Michelin to Lay Off Workers in Junction City
JUNCTION CITY, Kan. (WIBW) — Layoffs are coming at the Michelin factory in Junction City. The company confirmed Wednesday night that it is reducing production and staffing levels at the plant. Michelin attributes the cuts to “difficult market conditions.” The company did not say how many workers were being laid off, but it expects to complete the process by June 7. WIBW reports the announcement comes just two years after Michelin launched a five-year plan to add jobs in Junction City.
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Plans Advance for $12.6 Billion Data Center in Wyandotte County
UNDATED (The Reflector) — The planning commission of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, has endorsed a proposal for a $12.6 billion data center. The commission voted 4-2 last night to approve the development of a 550-acre business park that would house the center on property several miles west of the Kansas Speedway,
The Reflector reports that the operator of the data center has not been identified, but will likely be a big-tech company like Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, or Alphabet. Data centers typically consume huge amounts of power, which means upgrades to the area’s power network are likely,
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Legal Battle over CoreCivic Facility Continues
UNDATED (KNS) – The legal battle between the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, and a private prison company is not over yet. The Kansas News Service reports that the city has filed a new lawsuit in state court. The city of Leavenworth has been fighting the Tennessee-based company CoreCivic over its plans to operate a dormant facility as an immigrant detention center. Attorneys for the city argue CoreCivic needs to follow a special permitting process to reopen the former prison. But a federal judge dismissed Leavenworth’s complaint last week for lack of jurisdiction. Now, the city has filed a challenge at the state level, with a hearing set for June 4th. CoreCivic did not respond to questions about whether it would reopen the facility as planned on June 1st.
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Kansas City Royals Confirm Acquisition of Property in Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR) – Odds of the Kansas City Royals moving across the state line may have improved after the team secured a site in Overland Park, Kansas. But KCUR reports that no final decision on the future of Kauffman Stadium has been made. The Royals confirmed in a statement they bought the mortgage of the Aspiria development near 119th Street and Nall Avenue. But they also said negotiations in both Kansas and Missouri are ongoing, and all options are on the table. The news comes just days before a special legislative session is set to convene in Jefferson City. There, lawmakers are expected to consider tax incentives that could help keep the Royals and Chiefs in Missouri. Last year, Kansas lawmakers approved legislation allowing the state to issue bonds that would pay up to 70% of the cost of stadiums for both teams.
(–Earlier reporting–)
Kansas Lawmakers Try to Lure Chiefs, Royals to the State
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KPR) — Kansas lawmakers have offered to pay up to 70 percent of the cost of building a new stadium for the Kansas City Chiefs and/or Royals if the teams move to Kansas. Ever since voters in Jackson County, Missouri, last year rejected a sales tax that would have kept the Chiefs and Royals in the county, there's been a tug-of-war between Kansas and Missouri to find out which state will land one of those teams — or possibly both. So far, Kansas is the only state that has offered an incentive plan. But Kansas lawmakers put a ticking clock on their plan. The state’s offer to use STAR bonds to pay for stadiums expires on June 30th.
Missouri lawmakers, meanwhile, 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.
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Lawsuit Filed to Challenge Pregnancy Exclusion in Kansas Natural Death Act
UNDATED (KNS) – Three Kansas women and two doctors are suing the state over a law that invalidates pregnant women's decisions about life support care. The Kansas News Service reports that the Kansas Natural Death Act allows adults to decline life-support like feeding tubes and ventilators. But those advance directives are invalid if a patient is pregnant. The lawsuit asks the court to prohibit Kansas from enforcing the pregnancy exclusion. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach did not respond to a request for comment. Over 30 states have pregnancy exclusions, but a smaller number — including Kansas — exclude women at all stages of pregnancy. The lawsuit comes as concern grows over a legally dead Georgia woman who has been kept on life support for more than three months due to her pregnancy.
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ACLU Lawsuit Seeks to Restore Gender-Affirming Health Care to Minors
UNDATED (KNS) – The American Civil Liberties Union is suing in Kansas to restore access to gender-affirming health care for minors. The Kansas News Service reports that two transgender teens and their families are challenging a new law that bans medical treatments like hormone therapies for kids with gender dysphoria. Supporters of the ban say it protects kids from what they call life-altering medical procedures. But D.C. Hiegert, a legal fellow working the case for the ACLU of Kansas, says the law attacks rights that matter beyond the transgender community, adding that “...the precedent that this sets is that Kansans do not get access to the care...that medical experts in our state say is medically necessary for you to live a healthy and thriving life.” The state attorney general’s office has three weeks to respond to the lawsuit in Douglas County District Court. (Read more.)
(–Earlier reporting–)
ACLU Files Lawsuit Challenging 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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KPERS "Eked Out” Small Gain Despite Market Volatility
UNDATED (TCJ) — The Kansas Public Employees Retirement System says it "eked out a small gain" in the first quarter of 2025 despite volatility in the stock market. KPERS oversees retirement plans for government employees. Its investment portfolio has nearly $28 billion in total assets. The Topeka Capital Journal reports that despite the volatility, the KPERS portfolio managed a small gain to start 2025 thanks to diversification. KPERS administrators expect that volatility to continue throughout the year.
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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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Kansas Farmer Indicted for Defrauding Federal Government
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNW) – A federal grand jury in Topeka has indicted a Kansas man with intentionally defrauding the federal government. KSNW TV reports that 48-year-old Steven W. Porubsky, of Topeka, is accused of selling crops that he used as collateral for a government loan from the USDA's Farm Service Agency. Porubsky is charged with one count of conversion of mortgaged collateral. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investigating.
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Kansas Man Charged with Assaulting Flight Attendant
CHICAGO (WLS) — A Kansas man is charged with assaulting a flight attendant on a plane traveling from Connecticut to Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Officials say 24-year-old Julius Jordan Priester, of Wichita, is facing federal charges related to the assault Tuesday night.
WLS TV reports that Priester stood up, began to take off his shirt, then ran to the back of the plane yelling "Help me." Witnesses say he then grabbed a flight attendant, forced the victim to the ground and attempted to drag the victim up the aisle.
The American Eagle flight had to return to Hartford, Connecticut, due to the disruption. The plane landed safely and Priester was taken into custody. He was taken to a hospital for evaluation. Priester appeared in court Wednesday. He will return to court Friday for a bond hearing.
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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 Beach Closes for Rare Bird
UNDATED (TCJ) — State wildlife officials have closed a beach in north-central Kansas to make room for an endangered bird. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports a piping plover was spotted nesting at Webster State Park near Stockton in Rooks County earlier this month. That prompted officials to close the park’s swim beach until late June while the bird "incubates her nest in the sand and the fledglings depart.”
The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks has put yellow caution tape up to keep visitors from getting too close and disturbing the nest. The piping plover is a sparrow-sized, migratory shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America.
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