Business
Kansas foes of COVID-19 vaccinations push for political protection from mandates
Conservatives, Republicans come together at Lenexa church revival to consider how best to advance an anti-vaccination agenda in state's political process.
Attorney: More public disclosure needed in historic natural gas price proceedings
State regulators’ refusal to dig deeper into the causes of a historic spike in natural gas prices this winter effectively shuts down the investigation, an attorney says. Prices for the largest natural gas pipeline serving Kansas rose to about 200 times their normal price this winter during a severe cold snap that pushed the electrical […]
From alcohol to pain-relieving pot, Prohibition runs deep in Kansas
Amy Reid is serious about medical marijuana. She’s a Wichita registered nurse and president of the Kansas Cannabis Coalition. She describes herself as a cannabis navigator for her patients, and she is all business when it comes to advocating for medical weed. I couldn’t help but chuckle when she told me the name of a […]
As child care options dwindle, Kansas advocates seek funding to address staffing shortages
TOPEKA — Lack of accessible child care often pushes Kansas families to leave their children with overworked or unlicensed caregivers. Amid a growing workforce shortage exacerbated by the pandemic, child care advocates say there is an immediate need for long-term solutions. Throughout the last decade, the number of family child care providers across Kansas has […]
AG says winter natural gas price spikes ‘appear to violate Kansas law,’ seeks help for investigation
The Kansas Attorney General’s Office is seeking outside legal help to investigate huge spikes in natural gas prices this winter, signaling the state could consider suing over the disaster. Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s office announced in a news release Monday that it planned to hire a law firm with expertise in the natural gas market […]
Inside Mission Control: Hospital capacity in Kansas at its worst with latest COVID-19 surge
TOPEKA — Richard Watson says the latest surge in COVID-19 infections has stressed Kansas hospital capacity to new extremes, nearing the point where doctors have “brutal conversations” about which patients they take care of. Watson’s company makes the Mission Control software Kansas hospitals use to find available bed space for acute care patients. He said […]
Kansas regulators opt against subpoena in investigation of natural gas price spikes
Kansas energy regulators will not issue a subpoena in what attorneys representing large-scale natural gas customers hoped would be an investigation into potential price-gouging during a devastating February storm. The Kansas Corporation Commission decided unanimously on Thursday not to subpoena S&P Global Platts Gas Daily, denying a motion from industrial groups alleging “overwhelming circumstantial evidence […]
Lawrence chiropractor censured, fined $4,000 for flawed COVID-19 advertising
Kansas regulator hits Lawrence chiropractor with censure, $4,000 fine and 24 hours of continuing education for making fraudulent claims about COVID-19.
Kansas lawmakers weigh options for Docking renovation, new KDHE lab
TOPEKA — Kansas legislators Tuesday considered two proposals for what to do with the long-neglected Docking State Office Building. Years of neglect and a desire by former Gov. Sam Brownback to demolish the 62-year-old complex adjacent to the Statehouse resulted in health hazards and deteriorating insides. Earlier this year, lawmakers approved up to $120 million […]
Thousands of Kansans face threat of eviction as pandemic exposes housing crisis
TOPEKA — Sheena Mooney has spent the past year without a job or a safety net living in a trailer park a few miles from Washburn. Mooney lost her job at Frito-Lay in March 2020, a job she enjoyed, fell behind on her rent and was evicted that August. She applied for unemployment but did […]
Slavery was the ultimate labor distortion: Empowering workers today would be a form of reparations
The conversation about reparations for slavery entered a new stage in 2021, with the U.S. House Judiciary Committee voting for the creation of a commission to address the matter. The bill, H.R. 40, has been introduced every Congress since 1989 by Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and John Conyers, until his death in 2019. But this year marks the […]
Rural advocates pinpoint holes in Kansas mental health, multilingual services
TOPEKA — Rural health and education advocates say increased access to mental health care and improved cultural or linguistic services would go a long way toward addressing disparities between communities of color and their white counterparts in rural Kansas. Francisca Jimenez, a parenting coach and home visitor for Russell Child Development Center, said a lack […]