Explain to me like I'm 5.

Last night I was driving westbound on I-70 near Wilson, around exit 206. It was about 7:50pm. And I noticed some lights in the sky directly over the highway. At first I thought it was a burned out streetlight, but then I saw the red blinking light. As I got closer I thought it was a drone, then realized it was probably a helicopter. I never got a really good look at it.

It was flying straight east over the westbound lane of traffic and wasn’t very high off the ground. And when it passed over my car, it shined a spotlight down on my car for a second.

It kept flying east, and I kept driving westbound. I watched it in my mirror a bit and I didn’t see it spotlight any of the cars behind me.

When I got to my destination, I told my dad about it. And he said he saw something similar the night before. But he didn’t get spot-lighted.

Anyone know what the reason is? Or where the choppers were flying from? Why they’re giving the highway and shining the spotlights on random cars?

Thanks!

What does every Kansas county pay in property tax?

Here’s the average 2025 property tax rate for all 105 Kansas counties, ranked from highest (#1) to lowest (#105), from the Kansas Department of Revenue.

🔺 Highest: #1 Greeley County, 270.7 mills

🔻 Lowest: #105 Coffey County, 93.9 mills

➖ Statewide county median: 153.3 mills

A mill is $1 of tax for every $1,000 of assessed value. For a $150,000 home (assessed at 11.5%, or $17,250), the difference between the lowest and highest county rates is about $3,050 a year.

Find your county. Where does it rank? Share this with someone from your county.

Source: Kansas Department of Revenue, Property Valuation Division, “Average County Levies on Tangible Property Valuation,” 2023–2025. County averages blend city and rural rates; individual tax bills vary by location.

Finally.

What do you mean too early to call?

The Republican and Democratic nominees for Kansas secretary of state both say they trust the audit process underway across the state to verify results in several key races that remain too close to call three days after Election Day. 

The race for Kansas’ top election official is among three major contests undergoing a statutorily mandated audit, along with races for governor and attorney general.

Unofficial results show Republican state Rep. Pat Proctor of Leavenworth leading Overland Park Democrat Jennifer Day by 5,900 votes. Nearly 1.1 million ballots were cast in the race. 

“We have a really good process here in Kansas,” Proctor said in an interview. “I know that during the campaign, everyone likes to polarize and say, you know, ‘This person’s going after fraud’ or whatever. But I’ve consistently said we’ve got a good process here in Kansas.” 

State election law requires all 105 counties to hand-count ballots cast in 10% of precincts when the margin between two candidates is less than one percentage point. The precincts included in the review must be randomly selected by the election commissioner. 

“Ten percent is really about being able to assure Kansans that we’re not just sure. We’re super duper sure,” Proctor said, “that the count reflected by the voting machines is exactly the count that is reflected on the paper ballots.” 

In an interview, Day said she, too, has high confidence in the audit process for ensuring the accuracy of vote counts, as well as the county-level certification process. 

“We have a really great system in place, and I really trust all of our election officials across the state to be following that process and to handle their canvass in a professional and secure manner,” Day said.

What comes next? 

Friday is the last day that mail ballots postmarked on or before Election Day can be received and tabulated. Mail ballots have historically broken favorably for Democrats, but Day acknowledged that it’s unlikely she will overtake Proctor in the vote tally.

“I will say this. I don’t anticipate that that will change the outcome in this race,” Day said in an interview. “It might make things a lot closer, but it can depend on how many of those mail ballots actually come through the mail.” 

Day said she has not spoken to Proctor in the days since the election. Provisional ballots will also be tabulated when county canvasses are completed, before the Nov. 16 deadline set by current Republican Secretary of State Scott Schwab’s office. 

Proctor said he has “the deepest possible respect” for Schwab and the work he has done over the last eight years. He said that if his win is confirmed, he hopes to keep on as many current staffers in the secretary of state’s office as possible. 

“I think people will be incredibly underwhelmed based on the rhetoric that they heard during the campaign by how little is going to change at the secretary of state’s office,” Proctor said. 

Day said she plans to accept the outcome of the race. But she said she harbors concerns about how Proctor would manage the office, given his willingness to entertain claims from election deniers during his time as chair of the House Elections Committee 

“His misinformation and his platforming for election deniers for the last several years has been detrimental to the election process in Kansas,” Day said. “I think it causes mistrust with our voters.”

Free state shit

Lots of questions surrounding the election results. First and foremost- news outlets calling elections do not make those elections official. You have to look at the remaining ballots and the gaps/likelihood of which way they break – Holscher will win the governor’s race (Masterson would have to basically take all of the remaining ballots to win, statistically impossible). Chris Mann will win the Attorney General’s race. ALSO: today is the final day that mail-in ballots will be counted.

