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Wichita nurses win contract after threatening third strike in a year
Union nurses ratified contracts with two Wichita hospitals this week, averting a third strike in less than a year and beating the odds against new unions getting first-time contracts at all. Nearly 1,000 registered nurses at Ascension Via Christi’s St. Francis and St. Joseph hospitals voted to ratify two-year contracts....
Transgender care, abortion, plastic bags and more: Your guide to Kansas Gov. Kelly’s 2024 vetoes
Kansas Republicans have a supermajority and could override every veto on a party line vote. Bills that survive a veto override will likely do so by a few votes. Gov. Laura Kelly’s vetoes of bills that would restrict gender-affirming care for children and abortion rights are setting up override votes that will test the unity of conservatives in the Legislature.
The Beacon wins 6 Kansas Press Association awards
The Beacon won six Kansas Press Association awards for its work in 2023 covering Wichita and the state, including first place for feature story and for a story originating from a public notice. Polly Basore Wenzl’s First place feature story profiling Desmond Bryant-White, Defying a “gang list” label to find his voice and lend it […] The post The Beacon wins 6 Kansas Press Association awards appeared first on The Wichita Beacon.
A Kansas grandmother couldn’t adopt her grandchild. The case points to larger issues in foster care
Takeaways: Mindy Mathes was thrilled when a foster agency picked her and her husband to adopt their granddaughter. The girl had been weathering the chaos of the Kansas foster care system, living in multiple homes before finding people to call family. At the Mathes home, she’d have stuffed animals — unicorns and a beloved Grinch […] The post A Kansas grandmother couldn’t adopt her grandchild. The case points to larger issues in foster care appeared first on The Wichita Beacon.
Will Gov. Laura Kelly sign or veto tax cuts? Here’s what else passed
State lawmakers passed dozens of bills in the final weeks of session. Kansas lawmakers passed another tax cut, a top priority for the Republican-controlled Legislature. Some bills are likely to be vetoed, setting up veto fights in the upcoming weeks. Kansas lawmakers approved new tax cuts, bans on gender-affirming cares...
Kansas and Missouri bans may spur families to travel far out of state for gender-affirming care
If Kansas bans gender-affirming care for minors, Kansas City families with transgender children will be hundreds of miles from a doctor who could help them. Kansas lawmakers stand poised to follow a conservative playbook that 24 states, including Missouri, already have used to outlaw treatments like puberty blockers and hormone therapy.
Wichita parents fight to reverse the school board’s vote to close six schools
Minutes after the Wichita school board voted to close six schools last month, a handful of parents began signing petitions in the hallway outside of the meeting. It was the first skirmish in their battle to reverse the decision. “When we started doing the petition,” parent Ruth Lehman said, “that was the only thing that […] The post Wichita parents fight to reverse the school board’s vote to close six schools appeared first on The Wichita Beacon.
What’s at stake for Wichita if Boeing buys Spirit AeroSystems
Boeing wants a reunion with a corporate relative that’s drifted away. Spirit AeroSystems, once a Boeing subsidiary, split off from the aircraft manufacturing behemoth nearly 20 years ago. But they’ve continued to partner and now find their fates and reputations intertwined over the safety of a flagship jetliner they built together.
A hiring freeze for Wichita schools? Kansas Senate action could spare USD 259
A sudden switch to a new funding system would have hurt hiring at Wichita Schools. The new funding model gives more money to growing districts. Lawmakers amended the bill and alleviated concerns of the Wichita school district. Kansas lawmakers amended a bill Monday to prevent a possible hiring freeze at...
Kansas may ban gender-affirming care for minors. Doctors cite physical and mental costs of waiting
Takeaways: Iridescent Riffel wishes she could have started gender-affirming treatment when she was younger. Riffel, a transgender Kansan, said she wasn’t in a welcoming home, so she delayed her transition until she felt more safe. She went through an unwanted puberty while she waited. “I didn’t really want to grow facial hair,” she said. “A […] The post Kansas may ban gender-affirming care for minors. Doctors cite physical and mental costs of waiting appeared first on The Wichita Beacon.
