Kansas

Kansas Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Kelly v. Kobach case

Published

4 months ago

January 16, 2026

Kansas Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Kelly v. Kobach case

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and the legal team for Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly presented oral arguments to the Supreme Court in a case that could decide if the governor has authority to join legislation on her office’s behalf.

Kelly sued Kobach in October after Kobach filed an amicus brief, a legal document offering information or experience, in a lawsuit Kelly signed on as a party to. Kelly joined the suit, which is against the Trump administration over its collection of data from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, but Kobach’s brief said Kelly doesn’t have the right to enter a lawsuit representing Kansas.

“This case is about whether the Governor can intrude into the area where the Kansas Constitution says the Attorney General is the official who’s in charge, namely, litigating in court on behalf of Kansans,” Kobach told reporters after court adjourned.

The governor’s position in court is that she has a right to participate in legislation if it pertains to her duties as governor.

“What we’re simply asking for is that the governor be allowed to have a voice in litigation when the matters or the issues affect the executive branch and the agencies she’s in charge of,” said Stephen McAllister, an attorney for Kelly.

Kobach said the distinction between representing the state and representing the interest of Kansas’s executive agencies is usually nonexistent.

“They are trying to say there’s a difference between representing the interests of my agency and representing the state of Kansas. Ninety-nine percent of the time, there is no difference,” Kobach said.

The scope of Kelly’s authority was a point of contention. At the start of the hearing, McAllister conceded that their legal briefs “may not have always been completely clear.”

Kobach told the justices that the governor’s offices is retreating from the scope in its briefs, and they previously said they could direct the attorney general to sue and that they may litigate on behalf of the state.

Justices peppered both sides with questions throughout arguments. Justice Dan Biles questioned whether it could lead to too much power vested in the attorney general.

“Let’s assume the Department of Justice sues the Secretary of the (Kansas) Department of Children and Families in federal court over this SNAP business. Are you saying that you have the power as attorney general to go into that courtroom and confess judgment?” Biles asked.

They asked the governor’s counsel whether the matter is a “live controversy,” or an actual ongoing dispute rather than a hypothetical one.

“Would you concede that it is possible, hypothetically in cases, that the governor of any state in his or her official capacity would not have standing, it just depends on what’s the subject of the lawsuit,” Justice Caleb Stegall said. “I don’t see anything particularly nefarious about a different party saying this party over here doesn’t have standing.”

Biles questioned whether the matter couldn’t be resolved elsewhere.

“Is it really that big of a deal,” he said. “I don’t understand how we can have a Quo Warranto action that say the attorney general made a bad legal argument. And shouldn’t be able to make that legal argument,”

There’s no timeline for when the Kansas Supreme Court will have a final opinion in the case, but the Kelly administration was seeking a decision before a potential appeal in its SNAP case.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

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Kansas

Kansas man sentenced to 4 years in connection with 13-year-old Linn County boy’s death

Published

8 hours ago

May 29, 2026

Press Room

Kansas man sentenced to 4 years in connection with 13-year-old Linn County boy’s death

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Bates County Circuit Court judge Friday sentenced a Linn County, Kansas, man in connection with the December 2025 death of Airen Andula, 13.

Damon Leonard, 47, was sentenced to four years in prison for abandonment of a corpse, according to court records.

He pleaded guilty to the charge of abandoning a corpse on May 22.

Andula disappeared from his Pleasanton, Kansas, home on Dec. 21, 2025. A day later, law enforcement found the boy’s body in a ravine in Bates County, Missouri. He had died from multiple dog bite injuries.

Police were led to the boy’s body after a phone call from Leonard.

Court documents said Leonard “admitted that he transported the deceased child from Kansas to Missouri and left the body in the bottom of the creek” before he returned home.

KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva spoke with Andula’s family earlier this week — after the guilty plea and ahead of Friday’s sentencing.

His family shared that the guilty plea brought a small sense of justice, but it didn’t do much to ease the pain of their loss.

READ MORE | Family of Airen Andula speaks out ahead of sentencing

“We’re missing our kid every day of our lives,” the boy’s father Charles Andula told Silva.

Leonard received credit for time served of 158 days in his sentence, per court records.

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Kansas

Gas, diesel fuel prices down over past week across nation, Kansas

Published

20 hours ago

May 29, 2026

Press Room

Gas, diesel fuel prices down over past week across nation, Kansas

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – It may not seem like a lot of relief, but gas and diesel prices have declined over the past week.

Friday morning’s national average for a gallon of unleaded gas was $4.39, according to the Automobile Association of America.

That’s down three cents from $4.42 on Thursday; down 16 cents from a week ago; but was up 17 cents from $4.22 a month ago and up $.23 from $3.16 a year ago.

Gas and diesel fuel prices are down this week in Kansas and across the nation, according to the American Automobile Association.(KALB)

In Kansas, AAA says, unleaded gas on Friday was averaging $3.96 a gallon — down four cents from $4.00 on Thursday; down 13 cents from $3.96 a week ago; but up 26 cents from $3.70 a month ago; and up $1.07 over $2.89 a year ago.

Diesel fuel also was dropping in price. AAA says Friday’s national average for a gallon of diesel was $5.52 a gallon — down three cents from $5.55 on Thursday; down 12 cents from $5.64 a week a go; but up six cents from $5.46 a month ago and up $1.98 from $3.54 a year ago.

Kansas diesel fuel prices, according to AAA, checked in at an average of $4.98 on Friday. That’s five cents below $5.03 on Thursday; down 16 cents from $5.14 a week ago; but up 24 cents over $4.74 a month ago; and up $1.72 from $3.26 a year ago.

In Topeka, GasBuddy.com on Friday morning showed unleaded gas prices ranging between $3.77 and $4.09 in Topeka, with diesel fuel going for between $4.94 and $5.29 a gallon.

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