The post Kansas GOP candidates for governor attack ‘paper shufflers,’ denounce fraud, argue about Chiefs appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

By Morgan Chilson

TOPEKA — Panasonic’s Kansas electric vehicle battery plant will convert part of its operations to build batteries for data centers, company officials announced.

Panasonic leaders announced the company’s shift to focus on developing devices and infrastructure equipment for artificial intelligence uses and data centers at a June 8 investors day presentation.

Yuki Kusumi, CEO of Panasonic Holdings, said the company will invest about $3 billion between fiscal years 2027 and 2029 to advance its work on devices and systems that support AI, including enhancing production capacity.

Panasonic opened its 4.7 million-square foot plant in De Soto in July, but ramping to full capacity was delayed by Trump administration changes in support for green energy and electric vehicles.

The project received nearly $830 million in tax credits from the state of Kansas.

The De Soto plant was projected to have 4,000 employees at full capacity. A Panasonic representative said in an email to the Kansas Reflector this week that it currently employs 1,800 people and four production lines are in operation. Construction began on the plant’s second wing, which is expected to be in operation by 2027.

“The ramp up for EV battery cell production at the Kansas facility will continue to be determined by customer demand,” the representative said. “There is no new information to share from what has previously been reported about Panasonic’s hiring projections.”

Kazuo Tadanobu, president and CEO of Panasonic Energy, said at the investment event that the company has focused on green and digital domains, evolving its portfolio in response to “major market changes in automotive and data centers.”

“Although the in-vehicle business has not reached the growth level we initially expected in the industry and consumer business, we have captured the rapidly expanding demand for data centers driven by Gen AI and achieved significant growth,” he said.

Building on those two industries, the data center business will be the company’s growth driver, moving projected Panasonic sales from nearly $2 billion in fiscal year 2026 to a target of $6.2 billion in fiscal year 2029, Tadanobu said.

He said the company plans to invest $2.2 billion in achieving its goals over the next three years, including investments in infrastructure at the De Soto plant.

“Major investments include repurposing production lines in Japan, from in-vehicle to data center applications, ramping up the Kansas factory and converting it for data center applications, and expanding module plans in Mexico,” Tadanobu said.

The company plans to speed up the establishment of a North American-based supply chain to meet demand, partly by using existing facilities, he said.

“The key to flexibility is expanding capacity in North America, where customer demand is highest, and strengthening local procurement of power components,” Tadanobu said.

Panasonic will increase cell production capacity in Japan and is preparing cell production for data centers at the Kansas facility, with mass production beginning in fiscal year 2029, he said.

In the statement to Kansas Reflector, a Panasonic representative said the company planned for its Kansas facility to be “agile and responsive to the market and our diverse customers’ needs.”

“Panasonic Energy is in the beginning stages of planning its data center battery cell production in Kansas,” the statement said. “It is part of a $2.18 billion-dollar global investment, and the first data center battery cells are anticipated to be produced in mid to late 2028 or early 2029. EV battery cell production will continue at the Kansas facility.”

The post Panasonic to shift some Kansas production lines to make AI data center batteries appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

By Grace Hills

MERRIAM — The U.S. Department of Education is escalating its threat to pull federal funding from four Kansas school districts for their gender-inclusive policies.

At least two of the districts are geared up for a legal battle.

In April, the department found four public school districts — Olathe, Shawnee Mission, Topeka and Kansas City, Kansas — were in violation of federal Title IX civil rights protections. Grievances included allowing students to change their name or pronouns used at school without clear communication to parents and allowing transgender students to use the restroom, locker room and changing room that aligns with their gender identity.

In May, Olathe Public Schools signed a “voluntary resolution agreement” to resolve the probe. The agreement outlined the district’s commitment to give students access to gender-specific facilities “strictly on the basis of sex.”

The district rejected the department’s accusations that they were violating Title IX — the civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on sex — but signed the resolution to avoid potentially costly and lengthy legal challenges.

Last week, despite the signed resolution, the department sent the district a letter of impending enforcement action — which is the federal government’s version of a final warning.

“These Kansas school districts’ ongoing refusal to come into compliance with Title IX puts the safety, privacy, and dignity of young women and girls at risk,” said Kimberly Richey, assistant secretary for civil rights. “The Districts must come into compliance with Title IX or risk further enforcement action.”

