Kansas
Inspired by death of beloved dog, Kansas police animal protection bill set to become law • Kansas Reflector
TOPEKA — Posting a “Wizard of Oz” meme and accusing Gov. Laura Kelly of “political spite,” House Speaker Dan Hawkins led the charge to make those who severely injure or kill police dogs pay for their medical care or funerals.
House Bill 2583, known as “Bane’s Law,” was inspired by a Sedgwick County service dog named Bane that was killed last year by a fleeing suspect the dog had chased into a sewer drain.
Kelly vetoed the bill but on Monday was overridden 105-20 in the House and 29-10 in the Senate The law increases penalties for inflicting harm on law enforcement animals, including horses. The felony crime is now punishable by a minimum of 90 days in jail and a minimum fine of $10,000.
During the incarceration period, the perpetrator also will have to go through a psychological evaluation and completion of an anger management program as a condition of probation, although this provision is already included in Kansas statute.
The bill was introduced by Hawkins, R-Wichita, and Rep. Stephen Owens, R-Hesston, earlier in the session. Kansas statute previously required a minimum of 30 days in jail and a fine of more than $500 and less than $5,000 for the crime of severely harming or killing police dogs.
In her veto explanation, Kelly said the death of law enforcement animals is always a tragedy, but the heightened sentencing, psychological evaluation and anger management requirements were not mandated for other, more severe offenses.
“House Bill 2583 imposes mandatory minimum sentences that disregard important factors that should be left to the discretion of a judge through the regular sentencing process,” Kelly said. “Second, the mandatory sentences are out of line with other, more severe crimes without justification for why that is required. Third, while the requirement for a psychological evaluation and anger management program are important, we do not apply this same standard to many other heinous crimes.”
In response, Hawkins posted on X a meme of Kelly photoshopped into a picture of the Wicked Witch of the West from “The Wizard of Oz,” with the caption, “I’ll get you law enforcement, and your little dogs too!” Underneath, he wrote: “Don’t forget Gov. Kelly vetoed a bill increasing penalties for killing or injuring police dogs out of pure political spite.”
Others shared Kelly’s concerns about the implications of the bill’s heightened punishments.
Because people who harm or kill these animals under the law are now responsible for restitution to the law enforcement agency — paying for the injured animal’s medical treatment, as well as funeral expenses if the animal dies, and the cost of replacing and training a new animal — expenses can be thousands of dollars, adding an additional burden to the jail time and fine.
Rep. Ford Carr, D-Wichita, mentioned the historical use of police dogs to harm people fighting for equality during the Civil Rights movement in previous bill debate.
“We should trust the police, but oftentimes we can’t, and that’s an issue,” Carr said during Monday’s House veto override debate.
Rep. Timothy Johnson, R-Basehor, who worked for decades in law enforcement and had experience with police dog training, pushed back on Carr’s claims. Johnson said the dogs were highly trained for all circumstances.
“They are not used as bite dogs. That is not their focus,” Johnson said. “… They become your family. I had one of the most wonderful German Shepherds in my entire life experience. We literally had a family funeral when he passed away. That animal would obey every and any command. I could walk in a schoolhouse among children and you would never know. Please, do not equate things that happened in the 1960s, in the ‘50s, with the way training is done now. It’s not allowed.”
Owens brought up the circumstance of Bane’s death in his defense of the bill, emphasizing K-9 officers’ role in protecting officers.
“That defendant brutally kicked that dog and caused significant internal damage to the point it was so weak that that individual was able to strangle that dog to death,” Owens said. “I want you to think if we had sent a law enforcement officer down there, how that might have played out.”
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) -Matthew Ho likes to keep a clean car.
“I basically use my car a lot for work, with my multiple day jobs and weekend jobs,” Ho said.
However, on Tuesday, it was anything but.
“I was on 135 going northbound towards Bel Aire,” Ho said, “Right about the exit of 21st st I kind of saw this big mess of pile up that just happened right as I was blinking.”
Ho had no choice but to drive through it. Then the smell came.
“I think it took a little bit just because at first it didn’t seem like it was anything,” Ho said.
The smell continued to get worse and there was nothing he could do about it. It was a 90 degree day, and even with that intense weather he could not use the air conditioning because the air that it used was smelly itself.
“It sticks, and now that we’re downdraft winds you can just smell it all the time,” Ho said.
The company responsible for the spill, No Limit Logistics LLC, said, ‘There was no human waste’. The Kansas Highway Patrol says otherwise.
Ho has tried to wash the smell out of his car multiple times.
“It didn’t work,” Ho said, “Washed the car again, still didn’t go away.”
Now, he is looking for someone to take responsibility.
“I would really like compensations for all the car wash, especially when it was something I didn’t do personally,” Ho said, “A mechanical failure on a truck isn’t necessarily someone’s fault, but someone’s liable for it.”
Copyright 2026 KWCH. All rights reserved. To report a correction or typo, please email news@kwch.com
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Fire damaged a Kansas City house so extensively it may need to be demolished.
Firefighters responded to a house fire near W. 81st and Summit Street around 1:45 p.m. on May 12.
Firefighters said they noticed smoke coming from the attic when they arrived at the house. They were able to extinguish the fire minutes after they arrived.
No one was in the house at the time of the fire, according to the fire department. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Inspectors are examining the house to see if it is stable and safe enough to remain standing or if it will need to be demolished.
Copyright 2026 KCTV. All rights reserved.
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Boeing is making a billion-dollar investment in its Wichita location over the next three years, the company announced Monday.
Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg said the investment will be used to upgrade facilities, expand employee training and strengthen the production system.
He said this will prepare the facility for a higher production rate, especially as Boeing tries to keep up with a record-high demand. The company is currently sitting on a backlog of 6,100 commercial planes, valued at $695 billion.
“It’s going to take the skills and capabilities of all of you to help us deliver on our record backlogs and meet the growing demand in aerospace,” Ortberg said. “And I know the 13,000 Wichita teammates are ready to deliver on that promise.”
There could be even more work coming to the facility. Reuters reported that Ortberg will be going to China with President Donald Trump and a few other leaders in the tech industry to talk about trade and investment opportunities.
Lt. Gov. David Toland said that more work at the company will help the Wichita economy and that it is up to the city to build up the workforce.
“We’ve got a company that’s put its money where its mouth is,” Toland said. “And as Kansans, as Wichitans, it’s on us now that we’re continuing to skill up our workforce, that we’re creating the talent pipeline that’s essential to allowing companies like Boeing to continue growing.”
Over the past several years, Wichita has invested in the aviation workforce. This includes expanding aviation education at WSU Tech and tapping students in WSU’s National Institute for Aviation Research to help with federal projects like the “Golden Dome” missile defense shield.
Last week, Boeing and WSU Tech announced a new partnership to build a workforce training center that will be a hub for Boeing’s Wichita workforce.
Sen. Jerry Moran hopes Boeing’s investments will ease concerns or caution surrounding the company’s return to Wichita and build on the city’s reputation in the aviation industry.
“You’ve heard me say that people come here and we convince them that this is the Air Capital of the World,” Moran said. “I don’t think we need any more convincing. This is now known. We are the Air Capital of the World.”
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