Kansas Police Chief Resigns Days Before He's Charged with Possessing Child Porn
MARION COUNTY, Kan. (Wichita Eagle) — A Kansas police chief who resigned last week has been charged with 13 counts of possessing child pornography. Joel Justice Womochil was the police chief in Burns, Kansas, until he resigned August 8th. The Wichita Eagle reports he's been charged with 13 felonies. Prosecutors say one of the 13 videos in his possession involved a child under the age of 5. The 38-year-old Womochil, who was arrested this week by El Dorado police, is being held in the Sedgwick County Jail.
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Small Town Newspaper Prevails After Police Raid
MARION, Kansas (AP/KPR) — A Kansas prosecutor says a police raid on a small weekly newspaper wasn’t supported by evidence and ordered the computers and cellphones taken by police to be returned to the Marion County Record and its publisher, whose home was also raided. Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey issued a statement Wednesday saying there was "insufficient evidence" to establish a "legally sufficient nexus between this alleged crime and the places searched and the items seized." The Kansas Bureau of Investigation also issued a statement saying the seized items would be returned to the newspaper and that an investigation would continue without review or examination of any of the seized items.
The newspaper's staff scrambled to print the new edition Wednesday without their cellphones and computers seized in the raid. The White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre says Wednesday that the raid raises concerns over press freedoms. The front-page of the Marion County Record Wednesday read: “SEIZED … but not silenced."
(Additional coverage...)
Kansas Prosecutor: "Insufficient Evidence" to Support Police Raid on Small Town Newspaper
MARION, Kansas (AP/KPR) — A police raid that drew national attention to a small Kansas newspaper over threats to press freedoms wasn’t supported by evidence, a prosecutor said Wednesday, as the paper’s staff scrambled to print its first edition since their cellphones and computers were seized.
Forced to rewrite wholescale stories and ads from scratch, the four-person newsroom toiled overnight to print Wednesday's edition, with a defiant front-page headline that read: “SEIZED … but not silenced.” Under the 2-inch-tall typeface, they published stories on the raid and the influx of support the weekly newspaper has since received.
On Wednesday, Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey said his review of police seizures from the Marion County Record offices found “insufficient evidence exists to establish a legally sufficient nexus between this alleged crime and the places searched and the items seized."
“As a result, I have submitted a proposed order asking the court to release the evidence seized. I have asked local law enforcement to return the material seized to the owners of the property,” Ensey said in a news release.
Last week, a police raid of the newspaper’s offices, and the home of its editor and publisher, foisted the town into the center of a national debate about press freedom, with watchdog groups condemning the department's actions. Eric Meyer, the publisher, believes the raid was carried out because the newspaper was investigating why the police chief left his previous post as an officer in Kansas City, Missouri.
Police Chief Gideon Cody left the Missouri department earlier this year and began the job in Marion in June. He has not responded to interview requests.
Asked if the newspaper’s investigation of Cody may have had anything to do with the decision to raid it, Bernie Rhodes, the newspaper's attorney, responded: “I think it is a remarkable coincidence if it didn’t.”
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said Monday it was leading the investigation into the raid and what allegedly prompted it. The sheriff released the seized items Wednesday afternoon to a forensic auditor hired by the newspaper’s attorney to determine whether information on computers, cellphones and other equipment was copied.
TV and print reporters joined the conversation Wednesday in what is normally a quiet community of about 1,900 residents.
Even the White House weighed in. “This administration has been vocal about the importance of the freedom of press, here and around the globe,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at her daily briefing on Wednesday. “That is the core value when you think about our democracy, when you think about the cornerstone of our democracy, the freedom of press is right there.”
She said the raid raises “a lot of concerns and a lot of questions for us.”
The newspaper's publisher said all of the returned equipment will be forensically audited to make sure that nothing is missing or was tampered with.
“You cannot let bullies win,” Meyer said. “And eventually, a bully will cross a line to the point that it becomes so egregious that other people come around and support you.”
