KSHB 41 reporter Ryan Gamboa covers Miami County in Kansas and Cass County in Missouri. He also covers agricultural topics. Share your story idea with Ryan.
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Two Kansas City community groups are organizing a vigil this weekend to honor Renee Nicole Good, a former Kansas City, Missouri, resident shot and killed by a federal agent on Wednesday in Minnesota.
The Kansas City Women's Action Collective and Boots on the Ground Midwest are planning the memorial event for 3:30 p.m. Saturday in Mill Creek Park near the Country Club Plaza.
Good, who previously lived in the Waldo neighborhood, moved to Minneapolis from Kansas City.
Lisa, a part of the Kansas City Women's Action Collective, said the organization's members had an immediate reaction to the news.
"Anger, sadness and frankly terror of what our government is doing murdering people in the street," Lisa said.
The group, which helps marginalized communities, believes the incident represents a broader concern about actions take by the federal government.
"It's insane that this is happening in the United States of America," Lisa said. "This is un-American and we want to stop it and help stop it."
The organizers hope the vigil will mobilize community members to take action.
She also said a protest tonight in front of City Hall in Kansas City, Missouri, is to push back against the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents (ICE) presence in the metro area.
"We want to bring the community together and now is the time to get off the couch and sign up for action," Lisa said. "So we will have various actions so people can get involved so that they can stop this right now."
Good was remembered by family and friends as a poet, writer, wife and mother.
According to the Associated Press, her ex-husband described her as a devoted Christian who loved to sing and write. He said she was not an activist and never participated in protests.
“Renee was one of the kindest people I’ve ever known,” Donna Gange, Good's mother, told the Minnesota Star Tribune newspaper. “She was extremely compassionate. She’s taken care of people all her life. She was loving, forgiving and affectionate. She was an amazing human being.”
The Trump administration labeled Good as a domestic terrorist.
The incident sparked several organizing efforts.
A second protest is being planned by the Party for Socialism and Liberation at the KCMO City Hall to protest ICE operations in local communities.
Local activists emphasized the importance of community action and solidarity.
"Taking action is critically important to maintaining our rights," Lisa said. "If we don't stand up, we will lose our rights. We are so powerful in numbers, and our power is shown when we come out and support our others."
However, organizers acknowledge safety concerns for participants. Lisa noted that volunteers with Boots on the Ground and KC Women's Action Collective have been receiving threats.
"If you have a billion-dollar organization like ICE shooting people in the street, there is nothing that we volunteers with Boots on the Ground can do to guarantee your safety," Lisa said.
KSHB 41 is continuing to reach out to Good's family, friends, and other groups she may have been associated with to share her legacy.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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