In a ceremony marked by calls for unity, faith, and generational change, Wyandotte County inaugurated what officials called the youngest commission in the Unified Government’s history on Monday evening, highlighted by the swearing-in of Christal E. Watson. “Today we mark the first time an African American woman has been entrusted […]
Other News
Bond issue, data center rezoning top another lengthy commission meeting
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County Board of Commissioners held its regular meeting on Thursday, making decisions on some key recurrent issues. The commission approved issuing bonds for sewer improvements, rezoning for a potential data center location, and updating the American Royal development agreement to account for bond market conditions. […]
Turner Elementary teacher wins $25,000 Milken Educator Award in surprise ceremony
What Turner Elementary School teacher Lexcee Oddo thought would be a routine assembly to honor retiring Kansas Commissioner of Education Randy Watson turned into a life-changing moment when she learned she had won the prestigious Milken Educator Award, including a $25 thousand prize. The surprise announcement came during a schoolwide […]
Warming Centers Available in KCK This Winter
As the weather continues to become colder this winter, there are several warming centers across Wyandotte County that are available. For more information, including an interactive map to find a nearby shelter, go to https://www.wycokck.org/Engage-With-Us/News-articles/Warming-Centers-Winter-2025.
Garner recaps tenure, challenges commissioners at State of the UG
In a symbolic passing of the torch at Memorial Hall on Tuesday, outgoing Mayor Tyrone Garner delivered his final State of the Unified Government address while welcoming his successor, Mayor-elect Christal Watson. The annual address, mandated by the UG charter and hosted by the Kansas City, Kan. Rotary Club since […]
Incoming commissioners Pacheco, Kump join forces for Turkey Tuesday
All day, frozen turkeys trickled in to Eric Williams’s venerable Clippin 2 Please barbershop on State Avenue, beginning to pile up in the back of a 15-foot U-Haul truck. The mayor brought some earlier, then Sheriff Soptic, then the USD 500 maintenance staff. The Egyptian Cobras motorcycle club brought several […]
UG Commission approves revised camping ordinance after heated debate
The Wyandotte County Unified Government Board of Commissioners voted 6-2 early Thursday morning to approve a revised “unsafe camping” ordinance, changing course from the rejection of a similar measure six weeks earlier. The ordinance, approved 6-2, prohibits camping and sleeping on public and private property with specific provisions for 48-hour […]
Esteemed KCK journalist Murrel Bland, 1941-2025
Murrel Wesley Bland, distinguished journalist and devoted community leader who spent more than five decades chronicling life in western Wyandotte County, passed away peacefully on Nov. 17, 2025, in Kansas City, Kan. He was 84. Born on a farm near Enid, Okla., Bland moved with his family in 1949 to […]
Column: “Now Bonner has TWO QuikTrips!”
I’ve been a QuikTrip fan my whole life! There was one across the street from our elementary school. We’d walk across the street to get self-serve ice cream cones, and in summer they offered orange ice cream. Without aging myself, the Royals have won two World Series and the Chiefs […]
& Juliet takes an unexpected look at a well-known love story
Once upon a time, many centuries ago, a guy named William Shakespeare wrote a play called “Romeo & Juliet”. Today, it is required reading for almost all high school freshmen. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, and they secretly get married. To avoid parental wrath, she takes a sleeping […]