He added, “We have a staff that’s very experienced, including myself, and we’re not going to take crap."
Meyer has said that the stress from the raid of his home caused the death Saturday of his 98-year-old mother, Joan, the paper’s co-owner.
To put out the Wednesday edition of the paper, journalists and those involved in the business side of the newspaper used a couple of old computers that police didn’t confiscate, taking turns to get stories to the printer, to assemble ads and to check email. Because electronics were so scarce, it took the newsroom until 5 am to finish the paper, said Emily Bradbury, the Kansas Press Association's executive director. Bradbury chipped in herself by answering phones and ordering meals for staffers.
“There were literally index cards going back and forth,” said Rhodes, who was also in the office. “They had all the classified ads, all the legal notices that they had to recreate. All of those were on the computers.”
The newspaper’s press run is normally 4,000 papers but since the raids they have received more than 2,000 new subscriptions, Meyer said.
At one point, a couple visiting from Arizona stopped at the front desk to buy a subscription, just to show their support, Bradbury said. Many others from around the country have purchased subscriptions since the raids. An office manager told Bradbury that she’s having a hard time keeping up with demand.
The raids exposed a divide over local politics and how the Record covers Marion, which sits about 150 miles southwest of Kansas City.
A warrant signed by a magistrate about two hours before Friday's raid said that local police sought to gather evidence of potential identity theft and other computer crimes stemming from a conflict between the newspaper and a local restaurant owner, Kari Newell.
Newell accused the newspaper of violating her privacy and said she believes the newspaper broke the law to get her personal information. The newspaper countered that it received that information unsolicited, then verified it through public online records.
Meyer said the newspaper ultimately decided not to write a story about Newell, but later reported about a city council meeting, in which Newell confirmed she’d had a DUI conviction and drove a vehicle after her license was suspended.
Still, Meyer said police seized a computer and cellphone belonging to a reporter who wasn’t part of the effort to check on the business owner’s background.
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Tennessee Woman Charged with Murder in Case of Kansas Officer Killed in Shootout
MISSION, Kan. (AP) — A Tennessee woman has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the killing of a police officer in suburban Kansas City, after a car chase ended in a shootout that also killed the fleeing vehicle's driver. The Johnson County prosecutor on Wednesday added the murder charge on top of several other felony charges 32-year-old Andrea Rene Cothran faces. Police in Lenexa a Tennessee man fled from officers along Interstate 35 in what officers believed was a stolen car. The suspect and Fairway officer Jonah Oswald died after a shootout. Police say Cothran was in the car.
Cothran, of Goodlettsville, Tennessee, was already charged with crimes stemming from the August 6 police chase. Those include aggravated battery, fleeing law enforcement, felony theft and reckless driving. The earlier charges all pertain to the police chase. Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe told the Kansas City Star that the battery charge is related to the start of the chase, using the vehicle as a deadly weapon. Her bond was set at $1 million.
Fairway police Officer Jonah Oswald had been on the force for four years. The 29-year-old officer was hospitalized in critical condition and died a few days later. He leaves behind a wife and two young children. Police in the nearby suburb of Lenexa say the episode began when the suspected driver, Shannon Wayne Marshall of Ashland City, Tennessee, fled from police in what officers believed was a stolen car. When officers initially found the vehicle, police said the driver struck a patrol car. Marshall drove along Interstate 35 to a QuikTrip store in Mission, another Kansas City suburb, where police from multiple agencies tried to arrest him. Gunfire broke out and Marshall was killed. Cothran's attorney, Joel Rook, did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment Wednesday.
A Johnson County law enforcement team that is charged with reviewing officer-involved shootings is investigating.
