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Legislators override veto to create 25-foot ‘safe zone’ around police, emergency personnel
Republican legislators overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto to create a buffer around law enforcement and emergency personnel, making it a misdemeanor to go within 25 feet of a first responder while they are working.
Legislators override veto to create 25-foot ‘safe zone’ around police, emergency personnel
Republican legislators overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto to create a buffer around law enforcement and emergency personnel, making it a misdemeanor to go within 25 feet of a first responder while they are working.
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MORe KANSAS NEWS
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.
Greg Kramos / USFWS
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.
Kansas anti-abortion groups are celebrating legislative wins. Here’s what that means for patients
Republican lawmakers passed measures that will force abortion patients to report more information to state officials, make it easier to prosecute people for coercing someone to get an abortion and allot more money to anti-abortion counseling centers.
‘Incredibly positive’: Disability advocates commend Kansas Republicans’ effort on waitlists
As the dust settles on the legislative maneuvering of the chaotic 2024 session, disability rights advocates applaud a budget provision meant to shorten wait times for disabled Kansans who need services.
Kansas lawmakers pass trio of crime bills dealing with juvenile justice, fentanyl
New bills passed in the last frenzied days of the legislative session would allow Kansans to seek potentially life-saving drug overdose treatment without fear of arrest, expand parameters for teenagers held in state custody and increase penalties for fentanyl-related crimes.
Kansas Legislature adopts $2.3 billion, 5-year tax cut despite bipartisan forecast of veto
The Kansas Legislature passed a tax reduction plan early Wednesday that closely mirrors the package vetoed by Gov. Laura Kelly and includes property tax relief, elimination of sales tax on groceries and more.
Kansas prosecutors reviewing nearly 10,000 pages of documents in Marion newspaper raid
Kansas special prosecutors have received “a detailed synopsis” of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation’s ongoing review of last year’s police raid on the Marion County Record.
Open enrollment starts soon in Kansas schools. At least one district says there’s no space available
A state law passed in 2022 goes into effect this year and lets Kansas students attend schools outside the districts where they live, as long as there is space available. Some districts have begun posting the number of slots they’ll have open for out-of-district students.
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