Briefs

U.S. Sens. Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran, Kansas Republicans, joined with former U.S. Sen. Robert Dole to endorse GOP U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall for Roberts' seat in the U.S. Senate. (Submitted/Kansas Reflector)

Moran, Roberts join GOP brethren to affirm Supreme Court nominee

BY: - October 27, 2020

TOPEKA — Republican U.S. Sens. Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran cast votes as expected for confirmation of federal Court of Appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett to a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. The 52-48 result Monday was a foregone conclusion after President Donald Trump and Republican allies rushed the nomination of Barrett to cement […]

Democratic state Senate candidate Lindsey Constance, left, at an event with Sen. Dinah Sykes, a Lenexa Democrat, denounced as false GOP claims she sought to deflate funding for police while on the Shawnee City Council. (Submitted)

Senate candidate rejects GOP mailers distorting her votes on police budget

BY: - October 26, 2020

Kansas Senate candidate Lindsey Constance rips GOP mailers falsely claiming she supported defunding Shawnee police department.

Laura Howard, secretary of the Kansas Department for Children and Families, authorized a consultant's review of the state's privatized child-support system that affirmed computer system, communication and operational shortcomings. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas’ first state hospital employee dies from COVID-19

BY: - October 19, 2020

Kansas recorded the first fatality from COVID-19 among staff at the state's four state hospitals. An employee died at Larned State Hospital.

The Kansas Department of Labor responded to an increase in credible threats of violence against the agency and its employees by suspending on camera television interviews. (Submitted/Kansas Reflector)

Senate panel endorses confirmation of Robba Moran, three others

BY: - October 19, 2020

The Kansas Senate's confirmation committee votes to affirm nominations of two people to the State Banking Board and to the KU Hospital board.

State and federal agencies reported the Kansas unemployment rate dropped in November to 3.6%, a reduction from 3.9% in September and October. Joblessness at outset of the COVID-19 pandemic was 12.6% in April 2020. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

Report: Kansas obesity rate at 10.6% for youth ages 10 to 17

BY: - October 14, 2020

Kansas' obesity rate among youth 10-17 years old is an impressive 10.6%, but the state's adult rate is more than three times higher.

Sen. Carolyn McGinn, in a July 2020 campaign ad, plans to seek selection by Republican colleagues to the leadership position of Senate majority leader. The Sedgwick farmer is chair of the Senate's budget committee. (Submitted)

Republican Carolyn McGinn to seek Senate majority leader post

BY: - October 10, 2020

TOPEKA — Republican Kansas Sen. Carolyn McGinn plans to be a candidate for Senate majority leader following the November election. She said in a letter to GOP Senate candidates that she would compete for the slot created by retirement of Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning of Johnson County. Republicans elected to the Senate will meet […]

Gov. Laura Kelly joined state and local officials in Osawatomie to celebrate improvements to the Flint Hills Trail, which serves hikers and bikers on trails running through five counties in Kansas. (Submitted/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas adds to Flint Hills Trail in Osawatomie for bikers, riders, hikers

BY: - October 7, 2020

TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly joined local officials in Osawatomie to recognize improvements in Miami County to the Flint Hills Trail used by cyclists, pedestrians and equestrians. The 117-mile trail stretches from Osawatomie to Herington and cuts through five counties in east-central Kansas. It is the seventh-longest rail-to-trail in the United States. Flint Hills Trail […]

The Kansas Supreme Court issued an opinion Friday overturning a Kansas Court of Appeals decision in businessman Gene Bicknell's legendary tax case. The Supreme Court said Bicknell was a resident of Florida, which has no state income tax, during the period in which Kansas officials claimed he owned millions of dollars in state income taxes on sale of a company comprised of Pizza Hut franchises. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

Commission nominates three for vacancy on Kansas Supreme Court

BY: - October 5, 2020

A state commission recommended Gov. Laura Kelly choose from among three women nominees to fill a vacancy on the Kansas Supreme Court.

U.S. Sens. Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran, Kansas Republicans, joined with former U.S. Sen. Robert Dole to endorse GOP U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall for Roberts' seat in the U.S. Senate. (Submitted/Kansas Reflector)

Roberts, Moran seek two-year extension on use of COVID-19 aid

BY: - October 2, 2020

TOPEKA — U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts of Kansas introduced federal legislation Friday to extend by two years the time allotted for state and local governments to spend COVID-19 economic relief funding. State, county and city officials in Kansas have scrambled to allocate and spend $1.2 billion funneled to the state earlier this […]

U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall joined Kansas Republicans Steve Watkins and Ron Estes as well as Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids in voting against the COVID-19 stimulus bill approved by the U.S. House. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas delegation votes against latest U.S. House coronavirus bill

BY: - October 2, 2020

The four U.S. House members from Kansas vote against latest coronavirus relief bill that passed by narrow margin.

Gov. Laura Kelly said the $108 million in unexpected state tax revenue during the first quarter of the current fiscal year doesn't alleviate the need to be frugal in anticipation of future budget problems exacerbated by COVID-19. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas tax revenue surpasses first quarter estimate by $108 million

BY: - October 1, 2020

TOPEKA — The state of Kansas collected $108 million more in tax revenue than anticipated in the first quarter of the current fiscal year, officials said Thursday. Gov. Laura Kelly said the three-month accumulation of cash shouldn’t divert attention from the need to be financially frugal. She said concern persists about estimates of future revenue […]

Gov. Laura Kelly directed flags in Kansas be flown at half-staff until sundown Monday in honor U.S. military personnel killed in a suicide bombing attack at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas state Rep. Leonard Mastroni dies after lengthy illness

BY: - September 30, 2020

TOPEKA — Republican state Rep. Leonard Mastroni, a former district court judge and county commissioner, died on Wednesday, officials said. Mastroni, 71, of La Crosse, was running unopposed to another term in the Kansas House representing the 117th District in southwest Kansas. He was a conservative lawmaker who since 2017 served Edwards, Hodgeman, Kiowa and […]