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Audits: Kansas Needs to Do Better with Foster Care System
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) —Two separate audits of the Kansas foster care system say the state needs to do more to help foster children. The audits found that foster kids are being moved around too much, struggle to get mental health care and that more kids are sleeping in offices this year. One report is part of a lawsuit settlement that said the state needs to meet certain goals to avoid future court action. So far, the state is not doing that. Rachel Marsh is the CEO of the Children’s Alliance of Kansas. She says these issues have plagued the foster care system for years. “There are steps that Kansas is making today that they've been working on improving, but we still have a ways to go," she said. Marsh is especially concerned about poor tracking of data. That makes it harder to truly measure if programs are working.
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Kansas Governor Still Wants Legalized Medical Marijuana
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (KCTV) - This week, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly doubled down on her support for medical marijuana. Kelly wrote in a Tweet that legalizing medical marijuana would boost the economy and provide relief to Kansans suffering with severe illnesses. She also noted that three of the four states surrounding Kansas have some form of legalized marijuana. KCTV reports that lawmakers in the Kansas House passed a medical marijuana bill last session but the proposal failed to get any traction in the Senate. It's unclear whether lawmakers will take up the issue again when they return to the Statehouse in January.
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Special Prosecutor Files Formal Complaint Against Douglas County DA
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) — A special prosecutor has filed a formal complaint against Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez. The Lawrence Journal World reports that the complaint alleges Valdez violated multiple rules of professional conduct. The complaint, filed for the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys, claims that Valdez called a judge a liar and a sexist and implied he was racist. The complaint also alleges Valdez sent the judge inappropriate text messages and created an atmosphere in the DA’s office that was so negative and stressful that multiple attorneys in her office resigned. A pre-hearing conference on the complaint is scheduled for September 19 with the formal hearing dates are set for October 12-13. The conference and hearings will be open to the public.
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ACLU: Transgender Kansans Should Be Represented in Hearing over ID Changes
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — Transgender Kansans hope to have their interests represented in a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Kris Kobach against the Kansas Department of Revenue. Advocates say their arguments need to be heard before the court issues an official interpretation of the statue. Kobach brought the lawsuit to force the state revenue department to list a person’s “biological sex at birth” on their driver’s license. He says the court should first interpret the statue at issue before considering any constitutional challenges to the law. “We have stated in our briefing and in our oral arguments that we absolutely will be happy to answer their constitutional claims, it's just that procedurally, those should follow the determination of what the statute means," Kobach said.
The ACLU of Kansas represents five transgender Kansans who want to intervene in the case. Sharon Brett, the group's legal director, says Kobach simply doesn’t want the arguments of transgender Kansans to be heard. “Our goal here is to make sure that this piece of litigation, which is going to fundamentally impact the constitutional rights of all transgender Kansans, is not conducted devoid of the voices of the people impacted by it," she said. The ACLU argues the case will affect their constitutional rights and wants their interests to be considered as the lawsuit moves forward. District Court Judge Teresa Watson says she'll release a written decision in the case by the end of the week.
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One Kansas School Bans Popular Smartphone App
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – A Kansas school district has banned a popular smartphone app, citing privacy concerns. KSNW TV reports that the Buhler school district has banned an app called "Saturn – Time Together." The app has been banned from all devices in the district. Concerns arose after the school district's IT department noticed the app was sharing a lot of information and making it public. The Saturn app does have privacy controls available, but the Buhler district made the decision to not have it used at all in their schools.
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Kansas Schools Grapple with Bus Driver Shortage
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (KSHB) — Like other districts, the Blue Valley School District is struggling to find enough bus drivers. Last spring, the district dropped some transportation options for middle and high school students because of the shortage. KSHB TV reports that students who live less than 2.5 miles from school can no longer ride the bus. Last year, the district was short by as many as 18 drivers on many school days. Officials say the district’s transportation company, Durham School Services, has done a good job of hiring and retaining drivers, but has trouble finding enough qualified candidates. The starting pay rate for new drivers is $22 an hour. Durham’s next recruiting event will be held October 13. Classes began Wednesday for Blue Valley students.
