KS - May 2 2025

Spirit Aerosystems Furls 250-350 Wichita Workers Amid 737 Parts Surplus

Bipartisan Task Force Formed to Tackle Kansas' Future Water Supply Challenges

Federal Americorps Cuts Leave Hundreds Unemployed Across Kansas

KMUW Cites Vital Need for Federal Funds as Trump Targets Public Broadcasting Support

Following $24B Court Win, Missouri Eyes Seizure of Chinese-Owned Farmland, Including Smithfield Holdings

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Spirit Aerosystems Furls 250-350 Wichita Workers Amid 737 Parts Surplus

Between 250-350 employees at Spirit AeroSystems in Wichita were notified Friday morning that their job will soon be furloughed for about a month because of a backlog, spokesperson Joe Buccino said. The furlough will begin May 12 and go through mid-June. It is supposed to be about 30 days before the employees return to work, he said. “Two programs, 737 fabrication, and 737 composite fabrication, it’s tied to a thrust reverser, we’ve overproduced and accumulated a parts surplus over the last several years,” he said. “We have to reduce inventory.”Kansas.com

Bipartisan Task Force Formed to Tackle Kansas' Future Water Supply Challenges

TOPEKA — A water task force meant to ensure the “precious resource is available for generations to come” received its first members this week. The 16-member panel of Republican and Democratic legislators, state officials and a handful of appointees from both parties will craft policy changes in an effort to evaluate Kansas’ current and future water supply, funding efforts for water projects and potential impacts on the state’s economy. Republicans announced their appointments Wednesday, which included an official from utility company Evergy, an environmental consultant and the manager of a public groundwater management district in northwest Kansas. Democratic leadership on Tuesday appointed Josh Svaty, a former state legislator and former state agriculture secretary, and Heidi Mehl, the Kansas director of water and agriculture for the Nature Conservancy, an international environmental organization. The task force also will include three nonvoting members from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the Kansas Water Office and the Kansas Department of Agriculture.Kansas Reflector

Federal Americorps Cuts Leave Hundreds Unemployed Across Kansas

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - Federal cuts to AmeriCorps are already being felt in Kansas as programs and jobs associated with the agency are being terminated. Hundreds of AmeriCorps members in Kansas are now unemployed. “Math or reading tutoring, mentoring, civic engagement, a lot of different things that encompass that. Those services will no longer be available,” Kansas Volunteer Commission executive director Dr. Jessica Dorsey said. The cuts are hurting sites across the state like the Bartlett Arboretum in Belle Plaine, as staff positions filled by AmeriCorps volunteers are terminated.KWCH

KMUW Cites Vital Need for Federal Funds as Trump Targets Public Broadcasting Support

President Donald Trump’s latest executive order could mean cuts to local Kansas radio and TV stations. Trump signed an order Thursday directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s board to end federal funding for National Public Radio and Public Broadcasting Service. KMUW, Wichita’s NPR affiliate, told The Eagle federal funding accounts for about 7% of their budget. While that may seem like a small number, funding from the Corporation of Public Broadcasting goes to vital resources, specifically music rights and the satellite infrastructure, allowing stations to broadcast programs from across the country.Kansas.com

Following $24B Court Win, Missouri Eyes Seizure of Chinese-Owned Farmland, Including Smithfield Holdings

On March 7, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced his state had won a $24 billion judgment in federal court against China for unleashing the COVID-19 pandemic and hoarding personal protective equipment. Judge Steven Limbaugh of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri imposed the judgment against China, its governing Communist Party, and local governments in China, as well as a health agency and a laboratory in the country. The lawsuit had been originally filed by former Missouri attorney general Eric Schmitt in 2020. The judgment is six times more than the previous largest judgment in Missouri history. Bailey said Missouri will now move to collect the $24 billion judgment and, if necessary, will work with the Trump administration to identify and seize Chinese-owned assets. Chinese ownership of farmland is a hot-button issue in Missouri. During the state’s 2023 legislative session, House Minority Leader and 2024 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Crystal Quade (D-Springfield) introduced legislation that would ban foreign ownership of land in Missouri. A modified version of the bill made it to the Senate and gained Republican support, but it was not voted on before the session ended. According to lists maintained by the Missouri Department of Agriculture, 118,762 acres of Missouri farmland are owned by foreign-based enterprises, or a total of 0.43% of the 27.5 million acres in the state. The Chinese are the single largest foreign owner of farmland, with Canada in a distant second place. But 99% of the Chinese-owned land belongs to one owner, Smithfield Foods, the largest pork producer in the U.S., which was originally based in Virginia but was bought by Hong Kong-based WH Group for $4.7 billion in 2013.HPJ

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Sources

1. https://www.kansas.com/news/business/aviation/article305554011.html
2. https://kansasreflector.com/2025/05/02/kansas-water-task-force-to-gauge-current-and-future-supply-modernize-policy/
3. https://www.kwch.com/2025/05/01/americorps-cuts-leave-hundreds-kansans-unemployed/?utm_source=taboola&utm_medium=organicclicks&tbref=hp
4. https://www.kansas.com/news/state/article305564461.html
5. https://hpj.com/2025/05/02/missouri-threatens-to-seize-chinese-owned-farmland-after-24-billion-judgment/