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Kansas Constitution doesn't include right to vote: state high court majority

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Kansas Constitution doesn't include right to vote: state high court majority

The Kansas Supreme Court offered a mixed bag in a ruling Friday that combined several challenges to a 2021 election law, siding with state officials on one provision, reviving challenges to others and offering the possibility that at least one will be halted before this year’s general election.

But it was the ballot signature verification measure’s majority opinion — which stated there is no right to vote enshrined in the Kansas Constitution’s Bill of Rights — that drew fiery dissent from three of the court’s seven justices.

The measure requires election officials to match the signatures on advance mail ballots to a person’s voter registration record. The state Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s dismissal of that lawsuit, but the majority rejected arguments from voting rights groups that the measure violates state constitutional voting rights.

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In fact, Justice Caleb Stegall, writing for the majority, said that the dissenting justices wrongly accused the majority of ignoring past precedent, holding that the court has not identified a “fundamental right to vote” within the state constitution.

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“It simply is not there,” Stegall wrote.

Justice Eric Rosen, one of the three who dissented, shot back: “It staggers my imagination to conclude Kansas citizens have no fundamental right to vote under their state constitution.”

“I cannot and will not condone this betrayal of our constitutional duty to safeguard the foundational rights of Kansans,” Rosen added.

Conversely, the high court unanimously sided with the challengers of a different provision that makes it a crime for someone to give the appearance of being an election official. Voting rights groups, including Kansas League of Women Voters and the nonprofit Loud Light, argued the measure suppresses free speech and their ability to register voters as some might wrongly assume volunteers are election workers, putting them at risk of criminal prosecution.

A Shawnee County District Court judge had earlier rejected the groups’ request for an emergency injunction, saying that impersonation of a public official is not protected speech.

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Former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach answers questions from a moderator during a Kansas Chamber of Commerce event at the Embassy Suites by Hilton on Wednesday, Sep. 7, 2022, in Olathe. (Kansas City Star via Getty Images)

But the high court faulted the new law, noting that it doesn’t include any requirement that prosecutors show intent by a voter registration volunteer to misrepresent or deceive people into believing they’re an election official, and it thus “criminalizes honest speech” where “occasional misunderstandings” are bound to occur, Stegall wrote in the majority opinion.

“As such, it sweeps up protected speech in its net,” Stegall said.

Because the lawsuit over the false impersonation law’s constitutionality is likely to succeed, the state Supreme Court ordered the lower court to reconsider issuing an emergency injunction against it.

“For three years now, Kansas League of Women Voters volunteers have been forced to severely limit their assistance of voters due to this ambiguous and threatening law,” said Martha Pint, president of the chapter. “The League’s critical voter assistance work is not a crime, and we are confident this provision will be quickly blocked when the case returns to the district court.”

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Loud Light executive director Davis Hammet said he hopes the lower court “will stop the irreparable harm caused daily by the law and allow us to resume voter registration before the general election.”

Neither Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab nor state Attorney General Kris Kobach responded to requests for comment on that portion of the high court’s ruling.

Instead, in a joint statement, Schwab and Kobach focus on the high court’s language bolstering the signature verification law and its upholding of a provision that says individuals may collect no more than 10 advance ballots to submit to election officials.

“This ruling allows us to preserve reasonable election security laws in Kansas,” Schwab said.

Supporters have argued the ballot collection restriction combats “ballot harvesting” and limits voter fraud. The GOP-led Legislature passed it over a veto by Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. Critics have said it’s a Republican reaction to baseless claims that the 2020 election was not valid, which prompted a wave of misinformation and voter suppression laws across the country.

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Last year, the Kansas Court of Appeals reinstated a lawsuit challenging the ballot collection limitation and the signature verification, saying both impair the right to vote. But the high court upheld the limit on ballot collections, saying “voters have numerous avenues available to deliver their ballots” and that ballot collecting doesn’t fall within the parameters of free speech.

Kobach defended the majority’s opinion as “well-reasoned” and confirms that the Legislature has the constitutional authority to establish proofs “to ensure voters are who they say they are.”

“And that is exactly what Kansas’s signature verification requirement is,” Kobach said.

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Midwest

Ilhan Omar kicked out of ICE facility after DHS requires week’s advance notice

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Ilhan Omar kicked out of ICE facility after DHS requires week’s advance notice

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., says she and other Minnesota lawmakers were kicked out of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Minneapolis on Saturday.

Omar visited ICE’s Whipple Building alongside fellow Minnesota Democrat Rep. Angie Craig, saying they were fulfilling their congressional oversight role. They were asked to leave the facility after being informed about a new Trump administration rule governing lawmaker visits.

“We were initially invited in to do our congressional oversight and to exercise our Article I duties,” Omar told reporters after the incident. “When we made it in, it was with the authorization of someone who’s been here for a really long time, who understood that we had a congressional duty to enter the building and see the facility.”

“Shortly after we were let in, two officials came in and said they received a message that we were no longer allowed to be in the building and that they were rescinding our invitation and denying any further access to the building,” she continued.

