Category Archives: Government
Sen. Moran Pushes Farm Bill Priorities, Rural Hospital Legislation
Securing Kansas Ag Priorities in the Farm Bill
On Friday, Sen. Jerry Moran joined Greg Akagi on WIBW Ag Radio and Chip Flory on AgriTalk to discuss the latest developments on the Farm Bill with the markup scheduled for this Thursday in the Senate Agriculture Committee and the importance of advancing priorities critical to Kansas agriculture. When he meets with Kansas farmers and ranchers, he hears firsthand about the challenges they are facing, including high input costs, ongoing drought conditions and uncertainty in the agriculture economy. Passing this legislation will provide certainty for rural America and Kansas farmers and ranchers.
As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Sen. Moran has worked to make certain the Farm Bill includes priorities that strengthen Kansas agriculture, and he is working to include his legislation to permanently transfer the administration of the Food for Peace program from the Department of State to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This legislation also includes a number of provisions that will benefit producers and rural communities in Kansas, such as:
- Year-round E15 sales, which expands markets for Kansas farmers and ethanol producers, supports American energy independence and provides consumers with more affordable options at the pump
- The CRP Improvement and Flexibility Act, increasing flexibility for livestock grazing on conservation lands
- The Rural Hospital Revitalization Act, which would provide no interest loans for constructing or renovating rural healthcare facilities
- The Farm to Fly Act, allowing sustainable aviation fuel to qualify for USDA energy programs
- The Colonel Gary LaGrange AgVets Act, which would expand career opportunities in agriculture for veterans
- Language to increase FSA loan limits to better reflect lending conditions in farm country
- Doubled funding for USDA trade promotion programs, better allowing producers to market their products globally
You can listen to Sen. Moran’s interviews on Agri-Talk and WIBW Ag Radio.
Introducing Legislation to Strengthen Rural Kansas Hospitals & Providers
This week, Sen. Moran introduced bipartisan legislation with Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) to expand access to federal resources for rural hospitals through the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) Medicare designation. The legislation, the Rural Emergency Hospital Designation Improvement Act (REH 2.0), would allow more Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) and rural hospitals at risk of closure to sustain health care services in rural communities, and it would make technical improvements to strengthen the designation.
Sen. Moran worked to help establish the REH designation through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, providing eligible rural hospitals with a pathway to convert and continue serving their communities with limited services rather than closing their doors. He has visited every hospital in Kansas numerous times, and during these visits, providers shared their recommendations for strengthening the designation so it can better support the struggling health care facilities it was originally intended to serve.
The legislation introduced this week is the direct result of what Sen. Moran has heard from rural hospitals and providers in Kansas, and it makes needed improvements to the program to help make certain patients can continue to access critical health care services in their communities for years to come.
You can read more about the legislation from the Topeka Capital-Journal.
Road closures expected at K-7 for paving work
Road closures expected at K-7 for paving work
Some closures – 160th Street, 180th Street, 200th Street and 210th Street – have already started and will wrap up after daytime work hours today, Tuesday, Aug. 4.
On Wednesday through Friday, Aug. 5 to 7, 170th Street, Eagle Road, Fern Road and Grand Road will be closed during daytime hours for the same work.
These intersections will reopen to traffic overnight and during times that work is not occurring. No two adjacent side roads will be closed simultaneously.
APAC-Kansas Inc., Shears Division, of Hutchinson, is the primary contractor.
KDOT urges motorists to stay alert, follow posted signs and refrain from hand-held mobile device use in all active work zones. For current road conditions, visit kandrive.gov or call 511. For updates on construction projects in southeast Kansas, visit ksdot.gov/projects/southeast-kansas-projects.
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KDADS Seeks Applicants for Rural Dementia Care Pilot
TOPEKA – The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) Aging Services Commission today issued a Request for Applications (RFA) for the Dementia-Related Behavioral Supports in Rural Nursing Facilities Pilot, a new initiative funded by the federal Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP).
Up to six Medicaid-certified nursing facilities (one from each of the six Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) District Office areas) will receive funding to better support Medicaid recipients aged 60 and older with dementia who exhibit complex behaviors. Participating facilities may receive up to $200,000 each to provide specialized training, technical assistance, subject-matter expert consultation, and enhanced person-centered care services. The funding model provides $175 per eligible resident per Medicaid day for up to 90 days, with extensions considered on a case-by-case basis.
