Governor Laura Kelly Releases State Budget Proposal
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – Democratic Governor Laura Kelly is proposing $56 million to create more child care and early childhood education options for Kansas families. The Kansas News Service reports that Kelly says child care is too costly in Kansas, leading many parents to exit the workforce to care for their children. The largest piece of her proposed investment…nearly $30 million…would go toward constructing new day cares across the state. About a quarter of the proposed funds would go toward supporting existing child care providers, particularly home-based ones. Kelly’s plan would give grants of about $4,000 to thousands of child care providers.
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Kansas Governor Pushes Medicaid Expansion, Tax Cuts, Rural Issues in Annual Address
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR/KNS/AP/LJW) - In her State of the State address Wednesday night, Kansas Democratic Governor Laura Kelly proposed familiar legislative priorities with a focus on rural areas. Medicaid expansion and fully funded public schools have become signature priorities for the governor since she took office in 2019. But during her annual speech in front of lawmakers, she refocused those goals from the perspective of rural Kansas, which is predominantly represented by her Republican counterparts. She said expansion would benefit struggling rural hospitals. “Step up for rural Kansas. Step up," she said. "This must be a priority. When rural Kansas is strong, Kansas is strong.” Kelly also said she would veto any efforts to approve private school vouchers, which give tax cuts to parents for private education or homeschooling.
While Kelly renewed her call to expand Medicaid, the issue has been a non-starter in the Republican-controlled Legislature. Kelly noted that Medicaid expansion would help 150,000 Kansans access health care and would also help rural hospitals. Another of the governor's priorities is water policy, including finding a way to address declining water levels in the High Plains Aquifer, which is used to irrigate crops in western Kansas.
The governor's comments came after state Supreme Court Chief Justice Marla Luckert told lawmakers earlier in the day that courts are getting closer to functioning normally after a foreign cyberattack disrupted the Kansas court system. Luckert delivered her State of the Judiciary address Wednesday afternoon. Luckert stressed that the state didn't pay any ransom during the cyberattack.
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GOP Reacts to Democratic Governor's State of the State Address
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Kansas Democratic Governor Laura Kelly made tax cuts one of her top priorities during the annual State of the State address. Kelly called for cuts to the taxes Kansans pay on property, groceries and social security income. Republican leaders are expected to again pursue a flat income tax rate, which Kelly opposes. Republican State Representative Nick Hoheisel, of Wichita, says he hopes the governor will compromise on income tax reform. “We agree on 75% of the governor’s tax plan. I think there are great components in there, but also I want to do the income taxes as well," he said.
Listen to the governor's 2024 State of the State address and the GOP response here.
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Kansas Chief Justice Says Restoration of Court Records After Cyber Attack Is on the 'Near Horizon'
UNDATED (AP) – Kansas courts are getting closer to functioning normally after affiliates of a Russian-based ransomware group infiltrated the system three months ago, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Marla Luckert told lawmakers Wednesday in her State of the Judiciary address. “As of today, our centralized case management system has been restored, and with it, the free public portal that allows quick access to electronic work records,” she said. Electronic filing also was restored Wednesday in two judicial districts, and it is expected to be brought back statewide in about two weeks.
Court officials discovered in October that crucial servers were inaccessible and then found ransomware on the encrypted systems. In the ensuing shutdown, courts in all but the state's most populous county had to switch to paper filings and other workarounds. Johnson County in the Kansas City area was spared because it has its own systems and isn’t scheduled to join the state’s systems until next year.
Although backup systems made it feasible to recover data, the restoration process has been slowed by the need to fortify the system. “Once hacked,” Luckert said, "the likelihood of another attack increases.”
Luckert stressed that the state didn't pay the ransom, and it is working to identify and notify those whose personal information was stolen. “We are optimistic that full functionality of our systems, including appellate e-filing, is on the near horizon,” Luckert said. Her comments came as Governor Laura Kelly, a Democrat, prepared to deliver her annual State of the State address.
