Kansas Legislators Pursue Statewide School Cellphone Ban, Superseding Local District Control

Kansas House Committee Jumpstarts University Budget Reviews After Interim Panel Rejected 2024 Enhancement Requests

ICE Agent Fatally Shoots Kansas City Woman in Minneapolis

Back-to-Back Storm Systems Bring Heavy Rain Thursday, Snow and Icy Roads Friday Across Kansas

Argentina Favors Kansas City as World Cup Base Camp, Eyes Sporting KC and Current Training Facilities

Kansas Legislators Pursue Statewide School Cellphone Ban, Superseding Local District Control

TOPEKA — Kansas legislators will pursue a statewide school cellphone ban with bipartisan support from two-thirds of the Senate, superseding previous state education board directives that allowed local districts to set their own policies. Senate Bill 302, filed Jan. 6 and sponsored by Sens. Chase Blasi (R-Andale) and Dinah Sykes (D-Lenexa) along with 26 other senators, would require each local school board and nonpublic school governing authority to create policies restricting student cellphone use during instructional time by Sept. 1. The bill also prohibits school employees from communicating with students via social media platforms for official school purposes, with certain exceptions to be defined in district policies.

Kansas Lawmakers Introduce Bipartisan Bill Banning Cellphones in Schools

Legislation would require districts to prohibit student phone use during instructional time by September 2026

citizen journalGreg Loving

Kansas House Committee Jumpstarts University Budget Reviews After Interim Panel Rejected 2024 Enhancement Requests

TOPEKA — The Kansas House higher education budget committee convened during "zero week" before the 2026 legislative session officially began Monday to hear presentations from six state universities seeking restoration of budget requests previously rejected by the Legislature's interim budget committee in late 2024. Committee Chair Rep. Adam Turk (R-Shawnee) assembled Republicans and Democrats to review pending budget earmarks and proposals from Wichita State University, Kansas State University, University of Kansas, Fort Hays State University, Pittsburg State University and Emporia State University. The interim joint House and Senate budget committee had rejected a series of proposals for university budget enhancements and new campus personnel hiring, and indicated that unused funding in current budgets could be seized and reappropriated in the new budget.

Kansas Reflector

ICE Agent Fatally Shoots Kansas City Woman in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS — A 37-year-old Kansas City woman identified as Renee Good was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer south of downtown Minneapolis while she was observing federal immigration enforcement actions. U.S. Sen. Tina Smith confirmed Good was a U.S. citizen, and Minneapolis city leaders stated she was not a target for ICE-related arrest. The Missouri Department of Revenue confirmed the Honda Pilot involved in the shooting, which bore Missouri license plates and displayed a Kansas City Current sticker, was registered to two people in Kansas City, and Jackson County court records list a 2023 Kansas City address for Good. A neighbor reported Good and her family had left their Kansas City-area home in December 2024, with plans to relocate to Canada due to US politics.

KWCH

Back-to-Back Storm Systems Bring Heavy Rain Thursday, Snow and Icy Roads Friday Across Kansas

WICHITA — Two storm systems will move across Kansas over the next two days, with Thursday morning's storms producing up to an inch of rain and small hail along and east of I-135 before tapering off by midday, creating temporary flooding in low-lying areas. A second system Friday will bring colder temperatures that change rain to snow, with 3-5 inches expected across southwest Kansas and lighter amounts farther north and east, while the Wichita area will see less than an inch but face potentially icy roads after sunset as temperatures fall below freezing. Strong northerly winds will produce blowing snow and low visibility along and west of a Russell to Pratt line Friday afternoon and evening, making travel on highways like I-70 and Highway 50 slower than normal and best avoided if possible. Weekend temperatures will start cold Saturday before rebounding into the 40s and 50s Sunday, with mild and dry conditions expected through most of next week.

KWCH

Argentina Favors Kansas City as World Cup Base Camp, Eyes Sporting KC and Current Training Facilities

KANSAS CITY — Argentina is leaning toward selecting Kansas City as its tournament base for the upcoming World Cup, with top training facility options including Sporting Kansas City and KC Current facilities, as well as Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, according to TyC Sports. The Argentine team cited lighter traffic and a smaller metropolitan area compared to Dallas as key advantages, despite having group-stage matches in Dallas following their June 16 opener against Algeria in Kansas City. Formal base camp selections are expected later this spring.

Citizen Journal

Sources

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

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