“By investing in training and person-centered supports for rural nursing facility staff, we can improve residents’ quality of life while helping facilities build lasting capacity to manage dementia-related behaviors,” KDADS Secretary Laura Howard said. “This pilot directly responds to the needs we have heard from rural providers and aligns with our commitment to transforming rural health care through the RHTP.”
This initiative is part of Kansas’s broader efforts under the RHTP, a major federal initiative designed to strengthen rural health systems, expand access to care, build a sustainable workforce, and improve outcomes for residents in underserved areas. Kansas developed a comprehensive state plan and is now implementing targeted strategies to address specific challenges facing rural communities. One such challenge is supporting older adults with dementia in nursing facilities, where staff often face complex behavioral needs and have limited access to specialized training and consultation.
“This pilot project reflects the kind of innovation and collaboration the RHTP is designed to advance,” KDHE Secretary Janet Stanek said. “KDHE is proud to partner with KDADS and rural nursing facilities in our shared commitment to advancing high-quality, person-centered dementia care for older Kansans.”
Eligible applicants are Medicaid-certified nursing facilities in rural Kansas counties. Facilities in Johnson, Wyandotte, Leavenworth, Miami, Linn, Douglas, Shawnee, Jefferson, Osage, Jackson, Wabaunsee, Riley, Geary, Pottawatomie, Sedgwick, Butler, Harvey, and Sumner counties are ineligible. Nursing Facilities for Mental Health (NFMH) are also ineligible.
This project is supported by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $221,898,007.82, with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CMS/HHS, or the U.S. Government.
A pre-application presentation that explains the full process is available, and the complete RFA packet—including required forms and the Statement of Work—can be found at https://www.kdads.ks.gov/partners-providers/funding-opportunities.
Key Dates
- Pre-application Presentation: August 7, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. — Microsoft Teams meeting link
- Written Questions Due: August 7, 2026, by 5:00 p.m.
- Written Answers Posted: August 12, 2026, by 5:00 p.m.
- Applications Due: August 21, 2026, by 5:00 p.m.
- Awards Announced: September 7, 2026 (subject to change)
- Grant term: September 7, 2026 – June 30, 2027
Completed applications must be submitted via email to [email protected] by August 21. For questions or to request the RFA, contact [email protected].
Rural Hospital Bill Could Benefit Fort Scott
The following is a news release issued July 31, 2026 by the office of U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), originally headlined “Sens. Moran, Smith Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen Rural Hospitals.” It is reprinted in full, unedited. View the original release.
REH 2.0 makes changes to bolster & improve the original REH Designation
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) this week introduced the Rural Emergency Hospital Designation Improvement Act (REH 2.0), bipartisan legislation to expand access to federal resources for rural hospitals through the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) Medicare designation. This legislation would allow more Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) and rural hospitals at risk of closure to sustain health care services in rural communities, and it would make technical improvements to the designation. The legislation is cosponsored by Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) and Roger Marshall, M.D., (R-Kan.).
“I have visited every hospital in Kansas numerous times, and these conversations help guide my efforts to make certain health care providers across our state have the support they need to provide critical services to patients in their communities,” said Sen. Moran. “During these visits, providers shared with me their recommendations for strengthening the Rural Emergency Hospital designation so it can better support the struggling facilities it was originally intended to serve. The legislation I am introducing with Senator Tina Smith is the direct result of what we have heard from rural hospitals and health care providers in our states, and it makes needed improvements to the program to help make certain patients can continue to access critical health care services in their communities for years to come.”
“Rural hospitals are vital for families in small towns and rural communities. These hospitals not only provide care close to home, they’re also economic engines for their region,” said Sen. Smith. “But many rural hospitals face increasingly dire financial strain and workforce shortages, forcing them to cut services or even close down altogether. This important legislation is just one tool in the toolbox to help rural hospitals on the verge of closure keep their doors open. Make no mistake, much more is needed to ensure the health and wellness of rural hospitals and families.
“The Rural Emergency Hospital designation has already created new opportunities to preserve health care access in rural Kansas, but experience has also shown where additional flexibility is needed,” said Chad Austin, President and CEO of the Kansas Hospital Association. “The Rural Emergency Hospital Improvement Act represents the next step in strengthening this model by removing barriers that have prevented certain hospitals from participating and by providing commonsense improvements that will help more rural communities maintain access to essential services. We appreciate Senator Moran’s leadership and longstanding commitment to ensuring hospitals have the tools they need to care for their patients today and well into the future.”
