Kansas recognized 101 workers with 40 and 50 years of employment
The Kansas Department of Administration held the ceremony for employees who have been with the state for 40 and 50 years. There were 92 employees recognized for 40 years of continuous employment with the state, and nine employees recognized for 50 years of continuous employment.
'I multiplied all that and came up with a combined, staggering, 4,130 years of service, sitting in this room,' Kelly said. 'I want to take a moment to sincerely acknowledge your unwavering dedication to the state of Kansas.'
Kelly also noted that the past five years has been challenging for state employees. She said Kansas's employees had to adapt to alternative working conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic and intense public backlash to public servants.
'I'm also aware that we are currently in an environment that tends to undervalue and undermine public service at both the federal and state level, jeopardizing the central services Kansans rely on, threatening critical agency objectives to keep our people safe and healthy,' Kelly said.
After her remarks, all 101 employees were asked to walk to podium to receive a certificate recognizing their years of service, and take a photo with Kelly and their respective agency heads.
Jack Harvel is a Statehouse Reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at JHarvel@Gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas gov. honors state employees at Capitol ceremony
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New York Post
a minute ago
- New York Post
Elon Musk reportedly eyeing JD Vance for 2028 as he hits the brakes on plans for a new political party
Elon Musk is reportedly putting the brakes on launching his new political party in order to maintain ties with prominent Republicans — especially Vice President JD Vance, who the billionaire is eyeing to back in 2028. Musk had vowed that his 'America Party' would challenge the two-party system, however, he told those close to him that he'd rather focus on his businesses than pull voters away from his Republican allies in Washington, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Tesla CEO is particularly keen on keeping ties with Vance, who is widely speculated to inherit the MAGA movement after President Trump completes his second term. 3 Elon Musk attends a news conference with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Washington. AP Musk has told associates that forming the 'America Party' would damage that relationship, according to the paper. Musk, the richest man in the world, has expressed to those in his circle that he would financially back Vance if he made a run for the White House in 2028. He dumped nearly $300 million on Trump and other Republican campaigns in the 2024 elections, propelling Trump to a second presidential victory. Still, Musk hasn't completely ruled out moving forward with the new party and is waiting to see how the 2026 midterm elections shake out, the tech mogul's allies told the Journal. 3 Vice President JD Vance (C) exits the Oval Office in the opposite direction as President Trump and Musk (R) walk away before departing the White House on his way to his South Florida home in Mar-a-Lago in Florida on March 14, 2025. AFP via Getty Images 3 Musk jumps on the stage as President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Butler Farm Show, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pa. AP Musk first threatened to start a new political party last month during his public spat with Trump over his Big Beautiful Bill Act — which Musk called a 'disgusting abomination.' He initially proposed targeting '2 or 3 Senate Seats and 8 to 10 House districts' giving them just enough influence to impact key votes on controversial legislation. Musk, without commenting further on the Journal's report, posted on X, 'Nothing @WSJ says should ever be thought of as true.'


NBC News
an hour ago
- NBC News
India and China agree to resume direct flights as Trump shakes up ties
NEW DELHI — India and China agreed on Tuesday to resume direct flights and step up trade and investment flows as the neighbors rebuild ties damaged by a 2020 border clash. The Asian giants are cautiously strengthening ties against the backdrop of President Donald Trump's unpredictable foreign policy, staging a series of high-level bilateral visits. The two countries will resume direct flights and increase trade and investment, including reopening border trade at three designated points, and facilitate in visas, the Indian foreign ministry said. Direct flights have been suspended since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. No date was given for their resumption. The latest statements came at the end of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's two-day visit to New Delhi for the 24th round of talks with Indian National Security Adviser Ajit Doval to resolve their decades-old border dispute. The border talks covered issues related to pulling back troops both countries have amassed on their Himalayan border, delimitation of borders and boundary affairs, the Indian ministry said. Both countries have agreed to set up a working group to consult and coordinate on border affairs to advance demarcation negotiations, a Chinese foreign ministry statement released on Wednesday showed. It said the mechanism will extend talks to cover the eastern and middle sections of the border. Meanwhile another round of talks on the western section will be held as soon as possible, the ministry said. Beijing also said both countries agreed to meet again in China in 2026. 'Stable, predictable, constructive ties between India and China will contribute significantly to regional as well as global peace and prosperity,' Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X after meeting Wang. Modi is scheduled to travel to China at the end of this month to take part in the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization — his first visit to the country in more than seven years. A readout from the Chinese foreign ministry said Wang told Doval that 'the stable and healthy development of China-India relations is in the fundamental interests of the two countries' people.' The two sides 'should enhance mutual trust through dialogues and expand cooperation,' Wang said, and should aim for consensus in areas such as border control and demarcation negotiations. India said Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar had underlined in his talks with Wang India's concerns with regard to the mega dam China is building on the Yarlung Zangbo river in Tibet. Yarlung Zangbo becomes the Brahmaputra as it flows into India and Bangladesh, a lifeline for millions. The dam would have implications for lower riparian states and the need for 'utmost transparency' was strongly underlined, New Delhi said. To that, China agreed to share with India emergency hydrological information on relevant rivers on humanitarian principles, China's foreign ministry said. Both sides agreed to engage an expert-level mechanism on cross-border rivers, and maintain communication to renew flood reporting arrangements, the ministry said. Chinese officials had previously said hydropower projects in Tibet will not have a major impact on the environment or on downstream water supplies, but India and Bangladesh have nevertheless raised concerns.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