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Full Access to Online Court System Expected in Coming Weeks
UNDATED (KNS) – Attorneys and other Kansans who need to use the state’s online court system should have full access again in the next few weeks. As the Kansas News Service reports, the Kansas Supreme Court’s system was offline for months after it was hacked. Chief Justice Marla Luckert told lawmakers that the hack was conducted by Russian cyber criminals and recovery took longer than expected. She says the court is bolstering its online systems with technology upgrades and policy changes to prepare for future hacking attempts. “We had to carefully fortify them because once hacked, the likelihood of another attack increases,” Luckert added. The court is still reviewing what information was stolen. Officials will notify Kansas residents if their information was compromised. The hackers had threatened to post the stolen information on the darkweb for a ransom, but Luckert says the state refused to pay.
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Dangerously Cold Weather Coming to Eastern Kansas
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - Dangerously cold temperatures are coming to eastern Kansas. A winter weather advisory takes effect Thursday but the real threat comes Friday evening and will last all weekend long. That's when dangerous wind chills will range from 6 degrees below zero Friday night to 25 below zero Saturday night, Sunday and Monday.
Get the latest weather information from the National Weather Service office in Topeka.
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Arctic Blast Headed for Kansas and KPR Listening Area
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR) – Get ready to bundle up for bitterly cold temperatures in Kansas this weekend. Meteorologist Bill Gargan with the National Weather Service in Topeka said there’s a chance for more snow overnight Thursday night. North central Kansas should see the most. But this weekend, Gargan says temperatures could drop to as low as negative twenty-five degrees at night.
"If you have to go out I would cover all exposed skin like wear a hat they'll cover your ears and face. But I would avoid going outside," he advised.
Gargan said wind and freezing temperatures during Friday morning’s snow could make driving difficult, especially north of the Kansas City area.
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Kansas for Life Announces Legislative Agenda
UNDATED (KNS) – The leading anti-abortion lobbying group in Kansas is asking lawmakers to make it more difficult to get an abortion, even though the state constitution prohibits an all-out ban. The Kansas News Service reports that Kansans For Life’s 2024 legislative agenda includes new ultrasound requirements and stricter data reporting rules for clinics that provide abortions. The group will also ask lawmakers to enact new tax credits that would send more state money to anti-abortion counseling centers, which got $2 million from Kansas in last year’s budget. Their proposals come after a group of Republican lawmakers introduced a near-total abortion ban that would let private citizens sue those who help people get abortions. The bill has little path forward.
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Workers' Families Upset with Meatpacking Plants During Blizzard
LIBERAL, Kan. (KNS) - Families of meat packing workers in southwest Kansas are criticizing companies for keeping the plants open during the blizzard conditions this week. Workers at Tyson and Cargill said on social media that they had to stay in the plants after this week's winter storm reduced visibility and closed roads. Videos and photos show workers sleeping on the floor of the plants. Community members in Garden City, Dodge City, and Liberal say the plants should have closed when it was clear hazardous weather was coming. Paul Resley, the emergency management director for Finney County, says he advised Tyson workers to shelter in place: “Most of them did go back to the plant and spent the night," he said. "They did leave early in the morning. So, that was a situation with Tyson.” Cargill has released a statement saying that their workers safety is their primary focus. Tyson said workers were given the option to shelter in place and served a hot meal. National Beef in Liberal did not penalize workers for not making it to work.
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KBOE Approves New Early Learning Standards
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - The Kansas Board of Education has approved new learning standards for children from birth to kindergarten. But some board members objected, saying early learning is a parent’s job. The updated standards are intended to guide preschool teachers and daycare workers. They lay out what babies and young children should be able to do at various stages of development. Three conservative board members voted against the new standards, saying public schools have no role in early childhood education. Board member Danny Zeck, of Leavenworth, accused public preschools of espousing controversial ideas and agendas. “You’re not gonna' indoctrinate kids. You’re not gonna' brainwash kids. Because that’s what’s going on here," he said. Supporters say the standards offer guidance about typical development so teachers and families can better identify potential delays.
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Police ID Woman Found Dead in Lawrence Park; Foul Play Not Suspected
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - Authorities have now identified a woman whose body was found in a city park earlier this week. Lawrence police say 31-year-old Samantha Boyles and a dog were found dead in a tent Tuesday afternoon at Sandra Shaw Park in north-central Lawrence. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that officers detected a strong odor of propane near the tent. The cause of the woman's death has yet to be determined by the county coroner.
