Blaise Mesa
Reporter, Kansas City BeaconBlaise Mesa is based in Topeka, where he covers the Legislature and state government for the Kansas City Beacon. He previously covered social services and criminal justice for the Kansas News Service. He also worked as a reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal.
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Women at the Topeka Correctional Facility play with their children at the Children’s Discovery Center. And inmates say it encourages them to stay out of trouble.
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Aaron Coleman was arrested twice in office and was accused of strangling his ex-girlfriend. He spent one term in the Kansas House, but wants another shot in office.
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Cornerstones of Care has had 17 kids sleep in a new shelter. The agency says it's an improvement over an office stay, but it's at a campus that critics call "grim.”
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Inmate Elizabeth Wince had to crawl back to her cell after hurting herself and being denied medical care. Other prisoners at Topeka Correctional Facility told the Kansas News Service that prison staff insulted Wince instead of helping her.
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Shaidon Blake says he didn't threaten officers in prison, but a disciplinary report saying he did might have cost him parole. Kansas News Service reporting shows his claim of innocence has merit.
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Most other states have expanded limits on the value of savings and assets people can own and still get food stamps.
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The spill included 10 barrels of oil and 1,500 barrels of industrial salt water left over from oil and gas production. Officials say it's mostly cleaned up.
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Gabrielle Griffie was charged with disorderly conduct in Wichita after a 2020 protest. Her lawyers say that violates her First Amendment rights.
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Police can take money, cars and other property from Kansans through a process called civil asset forfeiture. Police say it’s a tool that stops criminals. But opponents say law enforcement takes too much.
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Kansas was one of the first states in the country to access federal Family First prevention money. Programs it is funding have spent years growing.