Kansas City Chiefs Are Super Bowl Bound Once Again
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KPR) - The Kansas City Chiefs are headed back to the Super Bowl for the third year in a row. The Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills, 32-29, Sunday night at Arrowhead to capture the AFC Championship. The Chiefs defense stepped up down the stretch when Buffalo was stopped and Kansas City’s slim lead was preserved. Chiefs defensive end Chris Jones says the team was well-prepared for a close game. "You look at the games we had. I think we had six or seven games where it was one possession," he said. " We continued to build off that throughout the year. These games are very familiar with us." On offense, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes ran for a pair of touchdowns and threw for a score in the win. The Chiefs play the Philadelphia Eagles in Super 59 on February 9th in New Orleans. (Learn more.)
==========
Fort Riley Soldiers Sent to the Southern Border
PETERSON SPACE FORCE BASE, Co. (KPR) - Soldiers from Fort Riley are among 1,500 U.S. troops heading to the U.S. - Mexico border. These troops are part of President Trump's effort to bolster security at the southern border. They join 2,500 service members already deployed to the area.
==========
Bill Would Prohibit Ranked Choice Voting in Kansas Elections
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – A Kansas bill would prohibit the use of ranked choice voting for any election in the state. The Kansas News Service reports that ranked choice lets voters select multiple candidates in order of preference, rather than voting for a single candidate. Those who support the ban say ranked choice can confuse voters. Others say the system is more democratic than the system the state currently uses. Andrew Booze is with a grassroots group that supports ranked choice in Kansas. He spoke against the ban, saying that “...overall, I believe it’s unnecessary, that this is understandable to people, and that it doesn’t disenfranchise people, it empowers them.” Kansas law already doesn’t allow ranked choice, but this bill could curb potential efforts to implement it. Alaska and Maine both use ranked choice. But five other states voted not to implement it in 2024.
==========
Appellate Court Hears Arguments in Driver's License Gender Marker Case
UNDATED (KNS) – The Kansas Court of Appeals heard arguments Monday about allowing transgender Kansans to change the gender marker on their driver’s license. The Kansas News Service reports that Republican state attorney general Kris Kobach sued to block the changes in 2023. A Shawnee County district judge agreed to halt gender marker changes while that case is pending. Lawyer Pedro Irigonegaray, who represents the state Department of Revenue, says the appeals court should reverse that decision. “It is not appropriate for a state to deny transgender people the right to dignity,” he said. The attorney general’s office says information on IDs should stay consistent to help law enforcement identify missing people and criminal suspects.
==========
Agriculture Secretary Nominee Pledges Support for Farmers Affected by Proposed Tariffs
UNDATED (HPM) – Secretary of Agriculture nominee Brooke Rollins says she will work to support U.S. farmers who would be impacted by President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs. Harvest Public Media reports that the trade war during Trump’s previous presidency cost U.S. farmers billions of dollars. To offset those losses, the administration gave out payments. Rollins told senators during her nomination hearing last week that a similar strategy could be on the table again. “We are prepared to execute something similar if approved, if confirmed, but also working with the white house to ensure we can close those holes for our farmers and ranchers moving forward under any sort of tariff execution in the next coming days, in the next few years. That will be a top priority of mine,” Rollins explained. Trump says he could add tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China as soon as February 1.
==========
Foreign Ownership of U.S. Farmland on the Rise
UNDATED (HPM) – The amount of American crop, pasture and forestland owned by foreign investors continued to increase in 2023. That’s according to analysis by the American Farm Bureau Federation. The Farm Bureau says foreign citizens and companies now own 3.6% of American agricultural land. Investors from China and other countries deemed adversarial make up .03%. That’s not much, says University of Illinois agricultural land economist Bruce Sherrick. He told Harvest Public Media that he thinks concerns about foreign ownership are overblown. “Impact in food supply is always a sensitive political issue. But again, the fractions are so incredibly tiny in the US that (it’s) hard to find where the coverage is proportional to the potential impact,” he added. Sherrick says one area of legitimate concern is whether foreign-owned land is located near a government or other sensitive property. (Read more.)
==========
KBI Investigates Shooting in Atchison
ATCHISON, Kan. (KPR) - A daring operation in Atchison resulted in a female hostage being rescued and her captor suffering from gunshot wounds. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says 36-year-old Bryson McCray, of St. Joseph, Missouri, died of his injuries on Monday morning, after being shot by an Atchison police officer. The KBI says McCray allegedly broke into an Atchison apartment Friday night, holding a woman hostage inside, and firing multiple shots at law enforcement officials. Police tried negotiating with him but he kept firing at officers. The woman - who was known to McCray - was rescued early Saturday morning and McCray was struck by gunfire from an officer. McCray was taken to a Kansas City hospital, where he died on Monday morning.
==========
Ag Industry Officials Voice Concerns About Possible Impact of Mass Deportation Efforts
UNDATED (HPM) – President Donald Trump has promised mass deportations of immigrants, and arrests have ramped up since he took office. Harvest Public Media reports that some in the agriculture industry worry about the impact. Some businesses are raising concerns about what deportations will mean for getting their products to market. Matt Teagarden is the CEO of the Kansas Livestock Association. He says he’s in favor of securing U-S borders and deporting immigrants who commit crimes. But his industry relies on noncitizens and temporary visa workers. Without them, he says what’s grown and sold in the U-S will change. “There is a choice here to be made. We can import workers and continue to produce our food here in the United States. Or we can import food,” Teagarden said. He adds that he would like to see legislative reform around immigration including increasing the number of guest workers under H-2A visas.
