NEW YORK (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/job-corps-centers-lawsuit-labor-department-a9acc1464ad180a066317fd086865464">U.S. Department of Labor</a>&nbsp;is aiming to rewrite or repeal more than 60 “obsolete” workplace regulations, ranging from minimum wage requirements&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/supreme-court-of-the-united-states-united-states-government-f466bbf865c94bd8a95da9f44de1ab8b">for home health care workers</a>&nbsp;and people with disabilities to standards governing exposure to harmful substances.

If approved, the wide-ranging changes unveiled this month also would affect working conditions at constructions sites and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mine-safety-office-closure-msha-doge-trump-43fd355260d7c2373f48a25e35455f5b">in mines</a>, and limit the government's ability to penalize employers if workers are injured or killed while engaging in inherently risky activities such as movie stunts or animal training.

The Labor Department says the goal is to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-coal-epa-clean-air-exemption-mercury-7b800db8d6cf6fffbee28039f42d2daf">reduce costly, burdensome rules</a>&nbsp;imposed under previous administrations, and to deliver on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-congress-compliant-ceding-power-republicans-4508b5e6f893da17e9064426e6fefc6c">President Donald Trump's commitment</a>&nbsp;to restore American prosperity through deregulation.

“The Department of Labor is proud to lead the way by eliminating unnecessary regulations that stifle growth and limit opportunity,” Secretary of Labor&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-labor-secretary-chavezderemer-senate-confirmation-5e9e4ad82ee88f28ba70334089daaf40">Lori Chavez-DeRemer</a>&nbsp;said in a statement, which boasted the “most ambitious proposal to slash red tape of any department across the federal government.”

Critics say the proposals would put workers at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-unions-collective-bargaining-end-national-security-deabc796751dc038a8500774fe174a99">greater risk of harm</a>, with women and members of minority groups bearing a disproportionate impact.

"People are at very great risk of dying on the job already,” Rebecca Reindel, the AFL-CIO union's occupational safety and health director, said. “This is something that is only going to make the problem worse.”

The proposed changes have several stages to get through before they can take effect, including a public comment period for each one.

Here's a look at some of the rollbacks under consideration:

No minimum wage for home health care workers

Home health care workers help elderly or&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nhl-entertainment-health-sports-b0748da3b4273d15300cd39cb970e56a">medically fragile people</a>&nbsp;by preparing meals, administering medications, assisting with toilet use, accompanying clients to doctor appointments and performing other tasks. Under one of the Labor Department's proposals, an estimated 3.7 million workers employed by home care agencies could be paid below the federal minimum wage — currently $7.25 per hour — and made ineligible for overtime pay if they aren't covered by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-health-care-minimum-wage-delay-ba84849b7c0a8e96ed9d7da0c126395d">corresponding state laws</a>.

The proposed rule would reverse changes&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-e18c34a0b3294156973b133326bda338">made in 2013</a>&nbsp;under former President Barack Obama and revert to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nannies-housekeeper-domestic-worker-rights-laws-labor-women-f927e08838e5fe19cded4f163eee74d3">a regulatory framework</a>&nbsp;from 1975. The Labor Department says that by lowering labor and compliance costs, its revisions might expand the home care market and help keep frail individuals in their homes for longer.

Judy Conti, director of government affairs at the National Employment Law Project, said her organization plans to work hard to defeat the proposal. Home health workers are subject to injuries from lifting clients, and "before those (2013) regulations, it was very common for home care workers to work 50, 60 and maybe even more hours a week, without getting any overtime pay,” Conti said.

Others endorse the proposal, including the Independent Women’s Forum, a conservative nonprofit based in Virginia. Women often bear the brunt of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/harris-home-health-care-sandwhich-generation-098a7ed48dfd94d11fb0efcd5d63b42b">family caregiving responsibilities</a>, so making home care more affordable would help women balance work and personal responsibilities, the group's president, Carrie Lukas, said.

“We’re pleased to see the Trump administration moving forward on rolling back some of what we saw as counterproductive micromanaging of relationships that were making it hard for people to get the care they need,” Lukas said.

Samantha Sanders, director of government affairs and advocacy at the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute, said the repeal would not constitute a win for women.

“Saying we actually don’t think they need those protections would be pretty devastating to a workforce that performs really essential work and is very heavily dominated by women, and women of color in particular,” Sanders said.

Last year, the Labor Department finalized rules that provided protections to migrant farmworkers who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-change-conditions-contract-workers-agricultural-census-0ac08d0baa1a855319b93c82c04f9450">held H-2A visas</a>. The current administration says most of those rules placed unnecessary and costly requirements on employers.

Under the new proposal, the Labor Department would rescind a requirement for most&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-12972fcee30e4e87aeff144026d4faea">employer-provided transportation</a>&nbsp;to have seat belts for those agriculture workers.

The department is also proposing to reverse a 2024 rule that protected migrant farmworkers&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-labor-immigration-9ba53616562f50b7f9a75aa20dc4f3fe">from retaliation</a>&nbsp;for activities such as filing a complaint, testifying or participating in an investigation, hearing or proceeding.

“There’s a long history of retaliation against workers who speak up against abuses in farm work. And with H-2A it’s even worse because the employer can just not renew your visa,” said Lori Johnson, senior attorney at Farmworker Justice.

Michael Marsh, president and CEO of the National Council of Agricultural Employers, applauded the deregulation efforts, saying farmers were hit with thousands of pages of regulations pertaining to migrant farmworkers in recent years.

“Can you imagine a farmer and his or her spouse trying to navigate 3,000 new pages of regulation in 18 months and then be liable for every one of them?" he asked.

Adequate lighting for construction spaces

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/occupational-safety-and-health-administration">Occupational Safety and Health Administration</a>, part of the Labor Department, wants to rescind a requirement for employers to provide adequate lighting at construction sites, saying the regulation doesn't substantially reduce a significant risk.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-business-health-coronavirus-pandemic-henry-mcmaster-f33acd986ad5045e48088a832c6f9903">OSHA</a>&nbsp;said if employers fail to correct lighting deficiencies at construction worksites, the agency can issue citations under its “general duty clause.” The clause requires employers to provide a place of employment free from recognized hazards which are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.

Worker advocates think getting rid of a specific construction site requirement is a bad idea. “There have been many fatalities where workers fall through a hole in the floor, where there’s not adequate lighting,” Reindel said. “It’s a very obvious thing that employers should address, but unfortunately it’s one of those things where we need a standard, and it’s violated all the time.”

Several proposals could impact safety procedures for mines. For example, employers have to submit plans&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/msha-twin-state-mining-death-3899e1731c1e4dff3fe8589dbcc4488d">for ventilation</a>&nbsp;and preventing roof collapses in coal mines for review by the Labor Department's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/msha-office-closings-things-to-know-9396b25075130e6ba9c8fb415b5d2c58">Mine Safety and Health Administration</a>. Currently, MSHA district managers can require mine operators to take additional steps to improve those plans.

The Labor Department wants to end that authority, saying the current regulations give the district manager the ability to draft and create laws without soliciting comments or action by Congress.

Similarly, the department is proposing to strip district managers of their ability to require changes to mine health and safety training programs.

The general duty clause allows OSHA to punish employers for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/workplace-safety">unsafe working conditions</a>&nbsp;when there's no specific standard in place to cover a situation.

An OSHA proposal would exclude the agency from applying the clause to prohibit, restrict or penalize employers for “inherently risky professional activities that are intrinsic to professional, athletic, or entertainment occupations.”

A preliminary analysis identified athletes, actors, dancers, musicians, other entertainers and journalists as among the types of workers the limitation would apply to.

“It is simply not plausible to assert that Congress, when passing the Occupational Safety and Health Act, silently intended to authorize the Department of Labor to eliminate familiar sports and entertainment practices, such as punt returns in the NFL, speeding in NASCAR, or the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-c8dab1bbbf9c44a9a95ed74d10d2802f">whale show at SeaWorld</a>,” the proposed rule reads.

