School Funding Fight Looms at Kansas Statehouse
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS/KMUW) - The Kansas Legislature is gearing up for another battle over school funding. Some legislators say they want to keep controversial policies out of the discussion. For the past several years, lawmakers have tied K-12 funding to accountability measures or provisions such as vouchers and parental rights. Democrats say they want a straightforward school spending bill. They tried to boost special education funding as part of the Legislature’s overall budget package, but that measure failed in committee. Republican Rep. Kristey Williams says school spending comprises half the state’s budget, so lawmakers should look at structural issues. “There’s a lot more to this, and just giving $72 million does not answer the question and does not fix the problem," she said. The current school funding bill would allow some families to use state tax money to pay for private school or homeschools.
Democrats in the House Appropriations Committee tried and failed to boost funding for special education without tying it to policy changes. For the past several years, lawmakers have combined K-12 funding with provisions such as vouchers and parental rights legislation. Representative Mari-Lynn Poskin says schools just need the money. “We have already seen that the policy that is attached to the special education funding is not popular, and we don’t want to perhaps have it go down again," she said. Republican lawmakers say special education funding isn’t equitable across the state. They want to address that formula in the spending bill.
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Evergy Electric Bills to Increase by $14 Per Month for Some Kansas Residents
TOPEKA (KSNT) – Kansas Evergy customers could see a marked increase in their monthly bill if a request by the energy company is approved. Evergy has filed a request with the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) to recover investments made to improve service to customers. These improvements include a more reliable and resilient power grid and updated customer service systems. KSNT reports that Evergy has requested a net revenue increase of $204 million, or a 9.77% overall rate increase, for customers in the company's central Kansas service area. Around 736,000 customers of Evergy reside in the area in cities like Topeka, Pittsburg, Wichita, Emporia, Manhattan and Hutchinson.
Another rate increase has been requested for customers in the Kansas City metro service area of $14 million or a 1.95% overall rate increase. If approved, customers in this area could see an additional $3.47 added to their monthly Evergy bill. This would impact around 273,000 customers in the greater Kansas City metro, including Lenexa and Overland Park. This request comes shortly after Evergy announced that it would be increasing utility rates for Kansas customers in April. A monthly increase of $2.82 for two years is to be expected for residents in the central Kansas area.
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With the Kansas Legislative Session Winding Down, Action on Medical Marijuana Remains Unlikely
TOPEKA, Kan. (Kansas Reflector/KPR) - Kansas lawmakers are unlikely to take up marijuana-related legislation as the 2023 session draws to a close. This is upsetting to many Democratic lawmakers who say the state is losing business to neighboring states, like Missouri, Colorado and Oklahoma, where marijuana has been legalized to one extent or another. The Kansas House approved medical marijuana legalization in 2021. But a similar bill in the Senate died in committee during the last legislative session. Marijuana legislation seems likely to meet a similar fate this year. Kansas is one of three states where possession of cannabis for any purpose remains illegal. The other two states are Nebraska and Idaho.
The Kansas Reflector reports that House Minority Leader Vic Miller, a Topeka Democrat, has renewed his push for a cannabis amnesty bill. The measure would release those convicted for marijuana-related offenses from their sentences and allow expungement of their records — essentially decriminalizing marijuana statewide. Miller says Kansans shouldn’t be punished for marijuana use. “We’re stuck in the dark ages, still spending taxpayer money to imprison people for eating pot brownies and smoking a joint,” Miller said.
“Given the negative consequences other states are experiencing and the resounding rejection of recreational marijuana by Oklahoma voters, the momentum for legalized marijuana appears to be losing steam," said Senate President Ty Masterson, a Republican from Andover. “While the discussions about legitimate medical marijuana will continue in future sessions, Kansas is wise to learn from the mistakes of other states and instead proceed with caution on this understandably emotional topic.”
