The top Kansas City stories of 2025, according to the Star Opinion team
What stories were most important, influential or compelling in 2025? I asked The Star’s Opinion team — Derek Donovan, Toriano Porter, David Mastio and regular correspondent Joel Mathis — and we came up with a list, from No. 5 to No. 1, that reflected Kansas City’s best and worst of the year. Let us know what you think and if we missed your favorites.
No. 5: High city payouts
Kansas City and Lee’s Summit were on the hook for millions in settlements from lawsuits that ranged from wrongful deaths to discrimination. Here are the cases that stood out:
Cameron Lamb: The family of Cameron Lamb, the 26-year-old Black man fatally shot by ex-Kansas City police detective Eric DeValkenaere, reached a $4.1 million settlement in a federal lawsuit filed against DeValkenaere, the Kansas City Police Department and its Board of Police Commissioners. Toriano Porter said he was happy that the family was compensated but was disappointed that neither the city nor DeValkenaere were found culpable.
Shooting settlements: In June 2023, the lives of 42-year-old Marcell Nelson and 42-year-old Kristen Fairchild were tragically ended when Kansas City police officer Blayne Newton opened fire at an intersection near 31st Street and Van Brunt Boulevard. Jaden Thorns, who was also shot in the head during the incident, miraculously survived. We questioned why Newton was still on the force after the shooting and the settlement.
Hidden payouts: Lee’s Summit reached a quiet $2 million settlement with former city prosecutor Terri Round, a staggering financial commitment that was concealed from the public. According to the agreement, the city paid Round $1.4 million in damages and $100,000 in lost wages. Furthermore, two of Round’s attorneys each received $250,000 to cover legal costs. Porter questioned how could City Hall justify withholding this $2 million burden from the taxpayers who were footing the bill? Porter also learned that a previous discrimination settlement had also been withheld from public view.
No. 4: The Country Club Plaza
Kansas Citians long have complained about the steady decline of the Plaza, but when new owners Gillon Property Group touted needed change, a lot of people didn’t like the planned tall buildings that seemed to come with it. The Plaza Westport Neighborhood Association is keeping its eye on historical accuracy, and the Kansas City Public Schools is concerned, too. Superintendent Jennifer Collier said in an emailed letter that “Without appropriate contributions to the school district over the life of the project, a tax exemption would be more than inappropriate; it would be malpractice.”
We reminded the new owners that Kansas City doesn’t really own the Plaza — but we do in one important way: It has always had our identity and our heart. If it becomes too dense, too high, too expensive, it could lose that.
No 3: MAGAfication of state politics
Republicans Gov. Mike Kehoe and Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, were expected to bring their conservative politics to Jefferson City, but we’ve seen a Trumpified way of handing business — most notably the congressional redistricting map (which we will get into later). In the U.S. Senate, David Mastio points out that the only one who bucks Donald Trump is Josh Hawley, and he fights Trump for not being MAGA enough.
Across the state line in Kansas, Democrat Laura Kelly only has one more year as governor. Her Republican colleagues vying for her seat all are quite centered in MAGA territory. Joel Mathis wondered whether Kansas will finally become the MAGA state some people already say it already is.
No 2: Congressional redistricting
The GOP-dominated Missouri General Assembly divided the Democratic-leaning Kansas City area into three Republican congressional districts, a move influenced by pressure from the Trump administration. The plan breaks up District 5 — a majority Democratic district in Kansas City represented by Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver — and move voters into surrounding Districts 4 and 6, which are represented by GOP Reps. Mark Alford and Sam Graves, respectively. The move really should be called gerrymandering, because unlike redistricting (which normally occurs every 10 years after a census) this plan is politically motivated. No one is hiding that fact.
Kansas thought it was a good idea, too, so its heavily Republican Legislature tried to do the same. They didn’t have the votes and took the plan off the agenda, for now.
No. 1: The Kansas City Chiefs
If you’d have asked me whether the Chiefs would be a top story of 2025, I would have said yes, but not for all the reasons we’ve seen this year. You see, the Chiefs isn’t just one story — it’s several: leaving Missouri’s beloved Arrowhead Stadium for Kansas, Patrick Mahomes’ torn ACL, being in the middle of a border war between Kansas and Missouri, and the problems on the field. With their last game of the season this afternoon, against the Las Vegas Raiders, it’s a brutal end. Even the Traylor (Travis Kelce-Taylor Swift) engagement story couldn’t compete.
The runners-up
These were also important stories for not just Kansas City, but for the region and the nation, according to our Opinion writers and you, the readers:
- The reshaping of America by artificial intelligence. Our feeds, our jobs and our communities will all be different as AI technology grabs an ever bigger share of attention and the economy. (Mastio)
- Missouri GOP’s attempts to stifle the voices of voters, especially the General Assembly and secretary of state trying to obfuscate abortion ban ballot language. (Mathis and Donovan)
- Trump corruption runs wild. Whether it is turning the pardon power into a cash machine, the Trump family making a buck in Russia, usurping the independence of critical regulatory agencies, or turning the Justice Department into a petty vengeance machine, Trump is using government for his personal reasons more than he is serving the public. (Mastio)
- Trump’s feces drop video. Readers were interested in our story on this post on Truth Social, portraying Trump as a king in a fighter jet, dropping a brown liquid on No Kings protesters. (Readers)
- The Catholic Church: The church still is making news, and readers were interested: from a local man accosted at a church, to investigations on priests, to U.S. Catholic Bishops supporting undocumented immigrations in defiance of the Trump administration. (Walker and readers)