Debbie Berkowitz, who served as OSHA chief of staff during the Obama administration, said she thinks limiting the agency's enforcement authority would be a mistake.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1753206503133.png" alt="Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer " />
 <figcaption>Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer </figcaption>
 </figure>NEW YORK (AP) — The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/job-corps-centers-lawsuit-labor-department-a9acc1464ad180a066317fd086865464">U.S. Department of Labor</a>&nbsp;is aiming to rewrite or repeal more than 60 “obsolete” workplace regulations, ranging from minimum wage requirements&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/supreme-court-of-the-united-states-united-states-government-f466bbf865c94bd8a95da9f44de1ab8b">for home health care workers</a>&nbsp;and people with disabilities to standards governing exposure to harmful substances.If approved, the wide-ranging changes unveiled this month also would affect working conditions at constructions sites and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mine-safety-office-closure-msha-doge-trump-43fd355260d7c2373f48a25e35455f5b">in mines</a>, and limit the government's ability to penalize employers if workers are injured or killed while engaging in inherently risky activities such as movie stunts or animal training.The Labor Department says the goal is to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-coal-epa-clean-air-exemption-mercury-7b800db8d6cf6fffbee28039f42d2daf">reduce costly, burdensome rules</a>&nbsp;imposed under previous administrations, and to deliver on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-congress-compliant-ceding-power-republicans-4508b5e6f893da17e9064426e6fefc6c">President Donald Trump's commitment</a>&nbsp;to restore American prosperity through deregulation.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/3/1741655381640.png" alt="Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall and then Labor Secretary nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer during a January meeting-courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall and then Labor Secretary nominee Lori Chavez-DeRemer during a January meeting-courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>“The Department of Labor is proud to lead the way by eliminating unnecessary regulations that stifle growth and limit opportunity,” Secretary of Labor&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-labor-secretary-chavezderemer-senate-confirmation-5e9e4ad82ee88f28ba70334089daaf40">Lori Chavez-DeRemer</a>&nbsp;said in a statement, which boasted the “most ambitious proposal to slash red tape of any department across the federal government.”Critics say the proposals would put workers at&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-unions-collective-bargaining-end-national-security-deabc796751dc038a8500774fe174a99">greater risk of harm</a>, with women and members of minority groups bearing a disproportionate impact."People are at very great risk of dying on the job already,” Rebecca Reindel, the AFL-CIO union's occupational safety and health director, said. “This is something that is only going to make the problem worse.”The proposed changes have several stages to get through before they can take effect, including a public comment period for each one.Here's a look at some of the rollbacks under consideration:<h2>No minimum wage for home health care workers</h2>Home health care workers help elderly or&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nhl-entertainment-health-sports-b0748da3b4273d15300cd39cb970e56a">medically fragile people</a>&nbsp;by preparing meals, administering medications, assisting with toilet use, accompanying clients to doctor appointments and performing other tasks. Under one of the Labor Department's proposals, an estimated 3.7 million workers employed by home care agencies could be paid below the federal minimum wage — currently $7.25 per hour — and made ineligible for overtime pay if they aren't covered by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-health-care-minimum-wage-delay-ba84849b7c0a8e96ed9d7da0c126395d">corresponding state laws</a>.The proposed rule would reverse changes&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-e18c34a0b3294156973b133326bda338">made in 2013</a>&nbsp;under former President Barack Obama and revert to&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nannies-housekeeper-domestic-worker-rights-laws-labor-women-f927e08838e5fe19cded4f163eee74d3">a regulatory framework</a>&nbsp;from 1975. The Labor Department says that by lowering labor and compliance costs, its revisions might expand the home care market and help keep frail individuals in their homes for longer.Judy Conti, director of government affairs at the National Employment Law Project, said her organization plans to work hard to defeat the proposal. Home health workers are subject to injuries from lifting clients, and "before those (2013) regulations, it was very common for home care workers to work 50, 60 and maybe even more hours a week, without getting any overtime pay,” Conti said.Others endorse the proposal, including the Independent Women’s Forum, a conservative nonprofit based in Virginia. Women often bear the brunt of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/harris-home-health-care-sandwhich-generation-098a7ed48dfd94d11fb0efcd5d63b42b">family caregiving responsibilities</a>, so making home care more affordable would help women balance work and personal responsibilities, the group's president, Carrie Lukas, said.“We’re pleased to see the Trump administration moving forward on rolling back some of what we saw as counterproductive micromanaging of relationships that were making it hard for people to get the care they need,” Lukas said.Samantha Sanders, director of government affairs and advocacy at the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute, said the repeal would not constitute a win for women.“Saying we actually don’t think they need those protections would be pretty devastating to a workforce that performs really essential work and is very heavily dominated by women, and women of color in particular,” Sanders said.<h2>Protections for migrant farm workers</h2>Last year, the Labor Department finalized rules that provided protections to migrant farmworkers who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/climate-change-conditions-contract-workers-agricultural-census-0ac08d0baa1a855319b93c82c04f9450">held H-2A visas</a>. The current administration says most of those rules placed unnecessary and costly requirements on employers.Under the new proposal, the Labor Department would rescind a requirement for most&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-12972fcee30e4e87aeff144026d4faea">employer-provided transportation</a>&nbsp;to have seat belts for those agriculture workers.The department is also proposing to reverse a 2024 rule that protected migrant farmworkers&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-labor-immigration-9ba53616562f50b7f9a75aa20dc4f3fe">from retaliation</a>&nbsp;for activities such as filing a complaint, testifying or participating in an investigation, hearing or proceeding.“There’s a long history of retaliation against workers who speak up against abuses in farm work. And with H-2A it’s even worse because the employer can just not renew your visa,” said Lori Johnson, senior attorney at Farmworker Justice.Michael Marsh, president and CEO of the National Council of Agricultural Employers, applauded the deregulation efforts, saying farmers were hit with thousands of pages of regulations pertaining to migrant farmworkers in recent years.“Can you imagine a farmer and his or her spouse trying to navigate 3,000 new pages of regulation in 18 months and then be liable for every one of them?" he asked.<h2>Adequate lighting for construction spaces</h2>The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/occupational-safety-and-health-administration">Occupational Safety and Health Administration</a>, part of the Labor Department, wants to rescind a requirement for employers to provide adequate lighting at construction sites, saying the regulation doesn't substantially reduce a significant risk.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-business-health-coronavirus-pandemic-henry-mcmaster-f33acd986ad5045e48088a832c6f9903">OSHA</a>&nbsp;said if employers fail to correct lighting deficiencies at construction worksites, the agency can issue citations under its “general duty clause.” The clause requires employers to provide a place of employment free from recognized hazards which are likely to cause death or serious physical harm.Worker advocates think getting rid of a specific construction site requirement is a bad idea. “There have been many fatalities where workers fall through a hole in the floor, where there’s not adequate lighting,” Reindel said. “It’s a very obvious thing that employers should address, but unfortunately it’s one of those things where we need a standard, and it’s violated all the time.”<h2>Mine safety</h2>Several proposals could impact safety procedures for mines. For example, employers have to submit plans&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/msha-twin-state-mining-death-3899e1731c1e4dff3fe8589dbcc4488d">for ventilation</a>&nbsp;and preventing roof collapses in coal mines for review by the Labor Department's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/msha-office-closings-things-to-know-9396b25075130e6ba9c8fb415b5d2c58">Mine Safety and Health Administration</a>. Currently, MSHA district managers can require mine operators to take additional steps to improve those plans.The Labor Department wants to end that authority, saying the current regulations give the district manager the ability to draft and create laws without soliciting comments or action by Congress.Similarly, the department is proposing to strip district managers of their ability to require changes to mine health and safety training programs.<h2>Limiting OSHA’s reach</h2>The general duty clause allows OSHA to punish employers for&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/workplace-safety">unsafe working conditions</a>&nbsp;when there's no specific standard in place to cover a situation.An OSHA proposal would exclude the agency from applying the clause to prohibit, restrict or penalize employers for “inherently risky professional activities that are intrinsic to professional, athletic, or entertainment occupations.”A preliminary analysis identified athletes, actors, dancers, musicians, other entertainers and journalists as among the types of workers the limitation would apply to.“It is simply not plausible to assert that Congress, when passing the Occupational Safety and Health Act, silently intended to authorize the Department of Labor to eliminate familiar sports and entertainment practices, such as punt returns in the NFL, speeding in NASCAR, or the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/general-news-c8dab1bbbf9c44a9a95ed74d10d2802f">whale show at SeaWorld</a>,” the proposed rule reads.Debbie Berkowitz, who served as OSHA chief of staff during the Obama administration, said she thinks limiting the agency's enforcement authority would be a mistake.

Labor Dept. looks to lighten workplace regs with sweeping rules changes 

Jerold L. “Jerry” Poe, 79, of Hutchinson, died July 20, 2025, at his home. He was born November 26, 1945, in Kansas City, Missouri, to Martin and Martha (Murphy) Poe.&nbsp;

Jerry graduated from Gardner High School in 1965. He obtained his bachelor’s in chemical engineering from University of Kansas in 1983. Jerry retired from being the technology director for Compass Minerals where he worked for 26 years. He was a laboratory consultant and then became the laboratory manager for Jacam Chemicals from 2016 to 2018. Jerry also owned and operated JLP Consulting since 2016.&nbsp;

On November 26, 1977, he married Susanne Narr in Gardner, Kansas. They shared 47 years of marriage before his death. He loved his family and his Lord.&nbsp;

Jerry had a great, crazy sense of humor that kept us laughing, even up to the end. He was a problem solver always ready with a helping hand. He will be greatly missed.&nbsp;

Jerry is survived by: beloved wife, Susie Poe; children, Amanda (Scott) Baughman, Kara (Wendy Byer) Poe, John (Carolyn) Poe, and Richard (Pam) Poe; siblings, Ruth (Walt) Hull, Bud (Carmen) Poe, and Anita Poe; 14 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.&nbsp;

He was preceded in death by his parents.&nbsp;

Celebration of Life will be 2:30 p.m., Saturday, August 9, 2025, at the Shady Lane Cabin at Dillon Nature Center, 3002 E. 30th Ave, Hutchinson.&nbsp;

In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Cancer Council of Reno County or St. Jude Children’s Hospital, in care of Elliott Mortuary, 1219 N. Main St. Hutchinson, KS&nbsp; 67501.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1753193809994.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>Jerold L. “Jerry” Poe, 79, of Hutchinson, died July 20, 2025, at his home. He was born November 26, 1945, in Kansas City, Missouri, to Martin and Martha (Murphy) Poe.&nbsp;Jerry graduated from Gardner High School in 1965. He obtained his bachelor’s in chemical engineering from University of Kansas in 1983. Jerry retired from being the technology director for Compass Minerals where he worked for 26 years. He was a laboratory consultant and then became the laboratory manager for Jacam Chemicals from 2016 to 2018. Jerry also owned and operated JLP Consulting since 2016.&nbsp;On November 26, 1977, he married Susanne Narr in Gardner, Kansas. They shared 47 years of marriage before his death. He loved his family and his Lord.&nbsp;Jerry had a great, crazy sense of humor that kept us laughing, even up to the end. He was a problem solver always ready with a helping hand. He will be greatly missed.&nbsp;Jerry is survived by: beloved wife, Susie Poe; children, Amanda (Scott) Baughman, Kara (Wendy Byer) Poe, John (Carolyn) Poe, and Richard (Pam) Poe; siblings, Ruth (Walt) Hull, Bud (Carmen) Poe, and Anita Poe; 14 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.&nbsp;He was preceded in death by his parents.&nbsp;Celebration of Life will be 2:30 p.m., Saturday, August 9, 2025, at the Shady Lane Cabin at Dillon Nature Center, 3002 E. 30th Ave, Hutchinson.&nbsp;In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to Cancer Council of Reno County or St. Jude Children’s Hospital, in care of Elliott Mortuary, 1219 N. Main St. Hutchinson, KS&nbsp; 67501.&nbsp;

Jerold L. “Jerry” Poe |1945-2025|

Theresa Teufel,&nbsp; director of Stage 9's production of "Ride the Cyclone," Mason Lockhart and Leland Britton stopped by the BW studios to visit about the upcoming performances scheduled for next weekend.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/3/1615226095627.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>Theresa Teufel,&nbsp; director of Stage 9's production of "Ride the Cyclone," Mason Lockhart and Leland Britton stopped by the BW studios to visit about the upcoming performances scheduled for next weekend.&nbsp;<div><iframe title="Theresa Teufel, Mason Lockhart and Leland Britton - Stage 9" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=ccmg6-1910f1e-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=60a0c8&font-color=auto&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=ff6d00" loading="lazy"></iframe></div>

🎧 BW Morning Show Interview: Theresa Teufel, Stage 9

Educators from across Reno County will come together once again for “All Hands on Deck,” a countywide professional development event set for Jan. 5, 2026, on the Hutchinson Community College campus.

The one-day event will host more than 1,100 educators representing every public school district in the county, as well as private schools such as Central Christian and educational institutions like HutchCC and RCEC. The event features a full schedule of keynote presentations, breakout workshops, and networking opportunities designed to strengthen instruction and collaboration across the region.

