House Kills Property Tax Cap Amendment

Kansas Counties Balk at Battery Storage, Nuclear Projects

FBI Probes Contracts Tied to KC Mayor Pro Tem's Husband

Fatal Tanker Collision Over Iraq; Neither Aircraft From McConnell

Peterson Powers KU Past TCU in Big 12 Quarterfinals

House Kills Property Tax Cap Amendment

TOPEKA, Kan. — A proposed constitutional amendment to cap assessed value increases on real property and mobile homes failed to advance out of the House Committee of the Whole on Tuesday after a floor amendment from Rep. Stephanie Sawyer Clayton, D-Johnson County, was defeated 37-78 and the underlying measure, SCR 1616, could not gain the support needed to move forward. The sharp divide suggests that while property tax relief remains a major goal for both parties this session, there is no consensus on using a constitutional change to achieve it. Meanwhile, the House passed HB 2769 on a 94-25 vote, requiring members of governing bodies of subordinate service taxing areas to be residents of those areas. The success of the narrower residency bill, contrasted with the failure of the broader constitutional amendment, illustrates the Legislature's difficulty in agreeing on large-scale tax reform.

Property tax constitutional amendment fails in Kansas House

A proposed constitutional amendment to cap property tax valuation increases was defeated in the Kansas House, signaling deep divisions on how to deliver tax relief even as a more targeted tax bill passed the same day.

citizen journalGreg Loving

Kansas Counties Balk at Battery Storage, Nuclear Projects

WICHITA, Kan. — The Sedgwick County Commission on Wednesday approved a one-year moratorium on applications for battery energy storage systems, pausing new proposals through March 11, 2027, as the county seeks time to create regulations for large-scale renewable energy projects. The pause comes amid a broader pattern across Kansas, where Saline and Sumner counties recently rejected similar battery storage proposals and Halstead residents voted in November to block such developments within city limits. Separately, dozens of Labette County residents and city leaders gathered Thursday in Parsons to hear from representatives of Deep Fission, a company planning an underground nuclear reactor. Marjorie Reynolds, a director of the Prairie Dog Alliance, said at the event that the project is "experimental" and "untested," while company leaders said the design relies on established technologies. Deep Fission did not give a formal presentation, instead opting for open conversations with attendees.

KWCH · KCUR

FBI Probes Contracts Tied to KC Mayor Pro Tem's Husband

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Documents obtained by FOX4 show that a federal grand jury subpoenaed records from Kansas City on Aug. 20 related to Anton Washington and his company, Creative Innovative, as part of an FBI investigation connected to Mayor Pro Tem Ryana Parks-Shaw and her husband, Kansas City Public Works Director Michael Shaw. Multiple current and former city employees have told the station that FBI investigators questioned them about Parks-Shaw and Shaw. The city began working with Washington in 2021 to perform outreach to Kansas City's homeless population, and over the next two and a half years his company received more than $200,000 in city contracts tied to homeless outreach and trash removal efforts. Some of those contracts were signed by Public Works Director Michael Shaw.

FOX4 KC

Fatal Tanker Collision Over Iraq; Neither Aircraft From McConnell

WICHITA, Kan. — Neither of the two KC-135 Stratotankers involved in a fatal mid-air collision over western Iraq on Wednesday was assigned to Wichita's McConnell Air Force Base or its 22nd Air Refueling Wing, according to open-source flight tracking data. The downed KC-135R Stratotanker was operated by the 459th Air Refueling Wing out of Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, and crashed after colliding with a second KC-135 from the 940th Air Refueling Wing at Beale Air Force Base in California during a refueling operation. Central Command confirmed four of the six crew members aboard the downed aircraft were killed, with rescue efforts continuing for the remaining two. The second tanker landed safely in Tel Aviv with the top portion of its tail sheared off. The crash occurred at approximately 2 p.m. ET, was not caused by hostile or friendly fire, and is under investigation.

Planespotters · CENTCOM

Peterson Powers KU Past TCU in Big 12 Quarterfinals

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas weathered an inconsistent performance Thursday in the Big 12 Conference men's tournament quarterfinals, overcoming a halftime deficit to beat TCU 78-73 and eliminate the Horned Frogs. Despite opening the game on a 9-0 run, KU (23-9) trailed 34-31 at the half before rallying in a back-and-forth second half. Freshman Darryn Peterson led the Jayhawks with 24 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Flory Bidunga added a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

CJ Online

Sources

1. KWCH
2. KCUR
3. FOX4 KC
4. Planespotters / CENTCOM
5. CJ Online

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