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Kansas Supreme Court justices point to ‘chilling’ impact of law on voter registration activity
TOPEKA — Kansas Supreme Court justices raised concerns Wednesday about the “chilling” effect a 2021 law could have on League of Women Voters volunteers and others who participate in voter registration drives. Part of the legislation makes it a crime to engage in conduct that would cause someone to believe you are an election worker. […]
Analysis shows Kansas Chamber’s flat tax proposal costs $1.5B, favors top 20% of wage earners
A flat-rate income tax sought by the Kansas Chamber would reduce state revenue $1.5 billion per year and primarily benefit the state's highest wage earners.
She killed her rapist after months of abuse. Advocates say Kansas governor should set her free.
TOPEKA — Sarah Gonzales-McLinn regrets killing Hal Sasko. She also regrets moving into his Lawrence home, where he repeatedly raped her until she channeled a lifetime of trauma into psychotic rupture. On a January night in 2014, she drugged her captor, zip-tied his limbs and slit his throat. “That is the moment that my pain […]
Emporia State University graduate encourages student leaders, laments school’s ‘debacle’
EMPORIA — House Minority Leader Vic Miller regaled members of the Emporia State University student government Thursday with tales of his early 1970s escapades on campus — while lamenting the school’s elimination of tenured staff and programs last year. He pointed to himself and his Republican counterpart, House Speaker Dan Hawkins, as examples of accomplished […]
Young Kansas lawmakers say pay increase is needed to remain in office, attract better candidates
TOPEKA — When Rep. Tory Marie Blew first won election to the House in 2016, people told her she was losing money by going to Topeka. She was 23 years old at the time, and her only expenses were rent and student loan repayment. As she has grown older — and married, with a mortgage — […]
Kansas Senate adopts resolution condemning protection of lesser prairie chicken
TOPEKA — The Kansas Senate suspended rules and took emergency action Monday to adopt a resolution condemning federal protection of the lesser prairie chicken. Sen. Dan Kerschen, a Garden Plain Republican, introduced the resolution on the Senate floor immediately before making the motion to take a vote. The Senate adopted the resolution, which is sponsored […]
ACLU of Kansas prepared to challenge Legislature’s attacks on trans kids, voting rights
TOPEKA — The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas is prepared to challenge the Kansas Legislature’s annual attacks on transgender children, voting rights and reproductive health care while searching for common ground on criminal justice reform and medical marijuana. The organization’s priorities for the 2023 session are mostly at odds with leadership in the GOP-dominated […]
Survivors of sexual abuse plead for changes in Kansas law that protects pedophiles
TOPEKA — Four survivors of childhood sexual abuse revealed details about the worst moments of their lives in a public rebuke of state law that protects pedophiles from criminal prosecution or civil lawsuits. Backed by a bipartisan coalition of state lawmakers, the women emphasized that it can take years before a survivor accepts what happened […]
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly cleared to return after doctors say COVID-19 test was inaccurate
TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly’s office says she doesn’t have COVID-19 after all. The office issued a statement Thursday saying her physician and state health officials believe an initial test earlier this week produced a “false positive” result. Her subsequent tests have been negative, the statement said. The governor appeared at a series of events […]
‘We need to wake up’: Kansas celebration of MLK urges end to divisiveness
TOPEKA — Angela Bates told a crowd gathered Thursday at the Statehouse to celebrate the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. there is one thing we all have in common. We’re all going to die. The question, she said, is what footprint will you leave on the free soils of Kansas? “I urge us all to have […]
Kansas Supreme Court chief justice points to attorney shortage, specialty courts, behavioral health
TOPEKA — Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Marla Luckert in her State of the Judiciary speech Wednesday asked lawmakers for support of specialty courts, behavioral health services, and pay raises for judges and court employees. Luckert also sounded an alarm about the severe shortage of attorneys in rural areas. “Judges across the state report they […]
Kansas officials pursue new megadeals with semiconductor makers
TOPEKA — Kansas officials are pursuing megadeals for six new projects, including two companies that make semiconductors, by using the same tax incentives that landed Panasonic’s $4 billion investment last year. Paul Hughes, deputy secretary for business development at the Department of Commerce, briefed lawmakers Tuesday on the status of Panasonic’s operation and the potential […]