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Kansas GOP chairman apologizes for predecessor’s campaign attack ad, settles lawsuit
TOPEKA — The Kansas Republican Party settled a lawsuit and apologized for a campaign mailer sent in 2020 that falsely accused a developer of corruption in an attempt to discredit a Shawnee Democrat running for state Senate. Mike Brown, who took over as chairman of the Kansas GOP earlier this year, seized the opportunity to […]
Kansas insurance commissioner has breast cancer, expects full recovery
Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt has been diagnosed with breast cancer and expects to make a full recovery, she announced Wednesday. Schmidt said her doctor discovered the disease after a routine mammogram. She plans to continue her work at the Insurance Department and undergo treatment in the coming weeks at the University of Kansas Cancer […]
Advocate hopes Kansas governor grants clemency in murder of rapist, but holds back optimism
TOPEKA — Dave Ranney says few people disagree with his assertion that Gov. Laura Kelly should grant clemency to Sarah Gonzales-McLinn, who slit her rapist’s throat in 2014. But when he hears opposition, Ranney said during a speech Tuesday before the League of Women Voters of Topeka-Shawnee County, he asks this question: “Why don’t you […]
Kansas plans to report 2022 abortion numbers this month
TOPEKA — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment plans to release annual abortion data before the June 30 deadline, state officials say. The agency typically provides an annual report in March that details the number of abortions provided in Kansas during the previous calendar year. The data provides insight into the age, race and […]
Advocates highlight issues of child care, family leave for women in Kansas and beyond
The “women’s bill of rights” passed by Kansas legislators bans transgender women from sharing bathrooms, prison facilities, domestic violence centers and other gender-specific spaces with cis women. The law looks nothing like what Wendy Doyle would like to see in a bill of rights for Kansas women. Doyle, president and CEO of United WE, a […]
Church and state: Kansas Republicans reject systemic racism while fighting critical race theory
WICHITA — When Marquetta Atkins was 7 or 8 years old and the subject of slavery came up at school, she was the only Black child in the classroom. Everyone would turn and look at her as though she were a slave. “If I can be subjected to something like that, why can’t your kids […]
Church and state: Kansas Republicans ignore voters and pass new anti-abortion laws
TOPEKA — Torn between his Catholic faith and commitment to public service, Rep. Henry Helgerson struggled to keep his composure as he spoke to colleagues from the House floor near the end of this year’s legislative session. The Eastborough Democrat referenced an avalanche of anti-abortion legislation produced by Republicans in defiance of voters who rejected […]
Church and state: Kansas Republicans target ’eminently exploitable’ LGBTQ community
TOPEKA — Shouting into a bullhorn from the south steps of the Capitol, Rep. Tobias Schlingensiepen told a throng of transgender kids: “You belong here.” The Topeka pastor assured them they have allies in the Statehouse who were working to change the minds of transphobic politicians. “But you gotta help us out,” Schlingensiepen said. “Wherever […]
Church and state: Republicans revel in divine plan to turn Kansas into ‘conservative sanctuary’
TOPEKA — Adam Peters laced his sermon for Reno County Republicans with conspiracy theories about a liberal plot to turn their children against them, LGBTQ-friendly church pastors who signed a contract with Satan, the ubiquitous travesty of critical race theory, and make-believe enemies working to “foment violent conflict.” Peters, the GOP chairman in Ellis County […]
After lying about offer to convert Muslim woman, Kansas senator opines on ‘lost souls’
TOPEKA — Sen. Mark Steffen says he never felt so overwhelmed as when he was caught lying about his offer to convert a Muslim woman. In a secret audio recording obtained by Kansas Reflector from a meeting last week of Republicans at Riverside Baptist Church in Hutchinson, Steffen described a group of young adults who […]
Emporia State University, Kansas Board of Regents members ‘unfit to lead,’ investigation finds
TOPEKA — An investigation into Emporia State University’s realignment plan, which included the firing of tenured professors, faults the university for “shifting and incoherent rationales” and concludes university administrators and Kansas Board of Regents members are “unfit to lead.” The American Association of University Professors released its findings Monday following months of interviews and review […]
Kansas lawmakers polish plan to fully fund public schools, revive voucher program
TOPEKA — Kansas lawmakers have restored language in the public school finance plan to ensure K-12 schools continue to be fully funded beyond the upcoming academic year and revived a voucher program. Sen. Molly Baumgardner, a Louisburg Republican, lashed out at lobbyists who were “screaming fire in a crowded theater” because of changes made to […]