Kansas News Service

The Kansas News Service produces essential enterprise reporting, diving deep and connecting the dots regarding the policies, issues and and events that affect the health of Kansans and their communities. The team is based at KCUR and collaborates with KMUW and public media stations across Kansas.

The Kansas News Service is made possible by a group of funding organizations, led by the Kansas Health Foundation. Other funders include United Methodist Health Ministry Fund, Sunflower Foundation, REACH Healthcare Foundation and the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City. Additional support comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

If you'd like to subscribe to our to our weekly newsletter for stories on health, politics and education in Kansas, click here. 

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Are Video Games A Sport? Hoping To Attract Fans And Students, Kansas Colleges Say Yes

By • 1 hour ago
Stephan Bisaha / Kansas News Service

Wichita State student Jonathan Gallegos said gamers on campus felt like an afterthought.

“The school wasn’t really supporting us,” Gallegos said.

This semester, the support came. Gallegos is now a varsity athlete.

It's Not Really About The Tweets

By • 4 hours ago

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's new administration experienced some social media mishaps this past week, and conservative Republicans pounced. Washburn University political scientist Bob Beatty says there's more going on than meets the eye. 


Davids Talks Health Care, Guns And The Wall At First Town Hall Meeting In Olathe

By • 4 hours ago

Hundreds of people packed an Olathe, Kansas, church on Sunday afternoon to hear from newly elected Rep. Sharice Davids at a town hall.

Davids had promised regular town halls during her campaign for the 1st Congressional District against former Rep. Kevin Yoder. People want to interact with their representatives, she said.

“Not just to hear from their representative but to be able to ask the questions and voice their opinions and their ideas and their concerns,” Davids said after Sunday's event.

Missouri River Breaches Levees Near Winthrop, Residents Urged To Leave

By , & • Mar 22, 2019

Updated, 2:53 p.m. Thursday: Missouri Gov. Mike Parson declared a state of emergency Thursday, following flooding along the Missouri River.

Thursday morning the river breached a levee near Winthrop, Missouri, across from Atchison, Kansas. 

Ghosts Of Social Media Past Haunt Kansas Governor's Administration

By • Mar 22, 2019

The last week might have been easier for Gov. Laura Kelly if every staffer and appointee had stuck to sharing cat photos on Twitter instead of political opinions.

The Kansas GOP pounced quickly on her newly formed Democratic administration for the social media transgressions of its people. With divided government in Topeka, GOP leaders won’t miss a chance to point out potential errors.

Kansas House Committee Forges Ahead With School Spending Plan

By • Mar 22, 2019
Stephen Koranda / Kansas Public Radio

A House committee rejected Gov. Laura Kelly’s school funding bill Thursday before advancing their own plan to settle a long-running legal battle over how much to spend on education.

Kansas City Star Makes Its Case For Throwing Out Kansas Senator's Defamation Lawsuit

By • Mar 21, 2019

Kansas Sen. Jim Denning’s defamation lawsuit against The Kansas City Star should be thrown out because the First Amendment protects even untruthful speech, the newspaper asserted in a court filing Wednesday.

In a brief supporting its motion made last month to strike Denning’s petition, The Star says that Denning would be unable to show that the newspaper acted with “actual malice” when it published a column by unpaid guest columnist Steve Rose about Denning’s opposition to Medicaid expansion.

Senators Grill Commerce Secretary Nominee Before Vote Goes To Kansas Senate

By • Mar 21, 2019
Stephen Koranda / Kansas Public Radio

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s nomination for commerce secretary will go to the Senate floor but without a favorable committee recommendation.

Kansas House Approves Medicaid Expansion, But The Fight Isn't Over Yet

By • Mar 21, 2019

A coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans powered past objections from conservative leaders in the Kansas House Wednesday to approve Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s Medicaid expansion proposal.

Albeit a slightly revised version.

Kansas Hopes To Convince California Students To Trade Beaches For Cheap College Tuition

By • Mar 19, 2019
Chris Neal / For the Kansas News Service

Kansas universities are looking beyond the Midwest — as far out as California — for out-of-state students to fill their classrooms.

But other states are competing just as hard for Kansas students.

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