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$50 Million in Infrastructure Grants Awarded Across Kansas
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) - Local governments, private developers and other groups across Kansas are getting state money for economic development projects delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Kansas Department of Commerce announced $50 million dollars in new grants for 39 projects in 31 counties. They range from housing development in Olathe, to dairy farming in Thomas County, to a kid’s playscape at Wichita’s Exploration Place. Recipients will have two years to use the funds and must provide a 25% matching investment. It’s the second round of funding in the state’s Building a Stronger Economy program, an effort to use federal pandemic relief money to attract business development to Kansas.
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Kansas Rural Housing Program Expanded to All Communities
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS/KMUW) - The Kansas Legislature has successfully expanded an affordable housing incentive program to include the state’s larger cities like Wichita. The incentive allows cities to issue bonds to pay for the development of up to 100 residential starter homes a year. As the value of the homes grow, the new property tax generated is used to pay off the bonds. Governor Laura Kelly signed a bill to expand the program from rural cities with less than 60,000 people to all cities in Kansas. Affordable housing across the state is limited, including in Wichita. A 2021 statewide housing assessment found about one in four renters in Sedgwick County spends more than the recommended 30 percent of their income on housing costs.
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Kansas Governor Wants to Upgrade Sporting KC Stadium
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is proposing $10 million for upgrades to the Sporting KC soccer stadium ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The World Cup matches will be played at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, but Children’s Mercy Park in Wyandotte County will be a practice site. The governor's office says the upgrades to the stadium and surrounding area would help promote economic activity long after the World Cup is over. But some lawmakers, including Republican Representative Ken Rahjes, say the money could be better spent elsewhere. The money is part of a new slate of funding proposals lawmakers are considering when they return to the Statehouse this week.
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Child Dead, Woman Injured After Crash at Gas Pump in Derby
DERBY, Kan. (KWCH) - A 3-year-old girl has died and a woman suffered critical injuries in a crash at a QuikTrip gas pump in Derby. Police in Derby say a vehicle traveling down a street Monday afternoon careened off course and into the convenience store parking lot where it hit a vehicle parked at a gas pump. The collision knocked over the gas pump, causing an explosion. It's unclear what caused the vehicle to leave the roadway but KWCH TV reports the man driving the vehicle has been cooperating with officers.
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Fire Crews Battle Large Fire at Unsanctioned Homeless Camp
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) - Fire crews responded to a large fire Monday night that broke out at the unsanctioned homeless camp along the river in east Lawrence behind the Amtrak station. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that crews were on the scene just after 8 pm and were able to “knock down” the fire after about 15 minutes. The blaze destroyed approximately five tents. No injuries were reported. Officials suspect the fire may have been intentionally set but the cause remains under investigation.
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Kansas Governor Vetoes New Restrictions on Food Stamps
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has vetoed new restrictions on food stamps because she says it could take food away from hungry Kansans. The bill would require able-bodied Kansans between 50 and 59 years of age to take work training programs if they do not work more than 30 hours a week. If they don’t do that, they lose access to food assistance. Republicans who supported the change say work requirements are a commonsense way to help people dig out of poverty. The governor says the bill is a burden on low-income Kansans. Republicans could try to override the veto later this week but the bill did not originally pass with a veto proof majority.
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Kansas Governor Vetoes "Parents' Rights" Bill
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has vetoed a bill that would specify in law that parents can pull their children out of school activities they find inappropriate. The bill is a pared-down version of a "Parents’ Bill of Rights" that the governor vetoed last year. The change would have little practical effect. Supporters say it’s a way to give parents a bigger role in what happens in classrooms. Opponents see it as a way of shutting off class discussions about race and controversial cultural issues. Republican Senator Molly Baumgartner said during debate that the bill would outline parental rights in state law. "I don’t think that parents asking questions should be viewed as threatening," she said. The bill would need eight more votes in the House and four in the Senate to override the governor's veto.
