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Headlines for Wednesday, November 6, 2024

A graphic representation of eight radios of various vintages, underneath the words "Kansas Public Radio News Summary"
Emily DeMarchi
/
KPR

Democrats Fail to Break GOP Stranglehold on Kansas Legislature

TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - A campaign to break Republican super-majorities in the Kansas House and Senate has failed. The effort was spearheaded by Democratic Governor Laura Kelly. A political action committee controlled by Kelly injected $2 million into a handful of legislative races in an effort to hold some Democratic seats and flip some Republican districts. Enough to protect her ability to bring Republican lawmakers to the bargining table by vetoing legislation. It didn't work. Democrats lost Senate seats in Leavenworth and Manhattan and failed to pick up targeted seats in Johnson County. Their efforts in the House met a similar fate. Hutchinson Representative Jason Probst was among the casualties. His narrow loss to Republican Kyler Sweely means Democrats will no longer hold any legislative seats west of Wichita. Many of the races were close. But in the end, Kelly and the Democrats lost ground.

Find more Kansas election results here.

(–Related–)

Kansas Republicans Strengthen Legislative Supermajority

UNDATED (KNS) – Kansas Republicans will have a stronger hold on state politics next session after gaining seats in the election. The Kansas News Service reports that initial results show the GOP expanded their two-thirds supermajorities in the Statehouse. That means it will be easier to override vetoes by Democratic Governor Laura Kelly. Republican House Majority Leader Chris Croft said it’s too early to say which bills Republicans will introduce next session. But he knows what their first priority will be, saying “...the biggest thing I talked to people at the door was property tax. That was the number one thing.” Democrats lost races in Manhattan, Leavenworth and the Johnson County area.

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Former State Attorney General Wins Open Kansas Congressional Seat; Other Members of Congress Will Return to Washington

INDEPENDENCE, Kan. (KPR) - Kansas will send one new member of Congress to Washington, D.C. Republican Derek Schmidt captured the open seat in the state's 2nd Congressional District. Schmidt defeated Democrat Nancy Boyda, who used to represent the 2nd District of eastern Kansas.

In the state's other congressional races:

Democratic Congresswoman Sharice Davids was re-elected in the Kansas City area's 3rd District. Republican Congressman Tracey Mann was re-elected in the Big 1st and Republican Congressman Ron Estes was re-elected in the 4th.

Find more Kansas election results here.

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Missouri Voters Approve Ballot Measures on Abortion, Gambling and the Minimum Wage

UNDATED (KPR) - Abortion, gambling, the minimum wage - Missouri voters had a number of amendments on Tuesday's ballot. Missouri had one of the most restrictive abortion bans in the country, with no exceptions for rape or incest and only a narrowly defined exception for medical emergencies. Voters rolled back that ban by approving Constitutional Amendment #3, 54 to 46%, creating a right to reproductive freedom. Missouri voters also legalized sports gambling, but turned down an expansion of gambling on riverboat casinos, rejecting riverboat casinos in the Ozarks. Missouri voters overwhelmingly approved a hike in the state's minimum wage. It will increase to $13.75 in January.

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Experts: Democratic-Backed Initiatives Unlikely to Gain Support in Kansas Legislature

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR) – Despite widespread support from Kansas residents, political experts have little faith that Democratic-backed initiatives such as expanding Medicaid and legalizing medical marijuana will be supported by the state legislature in the coming year. The Kansas GOP maintained a supermajority in the state’s House and Senate on Tuesday night. Bob Beatty, Chair of the Political Science department at Washburn University, told KCUR Radio that there’s a growing disconnect between these conservative legislators, who Kansas residents continue to vote into office, and the beliefs those residents appear to hold. “Polls have shown Medicaid expansion and medical marijuana at some points at 60 to 70 percent support. The legislature is fervently against these things,” he pointed out. Polls by Fort Hays State University and the Midwest Newsroom show that both issues have received over 70% support from Kansas residents.

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Kansas Governor Grants Clemency to 7 Prisoners

TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is using her authority to grant clemency to several prisoners. The Kansas News Service reports that she hasn't granted clemency since 2021. In 2010, Lauren Holle was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison for charges in the death of her newborn infant. Holle was 19 at the time and abandoned the child in her backseat after giving birth. Kelly is granting clemency to Holle and six others after review by state officials. Also among them is Deshaun Durham, a 23-year-old serving a nearly 8-year prison sentence for a first time marijuana possession charge. Kelly says she considered factors like unusually harsh sentences and how much each person showed rehabilitation.

