Saturday, January 6, 2024
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Local lawmakers look ahead
Rep. Fred Gardner, R-Garnett, speaks at a House Committee hearing in March 2023 on a proposal to create Lehigh Portland State Park in Iola. REGIS-
Sen. Caryn Tyson, R-Parker, sits at her desk on the floor of the Kansas Senate in February 2023. (TIM CARPENTER/KANSAS REFLECTOR)
TER FILE PHOTO
Gardner ready for return Tyson targets tax rates By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register
Rep. Fred Gardner, a Republican from Garnett who represents the 9th District, is returning for just his second year in the Kansas House of Represenatives. He feels a bit more comfortable in his role, having learned more about the inner workings of government during his first year. In the last session, he successfully introduced legislation to add Iola’s Lehigh Portland lake and trails to the state park system. He serves on the agriculture and natural
I would be very much in favor of reducing the income tax. That was a big issue in the last session and I assume it will continue to be this time.
resources committee, health and human services and lcoal government. “After you’ve been through the process, you have a better idea of how everything works and you have a little more input,”
Council to talk about dangerous structures By SARAH HANEY The Iola Register
The Iola City Council will deliberate on four resolutions concerning the removal of dangerous or unsafe structures at its meeting Monday. Identified by the city’s code enforcement staff, these structures, in accordance with the Unified Development Code, present significant risks to both inhabitants and the surrounding community. The four houses under scrutiny are: 116 N. Fourth: A two-bedroom, single-story house, without utilities since August 2016. Structural issues include collapsed floor joists, deteriorating walls, and foundation problems, allowing animal access beSee COUNCIL | Page A8
Vol. 126, No. 18 Iola, KS $1.00
Gardner said. “I think that will make for faster progress right out of the gate.” The next legislative session starts at 2 p.m. Monday and lasts 90 days. It’s not a lot of time, Gardner notes. “There were over 800 bills introduced last session and in 90 days, that’s a lot of work,” he said. “A lot of those bills are still alive. Some of them were worked in committee and passed out of committee but didn’t get on the floor. Some passed the House but didn’t get through the Senate, and the Senate See GARDNER | Page A5
By VICKIE MOSS The Iola Register
Sen. Caryn Tyson, a Republican from Parker who represents Allen County in the 12th District, is serving her third term as a state senator. She served a term as a representative before that. Having that experience gives her the opportunity to serve on numerous committees and a strong voice on issues such as fiscal policy and taxes. She is a committee leader on taxation and also serves on committees for transportation, commerce, unemployment compensation
The legislative process is slow, meticulous and diligent — and it should be — but sometimes that process does not keep up with industry. modernization and improvement, joint information technology, legislative post audit, and administrative rules and regulations. “I work with a lot of people on both sides of the aisle to get a good product for Kansas. I
UN issues somber 2024 predictions UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations issued a somber global economic forecast for 2024 on Thursday, pointing to challenges from escalating conflicts, sluggish global trade, persistently high interest rates and increasing climate disasters. In its flagship economic report, the U.N. projected that global economic growth would slow to 2.4% this year from an estimated 2.7% in 2023, which exceeds expectations. But both are still below the 3% growth rate before the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, it said. The U.N. forecast is lower than those of the International Monetary Fund in October and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in late November. The IMF said it expects global growth to slow from an expected 3% in 2023 to 2.9% in 2024. The Paris-based OECD, comprising 38 mainly developed countries, estimated that international growth would also
think that makes me a very effective legislator,” she said, offering in example efforts to work with Democratic Sen. Tom Holland to freeze property taxes for seniors and disabled veterans. She also worked on legislation to exempt those taxes entirely, as part of a package vetoed by the governor in the last session, but hopes to expand those efforts this year. “It’s one of my top priorities,” she said. “It’s important to me to get the money back to taxpayers. That is one way to keep more money in pocketbooks.” See TYSON | Page A3
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A tugboat drags a Panama-flagged ship in the Suez Canal on March 29, 2021. Suez Canal transit fees are a major source of foreign currency for Egypt, which is battling its worst economic crisis in decades. Global trade is a concern going into 2024. (HANDOUT/DPA/ZUMA PRESS/TNS)
Kansas special education task force to convene PAGE A2
slow from an expected 2.9% in 2023 to 2.7% in 2024. The U.N.’s report — World Economic Situation and Prospects 2024 — warned that the prospects of prolonged tighter credit conditions and higher borrowing costs present “strong headwinds” for a world economy saddled with debt, especially
in poorer developing countries, and needing investment to resuscitate growth. Shantanu Mukherjee, director of the U.N.’s Economic Analysis and Policy Division, said fears of a recession in 2023 were averted mainly due to the United States, the world’s largest economy, See WORLD | Page A8
The fallout from the Jan. 6 riot, three years later PAGE A7
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