Kansas
Kansas Senate rejects attempt to dislodge medical marijuana bill stuck in a committee • Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — Republican members of the Kansas Senate crushed with a boot heel Friday an attempt to breathe life into legislation creating the state regulatory framework for cultivation, distribution and use of medical cannabis.
The Senate has been the stumbling block since the Kansas House approved a medical marijuana bill in 2021 that wasn’t allowed to come to a vote by Senate leadership.
In 2023, a bill was introduced in the Senate to make cannabis products available for medical use. Senate Bill 135 received two days of hearings in the 2023 session, but was idled by Senate Republicans.
Sen. Rob Olson, R-Olathe, offered a written motion calling for that bill to be withdrawn from the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee and transferred to the full Senate for possible debate and votes.
“Someday this is going to be law in this state,” Olson said. “I would like to put it into law with good boundaries, and this bill does that.”
The vote on pulling that bill forward was 12-25 failure. It was well short of 24 necessary to force a bill to the Senate floor. A separate vote would have been necessary to determine whether the Senate bypassed leadership’s opposition to formal debate on the medical marijuana bill left to collect dust for more than a year.
Sen. Cindy Holscher, D-Overland Park, said it was frustrating GOP lawmakers again stood in the way of legislation that would enable Kansas veterans and people with serious health conditions from attempting to benefit from legal consumption of marijuana products. The fate of Olson’s attempt to compel action on a medical marijuana bill confirmed political challenges confronting marijuana advocates, she said.
“Over the past three weeks, scores of Kansans have reached out to their senators voicing support for medical cannabis as they have done for nearly the past decade,” Holscher said. “Sadly, supporters have faced many hurdles on this important measure.”
In March, separate legislation was introduced in the Kansas Legislature that would allow medical marijuana sales through a multiyear pilot program. There was a Senate committee hearing on that bill, which was opposed by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies. The Kansas Cannabis Chamber of Commerce also criticized the pilot program concept.
Senators on that committee decided to table the measure, which effectively killed it. With days left in the 2024 session, the failed motion by Olson put an explanation point on another year of consternation for cannabis advocates.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has endorsed the concept of making medicinal sales legal in Kansas. She’s also said the state wasn’t ready for recreational sales. Kansas is bracketed by Colorado and Missouri — border states offering legal medicinal and recreational marijuana to consumers.
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – A former Kansas wrestling coach was charged with creating child sexual abuse materials by secretly recording minors showering during an athletic competition.
According to court documents, 37-year-old Ryan Brungardt of Salina is charged with two counts of production of child pornography and one count of attempted production of child pornography.
Brungardt is a former employee at Lakewood Middle School and former wrestling coach for Salina Central High School.
Brungardt is accused of using a cellphone to record three minors while they showered in a locker room during the Tournament of Champions, a wrestling tournament was held at Newton High in January 2024.
Brungardt made his initial court appearance for the criminal complaint on Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brooks G. Severson.
A detention hearing is scheduled for Monday
Investigators are in the process of reviewing additional seized cellphone videos in this case that are suspected to have been recorded at wrestling meets in Newton, Hays, Garden City and Salina during the 2023-2024 wrestling season.
Anyone who believes they witnessed crimes or any suspicious activity at these events is asked to contact the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at (785) 600-8790 or report at www.kbi.ks.gov/sar.
Copyright 2026 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email news@kwch.com
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Below is a look at the results from Wednesday night’s high school basketball sub-state semifinals in Northeast Kansas.
Editor’s Note: This story will be updated with what schools are hosting when that information becomes readily available.
