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Supporters of bringing the Chiefs to Kansas have narrowed their plan and are promising tax cuts – SRN News

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Supporters of bringing the Chiefs to Kansas have narrowed their plan and are promising tax cuts – SRN News


Supporters of bringing the Chiefs to Kansas have narrowed their plan and are promising tax cuts

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers hoping to lure the Kansas City Chiefs from Missouri are trying to win over skeptical colleagues by narrowing their proposal for encouraging the Super Bowl champions to build a new stadium and by linking it to a plan for broad tax cuts.

The Legislature expected to consider the stadium proposal during a special session set to convene Tuesday. The measure would allow the state to issue bonds to help the Chiefs and Major League Baseball’s Kansas City Royals finance new stadiums on the Kansas side of their metropolitan area, which is split by the border with Missouri.

Supporters on Monday backed away from an earlier plan to allow state bonds to cover all of the construction costs for new stadiums. Their plan would use revenues from sports betting, the state lottery and new taxes raised from the area around each new stadium.

Top Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature also said the stadium proposal is their second priority during the special session, behind cutting income and property taxes. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly called the special session to consider tax cuts, but she cannot limit what lawmakers consider — creating an opening for a plan to woo the Chiefs and Royals.

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“We definitely need to demonstrate that we’re getting relief to our citizens,” said Senate President Ty Masterson, a Wichita-area Republican who is backing the plan.

Many lawmakers have argued that voters would be angry if the state helped finance new stadiums without cutting taxes. Kelly vetoed three tax-cutting plans before legislators adjourned their regular annual session May 1, but she and top Republican lawmakers have drafted a compromise measure to reduce taxes by $1.23 billion over the next three years.

The first version of the stadium-financing plan emerged in late April, but lawmakers didn’t vote on it before adjourning. It would have allowed state bonds to finance all stadium construction costs, but the latest version caps the amount at 70%, and it says legislative leaders and the governor must sign off on any bonding plan.

Supporters of the plan also modified it so that it only applies to professional football and Major League Baseball stadiums, instead of any professional sports stadium for at least 30,000 spectators. Bonds would be paid off over 30 years.

“We’re trying to bring something grand to the state of Kansas,” said state Rep. Sean Tarwater, a Kansas City-area Republican leading the push for a stadium plan.

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Free-market conservatives in Kansas have long opposed state and local subsidies for specific businesses or projects. And economists who’ve studied pro sports teams have concluded in dozens of studies over decades that subsidizing their stadiums isn’t worth the cost.

“Most of the money that gets spent on the Chiefs is money that would otherwise be spent on other entertainment projects,” said Andrew Zimbalist, an economics professor at Smith College in central Massachusetts who has written multiple books about sports.

Kelly told reporters Monday that she won’t “invest a lot of energy” in a stadium plan, letting lawmakers lead. She and Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, signed an agreement in 2019 to end years of each state using subsidies to steal the other state’s jobs in the Kansas City area, but Kelly argued that their truce doesn’t apply to the Chiefs and Royals.

“We never discussed the teams,” she said.

Kansas legislators consider the Chiefs and Royals in play because in April, voters on the Missouri side of the metro area refused to continue a local sales tax for the upkeep of the complex with their side-by-side stadiums. Missouri officials have said they’ll do whatever it takes to keep the teams but haven’t outlined any proposals.

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The two teams’ lease on their stadium complex runs through January 2031, but Korb Maxwell, an attorney for the Chiefs who lives on the Kansas side, said renovations on the team’s Arrowhead Stadium should be planned seven or eight years in advance.

“There is an urgency to this,” added David Frantz, the Royals’ general counsel.

Supporters of the stadium plan argued that economists’ past research doesn’t apply to the Chiefs and Royals. They said the bonds will be paid off with tax revenues that aren’t being generated now and would never be without the stadiums or the development around them. Masterson said it’s wrong to call the bonds a subsidy.

And Maxwell said: “For a town to be major league, they need major league teams.”

But economists who’ve studied pro sports said similar arguments have been a staple of past debates over paying for new stadiums. Development around a new stadium lessens development elsewhere, where the tax dollars generated would go to fund services or schools, they said.

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“It could still help Kansas and maybe hurt Missouri by the same amount,” Zimbalist said. “It’s a zero-sum game.”



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Kansas

NE Kansas residents pick up after night of storms

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NE Kansas residents pick up after night of storms


TOPEKA (KSNT) – Northeast Kansas residents are picking up after a night of violent storms. Storms caused major tree damage and even knocked out the National Weather Radio near Topeka.

Storm damage is being reported across the Northeast Kansas area Wednesday morning. The National Weather Service of Topeka announced that the NOAA Weather Radio Station that services Topeka was taken off the air. It’s unknown what caused the damage and it’s also unknown when it will be restored.