“Healthcare access across rural Kansas is at a critical tipping point, with our state facing one of the highest numbers of at-risk rural hospitals in the nation,” said Tripp Owings, CEO of Ascension Via Christi. “The reality is that the needs of rural communities continue to evolve, and hospitals need the flexibility to adapt how they deliver care so they can preserve access and remain sustainable for the long term. When the Ascension Via Christi Emergency Department in Wellington opened in March 2021 to restore emergency services after the local hospital closed, we missed the initial federal REH cutoff by mere months, leaving our facility without a pathway to qualify. We thank Senator Moran for his continued support for rural hospitals in Kansas and we believe that REH 2.0 would provide important flexibilities to ensure more hospitals across Kansas and the country to adapt, stabilize, and maintain 24/7 emergency care close to home.”
“As the first Rural Emergency Hospital in Kansas, SCK Health has seen firsthand how the REH designation can preserve access to high-quality care in rural communities,” said Margaret Grismer, CEO of SCK Health. “The Rural Emergency Hospital Improvement Act builds on that success by providing the flexibility hospitals need to better serve their patients while strengthening the long-term sustainability of rural healthcare. We applaud Senator Moran’s leadership in advancing practical solutions that help ensure rural Kansans continue to receive the care they deserve, close to home.”
“In the fall of 2015, the hospital located in Independence, Kansas closed. Labette Health located 35 miles east of Independence worked with local leaders, KDHE, the USDA, and Senator Moran to open an off-campus Emergency Room, Observation Unit, and Rural Health Clinic on July 4, 2017, in Independence. This REH 2.0 will provide two paths to sustainability for Independence Healthcare Center as either an REH or as a ‘REH like’ facility,” said Brian Williams, President and CEO of Labette Health.
“REH 2.0 will provide needed updates to the Rural Emergency Hospital model by allowing those REH hospitals in America’s most rural and vulnerable areas to provide Swing Bed Skilled services for their communities, along with other vital legislative updates, such as Medicaid payment parity,” said Aaron Herbel, Administrator of Mercy Hospital. “Rural Emergency Hospitals across the U.S., including Mercy Hospital in Moundridge, Kansas, are grateful for the continued support that Senator Moran has showed by authoring this essential legislation.”
The REH Designation Improvement Act is also supported by the National Rural Health Association.
The provisions in the REH Designation Improvement Act are the result of numerous conversations Sen. Moran held with rural health care providers and CEOs of hospitals that are eligible for the REH designation. Originally created with the support of Sen. Moran as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, REH is a Medicare provider designation that offers certain rural hospitals the opportunity to convert and continue operating with limited services rather than closing.
The Rural Emergency Hospital Designation Improvement Act would:
- Allow previously closed rural hospitals to re-open and apply for the Rural Emergency Hospital designation if they can demonstrate they met all eligibility requirements between Jan. 1, 2015, and Dec. 27, 2020.
- Direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to create a waiver program for facilities operating similarly to an REH in order to convert to an REH.
- Allow REH facilities to maintain or create a unit for inpatient psychiatric care, obstetric care and allow for limited inpatient rehabilitation services.
- Require the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to provide additional funding for laboratory services.
- Clarify that REH facilities are eligible for Small Rural Hospital Improvement grants.
- Direct the Secretary of HHS to allow an REH to be eligible as a National Health Service Corp site.
- Authorize REH facilities to transfer patients from acute care to a Skilled Nursing Facility without leaving the hospital, in accordance with the Social Security Act.
- Allow an REH facility to revert back to a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) to regain necessary provider status, only if the facility was designated a necessary provider prior to converting to REH.
- Clarify state Medicaid agencies can pay REH facilities as hospitals.
Full text of the legislation can be found HERE.
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Fort Scott’s dialysis clinic: Reopening is still in the works
Late in 2025 the Fort Scott City Commission approved a property tax break of up to ten years for the vacant dialysis clinic at 2526 S. Main, to help a Joplin kidney specialist reopen it. Fort Scott has had no dialysis center since 2019. Patients drive to Pittsburg or Chanute, three times a week.
