Kansas Leaders Hatch Plan to Lure KC Chiefs to Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Kansas legislative leaders are trying to lure the Kansas City Chiefs from Missouri to Kansas. Top Republican leaders plan to use STAR bonds to finance the move. House Speaker Dan Hawkins and Senate President Ty Masterson said Tuesday that they would offer to let the Chiefs shape a plan for using state bonds to finance a new stadium in Kansas. The plan favored by Hawkins, Masterson and other Republicans would pay off the bonds with sales and alcohol tax revenues generated in a designated area around the new stadium. This is similar to how the state and officials in Kansas City, Kansas, financed construction of NASCAR's Kansas Speedway and the adjacent shopping and entertainment district known as Village West. Lawmakers will consider the proposal during a special session set to convene June 18.
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Kansas Leaders Try to Lure Kansas City Chiefs Away from Missouri
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP/KPR) — The state of Kansas is making a play to lure the Kansas City Chiefs from Missouri to Kansas. Top legislative leader have intensified efforts to woo the Super Bowl champion Chiefs to the state by offering to let the professional football franchise shape a plan for using state bonds to finance a new stadium in Kansas.
House Speaker Dan Hawkins and Senate President Ty Masterson said late yesterday (TUE) that the Legislature would consider the proposal during a special session set to convene June 18. The two leaders invited the Chiefs to weigh in on the plan in a May 23 letter to the team's chairman and CEO. Meanwhile, a new nonprofit group called Scoop and Score has launched a campaign for the proposal and registered 20 lobbyists. Scoop and Score started an online petition aimed at the Legislature, sent texts saying the Chiefs “deserve a permanent home in Kansas,” and registered 20 lobbyists to represent it at the Statehouse, including a former House speaker and some of the state's most prominent contract lobbyists.
Kansas officials saw an opening in early April after voters on the Missouri side of the Kansas City metropolitan area decisively refused to extend a local sales tax used to keep up the complex housing the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium and Kauffman Stadium, home to professional baseball’s Kansas City Royals. “Your insights and expertise are invaluable in shaping the success of this project,” Hawkins and Masterson said in their letter. “Your organization’s stature and experience in professional sports will help shape our understanding and ensure that this initiative aligns with the interests of all stakeholders involved.”
The lobbyists who registered to represent Scoop and Score included Ron Ryckman Jr., a Kansas City-area businessman who served as Kansas House speaker from 2017 through 2022. His former legislative chief of staff, Paje Resner, also registered, and she was listed as the group’s incorporator when it filed its articles of incorporation with the state on May 13.
Hunt told reporters in April that the Chiefs would take “a broader perspective” about the team’s future home after the vote in Missouri. The Chiefs had hoped to use their share of the local sales tax to help pay for an $800 million renovation of Arrowhead.
The plan favored by Hawkins, Masterson and other members of the Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature would pay off bonds for a new stadium with sales and alcohol tax revenues generated in a designated area around the stadium. It would be similar to how the state and officials in Kansas City, Kansas, financed construction of NASCAR's Kansas Speedway and an adjacent shopping and entertainment district. “We are poised to make the Kansas City Chiefs even stronger,” Hawkins and Masterson said in their letter. “It also promises to be a victory for Kansas taxpayers and a game-changer for our state’s economy.”
Some legislators were pushing a similar proposal to build new stadiums in Kansas for both the Chiefs and the Royals before lawmakers adjourned their annual session May 1, but the plan never came to a vote. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly called the special session to consider broad tax cuts after vetoing three previous tax plans, but legislators can consider whatever they want.
The earlier stadium-financing proposal faced opposition from Americans for Prosperity-Kansas, a small-government, low-tax group long against the use of such bonds and influential with Republicans. Critics have argued that using the bonds for big projects represents the state picking economic winners and losers instead of the free market.
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Ascension Still Working to Restore Electronic Access to Health Records One Month After Cyberattack
UNDATED (KNS) - Healthcare company Ascension is still grappling with a massive, multi-state cyberattack. Ascension officials say they are still working to restore access to electronic health records in Kansas and other states. They hope to have that access restored by the end of next week. The health care system suffered a cyberattack in early May. The company hasn't said whether patient data was compromised. Ascension operates 140 hospitals, clinics and nursing homes in 18 states, including Kansas and Missouri.