Olathe Public Schools said it is now shifting focus to defend itself “through any and all legal avenues to ensure we continue to receive federal funding.”

“The Department of Education’s rejection of a negotiated resolution raises serious concerns about whether the goal of this process is to reach a practical and lawful outcome or to pursue a predetermined result that does not reflect the facts, the law, or the district’s actual practices,” Olathe Public Schools said in a statement. “Instead, the Department has chosen to prolong a process that has already consumed significant district time and taxpayer resources, resources that would be better spent supporting classrooms and student success.”

The Shawnee Mission School District never agreed to a resolution. The district declined to comment for this story, but pointed to a letter Timothy Heaphy, an attorney representing the district, sent to the Office for Civil Rights.

“The ‘investigation’ which has led to these conditions was never a constructive effort to reach a mutually agreeable resolution, consistent with the traditional approach of the Department. Rather, it was a sham process designed to reach a predetermined outcome untethered to the facts or controlling standards of law,” Heaphy wrote.

The U.S. Department of Education letter, sent June 11, says that districts have 10 calendar days to comply. If they do not, they risk a referral to the U.S. Department of Justice — which holds the potential of a pricey federal lawsuit — or termination of federal funding.

Olathe Public Schools received $24.5 million in federal funding for the 2024-2025 school year. Shawnee Mission received $27.4 million and Topeka nearly $30 million.

The exact use of federal funds depends on the school district, but each district used federal funds for food services and special education.

About 4% of Olathe’s budget revenue comes from federal funding. Around 6% of Shawnee Mission’s comes from federal funding, and 13% for Topeka Public Schools.

The Kansas City, Kansas, public school district relies on more federal funding than the other three districts. For the 2024-2025 school year, it took in a little more than $70 million, around 16% of its budget.

Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools declined to comment for this story. But last summer, after an unexpected federal education grant freeze, the district said federal dollars “directly support some of our most vulnerable students — including those from low-income families, English language learners, and students with disabilities.”

The other three districts received letters of impending enforcement action, but Kansas City, Kansas, Public Schools received a letter of impasse, which notifies the district that the department is preparing for impending enforcement.

Olathe, Shawnee Mission, and Topeka public schools have until June 21 to respond to the department’s letters. Topeka Public Schools did not respond to a request for comment for this story.

The post ‘Sham process’: Kansas school districts face loss of federal funding over gender-inclusive policies appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

By Morgan Chilson

TOPEKA — A company building an underground nuclear reactor in Parsons is planning an initial public offering of 2.5 million shares, planning to raise more than $40 million.

Deep Fission Inc. initially announced in May that it would issue about 6 million shares, with a target price of $24 to $26. However, in registration information filed Wednesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company dropped the number of shares it is offering and the expected price range to $16 to $18 per share.

California-based Deep Fission, which partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy to build its Gravity Reactor in boreholes one mile underground in the Great Plains Industrial Park, plans to raise more than $40 million to fund its pilot project in Kansas.

The company applied to list its common stock on Nasdaq under the symbol FISN, according to an SEC filing. The common stock offering will not continue if Nasdaq doesn’t approve the listing.

“Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk,” the filing said. “Our Gravity Reactor is unproven, and our design, borehole development activities, planned pilot reactor, and future commercial applications may fail, progress more slowly than projected, or encounter delays or changes that increase costs and capital requirements.”

In its filing, Deep Fission said it has drilled its first well to gather data.

“Next, we will demonstrate our ability to drill a commercial-scale borehole and safely deploy a prototype reactor,” the company said. “We continue to advance our reactor design in parallel with these activities, including planning additional drilling activities and conducting related engineering and emplacement work, and we are targeting completion of these activities in the coming months.”

The company expects to apply for its commercial license with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in early 2027, the filing said.

The project has faced controversy in the Parsons community, with some in the area worried about the untested technology involved.

Fran Tompkins, a Kansas activist following the issue, said people in the area don’t want to be “lab rats.” Although Deep Fission has said it is using tested technology because the deep boreholes have been used in water well drilling, Tompkins is concerned it has never been used for nuclear energy.

“The tech hasn’t been proven to be appropriate even for use in this way,” she said. “There’s no evidence-based practice out there to rely on.”