This week, FortScott.biz checked with those involved. City officials say their part is finished. The commission awarded the abatement, the bond paperwork is complete, and nothing more is pending at City Hall. The reopening is now in the hands of the physician who will run the clinic.
The building itself is quiet for now. A July 25 visit found no signage or activity yet, and county records show the property’s 2025 tax bill of $65,343.80 was paid in full. That fits the timeline in the city’s documents, which say the exemption cannot appear before the 2026 tax statement.
Where the building is
Most people know it as the low brick building in front of Walmart.
Bourbon County’s tax record for the parcel (tax ID 002-FS10762B, in the Wal-Mart Plaza Pointe subdivision) answers the abatement question directly.
The building did change hands. The county lists Moka Rentals LLC as the current owner and taxpayer of record. That is the company named in the city’s bond documents as the tenant. Before Moka, the record shows Phoenix Fort Scott LLC, and before that Wal-Mart Stores and Wellington Ft Scott Ltd.
The 2025 taxes were paid in full, with no exemption. For tax year 2025 the county appraised the property at $1,400,000 ($193,790 in land, $1,206,210 in building) for an assessed value of $350,001. At a mill levy of 186.696 that produced a bill of $65,343.80, paid on December 18, 2025.
| Tax year | Owner of record | Assessed value | Total tax |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Moka Rentals LLC | $350,001 | $65,343.80 |
| 2024 | Phoenix Fort Scott LLC | $377,331 | $72,397.38 |
| 2023 | Phoenix Fort Scott LLC | $422,346 | $80,914.32 |
| 2022 | Phoenix Fort Scott LLC | $413,983 | $79,080.28 |
| 2021 | Phoenix Fort Scott LLC | $395,233 | $78,653.34 |
| 2020 | Phoenix Fort Scott LLC | $389,186 | $77,981.20 |
| 2019 | Phoenix Fort Scott LLC | $396,485 | $80,160.54 |
So when does the abatement take effect? By the terms of the city’s own documents, the earliest it can apply is tax year 2026. Both the resolution and the ordinance say the exemption runs for ten years “commencing in the calendar year following the calendar year in which the Bonds are issued.” The draft bond documents date the bonds December 23, 2025. If they were issued on schedule, the first year the exemption could show up on a tax bill is 2026. Kansas tax statements for 2026 don’t go out until November.
That makes this November’s statement for 2526 S. Main the first place the exemption can appear in the public record.
The county’s appraisal record still lists the structure under its old name, “Fresenius Medical Care Dialysis,” a 7,992-square-foot medical office building put up in 2014.
The deal ran through taxable industrial revenue bonds. Despite the name, the city borrows nothing and owes nothing; it acts as a pass-through so a private project can reach two state-level tax breaks, a property-tax exemption and a sales-tax exemption on construction.
On November 18, 2025, after a public hearing, the commission voted 5-0 to move forward with Resolution 40-2025, declaring it advisable to issue about $800,000 in bonds to acquire, renovate, furnish and equip the building and lease it to Moka Rentals LLC (resolution; minutes).
Dr. Nadine Aboul-Magd, a kidney specialist with Joplin Nephrology Consultants who the minutes say served Fort Scott from 2015 to 2019, told the commission the abatement was essential to the project. The minutes record her saying the reopened clinic would employ at least seven people initially and would add two kidney physicians (minutes).
Steve Robb of Municipal Consulting LLC, who prepared the cost-benefit study Kansas requires before a city grants this kind of exemption, told commissioners the deal would return $9.67 for every dollar the city gave up, well above the 1.3 he called the cutoff for a worthwhile deal, mostly because a dialysis clinic uses a great deal of city water (minutes).
On December 16, 2025, the commission took up Ordinance No. 3792, which authorizes the bonds (ordinance). “There were no changes from what was discussed,” Mayor Tim Van Hoecke said as he introduced it (video, 2:07:39). A staff member called it “just procedural.” The commission voted and the mayor moved on. The city has not posted approved minutes for that meeting, so the exact tally is not on the public record.
