Olathe Votes to Pony Up for New Chiefs Facilities
OLATHE, Kan. (KCTV) — The Olathe city council voted Tuesday night to use local tax revenue to help pay for the Kansas City Chiefs’ new headquarters and training facility in the city. The city will use tax revenue from the 165-acre project area to pay down the STAR bonds that will finance it. KCTV reports Olathe will contribute 1% of the city’s general sales and use tax, 0.5% of the Johnson County sales tax, and 7% of the hotel tax collected within the development zone. Many residents at the meeting spoke out against using local tax dollars to pay for the $300 million project. One suggested the team’s owners start a GoFundMe campaign instead. Others said the vacant land could be put to better uses.
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Bill Would Raise Hourly Minimum Wage in Kansas to $16
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — A Kansas lawmaker has introduced a bill that would raise the state’s minimum wage to $16 an hour. Democratic state senator Cindy Holscher introduced the bill on Tuesday. Holscher is also a candidate for governor. The current minimum wage in Kansas is $7.25 an hour. The bill will likely face opposition in the Republican-controlled legislature.
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Bill Would Allow Kansas Cities, Counties to Impose New Wage Tax
TOPEKA, Kan. (KMBC) — Kansas lawmakers are debating a bill that would give cities and counties the power to tax the wages of people who work there but don’t live there. Under the bill, the new tax would first have to be approved by voters. If approved, the tax could be up to 1% and would only apply only to nonresidents who work in the taxing jurisdiction. And it would have to be re-approved by voters every ten years. KMBC reports cities could only use the new revenue for infrastructure projects, while counties could use it for general operations.
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Democrat Patrick Schmidt to Run for U.S. Senate
UNDATED (KNS) — Democratic Kansas state lawmaker Patrick Schmidt will challenge Republican Roger Marshall for his seat in the U.S. Senate. The Kansas News Service reports that Schmidt, who is a state senator, has not made a formal announcement, but he has filed to launch a campaign. That makes him the sixth Democrat to enter the primary against Marshall for the U.S. Senate, but the first state lawmaker to do so. The former naval intelligence officer won a Topeka Senate seat in 2024. In the Legislature, he’s focused on property taxes, sponsoring several bills on the issue and breaking with party lines in some cases. Representative Sharice Davids sparked rumors that she might join the race as well, after she announced a tour of cities outside her U.S. House District in northeast Kansas. She has yet to confirm one way or another.
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Kansas House Republicans Propose Curricular Measures for State Universities
TOPEKA, Kan. (Kansas Reflector) — Kansas House Republicans are putting forward a bill that would impose a ban on some academic content for required classes at the state's public universities. The Kansas Reflector reports that House Bill 2428 would impose a ban on critical race theory, along with diversity, equity and inclusion materials in most classes that a university department requires for an academic degree. Four GOP representatives are seeking to add a mandate within that bill that would have the universities offer freshman orientation programs focused on the First Amendment. The mandate would also require students to take a class in civics to earn a bachelor's degree.
The bill is called the Freedom from Indoctrination Act. It would prohibit all Kansas public postsecondary institutions from requiring students to enroll in classes with DEI or CRT content if the course is mandatory for a degree. If a degree area is focused on racial, ethnic or gender studies, the university can apply for an exemption. The American Federation of Teachers-Kansas opposes the measure. Garden City Republican Bob Lewis, who is among the sponsors of the bill, said DEI and CRT were tools for promoting racial, ethnic, and gender discrimination. Opponents of the bill outnumbered advocates during a hearing on the bill at the Kansas Statehouse.
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New Bill Would Require Potty Training for Children Before They Begin Kindergarten
UNDATED (KMUW) — Parents would have to affirm their children are potty trained before they start kindergarten under a bill proposed in Kansas. KMUW reports that the bill would require students to be potty trained well enough that they do not have frequent accidents that disrupt class. It exempts children in special education. Supporters say the measure would help teachers spend less instruction time dealing with hygiene emergencies.
