Christal Watson Elected Mayor of KCK/Wyandotte County Unified Government
UNDATED (KNS/KPR) — Christal Watson will be the next mayor and CEO of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas. Watson is the first Black woman to hold the post. She was deputy chief of staff under former Mayor David Alvey, and is currently executive director of the nonprofit Kansas City, Kansas, School Foundation. Despite big developments in the county, including the new Margaritaville Hotel, the Unified Government needs revenue. After keeping its budget level last year, a deeply divided UG commission in September voted to raise property taxes, in part to pay down interest on its nearly $900 million in bonds. Watson takes office in December.
In other results from Tuesday’s elections, Overland Park voters reelected Curt Skoog mayor. Topeka elected Spencer Duncan mayor. In Lawrence two newcomers won seats on the city commission: Mike Courtney and Kristine Polian. Election officials in Douglas County say turnout was about 25%, which is average for an off-year election.
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Republicans Effort To Hold Special Session on Redistricting in Kansas Fails
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS/KPR) — There won’t be any congressional redistricting in Kansas, at least not this year. Republican legislative leaders wanted to call a special session to redraw the state’s congressional map to eliminate the lone Democratic seat. But yesterday they conceded they could not muster enough support from the Republican rank-and-file to call a special session. Two-thirds of each legislative chamber must sign a petition for a special session to move forward. Republicans got enough lawmakers to sign on in the state senate. But a handful of Republican holdouts kept the House from meeting the two-thirds threshold. The issue could still be raised when the next regular legislative session begins next year.
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Costco Planning To Open in Lawrence
LAWRENCE, Kan. (WIBW-TV) — Lawrence is getting a Costco. The members-only big-box warehouse chain has submitted plans to build on a site near Rock Chalk Park. The site would include 24 gas pumps. WIBW-TV reports a typical Costco employs more than 250 people and pays $20 to $32 an hour. Costco already has three locations in Kansas: Lenexa, Overland Park, and Wichita.
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Last Dry County in Kansas OKs Alcohol Sales
SHARON, Kan. (KSN) — The last dry county in Kansas is going wet. KSN reports voters in Wallace County on Tuesday passed a referendum allowing restaurants to sell liquor by the drink. Wallace County is in western Kansas, on the Colorado border. It has a population of about 15-hundred. It was the last county in Kansas to ban all alcohol sales. Kansas has a long history of prohibition. Alcohol was banned statewide from 1881 until 1948, longer than any other state.
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Gov. Laura Kelly Orders Flags Lowered for Dick Cheney
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has ordered flags across the state to be lowered in honor of Dick Cheney. The former vice president died Monday at the age of 84. Kelly’s executive order says flags should remain lowered until sundown on the day of Cheney’s interment. In a statement, Kelly praised Cheney for “upholding the ideals that the United States was founded upon.”
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186,000 Kansans Receiving SNAP Brace for Reduction in Benefits
UNDATED (KNS) — Kansans waiting for federal food assistance may get less than half of what they normally would this month. Federal officials have agreed to follow a court order to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for November, but it will only provide about half the usual funding. Haley Kottler of the advocacy group Kansas Appleseed says the reduction will hurt some Kansans who are already going hungry. “Food pantries and the food banks have much longer lines,” she said, “especially over the last couple weeks because people don't know when or if they'll receive their benefits.” About 186,000 Kansans receive federal food assistance.
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Kansans Could Face Hard Choices as ACA Marketplace Plan Prices Set to Surge
UNDATED (KCUR) — Thousands of Kansans are facing surging health care costs as they look to enroll in the Affordable Care Act marketplace, which opened Saturday. KCUR reports that more than 160,000 Kansans benefit from an enhanced tax credit that’s due to expire this year. If the credit expires, premiums could go up by an average of $700 in 2026. But Kansas Representative Sharice Davids, a Democrat, said Tuesday she is hopeful that lawmakers can reach an agreement before then. “When you’ve got me and (Georgia Republican Representative) Marjorie Taylor Greene on the same page on a piece of policy, that tells me there’s a reason to be cautiously optimistic,” Davids said. Many Kansans would lose coverage altogether if the credit expires, pushing premium costs up even further. Open enrollment runs through January 15.
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Invasive Pest Detected in Another Kansas County
UNDATED (KPR) — An invasive insect has appeared in another Kansas county. The Kansas Forest Service and the Kansas Department of Agriculture confirm that emerald ash borer beetles have been detected in Marshall County. It’s the fourth Kansas county in which the destructive beetle has been detected this year. Officials say the emerald ash borer is an exotic, invasive beetle from eastern Russia and northeastern Asia that likely came to the U.S. in infested packing material. The beetle threatens urban and rural forests by killing North American ash trees. State ecologists are asking Kansans to avoid bringing firewood from another state or county where the beetle has been detected.
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Physician Says Online Misinformation Complicates Comprehensive Birth Control Access
UNDATED (KNS) — Kansas women in much of the state have a hard time accessing comprehensive birth control methods. The Kansas News Service reports that online misinformation is making it even harder. According to Power to Decide, a non-profit that focuses on reproductive health, it’s already difficult to access full-range birth control options in parts of Kansas because many counties lack health centers to prescribe them. Johnson County OB-GYN Nicole Petrillo says in addition to that, misinformation about birth control acts as a barrier and makes it hard for people to trust doctors. “When we’re saying you know, ‘This is safe,’ or ‘This is okay to take’. And there are Tik Tok videos, talking about, you know, the downfalls or the cons of them,” she explained. Petrillo says that includes birth control causing significant weight gain or infertility. She says those have been disproven by research.
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