Free Republic

General Motors has temporarily laid off most of the approximately 2,000 unionized workers at its Fairfax assembly plant in Kansas as a result of the ongoing UAW strikes. The move, which GM had warned was coming last week, is the largest ripple effect so far from the United Auto Workers' historic strike against all three Detroit automakers as the union demands a new contract that offers substantially better wages and benefits. But automakers have warned a strike threatens to make them uncompetitive against rivals, especially as the companies spend billions of dollars to transition to electric vehicles.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas will no longer change transgender people’s birth certificates to reflect their gender identities, the state health department said Friday, citing a new law that prevents the state from legally recognizing those identities. The decision from the state Department of Health and Environment makes Kansas one of a handful of states that won’t change transgender people’s birth certificates. It already was among the few states that don’t change the gender marker on transgender people’s driver’s licenses. Jaelynn Abegg, a 38-year-old Wichita resident, said her heart breaks for fellow transgender Kansas residents who won’t be able to...

A search warrant that cleared the way for the raid of a Kansas newspaper last Friday has been withdrawn, according to Scripps News Kansas City. Marion County Attorney Joel Ensey withdrew the warrant that served as the basis for the raid of the Marion County Record, conducted by the Marion Police Department. As part of withdrawing the warrant, Bernie Rhodes, the attorney representing the newspaper, says all items that were seized as part of the raid have been released back to the attorney representing the newspaper. (continues at source)...

MARION, Kan. (KCTV) - The Kansas Bureau of Investigation has confirmed it’s taking the lead in the investigation of what happened in Marion County. On Friday, Marion Police raided the Marion County Record and seized phones and computers. Yesterday, KBI spokesperson Melissa Underwood said that Marion Police and the Marion County Attorney had asked to KBI to join an investigation into allegations of Identity theft. An agent had been assigned on Tuesday to assist in the investigation. Now, KBI appears to be distancing itself from the raid. They confirm they were part of the initial investigation, Underwood says that the...

The police chief whose “Gestapo”-style raid on a small town newspaper has become the focus of national outrage was being investigated by its reporters over claims of alleged sexual misconduct. Gideon Cody and every officer in the Marion Police Department stormed into the Marion County Record’s offices Friday with a search warrant where they seized computers and servers. They also raided the home of the editor and publisher, Eric Meyer, and his 98-year-old mother Joan Meyer, the paper’s co-owner. She died the following day of “shock and grief,” Meyer said, stressed and unable to sleep when police seized her computer...

The co-owner of local newspaper the Marion County Record has died after being 'traumatized' by a police home raid that was green-lighted to seize information on a story that hadn't even been published. Joan Meyer, 98, collapsed and died following the intense stress and grief she felt when her home was raided by the entirety of the Marion Police Department in Kansas.

<p>OPEKA — Marion County police on Saturday defended their unprecedented raid on a newspaper office and the publisher’s home by pointing to a loophole in federal law that protects journalists from searches and seizures.</p><p>Law enforcement raided the Marion County Record on Friday, seizing computers and reporters’ personal cellphones as part of an investigation into alleged identity theft of a restaurant operator who feuded with the newspaper. Officers also raided the home of publisher Eric Meyer, who lived with his 98-year-old mother, Joan.</p>

MARION — In an unprecedented raid Friday, local law enforcement seized computers, cellphones and reporting materials from the Marion County Record office, the newspaper’s reporters, and the publisher’s home. Eric Meyer, owner and publisher of the newspaper, said police were motivated by a confidential source who leaked sensitive documents to the newspaper, and the message was clear: “Mind your own business or we’re going to step on you.” The city’s entire five-officer police force and two sheriff’s deputies took “everything we have,” Meyer said, and it wasn’t clear how the newspaper staff would take the weekly publication to press Tuesday...

On Friday, July 28, 2023, Heartland Tri-State Bank was closed by the Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was subsequently named Receiver. No advance notice is given to the public when a financial institution is closed. Dream First Bank, National Association (N.A.), Syracuse, KS assumed all deposit accounts and substantially all the assets. All shares of stock were owned by the holding company, which was not involved in this transaction. ------------------------------------------------- Press Release For Release WASHINGTON – Heartland Tri-State Bank of Elkhart, Kansas, was closed today by the Kansas Office of the State...

Most of us drive cars or small trucks or motorcycles. To enjoy this privilege, we must do numerous things, some of which cost money. We need to be of a responsible age, get training and earn a license. We also must register our vehicles with their serial numbers and display license plates that identify us. Why? Because motor vehicles are inherently dangerous and a major cause of death and injury. Accordingly, certain restrictions are deemed necessary to minimize harm. The restrictions include prohibiting driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and enforcement of applicable laws have dramatically reduced death...

