Missouri’s governor wants National Guard to beef up World Cup security in KC
Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe on Tuesday unveiled a plan to beef up law enforcement’s presence for Kansas City’s World Cup matches this summer, which will include deploying the Missouri National Guard.
Kehoe said during his annual state of the state address on Tuesday that his budget request to lawmakers included additional funding for the National Guard, Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency to provide security and medical services at matches and other events.
“This is Missouri’s chance to showcase Kansas City and our entire state to the world and it must be safe,” Kehoe said while laying out his priorities for the year to a joint session of the Missouri General Assembly on Tuesday.
The Republican governor also included in his budget request a plan to deliver an additional $63.2 million — most of which would come from federal funds — to support Kansas City’s World Cup efforts, a remarkable figure that would bring the state’s total investment well above $150 million.
The massive soccer tournament offers an unprecedented test of Kansas City’s infrastructure, resources and safety as hundreds of thousands of fans descend on the city from across the globe. Kansas City’s six matches, which will take place this summer, have rallied local and state leaders around a plan to promote the city on the international stage.
But that excitement has also been laced with caution for a city still reeling from the deadly shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl rally in 2024. The sprawling event will also pose a major test for the unusual oversight of Kansas City’s police, which is under state control.
House Speaker Jonathan Patterson, a Lee’s Summit Republican, told The Star after the speech that Kehoe and lawmakers wanted to ensure the World Cup was “a great event and not a tragic one.”
“We have a tremendous opportunity to have a world class event,” Patterson said. “However, we also have an opportunity to have something terrible happen.”
Kansas City leaders listed additional World Cup funding and resources among their top requests to state lawmakers last month.
The Republican governor’s speech was short on specifics about how Missouri would enhance security at World Cup matches in Kansas City. But Dan Haug, his budget director, told reporters earlier in the day that Kehoe was requesting $20 million in state spending on security, which would include a plan to deploy the National Guard.
In addition to the National Guard, Missouri will also seek to curtail drone activity at the event. The Republican governor included in his proposed budget $14.7 million for law enforcement officers to “counter the use of illegal, unmanned aircraft systems” and promoted legislation that would allow police to do so.
When asked about Kansas City’s needs ahead of Kehoe’s speech on Tuesday, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas pointed to Kansas City’s legislative priorities, which included additional funding for the World Cup.
“Kansas City is an economic engine for Missouri,” Lucas said. “My only hope is that funding priorities help us, not hurt us, and that Missouri provides local control to vital decision-making to make our communities stronger and safer.”
