The Kansas City Chiefs “choosing” Eudora as the site for a new stadium is the latest April Fools prank from Nolan Jones.

A sign on his property notes “construction entrance” with the Chiefs and GEHA logos.

Although his annual pranks are centered around making people laugh, they can also spur important conversations, he said.

For the last three years, his pranks have been related to economic growth. Two years ago, the joke was about a second Panasonic location coming near his home. Last year’s sign proclaimed a new big cat sanctuary was coming to town.

Subconsciously or not, all three years have related to ongoing conversations about growth in the area, he said. It’s something Eudora should be having conversations about, whether the conversations start from a prank or not, he said.

“Because Eudora is in this interesting position with Panasonic, with Lawrence and all that, that there’s always some underlying tension with everything,” he said. I think that’s a good discussion for everybody around here to be thinking about. What do we want as a community to do, you know, to the extent we can control it?”

Jones and his wife Stephanie also decorate their home at 545 W. 20th St. for all the other holidays, so it’s only fitting they also bring about some laughter on April Fools Day, he said. 

Last year, the big cat sanctuary brought about some viral posts on Facebook, and some were even depressed when they found out the sanctuary wasn’t coming, he said. The community has always had a positive response, though, and has even caused city officials to make calls questioning what is going on.

The reason he does it is “just because people need a little bit of joy,” he said. He’s always tried to be good natured about the pranks and said he and his wife just enjoy a good sense of humor, he said.

This year, Jones said he wanted to try a more subtle approach with just the logo and GEHA text, but next year he’s already planning something bigger and more direct.