“This is really an all-inclusive event for anyone involved in education in Reno County,” said Paul Erickson, Director of Curriculum and Instruction for grades 6–12 at Buhler USD 313 and a lead organizer for the event. “It’s a massive undertaking, but the results have been well worth it.”

Originally launched in 2024, the event received overwhelmingly positive feedback, prompting organizers to bring it back after a one-year break. “It takes more than a year to plan an event of this scale,” Erickson noted. “With HCC offering their entire campus and school districts dedicating a professional development day, it’s a huge team effort.”

Keynote speaker Kim Bearden from the renowned Ron Clark Academy will headline the 2026 event. Bearden, co-founder and author of The Essential 55, will also lead breakout sessions throughout the day.

While outside experts like Bearden are invited to share their expertise, the majority of the workshops will be led by local educators. Topics will include balanced assessment, high-level instruction, early literacy strategies, and specialized training for coaches, including strength and conditioning sessions.

In addition to professional development, the event includes a vendor showcase during the extended lunch hour from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Businesses are invited to sign up and present their products and services directly to the region’s educators. Erickson said vendor participation helps keep the event affordable for schools and provides valuable exposure.

“Last time, we had about 30 vendors, and the feedback was phenomenal,” he said. “We’re hoping to fill those spots again. Vendors get direct access to over a thousand education professionals in one place.”

Businesses interested in participating can find the vendor registration form through local school district social media pages or by contacting Erickson directly at <a>perickson@usd313.org</a>.

“All Hands on Deck” will run from morning to 3 p.m. on January 5, with raffle prizes and closing remarks to wrap up the day. Organizers hope for the same mild weather they enjoyed in 2024 — but rain or shine, they’re ready to go.

“It’s a great time to be an educator in Reno County,” Erickson said. “We’re excited to bring everyone together again for a powerful day of learning, growth, and connection.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1753105821754.jpeg" alt="All Hands on Deck " />
 <figcaption>All Hands on Deck </figcaption>
 </figure>MARC JACOBS Hutch PostEducators from across Reno County will come together once again for “All Hands on Deck,” a countywide professional development event set for Jan. 5, 2026, on the Hutchinson Community College campus.The one-day event will host more than 1,100 educators representing every public school district in the county, as well as private schools such as Central Christian and educational institutions like HutchCC and RCEC. The event features a full schedule of keynote presentations, breakout workshops, and networking opportunities designed to strengthen instruction and collaboration across the region.“This is really an all-inclusive event for anyone involved in education in Reno County,” said Paul Erickson, Director of Curriculum and Instruction for grades 6–12 at Buhler USD 313 and a lead organizer for the event. “It’s a massive undertaking, but the results have been well worth it.”Originally launched in 2024, the event received overwhelmingly positive feedback, prompting organizers to bring it back after a one-year break. “It takes more than a year to plan an event of this scale,” Erickson noted. “With HCC offering their entire campus and school districts dedicating a professional development day, it’s a huge team effort.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1753123867228.png" alt="Kim Bearden (Courtesy photo)&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Kim Bearden (Courtesy photo)&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>Keynote speaker Kim Bearden from the renowned Ron Clark Academy will headline the 2026 event. Bearden, co-founder and author of The Essential 55, will also lead breakout sessions throughout the day.While outside experts like Bearden are invited to share their expertise, the majority of the workshops will be led by local educators. Topics will include balanced assessment, high-level instruction, early literacy strategies, and specialized training for coaches, including strength and conditioning sessions.In addition to professional development, the event includes a vendor showcase during the extended lunch hour from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Businesses are invited to sign up and present their products and services directly to the region’s educators. Erickson said vendor participation helps keep the event affordable for schools and provides valuable exposure.“Last time, we had about 30 vendors, and the feedback was phenomenal,” he said. “We’re hoping to fill those spots again. Vendors get direct access to over a thousand education professionals in one place.”Businesses interested in participating can find the vendor registration form through local school district social media pages or by contacting Erickson directly at <a>perickson@usd313.org</a>.<div><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FBuhlerUSD313%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0N7xLWLNMZMcVxWzGfdqeUPAVkS9pRxC6qbJo5srSQnx5x3HGruH6k5tPv3kzm6KUl&show_text=true&width=500" width="500" height="731" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div>“All Hands on Deck” will run from morning to 3 p.m. on January 5, with raffle prizes and closing remarks to wrap up the day. Organizers hope for the same mild weather they enjoyed in 2024 — but rain or shine, they’re ready to go.“It’s a great time to be an educator in Reno County,” Erickson said. “We’re excited to bring everyone together again for a powerful day of learning, growth, and connection.”

"All Hands on Deck" to return in 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has released records of the FBI’s surveillance of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/martin-luther-king-jr">Martin Luther King Jr.,</a>&nbsp;despite opposition from the slain Nobel laureate’s family and the civil rights group that he led until his 1968 assassination.

<a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/mlk">Click here to see the files</a>

The digital document dump includes more than 240,000 pages of records that had been under a court-imposed seal since 1977, when the FBI first gathered the records and turned them over to the National Archives and Records Administration.

In a lengthy statement released Monday, King's two living children, Martin III, 67, and Bernice, 62, said their father’s assassination has been a “captivating public curiosity for decades.” But the pair emphasized the personal nature of the matter, urging that “these files must be viewed within their full historical context.”

The Kings got advance access to the records and had their own teams reviewing them. Those efforts continued even as the government granted public access. It was not immediately clear Monday whether the documents would shed any new light on King's life, the Civil Rights Movement or his murder.

“As the children of Dr. King and Mrs. Coretta Scott King, his tragic death has been an intensely personal grief — a devastating loss for his wife, children, and the granddaughter he never met -- an absence our family has endured for over 57 years,” they wrote. “We ask those who engage with the release of these files to do so with empathy, restraint, and respect for our family’s continuing grief.”

They also repeated the family's long-held contention that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-memphis-assassinations-db2b9b4c13524f7e8e12c5a5c16164e0">James Earl Ray</a>, the man convicted of assassinating King, was not solely responsible, if at all.

Bernice King was 5-years old when her father was killed. Martin III was 10.

A statement from the office of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard called the disclosure “unprecedented” and said many of the records had been digitized for the first time to make it possible. She praised President Donald Trump for pushing the issue.

Release is ‘transparency’ to some, a ‘distraction’ for others

Trump promised as a candidate to release files related to President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 assassination. When Trump took office in January, he signed an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-jfk-mlk-rfk-assassination-files-e92f89d694eb55c595175f71a72cb5bc">executive order</a>&nbsp;to declassify the JFK records, along with those associated with Robert F. Kennedy’s and King’s 1968 assassinations.

The government&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-assassination-documents-release-trump-c56ed5075b38af809f36a6388797d4ca">unsealed the JFK records</a>&nbsp;in March and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-assassination-files-released-74af7098faf255d92a5bff32899a7ce7">disclosed some RFK files</a>&nbsp;in April.

The announcement from Gabbard's office included a statement from Alveda King, Martin Luther King Jr.'s niece, who is an outspoken conservative and has broken from King's children on various topics — including the FBI files. Alveda King said she was “grateful to President Trump” for his “transparency."

Separately Monday, Attorney General&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jeffrey-epstein-bondi-bongino-trump-justice-269d9526d270e6342e82ecae27fe6189">Pam Bondi’s</a>&nbsp;social media account featured a picture of the attorney general with Alveda King in her office.

Besides fulfilling Trump's executive order, the latest release serves as another alternative headline for the president as he tries to mollify supporters angry over his administration’s handling of records concerning the sex trafficking investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself behind bars while awaiting trial in 2019, during Trump’s first presidency. Trump last Friday ordered the Justice Department to release&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-jeffrey-epstein-grand-jury-justice-department-4634e5afceb8b1bb43f23558dfbb1d6c">grand jury testimony</a>&nbsp;but stopped short of unsealing the entire case file.

Bernice King and Martin Luther King III did not mention Trump in their statement Monday.

Some civil rights activists were not so sparing.

“Trump releasing the MLK assassination files is not about transparency or justice,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton. “It’s a desperate attempt to distract people from the firestorm engulfing Trump over the Epstein files and the public unraveling of his credibility among the MAGA base.”

Records mean a new trove of research material

The King records were initially intended to be sealed until 2027, until Justice Department attorneys&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mlk-files-wiretape-fbi-surveillance-trump-unseal-ce4201db7aef642a073f1b5069c87810">asked a federal judge</a>&nbsp;to lift the sealing order ahead of its expiration date.

Scholars, history buffs and journalists have been preparing to study the documents to find new information about his assassination on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which King co-founded in 1957 as the Civil Rights Movement blossomed, opposed the release. They, along with King’s family, argued that the FBI illegally surveilled King and other civil rights figures, tapping their offices and phone lines with the aim of discrediting them and their movement.

It has long been established that then-FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was intensely interested if not obsessed with King and others that he considered radicals. FBI records released previously show how Hoover’s bureau wiretapped King’s telephone lines, bugged his hotel rooms and used informants to get information against him.

“He was relentlessly targeted by an invasive, predatory, and deeply disturbing disinformation and surveillance campaign orchestrated by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/martin-luther-king-jr-d616aad776447a74f2c7367564f9cff4">J. Edgar Hoover</a>&nbsp;through the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),” the King children said in their statement.

“The intent of the government’s COINTELPRO campaign was not only to monitor, but to discredit, dismantle and destroy Dr. King’s reputation and the broader American Civil Rights Movement," they continued. “These actions were not only invasions of privacy, but intentional assaults on the truth — undermining the dignity and freedoms of private citizens who fought for justice, designed to neutralize those who dared to challenge the status quo.”

The Kings said they “support transparency and historical accountability” but “object to any attacks on our father's legacy or attempts to weaponize it to spread falsehoods.”

Opposition to King intensified even after the Civil Rights Movement compelled Congress and President Lyndon B. Johnson to enact the Civil Right Act of 1964 and the Voting Right Act of 1965. After those landmark victories, King turned much of his attention to economic justice and international peace. He was an outspoken critic of rapacious capitalism and the Vietnam War. King argued that political rights alone were not enough in an uneven economy. Many establishment figures like Hoover viewed King as a communist threat.

King’s children still don’t accept the original explanation of assassination

King was assassinated as he was aiding striking sanitation workers in Memphis, part of his explicit turn toward economic justice.

Ray plead guilty to assassinating King. He later renounced that plea and maintained his innocence until his death in 1998.

Members of King’s family, and others, have long questioned whether Ray acted alone, or if he was even involved. Coretta Scott King asked for the probe to be reopened, and in 1998, then-Attorney General Janet Reno directed the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department to take a new look. The Justice Department said it “found nothing to disturb the 1969 judicial determination that James Earl Ray murdered Dr. King.”