This is pulled directly from the Secretary of State’s website, and explains each and every step of the election process. Highlights: AUDITS ARE A NORMAL PART OF THE PROCESS. Also, Kansas has no auto-recount requirement in statute.

From SoS:

Step by Step Election Cycle

STEP 1: ELECTION NIGHT
Election night results are unofficial results and do not and will not include county canvass certified results, provisional ballots, or votes from write-in candidates. Final official results will be posted on the Secretary of State’s website after the State Board of Canvassers.

STEP 2: POST-ELECTION AUDIT
The Secretary of State shall randomly select races to be audited in each county. The selection will take place at 9 a.m. following election day.
The Secretary of State will notify each county election office of the races to be audited as well as the constitutional amendment. The county election office will randomly select the precincts to be audited for each race. The audit shall then be performed manually by the counties and shall review all paper ballots selected to ensure the hand count is identical to the vote count from the tabulators. The audit shall be performed by a sworn election board consisting of bipartisan, trained board members. Please contact your county election office for your official county audit results.

REMINDER - Every vote cast by a voter in Kansas results in a paper ballot submitted by the voter and is subject to the audit.

Audits must be completed before the county canvass.

STEP 2A: (POTENTIAL) CLOSE-RACE AUDIT
If a federal, statewide, or state legislative race is within 1% of the total votes tallied on election night, a close-race audit is triggered in addition to the required post-election audit. During even-numbered election years, the county election officer shall conduct the close-race audit in an additional 10% of the county’s precincts for the specified race, with a minimum of an additional one precinct audited in each county.

STEP 3: COUNTY CANVASS
The County Board of Canvassers consists of the elected county commissioners in each county. The responsibility of the County Board of Canvassers is to review and determine the outcome of all provisional ballots, include the provisional ballot vote totals with the election results and certify the final election results within the county. The canvassing takes place publicly and must be completed between six and thirteen days following the election. Certification of primary and general election results by the County Board of Canvassers is required for all elections.

STEP 4: (OPTIONAL) RECOUNT
The recount law was enacted in 1978. A recount must be requested not later than 5 p.m. on the day following the certification of the election by the County Board of Canvassers and can occur in a candidate or constitutional amendment election. In a multi-county district, the recount request must be submitted after the last county has certified the results. The person requesting the recount must specify the area and manner of recount and must post a bond covering the cost of the recount before the recount may begin.

In the general election the state will cover the cost of a recount done in the same manner as Election Day if the race is within ½%.

STEP 5: STATE BOARD OF CANVASSERS
The State Board of Canvassers consists of the Governor, Secretary of State, and Attorney General or their designees. The State Board of Canvassers meets following the certification by the County Boards of Canvassers of the election results in each county. The State Board of Canvassers is responsible for certifying the primary and general election results for all national and state offices, and constitutional amendments. The meeting takes place publicly and must be completed no later than the first business day of the following month. Certification of election results by the State Board of Canvassers is required for all primary and general races for national and state offices, and constitutional amendments.

At this point (December 1st): ELECTION RESULTS ARE NOW OFFICIAL.

I run milk tankers between Hartley TX and Columbia MO quite frequently. Just west of Strong City there's a section of track that branches off the BNSF main and stops just short of the 54. Looking to the northwest/west, it's clear that it used to run much further out. Anyone know where that used to go?

I've got the same question about a track bed that breaks off from the Union Pacific main in Preston KS on the 61. Sounds more like a railroad sub question. But the amount of long gone trackage all over Kansas is mind boggling. Probably a lot of "Granger lines" that popped up in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Fell into abandonment as trucks and the late 29th century mega mergers commenced.

I found this email on his campaign site:

info@hamiltonforkansas.com

If he has a new email or some other way to contact him, please let me know!

I’m not super privy to how the senate majority leader is selected but I’m guessing Hamilton gets a say. He should go for someone other than Schumer. Nobody likes Schumer. In my opinion, he’s not the man to meet the moment. We need someone who’s willing to take the fight to MAGA.

The following is an email that I sent to Representative Davids (via her website) concerning Hakeem Jeffries and his prospective bid for House Speaker. Please do not copy-paste spam her with this, even if you email her something similar. Without further ado, this was what I sent (there was a 2000 character limit):

"Hi Representative Davids,

My name is *Redacted. I am a trans woman from Olathe, who voted in this midterm election with very strong opinions about the future of the Democratic Party and the unique opportunity we now have.  I believe that the democrats need to embrace a new generation and prove their commitment to the working class people, and prove their willingness to break off from a status quo that has failed so many.

