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KS - April 17 2025

Measles cases rise; Flat tax enacted; Turtles thrive; NBC World Series in ICT; First cat dies

Greg Loving

17 Apr 2025 • 5 min read

Kansas Measles Cases Rise to 37, Outbreak Confined in Southwest

Kansas GOP Overrides Veto, Enacts Flat Income Tax Plan

Alligator Snapping Turtles Thrive in Kansas Reintroduction Program

NBC World Series Championship Game Moves to Equity Bank Park in ICT

Gov. Laura Kelly's Cat Dead

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1. Kansas Measles Cases Rise to 37, Outbreak Confined to Southwest

The number of measles cases in Kansas continues to grow, but the outbreak in the southwest part of the state has not spread farther east in the past week. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported April 16 that Kansas is up to 37 measles cases statewide. That's up from 32 cases as of April 9. There has been one hospitalization reported, but no deaths, from the Kansas measles outbreak. Genetic sequencing has found that the Kansas outbreak has a possible link to the larger outbreak in the Texas panhandle area.

Source: CJOnline

2. Kansas GOP Overrides Veto, Enacts Flat Income Tax Plan

After campaigning in the 2024 elections on promises of property tax cuts, Kansas Republican lawmakers have enacted a flat income tax plan over the veto of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. The GOP supermajorities in the Legislature on April 10 overrode the veto of Senate Bill 269 in a largely party-line vote. The new law is a gradual enactment of a flat income tax, the controversial policy that Republicans failed to enact in past years. The Republican win on income tax cuts in 2025 came after promising property tax cuts to voters, but lawmakers failed to deliver significant relief. Kansas will gradually move to a flat income tax as certain economic benchmarks are met. The new law's provisions walk down income taxes to a single-rate of 4%. The metrics depend on the State General Fund, which is home to most state tax revenue used for operating the state budget, and the Budget Stabilization Fund, also known as the rainy day fund. If income tax receipts to the general fund exceed the prior year plus inflation, and if the rainy day fund's balance meets a certain threshold, then the state must cut an equivalent amount in income taxes. If all goes according to plan, the state's two income tax brackets will eventually be reduced to one bracket set at 4%.

Source: CJOnline

3. Alligator Snapping Turtles Thrive in Kansas Reintroduction Program

More than six months after their first reintroduction into Kansas waterways, the alligator snapping turtles seem to be settling into their new home. Before 40 of the creatures were released into the Neosho River in September, the snapping turtle breed was not seen in the Kansas wild since 1991. But a reintroduction program by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks aims to change that. Alligator snapping turtles — known for their large size, hook-shaped jaw and powerful bite — were first identified as endangered in Kansas in 1974. The state’s population wasn’t alone either, alligator snapping turtle numbers declined across the U.S. in the 60s and 70s. In response to these declines, a captive breeding program was created by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at a hatchery facility in Tishomingo, Okla., in 1999. Since then, alligator snapping turtles have been reintroduced to Illinois, Tennessee, Louisiana and Oklahoma.

Source: Kansas.com

4. NBC World Series Championship Game Moves to Equity Bank Park in ICT

A. In a joint press conference with Wind Surge general manager Matt Hamilton and Wichita mayor Lily Wu, Woods announced Thursday morning that the championship game of the NBC World Series on Saturday, August 2, will be played at Equity Bank Park. The rest of the tournament, from July 23 to August 1, will continue to be hosted by Wichita State at Eck Stadium, but for the first time since the new ballpark opened in 2021, Wichita’s premier summer baseball tournament will return downtown after playing there for more than 80 years at Lawrence Dumont Stadium. The NBC World Series just re-upped a contract with WSU to host the bulk of the tournament at Eck Stadium through 2027. And Woods points out that it makes sense for the tournament, which plays a large amount of games in a short period of time, to be played on a turf field, like the one at Eck Stadium, rather than a grass field, like the one downtown, which would require much more maintenance.

B. The National Baseball Congress World Series or NBC World Series is an annual collegiate and semi-pro baseball tournament held in Wichita, Kansas. When the national tournament started in 1935, participants were primarily town teams and industrial teams. Team rosters featured aging former minor league and major league ballplayers and players ineligible for major league baseball. In the mid-1960s team rosters transitioned to collegiate players, including prospects on the fast path to the major leagues.

Source: Kansas.com, Wikipedia

5. Gov. Laura Kelly's Cat Dead

Frances, the First Cat of Kansas, who spent the last six years of her life greeting visitors to the governor's mansion in Topeka, has died. Gov. Laura Kelly announced the death of her calico cat April 15. "I'm sad to share that Frances, the First Cat of KS, was laid to rest today," Kelly said in a post on X. "She lived a long, adventurous life & greeted Cedar Crest visitors with pride & demand for affection. Although all good things come to an end, she no doubt left a big paw print as the First Cat of Kansas."

Source: CJOnlineSources

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