Latest Topeka News
Kansas governor vetoes GOP-backed education measures
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed two Republican-backed education bills on Thursday, including one that would have required high school students to pass a civics test to graduate and another that would have allowed districts to incorporate gun safety courses into their...
Kansas governor vetoes ban for transgender school athletes
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly on Thursday vetoed a Republican measure that would have made Kansas the latest state with a GOP-controlled legislature to ban transgender athletes from girls' and women's school sports. Kelly's action was widely expected...
Rural Paxico faces nitrate-ridden water, floodplain problems
PAXICO, Kan. (AP) — When it rains in the small, rural town of Paxico — which sits about 30 miles west of Topeka, just off Interstate 70 — pools of water remain long after each storm has passed. “We have terrible stormwater runoff,” said resident Deanna Pierson....
Death of inmate at Kansas' women's prison being investigated
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Officials with Kansas' state policing agency have begun an investigation into the death of an inmate at the women’s prison in Topeka, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation confirmed. Jessica Chapman, 35, died Monday at the Kansas Department of...
New fiscal forecast for Kansas fuels GOP's tax-cut dreams
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials on Tuesday issued a new, more optimistic fiscal forecast for state government and projected healthy cash reserves through June 2022, giving Republican lawmakers new ammunition in pushing for state income tax cuts over Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's...
Seaman district hires advisors to help with name change
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas school district named after a 1920s Ku Klux Klan leader has voted to pay an advisory group to help with discussions on changing the name. The Seaman School District's Board of Education voted Monday to make a base payment of $30,000 to the...
Ex-Kansas governor launches bid; GOP rivals test key themes
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Former Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer on Monday formally launched his campaign to reclaim the office in 2022, portraying himself as the true conservative in the Republican primary as his main GOP rival questioned his electability. Colyer and Attorney...
Kansas district ditches Native American mascots
ATCHISON, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas district has decided to ditch its “Redmen" and “Braves" mascots after public opinion shifted. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the Atchison school board approved the change unanimously this past week. It was a reversal from...
New Kansas law to make it a crime to trespass at pipelines
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A bill signed into law by Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly will make it a misdemeanor to trespass near oil and gas pipelines. The bill Kelly signed last week gained bipartisan support in the state Senate, but drew criticism from some House...
Topeka police investigating fatal shooting of juvenile
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a juvenile several blocks east of downtown Topeka. Officers found Emmanuel Torres, 16, of Topeka, suffering from gunshot wounds Thursday night. He later died at a Topeka hospital, Police Lt. Jerry...
