KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz and Kansas counterpart Lance Leipold spent some time this week not as football coaches teaching the X's and O's but as history professors delivering to their teams the story of free states and slave states.
After all, therein lies the foundation of the Border War.
One of the most bitter rivalries in college sports, the once-annual showdown between Tigers and Jayhawks has been on hiatus since 2011, when Missouri jumped from the Big 12 Conference to the Southeastern Conference. But it will be renewed on Saturday, when Kansas makes the short trip across the state line to face Missouri in a nonconference matchup that can trace its roots to literal warfare.
In the 1850s and '60s, guerilla fighting in western Missouri and eastern Kansas erupted over whether slavery would be legal in the proposed state of Kansas. The anti-slavery “Jayhawkers” would pillage pro-slavery communities in Missouri, which led in part to the formation of the “Tigers,” a militia unit whose responsibility it became to protect Columbia from attacks.
For the last 134 years, the Tigers and Jayhawks have waged their own sort of battle on the football field.
“We gave them a little background history,” Leipold said of his team this week, “all the way back to the border, and what the border stood for, and free states and slave states, and kind of went through the whole history of where these two states have been competitive, and not always agreed. And then we went through when the first game was played, and all the things that have gone on from there, and where the series is. Touched on why it hasn't been played in a while.”
That decision by Missouri to bolt from its longtime conference home to the SEC only added to the animosity.
As if there wasn't enough already.
Longtime Missouri basketball coach Norm Stewart famously refused to let his team stay in Kansas hotels, or even refuel the bus across the state line, lest he inject a single dollar into its economy. Kansas football coach Don Fambrough once said he'd rather die than seek medical attention from a physician in Missouri. And over the years, the notorious Mizzou student section, known as the Antlers, would spend the night before games calling up Kansas coaches and players at all hours.
Pretty innocent stuff, really, compared with William Quantrill's band of vigilantes ransacking Lawrence way back in 1863.
Then again, folks haven't forgotten about that, either.
“My wife and I were at church and somebody wanted to talk about it," Leipold said of the rivalry. "I didn't know that was the right time to, really. Somebody said, you know, ‘Kick their butt.’ But they didn't say butt. And it was in church.
"I didn't really think that was appropriate.”
When the game was put on hold, it was the second most-played rivalry in the Football Bowl Subdivision, with 120 matchups. At one point, they played for 93 consecutive seasons. But in true Missouri-Kansas fashion, they can't even agree on the record: The outcome of the 1960 game is disputed. Missouri claims to have an a 57-54-9 advantage. Kansas believes it is 55-56-9.
There have been some doozies, too.
In the early years, old Civil War soldiers would stand on the sidelines and stare across the field at each other. The 1911 game is recognized by the NCAA as the birth of “homecoming." And in 2007, Kansas was ranked No. 2 and Missouri was No. 3 for an epic showdown at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, which the Tigers won 36-28 to reach the Big 12 title game.
“Two big games were ‘07 and ’08, and I remember watching those games on TV, to be honest,” Drinkwitz said. “I wasn't in college coaching at that point. I was a high school school. ... Taking the job, I understood the importance of this.”
Two decades of conference realignment have rendered many longtime rivalries a rarity. But as more financial pressure is placed on athletic departments, the argument can be made that the importance of winning them has never been greater.
“Anything that stirs the passion of your fanbase is important,” Drinkwitz said, “especially when you're asking fans to do so much. We ask our fans to do so much from a financial contribution, a time contribution, an engagement contribution. So any time you get a chance to stir their passion for bragging rights and whatever other rights might be on the line with this game, it's important that your team is ready to play.”
To that point, Drinkwitz and Leipold have had to walk a fine line. They may have brought in former players to talk to their teams about the rivalry this week, and the history lessons have been important. But none of that matters at kickoff on Saturday.
“Coach showed us a video about the rivalry and how it goes back hundreds of years,” Kansas safety Taylor Davis said. “There's obviously a lot of emotions for both sides. We're just going to try to keep it neutral and play football.”
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Fans cheer after a Kansas touchdown during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Fresno State Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025, in Lawrence, Kan. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Justice Department is investigating whether Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey have impeded federal immigration enforcement through public statements they have made, according to two people familiar with the matter.
The investigation focused on potential violation of a conspiracy statute, the people said.
The people spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss a pending investigation by name.
CBS News first reported the investigation.
In response to reports of the investigation, Walz said in a statement: “Two days ago it was Elissa Slotkin. Last week it was Jerome Powell. Before that, Mark Kelly. Weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents is a dangerous, authoritarian tactic.”
Walz’s office said it has not received any notice of an investigation.
“This is an obvious attempt to intimidate me for standing up for Minneapolis, our local law enforcement, and our residents against the chaos and danger this Administration has brought to our streets," Frey said in a statement. "I will not be intimidated. My focus will remain where it’s always been: keeping our city safe.
The investigation comes during a weekslong immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and St. Paul that the Department of Homeland Security has called its largest enforcement operation, resulting in more than 2,500 arrests.
