Anna Kaminski

Kansas 'lemonade stand law' could boost kid businesses with tax, licensing exemptions • Kansas Reflector Melody Ellis started her first business at 4 years old, and while juggling an art business and an artisan lemonade stand, she said she is working on her third.

Kansas ‘lemonade stand law’ could boost kid businesses with tax breaks and licensing exemptions #ksleg kansasreflector.com/2026/03/06/k...

Former Kansas Supreme Court chief justice to retire March 28 • Kansas Reflector Kansas Supreme Court Justice Marla Luckert will retire later this month, an announcement from the court said.

Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Marla Luckert saw the court through a pandemic, technology woes and a cyber attack, and her court issued landmark decisions on education funding, voting rights, abortion and the death penalty. She will retire this month. #ksleg kansasreflector.com/briefs/forme...

Kansas cell phone ban applying to both public and private schools clears House  • Kansas Reflector Cell phones are one step closer to disappearing from Kansas classrooms after the House passed a bill that would require a daytime device ban to public and private schools.

Social connection, phone addiction and parental choice came into play in an hours-long debate Monday that saw Republicans and Democrats crossing the aisle to ultimately support a bill that would apply to public and private schools. #ksleg kansasreflector.com/2026/02/17/k...

Kansas Democratic governor plans to attend White House meeting • Kansas Reflector Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly plans to attend a business meeting at the White House next week, which comes after President Donald Trump flip-flopped on invitations and Democrats promised to boycott.

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly plans to attend a business meeting at the White House next week, which comes after President Donald Trump flip-flopped on invitations and Democrats promised to boycott. #ksleg kansasreflector.com/2026/02/13/k...

Kansas Senate passes bill scrutinizing free lunch families, dodging challenges from some Republicans • Kansas Reflector TOPEKA – A contingent of Kansas Republicans narrowly advanced a bill that would increase scrutiny of households that qualify for free and reduced lunch, but it fielded pushback from Democrats and fell...

One Kansas Republican said during a debate Wednesday that his colleagues were overreaching in their attempt to make schools ask for legislative approval to participate in a federal free meal program. #ksleg
kansasreflector.com/2026/02/12/k...

Trump confirms in a social media post Wednesday that he personally excluded Gov. Polis of Colorado and one other Dem governor from White House events around an upcoming National Governors Association meeting in DC. He ties the snub to Tina Peters' incarceration.

Kansas lawmakers debate right-wing activist’s legacy as Charlie Kirk day resolution advances • Kansas Reflector TOPEKA — Kansas Republicans preliminarily approved a symbolic resolution honoring the late conservative figure Charlie Kirk following an hourlong debate with Democrats on the House floor in a war of w...

Rep. Ford Carr, D-Wichita, inserted Malcolm X into a Charlie Kirk remembrance resolution, but Rs voted against it.

“I think that vote clearly represents the driving force behind this, and it has absolutely nothing to do with freedom of speech," he said. #ksleg
kansasreflector.com/2026/02/09/k...

Kansas Supreme Court justice champions solutions to rural attorney shortage • Kansas Reflector Kansas Supreme Court justices heard from judges around the state who were having difficulty appointing attorneys to criminal cases, where representation is a Constitutional guarantee.

Access to justice is a larger issue, said Kansas Supreme Court Justice K.J. Wall, because even if attorney numbers improve in rural Kansas, not everyone can afford them. #ksleg
kansasreflector.com/2026/02/09/k...

Trans Kansans and allies use Statehouse restrooms in act of 'malicious compliance'  • Kansas Reflector For many trans Kansans and allied activists, Friday wasn’t their first time in the state Capitol building in Topeka.Years of commitment to the cause led to the day’s event, which organizers called a “...

Republican legislators don’t want men in women’s bathrooms and women in men’s bathrooms, said Jaelynn Abegg, a trans woman who organized what some called a "pee-in" at the Kansas Statehouse.

