State news
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State sales tax on groceries drops to zero Jan. 1
On Jan. 1, 2025, Kansans will no longer pay state sales tax on groceries. They will still pay city- and county-imposed taxes, but the current state tax of 2% will be reduced to zero.
Want more state news? You can read Associated Press coverage of Kansas stories and more online for free here.
We post many, but not all, stories from the Kansas Reflector. Read more of their coverage here.
We also frequently post stories from the Kansas News Service. Read more of their coverage here.
MORe KANSAS NEWS
For many Kansas students, financial aid delays are making it hard to plan for college
Some Kansas high school students are scrambling to decide on a college and pay tuition deposits after errors with the application process for federal student aid kept them waiting months longer than usual.
Kansas gets Good Samaritan overdose law. But people on parole are left out
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has signed a bill to include drug overdoses in the state’s Good Samaritan law. But people on parole, probation or work release were left out of the protections.
Kansas governor vetoes child support for fetuses
Gov. Laura Kelly has vetoed legislation that would have opened up a pathway for child support claims to be made on behalf of fetuses, calling it an attempt to “take more control over women.”
Hundreds of millions of birds will make the Midwest the migration capital of the U.S. this weekend
As many as 100 million or 200 million birds will fly northward along the Central Flyway on Saturday night. Kansas, Missouri and neighboring states lie in the hottest of hotspots.
Kansas and Missouri get an unusual chance to catch the northern lights tonight
Solar flares are causing a geomagnetic storm that should make it possible for Kansas City and other cities in the middle of the country to see the aurora borealis, which can usually only be glimpsed in northern latitudes. The best views are expected around midnight.
Trees are spreading across the Great Plains. They’re actually making climate change worse
We normally think of trees as being good for the environment. But in parts of the Midwest and Great Plains, they’re heating up the earth as woodlands take over grasslands.
Gov. Laura Kelly affirms plan to veto bipartisan $2.3 billion, five-year tax reform bill
Gov. Laura Kelly said there was “absolutely no way” to avoid vetoing the $2.3 billion tax reduction bill approved with bipartisan majorities in the Kansas Legislature, arguing the cumulative year-to-year result of a half-billion-dollar drop in revenue would crack the state’s financial foundation.
New Kansas coalition seeks to legalize adult use of cannabis, expunge criminal records
Leaders of a new politically diverse coalition said Tuesday they were committed to supporting candidates for the Kansas Legislature dedicated to ending the state’s prohibition on recreational cannabis and to expunging criminal records tied to marijuana.
If you’re worried about invasive species in the Midwest, try eating them! Here’s where to start
Harvesting invasive species like autumn olives or carp is a great way to learn about the woods and rivers close to home, and to realize that our interaction with these local ecosystems matters. KCUR put together this intro to edible invasive species.
The lesser prairie chicken is dying. Kansas experts say the last of the prairie will go with it.
Because lesser prairie chickens need extensive tracts of open, well-managed prairie to survive in a state where 97% of land is privately owned, its fate is largely in the hands of ranchers.