Kansas

Two conservative Kansas lawmakers sue Republican leadership over convention of the states

Published

2 years ago

January 2, 2024

Two conservative Kansas lawmakers sue Republican leadership over convention of the states

Two conservative Republican legislators are suing their own GOP leadership in federal court as part of an effort to call a convention of the states to amend the U.S. Constitution.

Sen. Mike Thompson, R-Shawnee, and Rep. Michael Murphy, R-Sylvia, filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Topeka last month against Senate President Ty Masterson, R-Andover, and House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita.

The lawsuit alleges that Masterson and Hawkins were wrong to say that concurrent resolutions last session didn’t pass because they did not have supermajority support.

“Defendants’ decisions as the presiding officers of each Chamber to reject the passage of these concurrent resolutions pursuant to Article 2 Section 13 of the Kansas Constitution were incorrect as a matter of law,” the lawsuit alleges. “Accordingly, these concurrent resolutions should be declared to have passed both Chambers by majority votes and thereby to have been adopted.”

Kansas Legislature hasn’t been able to get supermajority

Conservative Republicans have tried for the past several years to add Kansas to the backers of a convention of the states to amend the U.S. Constitution. Past efforts have succeeded in getting simple majorities of lawmakers, but the Kansas Constitution requires supermajorities.

“The lawsuit is about resolving a longstanding question about whether the Kansas Constitution can require a higher threshold of votes to adopt measures envisioned by Article V of the United States Constitution, including the Convention of States,” said Mike Pirner, a spokesperson for Masterson.

A spokesperson for Hawkins didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The vote on last session’s House resolution was 74-48, or 10 yes votes short of two-thirds, while the Senate’s vote was 22-16, or five yes votes shy of a supermajority.

“This super-majority requirement violates the federal Constitution,” Thompson and Murphy allege in their lawsuit.

“When state legislatures act pursuant to their authority under Article V, they exercise a federal function from federal law,” the lawsuit states. “States cannot, whether through their constitutions or state law, impose limitations or additional procedural requirements on state legislatures acting pursuant to this federal authority.”

Ty Masterson and Dan Hawkins expected to be represented by AG

Thompson and Murphy are being represented by the law firm Graves Garrett and are seeking “declaratory judgments that Article 2 Section 13 of the Kansas Constitution is unconstitutional,” thus resulting in the resolutions having passed last session.

The civil cover sheet indicates that Thompson and Murphy expect Masterson and Hawkins to be represented by the Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach’s office.

The Kansas resolutions had called for amending the U.S. Constitution to “impose fiscal restraints on the federal government, limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government and limit the terms of office for officials of the federal government and members of Congress.”

Some conservatives have opposed such efforts, raising fears that it could backfire politically with liberals advancing their own preferred amendments.

Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.

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Kansas

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

Published

4 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

16 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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