The 22nd annual New Years Eve celebration in Manhattan's Aggieville district is set for Tuesday night.&nbsp;

There will be a new activity this year called the Little Apple Dance Battle that will run&nbsp; from 11:15 to 11:45 p.m. There will be music by DJ Dan. The set list will include Dancing Queen, Uptown Funk, 24K Magic, Pour Some Sugar On Me and Shout.&nbsp;

The first place winner will receive 500 cash with the winner determined&nbsp; based on the crowd vote.

The Apple Drop at midnight will be from the So Long Saloon.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1735611799375.jpg" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>The 22nd annual New Years Eve celebration in Manhattan's Aggieville district is set for Tuesday night.&nbsp;There will be a new activity this year called the Little Apple Dance Battle that will run&nbsp; from 11:15 to 11:45 p.m. There will be music by DJ Dan. The set list will include Dancing Queen, Uptown Funk, 24K Magic, Pour Some Sugar On Me and Shout.&nbsp;The first place winner will receive 500 cash with the winner determined&nbsp; based on the crowd vote.The Apple Drop at midnight will be from the So Long Saloon.

Little Apple New Years Eve Celebration is scheduled in Aggieville

From the Monday meeting of the Geary County Commission:

--Geary County Commissioners have adopted a resolution authorizing the transfer of $60,000 from the Rural Fire Department fire fund to a fire reserve fund.

==The decision by UPU Industries to shut down their Junction City operation received attention. Commissioner Keith Ascher has talked with company leadership and was informed it was strictly a business decision. The plant produced bale net wrap for round hay bales.

From the Monday meeting of the Geary County Commission:--Geary County Commissioners have adopted a resolution authorizing the transfer of $60,000 from the Rural Fire Department fire fund to a fire reserve fund.==The decision by UPU Industries to shut down their Junction City operation received attention. Commissioner Keith Ascher has talked with company leadership and was informed it was strictly a business decision. The plant produced bale net wrap for round hay bales.&nbsp;

County Commission news notes

Geary County Emergency Management has announced that as a colder airmass begins to settle in we will welcome in 2025 with highs around 40 through Wednesday, followed by highs below freezing this weekend. While much uncertainty exists in timing and snow amounts, there are indications for widespread snow to impact the region on Sunday.&nbsp;

Geary County Emergency Management has announced that as a colder airmass begins to settle in we will welcome in 2025 with highs around 40 through Wednesday, followed by highs below freezing this weekend. While much uncertainty exists in timing and snow amounts, there are indications for widespread snow to impact the region on Sunday.&nbsp;

Colder weather expected in the coming days

Jeremie Myers will serve as the Acting Public Works Administrator for Geary County. He has been the assistant public works administrator.

The appointment by the Geary County Commission follows the recent retirement of Public Works Administrator Corey Trumpp.

Human Resource Director Crystal Malchose noted applications are being accepted for the permanent position. Interviews will begin in January.

By Dewey TerrillJC PostJeremie Myers will serve as the Acting Public Works Administrator for Geary County. He has been the assistant public works administrator.The appointment by the Geary County Commission follows the recent retirement of Public Works Administrator Corey Trumpp.Human Resource Director Crystal Malchose noted applications are being accepted for the permanent position. Interviews will begin in January.

County Commission names an Acting Public Works Administrator

By&nbsp;ANNA KAMINSKI <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

While thousands of patients cross the border with medical cards in hand, countless more are buying recreational cannabis without a prescription. That’s unlikely to change as some Kansas lawmakers signal resistance to medical legalization in 2025.

TOPEKA — Thousands of Kansans are crossing the Missouri border with medical marijuana cards in hand, and that’s unlikely to change as Kansas lawmakers resist medical legalization in 2025.

Legislators&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/03/28/kansas-senate-committee-tables-medical-marijuana-bill-until-2025-legislative-session/" target="_blank">tabled</a>&nbsp;a medical marijuana bill in March and promised to revisit it at the beginning of the 2025 session, which begins Jan. 13. In October, a majority of medical marijuana committee members declined in a 5-4 vote to urge the Legislature to pass a medical marijuana bill.

Anyone can bring a bill for consideration at any time, said Sen. Mike Thompson, a Shawnee Republican, at the October committee meeting.

“But I think it would not be the place of this committee to force upon the Legislature a bill when a large number — well, quite a few of the committee — I think still have a lot of questions,” he said.

Thompson has been cautioning legislators against making a hasty decision for at least two&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/01/despite-high-hopes-success-of-kansas-marijuana-legislation-remains-unclear/" target="_blank">years</a>.

Nearly 2,200 Kansans are medical marijuana patients in Missouri, according to October data obtained through a public records request from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

Outgoing Rep. Dennis “Boog” Highberger, a Lawrence Democrat, pointed to polls that show more than&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/11/01/kansans-support-marijuana-legalization-lawmakers-wont-bite/" target="_blank">70% of Kansans favor legalization</a>.

“I think if we don’t come back to this in January, it will just die or get punted until next year,” he said.

Medical and recreational sales in Missouri in 2024 have totaled more than $1.3 billion combined as of October, according to the state’s cannabis patient, caregiver and consumer&nbsp;<a href="https://health.mo.gov/safety/cannabis/stats.php" target="_blank">data</a>. Most of the sales, about $1.1 billion worth, were recreational, which began in February 2023.

Taxes gleaned from marijuana sales — 4% on medical and 6% on recreational — have funneled millions of dollars to Missouri’s veterans commission, public defense system and a substance use treatment program within the health department.

The Kansas Cannabis Chamber of Commerce has been watching the number of people taking Kansas dollars to Missouri, but its focus has shifted to hemp instead of marijuana after years of adversarial legislative sessions, said Erren Wright, the chamber’s board president.

Small businesses and community members are suffering, she said. All the while, she said legislators continue to act in bad faith.

“We’re really unhappy with the way Kansas is going about this,” Wright said.

Grace Hoge, a spokeswoman for Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s office, said medical marijuana legalization is a widely supported, “commonsense” policy.

“Gov. Kelly has been consistent in her belief that legalizing medical marijuana would improve Kansas’ overall health and economy and help those who suffer from chronic pain and serious illnesses,” Hoge said. “She will continue to support the passage of a Kansas-specific approach that is both feasible and well-regulated.”

Some legislators expressed interest at the October meeting in waiting to see the results of marijuana ballot measures in Nebraska and Florida in the 2024 general election.

Nebraska voters approved a medical marijuana program, joining the ranks of other Kansas neighbors Colorado, Missouri and Oklahoma. While&nbsp;<a href="https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/11/05/amendment-3-comes-up-short-of-the-60-required-for-passage/" target="_blank">a majority of Florida voters favored</a>&nbsp;a ballot measure to legalize recreational cannabis, it was 4 percentage points short of the required 60% threshold for passage. Recreational cannabis is permitted for people 21 and older in Missouri and Colorado.

Colorado doesn’t allow medical marijuana cardholders to live outside the state upon applying, said Mariah La Rue, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Center for Health and Environmental Data. Similarly, Oklahoma requires out-of-state medical marijuana cardholders to possess licenses from their own state.

The true number of Kansans crossing state lines to access some form of legal cannabis is unknown.

The Kansas Highway Patrol is aware of the exploration of legalized cannabis in and around Kansas, but it’s focused on impaired driving, said April McCollum, a spokeswoman for the patrol.

“We strive to provide our troopers and other officers both in and out of state with the most current and reliable methods for removing impaired drivers from our roadways,” she said. “We will continue to remain focused on these efforts.”

