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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.
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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Kansas woman embarks on risky journey to retrieve sister’s children from Ukraine
Oksana Seitz left Kansas on Tuesday with plans to travel to Romania and return with her Ukrainian sister’s two children by persuading embassy officials to expedite visas or, if necessary, taking the kids to Mexico and slipping across the U.S. border on foot.
‘Trans girls are girls’: LGBTQ supporters beg Kansas lawmakers to drop sports fight
Support for Senate Bill 484 is fueled by faith-based anti-LGBTQ interests who package the proposal as a necessary protection for girls against a hypothetical threat. The proposed legislation would ban transgender girls from participating in school activities with other girls, or transgender boys from playing with other boys.
Senate bill mandates limit on local governments, school boards amid public health threats
A Senate committee heard Monday about a bill that, among other things, would prevent schools from compelling anyone to carry a document regarding vaccination status. It would allow students, teachers and visitors to schools to opt out of mask or vaccination mandates.
Kansas House member: Lawmakers should compel domestic abusers to relinquish firearms
Rep. Jo Ella Hoye is convinced someone convicted of domestic violence or subjected to protection from abuse order and prohibited from carrying a firearm shouldn’t be allowed to live in a residence stocked with guns and rifles.
Kansas Supreme Court rejects AG’s request to dismiss redistricting lawsuits in Douglas, Wyandotte County courts
The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday rejected Attorney General Derek Schmidt’s request to dismiss lawsuits filed in Wyandotte and Douglas counties over redrawn congressional districts.
Olathe East High School officer and administrator injured in shooting; student suspect shot and arrested
A school administrator and resource officer were injured in a shooting Friday morning at Olathe East High School. The suspect, an 18-year-old male student at Olathe East, was shot and injured.
Derek Schmidt embraces integrity of Kansas elections in audio clip from GOP forum
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said during a meet and greet with voters Monday in Harper County that he believes “Kansas elections are solid” and that he has “never seen the evidence” of widespread institutional problems here.
Chris Haxel / KCUR 89.3
Kansas and Missouri saw more gun homicides after ‘Stand Your Ground’ laws began
A new nationwide study found that state laws allowing people to use deadly force in self defense were associated with increases in gun violence. Kansas and Missouri saw some of the nation’s most dramatic increases.
Women’s suffrage memorial backed by near entirety of Kansas Senate gets committee green light
Nearly every state senator has signed on to a bill establishing a permanent memorial commemorating the Kansas suffragist movement in the state Capitol.
‘Shooting themselves in the foot’: Committee guts Kansas bill to protect water
The prospects for a major overhaul of Kansas water programs dimmed Tuesday after a legislative committee gutted a reform bill meant to give cabinet-level importance to a near crisis in Kansas.
Kansas first responders seek to normalize, provide relief for job-induced mental trauma
Douglas County Sheriff Jay Armbrister says first responders carry a lifetime of scars, mental and physical, from experiences in the field that require years of healing.
Kansas agrees new mail ballot restrictions are unconstitutional, will pay legal fees
A federal court on Friday struck down parts of a new Kansas law that criminalized the distribution of advance mail ballot applications.
Kansas Board of Education rejects resignation of state education commissioner
The Kansas State Board of Education rejected the resignation Friday of the state education commissioner following evidence he said during a video conference that during his youth he tried to persuade children to fear for their safety among American Indians.
Dylan Lysen / Kansas News Service
A push to dump the Kansas food sales tax could run into election politics
Efforts to eliminate the 6.5% sales tax on food have the support of the leading candidates for governor, but the change has hit some political hurdles nonetheless.
‘Worry about the Indians raiding’: Kansas education commissioner under fire for conference statement
Kansas education commissioner Randy Watson said during a conference earlier this month that as a child, he convinced his out-of-state cousins that American Indians posed a bigger threat to their safety than tornadoes.
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