==========
Kansas Tuberculosis Outbreak Becomes America's Largest in Recorded History
TOPEKA, Kan. (TCJ/KPR) - An ongoing outbreak of tuberculosis in Kansas has become the largest in the recorded history of the United States. Ashley Goss, with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), told state lawmakers this week that Kansas currently has the largest outbreak it's ever had. According to the Topeka Capital-Journal, public health officials have documented 66 active cases and 79 latent infections in the Kansas City, Kansas, area. Most of those cases have been in Wyandotte County, with a handful in Johnson County.
KDHE spokesperson Jill Bronaugh said the current TB outbreak in KCK is the largest documented outbreak in U.S. history. Bronaugh says the outbreak is still ongoing, which means that there could be more cases. While there may have been larger outbreaks in the history of the U.S., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention only began monitoring and reporting TB cases in the U.S. in the 1950s.
Tuberculosis is caused by a bacterium that typically affects the lungs. The illness is spread person-to-person through the air when a person with an active infection coughs, speaks or sings. It is treatable with antibiotics.
==========
NBC's Lester Holt Tapped to Receive 2025 William Allen White Citation at KU
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) -- The William Allen White Foundation has selected Lester Holt of NBC News as the recipient of the 2025 William Allen White National Citation. The award, which recognizes individuals for outstanding journalistic service, comes from a vote of the trustees of the William Allen White Foundation, which is named in honor of White. Holt is the anchor and managing editor of “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” and anchor of “Dateline NBC.”
Holt will accept the award in person April 10 in the Kansas Union to celebrate William Allen White Day. He will give an address at 3 p.m. in the Kansas Union Ballroom. The event is free and open to the public.
“The selection of Lester Holt as the recipient of this award continues a long tradition of the William Allen White Foundation board of trustees honoring distinguished journalists,” said Ann Brill, dean of the William Allen White School of Journalism & Mass Communications. “Mr. Holt has spent decades telling some of the most important stories in the world.”
The William Allen White Foundation was founded in 1945, one year after the Kansas Board of Regents established the William Allen White School of Journalism & Mass Communications at KU. The William Allen White Foundation has been recognizing outstanding journalists since 1950.
==========
Bob Dylan Tour to Stop in Wichita
WICHITA, Kan. (KMUW) – Bob Dylan is coming to Wichita. KMUW reports that the traveling troubadour announced that he is bringing his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour to Century II on March 29th. The last time Dylan picked up a guitar in Wichita was in 2004, when he and Willie Nelson played in the city. Now 83 years old and the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016, Dylan has performed for more than 60 years. Tickets for the concert start at $65 dollars and will go on sale at 10 am on Friday. More information is at Selectaseat.com.
==========
Kansas Governor Wants to Address Water Issues
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Governor Laura Kelly is entering the last years of her term and says she wants to focus on water issues in Kansas. Kansans all over the state have had problems with water one way or another. In the west, farmers are struggling to grow crops without depleting the Ogallala aquifer, the region’s main water source. In the east, they struggle with reservoirs filled with sediment, and the whole state is spending a lot of money on water quality. Kelly spoke with the Kansas Water Authority to talk about proposals to streamline regulating water issues. “We cannot allow politics to interfere when talking about having a clean and sustainable water supply for our kids and our grandkids," she said. Kelly wants to condense state water offices into one agency so decisions can be reached faster.
==========
Kansans for Life Announces 2025 Legislative Agenda
UNDATED (KNS) – Pro-life Kansas leaders want to expand funding for crisis pregnancy centers and increase abortion data reporting requirements. The lobbying group Kansans for Life’s 2025 legislative agenda includes further expanding funding for crisis pregnancy centers. The Kansas News Service reports that lawmakers have directed more money to the centers in the past two years. The group also wants the state to collect more detailed data on abortions. A new law that requires doctors to ask women their reasons for obtaining an abortion - and to report that to state officials - is currently blocked by a judge. The organization says it will release more details on its agenda at the Kansas March for Life Wednesday in Topeka.
==========
New Statehouse Mural Honors Kansas Suffragists
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - A new mural will be unveiled this week at the Kansas Statehouse, depicting the Kansas women who fought for the right to vote. Manhattan artist Phyllis Garibay Coon Pease is the creator of "Rebel Women," a mural of 13 Kansas suffragists. Her mural will be unveiled Wednesday, on Kansas Day, and will join many other murals at the Statehouse depicting historical Kansas events and people. (Learn more.)
==========
Fireworks Injuries in Kansas Kids on the Rise
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNT) - The number of Kansas children aged 9 to 13 injured by fireworks doubled last year. KSNT reports that the Kansas State Fire Marshal has released its annual report for 2024. Among other things, the report shows that more than 140 people were injured by fireworks last year, 70% of them were male, most of them were adults.
==========
This summary of area news is curated by KPR news staffers. Our headlines are generally published by 10 am weekdays and are updated through 7 pm. This ad-free news summary is made possible by KPR members. Become one today. And follow KPR News on X (formerly Twitter).