Top 5 Kansas news stories
May 5 2026
Proxy Adviser Sues Kansas Over New ESG Disclosure Law
Trump White House Lauds Kansas GOP Amid Governor's Race
Motion Seeks Adult Charges for 14-Year-Old in Great Bend Killing
Late Freeze Imperils Drought-Stressed Western Kansas Wheat
USDA, NWS Reports Show Plains Drought Persisting Into Summer
Proxy Adviser Sues Kansas Over New ESG Disclosure Law
TOPEKA, Kan. — Institutional Shareholder Services Inc., an international firm that advises large institutional investors on shareholder votes, filed a federal lawsuit April 29 against Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach over Senate Bill 375, the Proxy Advisor Transparency Act set to take effect July 1. The new law requires proxy advisers to make certain disclosures when issuing recommendations opposed to company management and authorizes Kobach's office to investigate violations under consumer protection law. ISS alleges the statute violates the company's free speech rights both inside and outside Kansas. State Treasurer Steven Johnson testified in support of the legislation during this year's session, arguing fiduciaries should prioritize financial performance over environmental, social and governance considerations. The text of the law targets ESG and diversity, equity and inclusion considerations.
CJ Online
Trump White House Lauds Kansas GOP Amid Governor's Race
TOPEKA, Kan. — President Donald Trump's administration sent a letter praising the Republican-led Kansas Legislature for the 2026 session, addressed to Senate President Ty Masterson, House Speaker Dan Hawkins and members of the Legislature. White House Deputy Assistant Alex Meyer wrote that the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs extended its appreciation for the Legislature's conservative leadership and dedication during the session. Meyer characterized the session as successful in delivering on many of Trump's priorities. Masterson is among several candidates running for governor in 2026. The White House praise lands as candidates seek a powerful Trump endorsement, and Kansas Republicans await his pick in the crowded GOP primary.
CJ Online
Motion Seeks Adult Charges for 14-Year-Old in Great Bend Killing
GREAT BEND, Kan. — Prosecutors filed a motion Monday in Barton County District Court to charge a 14-year-old boy as an adult in the killing of Rubi Perez, a Great Bend Middle School eighth-grader whose body was found in April. The boy made his first court appearance on a first-degree murder charge April 13 and had a detention hearing April 21. Perez was reported missing April 8 after attending a class at Holy Family School, and her body was discovered the next morning behind a dirt pile west of the school near the cemetery. Police have not disclosed a cause of death, and Barton County Attorney J. Colin Reynolds confirmed the murder charge but has declined further comment. The case was initially sealed by the court, but that seal was later reversed. Citizen Journal is not publishing the suspect's name due to his age.
KAKE
Late Freeze Imperils Drought-Stressed Western Kansas Wheat
GOODLAND, Kan. — Western Kansas farmers face a freeze warning Tuesday night, May 5, that threatens drought-stressed wheat already weakened by an unusually dry winter and warm temperatures. Goodland farmer Barry Guyer told KWCH he has had to kill some of his crop after it failed to grow above three inches. K-State northwest area agronomist Jeanne Falk Jones said the wheat is roughly a month ahead of schedule due to the warm winter, with some heads already forming, leaving the crop more vulnerable to cold damage than to the accompanying snow. Jones said wheat is among the most drought-tolerant crops Kansas farmers grow and is hanging on with very little rainfall, but the combination of drought and an early-May freeze is unusual. She added that recently planted corn remains underground and will likely benefit from the incoming moisture.
KWCH
USDA, NWS Reports Show Plains Drought Persisting Into Summer
CORN BELT — More than half of topsoil in Nebraska and Kansas was rated short or very short of moisture in mid-April USDA crop progress data, while the National Weather Service's three-month outlook for May through July favors above-normal temperatures across the Plains and Corn Belt. The U.S. Drought Monitor in mid-April showed nearly all of Nebraska and the southern half of South Dakota in severe to extreme drought, with much of Kansas, northwest Iowa and southern Illinois also rated in severe drought. USDA NASS reported May 4 that 38% of U.S. corn and 33% of soybeans were planted as of May 3, with corn four points ahead of the five-year average. Kansas winter wheat was 70% headed by May 3, far ahead of the 28% five-year average, leaving the advanced crop more vulnerable to weekend frosts and freezes that struck the region. The NWS Climate Prediction Center said spring rainfall is too unpredictable to call, leaving the Plains with even odds of above- or below-normal precipitation, while El Niño conditions are likely to develop by summer.
USDA NASS · NWS Climate Prediction Center · U.S. Drought Monitor
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