Midwest
Kansas bill cracking down on foreign land ownership vetoed by Democratic governor
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Proposed restrictions in Kansas on the foreign ownership of land died Friday when the state’s Democratic governor vetoed a bill that top Republican lawmakers argued would protect military bases from Chinese spying.
The Kansas House’s top GOP leader accused Gov. Laura Kelly of “apathy” toward serious national security threats from China and other nations declared by the U.S. government to be adversaries “of concern,” including Cuba, Iraq, North Korea and Venezuela. The bill would have prohibited more than 10% ownership by foreign nationals from those countries of any non-residential property within 100 miles of any military installation — or most of Kansas.
A Kansas State University report last fall said Chinese ownership accounted for a single acre of privately owned Kansas agricultural land and all foreign individuals and companies owned 2.4% of the state’s 49 million acres of private agricultural land. The bill would have required the university to compile annual reports on all foreign real estate ownership, including non-agricultural business property.
GOP LAWMAKERS HIT WITH ‘GUT PUNCH’ AS RED STATE’S DEM GOVERNOR EKES OUT WIN IN TRANSGENDER BILL BATTLE
Kelly said in her veto message that while Kansas needs stronger protections against foreign adversaries, the bill was so “overly broad” that it could disrupt “legitimate investment and business relationships.”
“I am not willing to sign a bill that has the potential to hurt the state’s future prosperity and economic development,” Kelly said in her veto message.
Kansas exported $14.1 billion worth of products in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration. China was its fourth-largest trading partner, with $848 million worth of exports, behind Mexico, Canada and Japan.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has vetoed a bill to limit foreign land ownership. (Rich Sugg/Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
But Kansas already limits corporate ownership of agricultural land. More than 20 other states restrict foreign land ownership, according to the National Agricultural Law Center.
Early in 2023, before being shot down, a Chinese spy balloon floated across U.S. skies for several days, including over northeast Kansas, home to Fort Leavenworth, home to the U.S. Army’s college for training commanders. That intensified interest in restrictions on foreign land ownership in Kansas, though concerns existed already because of the construction of a national biosecurity lab near Kansas State University.
Kansas House Majority Leader Chris Croft, a Kansas City-area Republican and retired Army officer who was among the most vocal supporters of the bill, said Kelly’s veto leaves its military bases and other critical infrastructure “wide open for adversarial foreign governments.”
“The assets of this state are too important for us to sit on our hands and wait until it’s too late,” Croft said in a statement after the veto.
Some conservative Republicans, including Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, pushed for even stronger restrictions. Kobach backed a plan to ban all foreign ownership of more than 3 acres of land, with a new state board able to make exceptions.
“Despite the governor’s apathy, we’ll continue to work to protect Kansas and its citizens from those foreign bad actors who wish to exploit land ownership loopholes,” House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican said.
A few Republicans in the state Senate balked at the restrictions, and the bill appeared to be just short of the two-thirds majority necessary to override a veto. The bill would have given affected foreign individuals and companies two years to divest themselves of their Kansas properties.
Critics suggested attributed support for the bill to xenophobia. They suggested the main effect would be to force immigrants — including those fleeing repressive regimes — to sell their shops and restaurants.
“To the extent that this bill affects anyone, it affects everyday people, those who are trying to live the American dream,” Democratic state Rep. Melissa Oropeza, of Kansas City, Kansas, said ahead of one vote on the bill.
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Detroit, MI
LGBT Detroit celebrates 30 years of advocacy
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Milwaukee, WI
Another commissioner resigns from the SDC board | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
![Another commissioner resigns from the SDC board | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service Another commissioner resigns from the SDC board | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service](https://milwaukeenns.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/53726324915_aae8f44955_o-scaled.jpg)
Another commissioner is leaving the Social Development Commission board, as leaders continue to work on a restructuring plan, SDC attorney William Sulton said Friday.
Sulton said Serina Chavez, who was elected to represent SDC’s District 5 and serves as the board’s secretary, indicated that she planned to resign at the Board of Commissioners meeting Thursday at the African American Chamber of Commerce of Wisconsin, 1920 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
He received her official resignation on Friday.
“She indicates in her correspondence that essentially that the work that’s necessary is beyond what she is able to commit,” Sulton said.
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Chavez’s resignation follows the departure of four board members, including former board chair Elmer Moore Jr., since SDC suspended operations and laid off its employees in late April.
The all-volunteer board has met frequently since the spring to sort through new information and work on a plan to reopen SDC, handling its day-to-day operations.
Most of Thursday’s board meeting was spent in closed session.
Here’s more on the SDC
Tax appointments for former SDC clients will close at IRS office on July 24
‘It’s heartbreaking’: Residents, vendors left in limbo after SDC’s closing
SDC’s inconsistent meeting notices raise transparency concerns. Here’s what you need to know.
What you need to know about the SDC’s closing
Meredith Melland is the neighborhoods reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.
Minneapolis, MN
Davide Harabagiu Highlights Night 3 On Minneapolis Futures With 52.95 100 Fly
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2024 FUTURES CHAMPIONSHIPS- MINNEAPOLIS
Davide Harabagiu highlighted night 3 of competition in Minneapolis swimming to a 52.95 in the 100 butterfly. That was just off his personal best of a 52.75 from Settecolli in Rome last month. Harabagiu swims collegiately for Minnesota but originally hails from Italy.
Also highlighting the night was Annike Parkhe who swam to a 58.85 in the 100 fly, the only swimming under the 1:00 mark. Parkhe has a best time of a 58.58 that she swam for 13th during prelims of US Olympic Trials last month. She finished 16th in semifinals in a 59.02.
Finishing behind Parkhe in the 100 fly was Grace Rabb who swam a 1:00.28. Later in the session, Rabb earned a win touching in a 2:32.69 in the 200 breast. Rabb, a Florida commit, swam a best time in the 100 fly as her previous best was a 1:01.36. Her 200 breast best time stands at a 2:32.39 from May.
The final winner on the women’s side was Katie McCarthy who won the 400 free in a 4:15.81. McCarthy was 34th in the event at US Trials in a 4:14.90 and has a best time of a 4:14.89.
The men’s 400 free was a battle as Jiarui Xue earned the win in a 3:59.16 touching just ahead of Chase Maier who swam a 3:59.24. Xue has a best time of a 3:59.00 and is committed to Princeton while Maier dropped a huge best time as his previous best was a 4:05.01.
Sirui Wang won the 200 breast in a 2:17.24, almost a five second drop from his previous best of a 2:22.05 from May. He was a 2:22.65 in the event at the last summer.
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