Free-Speech Group: New KU Policy Poses “Grave” Concerns
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) — A national free-speech organization says the new University of Kansas policy prohibiting employees from including their gender pronouns in official communications poses “grave” constitutional concerns.
The University announced this week that employees must remove gender-identifying pronouns from their email signatures, online biographies, and other platforms like Zoom and Microsoft Teams by July 31. The policy applies to all KU employees, including employees of Kansas Public Radio. KU says the move is part of the school’s efforts to comply with a state directive eliminating most diversity initiatives.
But an attorney for the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression says the policy is “overly broad.” The attorney, Ross Marchand, told the Lawrence Journal-World the policy bans “a very wide array of protected speech.”
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K-State Closes LGBTQ+ Center
MANHATTAN, Kan. (KSNT) — To comply with the state directive banning most diversity initiatives, Kansas State University announced Wednesday it will close the school’s center for LGBTQ+ students. K-State established the Spectrum Center in 2010 as “a welcoming and affirming space” to provide resources and support for “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender students, staff, and faculty.” Despite the center’s closing, K-State’s Dean of Students, Thomas Lane, said the university “remains deeply committed to supporting all our students.” KSNT reports the center will close next week.
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Kansas Commerce Department at Odds with Legislature over COVID-19 Funding Audits
UNDATED (KNS) – Frustration is mounting between the Kansas commerce secretary and state lawmakers over the rollout of COVID-19 relief funding. Democrat David Toland is both the lieutenant governor and commerce secretary for Kansas. He was in charge of distributing $150 million in federal COVID-19 funding for economic development projects. The Kansas News Service reports that after a third review accused the agency of mishandling the money, Toland wrote a letter to the state auditor questioning if they were needed. He said the audits themselves were costly, and contained no recommendations to improve operations. On the Legislative Post Audit Committee, Republican Representative Kristey Williams says the committee is just doing its job. “When we get a letter that says that this is a waste of taxpayer money I would say that's not a good excuse,” Williams said. She also says the commerce department has been uncooperative with past audits.
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Federal Court Rules Kansas Advance Ballot Restriction Law is Unconstitutional
UNDATED (KCUR) – Kansas lawmakers tried to suppress free speech with a law that blocked groups from sending advance ballot applications to voters, a federal court ruled this week. KCUR reports that the case revolves around organizations that sent pre-filled applications for mail ballots directly to voters leading up to the 2020 election. Republican lawmakers in Kansas passed a bill during the next legislative session to ban any non-Kansas resident or business from distributing advance mail ballot applications to voters – and prohibit any applications from containing personalized voter information. Voting rights groups challenged the law. Around 112,000 Kansas voters mailed in one of those pre-addressed envelopes during the election, and about 15,000 sent duplicate applications. It fed the flames of debunked theories that the 2020 election was stolen, in part by using mail-in ballots. The federal ruling follows a state court’s 2022 finding that the law was unconstitutional.
Another voting law that eliminated the three-day grace period for mail-in ballots is still working its way through the courts.
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KCC Approves Natural Gas Rate Increases for Black Hills Energy Customers
LIBERAL, Kan. (KNS) – Some Kansans will pay more for gas service as the Kansas Corporation Commission has approved rate increases for natural gas. The Kansas News Service reports that natural gas joins electricity and water in rate hikes. Black Hills Energy provides natural gas for most southern Kansans. The Kansas Corporation Commission unanimously approved a rate increase for their customers. Under the terms of the settlement customers in Kansas will pay on average almost six dollars more per month, totaling more than $70 per year. The company told the KCC the rate increase is to pay for system upgrades and to offset inflation. The new rates will take effect on August 1, of this year.
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State of Kansas Seeks More Inspection of Certain Group Foster Care Facilities
UNDATED (KC Beacon) – Kansas officials want more inspections of congregate care facilities that house foster children. The Beacon reports that Kerrie Lonard leads the state’s foster care oversight agency. She says she keeps getting complaints about alleged neglect and abuse in group foster care settings. There’s drug use, children fighting, poor supervision of youth and staff members using excessive force on children. Right now, these facilities are inspected annually and that inspection is announced ahead of time. Lonard wants more inspections and unannounced visits. “I don't think it's the end all be all solution that's going to fix the concerns that we're all very aware of, right? I think it's one step,” Lonard explained. Key state lawmakers support additional inspections of these facilities.
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Two Different Horse Diseases Reported in Kansas
MANHATTAN, Kan. (KPR) — The Kansas Department of Agriculture says one horse in the state has died and another is recovering from separate cases of infectious diseases. A horse in Sedgwick County tested positive for Equine Infectious Anemia in July and later died of the disease. The second horse tested positive for West Nile Virus in Harper County. That animal is recovering.
