Rep. Barbara Ballard’s hero, or “shero,” as she specified, is Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress. The late Chisholm, elected in 1968 to represent New York's 12th Congressional District, was known for calling service “the rent we pay for the privilege of living ...
TOPEKA - A freshman Kansas congressman might have to correct his voter registration a second time after changing it earlier this month while local authorities investigated him for previously listing a UPS Inc. store as his home. The Kansas City Star reports that Republican Rep. Steve Watkins ...
TOPEKA — Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran said Friday that he hasn't decided how he would vote on removing President Donald Trump from office but followed those comments up by criticizing the Democratic-led House's impeachment process. Moran's statement declared that he does not support ...
Two recently released reports have some Kansas policymakers on edge about the health of Kansans and adamant that expanding Medicaid coverage will help. One report showed that, since 1990, Kansas’ health ranking has fallen more than that of any other state. The other showed that, in a ...
A popular downtown Lawrence restaurant was temporarily forced to close earlier this week for a cockroach infestation. The Mad Greek, 907 Massachusetts St., closed Monday after a state health code inspector found 30 live roaches in various locations between the restaurant’s basement and ...
TOPEKA — Of the 36 states that have expanded Medicaid coverage, most have seen favorable economic effects, according to a health policy expert. Diane Rowland, executive vice president emerita of the Kaiser Family Foundation, gave a brief presentation Thursday at the third meeting of the ...
TOPEKA — The only Kansas Democrat in Congress announced Tuesday that she will vote to impeach President Donald Trump. Freshman Rep. Sharice Davids said she supports both articles of impeachment drafted by fellow Democrats over Trump's effort to get Ukraine to investigate Democratic political ...
TOPEKA — The Kansas State Board of Education has voted to encourage school districts to pass strict vaping bans. The policy approved unanimously Tuesday calls for prohibiting students and staff from using, possessing or promoting any tobacco products, including vape pens, while they’re on ...
Story updated at 4:37 p.m. Tuesday WICHITA — A much-criticized database that checks whether voters are registered in multiple states has been suspended “for the foreseeable future” until security safeguards are put in place as part of a settlement of a federal lawsuit, a civil rights ...
In response to high suicide rates among America’s farmers, a new website developed by the Kansas Department of Agriculture provides resources and support to those dealing with stress. Kelsey Olson, KDA’s assistant secretary of agriculture, led the effort in creating the website: ...
TOPEKA — A Kansas congressman who is being investigated by local authorities for listing a UPS Inc. store as his residence in registering to vote has changed his registration to name a Topeka apartment complex as his home. Republican Rep. Steve Watkins is still listing the UPS store in ...
TOPEKA — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and Republican legislators are headed toward another confrontation over tax cuts because the GOP isn't giving up on reducing income taxes and Kelly has other priorities. Top Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature plan to push next year for tax ...
After one season of hemp production in Kansas, agriculture experts say they are excited about the future of the crop, but acknowledge the difficulties it presented to farmers. At the Kansas Farmers Union conference hosted at the DoubleTree in Lawrence, Kansas Department of Agriculture employee ...
From atop a rock, 4-year-old Leo looked to his mom and asked permission to leap. Rep. Eileen Horn told him to go for it. “That didn’t even hurt!” he exclaimed after. Horn became interested in politics from “these two, actually,” she noted, nodding toward her children as they ...
TOPEKA — The top elections official resigned Thursday in Kansas' most populous county, which was plagued in two recent major elections by long delays in reporting results. Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab's office did not give a reason in announcing that Johnson County Election ...
If one could change one aspect of the state budget, what would that be? That’s the question moderator Tim Carpenter asked five panelists Wednesday afternoon at the Kansas Farmers Union Convention, hosted at the DoubleTree by Hilton in Lawrence. Carpenter, a reporter at the Topeka ...
Story updated at 8:01 p.m. Wednesday: TOPEKA — Authorities plan to investigate whether a freshman Kansas congressman broke state laws by listing a UPS Inc. store as his address on a voter registration form and for obtaining a mail-in ballot in a November election. The questions about Rep. ...
TOPEKA — The Kansas Department of Corrections unfairly censors publications even with the adoption of a new policy and the elimination of a banned book list, a prisoner rights groups said. The Human Rights Defense Center has cited more than 200 books and magazines that administrators have ...
Low-income and disabled Kansans may be able to get refunds on their sales taxes from grocery purchases if Gov. Laura Kelly implements the recommendations of her Council on Tax Reform. Members of the council determined on Tuesday what their suggestions to Kelly would be in advance of the 2020 ...
One organization in Douglas County failed state health code inspections in November, and several others moved back into compliance after failing inspections in October. Each month, I take a look at inspection results and list every place either listed out of compliance or with 10 or more code ...