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Common Read Materials Selected for College Freshmen in Kansas
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS/KMUW) — Students starting college at some Kansas universities next week already have their first reading assignment. Common read programs are a tradition for incoming freshmen at several public universities. Kansas State University is encouraging students to read They Called Us Enemy, a graphic memoir by Star Trek actor George Takei about his time in a Japanese internment camp. The University of Kansas has selected Parable of the Sower, by Octavia Butler. And Wichita State students will be reading My Broken Language, a memoir by Puerto Rican playwright Quiara Alegria Hudes. Tara Coleman coordinates the First Book program at K-State. She says the idea is to spark conversation among students and faculty. “Students are successful in college if they have a strong first semester, and that happens in a lot of ways. And one is by having a shared common activity," she said. Universities are planning lectures and other events related to their common books.
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Lawrence Approves CROWN Ordinance to Protect Hairstyles
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) — The Lawrence City Commission has given preliminary approval to a measure that will ban discrimination based on a person’s hairstyle or natural hair texture. The ordinance is based on legislation that has already passed in 23 other states. The commission unanimously approved the measure designed to prohibit race-based discrimination. According to the Lawrence Journal World, the ordinance is based on the Crown Act, or Creating a Respectful and Open World for Natural Hair. Versions of the act have been passed in nearly half the states but have not gained traction in Kansas. A federal bill was passed in the U.S. House last year but did not make it out of the Senate. Lawrence city commissioners will take a final vote on the measure at a future meeting.
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Judge Approves Settlement in Kansas Football Injury Case
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCUR) — A federal judge has approved a settlement in the case of a college football player at Fort Scott Community College who died from heat-related injuries in 2021. The settlement hearing in Kansas City, Kansas, federal court came almost two years to the day 19-year-old Tirrell Williams collapsed during football practice at Fort Scott Community College. On that day, players allege they were denied water and forced to run sprints and perform other strenuous activities as punishment after head coach Carson Hunter found trash on the practice field. The teen’s mother, Natasha Washington, came from suburban New Orleans to attend the hearing where a judge approved the settlement. The amount was undisclosed but Kansas law generally caps damages for public institutions at five-hundred thousand dollars. (Read more.)
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Kansas City Superfan 'ChiefsAholic' Charged with Stealing Almost $700,000 in Bank Heists
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City Chiefs superfan known as “ChiefsAholic” and familiar for attending games dressed as a wolf in the NFL team's gear has been indicted by a federal grand jury that accuses him of armed robbery and money laundering in a string of bank heists across four states that netted him almost $700,000.
Xaviar Babudar robbed six banks — and tried unsuccessfully three other times — and laundered the proceeds at casinos and sportsbooks, according to the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Missouri. The 19-count indictment handed down Wednesday replaces and supplements a criminal complaint filed against Babudar in May.
Babudar, 29, is scheduled to be arraigned on Friday, said his attorney, Matthew T. Merryman.
“It’s now the fourth quarter of the most important game of Xaviar’s life,” Merryman said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. "And his legal team believes his innocence will ultimately be proven to the public and we are confident that once all of the facts are known that he will be redeemed in the eyes of his supporters, admirers and the Chiefs Kingdom.”
According to the U.S. attorney's office, Babudar robbed banks and credit unions in Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and Oklahoma and used money to finance his Chiefs fandom. The charges include three counts of armed bank robbery, one count of bank theft, 11 counts of money laundering and four counts of transporting stolen property across state lines.
Babudar was active on social media as “ChiefsAholic” and was well known for attending home and road games dressed in his wolf costume. The indictment says he used some of the robbery loot to bet on the team to win the Super Bowl and for quarterback Patrick Mahomes to win the game’s MVP Award — bets that turned $10,000 into $100,000.
