Records reveal Kansas’ next steps on redistricting after failed special session
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kansas spent $43,000 on Caliper redistricting software during GOP gerrymander push.
- Key GOP lawmakers paused a special session; leaders vow to renew redistricting next month.
- Pornhub withdrew from Missouri after AG enforced new age verification rule.
Hello, Star readers.
Today, we’re exploring what records reveal about how much Kansas’ failed special session on redistricting cost taxpayers — and how GOP leaders plan to revive their gerrymandering push.
Next, we’ll get into:
• Don’t Show-Me State: Attorney General Catherine Hanaway cheered the decision by Pornhub to shut down its popular adult website in Missouri over a new age verification rule.
• Jan. 6 payday: A controversial provision could award Sen. Josh Hawley $1 million in damages related to the DOJ’s Capitol riot investigation. Here’s what he said about it.
This week in politics
Receipts obtained exclusively by The Star show Kansas spent $43,000 on redistricting software, support and training from Massachusetts-based Caliper Corporation in September.
The purchase came as GOP leaders worked to drum up support for a November special session aimed at gerrymandering U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids — the lone Democrat and non-white member of Kansas’ congressional delegation — out of office.
“It’s outrageous that politicians in Topeka secretly used Kansans’ hard-earned tax dollars to silence the very people footing the bill — all for a map folks haven’t seen and a process they’ve been cut out of,” Davids said in a statement.
But a handful of key GOP lawmakers refused to sign onto the special session petition, temporarily halting plans for Kansas to join the nationwide redistricting blitz set off by President Donald Trump.
Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican running for governor, and House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican running for insurance commissioner, have both vowed to redouble their redistricting efforts when lawmakers convene in Topeka next month.
Masterson previously told reporters he expected the congressional map proposal to be produced by “a national drawing outfit.” But a spokesperson for Masterson’s office confirmed one of his staffers attended the training provided by Caliper.
More from this past week
• A proposed Kansas ICE prison hit another snag when a federal judge threw out CoreCivic’s counter lawsuit against Leavenworth. But the company hinted at a possible new plan.
• Bets by pro sports icons and a top lawmaker marked the official rollout of legal sports gambling in Missouri Monday. Here’s why Kansas City Chiefs legend Tony Gonzalez didn’t participate.
• Missouri launched an investigation into five retailers selling intoxicating hemp and cannabinoid products. A Westport dispensary is among the shops being scrutinized.
[Matthew Kelly author profile]
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