Two details in the paperwork are worth knowing:
- The break covers the bond-funded share of the property. The exemption applies only to the part of the property paid for with bond money, and it must be applied for. The one levy it cannot touch is the school district’s capital outlay levy, under the statute the resolution cites, K.S.A. 72-53,113 (resolution, § 4). For USD 234 that levy is 7.998 mills (about 4.3% of the 186.696 total on this parcel). Everything else can be abated, including Bourbon County’s share. This parcel sits in tax unit 002, which is made up of the state, Bourbon County, Fort Scott Community College, the city of Fort Scott, USD 234 and the Southwind Extension District (2025 Bourbon County levy sheet). The minutes record the city’s consultant telling commissioners that most taxing entities come out ahead, with minimal impact on the extension district and the community college (minutes).
- The break is tied to actually running a dialysis center. The lease says that “[s]ubject to the Project being continually operated as a dialysis center,” the city will make the filings needed to keep the exemption alive for the full ten years (project lease, § 7.4).
What the city, the county and the doctor’s office said this week
On July 29, Mary Wyatt, Fort Scott’s Planning, Housing and Business Development Director, told FortScott.biz the city’s part of the deal is done. The commission voted to award the ten-year abatement, and the paperwork between the city’s bond counsel and the owner has been completed. “It’s all in the hands of the owner at this point,” she said. “The ball is just in their court to get their operations up and running.”
Wyatt said she had not heard from the owner recently. In their last conversation, she said, the owner told her that opening a dialysis clinic is a legally involved process, lining up physicians in particular, and that she wants to go about it carefully, given the building’s history of closing.
Bourbon County Appraiser Matt Quick confirmed that no exemption yet appears in county records. Once the remaining paperwork is complete, he said, the property goes into exempt status for ten years. Quick described the city as the lead on the bond arrangement.
Wyatt said the approval that mattered came from the city commission, because the city is the entity abating the taxes locally. The state’s remaining role, as she described it, is a document that “has to be acknowledged at the state level.”
Quick also sent FortScott.biz pages from the state Division of Property Valuation’s guide to these exemptions, which fills in the steps between the city’s vote and a smaller tax bill. After the bonds are issued, the applicant files an exemption application, called the IRBX form, with the county appraiser, who forwards it with comments to the Board of Tax Appeals. The exemption is deemed approved unless the board schedules a hearing within 30 days of receiving all the information. The break is not automatic once granted. The owner must file a claim with the county appraiser by March 1 each year of the ten; miss the filing, and the property goes back on the tax roll. Those filings square with what the city describes. Under the lease, keeping the exemption in place is tied to the building operating as a dialysis center.
At Joplin Nephrology Consultants, practice manager Heather said there are “no updates as of right now” on the Fort Scott clinic, which she described as Dr. Nadine’s project, and confirmed the reopening is still in the plans.
What the building looks like now
The lot was empty on the afternoon of July 25. There is no signage on the building or at the street, the blinds are drawn, and the covered patient drop-off, the giveaway that the place was built as a clinic, sits unused.
Fort Scott has been losing health care since 2018. Mercy announced that October that it would close the hospital it had run in town since 1886 (FortScott.biz, Oct. 3, 2018). The dialysis center closed the following September. Fresenius did not publicly give a reason for the closure. “I have talked to Fresenius,” then-City Manager Dave Martin said at the time. “They haven’t made money to the point of, they can’t stay open” (FortScott.biz, Aug. 30, 2019). Ascension Via Christi closed the emergency department in December 2023 (FortScott.biz, Dec. 18, 2023). Freeman has been working toward a hospital and emergency department here (FortScott.biz, Jan. 8, 2025).
The building has been empty since Fresenius Medical Care closed it on Sept. 30, 2019. As late as May 2023, its owner at the time said it was still looking for a tenant (FortScott.biz, May 2, 2023).
If the project comes together, that vacancy — and the three-times-a-week drives to Pittsburg or Chanute — would end.
Sources: Bourbon County tax and appraisal records for parcel 002-FS10762B, retrieved July 25, 2026; City of Fort Scott agenda packets and minutes for Nov. 18 and Dec. 16, 2025; city meeting recordings for Nov. 18 and Dec. 16, 2025. Notices ran in the Fort Scott Tribune on Nov. 8 and Dec. 20, 2025. Telephone interviews July 29, 2026, with Bourbon County Appraiser Matt Quick, Fort Scott Planning, Housing and Business Development Director Mary Wyatt, and Joplin Nephrology Consultants; pages from the Kansas Division of Property Valuation’s property-tax exemption guide provided by the appraiser’s office. Photos and map by FortScott.biz; map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
City manager: rail spur into the industrial park ‘sounds very possible’
Fort Scott City Manager Brad Matkin told city commissioners on Tuesday, July 21, that he has finally found someone at the railroad willing to talk about running a rail spur into the city’s industrial park — and that the railroad is willing to bring one in.
