By Sherman Smith | editor-in-chief
Good morning! Columnist Eric Thomas examines the uncertainty surrounding World Cup crowd sizes. We're also reporting on the fate of the No Labels Kansas party, a U.S. Senate hopeful's appearance before Capital Area Democratic Women, and the latest from Washington.
Eric Thomas for Kansas Reflector
OPINION
‘Holding our breath’: Uncertainty about World Cup crowd sizes trickles down to Kansas watch parties
By Eric Thomas
Like an elaborate wedding, a surprise birthday party or a Fourth of July barbecue, the World Cup has Kansas City and its Kansas suburbs wondering about crowd sizes.
What if no one shows up?
Like nervous hosts, municipal and private event planners aren’t quite sure what to expect, particularly for watch parties where locals will gather to watch the matches, often at free outdoor venues with hundreds of other fans.
What if everyone shows up?
Uncertainty about watch party crowd sizes is inevitable. Kansas City has never hosted World Cup matches, 32 years have elapsed since the United States last hosted the event and soccer culture here has changed drastically in the meantime.
How many people will come?
Morgan Chilson/Kansas Reflector
Judge refuses to block election official from dissolving No Labels Kansas party
TOPEKA — The fate of the No Labels Kansas political party will be decided at a Friday meeting after a district court judge refused to intervene in a state official’s decision to dissolve the party.
Kris Van Meteren, owner of the Singularis Group marketing firm, and David Miller, a former Republican representative and chair of the Republican party in the late 1990s, filed for an emergency injunction against Secretary of State Scott Schwab’s actions to eliminate the No Labels Kansas party.
The two, who represented themselves, told Shawnee County District Judge Jay Befort on Thursday that Schwab had no right to dissolve the party and drop 7,400 voters who had registered as No Labels Kansas voters from their affiliation with that party.
Baya Burgess/Kansas Reflector
Kansas Democratic women’s club evaluates U.S. Senate candidate who put ‘fetal personhood’ into bill
TOPEKA — Democrats questioned U.S. Senate candidate Patrick Schmidt’s position on abortion Wednesday at a Capital Area Democratic Women meeting in Topeka.
Schmidt, a Democratic state senator from Topeka and the meeting’s guest speaker, defended an amendment he made last year to legislation establishing “fetal personhood” by allowing child support orders for pregnancy-related costs from the date of conception. He said he was trying to sabotage the bill.
As ICE presence at World Cup looms, fans and local leaders prepare
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is expected to draw between 5 million and 7 million soccer fans to the 11 U.S. host cities. But as the games begin, some say the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and the planned presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents is casting a pall over an event that is supposed to bring the world together.
US Senate Dems press federal agency to increase oversight of prediction markets
WASHINGTON — A group of 16 U.S. Senate Democrats is calling on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission to tighten its regulation of prediction markets, citing concerns over insider trading and other consumer harms as betting on future events grows in popularity.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Kansas Reflector staff will participate in the following free public forums.
6:30 p.m. June 12, Kansas Museum of History in Topeka. Opinion editor Clay Wirestone will join a panel discussion: "From the Desk of William Allen White: What Can Journalism Today Learn from the Sage of Emporia?"
5:30 p.m. June 16, Bradbury Alumni Center at Washburn University in Topeka. Editor-in-chief Sherman Smith will lead a discussion on the proposed constitutional amendment to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices. Host: Kansas Appleseed. Register here.
6 p.m. June 24, Groover Labs in Wichita. Editor-in-chief Sherman Smith will lead a discussion on the proposed constitutional amendment to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices. Host: Kansas Appleseed. Register here.
6 p.m. June 25, Clint Bowyer Community Building in Emporia. Editor-in-chief Sherman Smith will lead a discussion on the proposed constitutional amendment to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices. Host: Kansas Appleseed. Register here.
7 p.m. June 27, Park City Senior Center. Host: Park City Community Pride.
1 p.m. July 11, South Branch Library in Kanass City, Kansas. Opinion editor Clay Wirestone joins a panel discussion: "Elected vs Appointed: Inform Your Choice." Hosts: Voter Rights Network of Wyandotte County, Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation, the League of Women Voters of Johnson County, and El Centro.
2 p.m. Sept. 27, Red Rocks Visitor Center in Emporia. Host: Red Rocks.
If you're interested in having us talk in your town, email Sherman Smith at [email protected].
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