Huckabee Wins Kansas Caucus
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“Huckabee has won the Kansas Republican caucuses,” state GOP chair Kris Kobach said. He said the meaning of the Kansas vote was clear: “John McCain has a lot of work to do to get the Republican Party solidly behind him.”

Patton asks for tougher sentencing guidelines
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A Topeka legislator will introduce legislation Tuesday that would prohibit judges from departing downward from the state sentencing guidelines in cases involving sexual or repeat offenders. Rep. Joe Patton, R-Topeka, will hold a Statehouse press conference at 11:30 a.m. in room 531-N to discuss the three bills he will introduce.

Senate: Coal good for Kansas economy
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The Senate Utilities Committee raced through testimony today in support of a bill that would allow construction of a $3.5 billion expansion of Holcomb’s coal-fired plant.

KC Metro Light Rail Could Cost $4.5 billion
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Mayor Funkhouser foresees a regional light-rail system spanning about 80 miles and including such destinations as downtown, Olathe, Lee’s Summit, Kansas City International Airport and the Village West complex in western Wyandotte County. The legislation would require that “roughly the same amount” of track be built on each side of the state line. The total cost is estimated at $4.5 billion.

Lawrence want US Government Grants to Pay for Sidewalk Improvements
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A pedestrian and a bike rider take to the street at North Second and Lyon streets in North Lawrence as the sidewalk ends. A plan to improve sidewalks in several areas of town, including North Lawrence, proposes spending federal funds appropriated through the Community Development Block Grant program.

Republican Leads Pro-Abortion Event
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Hundreds of pro-life activists braved single digit temperatures on Jan. 22 to gather at the south steps of the Kansas Capitol and protest the U. S. Supreme Court’s abortion rulings 35 years ago that day. However, on the other side of the south steps doors, a more sparsely attended rally was being conducted by the Kansas Choice Alliance, in which Sen. John Vratil, R-Leawood, chairman of the Kansas Senate’s judiciary committee, spoke to the pro-abortion attendees.

Critics seek to snuff proposed cigarette tax
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Linking new health care programs to taxes on products, which have experienced declining sales, would be bad public policy. Cigarette sales in Kansas have dropped about 5 percent annually for the past decade and stiffer tobacco taxes would provide people greater incentive to smuggle cigarettes into Kansas. A tax like this can result in numerous unintended consequences.

Bill focuses on employing illegal immigrants
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A group of legislators is calling for passage of a measure aimed at cutting down on the number of illegal immigrants employed in Kansas. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Peggy Palmer (R-Augusta), called illegal immigration one of the most important issues of the day. A similar bill in the House is being sponsored by Rep. Lance Kinzer (R-Olathe) and Rep. Brenda Landwehr (R-Wichita).

6 Dead After City Hall Meeting
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A gunman with a history of acrimony against civic leaders stormed City Hall during a council meeting Thursday night, killing two police officers and three city officials before law enforcers fatally shot him, authorities said. The mayor was critically injured in the rampage. Kirkwood City Hall had a no-gun posting, so the only person that had a gun was the bad guy, which is usually the case in such incidents.

Liberal Kansas Hunting Programs have ruined Kansas Deer Herds
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With the slow, steady progression of chronic wasting disease, the long-term outlook for the state's deer herd are bleak, Oberlin residents were informed this week. During the next 50 years -- absent finding a solution to the spread of CWD -- Fox said a fourth of the state's deer herd could suffer from the disease. Older male deer would be more likely to have CWD, lowering the aesthetic value of deer. Better hunting programs, less bureaucratic state regulations, lower hunting fees, and longer hunting seasons would have prevented this bleak outlook.