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Kansas Legislature overturns veto to pass free speech bill honoring Charlie Kirk
House and Senate Republicans overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto Thursday to preserve a bill they say will protect free speech in the name of Charlie Kirk, despite objections.
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Civil rights • Voter rights • Anti-trans legislation • Abortion • Immigration • Municipalities’ local control • Kansas State Board of Education
MORe KANSAS NEWS
DACA health care ruling leaves few options but emergency care for some immigrants in Kansas
Immigration advocates are regrouping after a recent ruling prevented the expansion of health care access for more than 4,000 people in Kansas brought to the country illegally as children.
Former rural Kansas prosecutor charged with felony perjury and witness intimidation
Former Neosho County Attorney Linus Thuston, who was jailed for misdemeanor convictions earlier this year, now faces six felony charges of perjury and witness intimidation.
Kansas audit sounds alarm on security flaws at Osawatomie State Hospital
Inadequate physical security systems, erosion of workplace culture and persistently high staff turnover jeopardizes the safety of Osawatomie State Hospital employees serving adults with acute mental illness, a state audit said.
Housing prices in Kansas have exploded. Here are three ideas to make homes affordable
Home and rental prices have skyrocketed in recent years because of a housing shortage. That’s leading to a rise in homelessness and could be hurting the economy.
Kansas provided more abortions in 2023 than ever before, mostly for out-of-state patients
More abortions occurred in Kansas in 2023 than ever before in the state’s recorded history — driven by a surge of patients living in nearby states with abortion bans.
Kansas Board of Education accepts policy report recommending phone bans, sends to local districts
School districts across Kansas will receive a 20-page report containing guidance on cell phones that recommends daytime cell phone bans, mental health awareness and bolstered parental oversight.
Kansas county sues plastic companies over recycling, alleging ‘fraud and deception’
Plastics and chemical companies engaged in “a decades-long campaign of fraud and deception” about recycling, causing a pollution crisis, a western Kansas county claims in a lawsuit.
Kansas’ smallest school district to dissolve following voter, state board approval
Two students are enrolled this year at the Healy Public Schools district in western Kansas, a decrease from 20 students the previous year.
Kansas broadband internet disparities persist despite huge investments
Kansas Health Institute’s latest research demonstrated with online county-by-county maps that broadband deficits and computer ownership gaps plaguing Kansas were intertwined with social and demographic influences.
Thousands of Kansans are Missouri medical marijuana patients
Thousands of Kansans are crossing the Missouri border with medical marijuana cards in hand, and that’s unlikely to change as Kansas lawmakers resist medical legalization in 2025.
Kansas Court of Appeals reverses lower court on religious exemption to vaccine mandates
The Kansas Court of Appeals reversed a district court’s dismissal of a nursing student’s lawsuit challenging on religious grounds a mandate she get a COVID-19 vaccination or be excluded from required clinical coursework at an Emporia hospital.
Tyson Foods to close Emporia meat processing plant, 800 workers to lose jobs
Tyson Foods in February will permanently close a meat plant in Emporia employing more than 800 people.
Roger Golubski, ex-KCKPD detective accused of abuse, dead of apparent suicide before trial
Former KCK police detective Roger Golubski was found dead of a gunshot wound at his house after failing to show up for trial. Called a “dirty cop,” he was accused of abusing women, putting innocent men in prison, and terrorizing the Black community for decades.
Kansas House Republicans, Democrats nominate leadership teams for 2025 session
Politicians elected to serve in the Kansas House in the 2025 legislative session endorsed Monday retention of three top Republicans in leadership posts and the nomination of a Democrat to assume responsibility for shepherding the minority party.
Kansas Supreme Court refines premeditation definition in appeal of Topeka murder case
The Kansas Supreme Court clarified the timeframe for formulating premeditation while weighing the appeal of a man sentenced to life in prison plus nearly 500 years for murdering a Washburn football player and wounding a future NFL player.
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