Kansas

Paola, Kansas, expands affordable housing options with tiny home village

Published

1 year ago

December 14, 2024

Paola, Kansas, expands affordable housing options with tiny home village

KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. Share your story idea with Ryan.

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My Father’s House in Paola, Kansas, is expanding affordable housing options through a $1 million grant.

For two decades, it’s provided transitional housing services for women and families. Friday’s groundbreaking ceremony was filled with emotions.

“1,089,” said Blake Heid, a board member at My Father’s House. “That’s the estimated population of rural homelessness in Kansas.”

Ryan Gamboa/KSHB

Blake Heid, My Father’s House Board Member in Paola, Kansas

Beth Waddle is the CEO — she founded the organization 19 years ago to value the underserved rural population.

“We take a relationship-based approach,” Waddle said. “We have to get to know people and what their needs are and earn the right to speak into their lives.”

Tiny Home Village at My Father’s House in Paola, Kansas

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka is providing $17.7 million in affordable housing grants in 2023.

The city of Paola, Kansas, worked diligently to permit a tiny home project in the city limits.

My Father’s House grant dollars will benefit 14 tiny homes on a lot adjacent to its flagship location.

Beth Waddle, Founder of My Father’s House in Paola, Kansas

“We have the money raised for 14 tiny homes,” Waddle said. “The goal is to have approximately 40 to 44 in total.”

The community has stepped up in numerous ways, volunteering to push the project to Phase 1, according to Waddle.

Her vision for the 14 Tiny Home Village is to create permanent home options with necessary hygeine and shelter services on the property.

Tiny Homes Paola Location — Vacant lot for Tiny Home Village in Paola, Kansas

“As long as they need it, they can stay in the homes,” Waddle said.

My Father’s House has a waiting list for its current transitional housing program.

Michelle Sutti is the programs success story.

“I came here pregnant, 28 years old, just gotten out of jail,” Sutti said. “I didn’t have anywhere to call home.”

For almost six years, she couch surfed, spent time with the crowd and described herself as “homeless.”

“They taught me how to be a productive member of society, they built a support system for me — everything I needed to do,” she said. “It opened the door for many opportunities; I never had anyone do that for me before.”

Since her graudation in 2017, Waddle works full time with a certificate in accounting and lives with her husband and four children.

“It was my identity,” she said. “It’s not who I am at all anymore.”

Miami County, Kansas, has added challenges for residents transitioning into society.

Kansas State University reports 37.42% of its rental housing units are considered “cost burdened,” meaning 30% of household incomes are spent on rent.

Miami County Rental House Data — Source: Kansas State University

“Miami County, Kansas, has the lowest vacancy rates of any southeast Kansas county in rental homes. We also have some of the highest median rental rates. When people are graduating from our program and transitioning out, it’s kind of a non-starter for them,” Waddle said. “The houses that are available are not within their price range. We saw a need for this tiny home project to increase available affordable housing options.”

My Father's House Groundbreaking — My Father’s House in Paola, Kansas held a groundbreaking ceremony on its Tiny Home Village.

My Father’s House will begin construction almost immediately.

“What they’re doing will allow people to be reintegrated into society instead of being kicked right back out the door,” Sutti said.

The largest portion of the project is to build necessary water, sewer and electric services on the plot of land. It’s expected to be completed near the end of 2025.

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Kansas

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

Published

2 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

14 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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