In their latest statement, Bernice King and Martin Luther King III repeated their assertions that Ray was set up, pointing to a 1999 civil case in which a Memphis jury in a wrongful death case concluded that Martin Luther King Jr. had been the target of a conspiracy.

“As we review these newly released files," the Kings said, “we will assess whether they offer additional insights beyond the findings our family has already accepted."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1753130471620.png" alt="Martin Luther King, Jr. image National Archives" />
 <figcaption>Martin Luther King, Jr. image National Archives</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration has released records of the FBI’s surveillance of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/martin-luther-king-jr">Martin Luther King Jr.,</a>&nbsp;despite opposition from the slain Nobel laureate’s family and the civil rights group that he led until his 1968 assassination.<a href="https://www.archives.gov/research/mlk">Click here to see the files</a>The digital document dump includes more than 240,000 pages of records that had been under a court-imposed seal since 1977, when the FBI first gathered the records and turned them over to the National Archives and Records Administration.In a lengthy statement released Monday, King's two living children, Martin III, 67, and Bernice, 62, said their father’s assassination has been a “captivating public curiosity for decades.” But the pair emphasized the personal nature of the matter, urging that “these files must be viewed within their full historical context.”The Kings got advance access to the records and had their own teams reviewing them. Those efforts continued even as the government granted public access. It was not immediately clear Monday whether the documents would shed any new light on King's life, the Civil Rights Movement or his murder.“As the children of Dr. King and Mrs. Coretta Scott King, his tragic death has been an intensely personal grief — a devastating loss for his wife, children, and the granddaughter he never met -- an absence our family has endured for over 57 years,” they wrote. “We ask those who engage with the release of these files to do so with empathy, restraint, and respect for our family’s continuing grief.”They also repeated the family's long-held contention that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/race-and-ethnicity-racial-injustice-memphis-assassinations-db2b9b4c13524f7e8e12c5a5c16164e0">James Earl Ray</a>, the man convicted of assassinating King, was not solely responsible, if at all.Bernice King was 5-years old when her father was killed. Martin III was 10.A statement from the office of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard called the disclosure “unprecedented” and said many of the records had been digitized for the first time to make it possible. She praised President Donald Trump for pushing the issue.<h2>Release is ‘transparency’ to some, a ‘distraction’ for others</h2>Trump promised as a candidate to release files related to President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 assassination. When Trump took office in January, he signed an&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-jfk-mlk-rfk-assassination-files-e92f89d694eb55c595175f71a72cb5bc">executive order</a>&nbsp;to declassify the JFK records, along with those associated with Robert F. Kennedy’s and King’s 1968 assassinations.The government&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kennedy-assassination-documents-release-trump-c56ed5075b38af809f36a6388797d4ca">unsealed the JFK records</a>&nbsp;in March and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-assassination-files-released-74af7098faf255d92a5bff32899a7ce7">disclosed some RFK files</a>&nbsp;in April.The announcement from Gabbard's office included a statement from Alveda King, Martin Luther King Jr.'s niece, who is an outspoken conservative and has broken from King's children on various topics — including the FBI files. Alveda King said she was “grateful to President Trump” for his “transparency."Separately Monday, Attorney General&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jeffrey-epstein-bondi-bongino-trump-justice-269d9526d270e6342e82ecae27fe6189">Pam Bondi’s</a>&nbsp;social media account featured a picture of the attorney general with Alveda King in her office.Besides fulfilling Trump's executive order, the latest release serves as another alternative headline for the president as he tries to mollify supporters angry over his administration’s handling of records concerning the sex trafficking investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself behind bars while awaiting trial in 2019, during Trump’s first presidency. Trump last Friday ordered the Justice Department to release&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-jeffrey-epstein-grand-jury-justice-department-4634e5afceb8b1bb43f23558dfbb1d6c">grand jury testimony</a>&nbsp;but stopped short of unsealing the entire case file.Bernice King and Martin Luther King III did not mention Trump in their statement Monday.Some civil rights activists were not so sparing.“Trump releasing the MLK assassination files is not about transparency or justice,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton. “It’s a desperate attempt to distract people from the firestorm engulfing Trump over the Epstein files and the public unraveling of his credibility among the MAGA base.”<h2>Records mean a new trove of research material</h2>The King records were initially intended to be sealed until 2027, until Justice Department attorneys&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/mlk-files-wiretape-fbi-surveillance-trump-unseal-ce4201db7aef642a073f1b5069c87810">asked a federal judge</a>&nbsp;to lift the sealing order ahead of its expiration date.Scholars, history buffs and journalists have been preparing to study the documents to find new information about his assassination on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee.The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which King co-founded in 1957 as the Civil Rights Movement blossomed, opposed the release. They, along with King’s family, argued that the FBI illegally surveilled King and other civil rights figures, tapping their offices and phone lines with the aim of discrediting them and their movement.It has long been established that then-FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was intensely interested if not obsessed with King and others that he considered radicals. FBI records released previously show how Hoover’s bureau wiretapped King’s telephone lines, bugged his hotel rooms and used informants to get information against him.“He was relentlessly targeted by an invasive, predatory, and deeply disturbing disinformation and surveillance campaign orchestrated by&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/martin-luther-king-jr-d616aad776447a74f2c7367564f9cff4">J. Edgar Hoover</a>&nbsp;through the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),” the King children said in their statement.“The intent of the government’s COINTELPRO campaign was not only to monitor, but to discredit, dismantle and destroy Dr. King’s reputation and the broader American Civil Rights Movement," they continued. “These actions were not only invasions of privacy, but intentional assaults on the truth — undermining the dignity and freedoms of private citizens who fought for justice, designed to neutralize those who dared to challenge the status quo.”The Kings said they “support transparency and historical accountability” but “object to any attacks on our father's legacy or attempts to weaponize it to spread falsehoods.”Opposition to King intensified even after the Civil Rights Movement compelled Congress and President Lyndon B. Johnson to enact the Civil Right Act of 1964 and the Voting Right Act of 1965. After those landmark victories, King turned much of his attention to economic justice and international peace. He was an outspoken critic of rapacious capitalism and the Vietnam War. King argued that political rights alone were not enough in an uneven economy. Many establishment figures like Hoover viewed King as a communist threat.<h2>King’s children still don’t accept the original explanation of assassination</h2>King was assassinated as he was aiding striking sanitation workers in Memphis, part of his explicit turn toward economic justice.Ray plead guilty to assassinating King. He later renounced that plea and maintained his innocence until his death in 1998.Members of King’s family, and others, have long questioned whether Ray acted alone, or if he was even involved. Coretta Scott King asked for the probe to be reopened, and in 1998, then-Attorney General Janet Reno directed the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department to take a new look. The Justice Department said it “found nothing to disturb the 1969 judicial determination that James Earl Ray murdered Dr. King.”In their latest statement, Bernice King and Martin Luther King III repeated their assertions that Ray was set up, pointing to a 1999 civil case in which a Memphis jury in a wrongful death case concluded that Martin Luther King Jr. had been the target of a conspiracy.“As we review these newly released files," the Kings said, “we will assess whether they offer additional insights beyond the findings our family has already accepted."

Read the newly released, controversial FBI records on MLK Jr.

The sweeping requests raise fears about how the Trump administration plans to use the information

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jonathan-shorman/">Jonathan Shorman</a> <a href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a>

The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking the voter registration lists of several states — representing data on millions of Americans — and other election information ahead of the 2026 midterms, raising fears about how the Trump administration plans to use the information.

The DOJ is also demanding Colorado turn over all records related to the 2024 election, a massive trove of documents that could include ballots and even voting equipment. The Colorado inquiry, the most sweeping publicly known request, underscores the extent of the administration’s attention on state election activities.

At least nine states have received requests for information over the past three months, according to letters from the DOJ obtained by Stateline. Some states also received emails from a DOJ official last week asking for meetings to discuss information-sharing agreements.

The department’s focus on elections comes after President Donald Trump directed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in March to seek information about suspected election crimes from state election officials and empowered her to potentially withhold grants and other funds from uncooperative states.

For years, Trump has advanced false claims about elections, including the idea that the 2020 election that he lost was stolen. Now back in power, his administration is taking a new level of interest in how states — and even local authorities — administer elections.

Last week, a political operative approached several Republican county clerks in Colorado to enlist them in election integrity efforts in light of Trump’s sweeping March executive order overhauling elections administration. One clerk told Stateline the operative claimed to represent the White House.

“Whatever the Trump administration tries to pull is very unlikely to be successful,” Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, said in an interview, calling Colorado elections very secure. “With that said, do I think they are trying to undermine our elections at large in this country? Absolutely.”

DOJ has sent letters to Alaska, Arizona, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, in addition to the request to Colorado.

The letters have typically asked election officials to describe how they register voters and work to identify duplicate registrations and individuals not eligible to vote, such as people with felony convictions and those who have died. The Washington Post earlier Wednesday reported on the letters; Votebeat and NPR previously reported on some of the letters as well.

Most letters also ask about each state’s process for flagging noncitizen applicants. Noncitizen voting is against federal law and incredibly rare, but Trump and his allies have promoted false claims about its prevalence. The Trump administration is also conducting a general crackdown on illegal immigration.

The letters call on election officials to turn over voter registration lists, which in some instances contain data on millions of residents in their states. This request has raised the most concerns, with some experts saying it’s unclear exactly why the DOJ wants the information.

“They don’t make much sense as law enforcement investigations. That makes me think that there’s some other purpose,” said Justin Levitt, who served as senior policy adviser for democracy and voting rights in the Biden White House and is now a law professor at Loyola Marymount University.

While many states make their voter registration lists available to the public, Levitt emphasized the data could still be largely off-limits to the federal government. Federal privacy law sometimes restricts how the government can use data that’s publicly obtainable. The DOJ may need voter information in some individual circumstances, but “that’s not blanket permission to go vacuuming up data.”

The DOJ didn’t respond to questions for this story.

Federal laws restrict the federal government’s ability to centralize information on Americans, said David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation &amp; Research. Even if states provide voter registration information to the public, they often redact sensitive information.

In Orange County, California, the DOJ sued local election officials in June, seeking unredacted voter registration information, such as Social Security numbers and driver’s licenses, as part of an investigation into noncitizen voting.

More than 350 election officials from some 33 states participated in a conference call about federal actions on Monday hosted by Becker, who was previously an attorney in the DOJ Voting Rights Section during the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. He said the interest in the call shows the level of uncertainty and anxiety over the current “federal imposition” on election administrators.

