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Parental rights fight in Kansas schools spawns book bans, scrutiny of LGBTQ students
TOPEKA — Lawmakers say remnants of a proposed parents’ bill of rights are impacting school districts, referencing several schools’ transgender student policies and recent attempts to remove books from curriculum. Critics of the parents’ bill of rights say the proposal is unnecessarily restrictive. Under the bill, which Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed in April, each public […]
Parents of disabled kids urge Kansas lawmakers to expand aid and fix issues with health care system
TOPEKA — A Kansas mother struggling to balance treating her cancer with caring for her disabled children urged lawmakers Monday to provide more support for people like her. 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 […]
Kansas Democrats float proposal to lower property taxes by reviving dormant fund
TOPEKA — A three-part proposal to reduce property taxes could save Kansas homeowners millions, Democratic lawmakers said during a news conference Monday at the Statehouse. Rep. Vic Miller, D-Topeka, and Rep. Mike Amyx, D-Lawrence, released the plan for consideration in the next legislative session, which begins in January. The plan includes reducing residential property assessment […]
ACLU of Kansas: Legislature needs to fix ‘endless probation’
An “endless probation” case is still dragging on in Kansas, with the defendant set to keep paying restitution for the next four decades, if legal reforms don’t address the situation. Edwanda Garrett pleaded guilty in 2009 to making fraudulent content, and again in 2017 for writing bad checks. Garrett’s restitution included deducting $50 from her […]
Newly installed Kansas Capitol monument honors families of fallen soldiers
TOPEKA — Soldiers, legislators and military families gathered Friday at the Kansas Capitol for an unveiling of a memorial honoring families of soldiers who died while serving in the armed forces. Gov. Laura Kelly and Sen. Pat Roberts spoke at the unveiling ceremony about losses suffered by military families. Kelly, who grew up in a […]
Kansas attorney general candidates split on voter fraud, abortion rights, immigration
TOPEKA — Republican and Democratic candidates for Kansas attorney general clashed on immigration issues, women’s rights and voting laws during their first debate Thursday, held at the Wichita Crime Commission Forum. Both candidates said the federal government failed to do enough about immigration. GOP candidate Kris Kobach said he viewed the role of Kansas attorney […]
Hutchinson microbrewery hopes to avoid losing liquor license with plea to buy food
A Hutchinson microbrewery sold more than $16,000 worth of hot dogs and other food Tuesday night in defiance of antiquated Kansas liquor laws. With another $13,000 worth of food sales by the end of the month, the business can stay open. Sandhills Brewing, a microbrewery with two taprooms, is in danger of losing its liquor license […]
Thousands of Kansans eligible for student debt forgiveness, White House officials say
Kansans who have struggled to repay student debt may receive relief, with hundreds of thousands in the state eligible for some form of debt forgiveness, the Biden-Harris administration announced Tuesday. In Kansas, about 360,900 student loan recipients qualify for some form of loan forgiveness, with 225,500 Kansan Pell Grant recipients eligible. In the neighboring state […]
Kansas uninsured rate now higher than national average
Nationally, more and more Americans have been enrolled in health insurance since the Affordable Care Act was implemented. But no longer in Kansas, which now has a higher uninsurance rate than the national average rate for the first time in years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau estimates. Nearly 264,000 Kansans went without insurance in […]
Community divided over Kansas school district book ban push
The Gardner Edgerton School District has made news recently with a transgender student policy that the Kansas American Civil Liberties Union condemned as potentially unlawful. With the policy still under discussion and a vote delayed, it seemed as though things were finally settling down for the district. But the newest issue to come up is […]
Child sex abuse reports sent by abortion providers misleading, DCF secretary says
Department for Children and Families secretary Laura Howard said “we dropped the ball” in presenting child sexual abuse allegations reported by Kansas abortion providers at a Monday committee meeting. The data, which run from 2011 to 2022, weren’t available to the public until the Topeka Capital-Journal filed public record requests earlier this year, despite a […]
Kansas lawmakers dig into pandemic relief spending report
TOPEKA — Pastries, plastic tube people and festivals. Kansas lawmakers questioned whether federal COVID-19 relief funding was spent appropriately during a Wednesday review of expenditures. The Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit’s report focused on the 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, the $2.2 trillion stimulus bill passed by Congress. The act included $339.8 billion […]