After receiving a check for his winnings, Babudar, who had been charged with robbing a Tulsa credit union and was out on bond, cut his ankle monitor and fled the state, the U.S. attorney said in a news release. He was arrested in California last month and remains in federal custody without bond, the release said.
“The government’s announcement today of its 19-count indictment provides an unfair and unjust portrayal of Xaviar," Merryman said. “The truth is that since 2018 Xaviar Babudar, aka ‘ChiefsAholic’ has entertained, inspired, unified and motivated Kansas Citians, the Chiefs Kingdom and hundreds of millions of football fans around the globe.”
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Clay County, Missouri Jury Finds Former Police Chief Guilty of Felony Assault
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KMBC) — A jury in Clay County, Missouri, has found the former Chief of Police in Greenwood, 53-year-old Greg Hallgrimson, guilty in the 2020 felony domestic assault of his ex-wife. The jury returned the verdict after deliberating less than two hours. Hallgrimson was given until September 11 to appeal the verdict and file a motion for a new trial. A sentencing hearing was set for October 22 in the Clay County Courthouse. KMBC TV reports that Hallgrimson will remain in custody on a $1.5 million bond. Greenwood straddles Clay and Jackson Counties just southeast of Kansas City.
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Kansas Sets Record for Ag Exports in 2022
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) — Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has announced record-setting agriculture exports of nearly $5.5 billion. KSNT TV reports that agricultural exports in 2022 reached the highest export total in decades. The top ag export for Kansas was beef, which made up more than $2 billion of the agricultural exports. The second most exported product was cereals and grain, including corn, wheat, and sorghum. Third was oil seed, primarily from soybeans. The governor noted Mexico was the state's largest importer of Kansas goods at $2 billion in 2022. Japan was the second largest importer with more than $780 million and Canada was third with $594 million. Kansas Secretary of Agriculture Mike Beam met Tuesday with ag officials from Mexico and Canada as part of the annual Tri-National Accord in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
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Millions of Kids Are Missing Weeks of School as Attendance Tanks Across America
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) — Nationwide, students have been absent at record rates since schools reopened after COVID-forced closures. More than a quarter of students missed at least 10% of the 2021-22 school year. Before the pandemic, only 15% of students missed that much school. All told, an estimated 6.5 million additional students were chronically absent. That's according to data compiled by Stanford University education professor Thomas Dee in partnership with The Associated Press. The analysis is based on the most recent data available, from 40 states and Washington, D.C. It provides the most comprehensive accounting of absenteeism nationwide. The absences come on top of time missed during school closures. They cost crucial time in classrooms as schools work to recover from massive learning setbacks.
Absences were more prevalent among Latino, Black and low-income students, according to Dee's analysis. Absent students miss out not only on instruction but also on all the other things schools provide — meals, counseling, socialization. In the end, students who are chronically absent — missing 18 or more days a year, in most places — are at higher risk of not learning to read and eventually dropping out. "The long-term consequences of disengaging from school are devastating. And the pandemic has absolutely made things worse and for more students," said Hedy Chang, executive director of Attendance Works, a nonprofit addressing chronic absenteeism.
Kids are staying home for myriad reasons — finances, housing instability, illness, transportation issues, school staffing shortages, anxiety, depression, bullying and generally feeling unwelcome at school. And the effects of online learning linger: School relationships have frayed, and after months at home, many parents and students don't see the point of regular attendance.
Alaska led in absenteeism, with 48.6% of students missing significant amounts of school. Alaska Native students' rate was higher, 56.5%. Those students face poverty and a lack of mental health services, as well as a school calendar that isn't aligned to traditional hunting and fishing activities, said Heather Powell, a teacher and Alaska Native. Many students are raised by grandparents who remember the government forcing Native children into boarding schools.
"Our families aren't valuing education because it isn't something that's ever valued us," Powell said.
