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I recently was listening to that song from the past where the singer proclaims: “Love is a battlefield.” The song got me thinking about how we fight our own personal battles and then there are much larger battles — in our cities, in our state and in our nation. Then there are battles in our
TOPEKA — President Donald Trump renewed during a Kansas political rally a promise to send $5,000 to every adult citizen of the United States if Republicans retained control of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. “If the Republicans win, you each will have $5,000 in your pocket,” Trump said. “The only caveat on the $5,000
PARK CITY — President Donald Trump on Monday defended U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall’s record and blamed judges and state law for the senator’s practice of suing patients with medical debt — leading to some of them being arrested — when he was a physician. The president campaigned for Marshall and other Republican…
WASHINGTON — Immigrants living in the United States with humanitarian status from Ukraine and Sudan will retain their deportation protections and work authorizations for now, the Department of Homeland Security said over the weekend. More than 100,000 Ukrainians and roughly 2,000 Sudanese with Temporary Protected…
TOPEKA — Democratic U.S. House candidate Lauren Reinhold says she has found a way to connect with disaffected Republicans and independent voters. She has traveled more than 35,000 miles as she campaigns in the 1st District, which thanks to GOP gerrymandering now stretches from her home in Lawrence to the western half…
Kansas Republicans are going medieval on Democrats this spooky season. From gubernatorial candidate Ty Masterson hurling allegations of witchcraft to the Kansas Republican Party deciding to spread the biblical “truth” about homosexuality (think Sodom and Gomorrah), the Grand Old Party has time traveled back hundreds…
The sheer size of investment in data centers is drawing concern as it surpasses all other historical booms and crowds out other more job-creating ventures. Until now, no industry had driven the U.S. economy with such force since the railroad expansion of the late 1800s, when titans battled one another to lay the…
Pete, consider the cross. Hear me out. You’ve made tremendous progress in a short time — you were confirmed as secretary of havoc less than two years ago — and already you have shown such promise that it has garnered the attention of my boss down below. He is concerned, however, that you’re just not
Kansans eager to participate in the Nov. 3 election gather at the Capitol, an event offering an opportunity to renew opposition to President Donald Trump.
WASHINGTON — A couple hundred people carrying decorated umbrellas walked from the former Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House to the U.S. Capitol lawn Saturday for a No Kings get-out-the-vote event in the nation’s capital. No Kings, a coalition that has drawn millions of Americans to protests three times…
Party control is up for grabs in 15 state legislative chambers across the country as Republicans are increasingly on the defensive this midterm election cycle, a new analysis found. The nonpartisan newsletter Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics released its final analysis of state…
The year 2026 has been an expensive one for social media platforms. Since March, YouTube and Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, have settled or paid out in multiple lawsuits to the tune of more than US$17 billion for allegedly acting negligently, deliberately designing their platforms to hook kids and…
AUSTIN, Texas — It was a good day for the defense. Standing in front of a judge in Austin’s Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center, attorney Matthew Shrum secured a ruling that spared his client from serious punishment on a shoplifting charge. In the hallway immediately afterward, the defendant thanked Shrum with…
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has a flurry of travel on deck in the final frantic weeks leading up to the end of the midterm elections, in which the GOP is vying to maintain its control of both the U.S. House and Senate. But that outlook looks increasingly less favorable for Republicans, as analysts say
U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, locked in tight campaign with Democrat Adam Hamilton, throws full support behind President Donald Trump's tariff war.
TOPEKA — Upon launching his campaign for governor, Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson touted his work cutting state taxes, improving election security and getting “woke ideology off our college campuses.” But his policy wins aren’t fully his own, a Kansas Reflector investigation found. The foundation of his…
TOPEKA — A federal appeals court for the second time reversed a prohibition on a Kansas law that bars organizations from prepopulating applications for mail-in ballots before the applications are sent to voters. A three-judge panel for the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals found that a lower court didn’t strike down the…
Come along with me down a rabbit hole. “What will we see?” you ask. This rabbit hole serves up a social media torrent of college bar fights and late-night make-out sessions. Endless memes about college football and Kansas campus life. High school parties with drunk teens slumped over toilets. Little girls who compete…
As the nation’s physician shortage worsens, some fear the Trump administration’s immigration policies will dissuade or prevent doctors who earned their medical degrees in foreign countries from practicing in the United States. Among all U.S. doctors, an estimated one quarter were educated abroad. But they make up an…
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump Thursday announced that the execution of a man convicted of the Fort Hood shooting will not be livestreamed, a reversal after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said last week that Nidal Hasan’s death by firing squad would be public. “I think streaming the execution for all to see might…
TOPEKA — State officials answered a key question this week underpinning the complex financing of the Kansas City Chiefs stadium, outlining boundaries of a district that will use sales taxes and revenue to fund part of the deal that includes public and private monies. STAR bonds, or sales tax and revenue bonds, were…
Kansas Republican Roger Marshall is at risk of losing his U.S. Senate seat as Democrats advance on GOP territory in congressional races across the country.
