Kansas

Governors Implement: On the Road to Infrastructure in Kansas (Part II) – National Governors Association

Published

2 years ago

May 8, 2024

Governors Implement: On the Road to Infrastructure in Kansas (Part II) – National Governors Association

Recently, the Kansas Infrastructure Hub hosted its second convening for state, local and private sector partners (details from the first convening can be found here.) Attendees gathered in Salina, Kansas to provide updates from state officials on implementation progress, share best practices in applying for discretionary grants and coordinate resources toward project implementation across transportation, water, energy and resilience sectors. The meeting was enhanced by a targeted workshop on broadband project permitting and deployment, which took place the following day and coincided with the federal government’s approval of Kansas’ Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program Initial Proposal – a critical step in bridging the digital divide in Kansas.

In June 2022, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly launched the Kansas Infrastructure Hub (the Hub), a coordinated approach to align state agencies and local entities as they administer and apply for funding available through the federal bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Over the past two years, the Hub has worked to identify best practices from across the nation for deploying funds and maximizing opportunities for Kansas.

On April 24, attendees were introduced to Matt Volz, the newly appointed Executive Director of the Kansas Infrastructure Hub. An experienced grants manager, Professional Engineer and Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) alumnus, Volz will be building out a team of capacity builders to support local governments throughout Kansas. Next, KDOT Secretary Calvin Reed provided a series of updates on how Kansas is making progress on accessing and deploying funding under IIJA. Secretary Reed also highlighted the Build Kansas Fund, a $200 million fund for organizations that successfully secure federal grants for infrastructure projects under IIJA. The intent of the Build Kansas Fund is “to accelerate local infrastructure investment to support transformative community projects enabling Kansas communities to move forward with infrastructure projects, including improvements to water, transportation, energy, cybersecurity, and broadband.”

Throughout the day, participants heard from state agency experts on topics ranging from transportation to water to broadband to cybersecurity. The Kansas Infrastructure Hub Team provided additional “deep dive” insights on building regional partnerships to bundle infrastructure projects, developing performance metrics, financial tracking and reporting, braiding and blending funding sources, and grant opportunity research, among other topics. The day finished with a networking opportunity. Participants left the first day of the meeting with additional connections as well as tools to engage more cooperatively with each other and competitively in the marketplace for grants and support funding.

Broadband Deployment Permitting Workshop

On April 25, the Kansas Office of Broadband Development hosted a day-long permitting workshop, where participants from federal, state, and local government, utilities, railroads, and telecommunications providers discussed best practices in broadband permitting. Participants heard from the federal officials from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, state officials from the Kansas State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) and Department of Transportation, and voices from the utility, broadband, and railroad sectors. Following a review of the Kansas SHPO online process, the NTIA reviewed how the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) applies to federally-subsidized broadband deployments.

Participants in the workshop also benefitted from a discussion with utilities and broadband providers regarding operational hurdles and practical insights to streamline the process for accessing existing physical infrastructure such as telephone poles. The informational sessions were rounded out with discussions of utilizing rights-of-way and a review of common permitting practices featuring voices from the state, federal and private sector.

The day was capped off with an announcement that the NTIA had, earlier in the day, approved the state’s Initial Proposal under the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) program authorized by IIJA. Kansas can now request access to over $450 million in funding to close the digital divide and begin implementation of the BEAD program, including the subgrantee selection process and deployment-related activities.

NGA congratulates Governor Kelly and Team Kansas on a successful two days of infrastructure discussions and for the approval of their BEAD Initial Proposal . To follow NGA’s ongoing activities and support for infrastructure implementation, please visit: https://www.nga.org/bestpractices/infrastructure/.

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Kansas

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Saturday after Wednesday sub-state wins

Published

3 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Saturday after Wednesday sub-state wins

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)

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Kansas

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Friday after Tuesday sub-state wins

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

RESULTS: NE Kansas high schools to play Friday after Tuesday sub-state wins

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)

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Kansas

Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union

Published

2 days ago

March 3, 2026

Press Room

Doe v. State of Kansas | American Civil Liberties Union

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.”

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