Kansas

Kansas Senate advances bill that'd ban gender-affirming care for minors

Published

1 year ago

January 29, 2025

Kansas Senate advances bill that'd ban gender-affirming care for minors

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – The Kansas Senate on Wednesday advanced a bill that would ban gender-affirming care for minors. After passing the Senate, 32-8, the bill moves to the Kansas House. The “Help Not Harm Act” is similar to proposed legislation that Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed last year. Republicans came up one vote short of overriding that veto, although similar laws have been implemented across the U.S.

The Kansas House and Senate were working on parallel bills and both had hearings on Tuesday. The Republican-sponsored bills would prohibit state funding to gender-affirming care and prohibit healthcare providers from providing care to children including surgery, hormones and puberty blockers.

“Today, a supermajority of the Kansas Senate took a firm stand in support of helping and not harming children by make it clear that transgender ideology and the mutilation of minors is no longer legal in Kansas. The credit for this victory goes to the courageous men and women who have spoken out against the harm these procedures are causing our children,” said Senate President Ty Masterson in a news release from his office that followed the vote.

Ahead of the Senate vote on Tuesday, those for and against the bill had two minutes to make their cases in a Senate hearing. Mother Kristi Khan was among those who spoke against the bill. She said her transgender son died by suicide in 2022 and that the impact of such bills and conversations weigh heavily.

“We’re going to have more children dying because there is no care offered for them,” she said. “This bill is going to make it hard for them to even have the therapists talk to them about gender dysphoria.”

Bill supporters said this is about protecting children, citing concerns about the science of treatments and harm to the body.

“Hopefully this year we have the votes to override. We are one of the last red states to still allow pediatric gender transition,” said bill supporter Susan Cary on Tuesday. “We need to stop it. It’s medical maleficence.”

Masterson said the need for the Help Not Harm Act was evident during Tuesday’s hearing in the Senate Public Health Welfare Committee.

He said “conferees offered compelling testimony demonstrating the devastating, lifelong impact of these procedures.”

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Kansas

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

Published

6 hours 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

18 hours 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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Kansas

Kansas City man sentenced for cocaine trafficking, possession of illegal firearm

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

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Kansas City man sentenced for cocaine trafficking, possession of illegal firearm

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A Kansas City man was sentenced in federal court for his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy and possession of an illegal firearm.

According to the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri, 22-year-old Antoine R. Gillum was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison without parole.

His sentencing stems from a June 2024 incident in a metro gas station. KCPD investigators contacted Gillum inside and found that he had discarded a 9 mm pistol in an aisle between the merchandise. He also discarded a pill bottle containing multiple illegal substances: cocaine base, oxycodone/acetaminophen and oxycodone.

Officers searched the vehicle Gillum had arrived in and found approximately 32 grams of cocaine base.

On May 6, 2025, Gillum pleaded guilty to one count each of possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Jennings. It’s a part of ‘Operation Take Back America,’ a nationwide Department of Justice initiative to eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations.

No further information has been released.

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