Kansas Food Banks Prep as Food Assistance Nears End
UNDATED (AP/KPR) — Kansas food banks are bracing for an increase in demand as federal food benefits are expected to end due to the government shutdown. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has posted a notice on its website saying federal food aid will end on November 1. The notice comes after the Trump administration said it would not tap roughly $5 billion in contingency funds to keep the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program running. The Associated Press reports SNAP helps about 1 in 8 Americans buy groceries.
Kansas governor Laura Kelly has announced she will be holding food drives on her current statewide tour. Kelly is holding what she calls a “listening tour” to hear what voters have to say about the state budget. The governor is encouraging those who attend her events to bring non-perishable food items that will be distributed to the needy in their communities. Kelly will be appearing in Hays and Garden City on Wednesday.
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Fort Hays State's Docking Institute Releases 2025 Kansas Speaks Survey
HAYS, Kan. (KPR) — The Docking Institute at Fort Hays State University has released its 2025 "Kansas Speaks" survey. The annual survey of public opinion covers various topics of interest to Kansans. Among this year's findings:
- About 80% support raising the state's minimum wage. It's currently at $7.25 an hour, which has remained unchanged for the past 15 years (since 2010).
- Support for Medicaid expansion in Kansas remains high at around 70%.
- About 70% support legalizing medical marijuana. About 59% support legalizing recreational marijuana. The support level is similar to last year’s survey.
The Kansas Speaks survey also found that about two-thirds of respondents agree that legal immigrants contribute to the nation's economic growth. Regarding illegal immigration, about 42% agree that illegal immigrants contribute more to society than they take in terms of resources. About 39% disagree with that statement. More than half of the respondents - about 52% - are very or moderately concerned the state might be running out of water. And nearly half (48%) were concerned about Kansas water quality.
A complete copy of the 2025 Kansas Speaks Survey results and results from previous years can be found here.
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KS Senate President Says Chamber Has Enough Votes to Call Special Session for Redistricting
UNDATED (KNS) — Kansas Republicans are one step closer to redrawing the state’s congressional map in their party’s favor. Republican state Senate President Ty Masterson said Monday that his chamber has enough votes to call a special session for redistricting. In an interview earlier this month, Masterson said Kansas needs to help counteract gerrymandering efforts by liberal-leaning states like California and Illinois.
“You know this is political map drawing. It’s been going on for centuries, right? I mean, we just need to call it what it is. Nobody's trying to hide anything,” he said. The mid-decade redistricting wave began in Texas under pressure from President Trump. The Kansas House of Representatives still lacks the necessary votes to call a special session.
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Local Actor Killed in Lawrence Car Crash Mourned
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KCTV) — Tributes are pouring in for a popular actor who was killed in a car crash shortly after a performance in Lawrence Friday night. Louise ImMasche died in a crash on the South Lawrence Trafficway when the actor’s vehicle was hit by another car coming in the opposite direction. The other driver survived. ImMasche, 41, had starred in Theater Lawrence’s production of “The Rocky Horror Show” earlier in the evening. KCTV reports theaters in Garnett, Kansas, and St. Paul, Minnesota, dedicated their Saturday night performances to the actor.
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Credit-Card Skimmer Found on Gas Pump in Harvey County
HESSTON, Kan. (KSN) — Police in the small Harvey County community of Hesston are warning residents that a credit-card skimming device was found on a gas pump at a local service station. The device is used to steal customers’ credit card numbers. It was discovered recently attached to a pump at the Casey’s General Store on U.S. Route 81 in Hesston. KSN reports police believe the device was detected soon after it was installed. Still, anyone who purchased gas at the station is asked to monitor their credit card accounts closely. Hesston police are working with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation on the case.
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Construction Begins on KBI Lab in Southeast Kansas
PITTSBURG, Kan. (KWCH) — The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says construction has started on the bureau’s new regional crime center and laboratory in Pittsburg. The KBI work on the site began last week with leveling and grading. KBI officials say the new facility will enhance their ability to serve southeastern Kansas. KWCH reports the project is expected to cost $40 million.
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KU Health System Pharmacy Techs Attempting to Unionize
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KNS) — Pharmacy technicians at the University of Kansas Health System are trying to unionize over what they say are poor working conditions. They plan to march Tuesday, demanding better work hours and more staff. The techs say current working conditions could put patients at risk of medication errors. They’ve filed a petition with a state board requesting a union election. A spokesperson for the health system told the Kansas News Service patient safety is the top priority and that they appreciate pharmacy staff.