This story was originally published by&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/12/09/thousands-of-kansans-are-missouri-medical-marijuana-patients/" target="_blank">Kansas Reflector</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1735571417635.png" alt="Kansas legislators tabled a medical marijuana bill in March and promised to revisit it at the beginning of the 2025 session, which begins Jan. 13. In October, a majority of medical marijuana committee members declined in a 5-4 vote to urge the Legislature to pass a medical marijuana bill. Tim Carpenter / Kansas Reflector" />
 <figcaption>Kansas legislators tabled a medical marijuana bill in March and promised to revisit it at the beginning of the 2025 session, which begins Jan. 13. In October, a majority of medical marijuana committee members declined in a 5-4 vote to urge the Legislature to pass a medical marijuana bill. Tim Carpenter / Kansas Reflector</figcaption>
 </figure>By&nbsp;ANNA KAMINSKI <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>While thousands of patients cross the border with medical cards in hand, countless more are buying recreational cannabis without a prescription. That’s unlikely to change as some Kansas lawmakers signal resistance to medical legalization in 2025.TOPEKA — Thousands of Kansans are crossing the Missouri border with medical marijuana cards in hand, and that’s unlikely to change as Kansas lawmakers resist medical legalization in 2025.Legislators&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/03/28/kansas-senate-committee-tables-medical-marijuana-bill-until-2025-legislative-session/" target="_blank">tabled</a>&nbsp;a medical marijuana bill in March and promised to revisit it at the beginning of the 2025 session, which begins Jan. 13. In October, a majority of medical marijuana committee members declined in a 5-4 vote to urge the Legislature to pass a medical marijuana bill.Anyone can bring a bill for consideration at any time, said Sen. Mike Thompson, a Shawnee Republican, at the October committee meeting.“But I think it would not be the place of this committee to force upon the Legislature a bill when a large number — well, quite a few of the committee — I think still have a lot of questions,” he said.Thompson has been cautioning legislators against making a hasty decision for at least two&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/03/01/despite-high-hopes-success-of-kansas-marijuana-legislation-remains-unclear/" target="_blank">years</a>.Nearly 2,200 Kansans are medical marijuana patients in Missouri, according to October data obtained through a public records request from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.Outgoing Rep. Dennis “Boog” Highberger, a Lawrence Democrat, pointed to polls that show more than&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/11/01/kansans-support-marijuana-legalization-lawmakers-wont-bite/" target="_blank">70% of Kansans favor legalization</a>.“I think if we don’t come back to this in January, it will just die or get punted until next year,” he said.Medical and recreational sales in Missouri in 2024 have totaled more than $1.3 billion combined as of October, according to the state’s cannabis patient, caregiver and consumer&nbsp;<a href="https://health.mo.gov/safety/cannabis/stats.php" target="_blank">data</a>. Most of the sales, about $1.1 billion worth, were recreational, which began in February 2023.Taxes gleaned from marijuana sales — 4% on medical and 6% on recreational — have funneled millions of dollars to Missouri’s veterans commission, public defense system and a substance use treatment program within the health department.The Kansas Cannabis Chamber of Commerce has been watching the number of people taking Kansas dollars to Missouri, but its focus has shifted to hemp instead of marijuana after years of adversarial legislative sessions, said Erren Wright, the chamber’s board president.Small businesses and community members are suffering, she said. All the while, she said legislators continue to act in bad faith.“We’re really unhappy with the way Kansas is going about this,” Wright said.Grace Hoge, a spokeswoman for Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s office, said medical marijuana legalization is a widely supported, “commonsense” policy.“Gov. Kelly has been consistent in her belief that legalizing medical marijuana would improve Kansas’ overall health and economy and help those who suffer from chronic pain and serious illnesses,” Hoge said. “She will continue to support the passage of a Kansas-specific approach that is both feasible and well-regulated.”<h2>Cannabis on all four corners</h2>Some legislators expressed interest at the October meeting in waiting to see the results of marijuana ballot measures in Nebraska and Florida in the 2024 general election.Nebraska voters approved a medical marijuana program, joining the ranks of other Kansas neighbors Colorado, Missouri and Oklahoma. While&nbsp;<a href="https://floridaphoenix.com/2024/11/05/amendment-3-comes-up-short-of-the-60-required-for-passage/" target="_blank">a majority of Florida voters favored</a>&nbsp;a ballot measure to legalize recreational cannabis, it was 4 percentage points short of the required 60% threshold for passage. Recreational cannabis is permitted for people 21 and older in Missouri and Colorado.Colorado doesn’t allow medical marijuana cardholders to live outside the state upon applying, said Mariah La Rue, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Center for Health and Environmental Data. Similarly, Oklahoma requires out-of-state medical marijuana cardholders to possess licenses from their own state.The true number of Kansans crossing state lines to access some form of legal cannabis is unknown.The Kansas Highway Patrol is aware of the exploration of legalized cannabis in and around Kansas, but it’s focused on impaired driving, said April McCollum, a spokeswoman for the patrol.“We strive to provide our troopers and other officers both in and out of state with the most current and reliable methods for removing impaired drivers from our roadways,” she said. “We will continue to remain focused on these efforts.”This story was originally published by&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/12/09/thousands-of-kansans-are-missouri-medical-marijuana-patients/" target="_blank">Kansas Reflector</a>.

Thousands of Kansans are buying medical marijuana in Missouri

By&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/sherman-smith/">SHERMAN SMITH</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/12/20/kansas-faces-constitutional-crisis-with-rural-attorney-shortage-supreme-court-justice-says/?emci=90c2989c-44bf-ef11-88ce-0022482a93af&amp;emdi=5cf0ff54-82bf-ef11-88ce-0022482a93af&amp;ceid=115039">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Kansas Supreme Court Justice K.J. Wall said Friday the state is “approaching a constitutional crisis” with a shortage of attorneys in rural areas, and that “equity and justice” are at&nbsp; stake.

Wall spoke at a news conference in Concordia as a committee tasked with studying the crisis over the past two years&nbsp;<a href="https://kscourts.gov/KSCourts/media/KsCourts/court%20administration/Rural-Justice-Initiative/Kansas-Rural-Justice-Initiative-Committee-Final-Report.pdf" target="_blank">unveiled a report</a>&nbsp;that offers recommendations for attracting more attorneys to practice in rural areas. The report also presents stark data: Outside of the state’s five most-populous counties, just 21% of active attorneys serve 45% of the state’s population.

One-third of the attorneys in those 100 rural counties are over the age of 60.

“The problem is serious, and it is not going to get better without intervention and affirmative action,” Wall said.

Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Marla Luckert established the Rural Justice Initiative Committee on Dec. 1, 2022. The&nbsp;<a href="https://kscourts.gov/About-the-Courts/Court-Administration/Committees/Kansas-Rural-Justice-Initiative-Committee" target="_blank">35-member committee</a>&nbsp;included judges, legislators, attorneys, educators, business leaders, and organizations that serve victims of sexual or domestic violence.

Luckert said at Friday’s news conference that she formed the committee after hearing from judges who said they couldn’t find attorneys who were qualified or willing to take cases, from attorneys who wanted to retire but didn’t want to leave their communities without legal help, and from local governments that struggled to hire a city or county attorney.

She said “we knew we had a crisis,” but she wanted to know “how pervasive” it was.

“I think we found that it was even worse than we thought it would be,” Luckert said.

Data from the committee’s 84-page report shows 1,401 attorneys work in rural Kansas counties, where more than 1.3 million people live. In comparison, there are more Kansas attorneys working in Kansas City, Missouri.

Two Kansas counties — Wichita and Hodgeman, in west-central Kansas — have no attorneys at all. Seven more have no attorneys under the age of 60.

In 47 counties, there is less than one attorney per 1,000 people.

“Rural judges struggle to find attorneys in cases where the right to counsel is guaranteed by constitution or statute — cases where a person’s very liberty or right to parent their child is at stake,” the report found. “Attorneys are turning away potential clients each week because they cannot meet the demand in their communities.”

The report said barriers for attorneys working in rural areas include the balance between staggering student loan debt and lower incomes, a lack of business skills, and challenges of finding child care, housing, health care and reliable Wi-Fi.

The report makes 10 recommendations for addressing the problem. They include establishing programs to pay tuition or repay student loans for attorneys who attend law school in Kansas and practice in a rural part of the state.

