Impugning motives. Property taxes. Water questions. AI slop. Voter data.

By Sherman Smith | Editor-in-Chief

TOPEKA — The tension between voting rights lobbyist Melissa Stiehler and a committee of Kansas legislators boiled over when Stiehler told them “lawmaking based on xenophobic propaganda is morally disgusting.”

A few Republicans shared glances, and Rep. Kristey Williams, an Augusta Republican, asked Stiehler to repeat herself.

When she did, Williams reprimanded her and read from her laptop screen: “We may not impugn or question the motives, integrity, or good faith of its committee members. We should do so with respect, and if it is not, then it is considered out of order.”

The committee’s vice chair later told Stiehler in an email that she should “know when to shut up,” and he asked her to send her husband and colleague to testify instead.

TOPEKA — The Kansas Legislature’s last-ditch attempt to make good on campaign promises to deliver property tax relief devolved into finger-pointing between candidates for governor and infighting among Republicans as lawmakers passed a bill that nobody seemed excited about.

Republican leadership produced House Bill 2043 in the waning hours of the session. The bill, which resembles a package Gov. Laura Kelly previously vetoed, effectively limits annual spending increases by local governments to 3% or the inflation rate, whichever is smaller. If a taxing entity tries to spend more, just 10% of the local voters who participated in the most recent election for secretary of state can sign a petition to block the spending increase. The bill now excludes schools and new construction from the spending lid.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — Gov. Laura Kelly faced a sea of fifth graders Tuesday to answer their questions about water policy, conservation, and what the Legislature is doing to help the next generation.

How does Kansas share water from the Ogallala Aquifer with other states? How is Kansas addressing the water crisis? Will the next governor continue Kelly’s work?

After the fifth graders at Piper Creek Elementary School learned about the water crisis in Kansas, they wanted these questions and more answered. They sent a wave of letters to the governor asking her to speak with their class — so Kelly brought along former state senator and current special adviser on water Carolyn McGinn to tackle the questions.

By Huascar Medina

The AI slop was posted on Truth Social in a portrait orientation as a cluster of tastelessness.

President Donald Trump shared the image through his official social media account this week, although it has already been deleted, illustrating the ephemeral nature of thought logic and reason rampant in present-day political arenas hijacked by social media platforms.

TOPEKA — The Kansas State Board of Education voted Tuesday to appoint the state Department of Education’s director of strategy, policy and alignment to become commissioner of K-12 education in Kansas.

The Department of Justice’s stated reason for obtaining sensitive personal data on millions of voters masks the Trump administration’s true intention for obtaining state voter lists, Michigan’s top election official asserted in federal appeals court Monday.

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