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Another Florida Resident Accused of Election Fraud in Kansas
UNDATED (KPR) - A Florida woman is accused of committing election fraud in Kansas, allegedly forging petition signatures. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach says 47-year-old Jamie Johnson, of Dade City, Florida, has been behind bars in Nebraska since May 29, following an investigation by authorities in Nebraska and in Johnson County, Kansas.
Jamie Johnson is facing several counts of election fraud in Johnson County, Kansas - including 18 counts of forgery and one count of election perjury. Prosecutors accuse her of forging signatures on a petition to make "No Labels" an officially recognized political party in Kansas. She's the second Florida resident accused of committing election fraud in Kansas. In February, George Andrews, also of Dade City, Florida, was arrested on similar allegations.
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Florida and Kansas Accuse 2 People of Forging Signatures for Petition Drives
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Florida and Kansas officials are accusing two petition circulators of forging voter signatures during campaigns to put an abortion rights measure to a vote in Florida and allow the No Labels party to put candidates on the Kansas ballot.
Jamie Johnson, 47, and George Andrews III, 30, both from Dade City, Florida, in the Tampa area, were in jail Wednesday, each on $150,000 bail. Johnson was being held in Sarpy County, Nebraska, south of Omaha, and Andrews in the Tampa area.
Each faces 20 felony charges in Florida, while in Kansas, Andrews faces 30 felony counts and Johnson, 19.
While Andrews has been in custody in Florida since February, authorities in both states couldn't find Johnson until she was arrested a week ago in Nebraska. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach announced the arrest Tuesday and said he is seeking to bring Johnson to Kansas for prosecution. She is scheduled to have a July 1 extradition hearing in Nebraska.
Kobach's office said Andrews and Johnson together forged at least 46 signatures on petitions to get the centrist No Labels group recognized as a political party in Kansas, which allows it to put nominees on the November ballot.
Florida officials said Andrews and Johnson submitted a total of 133 invalid petitions in multiple counties during the effort to get the abortion rights measure on the November ballot.
Neither successful petition drive appears to have depended on the signatures the two submitted. In Kansas, No Labels needed more than 20,000, while in Florida, the figure was at least 891,500.
Still, Kobach said that with election fraud, “It doesn't matter how far you run.”
"We will drag you back to Kansas and prosecute you,” Kobach said in a statement.
A public defender representing Andrews in Florida did not return a telephone message Wednesday seeking comment. Tom Strigenz, a public defender for Johnson in Nebraska, said she does not have an attorney in Kansas and that she will fight extradition to both Florida and Kansas.
Stringenz couldn't say whether Johnson was in Nebraska to circulate petitions for proposed ballot initiatives there. She has no ties the state, he said.
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GOP State Representative Brenda Landwehr Won't Seek Re-Election
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – Several Kansas lawmakers have announced they will not seek reelection this fall, including Representative Brenda Landwehr. The Wichita Republican advanced a conservative agenda as chair of the House health committee. She led opposition to Medicaid expansion and abortion rights. She withdrew minutes before the Monday filing deadline, citing family reasons, and endorsed Republican newcomer Jill Ward. Wichita State University political scientist Neal Allen says this could be part of a larger strategy to influence who runs for her seat next. “Her stepping down just before the filing deadline, and then endorsing a chosen successor, does box out other Republicans. And this is a fairly common thing that happens in Kansas and all over the country,” he clarified. Allen says Democrats could aim for Landwehr’s House seat as they try to break a Republican supermajority this fall. Landwehr’s northeast Wichita district voted for Democratic Governor Laura Kelly in 2022.
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Chair of Kansas Senate Education Committee Won't Seek Re-Election
UNDATED (KNS) – The Republican lawmaker who chairs the Education Committee in the Kansas Senate is not running for re-election this year. State Senator Molly Baumgardner withdrew her filing for Senate District 37, south of Kansas City, as Monday's noon deadline approached. The Kansas News Service reports that Baumgardner has served in the Kansas Senate since 2014. She pushed for the creation of the state’s Dyslexia Task Force in 2018 and the Kansas Blueprint for Literacy, which was adopted earlier this spring.