Other proposals include developing a professional organization for rural attorneys to collaborate on recruitment and retention, supporting outreach efforts for K-12 students in rural Kansas, working with the Kansas Department of Commerce and Office of Rural Prosperity to help attorneys manage their businesses, and establishing a standing committee to monitor the results.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1735053694304.png" alt="Kansas Supreme Court Justice K.J. Wall takes the oath of office on Jan. 9, 2023. Wall says the problem of not having enough attorneys in rural counties won’t get better without intervention. Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Supreme Court Justice K.J. Wall takes the oath of office on Jan. 9, 2023. Wall says the problem of not having enough attorneys in rural counties won’t get better without intervention. Photo by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector</figcaption>
 </figure>By&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/sherman-smith/">SHERMAN SMITH</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/12/20/kansas-faces-constitutional-crisis-with-rural-attorney-shortage-supreme-court-justice-says/?emci=90c2989c-44bf-ef11-88ce-0022482a93af&amp;emdi=5cf0ff54-82bf-ef11-88ce-0022482a93af&amp;ceid=115039">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Kansas Supreme Court Justice K.J. Wall said Friday the state is “approaching a constitutional crisis” with a shortage of attorneys in rural areas, and that “equity and justice” are at&nbsp; stake.Wall spoke at a news conference in Concordia as a committee tasked with studying the crisis over the past two years&nbsp;<a href="https://kscourts.gov/KSCourts/media/KsCourts/court%20administration/Rural-Justice-Initiative/Kansas-Rural-Justice-Initiative-Committee-Final-Report.pdf" target="_blank">unveiled a report</a>&nbsp;that offers recommendations for attracting more attorneys to practice in rural areas. The report also presents stark data: Outside of the state’s five most-populous counties, just 21% of active attorneys serve 45% of the state’s population.One-third of the attorneys in those 100 rural counties are over the age of 60.“The problem is serious, and it is not going to get better without intervention and affirmative action,” Wall said.Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Marla Luckert established the Rural Justice Initiative Committee on Dec. 1, 2022. The&nbsp;<a href="https://kscourts.gov/About-the-Courts/Court-Administration/Committees/Kansas-Rural-Justice-Initiative-Committee" target="_blank">35-member committee</a>&nbsp;included judges, legislators, attorneys, educators, business leaders, and organizations that serve victims of sexual or domestic violence.Luckert said at Friday’s news conference that she formed the committee after hearing from judges who said they couldn’t find attorneys who were qualified or willing to take cases, from attorneys who wanted to retire but didn’t want to leave their communities without legal help, and from local governments that struggled to hire a city or county attorney.She said “we knew we had a crisis,” but she wanted to know “how pervasive” it was.“I think we found that it was even worse than we thought it would be,” Luckert said.Data from the committee’s 84-page report shows 1,401 attorneys work in rural Kansas counties, where more than 1.3 million people live. In comparison, there are more Kansas attorneys working in Kansas City, Missouri.Two Kansas counties — Wichita and Hodgeman, in west-central Kansas — have no attorneys at all. Seven more have no attorneys under the age of 60.In 47 counties, there is less than one attorney per 1,000 people.“Rural judges struggle to find attorneys in cases where the right to counsel is guaranteed by constitution or statute — cases where a person’s very liberty or right to parent their child is at stake,” the report found. “Attorneys are turning away potential clients each week because they cannot meet the demand in their communities.”The report said barriers for attorneys working in rural areas include the balance between staggering student loan debt and lower incomes, a lack of business skills, and challenges of finding child care, housing, health care and reliable Wi-Fi.The report makes 10 recommendations for addressing the problem. They include establishing programs to pay tuition or repay student loans for attorneys who attend law school in Kansas and practice in a rural part of the state.Other proposals include developing a professional organization for rural attorneys to collaborate on recruitment and retention, supporting outreach efforts for K-12 students in rural Kansas, working with the Kansas Department of Commerce and Office of Rural Prosperity to help attorneys manage their businesses, and establishing a standing committee to monitor the results.

Kansas faces ‘constitutional crisis’ with rural attorney shortage

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Dan Murray with NFIB-Kansas notes that his members are looking for property tax relief, and the 2025 Kansas Legislature will have to be careful about how it provides that help.

"The statewide mill levy is what you're referring to in terms of what is used to help fund K-12 education," Murray said. "They are able to reduce that, and they have done so in the past. It's at 20 mills in its current rate. It has been, I think, as high as 35 mills. Over time, they've reduced it, and they can do so again, but they have to strike a balance with funding the formula in a way that doesn't upset the apple cart with the Supreme Court. So they would have to do some state general fund transfers to make up for the property tax decrease at the statewide mill levy."

There are other policy provisions that can shine a light on the other levels of government that have more influence over property taxes.

"There was a statute that was passed and we modified it that did restrict what the local units of government could do in terms of raising property taxes, but they provided in that some language that gave them exceptions, for example, emergency police and fire infrastructure," Murray said. "It really didn't have the impact that we thought it might because they were able to kind of carve themselves out of it. That's where I think it's hard to pin down. I think ultimately, at the end of the day, it's important for voters at the local level to be involved and understand what their property taxes rates are doing and have their voice heard both at local meetings and at the voting booth."

The legislature is going to try to craft its own budget to counter that from the governor's office in 2025. It remains to be seen how that will change the final product.

"The Kansas House and Senate this off season created a legislative budget committee in a new process where they will attempt to create their own budget relative to what the governor presents to the legislature in January," Murray said. "What has been a customary practice is that the governor creates a budget, presents it to the legislature within of course, the 90 days of their session, they have to come up with a response to that budget through their appropriations process. They now are seeking to create their own budget apart from what the governor does. It's a hefty task and something they're kind of tipping their toe in the water on."

The Governor's State of the State message is scheduled for January 15.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/9/1600954270300.png" alt="National Federation of Independent Business " />
 <figcaption>National Federation of Independent Business </figcaption>
 </figure>NICK GOSNELL Hutch PostHUTCHINSON, Kan. — Dan Murray with NFIB-Kansas notes that his members are looking for property tax relief, and the 2025 Kansas Legislature will have to be careful about how it provides that help."The statewide mill levy is what you're referring to in terms of what is used to help fund K-12 education," Murray said. "They are able to reduce that, and they have done so in the past. It's at 20 mills in its current rate. It has been, I think, as high as 35 mills. Over time, they've reduced it, and they can do so again, but they have to strike a balance with funding the formula in a way that doesn't upset the apple cart with the Supreme Court. So they would have to do some state general fund transfers to make up for the property tax decrease at the statewide mill levy."There are other policy provisions that can shine a light on the other levels of government that have more influence over property taxes."There was a statute that was passed and we modified it that did restrict what the local units of government could do in terms of raising property taxes, but they provided in that some language that gave them exceptions, for example, emergency police and fire infrastructure," Murray said. "It really didn't have the impact that we thought it might because they were able to kind of carve themselves out of it. That's where I think it's hard to pin down. I think ultimately, at the end of the day, it's important for voters at the local level to be involved and understand what their property taxes rates are doing and have their voice heard both at local meetings and at the voting booth."The legislature is going to try to craft its own budget to counter that from the governor's office in 2025. It remains to be seen how that will change the final product."The Kansas House and Senate this off season created a legislative budget committee in a new process where they will attempt to create their own budget relative to what the governor presents to the legislature in January," Murray said. "What has been a customary practice is that the governor creates a budget, presents it to the legislature within of course, the 90 days of their session, they have to come up with a response to that budget through their appropriations process. They now are seeking to create their own budget apart from what the governor does. It's a hefty task and something they're kind of tipping their toe in the water on."The Governor's State of the State message is scheduled for January 15.

Murray: State can give a little help with property tax

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/amandahernandez/">AMANDA HERNANDEZ</a>

CHICAGO — Shoplifting rates in the three largest U.S. cities — New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — remain higher than they were before the pandemic, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://counciloncj.org/between-the-aisles-a-closer-look-at-shoplifting-trends/" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;last month from the nonpartisan research group Council on Criminal Justice.

The sharp rise in retail theft in recent years has made shoplifting a hot-button issue, especially for politicians looking to address public safety concerns in their communities.

Since 2020, when viral videos of smash-and-grab robberies flooded social media during the COVID-19 pandemic, many Americans have expressed fears that crime is out of control. Polls show that perceptions have improved recently, but a majority of Americans&nbsp;<a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/652763/smaller-majorities-say-crime-serious-increasing.aspx" target="_blank">still say</a>&nbsp;crime is worse than in previous years.

“There is this sense of brazenness that people have — they can just walk in and steal stuff. … That hurts the consumer, and it hurts the company,” said Alex Piquero, a criminology professor at the University of Miami and former director of the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, in an interview.

“That’s just the world we live in,” he said. “We need to get people to realize that you have to obey the law.”

At least eight states — Arizona, California, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, New York and Vermont — passed a total of 14 bills in 2024 aimed at tackling retail theft, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The measures range from redefining retail crimes and adjusting penalties to allowing cross-county aggregation of theft charges and protecting retail workers.

Major retailers have responded to rising theft since 2020 by locking up merchandise, upgrading security cameras, hiring private security firms and even closing stores.

Still, the report indicates that shoplifting remains a stubborn problem.

In Chicago, the rate of reported shoplifting incidents remained below pre-pandemic levels throughout 2023 — but surged by 46% from January to October 2024 compared with the same period a year ago.

Shoplifting in Los Angeles was 87% higher in 2023 than in 2019. Police reports of shoplifting from January to October 2024 were lower than in 2023. Los Angeles adopted a new crime reporting system in March 2024, which has likely led to an undercount, according to the report.

In New York, shoplifting rose 48% from 2021 to 2022, then dipped slightly last year. Still, the shoplifting rate was 55% higher in 2023 than in 2019. This year, the shoplifting rate increased by 3% from January to September compared with the same period last year.

While shoplifting rates tend to rise in November and December, which coincides with in-person holiday shopping, data from the Council on Criminal Justice’s sample of 23 U.S. cities shows higher rates in the first half of 2024 compared with 2023.

Researchers found it surprising that rates went up despite retailers doing more to fight shoplifting. Experts say the spike might reflect improved reporting efforts rather than a spike in theft.

“As retailers have been paying more attention to shoplifting, we would not expect the numbers to increase,” said Ernesto Lopez, the report’s author and a senior research specialist with the council. “It makes it a challenge to understand the trends of shoplifting.”

In downtown Chicago on a recent early afternoon, potential shoppers shuffled through the streets and nearby malls, browsing for gifts ahead of the holidays.

Edward Johnson, a guard at The Shops at North Bridge, said that malls have become quieter in the dozen or so years he has worked in mall security, with the rise of online retailers. As for shoplifters, Johnson said there isn’t a single type of person to look out for — they can come from any background.

