New Kansas Law Restricts Local Health Officials' Power During Disease Outbreaks
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – Under a new Kansas law, local health officials will no longer be able to limit the size of public gatherings during a disease outbreak. The Kansas News Service reports that local health boards in Kansas will still be able to suggest crowd limits but not enforce them. State health officials say the law will make it harder to control the spread of an infectious disease. It’s in response to early COVID-19 guidelines, which Republicans argue violated the right to assemble. Republican State Senator Beverly Gossage says the law will give people who are wrongfully quarantined a civil hearing within three days of filing a lawsuit. "If someone is wrongfully put into isolation or quarantine, they would want to have prompt action in case that was not done properly," Gossage added. Democratic Governor Laura Kelly tried to reject the measure, but Republican lawmakers voted to override her veto.
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Kansas Fighting Nearly Three Dozen Cases of Measles; Update Set for Wednesday
UNDATED (KPR) - State health officials will provide an update Wednesday on the number of new measles cases in Kansas, if any. At last check, nearly three dozen cases had been confirmed in southwest and south-central Kansas. Measles is more than just a rash. It can lead to serious health problems, including brain inflammation, pneumonia, and other infections. Even healthy children can become seriously ill. So far, the disease has been identified in eight Kansas counties. Of the 32 confirmed cases, one person has already been hospitalized. Measles is an airborne disease, spreading through the air when an infected person breathes, coughs, sneezes, or even talks. The virus can stay alive in the air - and on surfaces - for up to two hours. But two doses of the MMR vaccine can almost always prevent measles. Young children, pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are at greatest risk for severe cases.
(– Earlier reporting –)
Kansas Measles Outbreak Expands
UNDATED (KNS) – A measles outbreak in southwest and south central Kansas has grown significantly in the last week. State health officials recorded 8 more cases this week, bringing the total number this year to 32. Eight counties have recorded cases. Data from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment shows the majority of cases are among unvaccinated children, some of whom are too young to get vaccinated. One patient has been hospitalized. Measles is highly contagious and in serious cases, can lead to hospitalization or death. Other states, like Texas and New Mexico, have much larger outbreaks.
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Governor Seeks Restoration of Federal Funding for Kansas Schools
UNDATED (KNS) – Kansas Governor Laura Kelly asked the U.S. Secretary of Education Tuesday to reinstate more than $22 million in federal funding for Kansas schools. The Kansas News Service reports that Congress approved the funds in 2020 to help students catch up academically after the COVID-19 pandemic. Kelly says Kansas needs the final phase of funding to recruit early childhood educators and train teachers in the science of reading. Scott Gordon is general counsel for the Kansas Department of Education. He says the Trump administration reneged on the funds without warning. “‘We changed our mind, and if you haven’t spent your money by March 28th, then you don’t get to spend it anymore.’ And they sent us that notification on March 28th,” Gordon explained. Some Republicans say the federal pandemic aid was wasteful and unregulated. Kansas has paused some programs as officials try to get the funds back.
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Report Shows Increase in Kansas Abortions from 2023 to 2024
UNDATED (KNS) – Kansas health care facilities provided around 23,000 abortions last year, an 18% increase from 2023. That’s according to a new report by researchers at the Guttmacher Institute, which supports abortion rights. The Kansas News Service reports that out-of-state patients accounted for most of the increase in Kansas. The study finds 71% of patients at Kansas clinics are residents of other states, the largest percentage of any state in the country. Most are from Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Isaac Maddow-Zimet with Guttmacher says expanded capacity at Kansas clinics likely drove the influx. “It's possible that some people, particularly Texas residents, might be now able to access care in Kansas that might have otherwise traveled to New Mexico or Colorado,” he added. Planned Parenthood opened its fourth Kansas clinic in Pittsburg last August. The state health department is not expected to release official abortion data until later this year, a move criticized by anti-abortion groups. (Read more.)
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Two Kansas Congressional Aides Appointed to USDA Posts
WASHINGTON (TCJ) - President Donald Trump has appointed a pair of staffers for two Republican congressmen from Kansas to jobs the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Topeka Capital Journal reports that Tucker Stewart and Riley Pagett are among the presidential appointments announced Monday. President Trump appointed Stewart to be deputy assistant secretary for congressional relations at the USDA. He's from the town of Washington, Kansas and graduated from Butler Community College, Kansas State University and Washburn University School of Law. Stewart has been working for U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall for the past four years most recently as general counsel and senior agricultural policy adviser.
Pagett will be the USDA chief of staff for trade and foreign agricultural affairs. He is from Liberal and has been working for U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann for the past four years, most recently as deputy chief of staff.
The USDA said the presidential appointments announced Monday are for key leadership roles in the department. A news release from the department said the "appointees have been selected to implement President Trump's America First agenda at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, ensuring the needs of America's farmers, ranchers, and producers remain a top priority."
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LIHEAP Funding in Doubt Following Program Layoffs
UNDATED (HPM) – This month, the Trump administration fired the staff of a federal program that helps struggling customers pay utility bills. In Kansas, over 40,000 households received financial assistance to pay for heating and cooling in fiscal year 2024. Harvest Public Media reports it's still unclear how remaining funds will be released. The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, disburses billions of dollars each year to U.S. states, territories, and tribes. Most of that money has already been distributed this heating season, but Mark Wolfe of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association says he worries the remaining funds won't be disbursed, which could put many in the Midwest and Great Plains at risk. “Low-income families will have more problems paying their energy bills without federal assistance. We've done surveys. We know what happens. People go without. They don't buy medicine. They cut back on food. They cut back on clothing and other essentials in order to pay that bill,” he explained. A Senate committee called on Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to testify this week about the mass layoffs at LIHEAP and elsewhere. That testimony has since been delayed. (Read more.)