“So we’re going to give it to them,” she said.
#ksleg kansasreflector.com/2026/02/06/t...

Federal judge denies Kansas officials’ attempt to toss challenge to ballot advocacy • Kansas Reflector A federal judge in Kansas declined to dismiss an advocacy organization’s lawsuit against Attorney General Kris Kobach and state ethics officials, who the judge said provided “neither good reason nor a...

Federal judge says Kansas officials provided “neither good reason nor any reason at all” for ask to dismiss lawsuit challenging foreign funding law. #ksleg kansasreflector.com/2026/02/06/f...

Kansas lawmakers weigh where authority lies in 11-year water dispute • Kansas Reflector Lawmakers are attempting to resolve a water dispute between two Kansas cities and a neighboring county that has spawned three lawsuits, one administrative case and, most recently, a piece of proposed ...

The latest on the water transfer dispute between Hays, Russell and Edwards County brought up questions about who truly owns water in Kansas and how much authority local governments can exercise. #ksleg kansasreflector.com/2026/02/04/k...

Kansas GOP House members renew attacks on DEI, CRT at public universities • Kansas Reflector Critics of DEI launch a broadside against curriculum at Kansas public colleges and universities by pressing for passage of a mandate-laden bill.

Kansas House committee dives into public university curriculum to block DEI. kansasreflector.com/2026/02/04/k... @kansascarpenter.bsky.social

Kansas schools could be required to verify family income for every student receiving free lunch • Kansas Reflector Current federal law requires schools to verify free and reduced lunch eligibility for 3% of recipients, but a proposed bill would require them to verify every student.

“It would turn the focus of our office into an auditing firm rather than feeding children,” said Vicki Schumacher, a supervisor for Wichita Public Schools’ nutrition services. #ksleg kansasreflector.com/2026/01/30/k...

Kansas leaders use annual rally to cast courts as major hurdle in anti-abortion fight • Kansas Reflector More than 19,000 naked baby dolls at varying stages of fetal development were splayed on tables Wednesday in the heart of the Kansas Statehouse.

Kansas leaders use annual rally to cast courts as major hurdle in anti-abortion fight | via @anna-writes.bsky.social #ksleg

Federal public defenders prepare for partial shutdown as Democrats threaten no-votes • Kansas Reflector Federal public defenders who went months without pay last year are facing more financial pressure as another government shutdown looms following state-sanctioned violence in Minneapolis and across the...

Federal public defenders' funding became an urgent priority for the judiciary after missed payments to attorneys and court services last year. It is now linked to U.S. Senate Democrats' protest against ICE agent violence, as they threaten stalling appropriations.
kansasreflector.com/2026/01/28/f...

Kansas bill seeks to roll back juvenile justice reforms, favoring stiffer detention sentences • Kansas Reflector Proposed legislation in Kansas cracks open state guidelines to allow courts to sentence any kid deemed an offender to juvenile prison, reversing a decade-old effort to treat youth incarceration as a l...

“Eventually, kids who were adjudicated of things like disorderly conduct were pushed deeper into the system because of some of the statutes that we had.” #ksleg kansasreflector.com/2026/01/26/k...

Kansas foster children’s voices muted as court advocates take on hundreds of cases each • Kansas Reflector Kansas foster children rarely interact with their court-appointed advocates, and their voices have become muted, a statewide report said.

Kansas lawmakers are having the same conversation about systemic problems with foster children's court-appointed advocates as they did 25 years ago. #ksleg kansasreflector.com/2026/01/21/k...

KBI director urges mandatory background checks for school employees to fill public safety gaps • Kansas Reflector Tony Mattivi, director of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, described a high school wrestling coach, a paraprofessional, a speech pathologist and a bus driver who all had at least two things in comm...

KBI director: “I believe the public would be stunned to know how many people may come in contact with their child...during a school day who have not been subject to mandatory fingerprint-based criminal history and background checks.” #ksleg kansasreflector.com/2026/01/21/k...

