Sorry, but could you point out where they say they contacted Kelly directly? I’m not saying that his statement are untrue or anything. Just trying to be more responsible with my media consumption. I guess maybe this isn’t the best place for me to do that.
Both were named for the Kansas river. The location of the mouth of the Kansas river flowing into the Missouri establishes the longitude that the whole western border of Missouri (except for the Platte Purchase). Basically Kansas state is where the Kansas river flows and Kansas City began where the river ends.