State News - The Morning Sun

Kansas state Sen. Mike Thompson, R-Shawnee, confers with Jason Long, an attorney on the Kansas Legislature's bill drafting staff before a meeting of the Senate committee Thompson chairs, Tuesday, March 7, 2023, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. Thompson is leading an effort to prevent the state from investing its funds using environmental, social or governance principles. (AP Photo/John Hanna)

Kansas passes anti-ESG bill, but it's milder than some want

A proposal designed to thwart environmentally and socially conscious investing has cleared the Kansas Legislature but divisions within its GOP majorities kept the measure from being a strong as some … more

By JOHN HANNA | 4/7/23

Rep. Marvin Robinson, D-Kansas City, explains why he switched his vote on a transgender athletes bill override following a vote in the House, Wednesday, April 5, 2023, in Topeka, Kan. (Evert Nelson/The Capital-Journal via AP)/The Topeka Capital-Journal via AP)

Kansas OKs bill on opting kids out of LGBTQ-themed lessons

Kansas lawmakers have approved a bill aimed at helping parents opt their children out of public school lessons with LGBTQ-themed materials. The Republican-controlled Kansas House voted 76-46 on … more

By JOHN HANNA | 4/6/23

3 charged in shooting of 3 Kansas officers during drug probe

Wyandotte County officials say three men are charged with attempted capital murder after a shootout with Kansas City, Kansas, police officers. Three officers were hospitalized after the confrontation … more

4/6/23

Housing Resources Corporation Launches Statewide Art Contest

TOPEKA – Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC) launched a statewide art contest today, inviting K-12 students to share their visions on the theme: WHAT DOES HOME MEAN TO … more

Staff Reports / [email protected] | 4/6/23

KEL announces 2023 class

TOPEKA, Kan. — Leadership Kansas, one of the country's oldest and most distinguished statewide leadership programs, on Monday announced its Kansas Emerging Leaders (KEL) Class of 2023. KEL is a … more

Staff Reports / [email protected] | 4/6/23

Governor Kelly was joined in the roundtable by Linda Bass, President of KVC Kansas; Matt Arnet, the Clinical Director of Outpatient Services for KVC Kansas; Dr. Zijun Wang, an assistant professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Kansas; Erika Holliday, Substance Use Coordinator at Unified Government Public Health Department; Dr. Zahra Nasrazadani, an Emergency Medical Clinical Pharmacist at the Salina Regional Health Center; and Jeff Boss, the Emergency Medical Services Lieutenant the with Johnson County MED-ACT and Chair of the Mid-America Regional Council Emergency Rescue.

Kelly calls for decriminalizing fentanyl test strips

OLATHE, Kan. — Governor Laura Kelly on Wednesday participated in a roundtable discussion on the need to decriminalize fentanyl test strips in Kansas. She was joined by healthcare, medical, … more

Staff Reports / [email protected] | 4/6/23

FILE - A hydrogen fuel cell bus is refueled at a a fueling station, March 16, 2021, in Canton, Ohio. As fossil fuel emissions continue warming Earthâs atmosphere, the Biden administration is turning to hydrogen as an energy source for vehicles, manufacturing and generating electricity. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)

States and companies compete for billions to make hydrogen

As fossil fuel emissions continue warming Earth's atmosphere, the Biden administration is turning to hydrogen as an energy source for vehicles, manufacturing and generating electricity. It's offering … more

By JENNIFER McDERMOTT and JOHN FLESHER Associated Press | 4/6/23

FILE - Florida state Sen. Lauren Book, seated right, along with Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried, seated left, and about a dozen activists who were protesting SB 300, which would place a ban on abortions after six weeks, are arrested outside the Tallahassee City Hall building, Monday, April 3, 2023, in Tallahassee, Fla. In an increasingly polarized political atmosphere, experts say these kinds of harsh punishments for minority party members standing up for principles they believe in will likely become more common, especially when acts of civil disobedience clash with the rigid policies and procedures of legislative decorum. (Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat via AP, File)

Amid polarization, minority party lawmakers face penalties

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma Republicans removed the state's only nonbinary legislator from House committees after the lawmaker provided refuge to a transgender rights activist. In Florida, two … more

By SEAN MURPHY Associated Press | 4/6/23

A tornado touches down in Pleasantville, Iowa., on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. The storms moving through the Midwest and South on Wednesday threaten some areas still reeling from a deadly bout of bad weather last weekend. (Courtesy of Deanna Sutter Rood via AP)