The post Company proposing nuclear power facility in Kansas plans stock offering appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

By Morgan Chilson

TOPEKA — A company building an underground nuclear reactor in Parsons is planning an initial public offering of 2.5 million shares, planning to raise more than $40 million.

Deep Fission Inc. initially announced in May that it would issue about 6 million shares, with a target price of $24 to $26. However, in registration information filed Wednesday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company dropped the number of shares it is offering and the expected price range to $16 to $18 per share.

California-based Deep Fission, which partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy to build its Gravity Reactor in boreholes one mile underground in the Great Plains Industrial Park, plans to raise more than $40 million to fund its pilot project in Kansas.

The company applied to list its common stock on Nasdaq under the symbol FISN, according to an SEC filing. The common stock offering will not continue if Nasdaq doesn’t approve the listing.

“Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk,” the filing said. “Our Gravity Reactor is unproven, and our design, borehole development activities, planned pilot reactor, and future commercial applications may fail, progress more slowly than projected, or encounter delays or changes that increase costs and capital requirements.”

In its filing, Deep Fission said it has drilled its first well to gather data.

“Next, we will demonstrate our ability to drill a commercial-scale borehole and safely deploy a prototype reactor,” the company said. “We continue to advance our reactor design in parallel with these activities, including planning additional drilling activities and conducting related engineering and emplacement work, and we are targeting completion of these activities in the coming months.”

The company expects to apply for its commercial license with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in early 2027, the filing said.

The project has faced controversy in the Parsons community, with some in the area worried about the untested technology involved.

Fran Tompkins, a Kansas activist following the issue, said people in the area don’t want to be “lab rats.” Although Deep Fission has said it is using tested technology because the deep boreholes have been used in water well drilling, Tompkins is concerned it has never been used for nuclear energy.

“The tech hasn’t been proven to be appropriate even for use in this way,” she said. “There’s no evidence-based practice out there to rely on.”

The post Company proposing nuclear power facility in Kansas plans stock offering appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

OVERLAND PARK — Name-calling and infighting dominated a Republican gubernatorial debate Friday that was preceded by campaigns trying to convince opponents to drop out of the race.

Senate President Ty Masterson called businessman Philip Sarnecki an “angry elf.” Sarnecki blamed Masterson for the state’s budget issues. Former Johnson County commissioner Charlotte O’Hara and Secretary of State Scott Schwab stayed out of the line of fire, focusing on their policy priorities.

The candidates are among seven Republicans seeking to replace Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly when she completes her second term in January.

In the lead-up to the debate sponsored by the Kansas GOP, candidates traded barbs indirectly in interviews and on social media, and Sarnecki sparked rumors Masterson may not show.

But he did, fresh from a May 24 endorsement from President Donald Trump, which he mentioned at least seven times during the debate, prompting audience laughter on the last mention.

The barbs didn’t cease onstage at the Midwest Trust Center at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park.

At one point, Masterson called Sarnecki “a bit of an angry elf,” claiming he was upset Masterson received Trump’s endorsement.

During the first question, about data center regulation, Masterson called Sarnecki a “Democrat plant.”

“The more I learn about my friend Phil, the more I think he’s a Democrat plant,” Masterson said.

Sarnecki acknowledged recently publicized connections between him and Democrats. He said he donated $250 once to a Democratic insurance commissioner candidate. He asked viewers to pay heed to the timeline. The accusations came right after Sarnecki turned down an offer from Masterson’s campaign to be lieutenant governor, he said. The audience applauded his defense.

O’Hara said in her campaign newsletter Tuesday that Sarnecki tried to shoo her out of the race by offering her a position as education secretary.

On the issues

Most candidates favored local control and limits on data centers to ensure companies pay their fair share in taxes. O’Hara promised a moratorium on data centers in the state in her first 60 days.

O’Hara and Sarnecki voiced their disapproval for the Kansas City Chiefs deal that lured the football team from Missouri with record-breaking tax breaks for a new stadium, headquarters and training facility while Masterson and Schwab defended the deal as a major job growth opportunity.

“The deal was way too sweet,” O’Hara said.

Sarnecki said the deal wasn’t negotiated well.

“To make this deal try to work, do you want the business person doing it or do you want the career politician doing it?” he said.

Masterson touted the promise of hundreds of millions of income tax revenue from the NFL.

John Holt of FOX 4, who moderated the Nexstar Media-hosted debate, offered candidates a multiple choice question on property taxes. Did they favor a cap on appraisal increases, a voter-endorsed block on mill levy increases, both or neither.