But critics say it could prevent students from getting their education. Leah Fliter, who is with the Kansas Association of School Boards, told a committee that “...the more kids we have held out of kindergarten for toileting issues, the more kids we have at a risk of not getting to where we want them to be in our literacy efforts.” Lawmakers from both parties seem skeptical of the bill, with at least one Republican saying the issue should be left up to local school boards.
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Douglas County Ends 2025 with $6.7 Million Surplus
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) — Douglas County ended 2025 in the black. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the county finished the year with a budget surplus of $6.7 million. Revenues exceeded projections by nearly $2 million, while expenditures were more than $4 million lower than expected. What to do with that money? Most of it will go into the county’s General Fund.
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De Soto Panasonic Battery Factory to Increase Production
DE SOTO, Kan. (Kansas Reflector) — The Panasonic battery factory in De Soto will ramp up to 50% capacity over the next few months, the company has announced. Panasonic says it will start two new production lines at the plant. Two other production lines are already in operation. The company has also announced that construction of a new wing of the plant has commenced. The new wing will also have four production lines. The Kansas Reflector reports the plant is expected to employ about 4,000 workers at full capacity.
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Former Longtime Kansas Police Chief Dies
HAYS, Kan. (KPR) — A longtime Kansas police chief has died. Lawrence “Jug” Younger was chief of police in Hays for twenty years, from 1982 to 2002. He was the longest-serving police chief in the city’s history. He died on Tuesday. Chief Younger was 84.
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Plans for Immigrant Detention Center in Leavenworth Move Forward
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (KCUR) — A private prison company is one step closer to opening an immigration detention center in Leavenworth. The city’s planning commission recommended approval of CoreCivic’s permit application on Monday. The matter now moves to the city commission. CoreCivic wants to open its closed prison in Leavenworth and use it as a detention center for immigrants being held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. KCUR reports the planning commission recommended that the permit be good for only three years, not the five the company proposed.
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Kansas Attorney General Supports Bill Mandating Release of State Food Assistance Data
UNDATED (KNS) — Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach wants lawmakers to force state agencies to give the federal government personal information about food assistance recipients. The Kansas News Service reports that a Senate committee is considering a bill that mandates sharing the information. Federal officials have requested the personal information of food assistance recipients, including Social Security numbers and birth dates. Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s administration is withholding the Kansas data over privacy concerns. Kobach told lawmakers that the request is meant to help weed out fraud in the program. “By doing so, you can determine if somebody's getting it who's not entitled to be getting these benefits. Pretty simple request,” he told a Kansas Senate committee. Critics say the bill will erode trust in the food program and it may scare away eligible Kansans seeking help.
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Two Therapy Horses Shot Dead in Wabaunsee County
ESKRIDGE, Kan. (TCJ) — Authorities in Wabaunsee County are investigating after two therapy horses were shot and killed last Friday night. The horses were in a field near Eskridge. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the horses belonged to a local equine therapy operation, and were used to help veterans and first responders with PTSD. Wabaunsee County sheriff Eric Kirsch called the crime “a horrible atrocity” and says his office is investigating it “like a homicide.” A $1,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the identification and arrest of the person or persons responsible for shooting the two horses dead.
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January Total Tax Collections Come in Above Estimate; Hit Nearly $1 Billion
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — The state of Kansas ended the month of January with total tax collections near $1 billion. State officials say total tax collections came in at $988.2 million. That's about $12 million above estimates. Total tax collections were up 4.8% from January of last year.
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Topeka Native Named to Winter Paralympic Team
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — Topeka native Dan Cnossen has been named to the U.S. Winter Paralympic team for the fourth time. Dan Cnossen, 45, is already an Olympic medalist. He has two golds, four silvers, and one bronze in the biathlon, which is a combination of skiing in a sitting position and target shooting. This year, he’s on the U.S. Paralympic team once again. But this time, his only event is Nordic skiing. Think cross-country, instead of downhill. Cnossen turned to paralympic competition after losing both legs while on military duty in Afghanistan. The Paralympic Winter Games in Italy run from March 6 through March 15.
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