Kansas Governor Selects Leawood Attorney to Fill Vacancy on Kansas Supreme Court
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR / Kansas Reflector) — Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has appointed an attorney in private practice to fill a vacancy on the state supreme court. Leawood attorney Larkin Walsh was selected from a list of three finalists nominated by a commission. She will replace Justice Evelyn Wilson, a Kelly appointee, who resigned July 4.
The Kansas Reflector reports that Walsh has practiced law for 20 years. She's also argued cases at the state and federal appellate court level and before the U.S. Supreme Court. She earned her law degree from the University of Kansas. Her selection was the Democratic governor’s fourth appointment to the seven-justice Kansas Supreme Court.
(–Additional reporting–)
Attorney Larkin Walsh Chosen to Fill Vacancy on Kansas Supreme Court
UNDATED (KNS) — Leawood attorney Larkin Walsh will join the Kansas Supreme Court after Democratic Governor Laura Kelly appointed her Thursday. The Kansas News Service reports that Walsh is the fourth justice Kelly has chosen. She practices civil rights, consumer protection and labor law at a firm based in Kansas City, Missouri. The governor chose Walsh out of three candidates selected by a nonpartisan commission. At an interview with the commission in June, Walsh said she would work to find compromise on the bench, adding that “...what I have found is that being the loudest, or being the most inflexible, or being the most aggressive, is never the most effective.” Walsh will face a retention vote in 2026 and every six years after that. She will replace Justice Evelyn Wilson, who resigned in March after she was diagnosed with ALS. (Read more.)
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Lenexa Council Member Forced to Prove Citizenship
LENEXA, Kan. (WDAF) — A Lenexa city council member says local police forced her to prove her citizenship after they received a false claim that she was not legally allowed to hold office. Council member Melanie Arroyo is a naturalized American citizen and legally eligible for the office she holds. The tip was made anonymously to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and was investigated by the Lenexa Police Department. Arroyo says the investigation was a politically motivated attack on her and the immigrant community at large. In a statement to WDAF, Lenexa police said they merely carried out their duty to investigate the false tip.
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KU Implements Hiring Freeze to Save $32 Million
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) — The University of Kansas has implemented a hiring freeze as it scrambles to find $32 million in savings. The Lawrence Journal-World reports university officials have also indicated employees should not expect the 2.5% pay increase that most other state employees are receiving. KU is asking department heads to come up with budgets that would save $32 million in total through June 2027. In a message on Wednesday, administrators said KU was facing “an uncertain fiscal environment because of external factors, such as disruptions to federal funding.”
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Feds Pull Loan for Green-Energy Transmission Line in Kansas
UNDATED (Kansas Reflector) — The Trump administration has cancelled a promised $5 billion loan for a green-energy transmission line across Kansas and several other states. The Grain Belt Express is an 800-mile, 5,000-megawatt transmission line intended to carry solar- and wind-generated power from Kansas to Indiana. The Kansas Reflector reports the U.S. Department of Energy has yanked the loan, saying “it is not critical for the federal government to have a role in supporting this project.” Activists say the termination of the loan is a direct shot at green energy. The company building the line, Chicago-based Invenergy, did not comment.
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Wyandotte County to Seek Death Penalty for Man Charged with Killing Deputy
UNDATED (KCUR) — Wyandotte County will seek the death penalty for the Kansas man charged with killing a sheriff’s deputy. Shawn Harris is accused of shooting Deputy Elijah Ming last month, while Ming was responding to a domestic violence call. A woman called police after she said Harris threatened her with a gun as she was trying to move out of a house, police said. Wyandotte County District Attorney Mark Dupree charged Harris with capital murder and criminal possession of a weapon by a felon. KCUR reports that if Harris is convicted, he will go through a separate sentencing proceeding to determine whether he will be put to death.