Nothing has been agreed to, and nobody has voted on anything. But the report was the most concrete public word yet on infrastructure that would shape what kind of employers Fort Scott can try to attract.
“I finally found somebody from the railroad that wants to talk, and it happens to be an economic development person for the railroad,” Matkin said. After a meeting the previous Friday, he said, “they are willing to bring a spur up right now up to the south of Timken, actually south of Valu.”
“It sounds very possible that we will be getting a railroad spur out to Industrial Park,” he said. “And manufacturing background can tell you how big that is.” He called it “huge for economic development in the future, because not that many industries have spurs going behind them.”
Matkin said they were meeting again that Friday and would “continue meeting until we get this thing ironed out.” He said the railroad “has been listening. They’ve been cooperative. They want the business, of course.”
The railroad wants to tie the spur into a Columbus, Kansas, line rather than a Springfield, Missouri, line, Matkin said, adding that he could not explain the reasoning. Public rail maps show two BNSF lines meeting just south of the industrial park — one running southeast toward Springfield, the other southwest through Columbus.
Matkin’s own ask is that the track not stop short. Running it behind the Timken building, he said, would let more than one company use it: that “would give a runway through their parking lot that you could bring from other companies to that spur.”
That is the case for rail access. A spur ties a plant to the main line, and for a manufacturer that ships heavy or bulk freight, having or sharing one is often what decides whether a site gets a serious look. The company buying the Timken building has raised it with him directly, Matkin said: “They’ve been talking to me about the railroad spur. That’s very important to them.”
The Timken building is why the timing matters. Timken announced in November 2023 that it would wind down its belts plant at 4505 Campbell Road and close it in 2025; about 155 people worked there. On the city’s radio show on July 16, Matkin said “the Timken building is sold. The contract is signed and everything,” with the buyer’s name and line of business expected “later in the month or first of August,” pending paperwork and financing. He has not named the buyer.
Next door, Diversey, the cleaning-products company that said in May it would put a blending plant and warehouse in the former Valu Merchandisers building, is already at work on its building, Matkin said, coordinating with the city’s fire department and engineer on code. Both buildings had been sitting empty. “These are big companies that are coming in,” he said.
A second rail item came up the same night on a different project: Commissioner Matthew Wells asked about the study the city is running with Fontana and Spring Hill through the firm Wilson & Company. That one is about crossings rather than spurs. Fort Scott, Spring Hill and Fontana share a $2.15 million BNSF planning grant, of which $800,000 covers the Fort Scott end of the work; the city put up $40,000 to match it. The study is meant to determine whether Fort Scott needs an overpass, Jayhawk Road is the hoped-for location, and which existing crossing BNSF would want closed in exchange. Matkin said it is underway, with the city’s business development director, Mary Wyatt, leading it.
Matkin’s report on the spur begins about 1:43:40 into the city’s video of the July 21 meeting.
Kobach Warns Cities: Conversion Therapy Bans Are Illegal
TOPEKA – (July 23, 2026) – Kansas Attorney General Kris W. Kobach today sent letters to the mayors of Lawrence, Roeland Park, and Prairie Village, calling on each city to immediately repeal its local ordinance banning so-called “conversion therapy,” including counseling that involves only speech.
The letters cite the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Chiles v. Salazar, which struck down a nearly identical Colorado law as a violation of the First Amendment. The Court held that such bans improperly censor therapists’ speech based on viewpoint and that therapist speech is constitutionally protected.
“The First Amendment applies to everyone – therapists, patients and everyone else. A city violates the Constitution when it attempts to forbid a therapist from providing the counseling that the therapist believes is in the best interest of the patient,” Kobach said. “The government may not declare that some words and ideas are forbidden. And now the Supreme Court of the United States has squarely ruled on the subject.”