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2 Missouri Moms Charged for Children's School Absences Lose Their Court Battle
LEBANON, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a state law criminalizing parents whose children miss school, ruling against two mothers charged in their young children's tardiness. Prosecutors charged two moms from Lebanon, Missouri, with misdemeanors and the mothers then went to the state Supreme Court to challenge the law's constitutionality. One mother was sentenced to a week in county jail for her first-grade daughter's nine unexcused absences in the 2021 school year. Another was sentenced to two years of probation for her kindergartener's seven unexcused absences that year. Missouri law requires K-12 students to attend school "on a regular basis." A public defender for the mothers argued the law is unconstitutionally vague. Supreme Court judges disagreed, ruling that regular attendance means going to school when it is in session. Judges wrote that school officials can excuse an absence for mental or physical illness and opt not to report parents to prosecutors. Prosecutors, judges wrote, can choose not to charge parents in cases of "minor noncompliance." The mothers' public defender did not immediately return an Associated Press phone call Tuesday.
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KU Announces Sweeping Renovations to Memorial Stadium and Football Complex
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP/KNS/KPR) — The University of Kansas will begin sweeping renovations to Memorial Stadium and the Anderson Family Football Complex at the end of the football season, representing the first steps toward a new multi-use district on the edge of campus.
The school said Tuesday that it has set an initial fundraising goal of $300 million for the football changes and upgrades to Allen Fieldhouse, the historic home of the Jayhawks' basketball programs, which have already begun. The school said private funds will cover most of the project, and it already has secured about $165 million in gifts and commitments.
The school also received $35 million in ARPA funds appropriated by the Kansas legislature and will receive up to $50 million through the Kansas Department of Commerce’s University Challenge Grant program.
"The Gateway District is a once-in-a-generation project to transform our campus and drive economic development throughout the region,” said Kansas Chancellor Douglas Girod, who was joined by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, Jayhawks athletic director Travis Goff and football coach Lance Leipold for a news conference unveiling the latest plans for the project.
“It’s a great day for the university but really the community, our region and our state,” Girod said. “This is a project we have talked about for quite some time but really have moved toward reality in the last year or so.”
The first phase will include additional renovations to the Anderson Family Football Complex, which just weeks ago unveiled new locker rooms and training spaces, and construction on the southwest, west and north sides of the football stadium that includes a new conference center. The work will begin after the upcoming season and be completed by the start of the 2025 season.
The school has been trying for more than a decade to overhaul its football stadium, which is far below the standards of rival schools in the Big 12. But changes in the athletic administration, coupled with overwhelming fan apathy for a perennially poor football program at the basketball-mad school, had made it difficult to build support.
That changed with the arrival of forward-thinking Goff, who along with pushing the project forward also hired Leipold, who last year led the Jayhawks to a .500 regular-season record and their first bowl game since the 2008 season.
“We have a proud history,” Goff said, “but this unprecedented investment makes a powerful statement about an even brighter future and provides far-reaching impact for our university community, fans and football program.”
Goff said that seating in the bowl area would be about 100 feet closer to the field — a significant gap has existed ever since the school removed the old running track — and about 70% of the stadium will be replaced. The construction will force Kansas to play with a dramatically reduced capacity next season, but games will still be played at Memorial Stadium.
“We will have in essence a new football stadium,” Goff said.
The construction is about more than just the football program, though.
Future phases will overhaul the south and east portions of the stadium but also develop multi-use spaces that include a mix of amenities — such as retail spaces, entertainment venues, office spaces and lodging — that can drive year-round revenue.
“This project will help us continue to meet all our missions and grow in every single way,” Girod said. “As I told someone earlier, every project has its time. And this is a project that we've been talking about — we had a big announcement two weeks before I took this job, and that was seven years ago. We needed the right time and the right leaders, and we have that.”
“It's really excited to be at this point,” Girod said. “We know this is going to be game-changing for us.” (Read more.)