TOPEKA — U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids said September raids in southwest Kansas by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement damaged the beef and dairy industries and demonstrated federal agents should work collaboratively with local law enforcement on immigration cases. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported the…
LAWRENCE — Democrat Adam Hamilton says reporting by Kansas Reflector and MS NOW warrants an ethics investigation into whether his opponent, U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, misused government resources to support his campaign. The reporting looked at audio recordings, photos, videos, screenshots of text messages and calendar…
Everyone was chattering about cookies late last week. Specifically, political pundits and their online fans were discussing U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, apparently stiffing a local bakery back in 2020. A bill of $678.75 went unpaid. Marshall finally reimbursed the small business owner, no doubt hoping to make…
Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird and counterparts from three other states announced plans Wednesday to sue OpenAI in state courts, alleging ChatGPT harmed children and violated each state’s consumer fraud act. Bird was joined by attorneys general Kris Kobach of Kansas, Mike Hilgers of Nebraska, and JB McCuskey of…
WASHINGTON — The No Kings movement that has brought millions to the streets across the United States three times since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term is staging its next event at the polls. Organizers across hundreds of advocacy groups will pull together thousands of events nationwide Saturday to…
Richard Linton, president of Kansas State University, accepts the top job at Virginia Tech University, where he earned three college degrees.
Inflation grew to a 3.7% annual rate in September, according to an Oct. 14 report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, up from 3.4% in August. In the last consumer price inflation report before midterm elections, with voters already fed up with higher prices, September’s number was the highest since May, when it…
Kansas' state university sports programs can work on private-equity deals, but need to disclose talks to leaders of the Kansas Board of Regents.
WASHINGTON — The Social Security Administration announced on Wednesday that recipients will receive a 3.6% increase in benefits in 2027. The cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, will begin for 72 million Social Security beneficiaries in January. It will apply for Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, recipients…
TOPEKA — The November election will determine whether two independent candidates’ refusal to stand with Democrats or Republicans earns them a Kansas House seat. Jack Geiger, an organic farmer and self-described former “conservative Democrat” from Brown County, is running against incumbent Republican Rep. Sean Willcott…
A Hays foundation is offering to match donations up to $1 million for benefit of the Sternberg Museum of Natural History, which is at jeopardy of closing.
Tuesday was the last day to update your voter registration for the November election. I updated my voter registration because I have recently moved from Shawnee County to Douglas County and because I’m worried about the unfounded claims of large-scale voter fraud by immigrants. My vote matters, and we have seen…
Providing “labor guides” to pregnant women helps combat misinformation that an increasing number of patients are getting from social media or artificial intelligence, according to a recent study. Dr. Samuel Melville, a resident-physician in obstetrics and gynecology at Oregon Health & Science University and the lead…
Three weeks before Election Day, the Trump administration’s sprawling project to send sensitive personal information on millions of voters to the Department of Homeland Security has been declared illegal by a federal judge. The blistering court decision comes after the Department of Justice pressured or sued states…
Former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback endorsed GOP Sen. Roger Marshall's reelection campaign. Democratic nominee Adam Hamilton pounced.
TOPEKA — A woman told a Lawrence court earlier this month about using a bathroom in the Kansas Statehouse when she was a 19-year-old intern for a state representative. “As I was using the restroom, it was apparent to me that the person who was in the stall right next to me was quite clearly
William “Willie” Francis Sutton Jr., the robber who plundered banks and jewelry stores during a 40-year career, said he targeted banks because, “That’s where the money is.” He stole an estimated $2 million and spent more than half of his adult life behind bars. Were Sutton alive today however, he’d likely target the…
The Trump administration’s order to allow import of Russian diesel violates a 2022 law banning Russian energy imports while the country’s war with Ukraine is ongoing, according to a bipartisan group of U.S. senators. Following an Oct. 9 call between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, the U.S…
Traducido por Claudia Amaro. Nota del editor: Esta historia es una colaboración entre Kansas Reflector y MS NOW. Mientras el senador Roger Marshall lucha por su vida política en Kansas, un asistente del demócrata Adam Hamilton — oponente de Marshall — ha estado molestando al equipo del senador republicano con una…
TOPEKA — The Kansas State University College of Arts and Sciences faces a $2.6 million annual budget shortfall in addition to millions owed for loans from the administration, a situation that may eliminate academic programs and cause faculty layoffs. K-State officials presented a plan to address $13.5 million the…
TOPEKA — President Donald Trump said Monday he will host a “Kansas Style rally very soon” to support U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall in his reelection campaign for U.S. Senate. Numerous polls have shown the race between the Republican Marshall and Democratic pastor Adam Hamilton to be a virtual tossup, and national parties…
With the clock winding down to the Nov. 3 election, Kansas gubernatorial candidates Ty Masterson and Cindy Holscher continue to tally endorsements.