In the letter to Lawrence Mayor Brad Finkeldei, Attorney General Kobach wrote: “Lawrence’s ordinance seeks to control speech in a nearly identical way. … In other words, only one viewpoint is allowed to be expressed. Thus, the ordinance engages in viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment.”
The letters to Roeland Park and Prairie Village contain substantially similar analysis, noting that each city’s ordinance defines “conversion therapy” to include any counseling that fails to affirm a patient’s sexual orientation or gender identity. But it expressly permits counseling that supports identity exploration or gender transition—thereby allowing only one viewpoint to be expressed.
Attorney General Kobach requested that each city inform his office within 60 days whether the ordinance has been repealed. The letters were also copied to the respective city council members.
Kobach Appeals Mail-In Ballot Grace Period Ruling
TOPEKA – (July 16, 2026) – Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach today announced his office will file an emergency appeal to the Kansas Supreme Court, after a district court judge issued a temporary injunction reinstituting a three-day grace period for the return of mail-in ballots. More than 44,000 ballots have already gone out.
“This judge has issued an unprecedented, poorly-reasoned decision that completely upsets the election process after absentee voting has already begun,” Kobach said. “His decision will cause massive confusion for voters. The judge delayed nearly five months in issuing his opinion. He should have issued it in April at the latest. My office is filing an emergency appeal to the Kansas Supreme Court to ensure that in Kansas, Election Day is Election Day.”
In May 2025, Kansas Appleseed filed a lawsuit challenging a Kansas law that eliminated the three-day grace period for mail-in ballots arriving after Election Day. Attorneys argued the case before Judge Folsom in February with post-trial briefing due March 2.
Early Voting Starts in Bourbon County Next Monday, July 20 at the Courthouse
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“The Constitutional Amendment is copied exactly how the State sent it to us to put on the ballot,” Page said. “If I understood correctly, the strike-through is over the original script that is being voted on to change or remove.”
The following constitutional amendment will be voted on during the August 4, 2026 Primary Election, taken from the Kansas Secretary of State website.
Vote Yes or No
“Explanatory statement. This amendment gives the voters the right to elect the justices of the Kansas supreme court. The justices shall serve terms of six years, with the elections of justice positions 1, 2 and 3 to occur in 2028, positions 4 and 5 to occur in 2030 and positions 6 and 7 to occur in 2032, and every six years thereafter. The rules applicable for such elections and the designation of position numbers shall be provided by law. Any vacancy on the court for an unexpired term shall be filled at an election as provided by law.
“A vote for this proposition would give Kansas citizens the right to elect Kansas supreme court justices as provided by law. Justices will hold office for terms of six years. The Kansas supreme court nominating commission, whose membership consists of a majority of lawyers, would be abolished.
“A vote against this proposition would continue the current system in which the Kansas supreme court nominating commission, whose membership consists of a majority of lawyers, provides the governor a list of three individuals to choose from for vacancies on the Kansas supreme court. Justices hold office for a term of six years and retain their offices if they win a retention election in which they do not face an opponent.
Shall the following be adopted?
Ҥ 5. Selection of justices of the supreme court. The citizens of Kansas who are qualified electors shall elect the justices of the supreme court. The rules applicable for such elections and the designation of position numbers shall be provided by law. Justice positions 1, 2 and 3 shall be elected at the general election in November of 2028, justice positions 4 and 5 in November of 2030 and justice positions 6 and 7 in November of 2032, and every six years thereafter, respectively. Any vacancy occurring on the supreme court for an unexpired term shall be filled by election as provided by law.(a) Any vacancy occurring in the office of any justice of the supreme court and any position to be open thereon as a result of enlargement of the court, or the retirement or failure of an incumbent to file his declaration of candidacy to succeed himself as hereinafter required, or failure of a justice to be elected to succeed himself, shall be filled by appointment by the governor of one of three persons possessing the qualifications of office who shall be nominated and whose names shall be submitted to the governor by the supreme court nominating commission established as hereinafter provided.
(b) In event of the failure of the governor to make the appointment within sixty days from the time the names of the nominees are submitted to him, the chief justice of the supreme court shall make the appointment from such nominees.