O’Hara favored abolishing property taxes entirely.

“Our property tax system is broken,” she said. “I don’t know how to fix it.”

Schwab favored letting voters decide, and described an appraisal cap as “anti-free market.” Masterson and Sarnecki liked both approaches, but Sarnecki blamed Masterson and the Republican-led Legislature for failing to take action this year.

“There’s property tax relief to be found, just not for the people of the state of Kansas,” Sarnecki said.

But, he said it has been reserved for “lobbyists and special interests” that “have ties” to Masterson.

Masterson said the Senate “did the work,” but a group of “phony Republicans” sided with Democrats, foiling plans at property tax relief.

The candidates each oppose legalizing medical marijuana in Kansas and supported reducing abortions. They acknowledged the state’s abortion climate couldn’t change without changing the makeup of the Kansas Supreme Court.

They all approve of the upcoming constitutional amendment that asks voters to change the way state Supreme Court justices are selected from a merit-based system to a popular vote.

Each said they would consider or approve a temporary reprieve from the state gas tax, which is 25 cents per gallon of gasoline and 27 cents per gallon of diesel. Only O’Hara acknowledged that high gas prices couldn’t be resolved without an end to the Iran War. She and the other candidates said gas was only one piece of addressing affordability, emphasizing the need for affordable housing.

Not on the stage

Three Republicans were missing from the debate stage: Vicki Schmidt, Stacy Rogers and Nick Reinecker.

Schmidt, the state insurance commissioner, refused last year to pay the $10,000 contribution required of candidates to participate in party-sponsored debates.

“I will not participate in debate for the highest office in the state that’s contingent on an entry fee,” Schmidt wrote in a Sept. 30, 2025, letter.

She said she believes the state Republican Party should remain neutral during primaries, giving candidates equal opportunities.

“Under this agreement, the party picks winners and losers,” Schmidt wrote. “Members of the Kansas Republican Party deserve to hear from every candidate in the race, not just the ones the party has determined deserve to be on the debate stage.”

Hans Torgerson, a spokesperson for the Kansas Democratic Party, said the debate was “a race to the bottom” while Kansas families deal with rising costs. He said the debate was a contest of who was the most extreme.

“When Masterson and Sarnecki weren’t busy fighting each other, they were busy auditioning for the MAGA base,” Torgerson said. “Kansans deserved real leadership. They got a circus.”

The three Democratic candidates — state Sen. Ethan Corson, state Sen. Cindy Holscher and Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog — all live in Johnson County, where the debate was held.

Kelly endorsed Corson in November, and she stumped for him in Olathe earlier this week.

Fabian Shepard, a campaign strategist and former chair of the Johnson County Republican Party who spoke with Holt in a prerecorded pre-show, said Holscher could be pulling ahead in the race.

In conversation with Holt and former Kansas GOP chair Mike Kuckelman, Shepard said Schmidt has a lot of moderate support, which could prove to be important in Johnson County.

“Vicki has proven that she can win,” Shepard said.

But with three Democrats on the ticket, he said, he was unsure of how moderate support will carry over in the county.

Kuckelman said he expects former Gov. Jeff Colyer, who dropped out of the race after Trump endorsed Masterson, will receive an appointment in the Trump administration.

The post Insults fly as Kansas GOP gubernatorial candidates compete for dominance during debate appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

The post Five of six Kansas public universities seek student tuition increases of 3.5% to 6% appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

By Morgan Chilson

TOPEKA — A state audit found that as much as $1.2 million in food assistance payments could have been made to people living outside Kansas, although that would account for less than 1% of state spending on the program.

An audit of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program usage, conducted by the Legislative Post Audit Department, found that between $700,000 and $1.2 million in federal fiscal years 2023 and 2024 may have been paid to recipients living outside Kansas.

However, due to federal regulations, the Kansas Department for Children and Families can’t ask SNAP recipients to notify them within 10 days if they change their address, the report said.

“Because SNAP recipients are not required to report a change of address immediately, DCF can do little to proactively intervene,” the audit said. “DCF officials told us they monitor for unusual transactions and can talk with recipients if they see unusual patterns.”