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Report: Some School Districts Not Taking Advantage of Federal Free-Meal Programs

WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – More Kansas students could be getting free meals at school. A new report shows that some districts aren’t taking advantage of federal free-meal programs. The report by Kansas Appleseed says more Kansas districts now qualify for a program that lets schools in high-poverty areas serve meals at no cost to families. According to the Kansas News Service, some of them...including the Wichita School District, which is the state’s largest...don’t participate because they say it requires too much paperwork. Haley Kottler with Kansas Appleseed says it gets easier after the first year. “Once schools are up and running on this program, there is less paperwork and it’s much less tedious for them to be able to provide meals to kids.” The report says Kansas could also pick up the family co-pay on reduced-price meals for between $4 million and $7 million a year.

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Network Seeks to Speed Up Organ Transplant Waiting Lists

UNDATED (KNS) – Hundreds of Kansans are waiting for lifesaving organ transplants. The Kansas News Service reports that the Midwest Transplant Network is an organ procurement agency that serves Kansas and parts of Missouri. The group recently hosted surgeons and experts from across the nation for a workshop aimed at improving the transplant process. CEO Jan Finn says although the number of organ donors is rising, about 2,500 people in Kansas and Missouri are waiting for a transplant. “So it’s just getting the transplant centers ramped up to catch up. They may not have had all of the resources that they needed, perhaps surgeons or ICU beds,” she explained. Finn says the Kansas City region has a fair amount of transplant centers, and hospitals are expanding their programs to perform more transplants.

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OSHA Highlights Dangers of Grain Industry Work in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska

UNDATED (HPM) - Every harvest season means the movement of huge amounts of grain. Harvest Public Media reports that for those dealing with grain on farms and at elevators, the work can be dangerous. Walking on a pile of grain can be like walking on quicksand, and farmworkers have suffocated after sinking into grain inside bins. Stuart Beckman is safety director for Columbia Grain in North Dakota. He says workers who detect an issue inside a bin sometimes ignore the risks. "And then people feel compelled to enter a bin to try and get that grain to move or walk that grain down. And those are very dangerous things that we do not allow that," he said. OSHA’s Kansas City regional office recently added Missouri to the list of states where it’s been emphasizing grain handling safety - along with the states of Kansas and Nebraska.

University of Illinois Professor Salah Issa says it’s easy for workers to either sink into the corn while walking on it in a bin, or to be caught in the flow of corn being loaded. “It really doesn't take long," he said. "It takes maybe five seconds or so for the grain to reach up to your knee levels, once it's up to your knee levels, you cannot escape. You cannot get out. it just grabs you in.” Issa says stricter safety regulations and new technology have helped improve safety concerns.

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Feds Seek Solution to Toxic Algae Blooms at Milford Lake

JUNCTION CITY, Kan. (KNS) - Toxic blue-green algae have bloomed on the biggest lake in Kansas for at least 14 years in a row. Efforts are underway to change that. In 2018, the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service teamed up with state and local agencies to cut how much nitrogen and phosphorus washes into Milford Lake. They’ve spent about $6 million since then and will now repeat the investment. The pollution that fuels toxic algae often comes from fertilizers and livestock. Cities downstream along the Kansas River sometimes have to treat the toxins and odors out of drinking water. The federal program helps farmers use cover crops, for example, farm without tilling and minimize fertilizer application.

Lake visitors have to watch out for the algae. Matt Unruh, assistant director of the Kansas Water Office, says cities downstream sometimes have to treat the toxins and odors to remove them from drinking water. “Anyone that lives downstream or has water that’s sourced from the Kansas River has Milford Lake water that they’re getting on a day-to-day basis," he said. The Milford program helps farmers make changes - for example, using cover crops and keeping cattle out of creeks.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issues advisories regarding algal blooms in Kansas lakes.

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This summary of area news is curated by KPR news staffers. Our headlines are generally published by 10 am weekdays and are updated through 7 pm. This ad-free news summary is made possible by KPR members. Become one today. And follow KPR News on X (formerly Twitter).