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Future of Kansas town’s library uncertain after outpouring of support at commission meeting
ST. MARYS — Following public outcry about censorship, the St. Marys City Commission decided to table a vote on renewing the Pottawatomie Wabaunsee Regional Library’s lease. The lease is under threat because the library refused to comply with the commission’s request to remove all LGBTQ, sexual, racial or otherwise “socially divisive” content from its shelves. […]
Kansas women struggle to enter the workforce because of lack of child care and pay gap
TOPEKA — Kansas women need pay equity and more help with child care, a women’s advocacy group said after compiling feedback from hundreds of women around the state. United WE, an nonprofit organization dedicated to improving women’s economic and social status, partnered with the League of Kansas Municipalities to set up seven town hall discussions […]
Future of Kansas town’s library in jeopardy over refusal to remove ‘divisive’ books
ST. MARYS — Pottawatomie Wabaunsee Regional Library is decorated for the holidays, with a snow-filled tiny Christmas village placed in the center of the book stacks. There’s a princess mural on one wall, complete with a unicorn, and a dinosaur figurine over by the children’s nook. All of it might be gone come January. The […]
Kansas school leaders urge lawmakers to fully fund special education services
TOPEKA — It’s difficult for 6-year-old Crosby Orlando to stay in his first grade classroom. Born with Down syndrome, he has been in therapy since he was four weeks old to work on behavioral and communication barriers. Orlando is mostly nonverbal and uses signs to communicate with classmates, though he gets restless and wants to […]
Kansas Board of Education recommends removal of offensive American Indian mascots
TOPEKA — The Kansas Board of Education recommended the removal of American Indian-themed mascots and branding from Kansas school districts, saying American Indian students deserve to feel comfortable in schools across the state. The mascot debate has been ongoing, with the Advisory Council for Indigenous Education recommending in October that the BOE and the Kansas […]
Republicans sweep Kansas Board of Education seats, say they will give parents more oversight
TOPEKA — New Kansas State Board of Education members say they will prioritize parental oversight in schools across Kansas. Ahead of the election, the 10-seat board had six Republican and four Democratic members. With Republicans taking all five seats on the ballot in the November election, the BOE will shift further to the right. Republicans […]
Kobach wins Kansas AG race, vows to fight Biden administration
TOPEKA — Kris Kobach is set to take the Kansas attorney general seat, becoming the state’s top law enforcement officer and chief legal advisor after a series of political failures. Kobach said he will use the position to sue President Joe Biden’s administration. At midnight on Election Day, Kobach had carried the vote by a […]
Kansas Supreme Court justices hang onto seats in retention vote
TOPEKA — Kansans voted to keep all six state Supreme Court justices up for retention on the November ballot. The justices were returned with more than 60% voter support, including two who voted in favor of abortion rights. Kansas Supreme Court justices on the ballot were Daniel Biles, Marla Luckert, Evelyn Wilson, Caleb Stegall, K.J. […]
Kansas AG candidate Kris Kobach declares victory; opponent says race isn’t over yet
TOPEKA — Republican attorney general candidate Kris Kobach declared victory Tuesday night, though his Democratic opponent Chris Mann says the race is still too close to call. At midnight, Kobach took to the Kansas GOP watch party stage to announce his win. “I don’t care who you are, or where you come from, you gotta […]
Kansas GOP mailers push ‘patently absurd’ crime narrative, teachers union says
TOPEKA — GOP mailers flooding Kansas mailboxes across the state in the last push before Election Day are focusing on crime. Some Kansans have called the mailer contents blatant lies and a form of fear mongering that follows national GOP election tactics. Republican candidates have accused Democratic opponents of wanting to defund the police and […]
With long COVID symptoms in mind, health officials urge Kansans to take booster shot
TOPEKA — Kansas health officials are warning residents about lingering COVID-19 symptoms, asking people to get boosters and practice COVID-19 safety measures ahead of winter, when COVID-19 cases are predicted to significantly increase. Catherine Satterwhite, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regional health administrator for Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska, said numbers for […]
Parents of disabled children address Kansas Legislature again: ‘Families are drowning’
TOPEKA — Kansans who urged lawmakers to fix the state’s health care system weeks ago say their situations have become untenable. Kathy Keck, a mother of five kids, three of whom have developmental and medical disabilities, said she left the workforce more than five years ago to care for her children. In September, Keck told […]