Kansas News Service: THE INSIDER eNewsletter, Fri. Oct. 29, 2021

 

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2021 Slaughterhouse economy Garden City, Kansas, beat out a Colorado town to attract a massive meatpacking plant 40 years ago. It’s made all the difference. Garden City became Great Plains cosmopolitan with a go-go economy driven by the immigrants and refugees who make the factory slaughterhouses work. Lamar, Colorado, lost out on the plant and has seen a steady decline more typical for the region. David Condos of the Kansas News Service reports on how the placement of the meatpacking plant altered both communities. "If you ask anybody, they'd rather have the problems of growth than the problems of decline." — Don Stull, a University of Kansas professor who's tracked changes in Garden City for decades. Hot cellblock A number of Kansas prisons lack air conditioning. Data obtained by the Kansas News Service shows that during hot summer days the temperatures indoors can top 100 degrees. Prisoners say that’s inhumane and union officials say it makes the job harder for corrections staff. Blaise Mesa reports on prison conditions. The school board's not boring School board elections are often under-the-radar, low-profile races, but not this year. Vitriol over masks in schools and other policies have brought attention to school boards and sometimes even threats against board members. Masks and critical race theory are two issues being used to add a more partisan lean to the races. Suzanne Perez reports for the Kansas News Service on the school board elections becoming more contentious. Health insurance headaches It’s enrollment season for most health insurance plans, although sorting through HSAs and FSAs can be a real pain. It’s not easy to pick which insurance plan offers the right mix of affordability, coverage and risk. But experts have some advice. Brian Grimmett of the Kansas News Service has five tips for picking a plan. Wrong-way plea A Kansas state senator will spend 48 hours in jail as part of a plea deal after he was arrested earlier this year for driving drunk the wrong way on Interstate 70 in Topeka. Republican Senator Gene Suellentrop made headlines for the arrest and allegedly calling an officer “donut boy.” He entered a no-contest plea to two misdemeanors and had a felony charge dropped. The agreement means he won’t lose his seat in the Legislature: A felony conviction would have barred him from holding office in Kansas. Blaise Mesa reports on the deal for the Kansas News Service. (Mask) order in the court A fight over school masks could potentially knock down an entire Kansas law and give state and local officials more power to respond to emergencies such as the pandemic. Parents in the Shawnee Mission School District filed a lawsuit over school mask requirements — a challenge made possible by a Kansas law approved this year. But the district court judge ultimately decided the entire law was unconstitutional because of restrictions it puts on the courts and officials. The Kansas Supreme Court will decide the fate of the law. Blaise Mesa of the Kansas News Service reports on arguments made to the high court. Enjoying The Insider? Share with a friend. Have comments or questions for the editor? Let us know what you think. Not an Insider subscriber? Sign up now. Subscribe