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Kansas governor doubtful GOP legislators can pull off congressional redistricting
Gov. Laura Kelly predicted Tuesday the 2026 Legislature wouldn’t muster enough political support to implement a new congressional district map splitting Johnson County and making it easier to defeat U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids in the midterm election.
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Civil rights • Voter rights • Anti-trans legislation • Abortion • Immigration • Municipalities’ local control • Kansas State Board of Education
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Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector
Kansas hospitals hesitate to require COVID-19 vaccine for staff before FDA approval
Kansas health care providers aren’t ready to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for employees, despite rising COVID-19 case numbers and a desire to promote the efficacy of vaccines.
Audit reveals KDHE mistakenly paid $1.3 million to Medicaid contractors for care of dead people
An expansive audit of Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s payments to companies contracted to deliver services under the state’s Medicaid program found $1.3 million in inappropriate compensation for care of people who had actually died.
Tessa Weinberg/Missouri Independent
As threat of delta variant looms, 44% of Kansas nursing home staff are unvaccinated
In Kansas, just more than 56% of nursing home workers are vaccinated. The state ranks 35th.
Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector
Kansas housing advocates warn of looming eviction crisis beyond CDC reprieve
A new eviction moratorium issued by the CDC should cover most Kansas renters, but stakeholders and advocates agree it is only a temporary solution demanding further action.
Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector
Former D.A. faces ethics complaint for failing to stop misconduct in Topeka murder trial
Former Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor faces an ethics complaint for prosecutorial misconduct by his assistant during the 2012 murder trial of Dana Chandler.
Prescription for faulty communication in operating rooms: Be explicit, not polite, study shows
Research by a University of Kansas linguist and University of Missouri-Kansas City physicians pointed to the potential medical harm of ambiguous communication in operating rooms that also complicated the training of surgeons.
Older Kansas license plates can get distorted, and you could get a ticket because of them
Interesting fact: Anyone with an unreadable license plate on a car or truck is responsible for getting it replaced under threat of a ticket.
Abigail Censky / Kansas News Service
Who can tell you to wear a mask in Kansas as COVID surges? It’s complicated
As the delta variant pummels Kansas, there’s confusion about who has the authority to issue pandemic restrictions that could curb the spread of COVID.
Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector
Conflict emerges prior to launch of August public hearings on redistricting in Kansas
Republican-led committees of the Kansas Legislature plan to pack into five days the 14 town hall meetings offering opportunities for the public to share ideas on redrawing boundaries of congressional, legislative and state education board districts during the 2022 session.
Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector
Lesbian student’s courage prevails over bigotry by Kansas middle school principal and bus driver
When 8th-grader Izzy Dieker told her friend, “I’m a lesbian,” a bus driver stopped the bus and confronted the 14-year-old about her use of “inappropriate” language, and the girl was suspended from school.
Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector
Kelly recommends mask policies, COVID testing and community partnerships for Kansas schools
New guidance Friday from Gov. Laura Kelly ahead of the start of classes recommends schools actively plan vaccination clinics, implement universal masking policies and create a robust testing plan for faculty and students.
Federal eviction ban expires Saturday after attempt to extend it fails
Updated at 10:51 p.m. Friday: Congressional Democrats unsuccessfully scrambled on Friday to extend federal legal protections against eviction that will expire on Saturday.
Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector
Kansas congressional delegation’s five Republicans join effort to overturn Roe v. Wade
Two Republican U.S. senators and three GOP U.S. representatives from Kansas signed onto a brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the landmark Roe. V. Wade abortion decision in a case emerging from Mississippi.
Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector
Kansas A.G. subpoenas reporter’s notes from book on wrongful murder conviction
The Kansas Attorney General’s office has issued a subpoena commanding a journalist to turn over information he gathered while writing a book and news stories about a Jefferson County man who served 16 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit.
Kansas shelters grapple with capacity crisis as pandemic-related pet returns increase
An influx of returned pets adopted during the pandemic is pushing pet shelters across the state beyond capacity.
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