Missouri tornado kills 5 in latest wave of severe weather

GLEN ALLEN, Mo. (AP) — A tornado ripped through southeastern Missouri before dawn on Wednesday, killing five people and causing widespread destruction as the third in a series of deadly massive … more

By JIM SALTER and SCOTT McFETRIDGE Associated Press | 4/6/23

Sens Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., speaks as Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, listen Wednesday, March 15, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

EPA tightens mercury emissions limits at coal power plants

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency is tightening rules that limit emissions of mercury and other harmful pollutants from coal-fired power plants. That's an update to standards … more

By MATTHEW DALY Associated Press | 4/6/23

Pence won't appeal order compelling grand jury testimony

WASHINGTON (AP) — A spokesman for Mike Pence said Wednesday that the former vice president will not appeal a judge's order compelling him to testify in the Justice Department's investigation into … more

4/6/23

Kansas bans transgender athletes from women's, girls' sports

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is banning transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports from kindergarten through college, the first of several possible new laws restricting the rights of … more

Staff Reports / [email protected] | 4/6/23

3 cops shot, wounded during Kansas City, Kansas, drug probe

Three police officers have been shot and injured in Kansas City, Kansas. The police department in Kansas City Missouri, said on Twitter that the officers were shot Wednesday afternoon. Few details … more

4/5/23

Topeka Angler Sets New Kansas Record for Crappie

SHAWNEE, Kan. — Topeka resident, Bobby Parkhurst, was fishing at Pottawatomie State Fishing Lake No. 2 when the catch-of-a-lifetime came into contact with his lure. Little did Parkhurst know that … more

Staff Reports / [email protected] | 4/5/23

Former Kansas researcher appeals remaining conviction

A former researcher who was accused of hiding work he was doing in China while employed by the University of Kansas is asking a judge to reverse his conviction for making a false statement. Feng … more

4/4/23

Ian Benalcazar, far right, a 13-year-old transgender boy from Lawrence, Kan., speaks outside the Kansas Statehouse during a rally on Transgender Day of Visibility, Friday, March 31, 2023, in Topeka, Kan. Ian is among more than 100 people, including many transgender youth, who came to the Statehouse to protest bills before Kansas lawmakers that would roll back transgender rights. (AP Photo/John Hanna)

Transgender bathroom bill approved in Kansas; veto expected

A Kansas bill that would block transgender people from using public bathrooms associated with their gender identities has cleared the Republican-controlled Legislature. The state Senate voted 2812 on … more

By JOHN HANNA | 4/4/23

Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins, left, R-Wichita, confers with state Rep. Brenda Landwehr, R-Wichita, ahead of a House debate on a proposed "born-alive infants protection," law to apply to abortion providers, Tuesday, March 21, 2023, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. Landwehr is chair of the House health committee, and it handled the measure, which would require providers to try to preserve the lives of infants born during unsuccessful abortions. (AP Photo/John Hanna)

'Born alive' abortion bill OK'd in Kansas, sent to governor

Kansas legislators have given final approval to a bill that could subject doctors to lawsuits or criminal charges if they're accused of not providing enough care to infants born during abortion … more

By JOHN HANNA | 4/4/23

Wind turbine lights curtailed under bill headed to governor

Flashing red lights atop wind turbines would be curtailed to improve nighttime views under a bill that has been sent to the governor. If signed by Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly, it would require … more

4/4/23

Kansas state Sen. Cindy Holscher, D-Overland Park, follows debate in the Kansas Senate, Wednesday, March 29, 2023, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. Holscher is a vocal supporter of a Senate-passed bill aimed at making it easier for people who were sexually abused in childhood to pursue criminal charges or lawsuits over their abuse decades later. (AP Photo/John Hanna)

Kansas lawmakers pass bill to help child sex abuse survivors

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators gave final approval Monday to a bill that would make it easier to pursue criminal charges or file lawsuits over childhood sexual abuse years after the abuse … more

4/4/23

Kansas state Sen. Cindy Holscher, left, D-Overland Park, gives a high-five to Leland, the young son of Sen. Kristen O'Shea, right, R-Topeka, during a session of the Senate, Wednesday, March 29, 2023, at the Statehouse in Topeka, Kan. Lawmakers are preparing for an intense four days of work ahead of their annual "Drop Dead Day" deadline. (AP Photo/John Hanna)

Taxes, trans rights, abortion hot as Kansas deadline looms

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers are headed Monday into four intense days ahead of an annual “Drop Dead Day” deadline that could see them wrap up their work on rolling back transgender … more

4/4/23