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Kansas Has New Anti-ESG Law but Governor Vetoes other Culture War Bills
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP/KPR) — Kansas officials won't be allowed to use environmental, social and governance factors in investing public funds or deciding who receives government contracts. Democratic Governor Laura Kelly allowed a Republican measure to become law without her signature Monday. Kelly's decision comes after she vetoed more than a dozen other measures the Republican-controlled Legislature approved.
She vetoed a measure Monday that she said could have meant prison terms for some people helping immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. Republicans said the immigration bill would have fought human smuggling. It would have made it a felony to transport, harbor or conceal another person, applying when someone knows or should have known that a person is in the U.S. illegally and "is likely to be exploited" for another's financial gain, if the person dealing with the immigrant "benefits financially or receives anything of value." A first-time offender could be sentenced to almost three years in prison. The measure cleared the Legislature with large, bipartisan super-majorities.
The anti-ESG law takes effect July 1. The new anti-ESG law is part of a larger push from conservatives across the U.S. against what they see as "woke" practices pushing liberal climate or diversity goals. At least nine states have enacted such laws; Montana's GOP governor signed a bill last week, and a measure cleared Indiana's GOP-controlled Legislature on Monday. "This bill will ensure that public dollars — particularly our state pension fund — are invested in ways that produce the highest possible returns with the lowest acceptable risk, and that public contracts are awarded to the entities best-qualified to fulfill them," Kansas State Treasurer Steven Johnson, a Republican elected last year, said in a statement.
In announcing that the Kansas measure was becoming law, Kelly didn't touch on how investment managers for the state and its pension system for teachers and government workers will be required to "consider only financial factors" when making investment decisions. The governor acknowledged having reservations about "potential unforeseen consequences" over how the state and cities, counties and local school districts will not be able to favor bidders on contracts based on ESG principles. The measure had little support from Democratic lawmakers. Conservatives dropped proposals for new rules for private money managers following strong backlash from influential business and banking groups.
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New Kansas Law Gives Foster Parents, Children More Rights
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has signed into law a bill of rights that gives foster parents and foster kids a few dozen additional protections. The law passed with bipartisan support. According to the Kansas News Service, most of the rights already existed in state law, like guaranteeing a safe and comfortable placement for kids. But Kansas lawmakers say those rights were often trampled on so much that the state needed to create a centralized place for foster kids and foster parents to see the rights they have, like the right to timely reimbursement for foster parents. Foster parents are supposed to be paid back for their expenses, but that didn’t always happen. The governor says this new law will give parents more of a voice in a confusing system.
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2 KC Teenagers Killed in Crash with School Bus
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KSHB) — Two 19-year-old Kansas City, Missouri, teens died Friday in a crash involving a school bus in Fulton, Missouri. KSHB TV reports that Fulton police were called to an intersection in the town about 30 minutes southwest of Columbia in central Missouri Friday afternoon. Investigators believe that a Nissan car slid into the path of an occupied school bus. Both occupants of the Nissan would later die from their injuries suffered in the crash. Police identified the victims Monday as Myles Cook and Jordan Vokolek. Three people on the bus were treated for minor injuries.
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Teen Gets Probation for Shooting at Pedestrians in Downtown Lawrence
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) - A Lawrence teenager has been sentenced to probation for firing a gun at two pedestrians in downtown Lawrence in an incident that was caught on camera by a police patrol car. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that 19-year-old Treyvon D. Johnson pleaded no contest in February to two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The charges relate to an incident on August 28, 2022, when Johnson was hanging out of the passenger window of a car near 11th and Vermont streets and fired at two pedestrians with whom he had been arguing. While Johnson was firing the gun, a Lawrence police officer was across the street in a parking lot and recorded the incident on his dash camera.
Johnson’s defense attorney said that as part of Johnson’s plea agreement, Johnson would be undertaking anger management courses. Kansas law requires that anyone who commits a felony with a gun is to serve prison time unless a judge finds a compelling reason for that person not to go to prison. Judge Stacey Donovan sentenced Johnson to 12 months in prison on each count of assault and ordered those sentences to run consecutively for a total of two years in prison. She then suspended that sentence to two years of probation and ordered Johnson to register as a violent offender for 15 years. Donovan said Johnson’s lack of criminal history and the DA supporting the deal were compelling reasons to grant probation.
