Missouri

Mark Donovan says Chiefs have stadium options in both Missouri and Kansas

Published

2 years ago

July 19, 2024

Mark Donovan says Chiefs have stadium options in both Missouri and Kansas

When Kansas City Chiefs president Mark Donovan opened his annual pre-training camp press conference at Missouri Western State University on Friday morning, he was facing a press gaggle that wanted answers about what the team intends to do about its home field — and they wanted those answers right now.

But in multiple responses to similar questions, Donovan said that while the team hasn’t yet decided what it will do, they’re working on figuring that out. In the meantime, there’s one thing that everyone can count on.

“It’s important for everybody to understand,” said Donovan, “that we are playing Kansas City Chiefs football home games — if [they’re] not international games — at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium through 2031. That is our plan; that is what we’re doing.”

After that, however, the picture gets much cloudier. After Kansas lawmakers passed their modified STAR bond proposal that would make it possible for the Chiefs (and possibly the Kansas City Royals) to build new stadiums on the other side of the state line, many fans (and media observers) concluded it was obvious the team would make that move — just because it would be easier to build a new, modern facility.

But Donovan isn’t convinced it’s that obvious.

”I don’t think there’s a simple path on either side,” he insisted. “There’s a lot of work to be done on Kansas to see what the reality of that is. We don’t take that for granted.

“It was amazing what Kansas did. It was good to see. We really appreciate the leadership [from] Ty Masterson, Dan Hawkins, the various people [and] the governor in putting that together. That’s the first step.

“[But] once you get through that, it gets really complicated in how you do that. For us, the good news is that it creates more options.”

Donovan acknowledged that the team is engaged in stadium discussions with Kansas officials. But the team isn’t yet giving up on staying home.

“We continue our discussions with the folks in Missouri,” he said. “Talking to various leaders, there seem to be other options that are coming up now on the Missouri side. So we appreciate that — and it’s consistent with our strategy: if [the April proposal didn’t work], which was our plan, then we’ve got to look at options. And now we’ll have a couple of options to look at.”

Donovan believes that any Missouri solution would eventually come to a public vote. But until that state’s primary elections happen in early August, it will be difficult for state (or county) officials to estimate 2025’s political landscape. That would significantly shape any proposal that would come to a vote in… say… November.

If there is another Missouri vote, Donovan says the proposal will only include the Chiefs — and voters will have a clearer picture of what is on the table.

“We have committed that if we go to a public vote, we’ll do it in a way which is much more ‘final’ before we get to the vote,” he promised. “We’ll have a lot of the facts. We’ll have a lot of the details determined before we go. I think it’s important to acknowledge that we’d have to have agreements on the county side — and have support, frankly, from the county.”

How soon will we know the team’s plans? That’s very hard to calculate.

“We have to have somewhere to play our games for the 2031 season,” explained Donovan. “In order to do that, you’ve got to back up from there. When do you start planning? When do you start building? How do you renovate — or build new? If you’re renovating it, how are you doing it over seasons while you’re still playing there? A lot of those factors play into that.

“That goes back to the option point. We need to have options, we need to have those options to a point of definition to be able to make a decision. So that’s the process we’re in right now.”

So when will that decision point be upon us?

“I think six months from today, we’re going to have a really good idea of where we are,” said Donovan. “We may not be done, but we need to have a really good idea.

”When you’re building a new stadium, there’s a lot more lead time than when you’re renovating. So that’s why that timeline is a little bit longer — and will push us a little bit faster to make a decision. That timeline kind of plays into the Missouri timeline as well. So if we’re on that timeline, we need to make a decision — so Missouri sort of needs to play to that timeline.”

Stay tuned.

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Missouri

Missouri Farm Bureau to host agritourism conference in Hermann | Fulton Sun

Published

5 hours ago

July 9, 2026

Press Room

Missouri Farm Bureau to host agritourism conference in Hermann | Fulton Sun

Missouri Farm Bureau’s 2026 Agritourism Conference will be held Sunday through Tuesday in Hermann, bringing together agritourism stakeholders to explore opportunities in Missouri’s growing agritourism sector.

The conference usually draws 60-70 attendees annually, said Janet Adkison, director of public affairs and advocacy with Missouri Farm Bureau. This includes farmers, agribusiness leaders, tourism professionals and local economic development partners.

At the conference, participants will see firsthand how farms, wineries, orchards and other value-added agriculture business and rural destinations are connecting tourists and consumers with the state’s agriculture scene, while diversifying revenue streams for farm families and rural communities.

“Whenever folks think of agritourism, they think of a pumpkin patch or a flower farm,” Adkison said. “But agritourism is really anything that gets folks to connect with the agriculture industry. So from your Airbnbs that are out in rural Missouri to the wineries that you see across the countryside, to even a tree farm or just a simple orchard, those are all part of Missouri’s agritourism industry.”

The conference kicks off Sunday with welcome remarks by Missouri Farm Bureau president Garrett Hawkins and a dinner at Hermann Farm Store Barn. Participants will spend the nights at The Inn at Hermannhof.

