Farm Groups Seek Additional Federal Aid as Multi-Year Agricultural Losses Mount Despite $12 Billion Package

Kelly Budget Omits Prison Rebuild Funding Despite Warnings 135-Year-Old Facility Could Trigger Federal Lawsuit

Legislature Introduces Private School Scholarship Tax Credit Expansion Before Adjourning for MLK Holiday

Lawrence Shooting Claims Teen's Life, Leaves Second Victim Critical as Two Face Murder Charges

Bill Self Hospitalized Monday, Will Miss Tuesday's Game in Third Health Scare Since 2023

Farm Groups Seek Additional Federal Aid as Multi-Year Agricultural Losses Mount Despite $12 Billion Package

The American Farm Bureau Federation and soybean and specialty crop organizations have asked congressional leaders for additional economic support, citing multi-year agricultural losses that a recently announced $12 billion federal aid package will not fully address. The groups acknowledged the Trump administration's December announcement of one-time payments through the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program but said the funding represents only a "meaningful first step" toward covering extensive and cumulative losses absorbed by farmers over several years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture allocated $1 billion of the package specifically for specialty crop farmers, with payment rates set by commodity, but the American Soybean Association said the $30.88 per acre for soybeans falls short of covering financial damage from high production costs and losses sustained during the China trade war. Grant Kimberley, director of market development for the Iowa Soybean Association, said the agricultural downturn has affected nearly every row crop sector nationwide for approximately three years, driven by low commodity prices, high input costs, global trade changes and domestic market uncertainty. Farm Bureau data show commodity prices for major crops including corn, soybeans, cotton and wheat have declined annually since 2022.

Kansas Reflector

Kelly Budget Omits Prison Rebuild Funding Despite Warnings 135-Year-Old Facility Could Trigger Federal Lawsuit

Gov. Laura Kelly's latest budget proposal contains no funding to rebuild the Hutchinson Correctional Facility despite repeated warnings from state corrections officials that deteriorating conditions at the 135-year-old prison could expose Kansas to federal litigation. The Kansas Department of Corrections had requested $453 million to replace the facility, which houses approximately 1,800 male inmates in structures built between 1889 and 1912, making it the state's oldest operating prison. The facility has faced mounting scrutiny over cells as small as 40 square feet—below the American Correctional Association's 70-square-foot standard—and lack of air conditioning in most areas where summer temperatures reach 90 degrees. Media reports documented at least seven inmate deaths since 2024, with all deaths remaining under investigation by KDOC and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Corrections Secretary Jeff Zmuda told legislators in November 2024 that the facility's condition could trigger a lawsuit, while the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas called the lack of climate control "inhumane and unacceptable." The proposed rebuild would add more than 400 cells and 20,000 square feet of educational space for total capacity of 2,192 beds, while renovating existing structures would cost more than $80 million without addressing fundamental design flaws. The facility employs more than 590 full-time and contract staff with an annual operating budget of $47.3 million.

Kelly Budget Excludes Funding for Hutchinson Prison Rebuild

Despite warnings of potential lawsuit, governor’s proposal omits $453 million for deteriorating facility

citizen journalGreg Loving

Legislature Introduces Private School Scholarship Tax Credit Expansion Before Adjourning for MLK Holiday

The Kansas House and Senate held brief pro forma sessions Friday, introducing legislation to expand tax credits for private school scholarships before adjourning for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend. The House introduced HB 2468, which would increase the aggregate tax credit limit for Kansas' low-income student scholarship program and elect to participate in a new federal tax credit for contributions to scholarship-granting organizations, referring the bill to the House Education Committee. The chamber also introduced measures expanding railroad track maintenance tax credits and allowing municipalities to designate entire cities as neighborhood revitalization areas. Both chambers will reconvene Tuesday, with the Senate scheduled to meet at 2:30 p.m. and the House at 11 a.m.

Citizen Journal

Lawrence Shooting Claims Teen's Life, Leaves Second Victim Critical as Two Face Murder Charges

Lawrence police responded to the Jayhawk Cafe at 13th and Ohio around 2 a.m. Saturday and found two victims with gunshot wounds, 18-year-old Aidan Knowles, who was pronounced dead at the scene, and a 16-year-old male who was taken to a local trauma center in critical condition. Knowles's father stated on social media that the 16-year-old victim is one of his son's close friends. Two suspects have been charged in connection with the shooting and booked into the Douglas County Jail, with one facing first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault charges, and the second charged with felony murder and aggravated assault.

KWCH

Bill Self Hospitalized Monday, Will Miss Tuesday's Game in Third Health Scare Since 2023

Kansas men's basketball coach Bill Self was taken to Lawrence Memorial Hospital Monday after feeling under the weather and will miss Tuesday night's game at Colorado, marking the first time since his heart scare ahead of the 2023 Big 12 Tournament that he won't be on the sidelines with the Jayhawks. KU Athletics announced Monday evening that Self was hospitalized "out of an abundance of caution," where he received IV fluids and is feeling better but did not accompany the team to Boulder. Monday's hospitalization marks the third time since 2023 that the hall of fame coach has been admitted, including a July 2025 procedure where he had two stents inserted.

KWCH

Sources

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

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