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MLB Commissioner Throws Support Behind New Stadium for the Kansas City Royals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred threw his support behind a new stadium for the Royals on Wednesday, calling both of their potential sites near downtown Kansas City “unbelievably high quality” for the type of revenue-producing, multi-use districts that are necessary for small-market clubs to compete.
Manfred spoke for an hour at the Urban Youth Academy, which is designed to encourage inner-city youth in baseball, alongside Royals chairman John Sherman and Bob Kendrick, the president of the nearby Negro Leagues Baseball Museum — which itself is in the midst of a $25 million fundraising effort for a new home.
The Royals plan to announce in September whether they will build a replacement for Kauffman Stadium in the East Village, an area near the T-Mobile Center and the existing Power & Light District, or across the Missouri River in Clay County, where there is more land available for a potentially larger baseball village.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for this community — forget the Royals,” Manfred said. "Either of these sites are outstanding sites for a new ballpark. Either present the opportunity for entertainment district development around the ballpark.
“I think in our economic system,” Manfred said, “new facilities provide a ballclub with an opportunity for revenue generation that simply doesn't exist in older footprints. At some point — great ballpark here, but having said that, it is an older ballpark that does not have the kind of premier revenue-generating opportunities that you get in a new facility for a market this size.”
The Royals have said the new ballpark project will cost about $2 billion. Most will be privately funded, but a portion of the money is expected to come from the renewal of a 3/8-cent sales tax that has been used the upkeep of Kauffman Stadium.
However, the sales tax was passed by voters in Jackson County, which is where the downtown ballpark location sits; if that location is chosen, the vote for it would likely occur in April. But the site across the river sits in Clay County, and that would potentially require a different funding structure than what has long been envisioned.
Another factor is that the Royals have shared that tax revenue with the Chiefs, because Kauffman Stadium shares the Truman Sports Complex with Arrowhead Stadium. But the NFL franchise prefers Arrowhead Stadium rather than build anew, and how those two franchises can continue to co-exist in different locations is not entirely clear.
Regardless of the choice of location, Sherman has said the new Royals stadium will take about three years to complete, which would mean opening day for the 2027 or 2028 season. He also said in a recent letter to fans that the project would create about 20,000 jobs, produce roughly $1.4 billion in labor income and $2.8 billion in total economic output, while its inaugural season would “generate some $185 million more in regional economic output than The K does today.”
Much of that money would come from premier seating and club spaces that are not possible at Kauffman Stadium, which has long been one of the jewels of Major League Baseball, but is currently the sixth-oldest park still in operation.
“Our region is at a critical juncture, and I say that in a positive way,” Sherman said. “We have a new airport. The World Cup is coming (in 2026). We just hosted the NFL Draft. We have a women's soccer stadium coming out of the ground on the riverfront, the only one of its kind, and the Chiefs and Royals are talking about doing some really special things for this community.”
Manfred pointed to the way new stadiums for the Nationals and Braves have driven revitalization and revenue.
In the case of the Nationals, their new ballpark has sped up development of what was once a largely industrial neighborhood known as Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. In the case of the Braves, the glittering new Truist Park serves as the fulcrum of The Battery Atlanta, where restaurants and high-end residential areas have sprung from the ground.
“I lived in the District, worked in the District for 15 years. The Navy Yard, where Nationals Park sits, the time I lived there you wouldn't go there. Nobody went there,” Manfred said. “If you go there now, you have the ballpark, all this development, high-class housing, mixed-use development. ... (In Atlanta), they built a city where there was none. It has become one of the prime entertainment centers in the metropolitan area where there was nothing."
Both of the Kansas City sites are optimal for development in that they are riddled with old, vacant buildings and empty lots. But both also would require substantial investment in parking, ingress and egress, and other infrastructure.
“This process that we're in the middle of right now — evaluating — it's imperative we do this right now to find a new home, a new stadium, a new ballpark,” Sherman said, “but as importantly a new location where we can bring vibrancy and energy around the ballpark and do great things for this city.”