A U.S. Supreme Court case challenging the abortion pill could drive more patients to Wichita
A case before the U.S. Supreme Court could drastically limit access to medication abortions, now the most common form of abortion in the United States. That could increase the already fast-growing flow of patients to Wichita trying to escape abortion bans that have swept through the region since the high court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
What to know if you’re thinking about buying a house in Wichita
Buying a house can be a daunting process at any time, with it being the largest purchase most people make. It may be especially so right now because of rising housing costs and interest rates, plus the limited market of houses available. This story was developed for an email course,...
A post-pandemic oddity: Wichita has fewer car crashes, but more traffic deaths
The COVID-19 pandemic has many ongoing side effects — increased drinking, worse mental health and increased risk of diabetes, cancer and other diseases. And, in Wichita and other places, more traffic deaths. The increase in deaths comes despite a drop in auto accidents. Exactly why isn’t clear. “We just do not know why,” said Chad […] The post A post-pandemic oddity: Wichita has fewer car crashes, but more traffic deaths appeared first on The Wichita Beacon.
With a casino on their phones, more Kansas gamblers risk addiction
Just over a year since Kansas legalized sports gambling, addiction specialists are seeing more signs of gambling addiction. People have wagered almost $3 billion in Kansas since sports betting became legal. Just in February, the month of the Super Bowl, the state reported almost $194 million in online wagers. Gamblers...
A new email course helps first-time homebuyers thrive in Wichita’s tight housing market
March tends to mark an uptick in homebuying activity in the Wichita area, with sales typically peaking in May, June, July and August. With housing in shorter supply, buying a home in the Wichita area looks different these days than it did even just five years ago. Listings are down, and there are fewer sales.
Texans, Oklahomans and other out-of-staters traveling at higher numbers for abortions in Kansas
As abortion bans have multiplied across the country since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, so have abortions. And cities like Wichita, in states where the procedure remains legal, see a steady rise in patients coming for the procedure. Last year, Trust Women, Wichita’s largest abortion...
Wichita’s noise ordinance struck down by Kansas Supreme Court over First Amendment issue
The Kansas Supreme Court said the law criminalized protected speech. Protesting controversial issues like abortion or gun rights could violate the city ordinance. Wichita argued the law only targeted disorderly conduct and that similar laws have existed for decades. An ordinance used to convict a Wichitan protesting police brutality was...
Kansas lawmakers could again debate medical weed. Here’s why it has failed before
Kansas lawmakers face challenges advancing medical marijuana despite public support. The Kansas Senate has blocked legalization of medical cannabis out of fear that it’s a pathway to recreational weed. Advocates are open to well-regulated programs and believe those bills have failed to advance. Yet another spring in Topeka and...
Wichita’s roads are more dangerous than Johnson County’s. Here are the five worst spots
Nearly every day, vehicles collide at one of five Wichita intersections. Three of those locations fall along Kellogg Drive. In all, the city saw more than 10,000 crashes last year. And although Johnson County, Kansas, is home to about 80,000 more people, Sedgwick County traffic accidents killed and injured more people and caused more costly damage.
Wichita’s not just an allergy capital — it’s a triple crown of pollen
Allergies in Wichita are no joke. Just ask comedian Nate Bargatze. A TikTok video shot in October shows him returning from a jog with itchy hands and feet. He said he could feel his lips swelling. The comedian was experiencing a severe and sudden case of what many Wichitans live...
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The Wichita Beacon is the city’s first nonprofit, community-supported digital news organization. We’re changing the face of journalism with an innovative model for reliable, truthful news here in the Midwest. And we’re partnering with you – our neighbors – to make it happen. The Wichita Beacon started publishing in July 2021 and is part of The Beacon, a regional nonprofit news network. Beacon stories are revelatory, contextual, data-driven and solutions-driven. The Beacon is a member of Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers and the Institute for Nonprofit News.
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