Federal fallout
Coverage tracking the Lawrence, Douglas County and statewide impacts of changes and cuts at the federal level.
Contact information for the congressional delegation representing Lawrence and Douglas County is available at this link. The nonprofit 5 Calls, 5calls.org, has phone numbers and templates of scripts to help people make their voices heard on several federal issues.
LATEST
Lawrence City Commission asks about immigration, schools’ involvement and more in World Cup prep
Lawrence city commissioners asked about ICE raid concerns, Haskell’s involvement and more with preparation for the World Cup coming up this summer.
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‘America is showing its dark underbelly’: Protesters condemn ICE in rally at Kansas Statehouse
Hundreds of Kansans chanted “f*** ICE,” carried pointed and sometimes profane signs, and sang protest songs Wednesday as they flooded the second floor of the Statehouse to rally for human rights.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Lawrence protesters speak out against fatal ICE shooting, immigration policy
Peaceful protesters congregated Sunday afternoon in downtown Lawrence to denounce American immigration policy, prior to and during the Trump administration, in the wake of an ICE agent fatally shooting a woman in Minneapolis.
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
KU’s living library of fungi, key to restoration and sustainability, threatened by shrinking federal funds
For a team of researchers at KU, fungal doomsday looks less like parasitic mushrooms transforming people into zombies, and more like the loss of a fungi collection that serves as a major global resource for sustainability and restoration.
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Sanctuary Alliance to hold solidarity demonstration in downtown Lawrence
Sanctuary Alliance will hold a solidarity demonstration Sunday in downtown Lawrence in the wake of an ICE officer’s fatal shooting of a woman in Minnesota Wednesday morning.
Kansas AG ditches anti-immigration health care lawsuit after change in federal policy
Kris Kobach announced Wednesday he voluntarily dismissed his federal lawsuit that targeted health care for immigrants across the U.S. But health care for certain immigrants was stripped away months ago.
Kansas tribe fires business leaders for accepting $30 million ICE detention center contract
The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation has fired senior leaders of its tribally owned business for accepting a nearly $30 million deal to assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
CoreCivic changes course and will ask Leavenworth for permit to house ICE detainees
Private prison company CoreCivic has applied for a permit to hold immigration detainees at its dormant Leavenworth facility, the city said on Monday.
Kansas governor says ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ could cost state $150 million or more
The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” is expected to cost Kansas at least $150 million as provisions cutting health care programs go into effect, Gov. Laura Kelly said in an interview with Kansas Reflector.
Kansas is one of the top hemp growing states, but a federal change threatens the industry
Kansas hemp growers and processors say a new, stricter federal law could derail the entire industry. The state has grown to one of the top five hemp producing states in the country.
Tariffs trickle into cost of Thanksgiving dinner, jilting consumers and farmers
The U.S. food industry is being hit hard by tariff policies and rising costs, and families see the effects in the cost of their Thanksgiving meals, according to a leader of the Kansas Farmers Union.
USDA prepares to reveal relief plan that could help Kansas farmers facing uncertainty
The head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture said the agency would roll out a relief plan for the country’s agriculture sector in December, offering potential good news in a year of uncertainty for Kansans.
Kansas, Missouri GOP officials agree to share voter registration details of 6 million people
The Republican secretaries of state for Kansas and Missouri signed an MOU to exchange voter registration information of 6 million people in a bid to identify people who failed to cancel registrations after moving from one state to the other.
Kansas federal attorneys went 5 months without pay, sparking constitutional crisis
For nearly 20 weeks, certain lawyers, paralegals, psychologists, interpreters, court reporters and investigators were not paid. Criminal defense attorneys say it’s a constitutional crisis.
This Lawrence diner owner says she’ll have to go without health insurance if federal subsidies end
Meg Heriford of Ladybird Diner said as a small business owner, tax subsidies offered through the marketplace help make health insurance a possibility for her. But that may change.
Sedgwick County and 19 other Kansas law enforcement agencies have signed agreements with ICE
The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office and 19 other Kansas law enforcement agencies have signed formal agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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