Kansas
No. 22 Kansas opens season against Lindenwood at Children's Mercy Park, the home of Sporting KC
Lindenwood at No. 22 Kansas in Kansas City, Kan., Thursday, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
BetMGM College Football Odds: No line.
Series record: First meeting.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?
No. 22 Kansas will try to get off to a fast start against Lindenwood, a school from St. Charles, Missouri, that became a full member of the Championship Subdivision last year. The Jayhawks are coming off a nine-win season highlighted by a win over UNLV in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. They return quarterback Jalon Daniels, who missed most of last season with a back injury, along with most of their top wide receivers and running back Devin Neal, who is coming off his second 1,000-yard plus season. Lindenwood went 3-7 and finished last in the Ohio Valley last season. The game will be played at Children’s Mercy Park, the home of MLS club Sporting Kansas City, due to the construction of the Jayhawks’ on-campus stadium.
KEY MATCHUP
Jalon Daniels against the Lindenwood defense. Daniels has been spectacular when he’s been healthy, but that was only for three games last season. He completed nearly 75% of his throws for 705 yards with five touchdowns and only one interception in those games. He has the benefit of experienced WRs in Quentin Skinner, Lawrence Arnold, Trevor Wilson and Luke Grimm.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Lindenwood: DL Kobe McClendon will be a good test for the Jayhawks’ new and unsettled offensive line. He had 32 tackles last season, including 9 1/2 for loss, while his 6 1/2 sacks led the team. DB Kanyon Walker was the lone Racer to land on one of the preseason all-Missouri Valley teams. He transferred last season from Tulane and finished fourth on the team with 54 tackles.
Kansas: Cobee Bryant and Mello Dotson form one of the best cornerback tandems in college football. They have combined to make 64 starts with 16 interceptions, the most of any duo in the country. Eight of those came last season.
FACTS & FIGURES
Lindenwood will be playing against a Bowl Subdivision opponent for the first time. … The Lions were picked to finish eighth in the Big South-OVC preseason poll. … Kansas opened on Friday nights the past three seasons. The game in Kansas City, Kansas, is its first in the metro since 2011. … Neal had 3,077 yards rushing for his career. He needs 765 to break June Henley’s school career record. … Daniels has a career completion percent of 63.6, slightly better than the school record of 63.3 set by Todd Reesing from 2006-09. … Kansas allowed 378.2 yards and 26.5 points per game last season, the best marks for both since the 2007 season. … Leipold is coming off back-to-back bowl appearances, something only accomplished twice in school history. He is 163-60 overall with six Division III national championships.
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Kansas
Kansas City, Kansas, baseball field renamed to honor fallen deputy Elijah Ming
KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva covers stories in the Northland. She also focuses on issues surrounding immigration. Share your story idea with Fernanda.
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Elijah Ming’s son is only two — too young to hold many memories of his dad.
Kansas City, Kansas, baseball field renamed to honor fallen deputy Elijah Ming
But he will remember him. Elijah lives on in Deuce — the little one who also carries his father’s name.
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“He definitely carries a lot of traits that Elijah had,” said Elijah’s wife, Tiara Ming.
KSHB
One of those traits now stands tall on a KCK baseball field. On Thursday, fallen Wyandotte County Deputy Elijah Ming was honored once again as Heathwood Park was renamed Elijah Ming Memorial Field.
“It’ll be here for generations and decades to come,” said KCK Mayor Tyrone Garner.
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“That’s a sign to our young people in this community that these are the folks we should be looking up to,” said Wyandotte County Sheriff Daniel Soptic.
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Family, friends, Wyandotte County deputies, and local officials attended the event.
Ming was shot and killed in July as he responded to help a woman who felt threatened while moving out of a home in Kansas City, Kansas.
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“He was the guy,” said America Patton, Elijah’s mentor. “He had the whole package.”
Elijah’s brothers say there’s no better place for the dedication — they have countless memories there.
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“To see bro’s name right here… it makes sense,” said Isaiah Ming. “It all started here.”