“I think good-hearted people see something they can’t afford and figure nothing is lost if they take something from the store,” Johnson said as he patrolled the mall, keeping an eye out for lost or suspicious items.

Between 2018 and 2023, most shoplifting in Chicago was reported in the downtown area, as well as in the Old Town, River North and Lincoln Park neighborhoods, according to a separate&nbsp;<a href="https://counciloncj.org/shoplifting-trends-in-time-and-space-a-study-of-two-major-american-cities/" target="_blank">analysis</a>&nbsp;by the Council on Criminal Justice.

Newly sworn-in Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke this month lowered the threshold for charging retail theft as a felony in the county, which includes Chicago, from $1,000 to $300, aligning it with state law.

“It sends a signal that she’s taking it seriously,” Rob Karr, the president and CEO of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, told Stateline.

Nationally, retailers are worried about organized theft. The National Retail Federation’s latest&nbsp;<a href="https://nrf.com/research/national-retail-security-survey-2023" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;attributed 36% of the $112.1 billion in lost merchandise in 2022 to “external theft,” which includes organized retail crime.

Organized retail crime typically involves coordinated efforts by groups to steal items with the intent to resell them for a profit. Commonly targeted goods include high-demand items such as baby formula, laundry detergent and electronics.

The same report found that retailers’ fear of violence associated with theft also is on the rise, with more retailers taking a “hands-off approach.” More than 41% of respondents to the organization’s 2023 survey, up from 38% in 2022, reported that no employee is authorized to try and stop a shoplifter.

The federation’s reporting has come under criticism. It&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/08/business/organized-shoplifting-retail-crime-theft-retraction.html" target="_blank">retracted</a>&nbsp;a claim last year that attributed nearly half of lost merchandise in 2021 to organized retail crime; such theft accounted for only about 5%. The group announced this fall it will no longer publish its reports on lost merchandise.

Policy experts say shoplifting and organized retail theft can significantly harm critical industries, drive up costs for consumers and reduce sales tax revenue for states. Those worries have driven recent state-level action to boost penalties for shoplifting.

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/08/16/governor-newsom-signs-landmark-legislative-package-cracking-down-on-retail-crime-and-property-theft/" target="_blank">signed</a>&nbsp;a package of 10 bills into law in August aimed at addressing retail theft. These measures make repeated theft convictions a felony, allow aggregation of crimes across multiple counties to be charged as a single felony, and permit police to arrest suspects for retail theft even if the crime wasn’t witnessed directly by an officer. In September, Newsom&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/09/12/governor-newsom-signs-smash-and-grab-bill-to-strengthen-felony-sentences-for-large-scale-theft-offenses/" target="_blank">signed</a>&nbsp;an additional bill that imposes steeper felony penalties for large-scale theft offenses.

California voters also overwhelmingly&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/2024/11/19/even-blue-states-are-embracing-a-tougher-approach-to-crime/" target="_blank">approved</a>&nbsp;a ballot measure in November that increases penalties for specific drug-related and theft crimes. Under the new law, people who are convicted of theft at least twice may face felony charges on their third offense, regardless of the stolen item’s value.

“With these changes in the law, really it comes down to making sure that law enforcement is showing up to our stores in a timely manner, and that the prosecutors and the [district attorneys] are prosecuting,” Rachel Michelin, the president and CEO of the California Retailers Association, told Stateline. “That’s the only way we’re going to deter retail theft in our communities.”

In New Jersey, a bipartisan&nbsp;<a href="https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/A4755" target="_blank">bill</a>&nbsp;making its way through the legislature would increase penalties for leading a shoplifting ring and allow extended sentences for repeat offenders.

“This bill is going after a formally organized band of criminals that deliver such destruction to a critical business in our community. We have to act. We have to create a deterrence,” Democratic Assemblymember Joseph Danielsen, one of the bill’s prime sponsors, said in an interview with Stateline.

The legislation would allow extended sentences for people convicted of shoplifting three times within 10 years or within 10 years of their release from prison, and would increase penalties to 10 to 20 years in prison for leading a retail crime ring.

The bill also would allow law enforcement to aggregate the value of stolen goods over the course of a year to charge serial shoplifters with more serious offenses. Additionally, the bill would increase penalties for assaults committed against retail workers, and would require retailers to train employees on detecting gift card scams.

Maryland legislators considered a similar&nbsp;<a href="https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/SB0100?ys=2024rs" target="_blank">bill</a>&nbsp;during this year’s legislative session that would have defined organized retail theft and made it a felony.

The bill didn’t make it out of committee, but Cailey Locklair, president of the Maryland Retailers Alliance, said the group hopes to reintroduce the bill next year and propose another that would target gift card fraud.

Better, more thorough reporting from retailers is essential to truly understanding shoplifting trends and its full impact, in part because some retail-related crimes, such as gift card fraud, are frequently underreported, according to Lopez, of the Council on Criminal Justice.

Measuring crime across jurisdictions is&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/2023/10/27/politicians-love-to-cite-crime-data-its-often-wrong/" target="_blank">notoriously difficult</a>, and the council does not track organized retail theft specifically because law enforcement typically doesn’t identify it as such at the time of arrest — if an arrest even occurs — requiring further investigation, Lopez said.

The council’s latest report found conflicting trends in the FBI’s national crime reporting systems.

The FBI’s older system, the Summary Reporting System, known as SRS, suggests that reported shoplifting hadn’t gone up through 2023, remaining on par with 2019 levels. In contrast, the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System, or NIBRS, shows a 93% increase in shoplifting over the same period.

The discrepancy may stem from the type of law enforcement agencies that have adopted the latter system, Lopez said. Some of those communities may have higher levels of shoplifting or other types of property crime, which could be what is driving the spike, Lopez said.

Despite the discrepancies and varying levels of shoplifting across the country, Lopez said, it’s important for retailers to report these incidents, as doing so could help allocate law enforcement resources more effectively.

“All law enforcement agencies have limited resources, and having the most accurate information allows for not just better policy, but also better implementation — better use of strategic resources,” Lopez said.