(c) Each justice of the supreme court appointed pursuant to provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall hold office for an initial term ending on the second Monday in January following the first general election that occurs after the expiration of twelve months in office. Not less than sixty days prior to the holding of the general election next preceding the expiration of his term of office, any justice of the supreme court may file in the office of the secretary of state a declaration of candidacy for election to succeed himself. If a declaration is not so filed, the position held by such justice shall be open from the expiration of his term of office. If such declaration is filed, his name shall be submitted at the next general election to the electors of the state on a separate judicial ballot, without party designation, reading substantially as follows:
“Shall
_______________________________
(Here insert name of justice.)
_______________________________
(Here insert the title of the court.)
be retained in office?”
If a majority of those voting on the question vote against retaining him in office, the position or office which he holds shall be open upon the expiration of his term of office; otherwise he shall, unless removed for cause, remain in office for the regular term of six years from the second Monday in January following such election. At the expiration of each term he shall, unless by law he is compelled to retire, be eligible for retention in office by election in the manner prescribed in this section.
(d) A nonpartisan nominating commission whose duty it shall be to nominate and submit to the governor the names of persons for appointment to fill vacancies in the office of any justice of the supreme court is hereby established, and shall be known as the “supreme court nominating commission.” Said commission shall be organized as hereinafter provided.
(e) The supreme court nominating commission shall be composed as follows: One member, who shall be chairman, chosen from among their number by the members of the bar who are residents of and licensed in Kansas; one member from each congressional district chosen from among their number by the resident members of the bar in each such district; and one member, who is not a lawyer, from each congressional district, appointed by the governor from among the residents of each such district.
(f) The terms of office, the procedure for selection and certification of the members of the commission and provision for their compensation or expenses shall be as provided by the legislature.
(g) No member of the supreme court nominating commission shall, while he is a member, hold any other public office by appointment or any official position in a political party or for six months thereafter be eligible for nomination for the office of justice of the supreme court. The commission may act only by the concurrence of a majority of its members.”
“§ 8. Prohibition of political activity by justices and certain judges. No justice of the supreme court who is appointed or retained under the procedure of section 5 of this article, nor any judge of the district court holding office under a nonpartisan method authorized in subsection (a) of section 6 of this article shall directly or indirectly make any contribution to or hold any office in a political party or organization or take part in any political campaign, except when such judge is a candidate for election to a position on an appellate court.”
“§ 15. Removal of justices and judges. Justices of the supreme court may be removed from office by impeachment and conviction as prescribed in article 2 of this constitution. In addition to removal by impeachment and conviction, justices may be retired after appropriate hearing, upon certification to the governor, by the supreme court nominating commission that such justice is so incapacitated as to be unable to perform adequately his duties. Other judges shall be subject to retirement for incapacity, and to discipline, suspension and removal for cause by the supreme court after appropriate hearing.”
⬭ Yes
⬭ No
Fulton Is Issued a Boil Water Advisory Today
Contact: Jill Bronaugh
[email protected]
Boil Water Advisory Issued for the City of Fulton, Bourbon County
TOPEKA – The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has issued a boil water advisory for the City of Fulton public water supply system located in Bourbon County.
Customers should observe the following precautions until further notice:
- Boil water for one minute prior to drinking or food preparation or use bottled water.
- Dispose of ice cubes and do not use ice from a household automatic icemaker.
- If your tap water appears dirty, flush the water lines by letting the water run until it clears.
- Disinfect dishes and other food contact surfaces by immersion for at least one minute in clean tap water that contains one teaspoon of unscented household bleach per gallon of water.
- Water used for bathing does not generally need to be boiled. Supervision of children is necessary while bathing so that water is not ingested. Persons with cuts or severe rashes may wish to consult their physicians.
The advisory took effect on July 15, 2026 and will remain in effect until the conditions that placed the system at risk of bacterial contamination are resolved. KDHE officials issued the advisory because the city cannot currently maintain the minimum required chlorine residual. Failure to maintain required chlorine residual levels may put the system at risk for bacterial contamination.
Regardless of whether the public water supplier or Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) announced a boil water advisory, only KDHE can issue the rescind order following testing at a certified laboratory.
For consumer questions, please contact the water system at 620-857-4464, or KDHE at 785-296-5514. For consumer information please visit KDHE’s PWS Consumer Information webpage:https://www.kdhe.ks.
Restaurants and other food establishments that have questions about the impact of the boil water advisory on their business can contact the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s food safety & lodging program at [email protected] or call 785-564-6767.
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KS Governor Denies Carr Brothers Clemency
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