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President of Bishop Miege High School Removed
ROELAND PARK, Kan. (KSHB) — The president of a Catholic high school in the Kansas City area has been removed from his post. KSHB TV reports that Wednesday was the last day on the job for Bishop Miege president Phil Baniewicz. He has been under scrutiny for complaints about inappropriate behavior toward students. Baniewicz, who was hired as president of the school in 2023, has never been charged with a crime. But a civil lawsuit was filed against him in 2005 in which he was accused of sexually abusing a teenager at a Catholic church in Mesa, Arizona, in the 1980s. Prosecutors never charged Baniewicz in that case and the diocese settled the lawsuit.
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Team Roc Social Justice Group Supporting KCK Women's Lawsuit
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR) — A famous rapper’s social justice group is championing a lawsuit filed by five Black women who say they were victimized by former Kansas City, Kansas Police detective Roger Golubski. KCUR reports that Jay-Z’s Team Roc filed a “friend of the court” brief, supporting the federal civil rights lawsuit filed by women who say they were threatened, raped and stalked by Golubski for years. The women say officials knew about Golubski’s behavior and ran what they say is a “government sanctioned protection racket” for him. A federal judge earlier dismissed the suit, saying the statute of limitations ran out. But the women have appealed, saying the statute of limitations clock should start running the day Golubski killed himself last December. (Read more.)
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CoreCivic Asks Judge to Reopen Leavenworth Facility During Legal Appeal
UNDATED (KNS) — CoreCivic, a private prison company, urged a state judge Wednesday to allow its Leavenworth facility to reopen. But the Kansas News Service reports that city officials insist the company still needs a special permit to do so. It’s the latest in a long legal battle. CoreCivic wants to detain immigrants for the federal government in Leavenworth. But to do that, the company needs the judge to invalidate a previous order that blocked the facility from holding detainees. Joseph Hatley, an attorney for Leavenworth, told the judge there’s no reason for the court to reverse course, saying “the same arguments over and over and over. Your honor, nothing's happened, nothing's changed to cause the court to take a different view.” The judge is considering the request while CoreCivic appeals the original block to a higher court.
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Small Food Businesses Await Grants from Discontinued USDA Program
UNDATED (HPM) — Some small food businesses are in limbo as they wait for grants from a U.S. Department of Agriculture program the Trump administration abruptly ended. Harvest Public Media reports that the Regional Food Business Centers program was designed to provide training and grants and other assistance to smaller food businesses, like farms, co-ops and butchers. But the USDA cancelled the program in mid-July. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said that it was financially unsustainable. Some businesses that won grants are still waiting for funding. Karen Bottary of BPM Farms outside Kansas City grows basil. She was approved for a 40-thousand dollar grant to hire an employee but still hasn’t got the money. If it doesn’t come through, she won’t be able to stay in business. "What I hope will happen is the grant will fund. If it doesn’t fund, everything I have here for my business is for sale," she said. Rollins said that USDA does plan to honor the grant commitments, but it’s unclear when that will happen.
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Experts Say Federal SNAP Cuts Could Lead to More Kansas Food Deserts
UNDATED (KC Beacon) — Federal cuts to food assistance by Republicans can mean more food deserts in Kansas. The Beacon reports that an estimated 12% of grocery store sales come from the federal food assistance program called SNAP. Those same grocery stores average a 1 to 2% net profit margin. That’s why there’s concern about grocery stores closing down and creating food deserts following passage of the Trump administration’s new budget bill. Bekah Selby-Leach with Wichita State expects to see more stores close. She isn’t sure how many, but she does expect rural Kansas to be hit harder than urban areas. “Rural communities, the grocery stores, rely more heavily on SNAP dollars than urban areas, which have more diversity of incomes that are supporting those businesses,” Selby-Leach explained. A 2020 study of food assistance found that grocery store sales increased up to 2% when the program was first created.
