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Kansas governor race too tight to call

Kansas' next governor could come down to a few thousand votes.

Election

Kansas&#x27; governor race was still too close to call as of 6am Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.Why it matters: The outcome will determine whether Democrats retain control of the governor&#x27;s office or Republicans secure a trifecta, giving the GOP control of the Legislature and the executive branch.

The stories behind KC's "I Voted" stickers

From sunflowers to student artwork, here's the history behind Kansas and Missouri's "I Voted" stickers and the local artists designing them.

Sunflowers, state flags and a whole lot of red, white and blue fill Axios&#x27; new map of 2026 &quot;I Voted&quot; stickers from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., including Kansas and Missouri.The big picture: The nationwide collection, assembled with help from Ballotpedia, features everything from patriotic classics to student artwork and designs celebrating America&#x27;s 250th birthday.

KC diesel costs 70% more than last year

Kansas City gas costs about 40% more than a year ago but sits below its 2022 record, while diesel topped $6.25 on both sides of the metro in September.

News

Kansas City diesel prices hit record highs this fall and haven&#x27;t come down much since, staying about 70% above last year.Why it matters: Fuel costs hurt KC wallets twice, at the pump and in the price of everything trucks haul and farms grow.

Missouri sets national precedent with stronger direct democracy

Voters passed Amendment 6 by a 20-point margin.

Missourians on Tuesday approved some of the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="strongest" data-vars-click-url="https://news.ballotpedia.org/2026/09/09/missouri-voters-to-decide-amendment-requiring-voter-approval-for-certain-legislative-changes-to-initiative-process-and-voter-approved-laws/" data-vars-content-id="0b19b66f-1219-4126-82e0-91662ee19a25" data-vars-headline="Missouri sets national precedent with stronger direct democracy" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://news.ballotpedia.org/2026/09/09/missouri-voters-to-decide-amendment-requiring-voter-approval-for-certain-legislative-changes-to-initiative-process-and-voter-approved-laws/" target="_blank">strongest</a> direct democracy rules in the nation, amending the state constitution by a 20-percentage-point margin.Why it matters: The amendment limits lawmakers&#x27; power to overturn voter-approved measures, giving Missourians more of a say in state policy.

Where to honor veterans around KC

The WWI Museum offers a free ceremony and admission for veterans, Leavenworth holds its 107th parade and the Truman Library hosts a concert.

Holidays

Museums, cities and veterans groups across KC are holding ceremonies, concerts and a parade on Veterans Day to honor those who served.Why it matters: About 105,000 veterans live in the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="metro" data-vars-click-url="https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2025.B21100?g=310XX00US28140" data-vars-content-id="b64e98ef-eede-45bf-adea-75292c2901f6" data-vars-headline="Where to honor veterans around KC" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2025.B21100?g=310XX00US28140" target="_blank">metro</a>, and many of Wednesday&#x27;s events are free or discounted for them and their families.

Holiday shipping costs more as KC's mail lags

USPS holiday surcharges are in effect, and the KC-area postal district trailed the nation on on-time delivery for the first half of 2026.

Holiday surcharges have been in effect at the post office since October, even as the Postal Service district that covers Kansas City trails the national on-time rate.Why it matters: Holiday packages will cost more to ship through mid-January, and locals may want to mail them earlier than normal.

Christmas pop-up bars are already taking reservations

Kingdom's Greetings at Arrowhead and Tinsel & 'Tinis at Union Station are already booking, and more Christmas pop-up bars open Thanksgiving week.

Things to Do

Kansas City bars are trading their usual look for Christmas trees, twinkle lights and holiday cocktails this season, and some are already taking reservations.Why it matters: The most popular pop-ups sell out weeks before Christmas, so waiting until after Thanksgiving could leave you on the outside looking in.

Google knows what KC wants to be for Halloween

Google search data shows the Halloween costumes Kansas Citians are eyeing this year.

A Pumpkin King, a King of Pop and a star-spangled super soldier lead the Kansas City area&#x27;s trending Halloween costume searches this year, according to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Google search data" data-vars-click-url="https://frightgeist.withgoogle.com/costumes#map" data-vars-content-id="807d857d-c761-43bf-b2ca-402e4fd8bf09" data-vars-headline="Google knows what KC wants to be for Halloween" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://frightgeist.withgoogle.com/costumes#map" target="_blank">Google search data</a>.The big picture: Americans are expected to spend more than $4 billion on Halloween costumes this year, and online searches remain their top source for costume ideas, according to the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="National Retail Federation" data-vars-click-url="https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/nrf-halloween-survey-shows-consumer-spending-expected-to-reach-13-5-billion" data-vars-content-id="807d857d-c761-43bf-b2ca-402e4fd8bf09" data-vars-headline="Google knows what KC wants to be for Halloween" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/nrf-halloween-survey-shows-consumer-spending-expected-to-reach-13-5-billion" target="_blank">National Retail Federation</a>.

Halloween weekend brings KC an extra scare: earlier sunsets

Trick-or-treaters get daylight until around 6:20pm Saturday before clocks fall back and evenings turn dark for months.

Kansas City trick-or-treaters face one more fright this weekend, with <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="daylight saving time" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/2026/07/16/daylight-saving-congress-backlash-side-effects" data-vars-content-id="da722380-2a6c-415d-a112-ddfcaffcd0b8" data-vars-headline="Halloween weekend brings KC an extra scare: earlier sunsets" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/2026/07/16/daylight-saving-congress-backlash-side-effects" target="_self">daylight saving time</a> ending just hours after the Halloween sun goes down.Why it matters: The sun sets around 6:20pm across the metro on Saturday, according to <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="NOAA&#x27;s solar calculations" data-vars-click-url="https://gml.noaa.gov/grad/solcalc/" data-vars-content-id="da722380-2a6c-415d-a112-ddfcaffcd0b8" data-vars-headline="Halloween weekend brings KC an extra scare: earlier sunsets" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://gml.noaa.gov/grad/solcalc/" target="_blank">NOAA&#x27;s solar calculations</a>, so families who want their little goblins trick-or-treating in daylight need to head out early.