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Kansas Department of Agriculture to Seek Ban on Ornamental Pear Trees
UNDATED (KNS) – Conservationists will cheer if Kansas moves forward with a ban on selling invasive ornamental pear trees in the state. The Kansas News Service reports that the Kansas Department of Agriculture wants to ban Callery pear trees, which are also called Bradford pears and many other names. It will hold a hearing on the issue later this month. These trees are popular for their white flowers. But they’re escaping suburbia and invading prairies and woods, squeezing out native plants that support the food web. Under the proposed ban, homeowners wouldn’t be required to cut down existing trees. But some conservation groups and local governments give free native trees to people who cut down Callery pears on their property. (Read more.)
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Ag Officials in Kansas, Elsewhere Seek Passage of U.S. Farm Bill
UNDATED (HPM) - Agricultural officials in Kansas and elsewhere want Congress to pass a farm bill as soon as possible. But that might be a tall order. The farm bill was supposed to be renewed last year. President Biden signed a one-year extension for the five-year legislation that expires in September. Iowa Farm Bureau President Brent Johnson recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby members of the agricultural committee to tackle the bill in the next few months. “In this presidential election year, national politics is going to get in the way. And we really don't need this farm bill to be extended into the new administration," he said. The farm bill provides a safety net in the form of subsidies, crop insurance, trade, and conservation programs. Harvest Public Media reports that most of the funding, more than 80%, goes toward food programs.
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Federal Grant to Help Kansas Foster Kids Get Environmental Job Certifications
UNDATED (The Kansas City Beacon) – A federal grant is helping Kansas foster kids get jobs in the environmental field. The Kansas City Beacon reports that the money was given to foster care agency Cornerstones of Care. The $450,000 grant helps foster kids get the months of training needed for job certifications. It also gives them real world experience, said Theo Bunch, director of Build Trybe, which is part of the group that is getting the money. “There might be a day where they got their waders on and they are, you know, knee deep in a creek, and they're doing water testing, and they're removing trash and debris.” Foster kids are more likely to be homeless, short on food and struggle with college. The Build Trybe program hopes to stabilize their futures. The EPA says the grant trains kids to get jobs cleaning up polluted Brownfield sites in Missouri.
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KU Men's Basketball Team Falls, but KU Women Defeat a Top 5 Team
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - Big news in college basketball! The 3rd ranked Kansas Jayhawks were upset in Florida... but the unranked KU women defeated a Top 5 team in Lawrence. In men's action, No. 3 Kansas fell to UCF 65-60 Wednesday night in Orlando, Florida. The Jayhawks are the latest top 5 team to lose. UCF's victory came one night after No. 1 Purdue and second-ranked Houston lost.
In women's action... The Kansas Jayhawks defeated No. 4 Baylor 87-66 in Lawrence Wednesday night. The Jayhawks had not beaten the Baylor Bears in 19 tries since 2014. Meanwhile, the K-State women's team continues to roll. The 12th ranked Wildcats clobbered Oklahoma 74-57 in Manhattan.
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AP Top 25's Highly Ranked Teams Look Vulnerable After 2 Days of Losses to Unranked Foes
UNDATED (AP) – Bill Self had just watched his third-ranked Kansas team squander a 16-point lead to lose on the road to an opponent picked to finish last in the Big 12 when he was asked how he will remember the game.
“To be real candid with you,” Self told reporters in his postgame news conference, “I hope I don't.”
It's a sentiment that could apply to many of the headliners in the AP Top 25 after a bumpy few days.
Top-ranked Purdue and No. 2 Houston lost Tuesday. Fifth-ranked Tennessee and No. 9 Oklahoma joined the Jayhawks in losing Wednesday. Each loss came on the road to an unranked foe, offering an early end to the unbeaten watch for the Cougars and a reminder to everyone else that college basketball's natural order is very different in the era of older teams, the transfer portal and talent dispersed across the country.
If anything, it's following the lead of last year's chaotic season that included a record 54 teams cracking the Top 25 before the NCAA Tournament ended with no 1-seed even making a regional final and no team seeded higher than No. 4 reaching the Final Four.
Houston (14-1) fell at Iowa State in a low-scoring grind as the nation's last unbeaten team. That prompted NCAA director of media coordination and statistics David Worlock to note that this marked the fourth time in seven years that the sport lost all unbeatens before Jan. 12; there had been at least one as late as Jan. 13 in 40 of 41 seasons before that.
The problems popping up for the top-10 losing teams this week came in multiple areas.