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Kansas Supreme Court to Hear Second Amendment Case
WICHITA, Kan. (KMUW) — The Kansas Supreme Court will hear arguments this week on a Second Amendment case from Wichita. In 2024, Police arrested a man in Old Town after responding to a report of shots fired. They said the man was legally drunk and in possession of a gun. He was charged under a state law that makes it illegal to have a loaded firearm while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. But KMUW reports the charge was dismissed in District Court, which ruled the state law violates the Second Amendment. The state of Kansas is appealing the ruling.
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Study: Nation's Highest Rates of Parkinson's Disease Diagnosis in Nebraska and Kansas
UNDATED (KNS) — People in Kansas and Nebraska are diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at the highest rates in the country. Parkinson’s is a progressive disease that impacts a person’s mobility. The Kansas News Service reports that Epic Research analyzed millions of medical records to find diagnosis rates. Nebraska was the highest with 561 per 100,000 patients. Kansas was second with 517 and Missouri came in seventh with 453. Researcher Kersten Bartelt says to get an accurate comparison, researchers adjusted the rates to account for age, sex and other factors, “...because it’s such an age correlated condition and so we wanted to account for that and Nebraska and Kansas both remained at the top.” Bartelt says more research is needed to determine why these states have such high rates.
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Topeka City Council Approves $1 Billion in Capital Improvements
TOPEKA, Kan. (TCJ) — The city of Topeka could spend more than a billion dollars on capital improvement projects over the next decade. Last week, the Topeka City Council approved a ten-year plan for repairing or replacing city streets, sidewalks, water mains, and other infrastructure. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the first, three-year-phase of the plan will cost more than $300 million. The remainder of the plan will still need to be approved by future city councils.
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Kansas Now a Top 10 Hemp-Producing State
UNDATED (KNS) — The hemp grain and fiber crop remains small in Kansas, but still ranks in the Top 10 nationally. Kansas farmers started planting hemp in 2019 and last year they grew a few thousand acres of it. The state now has at least three hemp processing facilities: one in Augusta, one in Great Bend, and the tribal-run Prairie Band Ag north of Topeka. Jalen Leclere, a production hand at Prairie Band Ag, told the Kansas News Service the regional hemp industry is still in its early days. "I'm excited to see it all come to be in the future,” he said. “It's an amazing plant, with a lot of uses.” Prairie Band Ag has found it can grow hemp with little fertilizer and no insecticide. The hemp gets turned into drinking straws, cutlery, horse bedding and more.
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Trump’s Beef Plan Unites Kansas Congressional Delegation in Opposition
UNDATED (TCJ) — President Trump’s plan to import beef from Argentina has sparked a rare moment of bipartisan unity among Kansas’s congressional delegation. Democratic representative Sharice Davids told the Topeka Capital-Journal she is “pretty pissed” about the proposal. Davids says “we should be doing everything we can to support our American producers.” Republican representative Derek Schmidt agrees, albeit in less direct terms. Schmidt is one of eight House Republicans who have sent a letter to Trump asking him to explain how the plan “aligns with your administration’s commitment to strengthening American agriculture.”
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Kansas Ranchers Oppose Trump’s Beef Import Plans
LIBERAL, Kan. (KNS) - Groups representing the livestock industry in Kansas are urging ranchers to contact lawmakers and express opposition to the Trump administration’s plans to import beef from Argentina. Beef prices have been rising due to drought which made cattle feed more expensive, and higher costs for equipment and energy are causing some ranchers to shrink their herds. President Trump says that he wants to import beef from Argentina to lower prices for American consumers. But livestock industry experts say the president’s plan would drive profits down for domestic ranchers and feedlots. Scarlett Madinger with the Kansas Livestock Association says Trump’s comments alone have already hurt cattle markets. “Just the comments or the allusion to this plan, dropped the bottom out of the market,” Madinger said. Prices for cattle dropped $9 per hundred pounds since the president’s announcement. Kansas ranks third nationally in beef production with six million cattle on ranches and in feed yards.
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Kansas Governor Announces $442 Million in New Highway Projects
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — Kansas governor Laura Kelly has announced another round of highway construction projects. The nine projects Kelly announced on Wednesday total more than $442 million. They include reconstruction and repair work on roads and bridges in a dozen counties. The work is being undertaken through a bi-partisan initiative known as the Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program. In total, that program has so far funded $2.7 billion dollars in road projects statewide.
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KPR Seeks New Kansas Statehouse Bureau Chief
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — Kansas Public Radio is seeking a new Statehouse Bureau Chief. This position works primarily at the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka and is primarily responsible for reporting on state government. This includes, but is not limited to, covering the Kansas Legislature, the governor, attorney general, supreme court, the state's congressional delegation and statewide elections. (Click here for more details.) Must apply online.
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