<a href="https://stateline.org/" target="_blank">Stateline</a>&nbsp;is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:info@stateline.org">info@stateline.org</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1734810837526.png" alt="Photo courtesy WBZ" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy WBZ</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/amandahernandez/">AMANDA HERNANDEZ</a>CHICAGO — Shoplifting rates in the three largest U.S. cities — New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — remain higher than they were before the pandemic, according to a&nbsp;<a href="https://counciloncj.org/between-the-aisles-a-closer-look-at-shoplifting-trends/" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;last month from the nonpartisan research group Council on Criminal Justice.The sharp rise in retail theft in recent years has made shoplifting a hot-button issue, especially for politicians looking to address public safety concerns in their communities.Since 2020, when viral videos of smash-and-grab robberies flooded social media during the COVID-19 pandemic, many Americans have expressed fears that crime is out of control. Polls show that perceptions have improved recently, but a majority of Americans&nbsp;<a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/652763/smaller-majorities-say-crime-serious-increasing.aspx" target="_blank">still say</a>&nbsp;crime is worse than in previous years.“There is this sense of brazenness that people have — they can just walk in and steal stuff. … That hurts the consumer, and it hurts the company,” said Alex Piquero, a criminology professor at the University of Miami and former director of the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics, in an interview.“That’s just the world we live in,” he said. “We need to get people to realize that you have to obey the law.”At least eight states — Arizona, California, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, New York and Vermont — passed a total of 14 bills in 2024 aimed at tackling retail theft, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. The measures range from redefining retail crimes and adjusting penalties to allowing cross-county aggregation of theft charges and protecting retail workers.Major retailers have responded to rising theft since 2020 by locking up merchandise, upgrading security cameras, hiring private security firms and even closing stores.Still, the report indicates that shoplifting remains a stubborn problem.In Chicago, the rate of reported shoplifting incidents remained below pre-pandemic levels throughout 2023 — but surged by 46% from January to October 2024 compared with the same period a year ago.Shoplifting in Los Angeles was 87% higher in 2023 than in 2019. Police reports of shoplifting from January to October 2024 were lower than in 2023. Los Angeles adopted a new crime reporting system in March 2024, which has likely led to an undercount, according to the report.In New York, shoplifting rose 48% from 2021 to 2022, then dipped slightly last year. Still, the shoplifting rate was 55% higher in 2023 than in 2019. This year, the shoplifting rate increased by 3% from January to September compared with the same period last year.While shoplifting rates tend to rise in November and December, which coincides with in-person holiday shopping, data from the Council on Criminal Justice’s sample of 23 U.S. cities shows higher rates in the first half of 2024 compared with 2023.Researchers found it surprising that rates went up despite retailers doing more to fight shoplifting. Experts say the spike might reflect improved reporting efforts rather than a spike in theft.“As retailers have been paying more attention to shoplifting, we would not expect the numbers to increase,” said Ernesto Lopez, the report’s author and a senior research specialist with the council. “It makes it a challenge to understand the trends of shoplifting.”<h2>Impact on retailers, communities</h2>In downtown Chicago on a recent early afternoon, potential shoppers shuffled through the streets and nearby malls, browsing for gifts ahead of the holidays.Edward Johnson, a guard at The Shops at North Bridge, said that malls have become quieter in the dozen or so years he has worked in mall security, with the rise of online retailers. As for shoplifters, Johnson said there isn’t a single type of person to look out for — they can come from any background.“I think good-hearted people see something they can’t afford and figure nothing is lost if they take something from the store,” Johnson said as he patrolled the mall, keeping an eye out for lost or suspicious items.Between 2018 and 2023, most shoplifting in Chicago was reported in the downtown area, as well as in the Old Town, River North and Lincoln Park neighborhoods, according to a separate&nbsp;<a href="https://counciloncj.org/shoplifting-trends-in-time-and-space-a-study-of-two-major-american-cities/" target="_blank">analysis</a>&nbsp;by the Council on Criminal Justice.Newly sworn-in Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke this month lowered the threshold for charging retail theft as a felony in the county, which includes Chicago, from $1,000 to $300, aligning it with state law.“It sends a signal that she’s taking it seriously,” Rob Karr, the president and CEO of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association, told Stateline.Nationally, retailers are worried about organized theft. The National Retail Federation’s latest&nbsp;<a href="https://nrf.com/research/national-retail-security-survey-2023" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;attributed 36% of the $112.1 billion in lost merchandise in 2022 to “external theft,” which includes organized retail crime.Organized retail crime typically involves coordinated efforts by groups to steal items with the intent to resell them for a profit. Commonly targeted goods include high-demand items such as baby formula, laundry detergent and electronics.The same report found that retailers’ fear of violence associated with theft also is on the rise, with more retailers taking a “hands-off approach.” More than 41% of respondents to the organization’s 2023 survey, up from 38% in 2022, reported that no employee is authorized to try and stop a shoplifter.The federation’s reporting has come under criticism. It&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/08/business/organized-shoplifting-retail-crime-theft-retraction.html" target="_blank">retracted</a>&nbsp;a claim last year that attributed nearly half of lost merchandise in 2021 to organized retail crime; such theft accounted for only about 5%. The group announced this fall it will no longer publish its reports on lost merchandise.<h2>Increased penalties</h2>Policy experts say shoplifting and organized retail theft can significantly harm critical industries, drive up costs for consumers and reduce sales tax revenue for states. Those worries have driven recent state-level action to boost penalties for shoplifting.California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/08/16/governor-newsom-signs-landmark-legislative-package-cracking-down-on-retail-crime-and-property-theft/" target="_blank">signed</a>&nbsp;a package of 10 bills into law in August aimed at addressing retail theft. These measures make repeated theft convictions a felony, allow aggregation of crimes across multiple counties to be charged as a single felony, and permit police to arrest suspects for retail theft even if the crime wasn’t witnessed directly by an officer. In September, Newsom&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/2024/09/12/governor-newsom-signs-smash-and-grab-bill-to-strengthen-felony-sentences-for-large-scale-theft-offenses/" target="_blank">signed</a>&nbsp;an additional bill that imposes steeper felony penalties for large-scale theft offenses.California voters also overwhelmingly&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/2024/11/19/even-blue-states-are-embracing-a-tougher-approach-to-crime/" target="_blank">approved</a>&nbsp;a ballot measure in November that increases penalties for specific drug-related and theft crimes. Under the new law, people who are convicted of theft at least twice may face felony charges on their third offense, regardless of the stolen item’s value.“With these changes in the law, really it comes down to making sure that law enforcement is showing up to our stores in a timely manner, and that the prosecutors and the [district attorneys] are prosecuting,” Rachel Michelin, the president and CEO of the California Retailers Association, told Stateline. “That’s the only way we’re going to deter retail theft in our communities.”In New Jersey, a bipartisan&nbsp;<a href="https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/A4755" target="_blank">bill</a>&nbsp;making its way through the legislature would increase penalties for leading a shoplifting ring and allow extended sentences for repeat offenders.“This bill is going after a formally organized band of criminals that deliver such destruction to a critical business in our community. We have to act. We have to create a deterrence,” Democratic Assemblymember Joseph Danielsen, one of the bill’s prime sponsors, said in an interview with Stateline.The legislation would allow extended sentences for people convicted of shoplifting three times within 10 years or within 10 years of their release from prison, and would increase penalties to 10 to 20 years in prison for leading a retail crime ring.The bill also would allow law enforcement to aggregate the value of stolen goods over the course of a year to charge serial shoplifters with more serious offenses. Additionally, the bill would increase penalties for assaults committed against retail workers, and would require retailers to train employees on detecting gift card scams.Maryland legislators considered a similar&nbsp;<a href="https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/SB0100?ys=2024rs" target="_blank">bill</a>&nbsp;during this year’s legislative session that would have defined organized retail theft and made it a felony.The bill didn’t make it out of committee, but Cailey Locklair, president of the Maryland Retailers Alliance, said the group hopes to reintroduce the bill next year and propose another that would target gift card fraud.<h2>Retail theft data</h2>Better, more thorough reporting from retailers is essential to truly understanding shoplifting trends and its full impact, in part because some retail-related crimes, such as gift card fraud, are frequently underreported, according to Lopez, of the Council on Criminal Justice.Measuring crime across jurisdictions is&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/2023/10/27/politicians-love-to-cite-crime-data-its-often-wrong/" target="_blank">notoriously difficult</a>, and the council does not track organized retail theft specifically because law enforcement typically doesn’t identify it as such at the time of arrest — if an arrest even occurs — requiring further investigation, Lopez said.The council’s latest report found conflicting trends in the FBI’s national crime reporting systems.The FBI’s older system, the Summary Reporting System, known as SRS, suggests that reported shoplifting hadn’t gone up through 2023, remaining on par with 2019 levels. In contrast, the FBI’s National Incident-Based Reporting System, or NIBRS, shows a 93% increase in shoplifting over the same period.The discrepancy may stem from the type of law enforcement agencies that have adopted the latter system, Lopez said. Some of those communities may have higher levels of shoplifting or other types of property crime, which could be what is driving the spike, Lopez said.Despite the discrepancies and varying levels of shoplifting across the country, Lopez said, it’s important for retailers to report these incidents, as doing so could help allocate law enforcement resources more effectively.“All law enforcement agencies have limited resources, and having the most accurate information allows for not just better policy, but also better implementation — better use of strategic resources,” Lopez said.<a href="https://stateline.org/" target="_blank">Stateline</a>&nbsp;is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:info@stateline.org">info@stateline.org</a>.

New shoplifting data explains why they’re locking up the toothpaste

By&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/briefs/kansas-gets-an-f-in-gun-legislation-national-report-says/?emci=67ef80f7-8dbd-ef11-88d0-000d3a9d5840&amp;emdi=af9cdaff-efbd-ef11-88ce-0022482a93af&amp;ceid=115039">Kansas Reflector</a>

<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/"></a>TOPEKA — Nearly 500 people die annually in Kansas from gun violence, and the state ranks low in gun legislation, according to a yearly ranking.

<a href="https://giffords.org/lawcenter/resources/scorecard/">Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence</a>, a national gun safety nonprofit, gave Kansas an F grade for gun regulation in its annual scorecard that evaluates the strength of the 50 states’ firearm laws.

The strength of Kansas’ gun laws ranks among the lowest in the country at 42nd.

“Kansas has some of the weakest laws in the country when it comes to gun violence, which is why we gave it an F this year,” said Emma Brown, executive director of the center, in a news release.

She continued: “Gun violence is now the No. 1 killer of children in the United States. That is unacceptable.”

The report pointed to Kansas’ lack of universal background checks, legislation involving “gun industry accountability” and violence intervention programs. It also recommended the Legislature repeal “stand your ground” laws, which permit people to use deadly force if they believe it’s to defend themselves.

Kansas excels in only one category — mental health reporting — according to the center. State officials are required to abide by certain mental health record reporting requirements, which can be used when evaluating firearm transfers. Often, mental health reporting is submitted to a national database when courts order treatment or an involuntary commitment to a psychiatric facility.

The center drew a correlation between weakened gun laws and increases in gun deaths across the country. Kansas sees almost 17 gun deaths per 100,000 people or 473 deaths annually. The highest rate is 29 per 100,000 in Mississippi and the lowest is around 4 per 100,000 in Massachusetts.

