Kansas
What a mess: Doddering Biden, scheming Supreme Court, vacuous Kansas lawmakers implicate all of us • Kansas Reflector
From Thursday to Monday, we all saw a lot of consequences play out, plain as day.
We saw the consequence of two parties choosing men manifestly unfit to run for president. One a direct threat to our United States of America, the other barely able to string sentences together and staring blankly into the distance as if trying to process how he arrived there.
We saw the consequences of a U.S. Supreme Court packed with hard-right appointees, eager to hand over practically unchecked power to the man they (likely correctly) assume will be the next president.
Most of all, we’ve seen the consequences of a nation that has for too long gorged itself on cheap cynicism and infantile entertainment.
We picked Trump and Biden. We elected the U.S. representatives and senators who pass budgets and confirm nominees. We have gone along with all of this and have allowed our government to reach this exigency. Changing the situation doesn’t require magic. It requires civic engagement and participation on a level with which most of us are unfamiliar.
I can lay out what I think should happen.
Yes, obviously President Joe Biden needs to drop out. Yes, obviously Republicans should have never countenanced Donald Trump as their nominee after he attempted to overthrow the government he led. One of these situations can still be addressed, while the other one appears set in stone. So Democratic leaders need to decide where they stand.
The Supreme Court’s decision on presidential immunity can be understood as either dire or limited. I’ve read chunks of Chief Justice John Robert’s majority opinion, as well as Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent. They seem to be writing from different universes, never mind different planets. We have no way to know the consequences without time passing and observing how our presidents and courts react.
No one can change that. At least not right away.
Unfortunately, Kansas has a limited role to play in this upcoming national election. The state will almost certainly vote for the Republican presidential nominee, as it has done in every election since 1964. That’s what happens when the nation still abides by the absurd Electoral College system.
Yet we all have roles to play when it comes to our own state and communities. Elections at these levels matter, and local candidates can present stark choices. But you won’t know about your options unless you pay attention.
Kansas Reflector reporters are interviewing candidates for statewide office. We will be running stories about candidates and what they hope to do.
Read them. Read stories in your local newspaper or news website.
Last month, I wrote about the grimness that hovered over the Kansas Legislature’s not-so-special session. You remember that, right? When all the state lawmakers came back to pass a tax cut plan and big tax incentive packages for sports team?
That session was a consequence, too. So was the dogged refusal of leaders to allow votes on Medicaid expansion or marijuana legalization.
Kansans elected those people. They supported leaders who would rather line the pockets of billionaires than look out for the 12% of Kansans who live in poverty. Every one of those people could be helped, if Kansans decided they wanted to do so. But we haven’t.
No, here in the Sunflower State, voters hand over their brains and willpower to the various dark money groups sending out glossy mailers. In any other situation, in any other area of life, would you believe a piece of mail that arrives at your home from someone you don’t know telling obvious lies about someone else? Of course not. It boggles my mind that these pieces of junk hold such sway in the world of Kansas politics.
They only hold that sway, of course, because voters let them.
The hateful inertia of Kansas politics and the blazing Dumpster fire of the presidential election are one and the same story.
They are both the story of politicians and voters too vacuous to challenge one another to do better. They are both the story of big money interests doing all they can to dominate the discussion and eliminate dissent. They are both the story of business conglomerates pumping us full of literal and figurative narcotics — anything to dull our realization that we have made these choices and bear responsibility for this world.
We can’t fix this mess alone. But we can demand better from those hoping to represent us.
Not tomorrow, not after the next election, not when it’s our turn.
Now.
Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.
Kansas State football’s transfer portal needs, what to know
K-State reporter Wyatt Wheeler breaks down the Wildcats’ needs and key information ahead of the transfer portal window opening.
MANHATTAN — Right when you thought Kansas State football might be done for the day, the Wildcats landed a seventh commitment from the transfer portal on Monday, Jan. 5.
Gardner-Webb defensive tackle De’Arieun Hicks committed to K-State, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. The 6-foot-4, 285-pounder has three years of eligibility and totaled 21 tackles, with 4.5 being for a loss in 2025.
