TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly’s frustration with inability of Congress to advance a new coronavirus relief package culminated Monday in signing of an executive order prohibiting mortgage foreclosures as well as residential or commercial evictions in Kansas due to financial hardship created by the pandemic.She said her order was identical to a statewide mandate that expired and that she would renew the measure in two weeks if the federal government didn’t take action on a national scale. The Kelly administration is evaluating options for aiding landlords who have grappled for months with these...…TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly’s frustration with inability of Congress to advance a new coronavirus relief package culminated Monday in signing of an executive order prohibiting mortgage foreclosures as well as residential or commercial evictions in Kansas due to financial hardship created by the pandemic.She said her order was identical to a statewide mandate that expired and that she would renew the measure in two weeks if the federal government didn’t take action on a national scale. The Kelly administration is evaluating options for aiding landlords who have grappled for months with these...WW…

12:32News StoryDemocrat Aaron Coleman, of Kansas City, Kan., was elected to the Kansas House in November. His future colleagues and others have called for him to resign or be removed from office due to allegations of his violence against women. (Submitted to Kansas Reflector)LAWRENCE — Kansas House Democratic candidate Aaron Coleman on Friday urged Republican candidates not to wear a mask during the pandemic in anticipation they would be stricken by COVID-19 and do poorly in the November general elections.Coleman, a 19-year-old candidate for a Wyandotte County seat in the Legislature and a...…12:32News StoryDemocrat Aaron Coleman, of Kansas City, Kan., was elected to the Kansas House in November. His future colleagues and others have called for him to resign or be removed from office due to allegations of his violence against women. (Submitted to Kansas Reflector)LAWRENCE — Kansas House Democratic candidate Aaron Coleman on Friday urged Republican candidates not to wear a mask during the pandemic in anticipation they would be stricken by COVID-19 and do poorly in the November general elections.Coleman, a 19-year-old candidate for a Wyandotte County seat in the Legislature and a...WW…

12:27News StoryGov. Laura Kelly tours a vaccine clinic March 15 in Topeka. The governor says the state is at a crossroads as the Delta variant causes a surge in COVID-19 cases. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly announced Friday the state will make COVID-19 vaccines available to all adults starting next week.The accelerated rollout comes just days after the state opened up vaccines to critical workers and individuals with health conditions that make them vulnerable to the virus. This policy shift reflects an expected increase in vaccine production and an effort to...…12:27News StoryGov. Laura Kelly tours a vaccine clinic March 15 in Topeka. The governor says the state is at a crossroads as the Delta variant causes a surge in COVID-19 cases. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly announced Friday the state will make COVID-19 vaccines available to all adults starting next week.The accelerated rollout comes just days after the state opened up vaccines to critical workers and individuals with health conditions that make them vulnerable to the virus. This policy shift reflects an expected increase in vaccine production and an effort to...WW…

12:51News StorySen. Bud Estes, a Dodge City Republican state senator and former Kansas House member, has died at age 74 following a lengthy illness. (Submitted/Kansas Reflector)TOPEKA — Dodge City state Sen. Bud Estes will be remembered as a kind and thoughtful citizen-legislator in Topeka and dedicated public servant for constituents in southwest Kansas, politicians of both political parties said Saturday.Estes, 74, served in the Kansas House before elected to the Senate in 2016. The senator was re-elected in November with nearly 70% of the vote while battling a longstanding...…12:51News StorySen. Bud Estes, a Dodge City Republican state senator and former Kansas House member, has died at age 74 following a lengthy illness. (Submitted/Kansas Reflector)TOPEKA — Dodge City state Sen. Bud Estes will be remembered as a kind and thoughtful citizen-legislator in Topeka and dedicated public servant for constituents in southwest Kansas, politicians of both political parties said Saturday.Estes, 74, served in the Kansas House before elected to the Senate in 2016. The senator was re-elected in November with nearly 70% of the vote while battling a longstanding...WW…

16:31News StoryRepublican state Rep. Ken Rahjes, walking at far left in this image, tested positive for COVID-19 after attending meetings Monday at the Capitol to select House and Senate leaders for the 2021 session. House GOP officials issues a letter warning lawmakers of possible exposure to the coronavirus. (Screenshot by Kansas Reflector)TOPEKA — The Kansas House speaker sent a letter to colleagues Friday notifying them a representative attending organizational meetings at the statehouse earlier in the week tested positive for COVID-19.The letter was designed to inform lawmakers at...…16:31News StoryRepublican state Rep. Ken Rahjes, walking at far left in this image, tested positive for COVID-19 after attending meetings Monday at the Capitol to select House and Senate leaders for the 2021 session. House GOP officials issues a letter warning lawmakers of possible exposure to the coronavirus. (Screenshot by Kansas Reflector)TOPEKA — The Kansas House speaker sent a letter to colleagues Friday notifying them a representative attending organizational meetings at the statehouse earlier in the week tested positive for COVID-19.The letter was designed to inform lawmakers at...WW…

