man who takes it upon himself to clean up the trail every day, picking up trash he sees people who live here leave behind.

Last year he picked up and returned 81 abandoned shopping carts.

“We’ve seen grocery carts, trash, and bedding,” Nestel said. “Anything someone doesn’t want, they throw it into the homeless area. The groups that I work with think it’s the trash — the debris not getting picked up and being dumped into the sewer system that we’ve been complaining about and no one doing anything about it.”

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Kansas

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

Published

5 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

17 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

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

Press Room

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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