Laura Ziegler

Today voters in Johnson County go to the polls for spring primaries.  Mission and Prairie Village will vote on Council seats; the city of Shawnee will vote on a new mayor.

Supporters of a high security bio-defense facility in Manhattan, Kan., got some depressing news today. The White House Budget for 2013 cuts funding for the Department of Homeland Security’s proposed National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) from $50 million to $10 million.

The controversy over illegal immigration is pitting Republican against Republican and business against immigration hardliners in Kansas.

A pro-business, pro-immigration bill introduced in the Kansas legislature yesterday pits traditionally Republican business leaders against the hardline anti-immigration Secretary of State and maybe the Republican governor as well.

Governor Sam Brownback is withholding the payment of $22 million to the Kansas Bioscience Authority – that's about 2/3 of the agency's state funding.

By Laura Ziegler

Kansas City, Missouri – While airline industry officials nationally expect a drop in the number of people flying this holiday season, that's not supposed to be the case at KCI. The Kansas Aviation Department say almost 400 thousand will be travelling through the Kansas City airport this holiday season.

As the Thanksgiving holiday weekend began,most said their experiences were good, that lines were not long, and that the delays were much shorter than they'd expected.

By Laura Ziegler

Topeka, Kansas – For Veteran's Day, a story about a little known collection of photographs, diaries, recorded interviews, maps, and letters on the website of the Kansas Historical Society.

All of the artifacts on the ever-expanding Kansas Memory Site are primary sources provided by families and friends for archival purposes.

The Catholic church is still reeling from news that Bishop Robert Finn and the Diocese of Kansas City-St Joseph have been indicted on criminal charges related to the sex abuse scandal.

By Laura Ziegler

Kansas City, Missouri – The honking horns and chanting of several hundred marchers indicated that Kansas City has become part of a national movement, according to spokesmen at Sunday's Occupy KC demonstration.

CBS news reported that more than 25 cities have held demonstrations mirroring those held in New York as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement. The protests focus on corporate control of politics and frustration over income disparities, joblessness and federal debt.

By Laura Ziegler

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Frustrated by the lack of federal immigration legislation, state lawmakers around the country are taking the problem into their own hands by writing their own laws. At the heart of many of those laws is Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

He worked closely with Arizona to craft controversial illegal immigration legislation there and has been hired by at least half a dozen other states to either write or defend similar laws there.

By Laura Ziegler

Kansas City, Missouri – Members of the local gay and lesbian community see the repeal of the so-called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy as a major civil rights victory.

Under "Don't Ask,Don't Tell," gays and lesbians were forced to hide their sexual orientation or face discharge. According to the policy, being gay created a dangerous distraction to a well-functioning military.

Before 9/11,"agroterrorism" was not a familiar term to many.

But in the post-9/11 era, the possibility of a deliberate attack on our food supply is something government, law enforcement and private industry have been studying carefully.

Dr. Peter Chalk of the Rand Corporation, a political scientist and expert on international terrorism, has written extensively on the issue of agroterrorism.

He says there's never been an intentional attack on our plant or livestock production, but we ignore the possibilities at our own risk.

By Laura Ziegler

Johnson County, Kansas – Experts from The Justice Center of The Council of State Governments in New York, and The Criminal Justice Institute in Boston, were in Johnson County this week talking with administrators of an innovative inmate- reentry program.

The consultants say the Johnson County program is becoming a national model.