Monday will include an agritourism bus tour, with stops at Thierbach Orchard, Heritage Valley Tree Farm, White Mule Winery & BNB and Cool Cow Cheese, where participants have the opportunity to speak to business owners.

It will be followed by a farm-to-table, wine-pairing dinner at Hermannhof Winery Court with the Missouri Wine & Grape Board.

“If you are somebody who’s interested in agritourism, you get to hear from somebody who’s been there and done that, and some of the hurdles that they may have experienced along the way,” Adkison said. “You’ll have that exposure both on the tour and also during the programs that they’ll provide on Tuesday.”

On the final day of the conference, participants will attend educational workshops and network with other vendors at Hermannhof Festhalle. Topics discussed in the workshops include marketing, risk management, USDA Rural Development resources for agricultural businesses.

“You’ll hear from some folks as far as the missteps or wins that they had while trying to market and get those crowds to come to the farm, and sometimes something might work, (or) something surprises you and it doesn’t work,” Adkison said.

The conference location rotates around the state each year — past stops have included northeast and west central Missouri, which Adkison said gives the conference a chance to showcase how agritourism looks based on the terrain and agricultural strength of each region.

Find out more about the event or register for it at mofb.org/event/2026-agritourism.

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Missouri

Missouri politicians champion unity, diversity on America’s 250th

Published

15 hours ago

July 8, 2026

Press Room

Missouri politicians champion unity, diversity on America’s 250th

Former Missouri Gov. Jeremiah “Jay” Nixon followed in his ancestor’s footsteps, 250 years to the day.

On July 8, 1776, Colonel John Nixon was the first person to publicly read the Declaration of Independence from the steps of the Pennsylvania State House, now Independence Hall.

Jay Nixon, along with other Missouri officials from local, state and national offices, participated in a semiquincentennial celebration at the Historical Greene County Courthouse on July 8, 2026.

“As we commemorate 250 years of American independence, may we remember not only the courage of those who signed the declaration, but also our responsibility to preserve the freedoms they declare,” said Connie Yen, director of the Greene County Archives and Records Center.

While the reading of the Declaration of Independence was the main event, patriotic music from the Salvation Army Band, Springfield Sound, the Patriotic Chorale — as well as the national anthem sung by former U.S. Attorney John Ashcroft and former judge and representative Max Bacon — rang throughout the courthouse’s rotunda, which was packed with people. The music itself, Ashcroft said, was a metaphor for the nation.

“There is something charming about America that doesn’t require that we be uniform. There’s a difference between unity and uniformity. As a matter of fact, you can’t have harmony if you only have one note. You have to sing different notes for things to be harmonic and it’s much more beautiful,” he said. “Maybe America is America not because of uniformity or everybody being in unison, but America may be America because we have disparity, but we’re in harmony. We believe in unity, not uniformity.”

Before reading the Declaration of Independence, Nixon shared part of a speech he gave at Fulton’s Westminster College in August 2025, where he encouraged people to “resist apathy with action” through involvement with civic and faith organizations, and by voting. Like others, he emphasized diversity as the strength of America.

“(We’re) a nation of immigrants. Many of our ancestors fled poverty, injustice and tyranny to build something better. We are the great-great-great-grandchildren of slaves, and those who enslaved them; the first families who inhabited these lands, and those who drove them from it,” Nixon said. “A nation of scrappy strivers stitched together by our ideals, marked by original sins, but redeemed by the courage and sacrifice that saved us from fascism and unleashed freedom and prosperity — the envy of the world. That is the true story we all need to tell, the promise we made to each other that we work every day to keep.”

The reading was followed by an ice cream social, co-hosted by the Greene County Democratic and Republican women’s clubs.

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Missouri

UPDATE: Suspect wanted in Kansas captured near Columbia; Missouri State Highway Patrol aircraft plays key role | 93.9 The Eagle

Published

1 day ago

July 8, 2026

Press Room

UPDATE: Suspect wanted in Kansas captured near Columbia; Missouri State Highway Patrol aircraft plays key role | 93.9 The Eagle

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says one of its planes played a key role in Tuesday morning’s capture on I-70 near Columbia of a Kansas suspect wanted for child endangerment.

Missouri state troopers say they were on patrol near a rest area on eastbound I-70 in Cooper County, when they located a Dodge Durango wanted for an alleged incident in Topeka. Troopers say the suspect drove off after seeing troopers and that the Patrol plane was used to avoid a pursuit.

Troopers say they were able to get in position after the plane’s pilot located the vehicle and that the Patrol deployed stop sticks and safely deflated the suspect’s tires.

hmqqi61wwaa0bs7 — A Missouri State Highway Patrol aircraft played a key role in Tuesday morning’s capture in mid-Missouri (July 2026 graphic courtesy of Highway Patrol Twitter)

The Highway Patrol says the suspect was captured without incident and that the two-year-old child, who was unharmed, has been reunited with their mother.

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