KS - November 25 2024

1. Kansas Tax Showdown Looms as Gov. Kelly Opposes GOP Property Tax Cuts
2. Kansas Ranked 25th in Tax Competitiveness, Spending Growing Faster Than Population
3.  Boeing Wins Defense Deals, Will Benefit Wichita’s Spirit AeroSystems
4. Kansas Launches Skilled Labor Training Program to Combat Housing and Workforce Gaps
5. Brooke Rollins Nominated as Secretary of Agriculture
6. Sports

1. Kansas Tax Showdown Looms as Gov. Kelly Opposes GOP Property Tax Cuts

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on Monday called for no new tax cuts in 2025, setting the Democrat on a collision path with Republicans who have vowed to take action on property taxes after voters bolstered the party’s supermajority in the Legislature. The conflict’s outcome will influence how much Kansas homeowners pay in future property taxes, one of the most hated forms of taxation that helps pay for city and county government and public education. Some Republican lawmakers want to cut the statewide mill levy, which helps fund schools, while others favor a constitutional amendment that would limit annual property valuation increases.

Article Source: KC Star

2. Kansas Ranked 25th in Tax Competitiveness, Spending Growing Faster Than Population

Kansas ranks 25th overall on the Tax Foundation’s 2025 State Tax Competitiveness Index. While the state benefits from competitive excise tax rates and sales tax uniformity, it lags behind states in reducing income tax rates, ultimately to zero, where seven states have their income tax rate today. Transitioning to single-rate tax structures and reducing tax burdens could enhance Kansas’s ability to attract businesses and talent; tax changes in the 2024 Special Session should be viewed as a first step, not a destination. State appropriations in Kansas have consistently outpaced population growth plus inflation, creating a trajectory that threatens fiscal sustainability.  Over the past decade, state appropriations have grown at an average annual rate of 5.7%, compared to a modest 2.5% annual growth in population plus inflation  

Article Source: KS Policy Institute

3.  Boeing Wins Defense Deals, Will Benefit Wichita’s Spirit AeroSystems

Boeing's struggling defense and space segment has snagged more than $4 billion in contract modifications on a pair of programs involving significant contributions from Wichita's Spirit AeroSystems. Last week, Boeing announced it received a $2.4 billion award to build 15 additional KC-46A Pegasus tankers for the U.S. Air Force. The same day, the Department of Defense said the aerospace giant had received a $1.7 billion award from the U.S. Navy for seven P-8A Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft. Spirit, Boeing's largest supplier, builds the forward fuselage, fixed leading edge and strut and nacelle components on the KC-46A. Meanwhile, the P-8A Poseidon is a variant of the Boeing 737, of which Spirit builds 70% of the structure, including the aircraft’s full fuselage.  

On the defense side for Spirit (NYSE: SPR), there have been multiple significant moves of late. The company recently lost contract work on Bell's Future Long Range Assault Aircraft for the U.S. Army. The decision by Bell Textron — a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) division which said earlier this month it would keep the in-house V-280 Valor fuselage construction in Wichita — was seen as directly tied to concerns over Boeing's agreement to buy Spirit. A week ago, Spirit's ongoing financial struggles also caused it to sell Fiber Materials Inc., a business that makes products for both key defense platforms and NASA programs, to Tex-Tech Industries Inc. for $165 million. The major aerospace supplier's asset sale came the same month it announced it would receive up to $350 million in advance payments from Boeing (NYSE: BA) and a $107 million non-interest-bearing line of credit from Airbus. Those actions followed a Securities and Exchange Commission filing earlier in the month where Spirit warned about its ability to operate moving forward. Spirit is Wichita's largest employer with around 12,800 full-time local employees.

Article Source: Wichita Business Journal

4. Kansas Launches Skilled Labor Training Program to Combat Housing and Workforce Gaps

The Kansas Department of Commerce has launched a new program to address housing and workforce issues in the state. The Fostering Residential Advancement through Mentoring and Education (FRAME) grant program will provide $2 million in funding to qualified Kansas technical and community colleges to build and renovate residential homes and train students in skilled trades related to home construction. A recent study conducted by the Kansas Department of Commerce and the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation showed a critical shortage of both housing and skilled workers to meet the demand. Statewide, contractors do not have enough labor to meet the demand for housing, and there is an urgent need for skilled labor.

Article Source: KSN

5. Brooke Rollins Nominated as Secretary of Agriculture

President-elect Donald J. Trump has nominated Brooke Rollins to serve as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. Rollins is a former director of the Domestic Policy Council and the Office of American Innovation. She currently serves as president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute. Rollins is a graduate of Texas A&M University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture development. Rollins also received a law degree from the University of Texas. “From her upbringing in the small and agriculture-centered town of Glen Rose, Texas, to her years of leadership involvement with FFA and 4-H, to her generational family farming background, to guiding her four kids in their show cattle careers, Brooke has a practitioner’s experience, along with deep policy credentials in both non-profit and government leadership at the state and national levels,” Trump said. If Rollins ultimately steps into the role of secretary of agriculture, passing a new farm bill will be the first item on the agenda. Although the current Democratic-led Senate proposed a farm bill draft on Nov. 18, it is unlikely that bill will be passed before the calendar year runs out. If a farm bill is still in limbo when Rollins takes office, she will need to work with Congress to find common ground and pass a bill that benefits agriculture.

Article Source: High Plains Journal

6. Sports

Football  

KU 37 CU 21 

KSU 41 Cincy 15 

Chiefs 30 Panthers 27  

Basketball  

KSU 83 GW 71 

KSU 65 Liberty 67  

Tomorrow  

KU v Duke  

Kansas beats No. 16 Colorado 37-21  

By Clark Goble  

The quest for bowl game eligibility lives on for Kansas football after the Jayhawks defeated Colorado 37-21 on Saturday. It was the Jayhawks’ third straight victory against a ranked opponent and moved Kansas to a 5-6 record with one regular season game remaining. The Jayhawks moved the ball with ease on offense and did enough defensively to disrupt the Buffaloes’ flow. Sr. Running back Devin Neal, on Senior Day, carried 37 times for 207 yards and three touchdowns, also adding four catches for 80 yards and a touchdown. The Jayhawks head to Waco, TX to play Baylor on Saturday.  

Kansas running back Devin Neal is The Associated Press college football player of the week. The senior ran for 207 yards and three touchdowns on a career-high 37 carries and caught four passes for 80 yards and a TD in the Jayhawks’ 37-21 win over Colorado.  

Kansas remained solidly entrenched at No. 1 in the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll Monday ahead of its showdown with No. 11 Duke in Las Vegas

Article Source: KSN

Sources

1. https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article296114894.html

2. https://kansaspolicy.org/responsible-kansas-budget/

3. https://www.bizjournals.com/wichita/news/2024/11/25/boeing-defense-contracts-spirit-navy-air-force.html?cx_testId=40&cx_testVariant=cx_47&cx_artPos=1#cxrecs_s

4. https://www.ksn.com/news/state-regional/new-program-launched-to-address-housing-and-workforce-issues/

5. https://hpj.com/2024/11/25/brooke-rollins-nominated-for-secretary-of-agriculture/

6. https://www.ksn.com/sports/jayhawks/ap-player-of-the-week-devin-neal-of-kansas/
https://www.ksn.com/sports/jayhawks/ap-kansas-stays-at-no-1-ahead-of-showdown-vs-no-11-duke-ole-miss-mississippi-st-back-in-ap-top-25/