Hicks reportedly had a visit to Iowa State on Monday, after spending Jan. 3 with the Wildcats, and he chose to play football in Manhattan.
Hicks was a standout for the FCS program out of the Big South, playing 373 snaps and making four starts on the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ defensive line. He was the Big South’s sixth-highest graded defensive lineman, according to Pro Football Focus, with the league’s 12th-best pass rush grade.
Hicks totaled 10 pressures, with seven quarterback hurries and a pair of sacks across 12 games.
Out of high school in Richmond, Indiana, Hicks wasn’t given a grade by 247Sports.
Kansas State was in desperate need of defensive linemen from the transfer portal following the departures of Malcolm Alcorn-Crowder and Andy Burburija, the latter of whom reopened his recruitment after initially signing with the Wildcats. The Wildcats also signed Adrian Bekibele, Kingston Hall and Carnell Jackson Jr. during December’s signing period.
Hicks’ size is certainly appealing, giving the Wildcats a solid prospect to develop. Given the Wildcats’ need at the position, Hicks could have an opportunity to get on the field quickly.
Hicks joins Oklahoma State running back Rodney Fields Jr., Texas A&M receiver Izaiah Williams, Illinois corner Kaleb Patterson, Oklahoma State linebacker Jacobi Oliphant, Miami (Ohio) safety Koy Beasley and Missouri offensive lineman Keiton Jones as those who committed to the Wildcats on Monday.
Wyatt D. Wheeler covers Kansas State athletics for the USA TODAY Network and Topeka Capital-Journal. You can follow him on X at @WyattWheeler_, contact him at 417-371-6987 or email him at wwheeler@usatodayco.com
An intruder was fatally shot by an armed city employee inside Lawrence City Hall in Kansas on Monday morning, officials said.
The 28-year-old man “forced his way into the building then broke through a door” on the fourth floor and into a secured area about 8 a.m., according to a police statement.
This led to an altercation with an armed city employee, Police Chief Rich Lockhart told reporters outside City Hall, about two miles north of the University of Kansas campus.
“During that altercation, the 28-year-old subject was shot and killed by the city employee,” the chief added.
The intruder wasn’t immediately identified, and it wasn’t clear if he was armed.
Authorities didn’t immediately name the city employee or his job. But police did characterize the civil servant as “trained and authorized to carry a firearm.”
The fourth floor is home to the city manager, city attorney and budget manager.
Officials said they did not know why the man went to the fourth floor, and “it’s not someone that’s known to us,” Lockhart said.
City Hall was closed and should reopen Tuesday. A municipal court in the building won’t open again until Thursday.
City Manager Craig Owens said he was grateful no city employees were hurt.
“I want to express my gratitude to the Lawrence, Kansas, Police Department work during the disturbing incident,” he said.
Indiana’s portal haul continued to grow Sunday as multiple outlets reported the addition of Kansas State edge rusher Tobi Osunsanmi.
Osunsanmi has played in 36 games over the last four years and has 8.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss. Most of that production came over the last two seasons. He has a total of 47 QB pressures during his college career.
In 2025 he played in six games and had 20 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss and 4.0 sacks. He suffered a season-ending injury in October.
He saw action in all 13 games in 2024 as a reserve defensive end and on special teams, recording 19 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble over 303 defensive snaps and 31 special teams plays.
In 2023 he saw time in all 13 games as a reserve linebacker, a rush end on passing downs and on special teams. He was tied for team-high honors with five tackles on kickoff coverage.
He played in four games in 2022 and preserved his redshirt.
The 6-foot-3 and 250-pound Osunsanmi has one year of eligibility remaining.
The Wichita, Kan. product (Wichita East H.S.) was regarded as the 232nd-best overall player in the nation for the Class of 2022 by 247Sports.
Osunsanmi will help fill the void left by outgoing edge rushers Mikail Kamara, Kellan Wyatt and Stephen Daley.
More transfer portal information:
For complete coverage of IU football recruiting, GO HERE.
The Daily Hoosier –“Where Indiana fans assemble when they’re not at Assembly”
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