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Some Kansas High Schools to Offer Girls' Flag Football This Year
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) — Several high schools in Kansas will offer girls’ flag football as a new sport this year. The Kansas News Service reports that the Kansas City Chiefs flag football initiative is helping launch the sport by providing equipment, jerseys and funding for coaches and officials. Wichita will offer girls’ flag football for the first time this fall. The nearby Maize district will have teams at both its high schools as well. Wichita Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld says schools are excited about the addition. “We’re pleased that there’s another opportunity for our students to be connected to our schools, and also open up more options for girls to get involved in sports and extracurriculars,” Bielefeld said. The Missouri high school activities association voted earlier this year to make girls’ flag football an emerging sport. Flag football will also make its Olympic debut at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
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Data Shows Birth Costs in Kansas Remain Steep
UNDATED (KNS) — People giving birth in Kansas typically face lower total costs than the rest of the country. The Kansas News Service reports that new data from FAIR Health shows births are still costly. The average in-network total cost is about $12,000 in Kansas, while the cost without insurance is close to $29,000. That’s $3,000 less than the national average for both in-network and out-of-network care. But Sapphire Garcia of the Kansas Birth Justice Society says Black, Indigenous and rural Kansans face steeper financial hurdles. She noted that one example would be the costs incurred by Black mothers, whose children are more likely to be born early because of complications, and then face burdensome costs. “When you’re starting out parenthood with bills that are in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, that really handicaps people,” Garcia says. She adds that a doula or midwife can help prevent these complications.
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Smithsonian Staff Visit Kansas City in Search of Items, Stories and More for New Museum
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR) — Leaders of a yet-to-be-built museum in Washington D.C. will visit Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, this weekend. They’re on the hunt for stories, artifacts and ideas for future exhibits. KCUR reports that staff from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino will host community conversations Saturday afternoon and evening Sessions on preserving family heirlooms, printmaking and more will also be offered. Museum director Jorge Zamanillo says it’s all about getting the fullest view possible of how Latinos shaped the country. “Some people have Indigenous roots that go back hundreds of years, other people have roots that go back a week in the United States, as a Latino,” he joked. Kansas City and Los Angeles were pilot cities for the Smithsonian’s “Making History” tour this year. Three more cities are scheduled for next year.
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Transcontinental Train Route Proposed to Cut Through Kansas
UNDATED (KSNT) — A new coast-to-coast train service is being proposed that would run through the Sunflower State and give passengers a new way to see the continental United States. In partnership with Amtrak, AmeriStarRail has proposed a new passenger train route called “The Transcontinental Chief” to operate between Los Angeles and New York.
KSNT reports that the Transcontinental Chief plans to carry passengers, truck drivers and their tractor trailers coast-to-coast in less than 72 hours. In Kansas, the proposed route would stop through Garden City, Dodge City, Hutchinson, Newton, Topeka, Lawrence and Kansas City on its trip across the nation.
The proposed launch date for The Transcontinental Chief is on National Train Day, May 10, 2026. The launch would coincide with celebrations for America’s 250th birthday and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The proposal was recently shared with President Trump, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the Federal Railroad Administration and members of Congress. The route would be privately funded through its partnerships.
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DeBruce Family Makes $25 Million Gift to Support Stadium and KU Gateway District
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) — The University of Kansas announced Wednesday that alumni Paul and Linda DeBruce have given $25 million in support of the KU Gateway District and overhaul of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium. The DeBruces have previously donated to support other KU sports facilities, along with the University of Kansas Cancer Center and KU Alzheimer's and dementia research.
In recognition of the couple's donation, a premium hospitality space at the stadium has been named the Paul and Linda DeBruce Jayhawk Club. The space will also provide dining services for student-athletes on non-game days.
Paul DeBruce graduated from KU and founded the international agricultural and grain-trading firm DeBruce Grain, Inc. Linda DeBruce holds a bachelor's degree and two master's degrees from KU, and was a KU cheerleader during her time at the university. The DeBruce Foundation has supported more than 90 nonprofit organizations that work in many areas, including the arts, civic causes, higher education, and social services.
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