More Measles Cases Reported in Kansas
WICHITA, Kan. (KMUW) – The state of Kansas is reporting six new measles cases over the last week. That means the state has recorded 64 cases this year, most of them since early March. KMUW reports that nearly all of the cases are part of an outbreak in southwest Kansas. 24 of them are in Gray County, which is just west of Dodge City. About two-thirds of the cases are in children 10 or younger, nearly all of whom were unvaccinated. Officials say vaccination is essential to avoid catching and spreading the measles.
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ACLU and Kansas Affiliate File Lawsuit to Challenge Kansas Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Minors
UNDATED (KNS) – Two transgender teens and their parents filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the state of Kansas. They’re challenging a state law that bans gender-affirming care for minors. The Kansas News Service reports that the American Civil Liberties Union and its Kansas affiliate filed the lawsuit in state court on behalf of a 16-year-old boy and a 13-year old girl. The plaintiffs are challenging a new law that bars medical professionals in Kansas from providing hormone therapies, pubertal suppressants and surgeries to young people with gender dysphoria.
Republican supermajorities in the state Legislature passed the law by overriding Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s veto. They say it’s intended to prevent children from making irreversible medical decisions.
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Trump Appoints Former Kansas Rep to Ag Post
UNDATED (KPR) — President Trump has appointed former Kansas state representative Patrick Penn to a post in the Agriculture Department. Penn is a Republican who resigned from his Wichita-area House seat earlier this month. He will now serve as undersecretary for the Agriculture Department’s Food and Nutrition Service, which oversees federal food assistance programs, including SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. As a state lawmaker in 2025. Penn voted in favor of a bill prohibiting SNAP recipients from purchasing candy and soft drinks with their food assistance dollars.
(–Additional reporting–)
Former Kansas Lawmaker Appointed to USDA Post
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR/KNS) – President Donald Trump has appointed a Republican former Kansas lawmaker to a position at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Former state Representative Patrick Penn of Wichita resigned his post earlier this month. The Army veteran had been in the seat since 2021. He will now serve as deputy undersecretary for the USDA’s food, nutrition and consumer services. The department oversees 16 food assistance programs, including SNAP – also known as food stamps. In the Kansas House, Penn voted for an effort to prevent people from using food stamps on soda and sugary foods. The Republican precinct committee in Penn’s former district is set to select his replacement in the Kansas House on Wednesday.
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Missouri Abortion Rights Issues Expected to Affect Kansas Providers
UNDATED (KNS) – A Kansas abortion provider says the overturning of abortion rights in Missouri is exhausting for both states. The Kansas News Service reports that the Missouri Supreme Court has reversed two rulings that allowed the procedure to resume in the state. Emily Wales with Planned Parenthood Great Plains says the ruling could lead to more Missouri residents traveling to Kansas for abortion access. "It had an immediate impact on care and as of today, Missourians have a constitutional right that they cannot access," she explained. Wales says the Pittsburg, Kansas, clinic in southeast Kansas is expected to see the largest client increase. The location is the most accessible for people in Oklahoma and Missouri.
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Kansas National Guard Opens New Headquarters
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — The Kansas National Guard opened its new joint force headquarters at Topeka Regional Airport on Tuesday. The 58,000-square-foot facility was built at a cost of about $18 million. It will provide support for the Kansas guard’s 7,000 soldiers, airmen, and civilians. The guard’s Adj. Gen. Michael Venerdi said the headquarters will "ensure seamless integration" between the Army National Guard and Air National Guard forces. A host of dignitaries attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony including governor Laura Kelly and senator Jerry Moran. The senator emphasized the Kansas National Guard's role in emergency response, such as to last week’s tornado in Grinnell.
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DOGE Kills KU, K-State Grants
UNDATED (TCJ) — President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has canceled National Science Foundation grants to the University of Kansas and Kansas State University that promoted diversity. The Topeka Capital Journal reports that three grants to KU and one to K-State appear to be among hundreds canceled as "wasteful DEI grants." The three KU grants were worth more than $1.3 million combined, according to DOGE. A cancelled K-State grant was worth about $3 million.
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Jack in the Box Closes All Locations in the Kansas City Area
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF-TV) — Jack in the Box has closed all its restaurants in the Kansas City area, including ones in Kansas City, Kansas, and Olathe. WDAF-TV reports the closings are part of the company’s restructuring. In All, Jack in the Box plans to close 150 to 200 underperforming locations as part of a strategy it calls “Jack on Track.”
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Rain Boosts Kansas Crops
WICHITA, Kan. (KSN) — Rain across much of Kansas over the Labor Day weekend was bad for backyard barbecues but good for the state's crops. With harvest time for wheat fast approaching, the rain was needed. The wet weather was also helpful to corn, wheat, and soy. However, too much rain can also raise the risk of fungal diseases. KSN reports yield for wheat in Kansas overall is expected to be higher this year, but prices are lower than last year.