“The DOJ seems dead set on acquiring personal information on voters, including driver’s license numbers, Social Security numbers and dates of birth — records that are highly protected under federal law and under state law and which state election officials are sworn to protect,” Becker said.

In Colorado, the amount of data the DOJ wants is enormous. On May 12, Harmeet Dhillon, an assistant U.S. attorney general in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, sent a letter to Griswold, the secretary of state, asking for access to “all records” related to the 2024 election.

Federal law requires state election officials to preserve records related to elections for 22 months. Typically, the rule ensures records are preserved in case any lawsuits are filed over an election. In the letter, Dhillon referred to a complaint against Griswold’s office alleging noncompliance with records retention laws, but provided no details.

Experts on election administration who spoke to Stateline expressed shock at the scope of the demand to Colorado. The request encompasses a vast trove of material, potentially including ballots.

“The amount of records being requested from a place like Colorado … it’s really, really significant in terms of the volume of materials that are required to be retained,” said Neal Ubriani, a former voting rights litigator at the DOJ during the Obama and first Trump administrations and the current policy and research director at the nonpartisan Institute for Responsive Government.

Colorado elections have previously drawn Trump’s attention. Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, a staunch Trump supporter, is serving a nine-year prison sentence after a conviction in state court for allowing unauthorized access to voting equipment in 2021.

On May 5 of this year — a week before the Dhillon letter to Griswold — Trump posted on social media that Peters should be released, calling her a “political prisoner.” Griswold noted the timing.

“I think the bigger picture is Donald Trump is continuing to try and rewrite the 2020 election and destabilize the ’26 and ’28 elections,” Griswold told Stateline.

The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office responded to the DOJ by providing copies of the state’s master voter file and voter history file. All of the information provided is also available to the public.

Some Colorado Republican county clerks in recent days have also been approached by Jeff Small, a political operative who worked at the U.S. Department of the Interior during the first Trump administration. Stateline and Colorado Newsline spoke to three GOP clerks who said they had spoken to Small last week.

Steve Schleiker, clerk of El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs and is the most populous county in the state, said that on July 9 he received a text and call from Small, who introduced himself in a voicemail as someone who “works for the White House.”

Schleiker said that when he called back, Small said he wanted to build relationships with clerks because the Trump administration was unhappy with progress on the president’s elections executive order. He later connected Schleiker with a Homeland Security official who wanted to test the security of El Paso County’s election systems, said Schleiker, who added that he opposed the request.

Weld County Clerk Carly Koppes said she also heard from Small, but that Small told her he wasn’t under contract or being paid for the calls. Small indicated he was making the calls on behalf of former colleagues, Koppes said.

Small, a former Capitol Hill chief of staff who now works for a Colorado-based government affairs firm, didn’t return a call to his office on Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that the agency works with local partners to ensure elections remain safe.

“We don’t disclose every single conversation we have with them,” an unidentified DHS spokesperson wrote in an email.

Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, said he was aware of 10 clerks approached by Small. He noted that every clerk approached by Small hails from a county that uses Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems.

While Dominion is widely used in Colorado, it’s also been the subject of election conspiracy theories. A former candidate for county sheriff in southwest Colorado was arrested in June, accused of firebombing a clerk’s office. Colorado Public Radio reported the suspect, according to law enforcement, had spoken publicly about trying to get rid of the county’s Dominion machines.

“I think the really important thing to say here is that it was Republican clerks who stood up to a Republican administration and said, ‘No, we’re going to follow the law,’” Crane said.

The intent of the efforts by Small and the federal government “has been muddied up it seems,” Montrose County Clerk Tressa Guynes said. Based on her conversations with other clerks, she said, it appeared Small represented one thing to other clerks and then “represented maybe a watered-down version by the time it got to me.”

Guynes said Small wanted to discuss Trump’s elections executive order. She said Small asked whether she would be willing to support a federal task force’s efforts in an advisory role.

“I said absolutely I will advise,” Guynes said. “I said I’m frankly glad that they’re finally reaching out to the boots on the ground, the people who actually conduct the elections, instead of listening to those who have never conducted a Colorado election.”

As Colorado grapples with the most far-reaching request, other states are choosing how to respond. In Wisconsin, the state election commission responded to a DOJ request for the voter registration list with instructions on how to request public voter data.

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, responded on June 2 — after DOJ in a May 20 letter told the state to ensure voter registration applicants&nbsp;provided a driver’s license number, if they have one, instead of a partial Social Security number. The DOJ also wanted Arizona to check voters against a state database to look for noncitizens.

Fontes replied that Arizona complies with federal law and conducts checks using a state motor vehicle division database.

“We are focused on dealing with DOJ in a good faith manner while ensuring we are following the letter of federal and state laws,” Fontes spokesperson JP Martin wrote in an email to Stateline.

More recently, Arizona received a letter July 10 from DOJ about implementation of Trump’s elections executive order. Rhode Island Democratic Secretary of State Gregg Amore also received an email about the order the same day, according to a copy provided to the Rhode Island Current.

In the email, Scott Laragy, principal deputy director in the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, asks for a call to discuss a possible information-sharing agreement to provide DOJ with information on individuals who have registered to vote or have voted despite being ineligible, or those who have committed other forms of election fraud.

The email echoes the language in Trump’s elections executive order, which calls for DOJ to reach information-sharing agreements with states. While much of the order, which focused on proof of citizenship in elections, has been struck down in federal court, provisions related to information sharing remain.

The executive order directs Bondi, the U.S. attorney general, to prioritize enforcement of federal “election integrity laws” in uncooperative states. It also requires her to review grants and other DOJ funds that could be withheld from states that resist.

Some states have already struck deals with the Trump administration. Indiana Republican Secretary of State Diego Morales announced an agreement last week with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services allowing the state to access a database to verify the citizenship of registered voters. Alabama Republican Secretary of State Wes Allen has signed a similar agreement.

“With your cooperation, we plan to use this information to enforce Federal election laws and protect the integrity of Federal elections,” Laragy wrote to Rhode Island.