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Rep. Ilhan Omar, center, joined by Reps. Kelly Morrison, left, and Angie Craig, arrive outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building on Jan. 10, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump’s administration imposed a new rule on Saturday requiring lawmakers to give at least one week’s notice before entering an ICE facility.

The move is the administration’s second attempt at such an order. A federal judge previously struck down a similar requirement from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, finding that federal spending laws require that members of Congress receive unrestricted access to recipient facilities.

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Omar said her group was able to briefly question officials inside the facility regarding hygiene for detainees and other topics. She described the answers she received as “insane,” and argued officials were downplaying how long detainees remain at the facility.

Rep. Ilhan Omar arrives for an oversight visit at the Whipple Building on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026. (Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Federal officials say the new order complies with federal law because the funding for the facility is sourced from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act rather than congressional appropriations.

DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin elaborated on Omar’s removal in a statement to reporters, arguing that the lawmakers entered the facility “with the explicit goal of ‘hunting down’ ICE officers who they believed may have been staying there.”

U.S. Border Patrol agents detain a person near Roosevelt High School during dismissal time as federal immigration enforcement actions sparked unrest in Minneapolis on Jan. 7, 2026. (Kerem Yucel/AFP via Getty Images)

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“For the safety of detainees and staff, and in compliance with the agency’s mandate, the members of Congress were notified that their visit was improper and out of compliance with existing court orders and policies which mandate that members of Congress must notify ICE at least seven days in advance of congressional visits,” she said.

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Detroit, MI

School Closings: List of closures across metro Detroit

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School Closings: List of closures across metro Detroit


(WXYZ) — Hundreds of schools will be closed on Thursday due to winter weather in metro Detroit.

>> See the full list here.

On Wednesday, winter weather advisories were issued in Southeast Michigan as several inches of snow fell across the area, creating challenges on the roads.

On Thursday, we’re expecting more snow chances and colder air.

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Milwaukee, WI

Grocery store closures impact Milwaukee residents

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Grocery store closures impact Milwaukee residents


MILWAUKEE — For many Milwaukee residents, it may become increasingly difficult to find access to fresh food.


What You Need To Know

  • Aldi on North Sherman Boulevard closed its doors on Jan. 11
  • A spokesperson with Aldi said the closure “is a part of a strategic effort to better allocate resources and continue providing a high-quality shopping experience at our nearby stores”
  • The Hunger Task Force Mobile Market travels Monday through Friday throughout the county where residents have limited access to fresh and healthy foods
  • The closest mobile market to the closed Aldi on North Sherman Boulevard is at Meinecke Plaza. The market will be there the first Monday of every month at 4 p.m. 

Jonathan Hansen is the chief strategy officer for Hunger Task Force, a free, local food bank in Milwaukee. Hansen said Hunger Task Force has noticed a significant increase of need from the community. 

“Everyone is feeling that pinch right now,” said Hansen. “Particularly families who are struggling with unemployment.” 

He said grocery store chains scaling back and closing some locations makes it even harder. 

The most recent store closure was on Jan. 11, when the Aldi on North Sherman Boulevard closed. A spokesperson with Aldi said the closure “is a part of a strategic effort to better allocate resources and continue providing a high-quality shopping experience at our nearby stores.”

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Aldi also announced it’s opening 180 new stores across 31 states in 2026. 

Milwuakee Alderwoman Andrea Pratt issued the following statement in light of the Aldi closure, saying, in-part: 

“The closing is disappointing and will make it more difficult for many regular customers – especially those who do not have access to a vehicle – to obtain their groceries and other critical items.

“Additionally, it is just the latest development in a trend of recent divestment from neighborhoods where there are already few fresh food resources available to residents. Therecent closures of Pick ‘n Save stores nearby (35th and North and on Silver Spring Dr. in Glendale) are making it so that residents must travel significantly farther to secure their food, necessities, and medications.

“I will be working closely with city staff and our local business community to see what we can do to attract new grocery outlets to the 1st District and the north side.”

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Hansen said there’s options for residents in who are unable to travel far for groceries. The Hunger Task Force Mobile Market travels Monday through Friday throughout the county where residents have limited access to fresh and healthy foods. 

“We see the instance of a grocery store closing or we see a neighborhood overtime that lost resources to healthy foods or to a grocery store,” said Hansen. “We’re able to pivot and send the market to those neighborhoods to help to address needs.” 

The closest mobile market to the closed Aldi on North Sherman Boulevard is at Meinecke Plaza. The market will be there the first Monday of every month at 4 p.m. 

The African American Roundtable is also fighting food insecurity through a campaign it’s launching this spring. Ryeshia Farmer said this will benefit the northwest side of Milwaukee. 

“We really want to get the city’s decision makers, the Common Council, the mayor, to invest in food access for our residents,” said Farmer. “We want them to take up responsibility to prioritize through the city budget.” 

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Both Farmer and Hansen said it’s important for residents to know they’re not alone. 

“We want people to have the same shopping experience that anyone wants in the grocery store and to be able to afford foods,” said Hansen.



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