Note: This is the second article in a four-part series on “Integrated Voter Engagement” in Kansas by Earl F. Glynn. The Sentinel is reprinting the series with Glynn’s permission. This article looks at the healthcare foundations funding IVE in Kansas. Part 1 reviewed the history of IVE and how it started in Kansas. Part 3 shows the Kansas nonprofits receiving funding to engage in IVE. Part 4 reveals the impact of IVE on Kansas, and especially the “blueing” of Johnson County. ________________________________________ The first article in this series looked at the history of Integrated Voter Engag ..read more

The state Supreme Court heard arguments in two cases at the Lansing Middle School Auditorium before an estimated crowd of 200, part of the Court’s outreach to communities, educating them on the operations of the least-understood of the three branches of state government. The public is more familiar, and interacts more frequently, with the higher-profile executive and legislative branches. The Lansing event was the latest in a series of hearings the Court has conducted around the state since 2011, the 150th anniversary of Kansas statehood. That year, the Court convened in the Supreme Court cou ..read more

Kansas Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of HB 2036 was entirely predictable.  We’ve heard the same excuses as she vetoed every income tax bill placed on her desk since 2019 – it’s not affordable, it gives too much relief to the wrong people, yada yada yada.  She professes to want to give Kansans “meaningful tax relief,” claims to be fiscally responsible, and is a middle-of-the-road compromiser. And every time she repeats that tune, I’m reminded of a different song by Sheryl Crow.  The chorus to “Say What You Want” goes like this: (Say, say what you want to) Even though you never mean ..read more

A Prairie Village man is suing over the appointment to a vacancy in the Prairie Village City Council. In his filing, Tim Swanson says the city council violated the law when it allowed Mayor Eric Mikklelson to appoint Chi Nguyen to the seat recently vacated by Lauren Wolf. Wolf resigned in March because she is moving out of her ward. Wolf submitted her resignation from the Ward 3 seat on March 4, 2024, and Swanson put forth his application to join the council on March 21, but says in his filing that Mickkleson claimed to have the authority to fill the position — something the court seems to agr ..read more

Note: This is the first of a four-part series on “Integrated Voter Engagement” in Kansas. This article looks at the history of IVE and how it started in Kansas.  Part 2 looks at the healthcare foundations funding IVE in Kansas. Part 3 shows the Kansas nonprofits receiving funding to engage in IVE. Part 4 reveals the impact of IVE on Kansas, and especially the “blueing” of Johnson County.  The series is reprinted with author Earl F. Glynn’s permission.  Glynn is a mostly retired Data Scientist, Scientific Programmer, Software Engineer, and Physical Scientist who lives in Olathe ..read more

“As I watch children in poverty, trapped in failing schools, who can hardly read, I’d be damned if I will continue to defend the status quo.” This recent quote from Louisiana Rep. Jason Hughes can also be said of Kansas students.  In 2015, about a third of low-income students were below grade level in reading and math; now, almost half are below grade level, and only about 20% are proficient. Hughes went on to say, “I know the political ramifications for me for voting for this bill. But I don’t need this $16,800 a year job bad enough to watch our children continue to live in poverty, trap ..read more

Federal District Court Judge Holly Teeter on April 4 ordered the Olathe school board to pay Jennifer Gilmore’s attorney, Linus Baker, $259,233 in attorney’s fees — bringing the total cost to taxpayers to more than $700,000. Gilmore had sued in federal district court after she was thrown out of an Olathe Board of Education meeting in 2022 for political comments board members found offensive. Baker said in a phone interview on April 17, 2024, that his estimate was that the board of education had spent some $470,000 defending the case — a number that is quite close to the amount reported by ..read more

If Benjamin Franklin were alive today, he might say there are three things you can count on – death, taxes, and the Kansas Association of School Boards putting a positive spin on declining student outcomes. A March 26 column by KASB’s Mark Tallman touts state assessment results at USD 489 Hays as exceeding projections, calling them “some of the highest student success results in the state when considering its enrollment and student demographics.  Based on the actual data, that’s like saying a baseball team’s batting average on cloudy days for left-handed hitters is a little better than ex ..read more

Governor Laura Kelly dashed the hopes of sugarers around the state as she vetoed SB 434, which would have eliminated a costly and time-consuming licensing requirement for practitioners of sugaring, the ancient Egyptian method of hair removal. The technique, mixing sugar, lemon juice, and water into a paste to apply to the affected area, requires 1,000 hours of education at an esthetician school or 1,500 hours of cosmetology training, although only 1%, at most, of each covers sugaring. In her veto message, the governor cited health concerns: “I have serious concerns that deregulating sugaring ..read more

Sedgwick County’s Veterans Treatment Court (VTC) opened last September, one of several such courts in Kansas providing alternatives to jail for veterans troubled by mental health conditions and addiction. The American Legion website explains the concept of VTCs: Veterans Treatment Courts follow the Drug Court model. Veterans Treatment Court participants receive first class treatment and other services they require to get back on track and lead constructive lives, yet they are also held accountable by a judge for meeting their obligations to society, themselves and their families. Participants ..read more