In the course of a single election cycle, the backlash against data centers has grown from an issue at local planning commission and city council meetings to become a flashpoint in state and federal races across the country. Candidates who once touted data centers as an economic boon have backtracked, and voters in at…
Welcome, newcomer, to the bewildering phantasmagoria of Kansas politics! Perhaps you hail from another state and have been told by election forecasters, political pundits or your great-aunt Sally that Kansas’ U.S. Senate race has become unexpectedly competitive. Perhaps you’re a Kansan who smartly ignores politics…
WASHINGTON — The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee is demanding his colleagues across the aisle apologize to former special counsel Jack Smith after Missouri Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt launched false accusations at a recent hearing and called the former Justice Department official a “dirtbag.” Committee…
Traducido por Claudia Amaro. TOPEKA — Más de 21,000 habitantes de Kansas recibirán este mes una carta en la que se les notifica que su deuda médica ha sido cancelada. Un par de organizaciones sin fines de lucro anunciaron que eliminarán casi 34 millones de dólares en deuda médica para 21,490 habitantes de Kansas que
Urban hospitals are closing at roughly the same rate as rural ones, and the shuttered hospitals are more likely to have served communities with high poverty rates and fewer transportation options, according to a new study published Thursday in the journal JAMA. Researchers at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public…
In 1932, Kansas voters elected Democrat George McGill to the U.S Senate. In the 32 senate elections since then, voters have consistently elected Republicans to represent them. This historic streak makes Democrat Adam Hamilton’s bid to prevail in his challenge to the reelection of U.S. Senator Roger Marshall an uphill…
A former Cornell University student’s allegations of gang rape in 2024 have renewed attention on a difficult area of sexual assault law. A person can be awake, responsive and even able to move during a sexual encounter while still being so intoxicated or impaired that they cannot understand what is happening or make…
President Donald Trump has formed a White House committee to investigate Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, escalating even further a lengthy feud with the Federal Reserve Board member. The three-member committee will seek evidence that Cook made false statements in obtaining a mortgage and will hold a closed-door…
If a person’s story changes in the weeks following an alleged sexual assault, are they not telling the truth? It’s a criticism I’ve seen on social media and heard in the public conversation surrounding the lawsuit filed in September 2026 by a plaintiff known as Jane Doe, a former student at Cornell University…
President Donald Trump on Friday appeared to leave open the possibility that the federal government won’t livestream a military execution planned for December that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had said would be public. But Trump also told reporters at the White House that he had “absolutely” approved livestreaming…
Republican Ty Masterson and Democrat Cindy Holscher share perspectives on intense Kansas debate about boundaries for mega-data centers popping up in Kansas.
Editor’s note: This story is a collaboration between Kansas Reflector and MS NOW. As Sen. Roger Marshall fights for his political life in Kansas, a staffer for Democrat Adam Hamilton — Marshall’s opponent — has been needling the Republican senator’s staff with an unusual question: Are any of you getting paid?…
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly joined Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand in Des Moines on Thursday, saying her tenure shows it is possible to be an effective Democratic governor while working with a GOP-controlled state Legislature. Joining Sand in person at the Iowa State Education Association headquarters, Kelly…
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said late Wednesday that it expects to complete its long-awaited safety review of abortion pills by mid-December and issue a report evaluating the results by March 2027. The agency disclosed the information in a court-mandated status report it submitted in the federal lawsuit…
I watched 52 Kansas campaign commercials today so that you don’t have to. Actually, for the next few weeks you will still be watching them. Whether you want them or not, they will still be on during the nightly news, college football games and re-runs of “Everybody Loves Raymond.” If I can’t do you the
TOPEKA — Five measles cases reported in Kansas are related to out-of-state travel, health authorities said Thursday. “As of right now, we are not seeing the larger community transmission we saw back in 2025, but we will refrain from venturing a guess as to whether that will change,” said Kansas Department of Health…
WASHINGTON — A federal judge will rule in the coming days on whether the Trump administration can legally rescind White House press passes for journalists at three news organizations, or if those reporters will be able to continue accessing the grounds while the case continues. U.S. District Judge for the District of…
Republican Pat Proctor explains why a bureaucrat concluded he owed $93,000 in overtime and minimum wage compensation to restaurant employees.