A February mass shooting that left one person dead and more than a dozen others injured at a Kansas City parade celebrating the Chiefs Super Bowl win was a signal to some&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/02/19/democrats-hope-to-put-gun-safety-measure-on-ballot-following-kansas-city-mass-shooting/" target="_blank">Missouri</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/03/07/in-wake-of-mass-shooting-kansas-lawmakers-spar-over-gun-rights-preservation-bill/">Kansas</a>&nbsp;lawmakers either to restrict or loosen state gun laws.&nbsp;

“In 2024, 28 states passed 88 gun safety laws, bringing the total number of new gun safety laws since the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012 to over 700,” the center’s report said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1735433692707.jpeg" alt="Photo by Pixabay" />
 <figcaption>Photo by Pixabay</figcaption>
 </figure>By&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/briefs/kansas-gets-an-f-in-gun-legislation-national-report-says/?emci=67ef80f7-8dbd-ef11-88d0-000d3a9d5840&amp;emdi=af9cdaff-efbd-ef11-88ce-0022482a93af&amp;ceid=115039">Kansas Reflector</a><a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/"></a>TOPEKA — Nearly 500 people die annually in Kansas from gun violence, and the state ranks low in gun legislation, according to a yearly ranking.<a href="https://giffords.org/lawcenter/resources/scorecard/">Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence</a>, a national gun safety nonprofit, gave Kansas an F grade for gun regulation in its annual scorecard that evaluates the strength of the 50 states’ firearm laws.The strength of Kansas’ gun laws ranks among the lowest in the country at 42nd.“Kansas has some of the weakest laws in the country when it comes to gun violence, which is why we gave it an F this year,” said Emma Brown, executive director of the center, in a news release.She continued: “Gun violence is now the No. 1 killer of children in the United States. That is unacceptable.”The report pointed to Kansas’ lack of universal background checks, legislation involving “gun industry accountability” and violence intervention programs. It also recommended the Legislature repeal “stand your ground” laws, which permit people to use deadly force if they believe it’s to defend themselves.Kansas excels in only one category — mental health reporting — according to the center. State officials are required to abide by certain mental health record reporting requirements, which can be used when evaluating firearm transfers. Often, mental health reporting is submitted to a national database when courts order treatment or an involuntary commitment to a psychiatric facility.The center drew a correlation between weakened gun laws and increases in gun deaths across the country. Kansas sees almost 17 gun deaths per 100,000 people or 473 deaths annually. The highest rate is 29 per 100,000 in Mississippi and the lowest is around 4 per 100,000 in Massachusetts.A February mass shooting that left one person dead and more than a dozen others injured at a Kansas City parade celebrating the Chiefs Super Bowl win was a signal to some&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/02/19/democrats-hope-to-put-gun-safety-measure-on-ballot-following-kansas-city-mass-shooting/" target="_blank">Missouri</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2024/03/07/in-wake-of-mass-shooting-kansas-lawmakers-spar-over-gun-rights-preservation-bill/">Kansas</a>&nbsp;lawmakers either to restrict or loosen state gun laws.&nbsp;“In 2024, 28 states passed 88 gun safety laws, bringing the total number of new gun safety laws since the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012 to over 700,” the center’s report said.Kansas was not one of those states.

Kansas gets an F in gun legislation, national report says

By&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/dylan-lysen">DYLAN LYSEN</a> Kansas News Service/<a href="https://www.kcur.org/housing-development-section/2024-12-17/housing-prices-in-kansas-have-exploded-here-are-three-ideas-to-make-homes-affordable?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=Dylan%20Lysen%20of%20the%20Kansas%20News%20Service%20tells%20us%20about%20the%20ideas%20under%20consideration&amp;utm_campaign=KNS%20Newsletter">KCUR</a>

Home and rental prices have skyrocketed in recent years because of a housing shortage. That’s leading to a rise in homelessness and could be hurting the economy.

KANSAS CITY — A housing shortage in Kansas has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/housing-development-section/2024-10-03/a-home-costs-more-than-ever-in-kansas-the-2008-housing-crisis-is-part-of-the-reason" target="_blank">sparked skyrocketing home prices</a>, making it much harder to purchase a home. State lawmakers have taken notice and are considering ways to create more affordable housing.

A special committee in the Legislature reviewed the situation in Kansas and suggested several ideas that may be able to alleviate some of the problems. But none of the ideas include large new programs or major state funding.

Republican Rep. Sean Tarwater of Stilwell, who led the committee, said the state approved&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ksrevenue.gov/prtaxcredits-affordable.html" target="_blank">affordable housing initiatives</a>&nbsp;in recent years. He said those changes have not had enough time to make a significant difference yet.

“We've got to be cognizant of the programs that we currently have before we start piling on new programs,” Tarwater said, “and we’ve got to make sure the ones we have work.”

Still, the state has a long way to go. Housing advocates estimate it would take several thousand new homes built each year just to meet demand. And construction costs keep rising as well. So it could take years before the shortage is resolved.

The lack of housing is also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/housing-development-section/2024-09-24/forget-the-stereotypes-many-homeless-kansans-have-jobs-but-cant-afford-a-place-to-live" target="_blank">contributing to rising homelessness</a>&nbsp;in the state. While home prices are rising, so are home and apartment rental costs. Advocates serving the homeless say Kansas had the sixth highest rent price increase in the country in 2023. Data in Johnson County also shows more than half of homeless people there have some sort of income, but still can’t afford a place to live.

The housing shortage may also hurt the economy. Republican Rep. Leah Howell said she’s heard from business owners who are having a hard time filling positions because new employees can’t find housing.

Here are some of the ideas the committee is recommending:

Federal tax credits for affordable housing projects are not new but were not regularly utilized. Housing development in Kansas took off once the state joined in on providing its own tax credits.

The Legislature enacted the Affordable Housing Tax Credit in 2022, which can be coupled with federal benefits to further incentivize developers to build more affordable housing in the state. The Kansas Housing Resources Corporation, which oversees those state tax credits, shows that it helped develop nearly 5,000 homes over the last two years.

The committee suggested looking at whether the state can find more opportunities to couple state tax credits with federal funding opportunities to create an even larger impact.

But lawmakers said they also want to review whether some incentives should be spread out, rather than coupled with the federal funding or connected to other state tax credits, to make sure they are dispersed and support more housing projects.

Kansas zoning laws are currently based on land use. Some communities want to create more mixed-use zoning, like allowing multi-story buildings with businesses on the ground floor and apartments above.

Jamie Sauder, who is the president of the Kansas Association of Realtors and a city commissioner in Emporia, said his community tried creating a new comprehensive plan that would have implemented form-based zoning. That focuses more on the appearance of a property, rather than its use. So buildings can be mixed-use.

However, the city and Lyon County could not enact the plan, because state law requires land-use zoning. So a property can only have one use, like commercial or residential. Mixed-use zoning is allowed, but it usually requires a special permit. That also gives people in the community an extra chance to block a project they don’t like.

Sauder said amending the state law could allow cities to enact form-based zoning. That and streamlining could allow more housing development. He said form-based zoning also promotes housing density and makes property more affordable.

“It puts more people using the same amount of infrastructure (together),” Sauder said, “which means it's cheaper. Property taxes go down.”

Republican Sen. Renee Erickson of Augusta said she wants the Legislature to consider reworking state zoning laws to allow more flexibility for cities to create local solutions.

But she said she wants lawmakers to be careful and not go too far. She said any changes should not restrict a community’s local control of zoning.

When a landlord begins an eviction process in court, they must provide notice to the renter and then file a lawsuit. However, that filing is a public court record and can be held against a renter when they try to find new housing, even if they are never formally evicted.

For instance, a renter could fall behind on paying rent and a landlord could then file an eviction notice. The renter could resolve the issue and the eviction case does not proceed in court. But that filing is still on the renter’s record, and a landlord of a different property could point to that as a reason to disqualify them.

Christina Ashie Guidry, director of policy and planning for United Community Services of Johnson County, told lawmakers that it’s unfair to renters who are never formally evicted. She said landlords in Kansas file more than 14,000 eviction filings each year, but only half of them are finalized.

“It stays on your record, publicly searchable, forever,” Ashie Guidry said. “That is despite the fact that half of these cases are never prosecuted.”

The committee recommended sealing the election filings in court, meaning they won’t be publicly viewable.

