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Homeless advocates: ‘We’re seeing more and more folks die on the streets’ in Kansas
TOPEKA — Advocates say unhoused Kansans need more support from state and local governments. The Kansas Mental Health Coalition held a Wednesday meeting to begin discussing goals for legislative action on the state’s homelessness problem. Mary Jones, coalition president, said she wanted to focus on creating more resources in cities for people who are struggling. […]
Kansas lawmaker denounces influence of national far-right groups on state laws
TOPEKA — Susan Ruiz feels a lot of pressure to resist legislation coming from national far-right organizations. As a clinical social worker, Latina and one of the first openly gay state representatives, Ruiz, a Shawnee Democrat, said she needed to advocate for many different groups in Kansas but felt a special responsibility for standing up […]
‘The KHP waged war’: Federal judge orders end of Kansas trooper ‘two-step’ maneuver
TOPEKA — The Kansas Highway Patrol has been ordered to stop its infamous “two-step” technique by a federal judge, in what the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas calls a “huge win” for all motorists using state highways. The U.S. district court ruled KHP’s policies and practices violate the Fourth Amendment, releasing a Friday opinion […]
Kansas ranchers, county commissioners take action against lesser prairie chicken protections
TOPEKA — A group of Kansas county officials and ranchers filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the latest attempt to block protections for a prairie bird. The lawsuit, filed late Thursday, names the Kansas Natural Resource Coalition and several Kansas farmers and ranchers as plaintiffs in the case. The […]
AG Kobach to announce ongoing initiative combating fentanyl in Kansas. Here are the basics.
TOPEKA — As the threat of fentanyl overdose deaths increases locally and nationally, Kansas officials are looking at different courses of action. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has said he will prioritize slowing the spread of fentanyl in the state, starting a fentanyl awareness campaign in June with the Joint Fentanyl Impact Team. Kobach’s team […]
Kansans with disabilities struggle with decade-plus wait for state aid
TOPEKA — Some Kansans with disabilities are having to wait more than 10 years for government help due to a “monumental problem” with backlogged service requests. To receive Medicaid-funded support waivers from the state, people with intellectual or developmental disabilities are placed on a waiting list supervised by the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability […]
Wichita hospital faces two lawsuits after allegations of rape and sexual assault of patients
WICHITA — An 82-year-old cancer patient and another woman have filed lawsuits against a Wichita hospital after accusations of rape and sexual assault while under hospital care. The Hutton & Hutton Law Firm filed its first civil lawsuit against Ascension Via Christi Hospitals Wichita, Inc., which operates the Ascension Via Christi St. Francis hospital, on […]
Annual report shows drop in Kansas violent crimes for 2022
TOPEKA — Reports of burglary, murder and rape declined statewide in 2022, according to an annual report, though numbers have yet to return to pre-pandemic levels. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation’s annual Crime Index Report compiles data from law enforcement agencies to look at crime trends. The 2022 crime index report showed a 4.3% decrease […]
After school shutdown, rural Kansas community tries to divorce district
CLAFLIN — Barton County residents will decide whether to break up with their school district and “start fresh” following heartbreak and anger over the closure of a rural community’s high school. The change could result in hundreds of students displaced and three more schools shut down. The Aug. 1 disorganization vote is a test case […]
St. Marys officials again threaten library because of LGBTQ books
ST. MARYS — Gerard Kleinsmith says he hates the idea of censorship. He just wants to pull the lease for the city’s public library because he doesn’t like books about transgender people. As a city commissioner, he feels it is his duty to remove transgender content — “garbage,” as he refers to it. Kleinsmith said […]
Kansas lawyer with disability aims for district judge seat, motivated by desire to set example
TOPEKA — Sitting in the Kansas Reflector podcast studio, Todd Thornburg quoted former President Theodore Roosevelt as inspiration in his fight to become one of the first visibly disabled people with a prominent position in the Kansas judicial system. “To paraphrase,” Thornburg said, “we won’t be with those cold and timid souls who know neither […]
New study tracks increase in pregnancy deaths for Kansas women of color
TOPEKA — The rate at which Kansas women of color die from pregnancy increased sharply over 20 years, furthering racial disparities, according to a new national study. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and Mass General Brigham conducted a state-by-state analysis of maternal deaths rates for 1999-2019, and released the study Monday. While maternal […]