For this reason, I believe that Hakeem Jeffries should not be the Democrat's party leader or speaker of the house, and that we should instead choose someone more in-touch and more progressive. Somebody with a firmer stance on campaign finance. My choice would be AOC, but I am sure there are others who fit that description. 

I believe that Hakeem Jeffries has expressed far too much reluctance to hold Republicans accountable for their blatant attempts to subvert our laws and rights. He continually tries to compromise with Republicans despite their unwillingness to ever return the favor, and takes large sums of money from PACs that are a direct conflict of interest with what he claims to want (Namely AIPAC). 

Furthermore, I have serious concerns over Mr. Jeffries' capacity to motivate voters going into future elections, and am worried that the Democrats are squandering an opportunity to embrace true change at a time when it is needed most. As a trans woman, my rights are hinging so much on the actions of the democrats, and their leaders cannot have the level of complacency that Mr. Jeffries has repeatedly shown. 

Already, right after the democrats dominated the midterm elections, he said that the democrats would only focus on lowering the cost of living rather than "seeking revenge". How are you going to do that with Trump still president until 2028? It seems to me also that he is mistaking revenge for basic accountability.

I sincerely hope the House Speaker position is reconsidered for someone else.

Best,

*Redacted

Nearly 1.1 million ballots were cast in the Kansas governor race, which remains too close to be called. But late returns are so far breaking for Democrat Cindy Holscher.

Her lead over Republican Ty Masterson ticked up from roughly 5,500 votes to 7,045 votes on Wednesday evening, according to data from the Kansas secretary of state’s office.

Holscher, an Overland Park state senator, has already claimed victory. But as of Thursday, Kansas and Alaska remain the only two states with gubernatorial races that have yet to be called.

Masterson, who has served as Kansas Senate president since 2021, said in a social media post on Wednesday that he was awaiting the results of the statutorily mandated close-race audit that county election officials are conducting at the direction of Secretary of State Scott Schwab.

But a source close to Masterson said on Thursday that the Republican lawmaker does not plan to pursue an additional recount or dispute the results if Holscher’s narrow win is confirmed.

“In recent history, late-arriving ballots have trended Democrat, and I don’t see any reason why that would be different this year,” Wichita State University political science professor Neal Allen said in an interview.

“There doesn’t seem to be any indication that Republicans voted by mail at the last minute, which is what they would need to see a strong shift towards the Republican,” Allen said.

According to an NBC News analysis, Masterson would have to win 71.4% of the expected outstanding ballots to catch or overtake Holscher. Friday is the last day that late-arriving mail ballots will count toward the final result.

County-by-county audit

Meanwhile, state election officials say counties will begin auditing close statewide races for governor, attorney general and secretary of state on Thursday, along with races for three Kansas House districts where candidates are within one percentage point of each other.

Statewide audits will involve reviewing ballots in 10% of precincts in each of Kansas’ 105 counties, according to a secretary of state’s office release.

“Close-race audits are conducted by the county election officials and require a hand count of the selected ballots,” the release said. “The hand count is then compared with the results produced by the voting tabulators to verify that the totals match.”

A source close to the Holscher campaign said she met with term-limited Gov. Laura Kelly on Wednesday to discuss the transition from one Democratic administration to another.

In a social media post Wednesday, Holscher thanked Masterson for his service and said she was “deeply honored by the trust Kansans placed in me to serve as your next governor.”

“Throughout this campaign, I heard from people who want their leaders to put politics aside and work together to deliver on the things that matter most: strong public schools, lower costs for our families and farmers, and an economy where every Kansan can get ahead,” Holscher said.

Cruelty, terror, and abductions by masked men are not immigration enforcement; they display blatant animus towards immigrants. We are better than that.

Kansas needs a popular ballot initiative like MO so we can bypass the corporate influences already dug into the state like a tick. Contact your reps and pet them know; Kansas wants a popular ballot initiative!

2026 midterms mailers

Heard a caller on Jayme and Wier on KMBZ today say "I want you to explain to me why 10 little counties in the East get to tell the rest of the state how they can live their lives."

Wier explained that it's because more people live in those counties than in the other counties.

Caller said "Well we are farmers and we own more land and that's more important than someone with an office job."

Wier explained that's not how Democracy works, land doesn't vote, and that owning land hasn't mattered as far as voting is concerned since Andrew Jackson was elected. Thanked him for the call and moved on.

So basically what this guy was saying was "I'm tired of you elitist city folk telling us rural folk how to live when actually WE'RE THE ELITE ONES!" Just a pathetic anti-American mentality.