'Troubling': ACLU issues warning ahead of Kansas library vote

TOPEKA, Kansas — Christina Smith says her son has threatened to kill her. Smith was recovering from knee surgery when her child threw her against a wall because he didn’t want to go back to a psychiatric ward. She tried to call 911, but her son took her phone. Police have been to her house before, yet Smith said they didn’t do anything meaningful.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Top Republican legislators in Kansas are focusing on helping conservative parents remove their children from public schools over what's taught about gender and sexuality rather than pursuing a version of what critics call Florida's “Don't Say Gay” law. A proposal to allow parents...

TOPEKA — The Kansas Senate unanimously confirmed Kansas Court of Appeals nominee Rachel Pickering despite alarms set off by Republicans about judicial criticism leveled against her decisions as appellate defense counsel in a 15-year-old criminal case. The Republican-dominated Senate voted to make Pickering, a Shawnee County District Court judge,...

One of the simplest ways to define politics is as a struggle for power. This power struggle has flared up again. The legislature began their 2023 session by introducing a bill that would further disrupt the current power division between state and local and also undermine Kansas voters. Often, in...

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A federal grand jury in Wichita returned an indictment charging two people with transporting methamphetamine across state lines. According to court documents, Orlando Payan-Parra, 39, and Erika Cardona-Carrizales, 43, both of Coachella, California, are charged with one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and one count of interstate and foreign travel or transportation in air of racketing enterprises.

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. — Investors would have to be told their money is being invested to achieve a social goal under a new rule being proposed by the Missouri Secretary of State. Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft claims some financial advisers have been investing client funds in accordance with social causes without consulting their clients.

TOPEKA — The restaurant industry statewide has been plagued by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and workforce shortages, with new issues making it difficult for restaurant owners to bounce back, officials have said. During a Tuesday House Commerce, Labor and Economic Development Committee hearing, Kevin Timmons, restaurant owner and...

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — As the House side of Capitol Hill engages in a debt ceiling showdown with the Biden Administration, Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall is watching with interest. "Joe Biden has maxed his credit card," Marshall said. "With his accelerated, reckless spending, he's already hit the debt limit...

WASHINGTON —The only thing stopping millions of Americans from receiving the Biden Administration’s one-time student debt relief is a lawsuit brought by Republican officials and special interests, according to Biden. On Saturday, he said on social media, "It's simple: our Administration is confident that our student debt relief program is fully legal. And we're not backing down that easy."

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri mother who reported that her infant twins were stillborn has been convicted of manslaughter. Maya Caston, 28, was convicted Friday of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and two counts of child endangerment. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that jury found her guilty of lesser charges instead of convicting her of second-degree murder.

Rock salt saves lives by helping tires grip icy roads. It avoids broken bones when homeowners use it on slick sidewalks, driveways and parking lots. And in Kansas, one of the country’s top salt producers, rock salt generates paychecks. But it also costs Americans billions in corroding cars and...

TOPEKA — Assessments by the Kansas budget director and an independent tax policy institute Monday showed the flat tax proposal by the Kansas Chamber would reduce the state budget by $1.5 billion per year and primarily benefit the state’s most affluent wage earners. The Kansas Chamber, which wields...

A wind chill advisory has been issued for northwest Kansas, including Ellis County, from 9 p.m. Monday through 9 a.m. Tuesday. In Hays, the overnight low is expected to drop to 2 below zero, with wind chills dropping to 15 below. A high of 27 is predicted Tuesday, as the...

Kansas operators have spudded 80 new wells so far this year, down two wells from a year ago. Total footage drilled is down 41%. Independent Oil & Gas Service reports the statewide active rig count is 47, down four rigs from a week ago and up four rigs from a year ago. Kansas regulators okayed 26 new drilling permits last week, 113 so far this year, which is up about 63% over last year at this time. The Kansas Corporation Commission approved two new drilling locations in Barton County and two in Ellis County, out of 10 new permits in Western Kansas. Operators in Kansas completed 34 wells in the week through January 26th, including three in Barton County and three in Ellis County.

After a bitterly cold start to the work week, the National Weather Service is calling for temperatures to quickly rise through the remainder of the week. A high in the mid-30 to low-40s is predicted Wednesday and Thursday, followed by highs at 50 or higher through the weekend. Skies will...