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Seven Killed in Four Memorial Day Weekend Accidents
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — The Kansas Highway Patrol says seven people were killed in four motor vehicle accidents over the Memorial Day weekend. The patrol says none of the accidents was DUI-related. In the deadliest accident, four people were killed and four others injured after a head-on crash Saturday afternoon in Dickinson County in central Kansas. The patrol reported 21 DUI arrests over the long weekend, one fewer than last year.
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Funeral Held for Kansas Woman Shot and Killed in Washington, DC
UNDATED (KCUR) — Family and friends gathered in Johnson County Tuesday to mourn the death of Sarah Milgrim, the Kansas woman who was shot and killed in Washington D.C. last week. KCUR reports that local Jewish leaders and rabbis remembered Sarah as a bright young woman dedicated to her Jewish faith. The 26-year-old and her partner, Yaron Lischinsky, were fatally shot outside the Capital Jewish Museum. Rabbi Stephanie Kramer said Sarah let her Jewish values guide her work searching for peace, adding that “...she understood the nuances, she embraced the complications, and still, she chose hope.” A gunman has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting. (Read more.)
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Unified Government of KCK and Wyandotte County to Vote on Data Center Proposal
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCUR) — A multi-billion-dollar data center may come to Kansas City, Kansas. KCUR reports that the Unified Government’s Planning Commission is scheduled to vote Wednesday on the proposed location in western Wyandotte County. The 1.8 million-square-foot center will cost $12 billion dollars. Documents filed with the Planning Commission show the project will be built near 131st and Parallel Parkway, not far from the Kansas Speedway. UG staff had concerns about nearby wetlands and how a data center could damage, quote, the visual quality for neighbors. But, staff wrote, it believes those concerns have been addressed. A Brooklyn, New York company called Red Wolf DCD Properties proposed the project. At a meeting two weeks ago with neighbors, residents expressed concerns about noise from generators and how much water they need for cooling.
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Kansas to Private Company: Don't Give SNAP Personal Info to Trump Administration
UNDATED (KNS) — The state of Kansas has told a private company not to give the Trump administration personal information on Kansans who get food stamps. The Kansas News Service reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is seeking data on Kansans who receive SNAP, also called food stamps. According to reporting by the Kansas Reflector, this includes names, social security numbers and more. That data is stored for Kansas by a private company. The company told Kansas it has to fulfill the USDA request. The Reflector reports that state officials have refused to consent to that – and have asked to see what information the company already shared, if any.
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Missouri Supreme Court Tells KC Judge to Allow Enforcement of State's Abortion Ban
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (STLPR) — The Missouri Supreme Court has told a Kansas City judge to again allow enforcement of the state’s near-total ban on abortion. St. Louis Public Radio reports that, in November, Missouri voters enshrined the right to abortion in the state’s constitution. Planned Parenthood immediately filed suit challenging the ban, which had only narrow exceptions for the health of the mother. It also challenged regulations on facilities performing the procedure. A circuit judge issued two separate injunctions pausing enforcement of the ban and those regulations. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey asked the Supreme Court to intervene. The Supreme Court agreed with Bailey that the judge had not met the legal standard required to stop enforcement of a properly-approved state law. That means the abortion ban and all regulations on the procedure are back in effect for now. The judge could re-issue the injunctions with different legal reasoning at a later date.
Kansas saw a large increase of out-of-state abortion patients from Missouri and other states with near-total abortion bans.
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Will They Stay or Will They Go? The Royals & Chiefs Have a Decision to Make
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KPR/KC Star) - Kansas lawmakers have offered to pay up to 70% of the cost of building a new stadium for the Kansas City Chiefs and/or the Royals if they move their teams to Kansas. Missouri lawmakers will meet in a special session next week to possibly come up with their own proposal to keep the teams on the Missouri side of Kansas City.
Last year, voters in Jackson County, Missouri, rejected a sales tax that would have kept the Chiefs and Royals in the county. Ever since then, there's been a tug-of-war contest between Kansas and Missouri to find out which state will land one of those professional teams...or possibly both of them. So far, Kansas is the only state that has offered an incentive plan. But Kansas lawmakers put a ticking clock on their plan. The Kansas City Star reports that the state’s offer to use STAR bonds to pay for stadiums expires on June 30th. While the Kansas deadline could be extended, that's not a guarantee.
Whatever decision is made will not only shape the future of Kansas City, but also determine which state could spend a billion or more in tax incentives to secure the right to call the teams their own for decades to come.
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