That won’t create more housing, but it may provide relief to low-income renters who have previously faced eviction and are struggling to find a home.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1735208729897.png" alt="Kansas lawmakers have taken some action on addressing the state's housing shortage. In 2022, they approved new state tax credits that match federal tax credits for affordable housing, which were used to build these Mission 43 housing units in Kansas City, Kansas. Photo by Dylan Lysen/ Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Kansas lawmakers have taken some action on addressing the state's housing shortage. In 2022, they approved new state tax credits that match federal tax credits for affordable housing, which were used to build these Mission 43 housing units in Kansas City, Kansas. Photo by Dylan Lysen/ Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/dylan-lysen">DYLAN LYSEN</a> Kansas News Service/<a href="https://www.kcur.org/housing-development-section/2024-12-17/housing-prices-in-kansas-have-exploded-here-are-three-ideas-to-make-homes-affordable?utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_content=Dylan%20Lysen%20of%20the%20Kansas%20News%20Service%20tells%20us%20about%20the%20ideas%20under%20consideration&amp;utm_campaign=KNS%20Newsletter">KCUR</a><h2>Home and rental prices have skyrocketed in recent years because of a housing shortage. That’s leading to a rise in homelessness and could be hurting the economy.</h2>KANSAS CITY — A housing shortage in Kansas has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/housing-development-section/2024-10-03/a-home-costs-more-than-ever-in-kansas-the-2008-housing-crisis-is-part-of-the-reason" target="_blank">sparked skyrocketing home prices</a>, making it much harder to purchase a home. State lawmakers have taken notice and are considering ways to create more affordable housing.A special committee in the Legislature reviewed the situation in Kansas and suggested several ideas that may be able to alleviate some of the problems. But none of the ideas include large new programs or major state funding.Republican Rep. Sean Tarwater of Stilwell, who led the committee, said the state approved&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ksrevenue.gov/prtaxcredits-affordable.html" target="_blank">affordable housing initiatives</a>&nbsp;in recent years. He said those changes have not had enough time to make a significant difference yet.“We've got to be cognizant of the programs that we currently have before we start piling on new programs,” Tarwater said, “and we’ve got to make sure the ones we have work.”Still, the state has a long way to go. Housing advocates estimate it would take several thousand new homes built each year just to meet demand. And construction costs keep rising as well. So it could take years before the shortage is resolved.The lack of housing is also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/housing-development-section/2024-09-24/forget-the-stereotypes-many-homeless-kansans-have-jobs-but-cant-afford-a-place-to-live" target="_blank">contributing to rising homelessness</a>&nbsp;in the state. While home prices are rising, so are home and apartment rental costs. Advocates serving the homeless say Kansas had the sixth highest rent price increase in the country in 2023. Data in Johnson County also shows more than half of homeless people there have some sort of income, but still can’t afford a place to live.The housing shortage may also hurt the economy. Republican Rep. Leah Howell said she’s heard from business owners who are having a hard time filling positions because new employees can’t find housing.<h2>Here are some of the ideas the committee is recommending:</h2><h2>Reviewing tax incentives</h2>Federal tax credits for affordable housing projects are not new but were not regularly utilized. Housing development in Kansas took off once the state joined in on providing its own tax credits.The Legislature enacted the Affordable Housing Tax Credit in 2022, which can be coupled with federal benefits to further incentivize developers to build more affordable housing in the state. The Kansas Housing Resources Corporation, which oversees those state tax credits, shows that it helped develop nearly 5,000 homes over the last two years.The committee suggested looking at whether the state can find more opportunities to couple state tax credits with federal funding opportunities to create an even larger impact.But lawmakers said they also want to review whether some incentives should be spread out, rather than coupled with the federal funding or connected to other state tax credits, to make sure they are dispersed and support more housing projects.<h2>Reworking state zoning law</h2>Kansas zoning laws are currently based on land use. Some communities want to create more mixed-use zoning, like allowing multi-story buildings with businesses on the ground floor and apartments above.Jamie Sauder, who is the president of the Kansas Association of Realtors and a city commissioner in Emporia, said his community tried creating a new comprehensive plan that would have implemented form-based zoning. That focuses more on the appearance of a property, rather than its use. So buildings can be mixed-use.However, the city and Lyon County could not enact the plan, because state law requires land-use zoning. So a property can only have one use, like commercial or residential. Mixed-use zoning is allowed, but it usually requires a special permit. That also gives people in the community an extra chance to block a project they don’t like.Sauder said amending the state law could allow cities to enact form-based zoning. That and streamlining could allow more housing development. He said form-based zoning also promotes housing density and makes property more affordable.“It puts more people using the same amount of infrastructure (together),” Sauder said, “which means it's cheaper. Property taxes go down.”Republican Sen. Renee Erickson of Augusta said she wants the Legislature to consider reworking state zoning laws to allow more flexibility for cities to create local solutions.But she said she wants lawmakers to be careful and not go too far. She said any changes should not restrict a community’s local control of zoning.<h2>Sealing eviction filings</h2>When a landlord begins an eviction process in court, they must provide notice to the renter and then file a lawsuit. However, that filing is a public court record and can be held against a renter when they try to find new housing, even if they are never formally evicted.For instance, a renter could fall behind on paying rent and a landlord could then file an eviction notice. The renter could resolve the issue and the eviction case does not proceed in court. But that filing is still on the renter’s record, and a landlord of a different property could point to that as a reason to disqualify them.Christina Ashie Guidry, director of policy and planning for United Community Services of Johnson County, told lawmakers that it’s unfair to renters who are never formally evicted. She said landlords in Kansas file more than 14,000 eviction filings each year, but only half of them are finalized.“It stays on your record, publicly searchable, forever,” Ashie Guidry said. “That is despite the fact that half of these cases are never prosecuted.”The committee recommended sealing the election filings in court, meaning they won’t be publicly viewable.That won’t create more housing, but it may provide relief to low-income renters who have previously faced eviction and are struggling to find a home.

Housing prices in Kansas have exploded. Here are three ideas to make homes affordable.

GEARY COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a bank robbery in Junction City.

Just after 4:30p.m. Friday, a man entered the Sunflower Bank, 510 North Jefferson Street in Junction City, according to a media release from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The suspect showed a firearm and demanded cash and ran from the bank with an undisclosed amount of money.&nbsp; There were no injuries reported.

The Junction City Police Department urges anyone with information about this individual to contact the Junction City Police Department at (785) 762-5912, Crime Stoppers at (785) 762-8477, the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324), or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. Tipsters can remain anonymous.

If you believe you have located the suspect, do not approach. Contact the Junction City Police Department immediately.

Check the Post for additional details on the suspect as they are made available.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1735350419983.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>GEARY COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a bank robbery in Junction City.Just after 4:30p.m. Friday, a man entered the Sunflower Bank, 510 North Jefferson Street in Junction City, according to a media release from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.The suspect showed a firearm and demanded cash and ran from the bank with an undisclosed amount of money.&nbsp; There were no injuries reported.The Junction City Police Department urges anyone with information about this individual to contact the Junction City Police Department at (785) 762-5912, Crime Stoppers at (785) 762-8477, the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324), or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. Tipsters can remain anonymous.If you believe you have located the suspect, do not approach. Contact the Junction City Police Department immediately.Check the Post for additional details on the suspect as they are made available.

Bank robbery reported in Junction City

UPU Industries closed their Junction City operation on December 4th of this year. The closure was confirmed by HR Manager Suzanne Deegan.

UPU has been providing net wrap for round hay bales.

There were 30 employees at the plant, which began its operation in Junction City on December 4, 2003. Deegan noted that about 85% of those employees have located other work.

The UPU Industries parent company will remain in business. They are headquartered in Northern Ireland.

By Dewey TerrillJC PostUPU Industries closed their Junction City operation on December 4th of this year. The closure was confirmed by HR Manager Suzanne Deegan.UPU has been providing net wrap for round hay bales.There were 30 employees at the plant, which began its operation in Junction City on December 4, 2003. Deegan noted that about 85% of those employees have located other work.The UPU Industries parent company will remain in business. They are headquartered in Northern Ireland.

UPU Industries shuts down their Junction City operation

Geary County Fish &amp; Game Association has been doing their real Christmas tree recycling project for many years in the Junction City area.&nbsp; Natural Christmas trees are a good option for the Holiday as they are bio-degradable, unlike the plastic or metal trees that many people use.&nbsp; Even though real evergreens are just used one time, when they are recycled for wildlife habitat or used for fish structure in water, they will return to the earth very quickly.&nbsp; An artificial tree may be used for many years but will eventually go to a landfill and be there for a thousand years or so before degrading.

Faith Lutheran Church in Junction City has made space available for accumulation of the trees again this year.&nbsp; Fish &amp; Game said that no date has been set yet for hauling.

PLEASE PLACE YOUR NATURAL EVERGREEN CHRISTMAS TREE (WITHOUT DECORATIONS) ON THE CHURCH PROPERTY AT EISENHOWER AND McFARLAND STREETS BY THE TREE DEPOSIT LOCATION SIGN NOT LATER THAN 20 JANUARY.

Geary County Fish &amp; Game Association has been doing their real Christmas tree recycling project for many years in the Junction City area.&nbsp; Natural Christmas trees are a good option for the Holiday as they are bio-degradable, unlike the plastic or metal trees that many people use.&nbsp; Even though real evergreens are just used one time, when they are recycled for wildlife habitat or used for fish structure in water, they will return to the earth very quickly.&nbsp; An artificial tree may be used for many years but will eventually go to a landfill and be there for a thousand years or so before degrading.Faith Lutheran Church in Junction City has made space available for accumulation of the trees again this year.&nbsp; Fish &amp; Game said that no date has been set yet for hauling.PLEASE PLACE YOUR NATURAL EVERGREEN CHRISTMAS TREE (WITHOUT DECORATIONS) ON THE CHURCH PROPERTY AT EISENHOWER AND McFARLAND STREETS BY THE TREE DEPOSIT LOCATION SIGN NOT LATER THAN 20 JANUARY.