Republican Doug Shane filed to run for Baumgardner’s seat. His opponent will be Democrat Sherry Giebler, a counselor and community volunteer.
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GOP Representative Les Mason Dies Age 69
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of a state lawmaker who died this week. Representative Les Mason of McPherson died Monday at age 69 after suffering a brain aneurysm. The GOP lawmaker represented the McPherson area for 10 years and was seeking re-election this November.
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Kansas Revenues Fall Far Short of Expectations for May
UNDATED (KNS) – Kansas tax collections fell far short of expectations in May, after a revenue spike the previous month. The Kansas News Service reports that the state brought in about $660 million in taxes last month, 20 percent less than predicted. Kansas took in less than half of what was anticipated in corporate income taxes. Personal income taxes were also well below the forecast. But those May numbers might be a result of higher collections in April. The Kansas Department of Revenue says faster processing of tax payments inflated revenue in April and led to lower numbers in May. The shortfall comes two weeks before lawmakers hold a special session to consider state tax cuts.
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Protest Targets Wichita-Area Library
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – Protesters opposing gay and transgender-themed books emptied the shelves at a Wichita-area library recently. The Kansas News Service reports that a Wichita pastor recently directed members of his congregation to mark Pride Month by checking out mass amounts of LGBTQ books from their local library. The goal was to keep children from accessing the books. The pastor, Kyle Lammott, posted a photo on social media of more than 100 books checked out of the Andover Public Library. Library director Tom Taylor says the protest could backfire because libraries track demand as they replenish their collections. “If the strategy is to get them away from kids, in the short term it would work. But in the long run, we’d be more likely to buy those titles because of the usage,” Taylor said. Titles checked out by the protesters include novels with gay characters and an autobiography of tennis star Billie Jean King.
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Johnson County Health Leaders Urge Awareness of Fentanyl Risks
JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan. (Johnson County Post) – Johnson County health leaders are urging greater awareness of fake pills containing fentanyl as use continues to increase among teens and young adults. The Johnson County Post reports that four years ago, fewer than eight percent of teens entering Johnson County’s adolescent treatment center reported using opioids. By last year, that number rose to more than 50 percent. Rachael Perez with the county Mental Health Center says they’re trying to increase awareness of how the issue is playing out in Johnson County. "You never know when you might be exposed to kind of a substance or a fake pill such as fentanyl and so always approach it with caution," she added. The county hosts a fentanyl safety event Thursday at 5:30 pm at Olathe Downtown Library.
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Interactive Map Educates Kansans About Prescription Drug Savings Program
UNDATED (KNS) – A recently published interactive map helps Kansans learn which hospitals in the state participate in a federal drug savings program called 340B. The Kansas News Service reports that the map, created by the Alliance for Integrity and Reform of 340B, also highlights news articles exposing hospitals that misuse the program. Nicole Longo, a representative for the alliance, says 340B was originally designed as a way for hospitals that serve low-income communities to lower prescription drug costs. But Longo says some hospitals profit by marking up the price of the discounted drugs, making patients pay more. “The website and tool is to help everyday people get a better sense of how the 340B program works in their state and to give them the information they need to ask their hospitals what they’re doing with the program,” she explained. Longo says more than 90 hospitals in Kansas are part of the 340B program.
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Tick-Related Illnesses on the Rise in Kansas and Missouri
UNDATED (KCUR) – Cases of tick-related illnesses are increasing in Kansas and Missouri as summers get longer and hotter. One of those diseases is alpha-gal syndrome, or AGS. That's an allergy to red meat that usually occurs after a tick bite. Taylor Harris with the Platte County Health Department in Missouri suggests wearing long clothing and using insect repellent if you go into the woods or areas with long grass, cautioning that “...after you are out in woody areas, be sure to examine yourself and even your pets for ticks and try to remove those immediately.” Symptoms of AGS usually appear a few hours after eating. They range from hives to vomiting to a life-threatening drop in blood pressure.
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D-Day Anniversary Shines a Spotlight on 'Rosie the Riveter' Women Who Built the Weapons of WWII
PEGASUS BRIDGE, France (AP) — When the 5,000th B-17 bomber built after Pearl Harbor rolled out of its Boeing factory, teenage riveter Anna Mae Krier made sure it would carry a message from the women of World War II: She signed her name on it.
