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Leavenworth sues to keep CoreCivic from reopening Kansas prison as ICE detention facility
The city of Leavenworth and CoreCivic will take their fight to court June 9 to determine whether the company can reopen its prison facility as an ICE detention center without going through a permitting process.
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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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Kansas’ former top public health official reflects on five years since COVID-19
Five years ago, Lee Norman was trying to dissuade Kansans from ingesting chemical cleaners to prevent COVID-19, preparing for the end of a statewide stay-at-home order and deciding whether to send tests for everyone in long-term care facilities and prisons.

Kansas Supreme Court affirms product liability immunity of gun maker, seller in civil suit
The Kansas Supreme Court agreed Friday with a district court decision tossing a lawsuit filed by a former Emporia State football player shot by a teammate who mistakenly believed that disassembling his handgun required pulling the trigger.

Kansas Legislature turns cold shoulder to child reading program after less than one year
The Kansas Legislature’s budget bill that eventually passed with bipartisan support contained no new funding of Blueprint for Literacy, which aims to intervene on behalf of 33% of Kansas students not meeting fundamental levels of reading.

Kansas agency says scam texts about toll payments should be reported to FTC
The Kansas Department of Transportation is asking people to report scam text messages about unpaid tolls to federal authorities.

Experts challenge Evergy plans to add natural gas plants in Kansas
Opponents to two new natural gas plants proposed by Evergy testified Wednesday about uncertain costs of natural gas and pushed the Kansas Corporation Commission to consider other options for expanding power generation in the state.

More than 138,000 Kansas children miss out on free summer meals despite eligibility
Families of an estimated 138,776 Kansas school-age children could have received a $120 summer grocery card last year — they just didn’t submit the application.

Kansans share personal insight into meaning of Medicaid cuts contemplated by Congress
A forum Monday evening offered folks with personal insight into Medicaid the opportunity to speak to others with knowledge of how the national health program influenced quality of life.

Opponents speak out against Evergy adding two natural gas plants in Kansas
Stark disagreements on the future of Evergy’s proposal to build two new natural gas plants in Kansas surfaced Monday during opening statements at the beginning of three days of Kansas Corporation Commission hearings.

State, local incentives, Kansans’ work ethic attract Fortune 500 company to Overland Park
A Kansas City suburb rose to the top in a major e-commerce company’s nationwide search for a new hub through hefty incentives.

Kansas abortion clinics saw sizable majority of clients from out of state in 2024
More than 70% of abortions performed in 2024 in Kansas were for out-of-state residents, according to monthly estimates of clinician-provided abortions in states without total bans.

Former corrections workers battle CoreCivic opening Leavenworth ICE detention center
Leavenworth citizens and others from across the state have stepped forward to protest CoreCivic’s plan to reopen as an ICE detention facility, speaking out through public rallies and at city meetings.

Kansas will carve out religious vaccine exemptions as it eases some child care regulations
Gov. Laura Kelly says she will sign a bill aimed at improving access to child care and other early childhood services. But some health experts are concerned about a provision codifying religious exemptions for vaccines required at day cares.

Kansas judge tosses death penalty challenge but says capital punishment is flawed
A Wyandotte County judge agreed with criticisms of the death penalty, but he said the case was invalid because both defendants no longer face capital punishment.

Funding freeze could slam Kansas classrooms, but state officials have asked feds to reverse course
A directive from the U.S. Department of Education immediately froze more than $22 million in federal funding meant to help Kansas students recover from pandemic-era learning loss.

Kansas LGBTQ+ foster kids’ rights in jeopardy under new law protecting religious parents
The way Kansas LGBTQ+ youths in foster care are placed into homes could change after lawmakers forced a bill into law that permits foster children to be placed with families who don’t affirm a child’s sexual orientation or gender identity based on the parents’ religious or moral beliefs.
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