Editor’s Note: This story is part of Gen Z at the Ballot Box, a collaboration between States Newsroom and The 19th. TOPEKA, Kan. — After state Rep. Angel Roeser defied her fellow Republicans and voted against their plan to ask voters to change the way Kansas Supreme Court justices are selected, members of her own
Visualize a clenched fist, fingers tight and knuckles braced, pulled back to strike. Visualize that fist taking an unexpected turn, avoiding an opponent and instead circling back to slam into its owner’s face. I won’t describe the sights and sounds that follow, just know that the fighter for some unholy reason keeps…
Kansas tax collections in the first quarter of fiscal year 2027 wildly exceeds the official projection by $147 million on $2.57 billion in actual receipts.
TOPEKA — A nationwide campaign to dismantle access to in-state college tuition for children of immigrants is “as much a threat to rule of law as what we see in the streets,” said an attorney for a Latino civil rights organization. A coalition of advocacy groups released a report Wednesday detailing the coordinated…
TOPEKA — Federal immigration officials subjected southwest Kansas to a “wanton abuse of power,” Gov. Laura Kelly said, and she pledged to union members that she would work to restore immigrants’ sense of belonging and security. Kelly spoke at a United Food and Commercial Workers member meeting Monday in Dodge City…
The Department of Homeland Security obtained tens of millions of unspecified records as part of a sweeping nationwide effort to find voter fraud, according to internal DHS reports, and weighed using undercover agents to investigate voter registration efforts by nonprofit groups. The reports from May and June by…
Outgoing Gov. Laura Kelly endorses a Democrat in Kansas' 2nd District congressional race and she taunts the Republican gubernatorial nominee in Iowa.
TOPEKA — Mail-in ballots arriving three days after the November general election will still count in Kansas, an appellate court ruled, citing the need to make sure no votes are lost. It was the latest ruling in a court battle between Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Kansas Appleseed, along with Kansans who believe a
As they await a federal decision on a potential nationwide ban on telehealth abortions, anti-abortion activists plan to push more states to require women to visit a doctor’s office, get an ultrasound or wait before they can get abortion pills. Under its current guidelines, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does…
The National Urban League, in its latest and 50th edition of the State of Black America, asks a haunting question: “Is the American Dream dead?” This question has a particular resonance with Black Americans as the nation marks its 250th birthday, but also a particular answer. American enslavement lasted some 246…
A leading Democratic campaign committee is projecting confidence in U.S. Senate toss-up races four weeks before Election Day, though it has yet to commit resources to the reddest states that have recently entered the Senate map. Senate Majority PAC, which is run by allies of Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of…
Democrat Chris Mann and Republican Kris Kobach debate legal issues ahead of the Nov. 3 rematch of the 2022 election narrowly won by Kobach.
Editor’s note: This story is part of Gen Z at the Ballot Box, a collaboration between States Newsroom and The 19th. Strike up a conversation with a Gen Z woman about politics, and affordability will likely come up within the first 30 seconds. The cost of doing anything, whether it’s renting a home, staying in
Legislation introduced in the U.S. House by a Kansas congresswoman aims to moderate family healthcare costs and financially support rural hospitals.
Traducido por Claudia Amaro. DODGE CITY — Las comunidades del suroeste de Kansas que se están recuperando de la ofensiva migratoria del presidente Donald Trump —que incluyó detenciones aleatorias para verificar el estatus migratorio— buscan formas de recuperarse mientras el miedo sigue apoderándose de la gran…
TOPEKA — Blame for the lack of immigration reform to meet the needs of workers and the agriculture industry lies squarely with the federal government, and change must happen, one farmer said in response to September immigration raids in southwest Kansas. “This is one of those rare situations where the humanitarian and…
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that election officials can remove registered voters from their voter rolls using an inaccurate system called the SAVE database. If you are removed from a voter roll, that means you are no longer registered to vote. So, when you show up to vote on or before election day,
U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall's commercial critical of Democrat Adam Hamilton features unauthorized use of a picture taken of youth sitting in a Kansas chapel.