Halloween weekend events that aren't trick-or-treating

Halloween is on a Saturday, otherwise known as Saturween.

Halloween is on a Saturday, otherwise known as <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Saturween" data-vars-click-url="https://youtu.be/vgA3B_uId_s?si=fNz50z1tqkdQyI0n&amp;t=35" data-vars-content-id="e3fb4f09-9bd7-4c65-be12-e6dbb661fddd" data-vars-headline="Halloween weekend events that aren&#x27;t trick-or-treating" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://youtu.be/vgA3B_uId_s?si=fNz50z1tqkdQyI0n&amp;t=35" target="_blank">Saturween</a>, and there&#x27;s plenty to do for Kansas Citians who want to celebrate.The big picture: The <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="goats" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/kansas-city/2026/10/26/kc-riverfront-goats-halloween-party" data-vars-content-id="e3fb4f09-9bd7-4c65-be12-e6dbb661fddd" data-vars-headline="Halloween weekend events that aren&#x27;t trick-or-treating" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/kansas-city/2026/10/26/kc-riverfront-goats-halloween-party" target="_self">goats</a> and the <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="houses" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/local/kansas-city/2026/10/23/kc-shirtwaist-house-midtown-monster-halloween" data-vars-content-id="e3fb4f09-9bd7-4c65-be12-e6dbb661fddd" data-vars-headline="Halloween weekend events that aren&#x27;t trick-or-treating" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/local/kansas-city/2026/10/23/kc-shirtwaist-house-midtown-monster-halloween" target="_self">houses</a> are already playing dress-up. Now it&#x27;s your turn.

Midtown houses are dressing up for Halloween

The shirtwaist design common to KC provides the perfect bones.

Anyone who remembers the movie &quot;<a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Monster House" data-vars-click-url="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385880/" data-vars-content-id="8fad28b7-425d-4350-aed7-591aaab7c27c" data-vars-headline="Midtown houses are dressing up for Halloween" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0385880/" target="_blank">Monster House</a>&quot; will be thrilled, delighted and maybe a little frightened to come across KC&#x27;s very own Halloween-bedecked homes.Why it matters: These creepy creations deserve some kudos, and so does the prolific KC house design that provides the perfect bones.

KC's Halloween candy craving

Missourians buy more Twizzlers and Kansans buy more SweeTarts than the rest of the U.S., DoorDash data shows.

Food and Drink

As you stock up for trick-or-treaters, here&#x27;s what sets your neighbors apart from the rest of the country: Missourians buy more Twizzlers and Kansans buy more SweeTarts.The big picture: Halloween candy is more regional than you&#x27;d think. <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="DoorDash&#x27;s new map" data-vars-click-url="https://about.doordash.com/en-us/news/doordash-halloween-candy-order-trends" data-vars-content-id="18f168c9-b99c-4766-83e0-70344835ea49" data-vars-headline="KC&#x27;s Halloween candy craving" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://about.doordash.com/en-us/news/doordash-halloween-candy-order-trends" target="_blank">DoorDash&#x27;s new map</a> of each state&#x27;s most distinctive candy, based on last October&#x27;s orders, has 14 different winners.

Independence is putting its best ghostly foot forward

The city is known for its historic sites and paranormal legends.

Independence is known for its historic sites and ghostly legends, and this Halloween season, Visit Independence is making it easy to make a day of them.The big picture: <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="Paranormal Pursuit" data-vars-click-url="https://visitindependence.com/paranormalpursuit/#" data-vars-content-id="5dd6b154-2d0c-4629-94db-5d3a4349e2db" data-vars-headline="Independence is putting its best ghostly foot forward" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://visitindependence.com/paranormalpursuit/#" target="_blank">Paranormal Pursuit</a>, a self-guided virtual tour with points and prizes, launched last week with 13 locations.

What KC's Spirit Halloween used to be

Spirit Halloween is in 10 metro storefronts this fall, including a former Tuesday Morning in Lee's Summit

Spirit Halloween is haunting 10 empty storefronts around the metro this fall; among 1,500 <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="locations" data-vars-click-url="https://stores.spirithalloween.com/" data-vars-content-id="6d3f66d0-5634-44bb-a83f-a7f52eeba9c3" data-vars-headline="What KC&#x27;s Spirit Halloween used to be" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://stores.spirithalloween.com/" target="_blank">locations</a>, it opens nationwide in the shells of stores that didn&#x27;t make it to 2026.The big picture: The stores appear and vanish each fall, so finding this year&#x27;s Spirit often means directions in retail shorthand: &quot;Where the old Party City used to be.&quot; In KC, that&#x27;s the old Tuesday Morning, the old Pier 1 and, somewhere, a Painted Tree.

A map of all U.S. counties, each shaded based on when sunlight will occur there on Oct. 31, for Halloween trick-or-treating. All but 17 counties will have sunset prior to 7 p.m., with late-setting outliers in west Texas and Alaska's Aleutian islands. 

Halloween sunset times (Oct. 31, 2026)

Data: Axios analysis of NOAA solar calculations and U.S. Census Bureau data; Map: Brad Jennings/Axios