Author: Patrick Richardson
Kansas legislators pressure Gov. Kelly to reopen the economy
On April 27, roughly three-quarters of the Kansas Republican Legislative Delegation sent a letter to Gov. Laura Kelly, pressuring her…
Reopening Kansas: challenges and opportunities
Even as the Kansas Policy Institute, which owns the Sentinel, and the Kansas Chamber of Commerce released their plans for…
Misleading Associated Press story disparages Kansas ranchers
Last week the Lawrence Journal-World ran a misleading Associated Press story on range burning by Roxana Hegeman that unnecessarily disparaged Kansas ranchers.…
Oil price decline to hurt tax revenue and the industry
Oil prices during the last two days of trading for May contracts plunged more than 300 percent to an all-time…
Medicaid expansion states have worse COVID-19 results
One of Governor Kelly’s closest allies in the Legislature, state Sen. Barbara Bollier, a retired Mission Hills physician, said one…
Kansas Chamber releases plan to restart economy
As Kansas Governor Laura Kelly announced she was extending the state-wide stay-at-home order until May 3, the Kansas Chamber of…
Kansas faces huge state budget deficits due to COVID-19
Late last week, Kansas Policy Institute released a report showing the state of Kansas is facing potential state budget deficits between…
Southeast Kansas town backs off cruise night ban
One small town in Southeast Kansas looked at a restrictive cruise night ban from their local government and said, “No,…
Governor’s order restricting church gatherings unconstitutional, interest group, AG say
UPDATE: Kansas Legislative Coordinating Council strikes down order An executive order limiting church attendance by Governor Laura Kelly, on the…
Kansas senators concerned about state’s use of Unacast GPS tracking
Last week the Sentinel reported that the State of Kansas was using GPS data from aggregator Unacast to track Kansans’…
COVID-19: massive unemployment, except in government
Last week a record 55,428 people filed for unemployment in Kansas, and nationally the number stands at 7.14 million due…
Cell phone tracking system raises privacy concerns for Kansans
The Kansas Justice Institute on Wednesday warned of potential privacy issues surrounding the use of data from a cell phone…
Frontenac sued in federal court over city administration firings
The three top Frontenac city officials who were fired in September of last year have filed a federal lawsuit alleging…
Forty books about socialism everyone should read
Socialism and communism have killed more than 100 million people worldwide, yet millions of (mostly young) people across the country…
SCOTUS overturns Kansas Supremes again, legislators call for changes to appointment process
The United States Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has again overturned the Kansas Supreme Court, after vacating a decision that would have…
Kudos to KC Star on the courage to say ‘we were wrong’
Give a tip of the hat to Kansas City Star Assistant City Editor Maria Martin. Last week the Star ran…
Informed consent legislation for release of sensitive student data fails
A House bill that would have required informed consent before parents allow their children to participate in a controversial survey…
Janus bills clear committee, head to full House, Senate
A pair of bills that would bring the State of Kansas into compliance with the United States Supreme Court’s 2018…
Johnson County legislator proposes 5% ‘privilege’ tax on sale of guns and ammo
Rep. Jerry Stogsdill (D-Prairie Village) introduced a bill in the Kansas legislature that would impose a 5% privilege tax on…
City of Frontenac violated Kansas Open Records Act, AG’s office finds
In a 17-page finding, the Kansas Attorney General’s Office last week concluded that the City of Frontenac violated the Kansas…
KPI releases annual “A-F” school grades
The Kansas Policy Institute, which owns the Sentinel, released its annual “A-F” School Grades on Monday, and the results are…
Senate bill would allow Kansas counties to levy 1 percent income tax
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to remove mention of deductibility from the state income tax; we regret the…
Proposal to raise income tax rates costs $100 million over 3 years
Yes, that headline is correct. A tax bill touted as revenue-neutral by its sponsors would actually result in a net…
Kansas water rights controlled by an unelected state employee
Unbeknownst to many, Kansas water rights are controlled by one unelected employee of the state Department of Agriculture. That person…