Fish & Game recycles Christmas trees

You can join Milford State Park staff on a 2.5 mile, moderately difficult hike along the Eagle Ridge trail on New Years Day. Meetup in the parking area at the Group Shelter parking lot. at 1 p.m. Leashed pets are welcome.

Please consider donating non-perishable food items for the local food bank and help beat the previous year's donations.

Be sure to stop &amp; grab your 2025 state park vehicle permits beforehand or at the self-pay kiosk same day.

State Park officials remind you to stop and grab your 2025 state park vehicle permits beforehand or at the self-pay kiosk same day

You can join Milford State Park staff on a 2.5 mile, moderately difficult hike along the Eagle Ridge trail on New Years Day. Meetup in the parking area at the Group Shelter parking lot. at 1 p.m. Leashed pets are welcome.Please consider donating non-perishable food items for the local food bank and help beat the previous year's donations.Be sure to stop &amp; grab your 2025 state park vehicle permits beforehand or at the self-pay kiosk same day.State Park officials remind you to stop and grab your 2025 state park vehicle permits beforehand or at the self-pay kiosk same day

1st Day Hike is scheduled New Years Day

Kansas Highway Patrol The Kansas Highway Patrol is releasing its Christmas Holiday Activity Report. The reporting period for the holiday ran from 6 p.m. on Tuesday, December 24, 2024, through 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, December 25, 2024.

The Kansas Highway Patrol worked one fatal non-DUI&nbsp;related crash involving one non-DUI&nbsp;related fatality over the holiday. The fatal crash occurred in Doniphan County. Preliminary crash log information can be found here:

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 <figcaption>Kansas Highway Patrol</figcaption>
 </figure>Kansas Highway Patrol The Kansas Highway Patrol is releasing its Christmas Holiday Activity Report. The reporting period for the holiday ran from 6 p.m. on Tuesday, December 24, 2024, through 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, December 25, 2024.The Kansas Highway Patrol worked one fatal non-DUI&nbsp;related crash involving one non-DUI&nbsp;related fatality over the holiday. The fatal crash occurred in Doniphan County. Preliminary crash log information can be found here:<figure>
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KHP releases Christmas Holiday activity reports

By&nbsp;BLAISE MESA <a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/kansas/">The Beacon</a>

An evidence-based fund was created to help minors avoid the criminal justice system. But some groups are struggling to access the money.

Children come to the Sedgwick County Department of Corrections youth intake facility, where he’s the director. They’re already kicked out of school and have nothing to do all day. So, the county corrections department started offering classes.&nbsp;

The kids get at least four months of schooling, and they might also get anger management, grief and trauma counseling. Stonehouse said about 100 children are getting help.&nbsp;

It’s all part of the county’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.doc.ks.gov/juvenile-services/committee/documentation/april-21st-2023/sedgwick-co-evening-reporting-center/view">Evening Reporting Center</a>.&nbsp;

“We have a pretty high tolerance for behavior issues and things like that,” Stonehouse said, adding that youth aren’t kicked out of the program for behavior that would get them kicked out elsewhere.&nbsp;

The programming is funded through a statewide grant designed to help Kansas youth avoid future run-ins with the criminal justice system. Programs in Sedgwick County offer a model of how some people think the money can change a child’s life.&nbsp;

“We pick all the kids up. We provide the transportation. We provide meals and we provide the services,” Stonehouse said. “We take away all the barriers.”

There’s just one problem. Community groups have struggled to get the grant funding, and it isn’t clear yet if recent legislative action has fixed the problem.&nbsp;

In 2023, the state planned to spend $36.3 million on evidence-based programs for minors. Only $9.8 million was spent. Kansas spent more in 2024, divvying out $21.5 million out of a $37.1 million budget.&nbsp;

Donald Hymer, assistant district attorney in Johnson County, is the chair of the group that recommends how the money is spent. The group doesn’t make the final budget decisions, but it has input.&nbsp;

He said the leftover money comes from some groups that overestimate how many children they will help and end up returning some cash. That’s an example of how hard it is to estimate the need for certain programs.&nbsp;

Other groups don’t know the money exists and don’t apply. And for some, the money comes with strict requirements. Before 2024, the money could only be spent on evidence-based programs, which is the highest standard possible.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1734976311672.png" alt="Kansas lawmakers made changes to funding requirements this year for programs aimed at juveniles in the criminal justice system. They may make changes in 2025. Credit: Niko Schmidt / The Beacon" />
 <figcaption>Kansas lawmakers made changes to funding requirements this year for programs aimed at juveniles in the criminal justice system. They may make changes in 2025. Credit: Niko Schmidt / The Beacon</figcaption>
 </figure>By&nbsp;BLAISE MESA <a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/kansas/">The Beacon</a>An evidence-based fund was created to help minors avoid the criminal justice system. But some groups are struggling to access the money.Steve Stonehouse has seen it before.Children come to the Sedgwick County Department of Corrections youth intake facility, where he’s the director. They’re already kicked out of school and have nothing to do all day. So, the county corrections department started offering classes.&nbsp;The kids get at least four months of schooling, and they might also get anger management, grief and trauma counseling. Stonehouse said about 100 children are getting help.&nbsp;It’s all part of the county’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.doc.ks.gov/juvenile-services/committee/documentation/april-21st-2023/sedgwick-co-evening-reporting-center/view">Evening Reporting Center</a>.&nbsp;“We have a pretty high tolerance for behavior issues and things like that,” Stonehouse said, adding that youth aren’t kicked out of the program for behavior that would get them kicked out elsewhere.&nbsp;The programming is funded through a statewide grant designed to help Kansas youth avoid future run-ins with the criminal justice system. Programs in Sedgwick County offer a model of how some people think the money can change a child’s life.&nbsp;“We pick all the kids up. We provide the transportation. We provide meals and we provide the services,” Stonehouse said. “We take away all the barriers.”There’s just one problem. Community groups have struggled to get the grant funding, and it isn’t clear yet if recent legislative action has fixed the problem.&nbsp;In 2023, the state planned to spend $36.3 million on evidence-based programs for minors. Only $9.8 million was spent. Kansas spent more in 2024, divvying out $21.5 million out of a $37.1 million budget.&nbsp;Donald Hymer, assistant district attorney in Johnson County, is the chair of the group that recommends how the money is spent. The group doesn’t make the final budget decisions, but it has input.&nbsp;He said the leftover money comes from some groups that overestimate how many children they will help and end up returning some cash. That’s an example of how hard it is to estimate the need for certain programs.&nbsp;Other groups don’t know the money exists and don’t apply. And for some, the money comes with strict requirements. Before 2024, the money could only be spent on evidence-based programs, which is the highest standard possible.&nbsp;Stonehouse said his county corrections department has enough staff to go through proper training and keep data on evidence-based programs to meet the grant requirements. Smaller grassroots groups can’t afford to send staff away for training and don’t have the capacity to track data.“It can be overkill,” Stonehouse said. “Not everybody needs an evidence-based program.”The Kansas Legislature&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/summary_hb_2021_2023">made it easier</a>&nbsp;to hand out money from the evidence-based fund this year. It OK’d funds to help both the juvenile and their family, which wasn’t previously allowed. The money is also eligible for a broader range of behavioral health issues.&nbsp;Hymer said he’s happy with how the Legislature has set up the fund, and “the only thing left would be to expand to consider preventative resources or preventative programs.”Senator-elect Stephen Owens, a Hesston Republican and current House member, recommended lawmakers look again during the 2025 session at the requirements, even though the new changes are less than five months old.&nbsp;Gov. Laura Kelly has taken $20 million out of the fund before and put it into state general funds. That money was returned, but then lawmakers voted on a motion earlier this year to take $17 million out of the fund again.&nbsp;“We just want to protect those funds and make sure that they’re helping the kids that they were designed to help,” Owens said.&nbsp;Mike Fonkert, deputy director of Kansas Appleseed — a group focused on juvenile justice — said his group wants the money to help as many youth as possible. But he said there is a danger of making the money too available.&nbsp;If that money can be used on more programs and more services, Fonkert said, it might get spread too thin to help the children it was designed for — kids in the criminal justice system.&nbsp;Fonkert said some at the Statehouse have the perception that none of the money is being spent. That’s not true.&nbsp;He said the state has done a good job of allocating the money overall, and state officials have been open to helping groups manage the grant process. Could more be done? Perhaps. But Fonkert said the money is accessible now.The Legislature returns in January, when House and Senate committees are expected to further debate the rules around spending the money.&nbsp;

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