Kansas
This Chiefs-Bears trade would land Kansas City it’s long-term Travis Kelce replacement
Bullet point summary by AI
- The Chiefs are exploring long-term solutions at tight end beyond Travis Kelce’s expected 2026 retirement.
- One potential move involves targeting a veteran player from a team transitioning to a new starter at the position.
- The deal’s structure hinges on future playoff performance, creating a high-stakes incentive for both franchises.
While the 2026 draft is just in the books, it’s never too early to start thinking about the 2027 season — and if there’s one team that’s already looking that far ahead, it’s the Kansas City Chiefs.
Star tight end Travis Kelce is almost certainly retiring after the 2026 campaign despite an inflated new deal, and looking at the Chiefs’ depth chart, backup Noah Gray is not starting-caliber material. You could argue the team can scout for star talent in next year’s draft, but that would come with significant risk and opportunity cost if a prospect isn’t immediately NFL-ready.
Instead, there’s a potential solution general manager Brett Veach can utilize by acquiring an excess asset from another team.
This Chiefs-Bears trade solves Kansas City’s Travis Kelce problem
The Chicago Bears are clearly moving forward with 2025 first-round pick Colston Loveland as their TE1, in addition to taking blocking specialist Sam Roush out of Stanford in this year’s draft. All of which leaves backup — and previous starter — Cole Kmet on the outside looking in. The 27-year-old still has a lot of high-quality football left to play, and he’d certainly sign off on the opportunity to get starting snaps for a team with a championship window still wide open.
The problem is going to be convincing Chicago to pick up the phone in the first place. Kmet signed a restructured deal in April which disincentivizes the Bears from moving him until next year. A pre-June 1 deal would cost Chicago $4.1 million against the salary cap, while any swap after that date only saves the team $1.4 million.
So, with the present season not really an option, these two teams would need to be negotiating with next year in mind as Kmet is projected to cost the Bears $15.4 million against the cap in 2027. That’s the incentive Chicago needs to move him.
At the moment, Kmet is worth a conditional 2027 fifth-round pick — which may sound cheap, but the devil is in the details. Chicago will certainly dictate that an escalator be attached to the pick: For example, if Kansas City misses the playoffs in 2027, then it remains a fifth-rounder but may be deferred until 2028. If they qualify for the postseason then it could stay in 2027. A championship could push it up a round or two (though that would be a tough sell for the Chiefs).
Kmet has topped 500 receiving yards in three of his six seasons in Chicago, so there’s a good reason for Kansas City to inquire about his availability. The Bears, in turn, used a third-round pick to select Stanford’s Sam Roush – signaling they too are preparing for Kmet’s eventual departure.
Follow
Kansas
Newly released song depicts world visiting Kansas City for historic summer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – One creator has written an anthem for Kansas City to reflect the metro’s historic summer for years to come.
An Omaha-based Afrobeat artist, Kusher Snazzy, released a World Cup song, ‘KC to the World,’ celebrating the tournament’s culture and diversity.
The song features soccer players and dancers representing multiple nations that played in the World Cup, including Germany, Brazil, Mexico, the United States and Italy. It was filmed locally in multiple locations, including a metro studio and rooftop.
READ MORE: Kansas City eyes 2031 Women’s World Cup bid after hosting FIFA tournament

Kusher Snazzy’s goal with the song was to depict the once-in-a-lifetime summer. His passion for soccer and the Midwest inspired the lyrics.
“We don’t know when FIFA is going to choose KC again,” said Kusher.
Joseph Termini is the mastermind behind the project. He took a vision and made it come to life. As a Kansas City native, he knew the importance of showcasing his city positively through a music video.
“Kansas City has been under the radar, and I feel like this is the first time we’re being put on a pedestal, and that pedestal is allowing other people to realize that this is more than just a small-town city,” said Termini.
Listeners can find the hit song on YouTube.
ALSO READ: Heart structure may stay in Kansas City after Fan Festival ends
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.
Kansas
Pilot of crop duster plane survives crash Monday in NE Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The pilot of a crop duster aircraft appears to have survived without serious injury after a crash on Monday in northeast Kansas.
The Jackson County, Kansas, Sheriff’s Office was called around 12:30 p.m. Monday on a crash involving a crop duster aircraft south of Kansas Highway 9 near Whiting, Kansas, or about 80 miles northwest of Kansas City.
Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse said that after the crash, the pilot was able to exit the aircraft before it caught fire. The pilot walked to a nearby farmhouse for help.
Several area fire departments responded to the location to extinguish the fire.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
—
If you have any information about a crime, you may contact your local police department directly. But if you want or need to remain anonymous, you should contact the Greater Kansas City Crime Stoppers Tips Hotline by calling 816-474-TIPS (8477), submitting the tip online or through the free mobile app at P3Tips.com. Depending on your tip, Crime Stoppers could offer you a cash reward.
Annual homicide details and data for the Kansas City area are available through the KSHB 41 News Homicide Tracker, which was launched in 2015. Read the KSHB 41 News Mug Shot Policy.
Kansas
Keystone Pipeline system’s operator agrees to pay $26.9M penalty over major Kansas oil spill
TOPEKA, Kan. — A proposed legal settlement with the U.S. government would require the Keystone Pipeline system’s operator to pay a $26.9 million civil penalty over a major oil spill in Kansas in December 2022 and spend about $40 million more to prevent future accidents.
The agreement would resolve allegations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Kansas that South Bow, based in Canada, violated U.S. and state clean water laws. The rupture dumped nearly 13,000 barrels of heavy crude oil into a creek running through a rural pasture in Washington County, Kansas, about 150 miles (241 kilometers) northwest of Kansas City.
The accident was the largest onshore crude pipeline spill in the U.S. in nine years and surpassed all 22 previous ones on the same pipeline system combined, according to a 2021 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The total amount of oil spilled would have nearly filled an Olympic-sized swimming pool.
South Bow also would pay Kansas more than $3 million for environmental restoration projects under a proposed decree filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Kansas. A judge would have to approve the proposal after a 30-day public comment period.
South Bow also would pay Kansas more than $3 million for environmental restoration projects under a proposed decree filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Kansas. A judge would have to approve the proposed decree after a 30-day public comment period.
“The oil spill blanketed land and water, rendering the waterway lifeless and useless and requiring extensive cleanup and remediation,” Jeffrey Hall, the EPA’s assistant administrator for its enforcement office, said in a statement. “The substantial penalty reflects the seriousness of the environmental harm.”
South Bow officials did not respond immediately Sunday to a phone message and email seeking comment, but the company told The Canadian Press that it “proactively” began cleaning up the area before receiving directives from U.S. officials. The cleanup was completed early in 2024.
The company that built the pipeline, TC Energy, spun off South Bow as a separate firm in 2024, after the Kansas cleanup was done.
No pipeline workers or area residents were injured, and officials said public water supplies weren’t affected by the spill. However, a complaint filed Friday by the U.S. government along with the proposed settlement said more than 2,700 animals were harmed or killed. The area is home to an endangered species, the long-eared bat.
In a May 2023 report for the U.S. government, an engineering consulting firm said that a bend in the Keystone system where the spill occurred had been “overstressed” since its installation in December 2010 — likely because construction activity itself altered the land around the pipe. The complaint filed Friday in court said soil under the pipe had been “improperly compacted” and that while the company re-excavated the site in 2013, it did not replace that section of pipe.
The 2,689-mile (4,327-kilometer) Keystone system carries thick, Canadian tar sands oil to refineries in Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas.
In April, President Donald Trump gave the go-ahead for South Bow and another company to build a second pipeline from Canada to Wyoming, a smaller version of a massive $8 billion pipeline project known as Keystone XL blocked by former President Joe Biden’s administration in 2021 over environmental concerns.
—
-
Seattle, WA3 minutes agoSeattle weather: Sunny skies and warmer temperatures Tuesday
-
Milwaukee, WI15 minutes agoMilwaukee cooling centers, heat advisory tips; what to know
-
Atlanta, GA21 minutes agoWarnock, Dickens talk about new housing legislation
-
Indianapolis, IN33 minutes agoIndiana heat index to hit 100 as hot, dry pattern holds | July 14, 2026
-
Pittsburg, PA39 minutes agoAnother stretch of high temperatures in the 90s hitting the Pittsburgh area this week
-
Augusta, GA45 minutes agoFlash flooding impacts multiple areas across Columbia County
-
Washington, D.C51 minutes agoARCO Design/Build Deepens Its Presence in Washington, D.C. Market
-
Cleveland, OH57 minutes agoLeBron James Could Give the Cavaliers the Mentality They’re Missing