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Former Kansas Corrections Officer Charged with Killing Baby Son
ELDORADO, Kan. (KWCH) - A former corrections officer at the El Dorado Correctional Facility has been sentenced to life in prison for killing his son. A jury found Kaleb Hogan guilty of child abuse and first-degree murder in the death of his three-month-old son, Malykai. The Butler County Attorney’s Office says Hogan was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years. KWCH TV reports that in March, 2021, Malykai was found unresponsive, inside a home in Augusta. He died three days later at a Wichita hospital.
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Union Pacific: Crash Caused Train Derailment in Woodson County
WOODSON COUNTY, Kan. (KOAM) - A semi-trailer failed to yield, causing a crash and train derailment in Woodson County. Two dozen rail cars and five locomotives were knocked off the tracks. Sheriff Jeffrey McCullough tells KOAM TV the 63-year-old driver of the 18-wheeler suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Union Pacific says none of its employees were injured. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, the semi failed to yield at a stop sign before crossing the railroad tracks. Troopers say the truck and trailer were split by the oncoming train. Sheriff McCullough says there were 97 cars with the train: 5 engines were damaged or destroyed and 21 cars were damaged. Most of the derailed cars were empty, but some were carrying cottonseed, plastic pellets and fertilizer.
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Report: Clean Air Act Helps but Pollution Remains a Problem in Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - A new report says the federal Clean Air Act has helped reduce high ozone days in the Kansas City, Wichita and Topeka areas. Ozone can cause long-term lung conditions that shorten lives. But air pollution remains a problem, according to Sara Prem, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association in Kansas and Greater Kansas City. “So, if you’re someone who already has impaired breathing, being outside on a day when the air quality is poor is tiring and could really cause you significant health issues – breathing issues," she said. The annual number of high ozone days has decreased in the Kansas City, Wichita and Topeka areas in recent decades. But experts say air pollution remains a problem. The report says spikes in particulate matter have worsened in recent years in Kansas City, Topeka and Wichita. Such fine particles can penetrate lungs and blood streams and can also cut lives short.
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Kansas Governor Vetoes GOP Tax Cut Proposal
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR/KNS) — Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has vetoed a GOP tax cut proposal that, among other things, would have established a flat tax. Kelly called the proposal irresponsible and said the plan would cost the state $1.3 billion over the next three years and put public education funding at risk. The governor also announced her proposal to spend the current budget surplus on a tax rebate of $450 for individuals and $900 for married taxpayers filing jointly. Kelly said the one-time tax rebate provides relief to all Kansas resident taxpayers without breaking the bank or jeopardizing funds for public schools. (Read more.)
(AP version)
Governor Vetoes Bill to Cut Kansas Taxes $1.4 Billion
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Governor Laura Kelly has vetoed a bill to cut taxes in Kansas by nearly $1.4 billion over the next three years. Kelly told reporters Monday that she objected to a proposal included by conservative Republicans to impose a single-rate "flat" income tax for individuals. Kelly said abandoning the state's current, three-rate income tax with higher rates for higher earners would be fiscally reckless and threaten funding for public schools. She announced her veto at a Topeka-area elementary school and recalled the state's 2012-13 experiment in slashing income taxes and the huge budget shortfalls that followed under then-Republican Governor Sam Brownback. House Speaker Dan Hawkins called Kelly out of touch.
Republican leaders plan to attempt overriding Kelly's veto once the full GOP-controlled Legislature reconvenes Wednesday to wrap up its business for the year. Backers of the bill included Americans for Prosperity, the grassroots low-tax, small-government group funded by the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers, and supporters appeared to have a good chance of getting the two-thirds majorities necessary to override a veto. "It is a throwback to the Brownback tax experiment, and we all know how that turned out," Kelly told reporters, hitting a key theme of her successful 2018 and 2022 campaigns for governor. "Any tax cut we pass needs to be sustainable, fiscally responsible and targeted to the people who need it the most."