The Osage County Police Department took to social media to alert residents of power outages, limbs and trees down.

“Our fantastic city crews were on it immediately and cleared the road blockage, and the electric crews responded immediately to power outages,” the Osage City Police Department wrote. “As a result, most of the streets and power is restored.”

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The Marysville Kansas Police Department took to Facebook to let residents that crews are out and assessing damage to get things back in working order.

The storms knocked out power to over 20,000 residents in the northeast Kansas area.

For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.



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Another Kansas City romance? Hallmark to make Chiefs-inspired Christmas movie

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Another Kansas City romance? Hallmark to make Chiefs-inspired Christmas movie


Move over, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift — another love story is coming to Kansas City.

Hallmark and Skydance Sports are teaming up with the NFL to create an original Christmas movie titled “Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story.” The movie will be starring Tyler Hynes, Hunter King and Ed Begley Jr, and will take place in Kansas City and be filmed entirely on location, per NFL Media.

The synopsis of the movie says it will focus on a Chiefs “Fan of the Year” contest with a romance budding between one of the entrants and the fictional Chiefs official running the contest, played by King and Hynes, respectively. 

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“We are honored to partner with Hallmark on a project as unique as this,” Chiefs president Mark Donovan said. “As a club, we pride ourselves on exploring new ways to grow our brand, as well as connect with new audiences. This partnership unites two passionate fanbases and gives us an opportunity to show Chiefs Kingdom’s energy and tradition on one of the most-watched channels during the holiday season.”

The relationship between the Chiefs tight end and music megastar has been a major point of interest since it went public in September 2023 and has remained highly publicized since, also uniting two passionate fanbases. Swift’s appearance at Kelce’s games last year came with spikes in viewership for both the Chiefs and the NFL as Kelce helped Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City to their second straight Super Bowl title and third in five years. 

Kelce has returned the favor in the offseason as Swift continued the international leg of her “Eras Tour,” most recently making a cameo appearance in a backup dancer during a London concert  last weekend.

“With Hallmark and the Kansas City Chiefs both homegrown, rooted in values, tradition and community, there is a special alchemy between these two iconic organizations,” said Hallmark chief brand officer Darren Abbott. “By blending the warmth of Hallmark storytelling with the excitement of professional football, we are thrilled to give audiences a front-row seat to this community’s spirit, rich traditions and passionate fans that define Kansas City.”

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Pet Resource Center of Kansas City helping pet owners during extreme heat

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Pet Resource Center of Kansas City helping pet owners during extreme heat


KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Staffers with the Pet Resource Center of Kansas City are patrolling streets to ensure pet safety during extreme heat.

If you can keep dogs inside the house when temperatures are this high, you should. Ensure your pets stay hydrated and have access to fresh water and shade.

The Pet Resource Center of Kansas City can provide cooling items for pet owners who need them.

“We’re out patrolling the community, helping clients that we know have outdoor dogs, talking to them about what a heat stroke looks like, what heat exhaustion looks like, what they must have if they’re going to have their dogs outside,” said Rae Lindsey, outreach and mobile manager for the Pet Resource Center. “So a little bit of patrolling and helping people out in the community, but also checking on folks that we know have pets outside.”

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Lindsey said if your pet’s heart rate is high, then they could be experiencing a heat-related illness.

For cats, panting is the most obvious sign of heat exhaustion.

“You never want to cool off a pet too quickly,” Lindsey said. “Kind of like with us, if you’re getting into a heat exhaustion state, you want to cool down slowly. Dogs pant and drool, excessive drooling, lack of being able to hold themselves up, vomiting, and diarrhea are all signs of heat exhaustion. Heat exhaustion also can last 24 to 48 hours.”

During patrols, Pet Resource Center staffers stop by clients’ houses and drop off cooling supplies, including gates and kennels, to facilitate safe indoor environments and water bowls, cooling mats, and other accessories.

“We kept coming out here and making sure there was plenty of water and everything. ” Pet Resource Center Client Brenda Kirkwood said he didn’t eat but drank the water. “It’s complicated because there’s really nowhere for him to go, but just right here, there’s no shade. So that’s his hideaway.”

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While on pet patrols, they also educate people on heat safety and the services they offer.
“If you’re going to go out on a walk with your pet, do it first thing in the morning or late in the evening when the sun is set, and it’s a little bit cooler,” Lindsey said. “And if your dog is outside make sure that you’re checking on them regularly to make sure that he’s not having any of those symptoms of heat exhaustion.”

If you have concerns about your pet’s well-being in the summer heat and need assistance, reach out to the pet resource center at outreach@prckc.org.



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