Matthew Kelly
@bymatthewkelly.bsky.social
Reporter covering Kansas state government for The Kansas City Star & The Wichita Eagle, mkelly@kcstar.com for tips, he/they
Scenes from No Kings 2.0 protests in Kansas City this afternoon
October 19, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Scenes from No Kings 2.0 protests in Kansas City this afternoon
Rural voters’ aversion to big-city politicians has long thwarted the ambitions of Johnson County candidates seeking the state’s highest office.
Could 2026 be different?
Story with @jonshorman.bsky.social
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
Could 2026 be different?
Story with @jonshorman.bsky.social
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
May 6, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Rural voters’ aversion to big-city politicians has long thwarted the ambitions of Johnson County candidates seeking the state’s highest office.
Could 2026 be different?
Story with @jonshorman.bsky.social
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
Could 2026 be different?
Story with @jonshorman.bsky.social
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
In communities with immunization rates well below the threshold for herd immunity, like in Wyandotte County, the rapid spread of the virus can wreak havoc.
www.kansascity.com/news/local/a...
www.kansascity.com/news/local/a...
April 28, 2025 at 12:57 PM
In communities with immunization rates well below the threshold for herd immunity, like in Wyandotte County, the rapid spread of the virus can wreak havoc.
www.kansascity.com/news/local/a...
www.kansascity.com/news/local/a...
Kansas’ offer to poach Chiefs & Royals stadiums is about to expire. What’s next?
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
April 23, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Kansas’ offer to poach Chiefs & Royals stadiums is about to expire. What’s next?
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
Why a Trump-friendly Kansas town is rebuking plan for an ICE detention center
Story w/ @jonshorman.bsky.social
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
Story w/ @jonshorman.bsky.social
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
April 21, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Why a Trump-friendly Kansas town is rebuking plan for an ICE detention center
Story w/ @jonshorman.bsky.social
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
Story w/ @jonshorman.bsky.social
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
Republican dysfunction derails major Kansas property tax relief in 2025
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
April 17, 2025 at 7:31 PM
Republican dysfunction derails major Kansas property tax relief in 2025
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
The Kansas City Star has intervened in a lawsuit over access to records in a civil dispute between Planned Parenthood and the state of Kansas regarding abortion.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
April 12, 2025 at 1:18 AM
The Kansas City Star has intervened in a lawsuit over access to records in a civil dispute between Planned Parenthood and the state of Kansas regarding abortion.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
Under a new law, local health officials will have to prove “probable cause” to make someone quarantine.
Orders about public gatherings and masking will just be recommendations now.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
Orders about public gatherings and masking will just be recommendations now.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
April 11, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Under a new law, local health officials will have to prove “probable cause” to make someone quarantine.
Orders about public gatherings and masking will just be recommendations now.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
Orders about public gatherings and masking will just be recommendations now.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
Kansas has a new law on background checks after state missed ex-official’s fraud
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
April 11, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Kansas has a new law on background checks after state missed ex-official’s fraud
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
The atmosphere inside the crowded committee room was tense and at times combative during five hours of testimony and deliberation as lawmakers debated the role of racial politics and decorum standards in the Legislature.
www.kansas.com/news/politic...
www.kansas.com/news/politic...
April 10, 2025 at 11:32 AM
The atmosphere inside the crowded committee room was tense and at times combative during five hours of testimony and deliberation as lawmakers debated the role of racial politics and decorum standards in the Legislature.
www.kansas.com/news/politic...
www.kansas.com/news/politic...
Scammers attempting to harvest personal information by sending texts about unpaid toll road fees are complicating the Kansas Turnpike Authority’s rollout of a new cashless tolling system.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
April 9, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Scammers attempting to harvest personal information by sending texts about unpaid toll road fees are complicating the Kansas Turnpike Authority’s rollout of a new cashless tolling system.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
Gov. Laura Kelly wants to create a new Kansas Office of Early Childhood. To make it happen, she’s compromising with Republicans who want to roll back regulations and expand unlicensed day cares.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
April 3, 2025 at 10:56 AM
Gov. Laura Kelly wants to create a new Kansas Office of Early Childhood. To make it happen, she’s compromising with Republicans who want to roll back regulations and expand unlicensed day cares.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
Update: Stewart and the man he punched, Marcus J.J. Schroeder, were both booked on suspicion of disorderly conduct. Stewart also faces a charge of unlawful assembly.
Schroeder previously served time in Wisconsin for calling in a fake bomb threat to a Pride event.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
Schroeder previously served time in Wisconsin for calling in a fake bomb threat to a Pride event.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
March 29, 2025 at 12:07 AM
Update: Stewart and the man he punched, Marcus J.J. Schroeder, were both booked on suspicion of disorderly conduct. Stewart also faces a charge of unlawful assembly.
