One more look at 2025: These 67 Kansas news stories chronicled tumult, tribulation and triumph

Posted January 5, 2026

Reporters gather around Gov. Laura Kelly and Kansas officials at the announcement of the Kansas City Chiefs' move to Kansas.

Reporters gather around Gov. Laura Kelly and Kansas officials at the announcement of the Kansas City Chiefs' move to Kansas. (Photo by Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector)

Plenty happened in 2025.

We saw the first year of Donald Trump’s second term as president. Here in Kansas, our Republican-controlled Legislature flailed around while targeting transgender children and Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. By the end of the year, officials announced a deal to relocate the Kansas City Chiefs across the state line.

Kansas Reflector was there every step of the way. Senior reporters Tim Carpenter and Morgan Chilson, reporter Anna Kaminski and editor in chief Sherman Smith wrote about state government, policy and politics, and hundreds of other subjects. (We also offered opinion coverage, but that’s another roundup.)

Here’s a list of the most-read stories from the year. Once again, I’m giving you 67 because of the youth of today just can’t get enough of that number. Browse through and marvel at the quality, the volume and the expertise.

 

Tina Thompson sits in her home on a brown lounge chair.Tina Thompson in her home on Dec. 19, 2025, in Lawrence, Kansas, discusses her journey to become the state’s first Roman Catholic Woman Priest. (Photo by Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector)

Kansan returns to the Catholic Church as the state’s first woman priest (Dec. 29) Anna Kaminski

LAWRENCE — Tina Thompson found a different way to be Catholic.

She was ordained in November as a Roman Catholic Woman Priest, an international group that has tethered itself to the Catholic Church but isn’t officially recognized.

 

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, said there was a moral imperative for the U.S. government to deliver international food aid to starving people. He also said it was important to not undermine market opportunities for U.S. commodities in wake of Trump administration maneuvering to close the U.S. Agency for International Development. (Kansas Reflector screen capture of U.S. Senate YouTube channel)U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, said there was a moral imperative for the U.S. government to deliver international food aid to starving people. He also said it was important to not undermine market opportunities for U.S. commodities in wake of Trump administration maneuvering to close the U.S. Agency for International Development. (Kansas Reflector screen capture of U.S. Senate YouTube channel)

Kansas’ Moran, Davids sound alarm on delay of USAID food aid to starving people worldwide (Feb 7) Tim Carpenter

TOPEKA — U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas said a freeze on federal funding and change at the U.S. Agency for International Development left $340 million in lifesaving food grown in the United States sitting at domestic ports awaiting delivery to locations around the world where people were starving.

 

Sen. Beverly Gossage, Jan. 17, 2024Sen. Beverly Gossage, seen during a Jan. 17, 2024, Senate session, defended legislation to ban gender-affirming care for children. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas Legislature overrides governor’s veto of legislation that targets trans kids (Feb 18) Sherman Smith

TOPEKA — Senate and House Republicans voted Tuesday to override Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of legislation that bans gender-affirming care for minors, rejecting pleas from Democrats to turn attention instead to issues that would help Kansas families.

 

Politico reports the chairman and vice chairman of Kansas Young Republicans participated in racist, antisemitic encrypted chats with GOP political peersPolitico reports the chairman and vice chairman of Kansas Young Republicans participated in racist, antisemitic encrypted chats with GOP political peers. (Illustration by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

Kansas Young Republicans shut down after Politico report on racist, violent encrypted chat (Oct. 14) Tim Carpenter

TOPEKA — The chairman and vice chairman of the Kansas Young Republicans took part in encrypted chats with political peers that were laced with violent, racist and antisemitic rhetoric and blended with references to white supremacy and suppression of the Jeffrey Epstein files.

 

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins speaks at an agriculture conference on September 25, 2025, in Kansas City, Missouri, where she discussed solutions to American farmers' economic plight. (Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector)U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins speaks at an agriculture conference on September 25, 2025, in Kansas City, Missouri, where she discussed solutions to American farmers’ economic plight. (Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector)

Agriculture secretary announces major crops purchase, antitrust efforts at Kansas City conference (Sept. 25) Anna Kaminski

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced Thursday plans to boost American farmers by purchasing millions of bushels of crops.

Kansas Senate falls one vote short of approving constitutional amendment on property taxes (March 26) Sherman Smith and Anna Kaminski

TOPEKA — Senate President Ty Masterson asked lawmakers Wednesday to consider the hypocrisy of those who opposed a constitutional amendment to curtail rising property taxes by limiting increases in property valuations to 4% annually.

Kansas mayor charged with alleged voter fraud; state leader says ‘hundreds’ more cases expected (Nov. 5) Morgan Chilson

TOPEKA — The mayor of a small south-central Kansas town has been charged with committing fraud by voting in elections since 2022 even though he is not a United States citizen, the state’s attorney general and secretary of state said Wednesday.

‘Everyone needs to breathe’: Intense confrontation on Kansas House floor forces two-hour recess (Feb. 20) Sherman Smith and Tim Carpenter

TOPEKA — An intense confrontation between a Republican and Democrat on the Kansas House floor Thursday during a gun debate forced the chamber into a two-hour recess as leadership worked to deescalate tensions.

Federal government accuses Kansas town of ‘aggressive and unlawful’ interference with CoreCivic (Sept. 23) Morgan Chilson

TOPEKA — The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday joined a private prison company in its legal fight with Leavenworth city officials, accusing the city of “aggressive and unlawful” interference with immigration enforcement.

A Kansas student reported her coach for harassment and touching. School leaders kept it quiet. (Sept. 2) Tim Carpenter

COLDWATER — After the father of a small-town, southwest Kansas high school junior reported his daughter was the victim of sexual harassment and unwanted touching by her golf coach, he met with the coach and principal to lay out the teenager’s concerns and disgust.

 

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly speaks with Kansas Reflector journalists on Dec. 16, 2025. (Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

 

Lawrence Democratic Rep. Barbara Ballard, center in red, and Manhattan Democratic Rep. Sydney Carlin, seated left, were among House members who changed their “no” vote to “yes” on a package of 15 overrides of budget vetoes issued by Gov. Laura Kelly. On Friday, Ballard and Carlin joined four other House members in support of overrides requiring a two-thirds majority vote. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)

 

Joe Ceballos resigned Monday as mayor of Coldwater. A legal resident who is not a U.S. citizen, he faces election fraud chargesJoe Ceballos resigned in December as mayor of Coldwater. A legal resident who is not a U.S. citizen, he faces election fraud charges. (City of Coldwater)

We’re now fully into 2026. The year’s legislative session will begin shortly, and you better believe we’ll all be there.

Clay Wirestone is Kansas Reflector opinion editor. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.

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