Opinions

State legislatures across the country are criminalizing democracy with bills ostensibly designed to suppress voter turnout. Most voters will not read these bills, and many would not fully grasp the details of their provisions if they did.

The end of March gives us a chance to evaluate the first three quarters of Kansas’ fiscal year. With all that has happened in the last year, we have not been very certain of how tax revenues would fare for the state.

Smallpox was particularly devastating to native people following the European entry into the New World. The disease had been prevalent in Europe for generations and may have existed for thousands of years in the ancient world.

Daughter Allie came home from Lawrence this past weekend and while I didn’t keep track, I suspect we put more miles on her car in one day than she has in the past year.

The Kansas Legislature has finished the last committee meetings for the general session. We will spend the next week on the floor debating those bills we have considered from the Senate and a few last bills that are coming out of the House committees.

An unusual outbreak of tornadoes developed the evening of March 31, 1892. A terrible night of terror reigned into the early morning hours of April 1 across the state of Kansas.

Last week, a white gunman killed eight people, six of whom were women of Asian descent, in three separate spas in and around Atlanta, Ga. This act of domestic terrorism is part of ongoing racism and sexism against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI).

The Kansas Legislature is nearing the completion of committee work as we considered a few last issues and the bills coming from the other chamber.  We have one more week to complete our committee work before the next deadline so we have time to consider bills on the floor.

The Osage people were once the masters of a wide territory covering the southern half of Missouri, northern Arkansas, and parts of present-day Oklahoma and Kansas.

The Kansas legislature spent the week working through bills on the floor of each chamber. Only a few committee meetings were held to advance specific pieces of legislation. One of those bills was House Substitute for Senate Bill 88. This bill was written in response to the recent energy crises.