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Man Falsely Connected to Chiefs Rally Shooting Found Dead
UNDATED (Johnson County Post) – An Olathe man who was falsely identified as a shooter at last year’s Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl rally has been found dead. The Johnson County Post reports that Olathe Police confirmed Denton Loudermill’s body was found at an Olathe address late last week. Few details were immediately available, but a police spokesperson said Loudermill’s death did not appear to be suspicious. Loudermill gained unwanted attention last year when a picture circulated of him being detained by police after the mass shooting at the Super Bowl victory parade. Loudermill was not involved and he was quickly released. But the false rumor was amplified on social media by a Republican congressman and three GOP Missouri state senators. After Loudermill’s death, his attorney said that federal lawsuits against those officials would still go forward.
(–Additional reporting–)
Olathe Man Falsely Accused in Chiefs Rally Shooting Found Dead
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A Kansas City man who was wrongly identified as a shooter at the 2024 Chiefs Super Bowl rally has died. An attorney for Denton Loudermill confirmed his client’s body was found Friday morning. The attorney did not release details of Loudermill’s death. Loudermill previously said he suddenly found himself the target of hate following the deadly Chiefs rally on February 14, 2024.
KCTV reports that three Missouri senators were among those who circulated a picture of Loudermill on social media sitting on the ground at the rally with his hands behind him as police stand nearby. The post on X (formerly Twitter) garnered thousands of views and engagement. Kansas City police confirmed he was not a suspect in the days following the shooting.
Loudermill sued Sen. Rick Brattin of Harrisonville, Sen. Denny Hoskins of Warrensburg and Sen. Nick Schroer of St. Charles County. The lawsuits claim the three lawmakers falsely said he was in the country illegally at the time of the rally shooting and linked him to the violence. Loudermill said he received death threats and he claimed the fallout caused him mental distress and anxiety.
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed against the three lawmakers who wrongly identified Loudermill for lack of jurisdiction because it had been filed in Kansas. Arthur Benson, Loudermill’s attorney, said he will continue to fight to clear his client’s name, even after his death.
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Report: Landlord Retaliation Complaint Ordinance Underused in Wichita
WICHITA, Kan. (KMUW) – Wichita passed an ordinance in 2024 to crack down on landlord retaliation. But as KMUW reports, few complaints have been filed so far. The policy allows the city to fine landlords who retaliate against tenants. Retaliation can include an eviction or rent increase within six months of a tenant's complaint to the city's inspections department. But between January 2024 and January 2025, the city received just nine complaints from tenants alleging retaliation. The city hasn’t escalated any of the complaints to court – and thus no fines had been handed out – as of January 2025. Council member Brandon Johnson says many tenants who complain are in the throes of an eviction. "I'm happy we have the ordinance. The challenge is individuals having the wherewithal to reach out to us in a time of crisis and get the process started," he added. The city’s complaint process doesn’t stop the actual eviction process from occurring. (Read more.)
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KCK Art Project To Commemorate Sisters Who Saved Native Cemetery
UNDATED (KCUR) – A new Kansas City, Kansas, art project will commemorate the Conley sisters, who saved a Native American burial ground in the early 1900s. It’s called “Trespassers Beware,” and will help tell the story of three sisters who lived in a makeshift fort at the cemetery to protect the land from development. Chief of the Wyandot Nation of Kansas, Judith Manthe, co-directs the project. She says the reimagined “Fort Conley” installation will show the women were a formidable force, adding that “...if I believe in something, I'm going to fight for it, and that's exactly what Lyda, Ida, and Helena did, was stick up for their rights.” The project is set to be unveiled August 30th at the Wyandotte County Historical Museum. (Learn more.)
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Grant Funding Uncertain for Lawrence’s Watkins History Museum
LAWRENCE, Kan. A $250,000 grant for the Watkins Museum to expand exhibits on local Indigenous history is in limbo and a Lawrence event honoring veterans will be canceled amid federal cuts to humanities programs. The Lawrence Times reports that humanities councils in all 50 states received a letter on April 1 from the Department of Government Efficiency terminating their share of $75 million previously allocated by Congress to these councils by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The NEH grants were terminated due to DOGE “repurposing its funding allocations in a new direction in furtherance of President Trump’s agenda.”
The Watkins Museum has a project to explore indigenous heritage in Douglas County and the history of Haskell Indian Nations University that is directly affected by the suspension of the NEH. The museum submitted a $250,000 grant application to fund the project in January.
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Kansas Senate Passes Law To Allow Fireworks Sales Year-Round
TOPEKA (KSNT) – The Kansas Senate has passed a law allowing fireworks to be sold year-round in the state and retailers are deciding if it’s worth it or not to sell their wares year-round. KSNT TV reports that some retailers may choose to opt out. Some of the fireworks retailers say that shipments are now more expensive because of tariffs, and that some of their suppliers have stopped their shipments all together. While some retailers are not planning to sell year-round, others say they are planning to extend sales for three weeks around the Fourth of July.
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K-State’s Sundell Selected in Third Round of 2025 WNBA Draft
MANHATTAN, Kan. (KPR) - In 2025 WNBA Draft Monday night, Kansas State guard Serena Sundell was selected with the 26th overall selection by the Seattle Storm. That means she will play professional sports in the same city as her brother, Jalen, who is an offensive lineman with the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks.
Kansas State Athletics announced that Sundell has now become the ninth player in K-State history to be selected during the WNBA Draft and the 12th player overall to become a part of the league. She is a 2025 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association and Associated Press All-America honorable mention selection. She led the Big 12 with a career-high for assists per game.
Sundell is from Maryville, Missouri, and is the first player in school history with 1,700 or more career points and 800 or more career assists. The Wildcats concluded the 2024-25 season with 28 wins, the second-most in a season in school history.
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