Schroeder previously served time in Wisconsin for calling in a fake bomb threat to a Pride event.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
Schroeder previously served time in Wisconsin for calling in a fake bomb threat to a Pride event.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
Black Mass at KS Capitol ends in arrest of Satanic leader
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March 28, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Black Mass at KS Capitol ends in arrest of Satanic leader
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
The politically charged instruction would be required in all K-12 classes that address human growth, development or sexuality.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
March 27, 2025 at 6:27 PM
The politically charged instruction would be required in all K-12 classes that address human growth, development or sexuality.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
Kansas voters lose grace period for late-arriving mail ballots after Republicans override Gov. Kelly’s veto.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
March 25, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Kansas voters lose grace period for late-arriving mail ballots after Republicans override Gov. Kelly’s veto.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
Wilson’s successor will be selected before Kansans have a chance to decide whether or not they want to directly elect Supreme Court justices.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
March 24, 2025 at 8:54 PM
Wilson’s successor will be selected before Kansans have a chance to decide whether or not they want to directly elect Supreme Court justices.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
KCK Catholic leader’s lawsuit against Satanists dismissed.
A receipt shows organizers behind next week’s planned Black Mass event purchased 300 unconsecrated communion hosts from Amazon.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
A receipt shows organizers behind next week’s planned Black Mass event purchased 300 unconsecrated communion hosts from Amazon.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
March 21, 2025 at 5:53 PM
KCK Catholic leader’s lawsuit against Satanists dismissed.
A receipt shows organizers behind next week’s planned Black Mass event purchased 300 unconsecrated communion hosts from Amazon.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
A receipt shows organizers behind next week’s planned Black Mass event purchased 300 unconsecrated communion hosts from Amazon.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
The Catholic archbishop of KCK alleges that Satanists obtained the host they plan to use in their ritual through “theft, fraud, deception, wrongful taking, or other form of misappropriation.”
The founder of the Satanic Grotto says it came from “Pope Amazon.”
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
The founder of the Satanic Grotto says it came from “Pope Amazon.”
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
March 20, 2025 at 11:45 AM
The Catholic archbishop of KCK alleges that Satanists obtained the host they plan to use in their ritual through “theft, fraud, deception, wrongful taking, or other form of misappropriation.”
The founder of the Satanic Grotto says it came from “Pope Amazon.”
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
The founder of the Satanic Grotto says it came from “Pope Amazon.”
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
CoreCiviv has not abandoned plans to turn their shuttered Leavenworth prison into an ICE detention center.
But they have backed out of a permitting process with the city of Leavenworth that would have given members of the public at least three chances to weigh in.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
But they have backed out of a permitting process with the city of Leavenworth that would have given members of the public at least three chances to weigh in.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
March 20, 2025 at 11:42 AM
CoreCiviv has not abandoned plans to turn their shuttered Leavenworth prison into an ICE detention center.
But they have backed out of a permitting process with the city of Leavenworth that would have given members of the public at least three chances to weigh in.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
But they have backed out of a permitting process with the city of Leavenworth that would have given members of the public at least three chances to weigh in.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
Kansans will vote next summer on whether to elect Supreme Court justices directly.
It’s an opening for abortion opponents who have long criticized the state’s high court for preserving the right to terminate a pregnancy.
Story with @jonshorman.bsky.social
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
It’s an opening for abortion opponents who have long criticized the state’s high court for preserving the right to terminate a pregnancy.
Story with @jonshorman.bsky.social
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
March 19, 2025 at 6:44 PM
Kansans will vote next summer on whether to elect Supreme Court justices directly.
It’s an opening for abortion opponents who have long criticized the state’s high court for preserving the right to terminate a pregnancy.
Story with @jonshorman.bsky.social
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
It’s an opening for abortion opponents who have long criticized the state’s high court for preserving the right to terminate a pregnancy.
Story with @jonshorman.bsky.social
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
KCK officials say they could lower residents’ property taxes and utility costs by imposing a new local earnings tax of up to 1%.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
March 16, 2025 at 11:44 AM
KCK officials say they could lower residents’ property taxes and utility costs by imposing a new local earnings tax of up to 1%.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
KU is among 45 schools under investigation for partnering with an organization that aims to encourage students from diverse background to pursue doctoral degrees.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
March 14, 2025 at 5:57 PM
KU is among 45 schools under investigation for partnering with an organization that aims to encourage students from diverse background to pursue doctoral degrees.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
Emporia State President Ken Hush, after testifying before the Kansas Senate’s new Government Efficiency Committee Wednesday morning, told me he had no prior knowledge of university General Counsel Steven Lovett’s plans to submit a bill that would drastically weaken tenure.
March 12, 2025 at 3:40 PM
Emporia State President Ken Hush, after testifying before the Kansas Senate’s new Government Efficiency Committee Wednesday morning, told me he had no prior knowledge of university General Counsel Steven Lovett’s plans to submit a bill that would drastically weaken tenure.
KS Senate bill would make it a felony for registered child sex offenders to enter school property, attend off-campus events.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
March 11, 2025 at 10:45 PM
KS Senate bill would make it a felony for registered child sex offenders to enter school property, attend off-campus events.
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...
www.kansascity.com/news/politic...