Kansas

Missouri again votes to increase Kansas City police funding

Published

2 years ago

August 7, 2024

Missouri again votes to increase Kansas City police funding

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Voters across Missouri are once again deciding on a big funding issue for the police department in Kansas City.

It’s Amendment 4. Voters decided on it two years ago. But in April, the Missouri Supreme Court ordered the state to run the vote again following a lawsuit form Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas.

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Amendment 4 passed pretty overwhelmingly two years ago and amendment supporters seemed confident it would again.

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled after the vote back in 2022 the ballot measure was misleading because it said it wouldn’t increase city spending. Now it says it could cost the city up to $38 million a year but also points out the city is already funding the department at what that new minimum level would be of 25% instead of 20.

Lucas has previously said the amendment hurts the city’s ability to work with police on creative solutions and is against anything that means more state control of local policing.

The Missouri lawmaker who first proposed the amendment in 2022 after the city had been looking to move millions in police funding into other crime prevention programs argues Kansas City has local control with KC residents on the police board.

“What the mayor wants is political control of the police department to rest within City Hall and I think the last thing we need is a bunch of woke politicians in City Hall defunding our police department. So I’m comfortable with the structure we have right now and I hope we keep it into the future,” said Missouri Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer (R-Parkville).

See the latest headlines in Kansas City and across Kansas, Missouri

Other than the mayor, the board of police commissioners positions are selected by the governor.

Another vocal opponent of the amendment Tuesday has been MORE2, saying they aren’t against police funding, but against people who don’t live here deciding how the city should spend its money.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports.

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Kansas

Former Kansas high school wrestling coach charged with producing child pornography

Published

8 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Former Kansas high school wrestling coach charged with producing child pornography

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – A former Kansas wrestling coach was charged with creating child sexual abuse materials by secretly recording minors showering during an athletic competition.

According to court documents, 37-year-old Ryan Brungardt of Salina is charged with two counts of production of child pornography and one count of attempted production of child pornography.

Brungardt is a former employee at Lakewood Middle School and former wrestling coach for Salina Central High School.

Brungardt is accused of using a cellphone to record three minors while they showered in a locker room during the Tournament of Champions, a wrestling tournament was held at Newton High in January 2024.

Brungardt made his initial court appearance for the criminal complaint on Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brooks G. Severson.

A detention hearing is scheduled for Monday

Investigators are in the process of reviewing additional seized cellphone videos in this case that are suspected to have been recorded at wrestling meets in Newton, Hays, Garden City and Salina during the 2023-2024 wrestling season.

Anyone who believes they witnessed crimes or any suspicious activity at these events is asked to contact the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at (785) 600-8790 or report at www.kbi.ks.gov/sar.

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