TOPEKA — Kansas public school districts are finding it harder to fill vacant teaching positions this year, despite the fact that increased funding has allowed many districts to offer higher salaries, according to a report released this week by the Kansas State Department of Education. According to the report, 612 teaching positions were vacant this fall. That's an increase of 19 percent from the same time ...
Republican Kris Kobach stood out Tuesday as the only candidate for Kansas governor who would not reinstate an executive order protecting state workers from job discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. In a televised debate from KWCH-TV in Wichita, all five candidates for governor were asked whether they would reinstate the executive order that was first issued in 2007 by Democratic Gov. Kathleen ...
TOPEKA - The political action committee of the Kansas Farm Bureau issued its list of endorsements in the upcoming general election Wednesday, but it was a list just as notable for who wasn't on it as it was for who did make the cut. The PAC, known as Voters Organized To Elect Friends of Farm Bureau, or VOTE-FBF, did not make any endorsement in this year's races for Kansas governor or the 2nd District ...
TOPEKA — Whenever a story is written about Paul Davis and virtually any time he meets voters on the campaign trail, one subject almost always comes up: his narrow loss to Gov. Sam Brownback in the 2014 governor’s race. “Just a constant reminder,” Davis said with a laugh during a recent interview. “I mean, it’s obviously disappointing when you lose a race, especially a statewide race where the ...
TOPEKA — One can only guess that there was an awkward moment Saturday when President Donald Trump landed at Forbes Field in Topeka and rode to the Kansas Expocentre for a political rally with Gov. Jeff Colyer in the limousine. Trump, of course, came to Topeka for a political rally on behalf of Kris Kobach, the Republican secretary of state who narrowly beat Colyer in the Aug. 7 primary. And many believe that ...
TOPEKA – Kansas may be known as a reliably Republican state, but when it comes to gubernatorial elections, voters here have been remarkably balanced. In fact, going back half a century to 1968, Kansas voters have consistently elected governors from the opposite party of the one leaving office. In this year’s race, Democrat Laura Kelly hopes to keep that streak alive in her bid to succeed Republican Gov. ...