News
Victims: 15 years in prison not enough for architect of Kaufman House terror
Victims of former Kansas social worker Arlan Kaufman's abuse of mentally ill adults persuaded a judge to deny him early release from prison.
Wastewater testing by KU, KDHE offers advance warning of COVID-19 surge
A project involving KU and KDHE shows promise in tracking genetic evidence of COVID-19 in wastewater and offer an early warning to a community.
Kansas Board of Education blocks Gov. Laura Kelly’s plan to delay K-12 classes
The Kansas State Board of Education on Wednesday rejected Gov. Laura Kelly’s executive order to delay the start of public and private school instruction for three weeks because of a resurgence of coronavirus in the state, with half the board members citing a need for a more local approach. The controversial decision by Kelly to […]
State Finance Council complicit in cloaking financial terms of lawsuit settlements
State Finance Council, comprised of the Kansas governor and eight legislators, test transparency limits by avoiding public discussion of lawsuit settlements.
House sends bipartisan public lands bill to president’s desk
WASHINGTON — Major environmental legislation sailed through Congress Wednesday while the nation’s political leaders were stuck in intense negotiations over the contours of a fifth coronavirus relief package. The bill would provide $9.5 billion over five years to pay down the National Park Service’s maintenance backlog and provide permanent funding at $900 million per year […]
Vaccine makers deny political pressure in race for safe, effective shot
Leaders of the companies working on some of the top candidates for COVID-19 vaccines predict they should have shots available by early 2021 but said they will rely on the federal government to determine how to distribute them. The heads of five biopharmaceutical companies with promising vaccine candidates told members of Congress on Tuesday they […]
Kansas activist, attorneys say police reform needs transparency
When Ursula Minor, president of the Lawrence branch of the NAACP, sat down with a former member of the Lawrence Police Department, she was surprised to hear his cavalier attitude toward issues of racial justice. “They said they didn’t see any problems. They told me minorities hadn’t told them about any problems,” Minor said at […]
U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts endorses Roger Marshall in GOP primary
U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., endorses Congressman Roger Marshall in the GOP primary. Roberts' retirement set off a scramble for the seat.
Kansas attorney general outlines COVID-19 scams for U.S. Senate panel
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., chaired a Senate subcommittee hearing Tuesday on COVID-19 scams. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt shared testimony.
Kansas enforces nation’s most draconian penalty for unemployment ‘fraud’
Kansas has the toughest unemployment law in the nation — a five-year penalty — for any type of "fraud," which includes inadvertently taking extra cash.
Gov. Laura Kelly shields core government services as COVID-19 rocks Kansas economy
TOPEKA — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly said the Kansas economy’s emergence from COVID-19 depends on sober responses to the public health nightmare, record unemployment and inevitable declines in tax revenue. She said the answer wasn’t to recklessly throw open doors to business activity nor starve core state government services, such as education or transportation. That […]
Kansas Board of Education to vote on Gov. Laura Kelly’s plan to delay school opening
TOPEKA — The Kansas State Board of Education will sit in judgment Wednesday of Gov. Laura Kelly’s response to the uptick in coronavirus cases and deaths that features a delay in opening of public schools serving 500,000 students until early September. Kelly released text of the directive Monday calling for postponement of in-person instruction, athletic […]