It was a matter of composure for some, such as Self saying the Jayhawks (13-2) didn't show as much poise against UCF as in other games. Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson was more blunt, saying his team “just kind of peed down our leg” with first-half turnovers that had Houston down 14 early.
“I don't know if it was as much Iowa State, it was us,” Sampson said, offering only terse responses during a 110-second postgame news conference. “We were just, um — I don't know what it was. I wish I did.”
If it's any consolation to Sampson, Houston wasn't alone in facing turnover issues. The quintet of top-10 losers this week averaged 15.6 turnovers leading to 19.6 points for their opponents backed by home crowds, highlighted by TCU's 25 points against the Sooners (13-2).
Kansas (18.1%) and Oklahoma (18.6%) rank in the 200s nationally in KenPom's measure of per-possesion turnover rate.
For Tennessee (11-4), a primary problem was slowing Mississippi State big man Tolu Smith III (23 points) in what is growing into an exploitable vulnerability.
In the Volunteers' three other losses, Purdue's Zach Edey (23 points, 10 rebounds), Kansas' Hunter Dickinson (17 points, 20 rebounds) and North Carolina's Armando Bacot (22 points, 11 rebounds) all thrived. Throw in Smith, and the four bigs shot a combined 65.9% (27 of 41) against a program known for its defense and physicality.
It left coach Rick Barnes saying his team must prove it can effectively defend opposing bigs.
“(It's) understanding that you're allowed to armbar for one,” Barnes said of ways to improve. “And I think if you're allowed to armbar, nobody should be able to back you down. I really believe that. It's leverage, it's getting down low and holding your ground. If you do that, we can come and help."
As for the Boilermakers (14-2), they've had trouble defending the arc in losses going back to an overtime stumble at Northwestern on Dec. 1. The Cornhuskers hit 14 3-pointers in; Tuesday's win; in all, Purdue allowed 24 of 43 (55.8%) from deep in their losses.
Afterward, coach Matt Painter was frustrated by what he perceived as a lack of preparation for the potential court-storming by fans after Nebraska's first win against a top-ranked team in 41 years. Then he simultaneously noted the larger issue.
“I don't understand that,” Painter said. “It's about like our defense.”
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Sporting KC Hires Gavin Wilkinson, Ex-Portland Boss Named in Misconduct Investigation
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Sporting Kansas City hired Gavin Wilkinson for its front office on Thursday, giving the former Portland Thorns president another opportunity following his 2022 firing after separate investigations into the club's handling of player and coach misconduct.
Longtime Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes will add the title of chief soccer officer and oversee Wilkinson, who will take on the title of sporting director and be responsible for player recruitment, roster building, budgeting and technical staff management.
Wilkinson's name surfaced in an independent investigation led by former Attorney General Sally Yates into misconduct and the cover-up of abuse while he was the Thorns' general manager. He was responsible for the hiring of Paul Riley, who was among five NWSL coaches who were dismissed or resigned amid claims of misconduct in 2021.
The Thorns also were fined $1 million as part of the fallout from the investigation.
Wilkinson has 12 years of executive leadership experience in Major League Soccer, including his time as the general manager and president of the Portland Timbers. He also was the coach of the club when it was part of the United Soccer League.
Sporting KC had been looking to add to its front office to ease the burden on Vermes, who has served as the club's manager since 2009 and its sporting director the past four years. Vermes, the longest-tenured coach in MLS history, has led the club to the 2013 MLS Cup along with three U.S. Open Cups and 11 playoff appearances since the 2011 season.
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Taylor Montgomery Leads, but Topeka Native Gary Woodland Happy Returning to Pro Golf at Sony Open
HONOLULU (AP) — Taylor Montgomery did better than he expected in his first competition in seven weeks, making birdie on half of his holes Thursday for a 6-under 64 and the early lead on a blustery day at the Sony Open.
Montgomery and Gary Woodland each had low expectations, for various reasons.
Montgomery, who had the 36-hole lead at Waialae last year as a rookie, last played in the RSM Classic a week before Thanksgiving. It helped Thursday that he was in the first group and got in six holes before wind from the toughest direction kicked in.
Woodland had far more reason to be anxious. The former U.S. Open champion had brain surgery on Sept. 18 to remove a tumor that had been causing bizarre and frightening spells of fear and anxiety centered around death.
He only decided in the last week or so that he was ready to play. And then he found himself getting emotional when his name was announced on the tee.