The measure also would have reduced taxes on retirees' Social Security incomes and accelerate phasing out of the state's sales tax on groceries, so that it would end at the start of 2024 instead of 2025, both measures Kelly supported. It also would have reduced property taxes for most homeowners by $46 a year, a proposal pushed by Democrats. The income tax changes were a nonstarter for many Democrats, particularly because it set the rate at 5.15% when the state's current top rate is 5.7%. As an alternative, Kelly proposed a one-time, $450 rebate for each Kansas individual filer, so that the state's revenues would not be reduced each year going forward. Republicans have been cold to the idea of a rebate in the past. Kansas tax collections generally have run ahead of expectations since lawmakers repealed most of the tax experiment under Brownback in 2017.
The veto came four days after state officials and university economists issued a new fiscal forecast that boosted the state's official projections for tax collections through June 2024 by roughly 1%. Even with the tax cuts Kelly vetoed factored in, the state is on track to end June 2024 with surplus cash and rainy day funds of more than $4 billion. Kelly and lawmakers in both parties see the tax cuts as a way of helping people deal with inflation.
"It’s especially careless and out-of-touch for Governor Kelly to veto this broad, sustainable tax policy that provides tax relief to ALL Kansans," House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, said in a statement.
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Kansas Lawmakers Return to Topeka to Wrap Up 2023 Session
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — Kansas lawmakers return to Topeka this week. The Republican-controlled Legislature still has a lot to do before closing out the 2023 session. Lawmakers still need to finalize a big part of the state budget, a multi-billion dollar spending bill for public schools. Republicans might also try to couple policy changes with the spending in an attempt to win the support of Democratic Governor Laura Kelly. They could include an expansion of tax credits to send students to private schools. But much of the week may be focused on veto overrides of several bills Kelly recently rejected. That includes bills related to transgender women, election security and abortion.
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Will Kansas Pass an Education Budget? Questions Remain as Legislature Tries to Wrap Up Session
TOPEKA, Kan. (TCJ) — Kansas lawmakers are returning to Topeka to try and wrap up business for the year. A number of substantial items remain on the plates of lawmakers. Lawmakers have other policy loose ends to tie up but the most significant one is education funding. Lawmakers left town in early April without finalizing a budget for K-12 schools, with the current proposal including a number of controversial items. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that lawmakers are expected to reconsider the issue of school choice in a bid to force Governor Laura Kelly to reject a measure that would allow private school students to access public dollars for tuition and other expenses.
State Senator Molly Baumgardner, R-Louisburg, chair of the Senate Education Committee, argued that the Kansas Senate's latest plan maintains the requisite funding levels. "Each year has been more funding going to our pre-K through 12 public schools," Baumgardner said. "That will not change. So, there is not a need to be aggrieved. There is no reason to scream 'fire' because schools will still be fully funded." But districts point to an item in the budget that would not guarantee adjustments to the base per-pupil aid on an annual basis based off of inflation, as was approved by the Kansas Supreme Court. Instead, legislators would evaluate the matter annually. Leah Fliter, a lobbyist for the Kansas Association of School Boards, said this was tantamount to freezing base aid in future years. Numbers provided to the group by the Kansas State Department of Education show a $215 million funding hit if the base aid isn't adjusted. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled legislators had some flexibility in how to adjust for inflation and that they did not have to use the framework the justices approved, which calculates inflation using a three-year average of the Consumer Price Index. The state's new fiscal year begins July 1.
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Keystone Pipeline Oil Spill in Northern Kansas Caused by Stress, Construction Error
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Kan. (KNS) — The Keystone pipeline oil spill in Kansas was partly caused by stress put on the pipeline during construction. The owner of the pipeline, TC Energy, says an independent report shows the problems that led to the Keystone spill started a decade ago. During construction, the pipe experienced bending stresses sufficient to start a crack. That’s how company officials describe the independent findings, but it has not made the document public. More than half a million gallons of crude oil spilled into a creek in Washington County. TC Energy and the EPA disagree on the exact amount. TC Energy says it has recovered 98% of the spilled oil. (Read more.)