President Donald Trump wants to sharply curtail mail ballots. He’s called them “inherently corrupt” and baselessly condemned them as a major source of fraud. But with Republicans falling behind in the polls, the president is now urging his supporters to vote in the midterm elections any way they can, including by…
TOPEKA — More than 21,000 Kansans are set to receive a letter this month notifying them that their medical debt has disappeared. A pair of nonprofit organizations announced they will abolish nearly $34 million in medical debt for 21,490 Kansans who meet certain criteria in a large-scale, one-time economic relief…
Democrat Cindy Holscher says her campaign for Kansas governor reflects the perspective of voters more accurately than Ty Masterson's GOP bid.
A court battle that began when conservative-led states sued to block protections for transgender people has ended in a rollback of protections for people with disabilities — a result disability advocates have feared for months. At the end of August, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services joined the handful…
Election season in Kansas, usually a fairly sedate affair with the exception of scattered gubernatorial races, has become a surprise scramble in the shadow of a national blue wave. The ridiculous rhetoric and squirrelly stories have multiplied so quickly that this single opinion editor can barely keep pace. It doesn’t…
Democratic and Republican governors say they will more aggressively push back on federal overreach regardless of which party controls Washington. Earlier this month, the bipartisan National Governors Association for the first time in over a decade updated its internal principles on federalism — the system of power…
Cindy Holscher has something she would like you to know. She changed her mind on data centers because she listens. “The subject was coming up over and over again,” she said of the 80 or so town halls she held in the last 12 months across Kansas. “It seemed to me at the time that
In the early months of 2022, Democrats in Congress came close to passing an appropriations bill that did not include a provision barring federal funding for abortions — maybe the closest it had ever come in more than 40 years. But those who wanted the Hyde Amendment included won the battle in the end. Three
DODGE CITY — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrived in southwest Kansas on Sept. 22 and departed three days later, leaving fear, uncertainty and anger. Many in the Hispanic and Latino communities in Dodge City, Garden City and Liberal, where most ICE activity was located, returned to work this week…
National Republicans are racing to the rescue of U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, diverting millions of dollars in advertising from North Carolina to Kansas. At least, that’s what the Friday reports from Semafor, The Associated Press and Politico indicate. The Senate Leadership Fund political action committee has reserved…
Scott Morgan, a convert to third-party politics in Kansas, embraces his secretary of state nomination by United Kansas Party as an opportunity for change.
TOPEKA — Kansas weather lived up to its tempestuous reputation Wednesday as the dregs of Hurricane Polo launched more than a dozen tornadoes throughout the state. “Kansas dished out tornadoes like Santa handing out candy canes,” wrote one storm chaser who posts online as Kansas Twisters. “No idea how many there were…
WASHINGTON — This summer, arrests of immigrants in the United States soared to the highest levels since President Donald Trump returned to office. An unprecedented increase in cooperation between local and state law enforcement and federal immigration officers through collaborations known as 287(g) agreements helped…
DODGE CITY — Southwest Kansas communities reeling from President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown — which included random stops to check status — are looking for ways to recover as fear continues to grip the area’s large Hispanic population. Restaurants closed, motel managers cancelled reservations and the area’s…
Imagine watching a political campaign video in which a candidate admits to taking a bribe. You recognize the face and voice. But the confession is entirely fabricated, thanks to artificial intelligence. Now imagine that your state has passed a law against these AI-generated election deepfakes. Would that mean the…
TOPEKA — A lawyer for the Rev. Adam Hamilton’s campaign defended a recent political ad about medical debt that prompted Hamilton’s opponent, Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, to send the Democrat’s campaign a cease-and-desist warning. The ad centers on Meischa Zimmerman, a woman who received medical care from…
TOPEKA — More than 30,000 fewer Kansans are receiving federal food assistance benefits, including more than 13,500 children, after the passage of federal cuts in 2025, and current beneficiaries must navigate a system riddled with delays. State lawmakers considered Wednesday streamlining the application process for…
Tax-policy legacy of former Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is drawn into fray of gubernatorial race between Cindy Holscher and Ty Masterson.
The Wednesday execution of Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike was halted after the state of Tennessee administered two failed rounds of its lethal injection protocol and federal public defenders filed an emergency appeal to end the execution and get Pike medical care. The botched execution spanned more than two…
Editor’s Note: This story is part of Gen Z at the Ballot Box, a collaboration between States Newsroom and The 19th. WINDHAM, Maine – As 24-year-old Maya Brooks walked winding roads in rural parts of Maine, a water bottle hooked to her fanny pack and a stack of “lit” on absentee voting and candidates her