New Kansas education laws will allow private school and home-schooled students to access more publicly funded resources and will create a new scholarship for adult learners in high-demand fields.
Kansas Legislature
Posted inState Government
Fentanyl test strips will finally be legal in Kansas. Here’s why that matters.
Kansans will soon be able to use fentanyl test strips without fear of being prosecuted after Gov. Laura Kelly signed Senate Bill 174 earlier this month, a measure that addiction experts hope will prevent deaths from accidental fentanyl poisoning. “By decriminalizing fentanyl testing strips, we are helping Kansans protect themselves from a deadly poison that […]
Posted inKansas State Government
Fentanyl test strips will finally be legal in Kansas. Here’s why that matters.
Kansans will soon be able to use fentanyl test strips without fear of being prosecuted after Gov. Laura Kelly signed Senate Bill 174 earlier this month, a measure that addiction experts hope will prevent deaths from accidental fentanyl poisoning. “By decriminalizing fentanyl testing strips, we are helping Kansans protect themselves from a deadly poison that […]
Posted inState Government
2023 Kansas legislative session: What passed, what didn’t, what was vetoed
Kansas lawmakers concluded this year’s legislative session last Friday after a three-day flurry of veto overrides and finalizing budgets for both public schools and the state, but without passing any of the tax relief policies each party wanted at the start of the session. Neither did Gov. Laura Kelly achieve the major priorities she laid […]
Posted inKansas State Government
2023 Kansas legislative session: What passed, what didn’t, what was vetoed
Kansas lawmakers concluded this year’s legislative session last Friday after a three-day flurry of veto overrides and finalizing budgets for both public schools and the state, but without passing any of the tax relief policies each party wanted at the start of the session. Neither did Gov. Laura Kelly achieve the major priorities she laid […]
Posted inKansas State Government
‘I trusted her wholly.’ After breaking from Gail Finney, can Rep. Ford Carr earn constituents’ trust?
When state Rep. Gail Finney, a Democrat from Wichita, died in August, her successor Ford Carr knew that she left big shoes to fill. So much so that Carr has a pair of women’s shoes — presumably Finney’s, but Carr didn’t confirm this when The Beacon asked him — displayed in his office, a dedication […]
Posted inState Government
It took three years for Kansas lawmakers to ban trans athletes from girls’ teams. What happens now?
Transgender and nonbinary student athletes will no longer be allowed to play on girls’ sports teams in Kansas schools, following the state legislature’s override of Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of House Bill 2238. The Kansas trans sports ban does not restrict who might play on boys’ teams. The override is the culmination of a three-year […]
Posted inKansas State Government
It took three years for Kansas lawmakers to ban trans athletes from girls’ teams. What happens now?
Transgender and nonbinary student athletes will no longer be allowed to play on girls’ sports teams in Kansas schools, following the state legislature’s override of Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of House Bill 2238. The Kansas trans sports ban does not restrict who might play on boys’ teams. The override is the culmination of a three-year […]
Posted inWichitans You Should Know
How a Kansas woman emerged from the storm of addiction to fight fentanyl
This is the first part of a two-part series. Read the second part here: “ ‘Storm of Addiction’ Part 2: Sober and ready to fight” This story contains references to drug use, addiction and overdose. If you wanted a metaphor to describe Ashley Alexander’s life, you might tell the story of a woman emerging from […]
Posted inState Government
Is support for legal medical marijuana in Kansas coming in 2023?
Recreational marijuana is legal to the west in Colorado and to the east in Missouri. Medical marijuana is legal to the south in Oklahoma. But Kansas remains one of three states where possession for any purpose remains illegal — despite the fact that nearly 90 percent of Americans support legal use for at least medical […]