By Anna Kaminski TOPEKA — Ford, Finney and Seward counties in western Kansas historically haven’t been Democratic strongholds. But three cities in each county are home to large Latino populations, in part because of meatpacking industry jobs, and those three cities were hit recently with sweeping federal immigration raids that led to children not showing up to school, delayed start times at meatpacking plants and instigated fear across the communities. Republicans, in the wake of these immigration raids, doubled down on the need for immigration enforcement. Meanwhile, Democrats were quick to condemn the effects of the raids and paid visits…
Author: Kansas Reflector
By Sherman Smith TOPEKA — With Democrat Cindy Holscher holding a 5,557-vote lead in the Kansas governor’s race, Republican Ty Masterson said early Wednesday he wanted the state to take “another look” at the results. “The first count does not seem to be going our way, but the margin is narrow enough that Kansas law calls for another look, and we’ll let that process finish,” Masterson said. “Every Kansan deserves to know the result is right.” Holscher, on the other hand, declared victory. “The people of Kansas made their voices heard, and I’m deeply honored by the trust Kansans placed…
Kansans demand property tax reform, but Legislature struggles to make a deal By Tim Carpenter TOPEKA — Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson shared with television viewers Jan. 12, 2021, a vision for how Republicans could deal with runaway property taxes. In the reply to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s State of the State speech, Masterson promised lawmakers would address the burden of $5.4 billion in property taxes collected statewide at that time. It wasn’t an unimaginable political feat given Masterson’s authority over the GOP supermajority in the Senate and House Speaker Dan Hawkins’ control of the two-thirds Republican majority in the…
Marshall blames Ukrainians fighting Russia; Hamilton points to ‘unnecessary’ Iranian war By Tim Carpenter TOPEKA — Vice President JD Vance blamed “tinpot dictators” in the Middle East, former President Joe Biden and other Democrats for surging gasoline and diesel prices in Kansas. Vance didn’t attribute higher U.S. fuel prices on President Donald Trump or Republicans controlling Congress during his Tuesday speech in Topeka designed to bolster the campaign of Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, who finds himself in a tight race with Democrat Adam Hamilton. Vance pointed to loss of 20% of California’s refining capacity while Biden was president and…
Legislators criticize university president’s handling of announcement and question budgeting By Morgan Chilson TOPEKA — The Sternberg Museum of Natural History will remain open after fear of its closure pushed donors to gift $1.2 million toward its operating expenses, the president of Fort Hays State University told a legislative committee Monday. Despite the museum’s reprieve, legislators challenged the way Tisa Mason, who has led the university since 2017, managed the recent announcement the museum would close and also her reasoning for deciding to cut the facility from FHSU’s budget. Mason told the Legislative Budget Committee that the announcement was mishandled…
By Anna Kmaninski PARK CITY — President Donald Trump’s campaign rally Monday in Kansas provided a platform for his misleading and hyperbolic claims, including the disputed assertion that protesters were being paid to interrupt him. He also used an antisemitic slur to defend U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall. Some of the Kansas Republicans who took the stage before Trump similarly used exaggerated or misleading claims while urging Republicans to vote in the Nov. 3 election. Trump appeared in an arena outside Wichita alongside Marshall; Kansas U.S. Reps. Ron Estes, Tracey Mann and Derek Schmidt; Republican gubernatorial candidate and state Sen. Ty…
By Morgan Chilson TOPEKA — The company behind a pilot nuclear project near Parsons is under fire after a report said it is underestimating costs, overestimating the project’s energy efficiency and promoting an unrealistic timeline. The report by Iceberg Research, which assesses publicly available financial information to look for irregularities, called Deep Fission a “money pit.” Deep Fission said in a news release that the report is “highly misleading” and contains “numerous distortions, inaccuracies and mischaracterizations.” The stock market took note, however, and the California-based company’s stock, listed on NASDAQ as FISN, has dropped more than 50% since the report…
Kansas baker resolves simmering complaint about Marshall’s nonpayment of bill By Tim Carpenter TOPEKA — Former U.S. Sen. and Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback endorsed the reelection of Republican Roger Marshall in the toss-up U.S. Senate campaign with Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton. Brownback, with a 30-year record as a Kansas conservative, said he was puzzled people approached him to inquire about who he intended to vote for in the Nov. 3 showdown. He took to social media to share unequivocal support for Marshall. In doing so, Brownback exhibited no fondness for U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat, and aligned…
By Alex Brown In the course of a single election cycle, the backlash against data centers has grown from an issue at local planning commission and city council meetings to become a flashpoint in state and federal races across the country. Candidates who once touted data centers as an economic boon have backtracked, and voters in at least three dozen cities, counties and townships will consider ballot measures in November that could ban data centers in their communities. Analysts say the opposition to data centers has come from Republican and Democratic voters alike. “The people are speaking, and they’re speaking in one…
Farm Bureau backs GOP’s Masterson and Teamsters align with Democrat Holscher By Tim Carpenter TOPEKA — The Kansas gubernatorial campaigns of Republican Ty Masterson and Democrat Cindy Holscher landed endorsements that echo the political alliances they developed while serving in the Kansas Legislature. Masterson pocketed support from the Kansas Farm Bureau PAC, while Holscher bolstered her resume with backing from the Missouri-Kansas-Nebraska Conference of Teamsters. Glenn Brunkow, president of Kansas Farm Bureau, said the PAC’s preference was tied to Masterson’s relationship with agriculture interests during his 20-year career in the Kansas Legislature. Currently, the Andover Republican is president of the…