Now 98, and in Normandy, France, for this week's 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings, Krier is still proudly promoting the vital roles played by women in the June 6, 1944, invasion and throughout the war — including by making weaponry that enabled men to fight.
Krier was among millions of women who rolled up their sleeves in defense-industry factories, replacing men who volunteered and were called up for combat in the Pacific, Africa and Europe.
The women had their own icon in “Rosie the Riveter,” a woman in a polka-dotted bandanna flexing a muscular arm in a recruitment poster that declared: “We can do it!”
After Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that pitched the United States into war on Dec. 7, 1941, “every man, woman and child just went to work,” Krier recalled Wednesday as she visited the site of an iconic D-Day battle, Pegasus Bridge.
The North Dakota native was 17 when she went to work in 1943 as a riveter on B-17 and B-29 bombers. She helped build more than 6,000 aircraft, according to her biography provided by the Best Defense Foundation, which brought her to Normandy for the anniversary.
“Us women built all that equipment, the airplanes, the tanks, the ammunition" and ships used in the Allied invasion of Normandy that helped liberate Europe from Adolf Hitler's tyranny, Krier said.
She added: “We weren’t doing it for honors and awards. We were doing it to save our country. And we ended up helping save the world.”
Women flew the planes that women built, too.
The pioneering Women Airforce Service Pilots, known as WASPs, fulfilled an array of noncombat flight missions, including flying planes from factories on their way to the front, that freed male pilots for battle.
Thirty-eight of the women were killed in wartime service. Long considered civilians, not members of the military, they weren’t entitled to the pay and benefits men received. Only in 1977, after a long fight, did they get veteran status, followed in 2010 with the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor given by Congress.
Women defense workers also received little notice or appreciation at first. Krier was among ex-"Rosies" who pushed successfully for their contribution to be recognized with a Congressional Gold Medal.
“That made me so proud,” she said. “And I’m just so proud of our young women. We opened doors for the young women today. But look what you women are doing. We’re just so happy to see what you’re doing with your lives. I think that’s great.”
Connie Palacioz, another “Rosie” who punched rivets on the nose sections of B-29 bombers in Kansas, didn't tell her future family about the details of her wartime work because “I never thought it was important to (say) that I was a riveter.”
The 99-year-old Palacioz is also in Normandy for the D-Day anniversary, part of a veterans group flown over by American Airlines.
“All the men were at the war. So us women had to do the job," she said. "So there was a lot of Rosie the Riveters.”
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KU Loses Guard Elmarko Jackson to Torn Patellar Tendon During Bill Self's Basketball Camp
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — University of Kansas guard Elmarko Jackson, who started 17 games as a freshman and was expected to be a big contributor this season, tore his patellar tendon during a scrimmage at Jayhawks coach Bill Self's basketball camp. Jackson, who was injured Tuesday, will have surgery in the next few days, the school said Wednesday, but the rehab process is likely to take a full year. That is a major blow to the backcourt of the Jayhawks, whom many expect to be the No. 1 team in the preseason AP Top 25.
Jackson, a former McDonald's All-American, averaged 4.3 points last season.
“We are all crushed by this,” Self said in a statement. “Elmarko has had a terrific spring. He has worked so hard and has improved so much. This will be a challenge that he will meet head-on and he will return as good as ever.”
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Royals-Guardians Game Postponed Due to Thunderstorms in Forecast; Will Be Made up as Part of August Doubleheader
CLEVELAND (AP) — The game between the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday night was postponed due to thunderstorms in the forecast.
No rain had fallen at Progressive Field when the game was called off roughly two hours before its 6:40 p.m. start time. The Royals and Guardians had worked out before the tarp was placed on the infield.
The game will be made up as part of a split doubleheader on Aug. 26, starting at 1:10 p.m. The second game start time is 6:40 p.m.
Kansas City right-hander Brady Singer (4-2, 2.63 ERA) was scheduled to face Guardians right-hander Nick Sandlin (4-0, 2.77 ERA).
Royals manager Matt Quatraro said Singer will start the teams' series finale Thursday at 1:10 p.m.
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