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KCK Police: Woman Killed in Shooting Was Unintended Target
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) — Kansas City, Kansas police say a young woman who was shot and killed last week was an unintended target. Authorities say 20-year-old Jadah Clark was a mere bystander. Police say a gunfight took place outside of her apartment and a stray bullet came through a wall and hit her. She died later at a hospital. KCTV reports that Clark was a former student-athlete at JC Harmon High School. Police say they are still searching for the suspected shooter.
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Marker Sought for Black Teen Imprisoned After 1882 Rape
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Civil rights activists are seeking to draw attention to an 1882 rape that ended with the Black teenage victim dying in prison, her white attacker dead and three men lynched. Margaret Vinegar was just 14 when two family friends came across her being sexually assaulted under a downtown Lawrence bridge in Kansas and intervened. The body of her attacker, David Bausman, a farmer in his 40s, later was found in the Kansas River, the Lawrence Journal-World reports. Arrests ensued and a mob broke into the jail — hanging the two friends, Isaac King and George Robertson, as well as Margaret’s father, Pete Vinegar, who was not even in town the day it all happened. Margaret was later convicted of murder — tried on a story that she had enticed her attacker under the bridge so her friends could rob him, said Lawrence NAACP member Kerry Altenbernd, who added that some also accused her of prostitution. Ursula Minor, president of the Lawrence branch of the NAACP, said that because of her race, Margaret Vinegar was neither seen as the child nor the victim she was. “During that era most Black women and girls could not refuse advances of a white man,” Minor said.
Since 2019, the Lawrence branch of the NAACP has worked with the Equal Justice Initiative, which created a national lynching memorial in Montgomery, Alabama, to commemorate the 1882 lynching and the events surrounding it. Last year, on the 140th anniversary, a historical marker was erected at the site of the lynching. Now, the coalition is proposing a second marker in remembrance of Margaret and her plight.
Margaret died of tuberculosis in the state penitentiary in Lansing, at the age of 20 while her attorney sought a pardon for her. Because it is unclear what happened to her body, the coalition has proposed that her marker be placed near the site of her trial in downtown Lawrence. A historic commission has signed off on the marker, and the next step is for the Lawrence City Commission to vote on it. The activists hope to dedicate the marker on June 10, the 141-year anniversary of the lynching.
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Wichita Police Department Targeted by Fake TikTok Page
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH/KPR) — The Wichita Police Department has been targeted with a fake TikTok page. KWCH TV reports that the department put out an alert Saturday saying they are investigating who is behind the fake social media account. Police say they have also reported the imposter account to the company that owns TikTok.
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Oldest Living Kansan Celebrates Her 112th Birthday
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - A Chanute, Kansas, woman has set a record that will be hard to break. Margaret Hollenshead turned 112-years-old over the weekend, making her the oldest living Kansan. KWCH TV reports that the senior living facility in Chanute, where Hollenshead lives, threw her a birthday party and a parade on Saturday.
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Alabama Stops Recruiting Wichita State Transfer After Arrest
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — Former Wichita State player Jaykwon Walton, who had previously announced plans to transfer to Alabama, has been arrested on a charge of second-degree possession of marijuana. Walton had announced his commitment to the Crimson Tide in March, but coach Nate Oats said that won’t happen now. Oats says Walton won't play for Alabama. Walton averaged nearly 14 points for Wichita State last season.
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This summary of area news is curated by KPR news staffers, including J. Schafer, Laura Lorson, Tom Parkinson and Kaye McIntyre. Our headlines are generally posted by 10 am weekdays and updated throughout the day. These ad-free headlines are made possible by KPR members. Become one today. And follow KPR News on Twitter.