4:00CommentaryA mailer paid for by the Kansas Chamber PAC suggests that Kansas Republican Rep. Jan Kessinger of votes in line with Democrats in the United States House and Senate, which is technically not possible.One spring day back a couple of years ago, Rep. Jan Kessinger, a Republican from Overland Park, voted in favor of a bill proclaiming .He was one of 114 legislators in both the House and Senate to elevate this chalky product of the Flint Hills to its official status.For approving of limestone, and casting many other votes that apparently live forever in annals kept by some...…4:00CommentaryA mailer paid for by the Kansas Chamber PAC suggests that Kansas Republican Rep. Jan Kessinger of votes in line with Democrats in the United States House and Senate, which is technically not possible.One spring day back a couple of years ago, Rep. Jan Kessinger, a Republican from Overland Park, voted in favor of a bill proclaiming .He was one of 114 legislators in both the House and Senate to elevate this chalky product of the Flint Hills to its official status.For approving of limestone, and casting many other votes that apparently live forever in annals kept by some...WW…

14:54News StoryGov. Laura Kelly and Jurgen Richt, a Kansas State University professor, on Thursday discuss COVID-19 research being conducted at the university’s Biosecurity Research Institute in Manhattan. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)MANHATTAN — Gov. Laura Kelly on Thursday stepped into the sophisticated Biosecurity Research Institute at Kansas State University to learn more about testing of nasty pathogens in plants and animals capable of threatening agriculture and public health.In her first trip to the institute since it was under construction a dozen years ago, the governor also was...…14:54News StoryGov. Laura Kelly and Jurgen Richt, a Kansas State University professor, on Thursday discuss COVID-19 research being conducted at the university’s Biosecurity Research Institute in Manhattan. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)MANHATTAN — Gov. Laura Kelly on Thursday stepped into the sophisticated Biosecurity Research Institute at Kansas State University to learn more about testing of nasty pathogens in plants and animals capable of threatening agriculture and public health.In her first trip to the institute since it was under construction a dozen years ago, the governor also was...WW…

14:37BriefThe Kansas Department of Revenue reported tax revenue in the month of December exceeded projections and added to the cash cushion available to the 2022 Legislature and Gov. Laura Kelly. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)TOPEKA — Kansas revenue from taxes on individual and corporate income as well as from retail sales surpassed expectations of state fiscal analysts in December, officials said Monday.Corporate income tax collections during the month exceeded projections by $39 million or 65%, which fueled an influx of cash at the Kansas Department of Revenue that was $65 million or...…14:37BriefThe Kansas Department of Revenue reported tax revenue in the month of December exceeded projections and added to the cash cushion available to the 2022 Legislature and Gov. Laura Kelly. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)TOPEKA — Kansas revenue from taxes on individual and corporate income as well as from retail sales surpassed expectations of state fiscal analysts in December, officials said Monday.Corporate income tax collections during the month exceeded projections by $39 million or 65%, which fueled an influx of cash at the Kansas Department of Revenue that was $65 million or...WW…

7:05CommentaryKansas State Epidemiologist Farah Ahmed spent her childhood in Kansas and Missouri. She returned to Kansas after earning her PhD through the University of Texas System. (KDHE)Looking ahead to a long weekend celebrating workers, let’s pay respects to one category of laborer most of us probably never thought about until the last few months: the epidemiologists of Kansas.Until a few weeks ago, I didn’t even know there was an official state epidemiologist. But of course there is — Farah Ahmed, one of a dozen epidemiologists and more than a dozen other professionals in the Kansas...…7:05CommentaryKansas State Epidemiologist Farah Ahmed spent her childhood in Kansas and Missouri. She returned to Kansas after earning her PhD through the University of Texas System. (KDHE)Looking ahead to a long weekend celebrating workers, let’s pay respects to one category of laborer most of us probably never thought about until the last few months: the epidemiologists of Kansas.Until a few weeks ago, I didn’t even know there was an official state epidemiologist. But of course there is — Farah Ahmed, one of a dozen epidemiologists and more than a dozen other professionals in the Kansas...WW…

16:03News StoryGov. Laura Kelly’s mailing effort should see more than 277,000 Kansans receive voter registration applications in the mail. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)Xby Noah Taborda, September 23, 2020by Noah Taborda, September 23, 2020TOPEKA — Hundreds of thousands of people across the state have already or will soon receive a voter registration application in the mail as part of a state effort to ensure eligible Kansans can vote in the upcoming general election.With COVID-19 hampering outreach and registration efforts, Gov. Laura Kelly, along with the Kansas Department for Children...…16:03News StoryGov. Laura Kelly’s mailing effort should see more than 277,000 Kansans receive voter registration applications in the mail. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)Xby Noah Taborda, September 23, 2020by Noah Taborda, September 23, 2020TOPEKA — Hundreds of thousands of people across the state have already or will soon receive a voter registration application in the mail as part of a state effort to ensure eligible Kansans can vote in the upcoming general election.With COVID-19 hampering outreach and registration efforts, Gov. Laura Kelly, along with the Kansas Department for Children...WW…