Kansas

With of help generous Kansas Citians, families receive holiday gifts at Season of Hope toy drive

Published

1 year ago

December 19, 2024

Press Room

With of help generous Kansas Citians, families receive holiday gifts at Season of Hope toy drive

KANSAS CITY, Mo — KSHB 41 News and the Salvation Army held the 2024 Season of Hope toy drive Thursday.

It’s the fourth year of a partnership to help Kansas City area families during the holiday season.

With it being this close to the holidays, stores were probably packed with last-minute shoppers, but so was the Salvation Army for the drive, with families picking out the perfect gifts for their loved ones.

Mariah Nicholas is a mom of four — two girls and two boys.

Spending Christmas with them means a little more this year. She almost lost her life in a car accident right before Thanksgiving.

“I hydroplaned off the road and slammed into a tree line on my side,” Nicholas said. “So, I took the blunt of it but I’m hanging in there.”

She signed up for the Season of Hope toy drive to fill a void she couldn’t this Christmas. She says this will take off some of the financial burden.

“I lost my job right before Thanksgiving due to my wreck,” Nicholas said. “So, I’m waiting to go back, but without this help, I probably wouldn’t be able to do much.”

KSHB 41 News staff

Mariah Nicholas

She’s one of 300 families that will benefit from the drive.

It was set up department style, allowing each family to get a personal shopping experience to pick out toys that their children would like.

“There are a lot of toys that my kids will actually enjoy,” said Nina Velazquez, a mom of two. “Usually, I’m very very stressed out because I’m at Walmart in line with 100,000 people and my pocket usually doesn’t have enough to cover everything.”

In total, 11,250 toys were donated this year, and each family received gift cards to Aldi’s, helping to fill their table and tree.

“They get not just a single toy,” Salvation Army Pastor Dawn Windham said. “It’s a big toy and a small toy, and stocking stuffers, and books and family games and clothing — it’s just amazing.”

This event giving more than just hope this holiday season.

“To watch them open, you know more than what I could give them on Christmas this year,” Nicholas said. “So, I’m super grateful to the Salvation Army and them helping us.”

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KSHB 41 reporter La’Nita Brooks covers stories providing solutions and offering discussions on topics of crime and violence. Share your story idea with La’Nita.

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Kansas

Former Kansas high school wrestling coach charged with producing child pornography

Published

16 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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