“Hearing Topeka, Kansas, hearing my name called, there was a time when I didn’t know if that was going to be called again, so it got me a little more than I thought it was going to,” Woodland said.
The score was a 71, and in some respects, it was irrelevant.
“Probably the happiest I’ve ever been shooting over par, tell you that,” Woodland said. “The goal this week was to see how I was mentally, and I was really, really good. This was one of the hardest rounds I’ve ever had here. And got off to a rough start. I was excited and was doing a lot of breathing trying to slow everything down because I was moving fast.
“I settled in, especially the last nine holes, and played really, really well. A lot to build on.”
Montgomery had a one-shot lead over Aaron Rai, Austin Eckroat and Stephan Jaeger. One shot behind was a group that included Chris Kirk, who won The Sentry last week on Maui and is trying to join Justin Thomas (2017) and Ernie Els (2003) to sweep Hawaii.
Kirk never gets too high or too low on the golf course, though he said winning made it hard to sleep for the first few nights on Oahu. The feeling of winning can linger, as can the crush of a tough loss in a playoff. There is one difference.
“You don't mind lying awake after you win,” Kirk said with a grin.
Waialae could not be any more different from the mountainous Plantation course at Kapalua. The greens are smaller, and the classic Seth Raynor design is flat along the shores just around the bend from Diamond Head.
It felt tougher because of the wind, which was largely missing last week. Making it more difficult was the direction. It made the par-5 ninth feel like a breeze — Kirk was between wedge and 9-iron for his second shot and settled on a chip 9-iron.
But it made a few of the par 4s, such as the 490-yard first and the 465-yard fifth, play like brutes. Kirk recalls hitting a short iron into the first hole instead of the mid-iron he needed Thursday. The baby wedge he usually hits on No. 5 turned into a 4-iron.
Brendon Todd, who also opened with 66, hit 5-wood off the tee and to the green on the 18th last year. Into the wind, he smashed a drive, hammered a 3-wood and still had a 50-yard wedge to the green. He still made birdie, but it was hard work.
“But it's three good shots,” he said.
Montgomery had nearly two months away from the PGA Tour, but not from work. He wasn't happy with the contact he made last year and worked hard in December — with a few what he described as “wine nights” — and felt it paid off.
Woodland hasn't played since August. Medication wasn't working, doctors feared the tumor might be growing and surgery was the only option. He brought his family to the Big Island and played some golf, but only after walking 18 holes with no big issues did he feel ready to play.
He was in the rough far too often. The speed of his putts was off. But he felt his levels of energy and focus were fine. It took 12 holes to record a birdie, but he played bogey-free over the last 10 holes.
“I tried to eliminate expectations,” Woodland said. “It’s hard to do, especially when you play in a result-oriented world. I tried to eliminate expectations and focus on what I can control, focus on slowing everything down, having the energy stay up, which it did.”
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Chiefs' Chris Jones Could Be Calling Arrowhead Stadium Home for Final Time Saturday Night
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — There was always the hope, and perhaps even the expectation, that Chris Jones would still be wearing a Kansas City Chiefs jersey this season when he walked out of Arrowhead Stadium following their victory in the AFC championship game last year. Jones was entering the final year of his contract, and his representatives had been talking with the Chiefs for more than a year about a long-term deal. The five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle was coming off his finest season, matching a career high with 15 1/2 sacks, and was about to lead the Chiefs into the Super Bowl for the third time — and win his second title. None of that worked out how anyone envisioned, though. And now Jones is much less certain about his future in Kansas City as the Chiefs prepare to play the Miami Dolphins on Saturday night in a wild-card playoff game.
Even if the Chiefs win, it could be their last game at Arrowhead Stadium this season. "If it is, it is. If it's not, it's not,” Jones said.
The 29-year-old Jones is due to hit free agency, and while the Chiefs could conceivably use the franchise tag on him, the cost of that would be prohibitive. They have several others that they hope to keep on the roster, including lockdown cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, and the salary cap hit for quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be steadily increasing.
So the most likely scenario is that Jones signs elsewhere in free agency, and that means he could be preparing for his final walk out of the Arrowhead Stadium tunnel on Saturday night. He will no doubt be warmly received by Chiefs fans — despite wind chills expected to be well below zero — before taking on the Dolphins to kick off the postseason.
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