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Chiefs to Play Patrick Mahomes and Other Starters for First Half Against Arizona
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs plan to play Patrick Mahomes and the rest of their starters for the first half of their preseason game in Arizona, where they were last seen walking off the field hoisting their second Lombardi Trophy in four years.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said upon wrapping up training camp at Missouri Western on Thursday that the starters would get the first half and backups would split the second half. That's in line with what Reid has done since the league trimmed the preseason to three games and is designed to help Mahomes and the rest of his guys get ready for the speed of the regular season.
“They have to get ready for the game,” Reid said ahead of Saturday night's game against the Cardinals, “and at the same time, I think it's tough going into the first game — the first regular-season game. It's going to be fast, much faster than you can present in practice. So this is at least another step up from that, another kick up speed-wise to the game.”
Mahomes and the starters played only one series in their preseason opener in New Orleans, putting together a promising drive that ultimately stalled near midfield on a failed fourth-and-short conversion attempt. The second preseason game is closer to a dress rehearsal for their Sept. 7 opener against Detroit, which is why Mahomes will play into the second quarter.
Nevertheless, Reid acknowledged a balancing act between preparing for the season and the risk of injury in a preseason game.
“That's all part of the game," he said.
The Chiefs need look no further than last season's playoffs for proof that injuries can happen suddenly.
Mahomes was twisted to the turf in the divisional round against Jacksonville, sustaining a high ankle sprain that he had to manage the rest of their Super Bowl run; he even aggravated it in the championship win over Philadelphia, limping through most of the second half.
Even if Mahomes doesn't necessarily need the preseason reps, the rest of the Chiefs offense probably does.
They allowed both of their starting offensive tackles to leave in free agency, and Jawaan Taylor and Donovan Smith are still getting comfortable as the replacements. They also lost veteran wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Mecole Hardman, which means the Chiefs could lean heavily on two players yet to take a regular-season snap in Rashee Rice and Justyn Ross.
“I thought those guys got better and better (in camp),” Mahomes said of his wide receivers Thursday. “They learned how to finish and keep that mentality throughout practice. They have a lot of talent but you have to learn how to be consistent every day, and I thought they got better and better at that as they went.”
Mahomes also was pleased with the way Taylor and Smith have worked with perhaps the league's best interior offensive line, anchored by Pro Bowl center Creed Humphrey with guards Joe Thuney and Trey Smith on either side of him.
“The offensive line did a great job throughout camp just battling,” Mahomes said.
Mahomes was asked Thursday how he would feel stepping on the field in Arizona, where the Chiefs rallied to beat the Eagles in February. But in typical fashion, Mahomes preferred to talk about what the Chiefs must do to get back to the Super Bowl, rather than look back on winning his second championship ring.
“We have a lot of stuff we have to continue to work on,” Mahomes said. “I said it after the ring ceremony, ‘That’s it.' We're going to go back and try to get another one.”
In other pre-season notes: Reid said the Chiefs have checked on the playing surface in Arizona, which has a history of problems, and were told that “it's gripping well.” Chiefs DB Trent McDuffie and kicker Harrison Butker were hurt playing their regular-season opener on the same field last season. ... Chiefs DT Chris Jones continued his holdout through the entire portion of camp in St. Joseph, Missouri, getting fined $50,000 for each day he has missed. “When he gets in,” Reid said, “he's going to have to get caught up.” ... CB Nic Jones (hand), WR Nikko Remigio (shoulder), CB L'Jarius Sneed (knee), WR Kadarius Toney (knee), DT Turk Wharton (knee) and OL Nick Allegretti (shoulder) did not participate in practice Thursday.
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This summary of area news is curated by KPR news staffers, including J. Schafer, Laura Lorson, Tom Parkinson and Kaye McIntyre. Our headlines are generally posted by 10 am weekdays and updated throughout the day. These ad-free headlines are made possible by KPR members. Become one today. You can also follow KPR News on Twitter.