A cop pulls you over for a minor traffic violation. After giving you a warning or a ticket, he says, "Drive safe!" and starts walking away. But he immediately turns around and walks toward your car again, saying, "Hey, can I ask you something?"That maneuver, known as the "Kansas Two-Step," is aimed at evading the Fourth Amendment's constraints on searches and seizures. Police are not supposed to continue detaining you after the ostensible purpose of the stop has been accomplished unless they reasonably suspect you are involved in criminal activity. The two-step is designed to extend the encounter by making...

Heartland Tri-State Bank of Elkhart, Kansas, failed on Friday, with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation taking control.

Earlier this year, in a landmark action, the Kansas legislature passed the Donor Intent Protection Act, which helps ensure that donors’ wishes are respected when they make a charitable gift as an endowment. This is a significant step forward for philanthropy, as it will help to build trust between donors and beneficiaries, on campus and elsewhere. Donor-intent protections are intended to uphold the details of an explicit written agreement between a donor and a charitable organization. Such agreements typically specify how the endowed funds will be used, such as for a specific program or purpose. When a donor makes a...

The mayor of Wichita, Kansas, is calling for his city to "stand united against the alarming rise in gun violence" following a shooting at a nightclub over the weekend that left nine people injured with bullet wounds and another two hospitalized after being trampled. Wichita Police Lt. Aaron Moses said investigators believe several shooters opened fire inside the City Nightz club just before 1 a.m. on Sunday. At least one suspect so far is in custody and police are investigating four guns recovered from the scene to determine if they were the weapons the shooters used. "We will not tolerate...

Kansas’ conservative Republican attorney general is moving to prevent transgender people born in the state from changing their birth certificates to reflect their gender identities TOPEKA, Kan. -- Transgender people born in Kansas could be prevented from changing their birth certificates to reflect their gender identities if the state’s conservative Republican attorney general is successful with a legal move he launched late Friday. Attorney General Kris Kobach filed a request in federal court asking a judge to end a requirement for Kansas to allow transgender people to change their birth certificates. He is not seeking to undo past changes, only...

On Friday night the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) reported that 30 Kansas legislators were sent envelopes containing white powder. KBI agents working alongside the FBI, KDHE, OSFM, Kansas National Guard, KHP, and several local police departments, sheriff’s offices, and fire departments have responded after mail was received by legislators and other public officials containing a suspicious white powder. As of Sunday night approximately 100 envelopes with white powder were sent to Kansas legislators and public officials. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach also received a letter with the white powder. The media ignored this story over the weekend. President Trump...

Crucial science topics will no longer be taught to a large swath of Indian students, according to new government guidance. Most young learners in India will no longer be exposed to key science topics in school textbooks — unless they voluntarily major in science in higher classes. On June 1, India cut a slew of foundational topics from tenth grade textbooks, including the periodic table of elements, Darwin's theory of evolution, the Pythagorean theorem, sources of energy, sustainable management of natural resources and contribution of agriculture to the national economy, among others. A small section explaining Michael Faraday’s contributions to...

Approximately 60 students at a Kansas City high school walked out of classes Wednesday to protest a veteran teacher who had written a op-ed criticizing school diversity policies and allegedly doesn’t use students’ “preferred” pronouns. Caedran Sullivan wrote late last month in The Lion that she could “no longer stay silent” about the Shawnee Mission School District “fostering a toxic environment” with its DEI trainings. “There is repeated white shaming and a preoccupation with white people as the ‘oppressor,’ including staff field trips with a focus on ‘systemic racism,’ Sullivan wrote. “The white saviorism and virtue-signaling at DEI meetings is...

Parents and taxpayers need to know what’s going on in the Shawnee Mission School District (SMSD). As an English teacher employed in the SMSD for 15 years, I can no longer stay silent about the state of our schools. I will be attacked and threatened, but for the good of our district and the students with whom we are entrusted, I must speak out. This is too important. Amidst a worsening teacher shortage that saw SMSD pay $3.5 million to out-of-state agencies to recruit and retain more educators, we are losing good teachers because of an imposed divisive rhetoric that...

For the second time in two months, pro-abortion Kansas Gov Laura Kelly has vetoed funding for pregnancy centers that provide abortion alternatives and help and support for pregnant women and their babies. In April, Kelly line-item vetoed the proposed “Alternatives to Abortion Program,” allocating $2 million in grants to enhance and increase resources for women who make the choice to parent or place their child for adoption. Today, Kelly vetoed a second bill aimed at helping pregnant women –this time vetoing a measure would have granted up to $10 million a year in new state income tax credits to donors...