WIBW Scoreboard
BOYS
6A Boys West Sub-State: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Topeka High 57, Washburn Rural 50 (will play Maize Saturday)
- Junction City 70, Dodge City 56 (will play Derby Saturday)
- Manhattan 58, Wichita-Northwest 56 (will play Wichita-East Saturday)
4A Boys East Sub-State: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Rock Creek 62, Louisberg 57 (will play Bishop Miege Saturday)
- Atchison 74, Wamego 43
- Hayden 72, Independence 56 (will play Atchison Saturday)
- Eudora 76, Santa Fe Trail 68
GIRLS
5A West Girls: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Hays 80, Topeka West 18
- Eisenhower 55, Seaman 41
- Kapaun Mt. Carmel 71, Emporia 41
5A East Girls: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Shawnee Heights 89, Sumner 15 (will play Pittsburg Saturday)
- Basehor-Linwood 74, Highland Park 28 (will play Piper Saturday)
3A Pomona-West Franklin Girls: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Osage City 75, Columbus 31 (will play Frontenac Saturday)
3A Sabetha Girls: Wednesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Silver Lake 48, Nemaha Central 26 (will play Riley County Saturday)
- Riley County 51, Jeff West 40 (will play Silver Lake)
Copyright 2026 WIBW. All rights reserved.
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Below is a look at the results from Tuesday night’s high school basketball sub-state semifinals in Northeast Kansas.
Editor’s Note: This story will be updated with what schools are hosting when that information becomes readily available.
WIBW Scoreboard
BOYS
5A East Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- KC Washington 68, Highland Park 38
- Shawnee Heights 49, De Soto 37 (will play Leavenworth Friday)
5A West Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Topeka West 55, Hutchinson 32 (will play Bishop Carroll Friday)
- Emporia 61, Great Bend 41 (will play Maize South Friday)
- Seaman 73, Valley Center 51 (will play Hays Friday)
3A West Franklin Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Burlington 60, Osage City 35 (will play Baxter Springs Friday)
3A Sabetha Boys: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Hiawatha 73, Oskaloosa 48 (will play Heritage Christian Friday)
- Silver Lake 58, Sabetha 39 (will play Perry-Lecompton Friday 7:30 p.m.)
GIRLS
6A West Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Washburn Rural 60, Wichita South 32 (will play Derby)
- Topeka High 69, Maize 45 (will play Liberal)
- Manhattan 67, Free State 21 (will play Wichita East)
4A East Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Rock Creek 71, Parsons 23 (will play Tonganoxie)
- Wamego 54, Labette County 33 (will play Bishop Miege)
- Hayden 2, Athison 0 (will play Baldwin)
2A Eskridge/Mission Valley Girls: Tuesday’s sub-state semifinal results
- Rossville 71, KC Christian 49 (will play Maur Hill-Mount Academy)
- Lyndon 61, Jeff. Co. North 31 (will play Valley Heights)
- Valley Heights 65, Doniphan West 41 (will play Lyndon)
Copyright 2026 WIBW. All rights reserved.
US immigration authorities arrest Spanish-language news reporter in Tennessee
Pro-gambling interests fail to gain ground in Texas primaries as legislative roadblocks remain
The calculus of charity: 20,000-pound LDS donation equals 15,000 meals for 9,000 people
Girls Vermont Varsity Insider Athlete of the Week winner powered by Delta Dental
13News Now
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Appeals court declares DC ban on certain gun magazines unconstitutional
‘No deal with Iran except unconditional surrender,’ Trump says
A dead woman’s key fob and two grisly crime scenes: How the Utah triple-murder suspect was tracked across state lines | CNN
DOJ continues Biden autopen probe despite former president unlikely to face charges
Fact check: Did French border guards mock influencers returning from Dubai amid Iran war?
-
World1 week agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Wisconsin5 days agoSetting sail on iceboats across a frozen lake in Wisconsin
-
Massachusetts3 days agoMassachusetts man awaits word from family in Iran after attacks
-
Massachusetts1 week agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Maryland5 days agoAM showers Sunday in Maryland
-
Florida5 days agoFlorida man rescued after being stuck in shoulder-deep mud for days
-
Denver, CO1 week ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Oregon1 week ago2026 OSAA Oregon Wrestling State Championship Results And Brackets – FloWrestling