Kelly Celebrates Economic Boom, Chiefs Deal In Final State Of State Address

Legislature Launches Committee Work, Introduces Natural Gas Infrastructure Bill

Chief Justice Urges Specialty Court Expansion, Rural Attorney Recruitment

Kobach Opens $10 Million For AI Gun Detection Software In Kansas Schools

Arctic Front Brings Gusty Winds, Plunging Temperatures Across Kansas

Kelly Celebrates Economic Boom, Chiefs Deal In Final State Of State Address

TOPEKA, Kan. — Gov. Laura Kelly used her final state of the state address Tuesday to celebrate a historic run of economic development achievements, headlined by the Kansas City Chiefs' move to Kansas and more than $30 billion in new business investments that have created 80,000 jobs across the state over her seven years in office. Kelly, a Democrat serving her second term, pointed to the Chiefs' planned stadium in Wyandotte County as proof that Kansas has transformed from a "flyover state" to a "touchdown state," with the new facility set to open in five years and compete to host Super Bowls, Final Fours and major concerts while generating thousands of jobs and billions in economic activity. The governor credited bipartisan cooperation for landing the deal without a tax increase, singling out Lt. Gov. David Toland as the "economic development wonder boy" who orchestrated negotiations, and highlighted major corporate expansions including Panasonic, Boeing and Urban Outfitters that have invested $30 billion statewide. Kelly said the economic growth enabled her administration to cut more than $1 billion per year in taxes, including eliminating the sales tax on groceries and the state income tax on Social Security benefits, while CNBC ranked Kansas second in the nation for cost of living last year. Beyond economic development, Kelly called on lawmakers to address the state's water crisis with comprehensive long-term funding, pass a bipartisan proposal to ban cell phones during the school day, and continue investments in mental health services and special education, emphasizing that civility and compromise enabled her to sign 587 bipartisan bills into law while achieving seven straight years of fully funded public schools, record highway investments and crime rates at a 20-year low.

Kelly Touts Economic Wins in Final State of the State

Governor highlights Chiefs stadium deal, $30 billion in new investments during last address to Legislature

citizen journalGreg Loving

Legislature Launches Committee Work, Introduces Natural Gas Infrastructure Bill

TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas lawmakers began the routine work of the 2026 legislative session Tuesday, with the House Committee on Energy, Utilities and Telecommunications introducing HB 2435, which would allow natural gas utilities to defer depreciation expenses and carrying costs for new infrastructure to a regulatory asset and recover those costs through an interim rate adjustment mechanism. The measure represents one of the first substantive bills of the session as legislators organize committee assignments and begin processing legislation, while the Senate referred 16 bills and concurrent resolutions to committees including Assessment and Taxation, Education, Judiciary, and Federal and State Affairs. The Senate also received numerous annual reports from state agencies including the Kansas Corporation Commission, Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, and the Office of the Attorney General, and appointed conference committees to resolve differences on SB 30 and HB 2347, naming new conferees after rejecting an earlier conference committee report on SB 30. The House made several temporary committee assignment changes to replace Rep. Winn, who was excused due to illness, ensuring education and appropriations committees remain at full strength for upcoming hearings.

Citizen Journal

Chief Justice Urges Specialty Court Expansion, Rural Attorney Recruitment

TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Eric Rosen pressed the Kansas Legislature Tuesday to expand funding for specialty courts tailored to the special challenges of defendants and asked lawmakers to collaborate on solutions to the shortage of attorneys in rural Kansas during his first State of the Judiciary address to a joint legislative session. Rosen, who was sworn in as chief justice last Thursday, said the state must continue moving forward with initiatives to enhance access to justice, build public confidence in the judiciary and improve efficiency of state court operations, noting that "much work remains to be done." Drawing on his youth watching his father and father-in-law work at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, where he observed the transformational power of an integrated, multidisciplinary model for treating people with mental illness, Rosen said his experience as a Shawnee County District Court judge made him acutely aware of how individuals with mental health conditions or substance abuse disorders too often cycle through courthouses. The chief justice cited data showing young women with mental health issues are significantly more likely to be arrested, while young men taken into custody by law enforcement are more likely to suffer substance use problems, underscoring the need for specialty courts that address these underlying issues rather than perpetuating the cycle of incarceration.

Kansas Reflector

Kobach Opens $10 Million For AI Gun Detection Software In Kansas Schools

TOPEKA, Kan. — Attorney General Kris Kobach announced Monday that his office is accepting applications for Kansas K-12 public schools to receive a share of $10 million in state funding to implement an artificial intelligence-driven gun detection software program that analyzes existing security cameras for unconcealed firearms. Kobach promoted the Pennsylvania-based company ZeroEyes, which sent lobbyists to the Kansas Legislature in 2024 to push for a contract with schools, claiming the technology can analyze more than 36,000 images per second from security camera video feeds and immediately share images with the ZeroEyes Operations Center when a gun is identified. The company's in-house hub is staffed around the clock by military and law enforcement veterans who review software images to determine whether a threat is valid and can notify security teams and law enforcement as quickly as three to five seconds from detection, providing information such as a description, gun type and last known location. The implementation of AI gun detection software in schools has grown in popularity as technology has advanced and school shootings and mass shootings have increased in frequency, with proponents claiming the systems can halt and prevent gun violence.

Kansas Reflector

Arctic Front Brings Gusty Winds, Plunging Temperatures Across Kansas

WICHITA, Kan. — A cold front pushed across Kansas Wednesday morning, bringing blustery north winds between 15 and 30 mph that made temperatures in the 30s feel much colder and will hold afternoon highs to the lower to middle 40s, roughly twenty degrees lower than Tuesday. After a cold night in the teens and lower 20s, temperatures will rebound into the upper 40s and lower 50s Thursday afternoon, with far western Kansas climbing into the upper 50s and lower 60s underneath mainly sunny skies. A second and stronger Arctic cold front will arrive Friday, sending temperatures down even farther with highs in the lower 40s followed by afternoon temperatures in the 30s on Saturday, when gusty winds and colder wind chills will again be the primary story despite the possibility of a flurry or two.

KWCH

Sources

1. Citizen Journal
2. Kansas Reflector
3. Kansas Reflector
4. KWCH

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