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“That was the best years of my life,” said Herman Ming.
But this year was a hard one.
They lost their mom to cancer and their brother to gun violence just days apart.
Moving on is not easy.
“That’s when my whole life changed,” said Isaiah. “Just trying to learn how to get through these rainy days.”
As they cope, they hold on to the dreams that are now becoming reality — even if not in the way they imagined.
“We really dreamed about us having something named after us. We never thought it’d come to this,” said Herman. “He’s definitely gonna live on.”
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They hope Elijah’s memory continues to guide future generations — especially his little man.
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“It’s a special moment for him because I don’t think he realizes how much weight his name is going to carry in the community,” Tiara said.
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Kansas
Kansas City Chiefs Announce Jeff Shafer as 2025 Inspire Change Changemaker
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Today, the Kansas City Chiefs announced Jeff Shafer as their 2025 Inspire Change Changemaker – an annual recognition celebrating leaders who are driving significant, measurable change in their communities across the NFL’s Inspire Change initiative’s four pillars: education, economic advancement, police-community relations, and criminal justice reform.
Shafer is the executive director of City Year Kansas City and leads a dedicated team in providing public school students with the academic and social-emotional tools needed to thrive. Beginning in 2010, Shafer began his over-a-decade long work in giving back to local students as an AmeriCorps member in Chicago’s South Side. After five years with AmeriCorps, Shafer transitioned back to Kansas City to assist with the launch of City Year KC. Since 2015, Shafer and City Year KC have remained important pieces in revitalizing the Kansas City Public Schools district, most notably revitalizing accreditation in 2022. The Kansas City native routinely participates in service events throughout the year, including City Year KC’s Dr. Martin Luther King Day of Service where he leads volunteers in beautifying public school spaces with murals and messages of hope.
In addition, Shafer has served on the boards of Brothers Liberating Our Communities, which is responsible for recruiting and retaining Black male educators, and Charlotte Street, a nonprofit providing resources to local artists and curators.
Shafer will be recognized at the Chiefs Inspire Change game during their Week 15 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers for his exceptional work in pursuit of education. He will also receive a $10,000 donation from the NFL Foundation, paid directly to a non-profit organization of his choice.
“We are incredibly proud to honor Jeff Shafer as the recipient of the club’s 2025 Changemaker Award,” Chiefs President Mark Donovan said. “His commitment to providing necessary resources to our local public school system through City Year KC embodies what it means to be a pioneer for educational advancement. The Kansas City Chiefs are grateful for the NFL’s Inspire Change initiative, which spotlights important endeavors in our local community, and we are grateful to have Jeff represent the Chiefs this season.”
“The Changemakers selected this year have demonstrated what’s possible when leaders commit to creating real change in their communities,” said Anna Isaacson, NFL Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility. “Their work is a powerful example for others and proof that sustained dedication can drive meaningful progress. The NFL family is proud to recognize their impact.” For more information, visit the link here.
Kansas
New trial set for Kansas man in son’s death
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — A new trial has been scheduled for a Kansas man convicted of killing his infant son.
Kaleb Hogan will be tried again in January on charges of first-degree murder and child abuse.
Hogan was found guilty in 2023 of those same charges in the death of 3-month-old Malykai Hogan.
He was later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years. But he appealed.


Earlier this year, the Kansas Supreme Court overturned his conviction, saying the trial judge incorrectly admitted evidence of prior acts of alleged abuse.

The court ruled that the evidence did not fall within an exception allowing alleged prior acts to be admitted into evidence because the state couldn’t link the prior abuse to Hogan. In fact, prosecutors admitted during oral arguments at the high court that they did not charge Hogan with other counts of abuse because they couldn’t prove he was responsible for the child’s earlier injuries.
The court ruled that the state couldn’t prove that the error was harmless, so the case was returned to Butler County District Court for a new trial.
Court records show that a jury trial has been scheduled for Hogan on Jan. 6 at 9 a.m.
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