State News

TOPEKA — The Rev. Traci Blackmon counts each modest contribution to an ambitious United Church of Christ program aiding people trapped by medical debt in Kansas and Oklahoma as a gospel-infused demand for justice. Indeed,…

LAWRENCE, Kan (AP) — The number of Kansas counties that require face coverings has risen sharply as fewer opted out of Gov. Laura Kelly’s latest mask mandate. Sixty-two Kansas counties now have orders in place,…

WICHITA, Kansas — Between concerns about schools staying open and the challenges of learning remotely, teachers and students are haunted by another question that goes beyond 2020: Will snow days disappear forever? Schools invested in…

CEDAR CREST — Bess and Betty stamped and snorted Tuesday morning in the guest parking lot of the governor’s mansion, where for 40 minutes they waited patiently and sometimes impatiently in fur-ruffling wind under a…

TOPEKA — U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran referred to Democrat Joe Biden as president-elect Tuesday by pointing to state election certifications affirming defeat of President Donald Trump and by recommending the future president have benefit of…

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal program that had extended unemployment benefits for an extra 13 weeks in Kansas will stop next month just as new COVID-19 restrictions could lead to more furloughs and layoffs.…

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Election officials in Sedgwick County say those drop-off ballot boxes used in the Nov. 3 election were “wildly popular” and are here to stay. Election Commissioner Tabitha Lehman told the Wichita…

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Surging pandemic numbers are straining hospitals across Kansas just days before Thanksgiving gatherings that public health officials fear could worsen the outbreak.  The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported on…

The city of Wichita said it will work with Sedgwick County to enforce the county’s new public health order. The order passed last week tightens restrictions on certain businesses and mass gatherings, and it requires…

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is including movie theaters among the businesses to receive aid as the state gets close to wrapping up its distribution of federal coronavirus relief funds. Legislative leaders signed off Friday…