Kansas
Let's celebrate the hot-blooded, radical, progressive history of Kansas – Kansas Reflector
“When anything is going to happen in this country, it happens first in Kansas,” said William Allen White, Kansas’s most famous resident (barring Paul Rudd and Superman).
Some may roll their eyes at this thought, that Kansas, a state known for being flat and boring and conservative, has been a trailblazer of the country, a hotbed of radical populism. But it’s true: Kansas has historically led the country in political and social insurgency. From the abolition of slavery to the push for prohibition, my beloved Sunflower State is where the will of the people reigns supreme.
If you weren’t privy to this fact, you are not alone.
I am sure the average Kansan wouldn’t know this either. In fact, if you grew up in Kansas, there is no doubt you, like me, took a field trip to the Capitol building, where stunning murals of the Kansas countryside were broken up by images of the occasional violent fanatic or two, eliciting more than a few eyebrow raises from your third-grade class.
I, too, could not understand why my sweet, peaceful Kansas would choose to be represented by a zealot like John Brown, wielding a musket and a bible But that is, of course, because Kansas is not a peaceful place. When Kansans adopted the motto Ad Astra Per Aspera (to the stars through difficulty), by God, we meant it.
From the very beginning, Kansas has been a place where radically different ideas and their advocates duke it out.
Kansas entered the Union as a free state after a violent conflict over slavery, known as Bleeding Kansas, putting our dear friend John Brown on the map and serving as a “tragic prelude” of sorts to the imminent Civil War. It would later become host of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling, which paved the way for the end of segregation.
Kansas spearheaded the suffrage movement at the state level, became a safe haven for socialist thinkers, and was the very first state to outlaw alcohol during the prohibition. And in recent years, Kansas was the first state to protect abortion rights after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Kansas is consistently at the heart of every single revolution in America.
And I have every intent on continuing this tradition.
When I am confused about my identity, I find my Kansas heritage anchors me. To be a Kansan is to be a radical; to push for progress; to be a forward-thinker. To be a Kansan is also to be empathetic; to care for your neighbors; to stand up for those who are suffering.
The past five generations of my family have stood on the very same dirt, looked up at the very same sky, breathed the very same air, and decided to change the world for the better. I come from the place pioneers and visionaries seek out. The winds of change whip through me like a Kansas tornado. I am a force of nature.
If ever I doubt what I am capable of, I remember the moment I realized who I was and where I come from: I am a Kansan.
Changing the world is in my blood.
Kate Appel Eckert is a senior at USD 345 in Topeka. Through its opinion section, the Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
In early 2026, the Kansas state legislature passed SB 244, a law which prohibits transgender people from using public restrooms on government property that align with their gender identity and establishes a private right of action that allows anyone who suspects someone is transgender and in violation of the law to sue that person for “damages” totaling $1,000.
The law also invalidates state-issued driver’s licenses with updated gender markers that reflect the carrier’s gender identity. In February 2026, transgender people across the state received letters from the state Department of Revenue’s Division of Vehicles informing them that their driver’s licenses “will no longer be valid,” effective immediately. SB 244 also prohibits transgender Kansans – or those born in Kansas – from updating the gender marker on state-issued birth certificates and driver’s licenses in the future.
The same day SB 244 went into effect, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Ballard Spahr LLP filed a lawsuit challenging SB 244 in the District Court of Douglas County on behalf of two transgender men who had their driver’s licenses invalidated under the law. The lawsuit charges that SB 244 violates the Kansas Constitution’s protections for personal autonomy, privacy, equality under the law, due process, and freedom of speech.
“The invalidation of state-issued IDs threatens to out transgender people against their will every time they apply for a job, rent an apartment, or interact with police,” said Harper Seldin, Senior Staff Attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV Rights Project. “Taken as a whole, SB 244 is a transparent attempt to deny transgender people autonomy over their own identities and push them out of public life altogether.”
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A Kansas City man was sentenced in federal court for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy and possession of an illegal firearm.
According to the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, 22-year-old Antoine R. Gillum was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole.
His sentencing stems from a June 2024 incident in a metro gas station. KCPD investigators contacted Gillum inside and found that he had discarded a 9 mm pistol in an aisle between the merchandise. He also discarded a pill bottle containing multiple illegal substances: cocaine base, oxycodone/acetaminophen and oxycodone.
Officers searched the vehicle Gillum had arrived in and found approximately 32 grams of cocaine base.
On May 6, 2025, Gillum pleaded guilty to one count each of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Jennings. It’s a part of ‘Operation Take Back America,’ a nationwide Department of Justice initiative to eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
No further information has been released.
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A crash near a busy highway killed two people and injured two others.
Emergency crews responded to the crash at U.S. 71 Highway and Meyer Boulevard around 12:40 p.m. on Monday, March 2.
When crews arrived they determined four cars were involved in the crash.
Police are investigating how the crash happened.
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.
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