By Sherman Smith | editor-in-chief
Good morning! Opinion editor Clay Wirestone is writing about the candidates with the most juice. We're also reporting on the start of the World Cup, an increase in emergency room visits for tick bites, the president's plan to restrict mail ballots, inflation jumping in May, and $70 billion for mass deportation.
Clay Wirestone/Kansas Reflector
OPINION
Who’s got the juice? Kansas candidates for governor make their pitches to primary voters.
By Clay Wirestone
We now know the general shape of the Kansas gubernatorial race. Democrats have filed. Republicans have filed (or decided against filing). Primary battles are underway, and political enthusiasts have months to imagine various November matchups.
But what I really want to know is: Who’s got the juice?
You know juice. You can define it as charisma or verve or a sense of inevitability. Candidates want it. They need it.
Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector
Kansas City area boosted infrastructure for FIFA World Cup. Now, the games begin.
TOPEKA — An estimated 650,000 visitors will flood the Kansas City area over the course of the monthlong FIFA World Cup, which chose Kansas and Missouri as the home for four teams and at least six matches.
The event catalyzed a major transportation expansion, created temporary diplomatic offices and established dedicated health care infrastructure to support Kansas City visitors. The area is one of 11 American host cities for the North American tournament.
Kansas State University Research and Extension
ER visits for tick bites on the rise throughout the Midwest
TOPEKA — Emergency rooms in most parts of the United States saw more tick bite-related visits than usual in April.
For every 100,000 emergency room visits in the Midwest in April, 137 were for tick bites, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Homeland Security retreats on plan to get data on mail-in voters
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is walking back, for now, a plan to sweep up data on millions of Americans who vote by mail under President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting mail ballots.
Inflation spiked to 4.2%, a three-year high, in May
Consumer price inflation reached 4.2% in May, the highest mark in three years, boosted largely by higher energy prices that have spiked because of the Iran war, according to federal numbers released on Wednesday.
Billions for the next 3 years of Trump’s mass deportation campaign signed into law
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump significantly bolstered funding for immigration enforcement Wednesday when he signed into law a nearly $70 billion package that will keep key federal agencies operating without any new restrictions.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Kansas Reflector staff will participate in the following free public forums.
6:30 p.m. June 12, Kansas Museum of History in Topeka. Opinion editor Clay Wirestone will join a panel discussion: "From the Desk of William Allen White: What Can Journalism Today Learn from the Sage of Emporia?"
5:30 p.m. June 16, Bradbury Alumni Center at Washburn University in Topeka. Editor-in-chief Sherman Smith will lead a discussion on the proposed constitutional amendment to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices. Host: Kansas Appleseed. Register here.
6 p.m. June 24, Groover Labs in Wichita. Editor-in-chief Sherman Smith will lead a discussion on the proposed constitutional amendment to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices. Host: Kansas Appleseed. Register here.
6 p.m. June 25, Clint Bowyer Community Building in Emporia. Editor-in-chief Sherman Smith will lead a discussion on the proposed constitutional amendment to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices. Host: Kansas Appleseed. Register here.
7 p.m. June 27, Park City Senior Center. Host: Park City Community Pride.
1 p.m. July 11, South Branch Library in Kanass City, Kansas. Opinion editor Clay Wirestone joins a panel discussion: "Elected vs Appointed: Inform Your Choice." Hosts: Voter Rights Network of Wyandotte County, Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation, the League of Women Voters of Johnson County, and El Centro.
2 p.m. Sept. 27, Red Rocks Visitor Center in Emporia. Host: Red Rocks.
If you're interested in having us talk in your town, email Sherman Smith at [email protected].
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