President Barack Obama’s trip to the University of Kansas, scheduled for Friday, was canceled Tuesday afternoon. A spokeswoman for Rep. Lynn Jenkins said the congresswoman’s office was told the trip was canceled “due to the tragic events in Boston.”
Calling drug addiction a “scourge in Kansas,” Gov. Sam Brownback signed into law Tuesday a bill to test welfare and unemployment recipients suspected of using illegal drugs.
The U.S. immigration system would undergo dramatic changes under a bipartisan Senate bill that puts a new focus on prospective immigrants' merit and employment potential, while seeking to end illegal immigration once and for all by creating legal avenues for workers to come here.
Kansas’ tax reform plan was named the worst in the nation by analysts from both the left and the right in a feature by a national magazine. Governing magazine asked two tax policy experts from nonprofit think tanks on opposite sides of the political spectrum to name the best and worst tax reform efforts in the country – and both cited Kansas as the worst.
A look at Sumner County, Kan., a farming county south of Wichita on the Oklahoma border, gives a sense of how all of America has become dependent on money from Washington — in ways that people on the receiving end can often overlook.
Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that he was “not going to close the door” on the possibility of direct talks with North Korea, a move that would fit into his stated mission to find new approaches to long-festering foreign policy problems.
Since LP was rescued from a closet in June, the Department of Social Services has denied requests for documents after children have died or been seriously injured by abuse or neglect. Gov. Jay Nixon says he’s unaware of any shift in policy.
Nearly four months after the shooting deaths of 20 schoolchildren and six others in Connecticut, the Senate moved closer Wednesday to a vote on a package of gun-related legislation, in a turnaround for supporters of new gun restrictions whose efforts have faltered in recent weeks.
Contrary to assurances it has deployed U.S. drones only against known senior leaders of al Qaida and allied groups, the Obama administration has targeted and killed hundreds of suspected lower-level Afghan, Pakistani and unidentified “other” militants in scores of strikes in Pakistan’s rugged tribal area, classified U.S. intelligence reports show.
Lobbyists spend an average of almost $1 million a year on gifts to Missouri lawmakers, their staffs and their familes. Loopholes in disclosure rules can sometimes make it difficult to see who is benefiting from lobbyists’ spending.
Schools across Kansas could pick teachers or other employees who could carry concealed guns under a measure approved by lawmakers. And Kansas-made guns would be immune from federal regulations within state borders under the Second Amendment Protection Act also approved by lawmakers.
Kansas legislators gave final passage to a sweeping anti-abortion measure Friday, sending Gov. Sam Brownback a bill that declares life begins “at fertilization” while blocking tax breaks for abortion providers and banning abortions performed solely because of the baby's sex.
Welcome to a new political website — and, we hope, an old friend. The Star is relaunching its political blog site, The Buzz. Whippersnappers Steve Kraske and Dave Helling will post on the Buzz throughout the day, bringing you the latest political news, opinion, argument, and bloviation. Today, we start with Ann Murguia and KCI’s Holy Trinity Terminal.
Mark Holland, a United Methodist pastor and fourth-generation Kansas City, Kan., resident, takes over a county that’s seen a string of economic development successes but also mounting concerns over high property taxes and entrenched poverty.
The tax was first approved in 2005, but it failed north of the Missouri River at that time and succeeded only with big support south of the river. This time, it passed decisively both north and south of the Missouri River.
Newcomers win in Hickman Mills. One Raytown incumbent is edged out by eight votes.
Belton and Liberty elect new mayors while Grandview and Raymore keep theirs.
Excelsior Springs agrees to restrict smoking and Lee’s Summit passes arts measure.
Parkville turns down tax on out-of-state car sales, and Liberty elects a new mayor.
Grandview mayor keeps his post.
Pleasant Hill voters are willing to pay for a new pool, and Belton will improve its water and sewer systems.
Cindy Neighbor defeated Mark Read on Tuesday in the only contested school board race in the Shawnee Mission district.
He defeats Linda Mau. In a high-profile Shawnee race, voters elected Mike Kemmling to take the helm in Ward 2.
A bill defining human life as beginning at fertilization and outlawing any direct or indirect state support for abortions cruised to Senate approval Monday.
The new law also gives victims of child sexual abuse more time to report the crime. “I think this is a very important message and signal to put out there,” governor says.
Politicians climbed over one another last week to reach a microphone and declare their positions on legal marriage for gays and lesbians had “evolved.” Missouri’s Sen. Claire McCaskill — who may never face voters again — was one example.
Leaflets in mayor’s race make claims about voting records, allegiances and actions in office.
Supreme Court justices showed sharp divisions and passionate feelings Tuesday as they confronted California’s Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage. During a roughly 85-minute argument that was both unusually long and, at times, markedly heated, the justices exposed fundamental differences that foreshadow difficult decisions to come.
Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill says she now supports a legal right to marriage for gay couples.
Lawmakers are looking to expand the controversial citizen grand jury process. A bill comes months after one panel refused to indict in the case of a bare-breasted statue.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday and Wednesday will confront two distinct gay marriage cases, which together pose some very sensitive questions. Here’s a rundown.
An Air Force general who overturned the sexual assault conviction of a fellow fighter pilot now finds himself caught in a political crossfire that could change military justice; perhaps, some fear, for the worse.
A hearing room in Topeka was packed to overflowing on Thursday for testimony on a House bill that would expand liquor sales to grocery stores, convenience stores and large retailers.
That Missouri needs to follow Kansas’ lead and slash taxes has become gospel among Republicans in Jefferson City. But critics worry that Missouri would also be replicating the Sunflower State’s massive budget shortfalls.
Lawmakers, including a historically large batch of freshmen, are working to put their mark on Kansas in a wide variety of ways. Here’s a quick look at some of their decisions halfway through the 2013 session.
A proposed constitutional amendment would define the right to bear arms as “inalienable” and require the state to defend against any “infringement” of that right was endorsed by a legislative committee.
As might be expected at an openly partisan political event such as Missouri Democrat Days, speakers took plenty of jabs at their Republican counterparts Saturday. At least, most of them did.
Almost a decade after Kansas wrestled with the merits of evolution, the Legislature now grapples with the politics of environmental science. As they move to ease often expensive renewable-energy mandates, lawmakers also debate the climate-change worries that help motivate such regulations.
Missouri power companies would track costs for operations and maintenance for their next rate case under proposed state legislation.
