Two Democrats Embrace Recreational Marijuana in Governor's Race

Kansas Corn Thrives as Western Drought Batters Wheat

Business Tax Breaks Cost Kansas Schools, Cities $1.1 Billion

Spangles Sells to Hamideh Family After 48 Years

Emporia Group Submits Signatures to Challenge Data Center

Two Democrats Embrace Recreational Marijuana in Governor's Race

TOPEKA, Kan. — State Sens. Cindy Holscher and Ethan Corson, both seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in the Aug. 4 primary, endorsed legalizing marijuana for medical and recreational use Tuesday, setting themselves apart from the rest of the field. Holscher released a video filmed in the parking lot of a Missouri dispensary about 15 minutes from her Overland Park home, arguing that Kansans already cross state lines to buy cannabis and that the state forfeits tax revenue that could fund schools and services. Corson said Kansas is one of only a handful of states where marijuana remains entirely illegal, leaving patients with chronic pain, PTSD and cancer without a legal option. A third Democrat, Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog, said he would focus first on medical use, while none of the leading Republican candidates supports legalization for any purpose. With term-limited Gov. Laura Kelly leaving office in January 2027 and a July 14 voter registration deadline ahead of the primary, cannabis has emerged as a defining fault line in an open race whose outcome could reshape state law and a potential new revenue stream.

Kansas Reflector · KWCH · KAKE

Kansas Corn Thrives as Western Drought Batters Wheat

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture's weekly crop report released Monday rated 67% of Kansas corn in good-to-excellent condition as of July 5, eight points better than a year earlier and well above the five-year average of 51%, while soybeans came in at 64% good-to-excellent. The winter wheat harvest was 91% complete, but only 26% of that crop rated good-to-excellent, roughly half the 48% mark of a year ago and a legacy of the drought that stunted wheat earlier in the season. Conditions vary sharply across the state, with much of western Kansas still locked in drought and forecasters warning that early-July heat could stress crops there further. Corn and soybeans are summer crops still developing, so strong early ratings can change quickly if the dry, hot pattern in the west spreads east. The split between a healthy corn crop and a battered wheat harvest will shape farm income, land values and rural economies across Kansas for the year ahead.

DTN Progressive Farmer · USDA NASS · Pro Farmer

Business Tax Breaks Cost Kansas Schools, Cities $1.1 Billion

TOPEKA, Kan. — Property tax exemptions tied to industrial revenue bonds reduced Kansas tax collections by as much as $1.1 billion between 2010 and 2024, according to a Legislative Division of Post Audit report released this week. Local governments issued about 955 of the bonds worth $18.3 billion over that period, and roughly 520 projects received exemptions removing property from the tax rolls for up to 10 years. Schools absorbed the largest share of the forgone revenue at an estimated $436 million, followed by counties at $316 million and cities at $182 million, meaning the incentives directly shape the dollars available for classrooms and core local services. Johnson, Sedgwick and Wyandotte counties accounted for about two-thirds of the total, and the annual cost climbed to roughly $155.8 million in 2024 as exempt property values statewide reached $5.3 billion. Bond activity also surged last year, with 81 businesses receiving $3.2 billion in new issuances in 2024 alone. Auditors cautioned the $1.1 billion figure is a maximum, since some projects might not have been built without the incentive, and they flagged errors in the state's published property data that understated exemptions and payments in several counties.

Sunflower State Journal · Kansas Legislative Post Audit · Citizen Journal

Spangles Sells to Hamideh Family After 48 Years

WICHITA, Kan. — Spangles announced Wednesday that the Hamideh family has acquired the Wichita-based restaurant chain from founders Craig and Dale Steven, with the sale effective Thursday, July 9. The transaction ends nearly five decades of Steven family ownership dating to the chain's January 1978 founding. Spangles operates 26 restaurants across Kansas. The sale marks the first ownership change in the chain's history and places one of the state's most recognizable homegrown restaurant brands in new hands.

KWCH

Emporia Group Submits Signatures to Challenge Data Center

EMPORIA, Kan. — Emporia Neighbors United submitted nearly 1,400 signatures to the Emporia City Clerk's Office on Wednesday seeking to halt the proposed Flint Hills Digital Campus data center or put the project to a public vote. KVOE reported the filing exceeded the 804 signatures required, though the signatures have not yet been verified. The Lyon County Clerk's Office will validate the petition after a legal review. Emporia commissioners are scheduled to consider related water, wastewater and zoning measures July 22. If certified, the petition would give residents a direct say over a development that carries significant water, wastewater and land-use commitments for the city.

WIBW · Citizen Journal

Sources

1. Kansas Reflector / KWCH / KAKE
2. DTN Progressive Farmer / USDA NASS / Pro Farmer
3. Sunflower State Journal / Kansas Legislative Post Audit / Citizen Journal
4. KWCH
5. WIBW / Citizen Journal / Citizen Journal

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