DCF said in a response that it actively monitors for patterns indicating someone is regularly purchasing items out of state on their electronic benefit, or EBT, card. They require recipients to report change of address and, since October 2025, proof of address at every six-month certification.

LPA staff said that unless a recipient knowingly misreports his or her address at the six-month certification, there are few steps DCF can take to recoup benefits that were paid while the recipient lived out of state.

In the audit, LPA staff looked at 43 million transactions totaling about $1 billion during that time period. To determine possible out-of-state fraud, the agency audited a random sample of 10,500 EBT cards out of nearly 290,000, excluding recipients who lived near state’ borders to eliminate people who shop across the border regularly.

They found 51 SNAP recipients possibly lived in a different state while receiving benefits totaling about $63,000.

“On average, recipients received Kansas SNAP benefits for four months after they appeared to move,” the LPA report said.

The longest a person appeared to receive benefits after appearing to move was 21 months, and the average benefits received were $650, while a single recipient received $5,700, the audit said.

Extrapolating from the data, the LPA report estimated that 1,000 to 1,800 SNAP recipients could have received benefits despite living outside Kansas, which would total between $700,000 and $1.2 million in benefits.

Speaker of the House Dan Hawkins, a Republican candidate for state insurance commissioner, sent out a news release Friday calling the issue a product of Gov. Laura Kelly’s “cover up.”

“A new audit showed what we suspected,” he said. “Is this what the Kelly Cover-Up was hiding? Kansans deserve better stewardship of their tax dollars, and House Republicans took decisive action to stop exactly this kind of misuse.”

Hawkins referred to the passage and veto override of House Bill 2004, which forces DCF and the governor to turn over requested data relating to cash assistance, child care assistance and food assistance when requested by federal agencies.

The bill came about after Kelly and Department for Family and Children Secretary Laura Howard refused to share SNAP data with the U.S. Department of Agriculture until the federal agency agreed that the data wouldn’t be shared with foreign entities. Such a use, which was included in the first data request, would violate Kansas restrictions.

In a response to the report, DCF said that it is legal to use SNAP’s electronic benefits transfer card outside the state at authorized retailers.

Kansas participates in a national program that checks whether beneficiaries are already receiving benefits in other states. The state also launched the National Accuracy Clearinghouse in February 2026, the DCF response said.

“The NAC is a new nationwide system checked at application, recertification, and when household members change in order to prevent duplicate participation,” the response said.

The post audit reported that it may have underestimated potential fraud because it eliminated border states and used a narrow time frame.

It said DCF reported that Kansas is a simplified reporting state, one of two options offered by the federal government, which keeps the costs low but limits the information SNAP recipients are required to report and gives the agency less insight into recipients’ circumstances.

The post Food assistance audit finds potential $1.2 million paid to people living outside Kansas appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

The post Kansas Legislature creates state capital-gains tax exemption for investors in gold, silver appeared first on News Radio KMAN.

By Morgan Chilson

TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed legislation that would have created a sports tourism grant program focused on expanding state investment in sporting events.

Kelly on Monday vetoed House Bill 2346, saying the state already has a fund devoted to drawing sports-related activities, referring to the Attracting Professional Sports to Kansas Fund, which is being used along with Sales Tax and Revenue bonds to fund the public investment in the new Kansas City Chiefs stadium.

“If the Legislature wants to direct a portion of those funds to local communities for sports attraction they should do so,” she said.

HB 2346 would have established the new grant program at the Kansas Department of Commerce to provide dollar-for-dollar matching grants to support sports tourism events.

On Monday, Kelly also allowed House Bill 2018 to become law without her signature. The bill makes it a crime to interfere in a religious assembly and creates a right of civil action if an offense occurs.

“This bill is born out of a tension between two fundamental rights: the right to freely practice religion and the right to freedom of expression,” Kelly said in a news release. “This type of tension is not uncommon in a democracy that has enumerated as many constitutional rights as we enjoy and seek to protect today.”

Kelly said she’s concerned the new law prioritizes one of those rights over the other and “will result in costly litigation.”

In addition to creating misdemeanor and felony charges for disruption of religious services, the bill enables state courts to impose fines against violators ranging from $10,000 to $25,000 for each infraction. It also granted individuals an opportunity to file lawsuits in state court if injured during intrusions of religious activity.

The post Kelly vetoes sports tourism program, allows religious freedom bill to move forward appeared first on News Radio KMAN.