Kansas Reflector

2 days ago | kansasreflector.com | Huascar Medina

by Huascar Medina, Kansas Reflector June 26, 2025 Kansas poet laureate Traci Brimhall is offering poetic sustenance to Kansas and beyond. Brimhall, two years into her term, is busy, and her appointment has seen an outpouring of support and excitement. It is a testament to her commitment to Kansas and poetry. Brimhall’s latest poetry book, “Love Prodigal,” was shortlisted for the Julie Suk Award, which recognizes the best poetry book published in 2025 by a literary press.

3 days ago | kansasreflector.com | Anna Kaminski

TOPEKA — Democratic leaders rallied Wednesday against the congressional budget and tax cut bill, fearing changes to the national food assistance program will blow holes in state budgets and leave Americans hungry. Four Democratic governors and two U.S. senators slammed the proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program within the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which they referred to as “ugly” and a “big beautiful betrayal of a bill” during a press call. U.S. Sen.

4 days ago | kansasreflector.com | Anna Kaminski

TOPEKA — A hiring freeze, deferred wage raises and delayed hospital maintenance are all on the table at the Hutchinson Regional Health Center as chief executive officer Benjamin Anderson and his team weigh the potential impacts of a federal budget bill that would axe Medicaid, forcing rural hospitals in Kansas to shutter. Federal lawmakers are scrambling to approve the massive bill, which is replete with major tax cuts and public program reductions, before the Fourth of July.

1 week ago | kansasreflector.com | Tim Carpenter

TOPEKA — Republican U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann of Kansas said Friday the nation ought to get behind President Donald Trump’s ultimate decision on whether to authorize military strikes to interrupt Iran’s development of nuclear weapons. The Trump administration said a determination could be made within two weeks about deployment of sophisticated weapons aimed at dismantling Iran’s nuclear sites. Meanwhile, Israel and Iran continued to exchange barrages in a weeklong shooting conflict.

1 week ago | kansasreflector.com | Tim Carpenter

TOPEKA — Attorney General Kris Kobach objected to the Kansas Department of Revenue’s decision to divide proceeds from Morton County’s 1% sales tax among the county and municipalities after voters a decade ago passed a flawed resolution that didn’t specifically tie the revenue to health care. In 2024, the Morton County Commission learned the Department of Revenue had since 2015 — nine years — spread revenue from the countywide 1% sales tax to three cities as well as the county.