Legends Outlets in KCK Sold for $130 Million
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KMBC) — Legends, the outlet mall in Kansas City, Kansas, has been sold. The price tag: not a discount at $130 million. The buyer is Tanger, Inc., a national operator of outlet and open-air shopping centers. The company announced the acquisition Tuesday. KMBC reports Legends Outlets will be renamed Tanger Kansas City at Legends. It is the only outlet mall in Kansas.
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Lawrence City Commission Approves Tax Hike, Rec Center Fees
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LT) — The Lawrence City Commission has approved a new budget that includes a small bump in the property tax rate. The budget approved Tuesday also includes new fees for residents who use the city’s rec centers, as well as money to hire one full-time firefighter and two more police officers. The Lawrence Times reports the budget passed by a vote of four-to-one.
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If Tax Credit Is Not Renewed, Kansans Will See Health Insurance Rates Rise
UNDATED (KNS) — Kansans could see their health insurance costs skyrocket, and some could lose coverage altogether, if Congress does not renew a tax credit that expires at the end of the year. More than 22 million Americans rely on the health care tax credit to afford health insurance. In Kansas, 90% of Affordable Care Act enrollees take advantage of the credit to lower their premiums. Katherine Hempstead of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation says monthly out-of-pocket health insurance costs could spike for those using the public marketplace if the credit is not renewed. “Many will decide that they can’t afford to renew their coverage,” she told the Kansas News Service, “and then the market will become sort of increasingly expensive for the people that stay in it.” Hempstead says Congress could still choose to extend the credit. Otherwise, costs will begin to rise in January.
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Woman Found After Car-Train Collision in Osage County
OSAGE COUNTY, Kan. (KSNT) — An 82-year-old woman was hospitalized after her vehicle hit a train in Osage County and she then went missing for several hours. KSNT reports the Osage County sheriff received a 911 call Monday morning saying a train and vehicle collided. Police found the car, but no driver. Deputies and volunteers searched an area of about two or three miles and found the woman in a heavily wooded area near the train tracks. She was transported to a Topeka hospital for treatment and was listed in stable condition. Her identity has not been released.
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Kansas Rural Hospitals Getting More Federal Money
UNDATED (KNS) — Kansas hospitals will be able to get more federal money to cover expenses for treating Medicaid patients. Last year, the Kansas Legislature approved an increase to the state provider tax from 3% to 6% at 39 hospitals. This week, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approved that hike. The change could generate around $1 billion annually for these hospitals, according to Republican U.S. Senator Jerry Moran’s office.
“Those additional dollars would then support hospitals and providers that take care of Medicaid patients,” Cindy Samuelson of the Kansas Hospital Association told the Kansas News Service. While the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act capped the tax at 3.5% for Medicaid expansion states, Kansas and other non-expansion states are not subject to the cap. That’s key, as many rural Kansas hospitals face closure and others are operating in the red.
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Kansas State Employee Fired Over Remarks About Charlie Kirk
TOPEKA, Kan. (Manhattan Mercury) — The Kansas Department of Education has fired an employee, apparently over her comments about the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Katie Allen was a research analyst for the department. Commenting on a Facebook post last Wednesday, Allen reportedly said Kirk’s death was, quote, “well deserved.” She deleted the post and apologized the next day. But on Friday, Republican Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson called for Allen to be fired.
And she was.
Education department officials confirmed to the Manhattan Mercury that Allen is no longer employed there, but would make no further comment.
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Kansas State Fair Attendance Declines
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (KAKE) — Attendance at this year's Kansas State Fair was down. KAKE reports 300,784 people attended the 2025 fair in Hutchinson. That's down from almost 329,000 last year, and 330,000 in 2023. Fair organizers say rainy weather may be the culprit; heavy rains created parking issues around the fairgrounds. The 2026 fair is scheduled for September 11 to 20.
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K-State Wants To Drop “Diversity”... from Its Mission Statement
MANHATTAN, Kan. (LJW) — Kansas State University wants to remove the word "diversity" from its mission statement. The Lawrence Journal-World reports K-State officials will ask the Board of Regents to modify the university's mission statement at their meeting on Wednesday. The current mission statement, adopted in 2008, reads: "The university embraces diversity." The proposed change would remove the word "diversity" so the mission statement reads: "The university embraces all." A staff memo says the change is in response to a bill Kansas lawmakers passed earlier this year.
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Judge Rules Against Nurse in Fight With Kansas Nursing Board
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) — An administrative law judge has ruled against a Kansas nurse who says she was unfairly disciplined by the state nursing board. The board has accused Amy Siple of practicing without a license. Siple says she had not realized her license had expired when she gave talks on her specialty, dementia, at conferences and senior centers. The nursing board says those talks amount to practicing nursing. Siple and her attorney have argued it’s protected speech. KSNT reports the administrative judge ruled the nursing board was acting within its rights when it suspended Siple’s license. Siple is expected to appeal the ruling to a district court.
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Kansas Ban on Using SNAP Benefits for Candy and Soda Hits Roadblock
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — Earlier this year, the Republican-dominated Kansas Legislature pushed to make certain sugary items ineligible for purchase through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. A dozen other states have gotten similar policies approved. But the Kansas News Service reports the state agency that runs SNAP in Kansas says it has yet to hash out all the details with federal officials. Republican state Senator Renee Erickson said it can be complicated to decide what counts as junk food. “It sounds simple when we say ‘pop’ and ‘candy,’” she said, “but we know that those details, those definitions matter.” Supporters say the ban is intended to decrease obesity rates for low-income Kansans, while Democratic Governor Laura Kelly has said the policy is confusing and counterproductive.
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