Equine Infectious Anemia is an untreatable disease that does not affect people but can spread to other horses, as well as mules and donkeys. West Nile Virus is transmitted by mosquitoes. Both horses and humans can be infected, but it is not directly contagious from horse to horse or from horse to human. The Agriculture Department says it has responded to both incidents according to the state’s disease response plan.
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Host of Hunting Show Banned from Hunting in Kansas
UNDATED (Wichita Eagle) — The host of a YouTube hunting program has been banned from hunting again in Kansas. The host, Matt Jennings, has pleaded guilty to two federal counts of illegal hunting in the state. Jennings is from Georgia.
He illegally killed two antlered deer in Kansas in November 2022 and posted videos of the kills on his YouTube channel. Jennings fraudulently registered the first kill in Oklahoma. The second was illegal because Kansas law allows hunters to kill only one antlered deer per season.
The Wichita Eagle reports Jennings has been ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and a $10,000 fine. He must also surrender the antlers from the deer and is permanently banned from hunting in Kansas again. Jennings is currently on a five-year probation that prohibits him from hunting in eight other states.
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Kansas A.G. Says Johnson County Tax Referendum Is Illegal
OLATHE, Kan. (KPR) — Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has told the Johnson County Commission a November tax referendum is illegal and should be removed from the ballot. The referendum asks voters if they want to extend the county’s public-safety sales tax. The quarter-cent tax was initially approved by Johnson County voters in 2016 and is set to expire in 2027. But in a letter to the commission, Kobach argues the referendum would actually be imposing a new tax, which, he says, is “something that can be done only under tightly limited situations and as specifically allowed by Kansas law.” In a statement, county commissioners said they are “reviewing and considering” Kobach’s letter.
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Rural Health Care Still at Risk Despite New $50 Billion Fund
UNDATED (HPM) — President Donald Trump’s budget bill includes a $50 billion fund for rural health care. Harvest Public Media reports that despite the dedicated funding, hospital associations say they’ll still be hurt by the bill’s expected trillion-dollar reduction to Medicaid spending. The fund was added to ease concerns raised by rural lawmakers. However, hospital leaders in the most vulnerable states are skeptical that it will offset the losses they will face in the coming years. The first $25 billion of the fund is expected to be distributed equally among all states. The federal government will then decide how to distribute the other half. Kansas Hospital Association spokesperson Cindy Samuelson says there are still a lot of questions about how the money will be divided.
"Don’t get me wrong, Kansas hospitals are grateful for any help they can get. This would only be temporary and it’s not yet determined who would benefit," Samuelson said.
The rural health fund will expire in five years.
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Report: Most Public Schools Don't Screen Students for Mental Health
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) — A new report says less than a third of public schools in America are screening students for mental health problems. The Kansas News Service reports that educators across Kansas say mental health issues like depression and anxiety are affecting children and hindering learning. But school leaders say it’s a challenge to make sure young people get the help they need. Jonathan Cantor is a policy researcher for the RAND Corporation. He says schools take a variety of approaches with mental health. “What’s the proper, appropriate role for schools in terms of mental health care screening and delivery? I think that’s an ongoing question that we’re still… I think that standards are still being developed,” he explained. About 20% of Kansas students say they experienced a major depressive episode and 13% had considered suicide.
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Kansas Mexican Restaurant Chain Pays Tax Bill, Reopens
UNDATED (KSN) — A chain of Mexican restaurants in Kansas is reopening after paying back taxes totaling more than $300,000. The state had seized the assets of San Juan Mexican Restaurants Inc. earlier this month for failure to pay the tax bill. But now the chain has paid the bill and the restaurants will reopen. KSN reports the chain operates six restaurants in Colby, Larned, Phillipsburg, Plainville, Russell, and Scott City.
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Rhino Fight at Kansas Zoo Leaves One of the Animals Dead
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (Wichita Eagle) — A rhinoceros at a zoo in Garden City has died after a fight with another rhino. The Wichita Eagle reports the two animals had been moved into separate indoor enclosures due to predicted storms on the night of July 10. One of the animals somehow breached the barrier between the two enclosures overnight. In the ensuing fight, one of the rhinos, named Jabari, was killed. The other, named Ayubu, suffered minor injuries. In a statement posted on social media, the Lee Richardson Zoo says the United States Department of Agriculture has been notified of the incident. “The loss of Jabari came unexpectedly and is heartbreaking to all who cared for and knew him,” the statement says. “He will be remembered for many of his endearing behaviors including his vocalizations and ‘hopping’ around his habitat when he got excited.”
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Lawrence Municipal Court Accepting School Supplies in Lieu of Fines
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) — Lawrence Municipal Court is allowing parking and traffic fines to be paid in school supplies instead of cash for the next month. The policy will allow $50 in fines to be paid with $15 worth of school supplies. The annual program began Wednesday and runs through August 23. In a press release, city officials say the program is “designed to help individuals with outstanding fines while supporting local school children and families.”
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