Kansas

The $4 billion Panasonic plant opened this summer in the Kansas town, but has delayed its goals for full production. But its impact can already be felt in new housing projects and an incoming data center.

The federal government is currently shut down. NPR's network is following the ways the government shutdown is affecting services across the country, including in Missouri and Kansas.

Western Kansas has inserted itself into the corn belt, a region of the Midwest from Ohio to Nebraska that has dominated corn production. There might be better crop options for the Kansas climate, but huge industries and government subsidies help keep corn growing.

The director of the presidential library and museum in Abilene, Kansas, said he was suddenly told to resign or be fired. He refused to give the Trump administration a historic sword from the museum’s collection.

Marijuana remains completely illegal in Kansas. On Wednesday, KBI and local law enforcement raided smoke and vape shops in Concordia, McPherson, Pratt, Salina, Topeka and Wichita accused of illegal retail drug sales.

Kansas Republican lawmakers are circulating a petition for a special session to redistrict. The goal is to defeat the state's only Democrat in Congress.

Federal Medicare and Medicaid regulations mandate staff vaccinations for employers that receive funding. But the high court ruled that Katlin Keeran was protected by a 2021 Kansas law making it illegal for employers to question the sincerity of religious beliefs for opting out of vaccines.

A company cofounded by Bill Gates will explore building a reactor in Kansas. It would generate power without emissions, but environmental groups have concerns.

The Kansas Senate president has been at the forefront of efforts to redraw the boundaries of the state's congressional districts, following hot on the heels of Missouri. It would be Republican lawmaker's second attempt in the last three years to push out Rep. Sharice Davids, the state’s only Democratic representative.

The federal government joined the private prison company CoreCivic in its legal fight against the city of Leavenworth, which has been fighting in court to stop the reopening of a controversial detention center for immigrants.

The federal government is trying to withhold funds from the state. But there is a way Kansas can keep the money.

Detainees in a Cottonwood Falls jail describe sleeping on the floor in overcapacity cells. Amid a national deportation surge, this jail is one of the region’s primary immigration detention centers.