Janine Weisman of the Rhode Island Current and Lindsey Toomer of Colorado Newsline contributed to this report. Stateline reporter Jonathan Shorman can be reached at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:jshorman@stateline.org">jshorman@stateline.org</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/3/1709323737405.png" alt="Fire photo (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Fire photo (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>The sweeping requests raise fears about how the Trump administration plans to use the information</h2>By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/jonathan-shorman/">Jonathan Shorman</a> <a href="https://stateline.org/">Stateline</a>The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking the voter registration lists of several states — representing data on millions of Americans — and other election information ahead of the 2026 midterms, raising fears about how the Trump administration plans to use the information.The DOJ is also demanding Colorado turn over all records related to the 2024 election, a massive trove of documents that could include ballots and even voting equipment. The Colorado inquiry, the most sweeping publicly known request, underscores the extent of the administration’s attention on state election activities.At least nine states have received requests for information over the past three months, according to letters from the DOJ obtained by Stateline. Some states also received emails from a DOJ official last week asking for meetings to discuss information-sharing agreements.The department’s focus on elections comes after President Donald Trump directed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in March to seek information about suspected election crimes from state election officials and empowered her to potentially withhold grants and other funds from uncooperative states.For years, Trump has advanced false claims about elections, including the idea that the 2020 election that he lost was stolen. Now back in power, his administration is taking a new level of interest in how states — and even local authorities — administer elections.Last week, a political operative approached several Republican county clerks in Colorado to enlist them in election integrity efforts in light of Trump’s sweeping March executive order overhauling elections administration. One clerk told Stateline the operative claimed to represent the White House.“Whatever the Trump administration tries to pull is very unlikely to be successful,” Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, said in an interview, calling Colorado elections very secure. “With that said, do I think they are trying to undermine our elections at large in this country? Absolutely.”DOJ has sent letters to Alaska, Arizona, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, in addition to the request to Colorado.The letters have typically asked election officials to describe how they register voters and work to identify duplicate registrations and individuals not eligible to vote, such as people with felony convictions and those who have died. The Washington Post earlier Wednesday reported on the letters; Votebeat and NPR previously reported on some of the letters as well.Most letters also ask about each state’s process for flagging noncitizen applicants. Noncitizen voting is against federal law and incredibly rare, but Trump and his allies have promoted false claims about its prevalence. The Trump administration is also conducting a general crackdown on illegal immigration.The letters call on election officials to turn over voter registration lists, which in some instances contain data on millions of residents in their states. This request has raised the most concerns, with some experts saying it’s unclear exactly why the DOJ wants the information.“They don’t make much sense as law enforcement investigations. That makes me think that there’s some other purpose,” said Justin Levitt, who served as senior policy adviser for democracy and voting rights in the Biden White House and is now a law professor at Loyola Marymount University.While many states make their voter registration lists available to the public, Levitt emphasized the data could still be largely off-limits to the federal government. Federal privacy law sometimes restricts how the government can use data that’s publicly obtainable. The DOJ may need voter information in some individual circumstances, but “that’s not blanket permission to go vacuuming up data.”The DOJ didn’t respond to questions for this story.Federal laws restrict the federal government’s ability to centralize information on Americans, said David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation &amp; Research. Even if states provide voter registration information to the public, they often redact sensitive information.In Orange County, California, the DOJ sued local election officials in June, seeking unredacted voter registration information, such as Social Security numbers and driver’s licenses, as part of an investigation into noncitizen voting.More than 350 election officials from some 33 states participated in a conference call about federal actions on Monday hosted by Becker, who was previously an attorney in the DOJ Voting Rights Section during the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. He said the interest in the call shows the level of uncertainty and anxiety over the current “federal imposition” on election administrators.“The DOJ seems dead set on acquiring personal information on voters, including driver’s license numbers, Social Security numbers and dates of birth — records that are highly protected under federal law and under state law and which state election officials are sworn to protect,” Becker said.<h2>Sweeping Colorado requests</h2>In Colorado, the amount of data the DOJ wants is enormous. On May 12, Harmeet Dhillon, an assistant U.S. attorney general in the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, sent a letter to Griswold, the secretary of state, asking for access to “all records” related to the 2024 election.Federal law requires state election officials to preserve records related to elections for 22 months. Typically, the rule ensures records are preserved in case any lawsuits are filed over an election. In the letter, Dhillon referred to a complaint against Griswold’s office alleging noncompliance with records retention laws, but provided no details.Experts on election administration who spoke to Stateline expressed shock at the scope of the demand to Colorado. The request encompasses a vast trove of material, potentially including ballots.“The amount of records being requested from a place like Colorado … it’s really, really significant in terms of the volume of materials that are required to be retained,” said Neal Ubriani, a former voting rights litigator at the DOJ during the Obama and first Trump administrations and the current policy and research director at the nonpartisan Institute for Responsive Government.Colorado elections have previously drawn Trump’s attention. Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, a staunch Trump supporter, is serving a nine-year prison sentence after a conviction in state court for allowing unauthorized access to voting equipment in 2021.On May 5 of this year — a week before the Dhillon letter to Griswold — Trump posted on social media that Peters should be released, calling her a “political prisoner.” Griswold noted the timing.“I think the bigger picture is Donald Trump is continuing to try and rewrite the 2020 election and destabilize the ’26 and ’28 elections,” Griswold told Stateline.The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office responded to the DOJ by providing copies of the state’s master voter file and voter history file. All of the information provided is also available to the public.Some Colorado Republican county clerks in recent days have also been approached by Jeff Small, a political operative who worked at the U.S. Department of the Interior during the first Trump administration. Stateline and Colorado Newsline spoke to three GOP clerks who said they had spoken to Small last week.Steve Schleiker, clerk of El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs and is the most populous county in the state, said that on July 9 he received a text and call from Small, who introduced himself in a voicemail as someone who “works for the White House.”Schleiker said that when he called back, Small said he wanted to build relationships with clerks because the Trump administration was unhappy with progress on the president’s elections executive order. He later connected Schleiker with a Homeland Security official who wanted to test the security of El Paso County’s election systems, said Schleiker, who added that he opposed the request.Weld County Clerk Carly Koppes said she also heard from Small, but that Small told her he wasn’t under contract or being paid for the calls. Small indicated he was making the calls on behalf of former colleagues, Koppes said.Small, a former Capitol Hill chief of staff who now works for a Colorado-based government affairs firm, didn’t return a call to his office on Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that the agency works with local partners to ensure elections remain safe.“We don’t disclose every single conversation we have with them,” an unidentified DHS spokesperson wrote in an email.Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, said he was aware of 10 clerks approached by Small. He noted that every clerk approached by Small hails from a county that uses Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems.While Dominion is widely used in Colorado, it’s also been the subject of election conspiracy theories. A former candidate for county sheriff in southwest Colorado was arrested in June, accused of firebombing a clerk’s office. Colorado Public Radio reported the suspect, according to law enforcement, had spoken publicly about trying to get rid of the county’s Dominion machines.“I think the really important thing to say here is that it was Republican clerks who stood up to a Republican administration and said, ‘No, we’re going to follow the law,’” Crane said.The intent of the efforts by Small and the federal government “has been muddied up it seems,” Montrose County Clerk Tressa Guynes said. Based on her conversations with other clerks, she said, it appeared Small represented one thing to other clerks and then “represented maybe a watered-down version by the time it got to me.”Guynes said Small wanted to discuss Trump’s elections executive order. She said Small asked whether she would be willing to support a federal task force’s efforts in an advisory role.“I said absolutely I will advise,” Guynes said. “I said I’m frankly glad that they’re finally reaching out to the boots on the ground, the people who actually conduct the elections, instead of listening to those who have never conducted a Colorado election.”<h2>Letters to other states</h2>As Colorado grapples with the most far-reaching request, other states are choosing how to respond. In Wisconsin, the state election commission responded to a DOJ request for the voter registration list with instructions on how to request public voter data.Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, responded on June 2 — after DOJ in a May 20 letter told the state to ensure voter registration applicants&nbsp;provided a driver’s license number, if they have one, instead of a partial Social Security number. The DOJ also wanted Arizona to check voters against a state database to look for noncitizens.Fontes replied that Arizona complies with federal law and conducts checks using a state motor vehicle division database.“We are focused on dealing with DOJ in a good faith manner while ensuring we are following the letter of federal and state laws,” Fontes spokesperson JP Martin wrote in an email to Stateline.More recently, Arizona received a letter July 10 from DOJ about implementation of Trump’s elections executive order. Rhode Island Democratic Secretary of State Gregg Amore also received an email about the order the same day, according to a copy provided to the Rhode Island Current.In the email, Scott Laragy, principal deputy director in the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, asks for a call to discuss a possible information-sharing agreement to provide DOJ with information on individuals who have registered to vote or have voted despite being ineligible, or those who have committed other forms of election fraud.The email echoes the language in Trump’s elections executive order, which calls for DOJ to reach information-sharing agreements with states. While much of the order, which focused on proof of citizenship in elections, has been struck down in federal court, provisions related to information sharing remain.The executive order directs Bondi, the U.S. attorney general, to prioritize enforcement of federal “election integrity laws” in uncooperative states. It also requires her to review grants and other DOJ funds that could be withheld from states that resist.Some states have already struck deals with the Trump administration. Indiana Republican Secretary of State Diego Morales announced an agreement last week with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services allowing the state to access a database to verify the citizenship of registered voters. Alabama Republican Secretary of State Wes Allen has signed a similar agreement.“With your cooperation, we plan to use this information to enforce Federal election laws and protect the integrity of Federal elections,” Laragy wrote to Rhode Island.Janine Weisman of the Rhode Island Current and Lindsey Toomer of Colorado Newsline contributed to this report. Stateline reporter Jonathan Shorman can be reached at&nbsp;<a href="mailto:jshorman@stateline.org">jshorman@stateline.org</a>.

Trump’s DOJ wants states to turn over voter lists, election info

Carolyn Anne Dillon, aged 93, died at home on July 20, 2025.

She was born on January 6, 1932, in Wichita Kansas, to Dale and Helen Critser. She graduated from Wichita East High School, and then studied at the University of Kansas, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.

On May 3, 1952, she married Dick Dillon and moved to Hutchinson, where she lived for the remainder of her life. They were married for over 50 years before Dick’s passing in 2002.

In her younger years she was an avid tennis player, winning the city mixed doubles title with her tennis partner Lynn Harris. Her strategy for winning was to play the net and let her partner cover the rest of the court, and it worked.&nbsp;

Carolyn and Dick had three sons, each of whom earned his Eagle Scout award through Troop 1, due largely to Carolyn’s support, encouragement and perseverance.

She was an excellent bridge player, playing in tournaments all over the country with her partner Ruth Dillon, and they both earned their Life Master designation for duplicate bridge.

Carolyn was an accomplished amateur potter, throwing, glazing and firing her works in her own gas kiln for over 40 years. She was involved in the arts for decades, serving on the Mid- America Arts Alliance board of directors for twenty years, the Wichita Grand Opera board for eleven years, the Kansas Arts Commission for four years, and the Advisory Board to the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.

She served for six years on the Friends of Cedar Crest board of directors, a group tasked with raising money for the maintenance and upkeep of the Governor’s Mansion in Topeka. While on that board, she oversaw a major renovation and redecoration of the residence.

Carolyn was active locally in the Living Land Foundation, helping to create and oversee the Dillon Nature Center, and also served on the board of the Dillon Lecture Series, bringing in guest speakers from all over the country. She worked with both groups for over 30 years.

She was fortunate to have Dr. Bob Shears in her life for a period of years after both of their spouses had passed. She treasured his company during those years, and Bob became an important member of the family. Bob passed in 2019.

She was well known for writing humorous adaptations of popular songs in collaboration with her good friend Peter MacDonald, former editor of the Hutchinson News, to celebrate friends’ house warmings, anniversaries and birthdays. Peter penned the lyrics, and Carolyn played the piano and was the song leader, demanding that all present join in the singing. She was rarely refused.

Carolyn is survived by her sons Brad and his wife Tammy, Reed and his wife Stacey and Steve and his wife Angel, together with Tammy’s children Haley and her husband Marc, Austin and his wife Sara, &nbsp;Reed and Stacey’s children Grayson and his wife Kaylin, Gabrielle and her husband Dylan, and Steve’s children Chad and his wife Kathleen, Joe, Mark and his partner Mandi, and Angel’s children Eugene and his wife Risa and Whitney and her partner Mike. Carolyn is also survived by her 7 great grandchildren, Piper and Presley Strebler, Quinn Dillon, Christopher and Alex Dillon, Cash Dillon, and Jaythan Fuller.

Memorial service will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday, July 24, 2025, at First Presbyterian Church, 201 E. Sherman, Hutchinson, with the Reverend Christine Kass officiating. &nbsp;Friends may sign her book Tuesday and Wednesday at Elliott Mortuary. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Memorials can be sent to the Dillon Lecture Series or the Dillon Nature Center, both in care of&nbsp; Elliott Mortuary, 1219 N. Main, Hutchinson, KS &nbsp;67501.&nbsp;&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1753110269728.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>Carolyn Anne Dillon, aged 93, died at home on July 20, 2025.She was born on January 6, 1932, in Wichita Kansas, to Dale and Helen Critser. She graduated from Wichita East High School, and then studied at the University of Kansas, where she was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta sorority.On May 3, 1952, she married Dick Dillon and moved to Hutchinson, where she lived for the remainder of her life. They were married for over 50 years before Dick’s passing in 2002.In her younger years she was an avid tennis player, winning the city mixed doubles title with her tennis partner Lynn Harris. Her strategy for winning was to play the net and let her partner cover the rest of the court, and it worked.&nbsp;Carolyn and Dick had three sons, each of whom earned his Eagle Scout award through Troop 1, due largely to Carolyn’s support, encouragement and perseverance.She was an excellent bridge player, playing in tournaments all over the country with her partner Ruth Dillon, and they both earned their Life Master designation for duplicate bridge.Carolyn was an accomplished amateur potter, throwing, glazing and firing her works in her own gas kiln for over 40 years. She was involved in the arts for decades, serving on the Mid- America Arts Alliance board of directors for twenty years, the Wichita Grand Opera board for eleven years, the Kansas Arts Commission for four years, and the Advisory Board to the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.She served for six years on the Friends of Cedar Crest board of directors, a group tasked with raising money for the maintenance and upkeep of the Governor’s Mansion in Topeka. While on that board, she oversaw a major renovation and redecoration of the residence.Carolyn was active locally in the Living Land Foundation, helping to create and oversee the Dillon Nature Center, and also served on the board of the Dillon Lecture Series, bringing in guest speakers from all over the country. She worked with both groups for over 30 years.She was fortunate to have Dr. Bob Shears in her life for a period of years after both of their spouses had passed. She treasured his company during those years, and Bob became an important member of the family. Bob passed in 2019.She was well known for writing humorous adaptations of popular songs in collaboration with her good friend Peter MacDonald, former editor of the Hutchinson News, to celebrate friends’ house warmings, anniversaries and birthdays. Peter penned the lyrics, and Carolyn played the piano and was the song leader, demanding that all present join in the singing. She was rarely refused.Carolyn is survived by her sons Brad and his wife Tammy, Reed and his wife Stacey and Steve and his wife Angel, together with Tammy’s children Haley and her husband Marc, Austin and his wife Sara, &nbsp;Reed and Stacey’s children Grayson and his wife Kaylin, Gabrielle and her husband Dylan, and Steve’s children Chad and his wife Kathleen, Joe, Mark and his partner Mandi, and Angel’s children Eugene and his wife Risa and Whitney and her partner Mike. Carolyn is also survived by her 7 great grandchildren, Piper and Presley Strebler, Quinn Dillon, Christopher and Alex Dillon, Cash Dillon, and Jaythan Fuller.Memorial service will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday, July 24, 2025, at First Presbyterian Church, 201 E. Sherman, Hutchinson, with the Reverend Christine Kass officiating. &nbsp;Friends may sign her book Tuesday and Wednesday at Elliott Mortuary. &nbsp;&nbsp;Memorials can be sent to the Dillon Lecture Series or the Dillon Nature Center, both in care of&nbsp; Elliott Mortuary, 1219 N. Main, Hutchinson, KS &nbsp;67501.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Carolyn Anne Dillon |1932-2025|

