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‘Sexism from a new lens:’ Kansas athletes point out inequities in face of anti-LGBTQ law
TOPEKA — Kylie Forney spent her whole life training to play collegiate softball, a dream deferred by a year because of a shoulder injury easily avoided with better attention for women in athletics. She had experienced pain in her shoulder for years until it became unbearable the summer before she entered her freshman year on […]
Judge allows transgender Kansans to intervene in Kobach’s driver’s license lawsuit
TOPEKA — A district judge has granted a motion allowing transgender Kansans to intervene in Attorney General Kris Kobach’s lawsuit that would require Kansas driver’s licenses to list an individual’s sex assigned at birth instead of their gender. On July 11, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas filed the motion to intervene in the […]
‘Save Canada’: Traveler stops in Kansas to advocate for freedom
TOPEKA — When Geoff Snicer parked his red-and-white wrapped truck in downtown Topeka, he had one message: “Save Canada.” Snicer, a self-proclaimed freedom fighter and father of two from Kamloops, British Columbia, has spent the past two months driving through the United States spreading his message. At his stop in Topeka last week, he said […]
‘Ideological, partisan breakdown’: Proposed legislation reveals conflict among agriculturalists
TOPEKA — Rifts between family farmers and large agribusiness companies have expanded as debate over animal confinement legislation and a fairness in farming act hits new heights. The Organization for Competitive Markets, a members-based group of small town farmers from across the country, recently met to discuss its opposition to the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression […]
Police stage ‘chilling’ raid on Marion County newspaper, seizing computers, records and cellphones
MARION — In an unprecedented raid Friday, local law enforcement seized computers, cellphones and reporting materials from the Marion County Record office, the newspaper’s reporters, and the publisher’s home. Eric Meyer, owner and publisher of the newspaper, said police were motivated by a confidential source who leaked sensitive documents to the newspaper, and the message […]
‘Huge scam’ in rural Kansas town fells fourth U.S. bank in 2023
TOPEKA — Heartland Tri-State Bank of Elkhart on July 28 became the fourth U.S. bank to fail in 2023 and the second Kansas bank to fail in three years. David Herndon, Kansas banking commissioner, closed the southwest Kansas bank after it became insolvent because it was “apparently the victim of a huge scam,” he said. […]
Kansas lawmaker chosen for Obama leadership program
TOPEKA — Christina Haswood was in 8th grade biology class when she watched Barack Obama get sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. Now, Haswood, a Lawrence Democrat and the Kansas House minority policy chair, has been chosen as an emerging changemaker for the first iteration of Obama Foundation’s Leaders USA program. […]
Few Kansas hospitals comply with federal regulations requiring financial transparency
TOPEKA — Most Kansas hospitals are not complying with federal law requiring a publicly accessible online list of prices, according to a new report by Patient Rights Advocate. The July report found only six of the 23 Kansas hospitals used in the study fully comply with the Hospital Price Transparency rule that went into effect […]
Wichita hospital faces third civil lawsuit in alleged sexual assaults
TOPEKA — With hands medically restrained to a Wichita hospital bed, a 47-year-old woman was recovering from a traumatic brain injury when a man came into her room and sexually assaulted her, a new lawsuit contends. Her case is the third civil lawsuit filed against Ascension Via Christi St. Francis hospital after alleged sexual attacks […]
Emporia State University racks up $18K bill for fired professors’ appeals
TOPEKA — Emporia State University has accrued almost $18,000 in service fees to the Office of Administrative Hearings for the appeals of professors fired in September 2022. In October 2022, ESU president Ken Hush signed an interagency agreement between the university and OAH outlining financial arrangements for the services provided by the office and that […]
Black joy and better health: Florida university course highlights Kansas women
TOPEKA — Sitting beside a camera in 2020, listening to Black women recount their stories of finding strength while battling health disparities, Chris Omni knew Black joy not only needed to be celebrated but brought to the forefront of health conversations. The women telling their stories were part of Omni’s “Chocolate Sunshine: Shining a Light […]
Topeka library gives viewers a glimpse into Mexican culture through tactile art
TOPEKA — Mauricio Zuniga knew his dream of being an artist was becoming a reality when he sold almost all of his drawings in one day after driving in Kansas City with a trunk full of art and coming upon an empty gallery that had an artist not show up for first Friday. After graduating […]