KS - January 06 2025

1. Historic Storm Dumps Snow and Ice on Kansas
2. KS GOP Leaders Make Property Tax Relief Top Priority
3. Medical Marijuana Debate Returns to Kansas Legislature
4. Thune Takes Senate Helm, Eyes Farm Bill
5. Chiefs Eye Kansas Sites for Practice Facility
Sports

GET THE CITIZEN JOURNAL APP - FREE!

1. Historic Storm Dumps Snow and Ice on Kansas

Topekans were digging out Monday after one of the city's heaviest snows in history fell Sunday atop icy sidewalks and streets. The capital city was buried beneath 14 inches of snow, making Sunday its third-snowiest day on record behind Feb. 27, 1900, which brought 17.3 inches, and Jan. 9, 1993, which brought 15.2 inches, the National Weather Service said. Even higher snowfall, totaling as much as 18 inches, was recorded in parts of Pottawatomie, Nemaha, Marshall, Riley and Brown counties.

Article Source: Topeka Capitol-Journal

2. KS GOP Leaders Make Property Tax Relief Top Priority

Two Republican Senate newcomers say the main reason they beat their Democratic incumbent opponents — and the reason behind the expanded Republican supermajorities in the Legislature — was constituents’ concerns about taxes. Brad Starnes, who will represent Riley County, is the first Republican to win the seat since 2008. Jeff Klemp, who will represent Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties, won his election by 31 votes — the smallest margin this election season. “People are hurting. It’s evident when you go to doorsteps. The No. 1 concern is the amount of taxations,” Starnes said. Both senators-elect are set to be on the tax committee, and they predict property tax relief will be a Day 1 priority.

Article Source: KS Reflector

3. Medical Marijuana Debate Returns to Kansas Legislature

Kansas lawmakers are likely going to act on medical marijuana in the 2025 session. Maybe.  Medical marijuana is becoming a perennial debate in Topeka, and it’s annually unclear how likely it is for a bill to pass.  “I have sat through, I don’t know, three interim committee meetings,” said Sen. Cindy Holscher, an Overland Park Democrat, at an interim committee on medical marijuana. “We keep rehashing this information.” That was in October. Holscher made a motion for the committee to support the passage of medical marijuana. The committee — made up of Senate and House members, Republicans and Democrats — rejected that motion.  “I just feel like we keep circling here by doing interim committees and never really moving forward on the issue,” Holscher said in October.  Instead, they made a motion to schedule another meeting in January to again debate medical marijuana.

Article Source: Kansas Beacon

4. Thune Takes Senate Helm, Eyes Farm Bill

New Senate Majority Leader John Thune has indicated his priorities for Senate lawmakers, including a new farm bill, as the 119th Congress takes office to begin 2025. Thune says his rural upbringing led him to value the land, agriculture, and the importance of community, values that stuck with him as he rose through the ranks in the House and Senate. Thune succeeds Kentucky’s Mitch McConnell as Senate GOP Leader and now as Majority Leader. He is laying out an aggressive early agenda, with many parts of the agenda important to producers and rural areas. Thune sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee and remains a strong advocate for farm programs and opening new markets for farm exports. His rise to the top Senate leadership post could make him a catalyst for speedy farm bill action, though any farm bill will still need bipartisan support to pass.

Article Source: Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network

5. Chiefs Eye Kansas Sites for Practice Facility

With most eyes focused on the Kansas City Chiefs' stadium plans, the potential relocation of its practice facility and HQ has gone relatively unnoticed. The prospect of the Chiefs moving their practice facility and front office out of Jackson County's Truman Sports Complex was recognized even in early 2024, when the team stood by a desire to execute a new 25-year lease and complete an $800 million revamp of GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. That was before April, when Jackson County voters handily defeated the 40-year sales tax the Chiefs sought for continued operations and maintenance at Arrowhead. The outcome spurred questions about whether the Chiefs would make another run at renovating Arrowhead decoupled from the Kansas City Royals' downtown ballpark pursuits, or shift to pursuing a new-build stadium, potentially with a dome, in Kansas. Should the Chiefs choose a new Kansas stadium, perhaps at interstates 70 and 435 in Western Wyandotte County, an on-site training facility could follow. Or should the team have more of a mixed-use appetite, it could explore any number of off-site project sites across the state line. One potential standout lies northeast of 119th Street and Renner Boulevard in the Olathe Gateway mixed-use plan. The $320 million project's team has Hunt family ties through co-developer Loretto Properties, owned by Lamar Hunt Jr. Olathe City Council members in September approved a STAR bond district spanning the intersection's southwest and northeast corners.

Article Source: KC Biz Journal

Sports

Sports editor: Leigh Loving

Monday, December 30:

Cincinnati Bearcats @ Kansas State Wildcats

Kansas State Wildcats 70

Cincinnati Bearcats 67

Tuesday, December 31:

West Virginia Mountaineers @ Kansas Jayhawks

West Virginia Mountaineers 62

Kansas Jayhawks 61

Friday, January 3:

Wichita State Shockers @ Temple Owls

Temple Owls 91

Wichita State Shockers 85

Saturday, January 4:

Kansas State Wildcats @ TCU Horned Frogs

TCU Horned Frogs 63

Kansas State Wildcats 62

Sunday, January 5:

Kansas Jayhawks @ UCF Knights

Kansas Jayhawks 99

UCF Knights 48

Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos

Denver Broncos 38

Kansas City Chiefs 0

Having secured the AFC No. 1 seed, Kansas City rested key players during the shutout loss to the Broncos. The Chiefs have a first-round bye this week and will host the lowest seeded wild card winner in the divisional round on January 18^th or 19^th.

Kansas Jayhawks drop from #7 to #11 in the AP poll after first conference opener loss since the 1991-1992 season.

Sponsors

Sources

1. https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/state/2025/01/06/topeka-digging-out-after-historic-14-inch-snowfall-atop-icy-streets/77477623007/

2. https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/06/new-republican-kansas-senators-say-tax-concerns-led-to-larger-supermajorities/

3. https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2025/01/03/kansas-lawmakers-could-consider-medical-marijuana-in-2025/

4. https://iowaagribusinessradionetwork.com/senate-majority-leader-thune-sets-out-priorities-including-farm-bill/

5. https://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2025/01/03/chiefs-practice-facility-mixed-use-nkc-olathe.html?ana=RSS&s=article_search