For Kansas GOP, Trump and his ‘beautiful' bill parallel Brownback's poisonous tax ‘experiment'
President Donald Trump holds up the "big, beautiful bill" that was signed into law as during a Fourth of July military family picnic on the South Lawn of the White House on July 4, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Alex Brandon - Pool/Getty Images) Within a year, Kansans will be voting to elect a new governor and fill a U.S. Senate seat, plus four congressional seats, among elections for other offices. Candidates are already announcing for office, and campaigns are getting underway. Most Republican candidates are fawning at the feet of President Donald Trump. The groveling of these sycophants may be misplaced as Kansas voters recall the toxic remains of Gov. Sam Brownback's infamous tax experiment, initiated in 2012 and abandoned in 2017 after five years of unfair taxes, deficit spending, and record debt. Trump's 'one big, beautiful bill' has followed a path that parallels Brownback's tax experiment and may experience the same result. After six months in office, available evidence suggests that Trump and the bill may become political liabilities for the grovelers. Take a look at the parallels. Both Brownback and Trump chose partisanship rather than seeking common ground, and as a result, political liability falls entirely on Republicans. Democrats were shut out of decisions. Both partisan plans had to be forced through with brazen arm-twisting. When Brownback's tax bill stalled over disagreements between the legislative chambers, the governor double-crossed state Senate leadership and signed a flawed bill intended for negotiation. Brownback later stood aside as the Kansas Chamber of Commerce PAC effectively purged state senators of the governor's party who opposed the policy. Trump issued multiple threats of primary challenges targeted at resistant Republicans to bring them into line on the 'big, beautiful bill.' One senator who balked fell victim to the pressure and announced he would not seek reelection. Both Brownback's tax experiment and Trump's bill were Koch inspired. Brownback sought the advice of Arthur Laffer, a Koch-sponsored tax-cut guru, and shortly thereafter embraced 'a real live experiment' to eliminate state income taxes. Koch and a handful of well-heeled donors underwrote a million-dollar campaign through the Chamber PAC to elect legislators willing to do their bidding. Their campaign succeeded. Americans for Prosperity, a Koch political network, called early for Trump to renew and deepen tax cuts and launched a multimillion-dollar campaign to 'turn up the heat' on Congress for quick passage. Both Brownback's tax experiment and Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' had common intent: Benefiting the wealthy while costing everyone else. Brownback's experiment tilted the tax burden from rich to poor; it further exempted 330,000 businesses from the income tax and promised the eventual elimination of the tax. Trump's law gives households with incomes in the top 10% a break of $12,000 per year while those in the bottom 10% pay an additional $1,600, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office. The top 1% are the prime beneficiaries. Additionally, both Brownback and Trump coupled tax cuts for the rich with measures undermining aid to the needy. Brownback restricted eligibility for income support and food assistance and blocked the expansion of Medicaid. The budget office estimates the 'big, beautiful bill' will slash more than $1 trillion in spending from Medicaid and food assistance for the next 10 years, primarily by restricting eligibility for aid. Ten to 12 million will be cut from Medicaid, and those qualified for food assistance will fall as well. Brownback's experiment created red ink as far as the eye could see, and Trump's plan will do the same. The Kansas Legislative Research Department projected soaring deficits from Brownback's tax experiment, amounting to $2.5 billion in the first five years. Even after a sales tax increase, the depletion of state balances and the diversion of highway funds, the state faced a mid-year deficit of $300 million in 2017. The Congressional Budget Office estimates Trump's law will increase the deficit to $3.4 trillion over the next 10 years and add $4 trillion to the national debt when interest payments are taken into account. Even so, the rhetoric of both Brownback and Trump soared: Brownback claimed his experiment would provide 'a glide path to zero' for state income taxes. And further: 'Look out Texas, here comes Kansas!' Trump declares the 'big, beautiful bill' would 'make this country into a rocket ship. It's going to be really great. … We'll have growth in record numbers.' After five years of unbalanced budgeting, one-sided taxing, and unprecedented borrowing, Kansas voters had seen enough of Brownback's experiment. The governor's approval ratings steadily sank to the lowest in the nation among governors. In 2016, voters ousted Brownback's legislative allies and elected a bipartisan legislative coalition that expeditiously abandoned the experiment and restored sanity to state finances. In Trump's first six months, his disapproval ratings have bumped up by 10 percentage points, well above comparable figures for Biden, Obama, and George W. Bush. Recent polling indicates 55% disapproval of the 'big, beautiful bill,' compared with 29% approval. In the upcoming election contests, Kansans will have the opportunity to query incumbents about their choices: shoddy partisan tactics over bipartisanship. Sponsorship by Koch. Support for taxes that benefit the rich and ditch the poor. Votes that swamped the state and nation in a sea of red ink. We now what they did back in 2016. We'll see what they decide in 2026. H. Edward Flentje is a professor emeritus at Wichita State University and formerly was director and professor in the Hugo Wall School of Public Affairs at the university. He has written and edited numerous publications, including most recently co-writing and co-editing 'Reform and Reaction: The Arc of Kansas Politics.' Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.