Dale Antione the Executive Director of the Sky Ryders Performing Arts Foundation took the time to visit with us about the recently completed tour.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1753105532692.jpeg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>Dale Antione the Executive Director of the Sky Ryders Performing Arts Foundation took the time to visit with us about the recently completed tour.&nbsp;<div><iframe title="Dale Antoine - Sky Ryders Performing Arts Foundation" allowtransparency="true" height="150" width="100%" style="border: none; min-width: min(100%, 430px);height:150px;" scrolling="no" data-name="pb-iframe-player" src="https://www.podbean.com/player-v2/?i=x7jkx-190f186-pb&from=pb6admin&share=1&download=1&rtl=0&fonts=Arial&skin=60a0c8&font-color=auto&logo_link=episode_page&btn-skin=ff6d00" loading="lazy"></iframe></div>

🎧 BW Morning Show Interview: Dale Antione, Sky Ryders

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752719899354.jpeg" alt="Photo Courtesy Pretty Prairie Rodeo" />
 <figcaption>Photo Courtesy Pretty Prairie Rodeo</figcaption>
 </figure><div>All-around cowboy:&nbsp;Mason Stueve, $2,821, tie-down roping and team roping.
&nbsp;
Bareback riding:&nbsp;1. (tie) Colt Eck, on Beutler &amp; Son Rodeo's Shame On You, and Gauge McBride, on Beutler &amp; Son Rodeo's Hell Of A Night, 79 points, $1,604 each; 3. (tie) Jence Griffith and Karson Harris, 76, $848 each; 5. Quintonn Lunsford, 75, $424; 6. Connor Griffith, 74, $303; 7. Cole Hollen, 73, $242; 8. Tanner Drueke, 69, $182.
&nbsp;
Steer wrestling:&nbsp;First round:&nbsp;1. Tyler Scheevel, 4.0 seconds, $1,090; 2. Rhett Witt, 4.1, $902; 3. Adam Musil, 4.2, $714; 4. Jeff Miller, 4.3, $526; 5. Riley Duvall, 4.5, $338; 6. Mason Couch, 4.6, $188.&nbsp;Second round:&nbsp;1. Paul Melvin, 4.1 seconds, $1,090; 2. Quade Potter, 4.2, $902; 3. Wade Steffen, 4.3, $714; 4. Gary Gilbert, 4.5, $526; 5. Rhett Witt, 4.6, $338; 6. (tie) Tanner Brunner and Boyd Hanagriff, 4.7, $94 each.&nbsp;Average:&nbsp;1. Rhett Witt, 8.7 seconds on two head, $1,636; 2. (tie) Gary Gilbert and Quade Potter, 9.4, $1,213 each; 4. Tyler Scheevel, 9.5, $790; 5. (tie) Jeff Miller and Paul Melvin, 9.6, $395 each.
&nbsp;
Team roping:&nbsp;First round:&nbsp;1. Marcus Marriott/Jarrett Peek, 5.4 seconds, $1,211 each; 2. Bubba Buckaloo/Joseph Harrison, 5.6, $1,002; 3. (tie) McCray Profili/McCoy Profili and Jet Toberer/Catcher Gasperson, 5.9, $689 each; 5. Klay Yaussi/Kash Yaussi, 6.0, $376; 6. Zach Kilgus/Boogie Ray, 6.3, $209.&nbsp;Second round:&nbsp;1. Blake Hughes/Daniel Reed, 5.7 seconds, $1,211 each; 2. (tie) Zane Thompson/Chad Mathes and Klay Yaussi/Kash Yaussi, 6.3, $898 each; 4. Zach Kilgus/Boogie Ray, 6.5, $585; 5. Cam Hoelting/Dawson McMaster, 6.8, $376; 6. Brandon Farris/Braden Harmon, 8.0, $209.&nbsp;Average:&nbsp;1. Klay Yaussi/Kash Yaussi, 12.3 seconds on two head, $1,817 each; 2. Zach Kilgus/Boogie Ray, 12.8, $1,503; 3. Blake Hughes/Daniel Reed, 13.3, $1,190; 4. Brandon Farris/Braden Harmon, 14.4, $877; 5. McCray Profili/McCoy Profili, 16.9, $564; 6. Jason Arndt/Wade Perry, 21.1, $313.
&nbsp;
Saddle bronc riding:&nbsp;No qualified rides.
&nbsp;
Tie-down roping:&nbsp;1. Mason Stueve, 8.8 seconds, $2,821; 2. Cash Fuesz, 9.4, $2,453; 3. Glenn Jackson, 9.6, $2,085; 4. Travis Staley, 9.7, $1,717; 5. (tie) Nolan Richie and Levi Sechrist, 10.1, $1,165 each; 7. (tie) Trent Creager, Pax Vogel and McKade Wickett, 10.8, $286 each.
&nbsp;
Barrel racing:&nbsp;1. Tana Renick, 16.67 seconds, $1,830; 2. Emily Beisel, 16.81, $1,568; 3. Deb Guelly, 16.95, $1,307; 4. Alicia Kilgus, 17.15, $1,133; 5. Lanita Peirce, 17.25, $871; 6. Kara Kreder, 17.26, $697; 7. Jordan Swan, 17.30, $523; 8. Lauren England, 17.39, $349; 9. (tie) Jesse Harris and Carol Waters, 17.41, $218 each.
&nbsp;
Bull riding:&nbsp;*&nbsp;1. Tate Pollmeier, 76 points on Beutler &amp; Son Rodeo's Bomb Squad, $4,854; 2. Cash Toews, 58, $4,684; no other qualified rides. *(all totals include ground money).
&nbsp;
Breakaway roping:&nbsp;1. Brandi McDowell, 3.0 seconds, $1,673; 2. Jessica Koppitz, 3.2, $1,455; 3. Ally Brennaman, 3.3, $1,237; 4. Jessica McMaster, 3.4, $1,019; 5. (tie) Neelley Armes, Lindsey Hughes and Alli Nippert, 3.5, $582 each; 8. Christi Braudrick, 3.7, $146.
&nbsp;
Total payoff:&nbsp;$7,276.&nbsp;Stock contractor:&nbsp;Various.&nbsp;Rodeo Secretary:&nbsp;Dollie Riddle.&nbsp;Officials:&nbsp;Joe Bob Locke, Dewitt Forrest Jr and Royd Doyal.&nbsp;Timers:&nbsp;Dollie Riddle and Michelle Corley.&nbsp;Announcer:&nbsp;Randy Corley.&nbsp;Chute Boss:&nbsp;Bronc Rumford.&nbsp;Music Director:&nbsp;Jersey Jake Ostrum Iii.&nbsp;Photographer:&nbsp;Kent Kerschner.
&nbsp;
Total payoff:&nbsp;$78,966.&nbsp;Stock contractor:&nbsp;Beutler &amp; Son Rodeo.&nbsp;Rodeo Secretary:&nbsp;Dollie Riddle.&nbsp;Officials:&nbsp;Joe Bob Locke, Dewitt Forrest Jr and Royd Doyal.&nbsp;Timers:&nbsp;Dollie Riddle and Michelle Corley.&nbsp;Announcer:&nbsp;Randy Corley.&nbsp;Specialty Acts:&nbsp;Mark Decoudres and Justin Rumford.&nbsp;Bullfighters:&nbsp;Wacey Munsell and Ryan Dahl.&nbsp;Clown/Barrelman:&nbsp;Justin Rumford.&nbsp;Flankmen:&nbsp;Chuck Kite and Rhett Beutler.&nbsp;Chute Bosses:&nbsp;Rhett Beutler and Bronc Rumford.&nbsp;Pickup Men:&nbsp;James Rogers and Matt Scott.&nbsp;Music Director:&nbsp;Jersey Jake Ostrum Iii.&nbsp;Photographer:&nbsp;Kent Kerschner.</div>

Results from 88th Annual Pretty Prairie Rodeo

BY&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/mchilson/">MORGAN CHILSON</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — The federal government has renewed efforts to gather personal data of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients in Kansas, giving the state a July 30 deadline to respond.

The Kansas Department for Children and Families received the request on July 9, said spokeswoman Jenalea Randall.&nbsp;

“We are still reviewing the published notice in order to understand the intent behind this request and how the data will be used,” she said. “Our obligation to maintain these records in confidence is paramount, and they may only be disclosed to the USDA for specific program-related reasons.”&nbsp;

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/admin/database-letter" target="_blank">sent the letter to states</a>, once again demanding private information about SNAP recipients, including Social Security numbers and home addresses, to be turned over by July 30.&nbsp;

The information was necessary to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order that each federal agency access data from all state programs that receive federal funding, Rollins said in the letter.&nbsp;

Nationally, the demand is being challenged in court by students, SNAP recipients, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger. On Thursday, the group filed a motion asking for a restraining order to stop the latest attempt at data collection while the lawsuit is pending, according to a press release.&nbsp;

The Trump administration initially asked for the data in May, and&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/05/22/kansas-denies-usda-request-for-personal-data-of-residents-receiving-food-assistance/">DCF denied it</a>. In a letter to a third-party data provider, DCF’s Carla Whiteside-Hicks, director of economic and employment services, said the agency has an obligation to maintain the records in confidence.&nbsp;

“At this time, we are unsure as to the reason for the USDA’s request. As such, we are unable to consent to your turning the information over,” she wrote.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit contend that in a sworn&nbsp;<a href="https://www.defendstudents.org/news/body/2025.05.30-Dkt-11-1-Corley-Decl..pdf" target="_blank">declaration</a>&nbsp;dated May 30, a top USDA official at the agency promised it would not move forward without following federal laws.

