KS - March 11 2025

NTSB Urges Continued Helicopter Restrictions Near Reagan Airport After Crash

Kansas Senate Pushes to Change U.S. Senate Vacancy Process After Crash

Kansas House Reviews Senate Plan to Revamp Malls with STAR Bonds

Former Johnson County Commissioner O’Hara Files for 2026 Governor Race

Buc-ee’s Travel Center Nears Groundbreaking in Wyandotte County

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1. NTSB Urges Continued Helicopter Restrictions Near Reagan Airport After Crash

The National Transportation Safety Board has issued urgent safety recommendations to continue restricting helicopter travel near Reagan National Airport in its preliminary report on the Wichita-to-D.C. Flight 5342 crash. The Federal Aviation Administration currently is restricting helicopter travel along two routes near the Potomac River and the airport until March 31. In a news conference Tuesday, the administration said it will continue some of those restrictions to go along with the NTSB’s recommendations. The board recommended that the FAA continue to restrict travel along one of those routes, Route 4, while flights are landing or departing from Reagan on runways 15 and 33. It also further recommended the FAA establish an alternative route when those runways are in use.
Source: Kansas City Star

2. Kansas Senate Pushes to Change U.S. Senate Vacancy Process After Crash

Policy makers have been forced to grapple with difficult topics in the aftermath of the deadly collision between a commercial jet and an Army helicopter over the Potomac River, from the shortage of air traffic controllers to prior near misses at Reagan National Airport. For Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, one consideration brought on by the tragedy was decidedly political in nature. “It hit me like a ton of bricks, the last time I was on (Flight 5342), the flight, our direct Wichita, I was literally on that flight with Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran. I thought wait, if that would have been the plane that went down, Laura Kelly could appoint two Democrats,” Masterson said during a March 2 segment of former Wichita lawmaker John Whitmer’s KNSS radio show. “If we’d have had the position we’d been in before the election where we’re 51-49 (Republican advantage in the Senate) you literally could have had one plane change the balance of power in the United States.” Kansas Republicans are now pushing to change the process for filling U.S. Senate vacancies, which would also apply to state treasurer and insurance commissioner vacancies. As it stands, Kansas is one of 34 states where the governor is responsible for appointing a replacement to serve until the next general election. SB 105, which the Kansas Senate passed last month, would require vacancies to be filled by a member of the same party as the U.S. senator who died or left office. The Legislature would be responsible for providing the governor with a short list of three potential appointees to choose from.
Source: Kansas.com

3. Kansas House Reviews Senate Plan to Revamp Malls with STAR Bonds

Members of a House committee on Monday scrutinized a Senate plan to expand the use of STAR bonds to redevelop struggling malls. The proposal is part of Senate Bill 197, which would extend the state’s STAR bonds program through 2028 with revisions that include the elimination of eminent domain authority and new requirements for recording visitor data. The Senate passed the bill 32-8 on Feb. 19, with eight Republicans opposed. Sen. Jeff Klemp, R-Lansing, testified before members of the House Commerce, Labor and Economic Development Committee, where he revealed that he was responsible for adding the mall development provision to the bill. He said he had the dilapidated mall in Leavenworth in mind, and that more than a dozen other malls across the state would meet the criteria for a STAR bond project. “The goal would be to drive in outside folks to come into that mall,” Klemp said. Several members of the committee expressed concern with including malls in the expansion of the state STAR, or sales tax and revenue, bond program, which sunsets on July 1, 2026, without legislative action. STAR bonds are an economic development tool using state and local sales tax revenue generated by a project to pay off the bonds that finance it. There are 17 STAR bond districts in the state, ranging geographically from the Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum in Atchison to the Dodge City Boot Hill Museum. There are four in Kansas City, including the Kansas Speedway. Under SB 197, an existing mall would be eligible for a STAR Bond project if 50% of the space were unoccupied. The redevelopment project would require a minimum capital investment of $10 million.
Source: Kansas Reflector

4. Former Johnson County Commissioner O’Hara Files for 2026 Governor Race

Former Johnson County Commissioner Charlotte O’Hara has filed to run for governor in 2026. O’Hara, an Olathe Republican who served the 3rd District, lost by seven percentage points to Democrat Julie Brewer in November, making her the only incumbent in a contested County Commission race not to win re-election. O’Hara previously served one term in the Kansas House of Representatives from 2011-2013 and ran unsuccessfully for Overland Park mayor and Johnson County Commission Chair.
Source: Kansas City Star

5. Buc-ee’s Travel Center Nears Groundbreaking in Wyandotte County

Groundbreaking for a popular travel center could happen in Wyandotte County as soon as this spring. Planning to add a Buc-ees Travel Center to the area hit a snag after the county approved selling land near Interstate 435 and Interstate 70. County commissioners agreed to remove the property from a sale tax revenue (STAR) bond district to allow for the sale. Due to how the roads were designed for the area, a small portion of land remained in the STAR bond district. Wyandotte County Commissioners voted March 3, to remove the property in question from the special tax district. The Planning Commission is expected to hear the project during a meeting April 14. If commissioners give final approval, Buc-ees will be allowed to continue forward with the project.
Source: KWCH

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Sources

1. https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article301870974.html (Kansas City Star)
2. https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article301798124.html?tbref=hp (Kansas.com)
3. https://kansasreflector.com/2025/03/10/kansas-house-members-scrutinize-senate-plan-to-rehab-malls-with-star-bonds/ (Kansas Reflector)
4. https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/election/article301858599.html (Kansas City Star)
5. https://www.kwch.com/2025/03/10/move-means-buc-ees-is-step-closer-building-travel-center-near-kansas-speedway/?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=organicclicks&tbref=hp (KWCH)