The operation has become more confrontational since the fatal shooting of Renee Good on Jan. 7. State and local officials have repeatedly told protesters to remain peaceful.
State authorities, meanwhile, had a message for any weekend protests against the Trump administration’s unprecedented immigration sweep in the Twin Cities: avoid confrontation.
“While peaceful expression is protected, any actions that harm people, destroy property or jeopardize public safety will not be tolerated,” said Commissioner Bob Jacobson of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
His comments came after President Donald Trump backed off a bit from his threat a day earlier to invoke an 1807 law, the Insurrection Act, to send troops to suppress demonstrations.
“I don’t think there’s any reason right now to use it, but if I needed it, I’d use it,” Trump told reporters outside the White House.
A Liberian man who has been shuttled in and out of custody since immigration agents broke down his door with a battering ram was released again Friday, hours after a routine check-in with authorities led to his second arrest.
The dramatic initial arrest of Garrison Gibson last weekend was captured on video. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan ruled the arrest unlawful Thursday and freed him, but Gibson was detained again Friday when he appeared at an immigration office.
A few hours later, Gibson was free again, attorney Marc Prokosch said.
“In the words of my client, he said that somebody at ICE said they bleeped up and so they re-released him this afternoon and so he’s out of custody,” Prokosch said, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Gibson, 37, who fled the civil war in his West African home country as a child, had been ordered removed from the U.S., apparently because of a 2008 drug conviction that was later dismissed. He has remained in the country legally under what’s known as an order of supervision, Prokosch said, and complied with the requirement that he meet regularly with immigration authorities.
In his Thursday order, the judge agreed that officials violated regulations by not giving Gibson enough notice that his supervision status had been revoked. Prokosch said he was told by ICE that they are “now going through their proper channels" to revoke the order.
Meanwhile, tribal leaders and Native American rights organizations are advising anyone with a tribal ID to carry it with them when out in public in case they are approached by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
Native Americans across the U.S. have reported being stopped or detained by ICE, and tribal leaders are asking members to report these contacts.
Ben Barnes, chief of the Shawnee Tribe in Oklahoma and chair of the United Indian Nations of Oklahoma, called the reports “deeply concerning”.
Organizers in Minneapolis have set up application booths in the city to assist people needing a tribal ID.
Democratic members of Congress held a local meeting Friday to hear from people who say they've had aggressive encounters with immigration agents. St. Paul Mayor Kaohly Her, who is Hmong American, said people are walking around with their passports in case they are challenged, and she has received reports of ICE agents going from door to door “asking where the Asian people live.” Thousands of Hmong people, largely from the Southeast Asian nation of Laos, have settled in the United States since the 1970s.
Minneapolis authorities released police and fire dispatch logs and transcripts of 911 calls, all related to the fatal shooting of Good. Firefighters found what appeared to be two gunshot wounds in her right chest, one in her left forearm and a possible gunshot wound on the left side of her head, records show.
“They shot her, like, cause she wouldn’t open her car door,” a caller said. “Point blank range in her car.”
Good, 37, was at the wheel of her Honda Pilot, which was partially blocking a street. Video showed an officer approached the SUV, demanded that she open the door and grabbed the handle.
Good began to pull forward and turned the vehicle's wheel to the right. Another ICE officer, Jonathan Ross, pulled his gun and fired at close range, jumping back as the SUV moved past him. DHS claims the agent shot Good in self-defense.
FBI Director Kash Patel said at least one person has been arrested for stealing property from an FBI vehicle in Minneapolis. The SUV was among government vehicles whose windows were broken Wednesday evening. Attorney General Pam Bondi said body armor and weapons were stolen.
The destruction occurred when agents were responding to a shooting during an immigration arrest. Trump subsequently said on social media that he would invoke the Insurrection Act if Minnesota officials don’t stop the “professional agitators and insurrectionists” there.
Minnesota’s attorney general responded by saying he would sue if the president acts.
Richer and Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press reporters Steve Karnowski in Minneapolis; Ed White and Corey Williams in Detroit; Graham Lee Brewer in Oklahoma City; Jesse Bedayn in Denver; Audrey McAvoy in Honolulu; Hallie Golden in Seattle; and Ben Finley in Washington contributed.
ADDS IDENTIFICATION: Teyana Gibson Brown, right, wife of Garrison Gibson, reacts after federal immigration officers arrested Garrison Gibson, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
ADDS IDENTIFICATION: Teyana Gibson Brown, second from left, wife of Garrison Gibson, reacts after federal immigration officers arrested Garrison Gibson, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
ADDS IDENTIFICATION: Garrison Gibson is arrested by federal immigration officers Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
ADDS IDENTIFICATION: Garrison Gibson becomes emotional as he is arrested by federal immigration officers Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A man is arrested by federal immigration officers Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A family member reacts after federal immigration officers make an arrest Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A man becomes emotional as he is arrested by federal immigration officers Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Federal immigration officers prepare to enter a home to make an arrest after an officer used a battering ram to break down a door Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, including one wearing a 'NOT ICE' face covering, walk near their vehicles, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Richfield, Minn. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
A person looks out of their vehicle as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents walk away, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Richfield, Minn. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
