Sen. Mary Ware, a Wichita Democrat, is hoping to keep her Kansas Senate seat blue. Keenen Smith is trying to change that. Republicans have won this seat three times in the past five elections. Election Day is Nov. 5. Oct. 15 is the last day to register to vote. Early voting starts Oct. 16. You […]
Wichita
Posted inElections
Chase Blasi, J.C. Moore and Raymond Shore Jr. compete for Kansas Senate seat
Republican Chase Blasi won his primary race against J.C. Moore, but Moore is now running under a different party. Democratic challenger Raymond Shore Jr. also is in the race. The Kansas Secretary of State’s Office confirmed Moore will be on the ballot. Republicans have won this district the past five elections. Election Day is Nov. […]
Posted inElections
Jennifer Herington and Joe Claeys are running for open Senate seat
Kansas Sen. Chase Blasi, a Wichita Republican, left this seat after redistricting put him in the 26th District. Now, Maize City Council President Jennifer Herington is running against former school psychologist Joe Claeys. Republicans have won this district in the past five elections. Election Day is Nov. 5. Oct. 15 is the last day to […]
Posted inElections
Stephen Owens and Jason Miller are running to replace long-serving senator
Rep. Stephen Owens, a Hesston Republican, is trying to switch chambers as he runs for the Kansas Senate against Democrat Jason Miller. Outgoing Sen. Carolyn McGinn has held this seat in the 31st District since 2005. Election Day is Nov. 5. Oct. 15 is the last day to register to vote. Early voting starts Oct. […]
Posted inElections
These groups have opinions about your vote. Decoding endorsements in Kansas and Missouri
Candidates and campaigns routinely tout endorsements. The Beacon has compiled a list of Kansas, Missouri and national groups that are active in the 2024 election. Meet the endorsers and learn who and what they support: Abortion Action Missouri Abortion Action Missouri is an abortion access advocacy group that used to be called NARAL (National Abortion […]
Posted inElections
Have a felony record? You still might be eligible to vote
Until they get in touch with him, organizer TJ James says, many people with a felony conviction have no idea that they have the right to vote.
And it’s not for a lack of interest, said James, an organizer with the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity, or MORE2.
“I’ve had people that I work with where they’ve been told specifically at the polls that they cannot vote,” James said. “They’re being told while in prison, ‘You can never vote again.’ And people, unfortunately, just don’t do the research.”
Posted inWichita
Cheney Lake is drying up. Wichita says the drought plan is working
One big rainstorm won’t fix Wichita’s water shortage. Dark storm clouds that hovered over Wichita one mid-September softened the ring of cracked dirt that’s inched wider around Cheney Lake each week, but it didn’t erase the underlying problem. Kansas is in a drought. For much of the last year, Cheney Lake, Wichita’s primary water source, […]
Posted inWichita
COVID vaccines have arrived in Wichita. Here’s what else you need to stay healthy
Sedgwick County is coming off a summer COVID wave as it heads into cold and flu season. Health officials hope that surge prompts far more people to sign up for the new COVID vaccine, which is recommended annually for people 6 months and older. Last year, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported […]
Posted inHealth
An Overland Park pharmacist quit the drug insurance game. He says it could save you money
Nick Romo spent a decade as a pharmacist under the rule of insurance companies and their middlemen. Too often, customers couldn’t get the drugs their doctors prescribed or ran into prices so high they walked away empty-handed. So two years ago, he opened Pharmington Drugs in south Overland Park in rebellion against it all. “I […]
Posted inKansas
One child overdosed and another cut his own neck at a Kansas foster office. What that says about the system
Paramedics had to rush a Kansas foster teen to the hospital because the 15-year-old girl was overdosing on muscle relaxants at a foster care contractor’s office. One month later, paramedics rushed back to that same Topeka office because a different foster child found glass and cut himself. “Child on (scene) cut up his arms and […]