Kansas City-area Democrat attempts bill takeover to insert anti-ICE provision • Kansas Reflector U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent activity in Kansas City and across the United States inspired a Democratic state legislator to attempt to hijack a Republican’s bill to read ICE “shall h...

“We need to stand up,” said Rep. Susan Ruiz, a Shawnee Democrat. #ksleg kansasreflector.com/2026/01/15/k...

Kansas House Speaker touts Republican supermajority's 'people-first agenda' • Kansas Reflector Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins underscored the force of the Republican supermajority and its 2025 policy wins in his response to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s final State of the State address.

Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins underscored the force of the Republican supermajority and its 2025 policy wins in his rebuttal to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's State of the State speech. #ksleg kansasreflector.com/2026/01/13/k...

Kansas Supreme Court chief justice pleads for investments in specialty courts, rural attorneys • Kansas Reflector Eric Rosen, chief justice of the Kansas Supreme Court, asks legislators to add funding for specialty courts and to bring more lawyers to rural Kansas.

Kansas Supreme Court chief justice pleads for investments in specialty courts, rural attorneys | via @kansascarpenter.bsky.social #ksleg

Kansas Legislature jolts to life with newcomers and generation of new policy agendas • Kansas Reflector The 2026 session of the Kansas Legislature opens with the complex and routine, including nuances of policy agendas and figuring out statehouse seating charts.

Kansas Legislature jolts to life with newcomers and generation of new policy agendas #ksleg kansasreflector.com/2026/01/12/k...

Sports stadium deals hand ever more taxpayer money to billionaires • Stateline Two recent stadium deals have set separate records for taxpayer giveaways to sports teams. They serve as further evidence that public officials are uninterested in curbing subsidies for billionaire team owners, despite decades of research suggesting stadiums are a wasteful use of limited tax dollars.

Decades of research has found stadium subsidies are a poor use of public dollars, but officials continue to send more and more taxpayer funds to billionaire team owners.

https://stateline.org/2026/01/12/sports-stadium-deals-hand-ever-more-taxpayer-money-to-billionaires/

Kansas wild turkeys, plagued by years of population decline, subject of conservation funding • Kansas Reflector The consistent, dramatic decline in Kansas’ wild turkey population prompted the state in 2023 to forbid hunting them in the fall.

Kansas wild turkeys, plagued by years of population decline, subject of conservation funding kansasreflector.com/briefs/kansa...

Kansas Senate minority leader challenges GOP House speaker for state insurance commissioner • Kansas Reflector Kansas Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes will run for state insurance commissioner, vowing to decline any campaign contributions from the insurance industry.

Kansas Senate minority leader challenges GOP House speaker for state insurance commissioner #ksleg kansasreflector.com/briefs/kansa...

The journalist jargon term for this kind of scrum is a "gaggle," and as far as gaggles go, this is impressive. Photo by @anna-writes.bsky.social #ksleg

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly: "Take heed. Kansas is not a flyover state. We are a touchdown state." #ksleg

Jackson County Legislator Manny Abarca to me on the Chiefs:

“Honestly, at this point they’re like a bad ex-girlfriend. They won’t go away. And so the reality that they want to try and go play second fiddle in Kansas and try and lure a deal that’s not written down on paper, good luck to them..."

Kansas to build Chiefs stadium with STAR bonds in deal approved by lawmakers • Kansas Reflector Kansas legislative leadership voted unanimously Monday to issue STAR bonds to build a football stadium for the Kansas City Chiefs, following a short meeting behind closed doors.

Kansas to build Chiefs stadium with STAR bonds in deal approved by lawmakers kansasreflector.com/2025/12/22/k...

A screen shows the Kansas flag and the Kansas City Chiefs logo. In front of the screen is a wooden podium bearing the state seal.

I am in Topeka at the Docking State Office Building waiting for an official decision between Kansas and a professional sports team #ksleg