Instead, the agency made this new demand, which the plaintiffs in the case said violates the Privacy Act, Paperwork Reduction Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.

“This Administration is trying to work the system,” said Madeline Wiseman, counsel at the National Student Legal Defense Network, in a press release. “After promising in court to follow proper procedures, USDA’s actions out of the courtroom continue to demonstrate a disregard for the legal requirements that limit its ability to collect and use this data. This lawlessness must be stopped.”

Randall said a hearing in the lawsuit is set for July 23, 2025, to address the temporary restraining order the plaintiffs have requested.

The Trump administration, through the Department of Justice, also is attempting to access other sensitive data from voter registrations,&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/2025/07/16/trumps-doj-wants-states-to-turn-over-voter-lists-election-info/" target="_blank">according to Stateline</a>.&nbsp;

So far, no requests have been made in Kansas, said Whitney Tempel, spokeswoman for Secretary of State Scott Schwab.&nbsp;

“While we’ve had discussions with the Department of Justice about general voter roll maintenance, they have not requested access to our voter data,” she said in an email. “We explained Kansas’ voter roll maintenance to DOJ, how we remove for death, non-citizen, felony, moving, etc.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752972308720.png" alt="U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, testifying here before the Appropriations Committee, sent a letter July 9, 2025, to Kansas asking for personal information about Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients. (Senate webcast)" />
 <figcaption>U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, testifying here before the Appropriations Committee, sent a letter July 9, 2025, to Kansas asking for personal information about Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients. (Senate webcast)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/mchilson/">MORGAN CHILSON</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — The federal government has renewed efforts to gather personal data of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients in Kansas, giving the state a July 30 deadline to respond.The Kansas Department for Children and Families received the request on July 9, said spokeswoman Jenalea Randall.&nbsp;“We are still reviewing the published notice in order to understand the intent behind this request and how the data will be used,” she said. “Our obligation to maintain these records in confidence is paramount, and they may only be disclosed to the USDA for specific program-related reasons.”&nbsp;U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fns.usda.gov/snap/admin/database-letter" target="_blank">sent the letter to states</a>, once again demanding private information about SNAP recipients, including Social Security numbers and home addresses, to be turned over by July 30.&nbsp;The information was necessary to comply with President Donald Trump’s executive order that each federal agency access data from all state programs that receive federal funding, Rollins said in the letter.&nbsp;Nationally, the demand is being challenged in court by students, SNAP recipients, the Electronic Privacy Information Center and MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger. On Thursday, the group filed a motion asking for a restraining order to stop the latest attempt at data collection while the lawsuit is pending, according to a press release.&nbsp;The Trump administration initially asked for the data in May, and&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/05/22/kansas-denies-usda-request-for-personal-data-of-residents-receiving-food-assistance/">DCF denied it</a>. In a letter to a third-party data provider, DCF’s Carla Whiteside-Hicks, director of economic and employment services, said the agency has an obligation to maintain the records in confidence.&nbsp;“At this time, we are unsure as to the reason for the USDA’s request. As such, we are unable to consent to your turning the information over,” she wrote.Plaintiffs in the lawsuit contend that in a sworn&nbsp;<a href="https://www.defendstudents.org/news/body/2025.05.30-Dkt-11-1-Corley-Decl..pdf" target="_blank">declaration</a>&nbsp;dated May 30, a top USDA official at the agency promised it would not move forward without following federal laws.Instead, the agency made this new demand, which the plaintiffs in the case said violates the Privacy Act, Paperwork Reduction Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.“This Administration is trying to work the system,” said Madeline Wiseman, counsel at the National Student Legal Defense Network, in a press release. “After promising in court to follow proper procedures, USDA’s actions out of the courtroom continue to demonstrate a disregard for the legal requirements that limit its ability to collect and use this data. This lawlessness must be stopped.”Randall said a hearing in the lawsuit is set for July 23, 2025, to address the temporary restraining order the plaintiffs have requested.The Trump administration, through the Department of Justice, also is attempting to access other sensitive data from voter registrations,&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/2025/07/16/trumps-doj-wants-states-to-turn-over-voter-lists-election-info/" target="_blank">according to Stateline</a>.&nbsp;So far, no requests have been made in Kansas, said Whitney Tempel, spokeswoman for Secretary of State Scott Schwab.&nbsp;“While we’ve had discussions with the Department of Justice about general voter roll maintenance, they have not requested access to our voter data,” she said in an email. “We explained Kansas’ voter roll maintenance to DOJ, how we remove for death, non-citizen, felony, moving, etc.”

USDA again asks for Kansans’ personal data, as lawsuit seeks privacy protections

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department will release $1.3 billion in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-education-summer-school-english-language-grants-fac670e8f60fab397fbd68dfed866ea1">previously withheld grant money</a>&nbsp;for after-school programs, days after 10 Republican senators sent a letter imploring the Trump administration to allow frozen education money to be sent to states.

President Donald Trump’s administration on July 1 withheld more than $6 billion in federal grants for after-school and summer programs, adult literacy and English language instruction, part of a review to ensure spending aligned with the White House’s priorities.

In a letter sent Wednesday, Republican senators said the withheld money supported programs that had longstanding bipartisan support and were critical to local communities. The money had been appropriated by Congress in a bill that was signed by Trump.

“We share your concern about taxpayer money going to fund&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-education-grant-funding-immigration-093aa36735f5d50de7406ee8465e1729">radical left-wing programs</a>,” the senators wrote to the Office of Management and Budget. “However, we do not believe that is happening with these funds.”

The administration's review of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers, which support after-school and summer programming, has been completed, a senior official said Friday. The person declined to be identified so they could share progress from the review. That funding will be released to states, the official said. The rest of the withheld grants, close to $5 billion, continues to be reviewed for bias by the Office of Management and Budget.

Without the money, school districts and nonprofits such as the YMCA and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/boys-girls-club-trump-grant-freeze-6f5bd3204d2973784d466e3f0fdb38b4">Boys and Girls Club of America</a>&nbsp;had said they would have to close or scale back educational offerings this fall.

The money being released Friday pays for free programming before and after school and during the summer. The programs provide child care so low-income parents can work, and they give options to families who live in rural areas with few other child care providers. Beyond just child care, kids receive reading and math help at the programs, along with enrichment in science and the arts.

Despite the money's release Friday, schools and nonprofits have already been disrupted by two weeks of uncertainty. Some programs have made plans to close, and others have fallen behind on hiring and contracting for the fall.

“While we are thrilled the funds will be made available," said Jodi Grant, executive director of the Afterschool Alliance, “the administration’s inexplicable delay in disbursing them caused massive chaos and harm." Many after-school programs had canceled plans to open in the fall, she said.

On Monday, more than 20 states had filed a lawsuit challenging the $6 billion funding freeze, including the money for English language instruction, teacher development and adult literacy that remains on hold. The lawsuit, led by California, argued withholding the money was unconstitutional and many low-income families would lose access to critical after-school care if the grants were not released.

David Schuler, executive director of AASA, an association of school superintendents, praised the release of after-school money but said that the remaining education funding should not be withheld.

“Districts should not be in this impossible position where the Administration is denying funds that had already been appropriated to our public schools, by Congress,” Schuler said in a statement. “The remaining funds must be released immediately — America’s children are counting on it.”

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 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/7/1752591280762.jpg" alt="" />
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 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — The Education Department will release $1.3 billion in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-education-summer-school-english-language-grants-fac670e8f60fab397fbd68dfed866ea1">previously withheld grant money</a>&nbsp;for after-school programs, days after 10 Republican senators sent a letter imploring the Trump administration to allow frozen education money to be sent to states.President Donald Trump’s administration on July 1 withheld more than $6 billion in federal grants for after-school and summer programs, adult literacy and English language instruction, part of a review to ensure spending aligned with the White House’s priorities.In a letter sent Wednesday, Republican senators said the withheld money supported programs that had longstanding bipartisan support and were critical to local communities. The money had been appropriated by Congress in a bill that was signed by Trump.“We share your concern about taxpayer money going to fund&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-education-grant-funding-immigration-093aa36735f5d50de7406ee8465e1729">radical left-wing programs</a>,” the senators wrote to the Office of Management and Budget. “However, we do not believe that is happening with these funds.”The administration's review of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers, which support after-school and summer programming, has been completed, a senior official said Friday. The person declined to be identified so they could share progress from the review. That funding will be released to states, the official said. The rest of the withheld grants, close to $5 billion, continues to be reviewed for bias by the Office of Management and Budget.Without the money, school districts and nonprofits such as the YMCA and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/boys-girls-club-trump-grant-freeze-6f5bd3204d2973784d466e3f0fdb38b4">Boys and Girls Club of America</a>&nbsp;had said they would have to close or scale back educational offerings this fall.The money being released Friday pays for free programming before and after school and during the summer. The programs provide child care so low-income parents can work, and they give options to families who live in rural areas with few other child care providers. Beyond just child care, kids receive reading and math help at the programs, along with enrichment in science and the arts.Despite the money's release Friday, schools and nonprofits have already been disrupted by two weeks of uncertainty. Some programs have made plans to close, and others have fallen behind on hiring and contracting for the fall.“While we are thrilled the funds will be made available," said Jodi Grant, executive director of the Afterschool Alliance, “the administration’s inexplicable delay in disbursing them caused massive chaos and harm." Many after-school programs had canceled plans to open in the fall, she said.On Monday, more than 20 states had filed a lawsuit challenging the $6 billion funding freeze, including the money for English language instruction, teacher development and adult literacy that remains on hold. The lawsuit, led by California, argued withholding the money was unconstitutional and many low-income families would lose access to critical after-school care if the grants were not released.David Schuler, executive director of AASA, an association of school superintendents, praised the release of after-school money but said that the remaining education funding should not be withheld.“Districts should not be in this impossible position where the Administration is denying funds that had already been appropriated to our public schools, by Congress,” Schuler said in a statement. “The remaining funds must be released immediately — America’s children are counting on it.”Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-West Virginia, who chairs the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees education spending, led the letter sent this week by Republican senators, protesting the funding freeze. The letter called for the rest of the money to be released, including funds for adult education and teaching English as a second language.“The decision to withhold this funding is contrary to President Trump’s goal of returning K-12 education to the states,” the senators wrote. “This funding goes directly to states and local school districts, where local leaders decide how this funding is spent.”Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, called on the White House to release the rest of the money.“At this very moment, schools nationwide are crunching the numbers to figure out how many teachers they will need to lay off as Trump continues to hold up billions in funding,” Murray said Friday in a statement. “Every penny of this funding must flow immediately.”