Tag: Kansas

Colyer diagnosed with prostate cancer, ends campaign for governor

by Sherman Smith, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — Jeff Colyer announced Monday he was ending his campaign for Kansas governor and receiving treatment for prostate cancer.

Colyer’s departure from the race clears the way for Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt to win the GOP nomination for governor in next year’s primary election. Colyer endorsed Schmidt’s campaign.

“While I have always focused on helping others, for the next few weeks I am going to focus on my health,” Colyer said. “I was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer like my father and grandfather. After treatment, I am confident for a full recovery.”

Colyer, a former governor and state legislator, said Kansas for the past three years has “felt the pain” of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s leadership, and that it was time for Republicans to rally behind Schmidt.

Schmidt said Colyer “is a longtime friend who has led an exemplary life of service.”

“I welcome and appreciate Gov. Colyer’s endorsement and agree that now is the time to come together to elect a Republican governor for Kansas next year,” Schmidt said.

Mike Kuckelman, chairman of the Kansas GOP, said Republicans are committed to restoring conservative leadership to the governor’s office.

“The Kansas Republican Party wishes Governor Jeff Colyer all the best as he and his family focus on his health,” Kuckelman said. “Governor Colyer has served Kansas well, and Kansas Republicans are very appreciative of his years of service.”

Colyer served as Sam Brownback’s lieutenant governor from 2011 to 2018 and took over the governor’s office when Brownback left for a position in the Trump administration. Former Secretary of State Kris Kobach defeated Colyer by 350 votes in the 2018 GOP primary, before losing to Kelly in the general election.

As governor, Colyer said, his accomplishments included increased transparency, paid parental leave for state employees, protecting religious liberties, advanced pro-life policies, mandated sexual harassment prevention, an upgraded credit outlook for the state, and transformation of the state-run Medicaid program.

“I am proud of what we have achieved,” Colyer said. “When I completed my term, we accomplished a lot: more Kansans working than ever before, record household income, record small business formation, and a budget surplus over $1.1 billion.”

Now that he has left the political battlefield, Colyer said, he will focus on his medical practice. He said he believes “God put us here to make a difference in people’s lives.” That includes providing medical services through an international nonprofit humanitarian organization.

“To my patients, I will continue to take care of you for years to come,” he said. “If I see you as a patient in the trauma bay, know that not only will I fight like hell for you but I also know first-hand how it feels to face adversity. I will continue my international work in warzones around the world.”

In a letter to campaign supporters, Colyer encouraged civic engagement.

“While some days it seems like the challenges we face are so daunting, we must continue to work towards new solutions,” he said. “What I have seen throughout my time in public service and this campaign is that there are more of us than you realize. In every community in this state, there are folks standing up and fighting for our values, for our state, and for Kansas’ future generations.

“Our best days are ahead of us. So don’t retreat. Stay involved, just like I’m going to, because our great country, our great state, and our great people are worth fighting for.”

Kansas Reflector stories, at www.kansasreflector.com, may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2021/08/30/jeff-colyer-diagnosed-with-prostate-cancer-ends-campaign-for-kansas-governor/

State employees returning to remote work

In response to the continued spread of the Delta variant of the COVID-19 virus, Gov. Laura Kelly has released new guidance directing state agencies under the jurisdiction of the executive branch to resume remote work operations where possible.

“Since the start of the pandemic, my administration has followed the best public health guidance to keep our communities safe, mitigate the spread of the virus, and reduce strain on hospitals,” Gov. Kelly said. “The decision to return to remote work was not made lightly – but we know that this is a necessary step to prevent COVID-19 infections. I am confident that our state employees will continue to provide quality services to all Kansans who need them.”

The remote work model will remain in place through Oct. 4. At that time, a re-assessment of current COVID-19 infection rates will determine when state employees can return to fully on-site work.

At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, state agency operations shifted to remote work for employees whose job functions could be performed remotely. In June, after a significant reduction in daily COVID-19 infections, state employees began returning to state office buildings.

As infection numbers began to rise again throughout the summer, a transition to remote work will help control the spread of the virus among state employees. Onsite staffing will be limited to only those necessary to safely conduct agency operations.

Mask requirements, social distancing and other mitigation measures will remain in place for employees whose jobs must be performed on-site. Public offices serving customers will be encouraged to re-institute mitigation measures that were previously utilized during the pandemic, such as scheduling “by appointment only” or making allowances for virtual as opposed to in-person interactions. All such measures will be carried out in a way as to have as minimal an impact or inconvenience on customers, according to a spokesman.

Nurses must renew expired licenses by Aug. 28

Gov. Laura Kelly urged Kansas nurses to renew their licensing requirements by the Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021 deadline.

The Kansas State Board of Nursing announced the notice for Kansas nurses, and employers of Kansas nurses, who were working under the professional licensing waivers issued via the COVID-19 disaster declaration Executive Order 21-09. Licensed nursing professionals impacted by the ending of these waivers are urged to renew their l icense as soon as possible.

“Since COVID-19 invaded Kansas, our nurses have been on-call around the clock to keep Kansans safe and healthy and I can’t thank them enough for their life-saving work,” Gov. Laura Kelly said. “Right now, we need our Kansas nurses more than ever. I urge all Kansas nurses to renew their licensing, so we can continue to care for patients.

“To all the unvaccinated Kansans – we owe it to our nurses to get vaccinated now. We must reduce the strain on our hospital system and our healthcare workers. We all need to step up and do our part to protect each other,” Gov. Kelly said.

The Board of Nursing began sending multiple electronic and postcard mail renewal notices to licensees and stakeholders about the expiring waivers in the weeks and months leading up to the ending of these waivers. The board has also continued to release public notices via social media, the agency newsletter and the KSBN website throughout the COVID pandemic emergency.

Without a disaster declaration, the governor and Board of Nursing cannot further extend the waivers. Legislative action is necessary to extend any waiver beyond Aug. 28.

The nurses affected by these waivers are those who had a Kansas nursing license with a normal expiration date of March 31, 2020, through July 31, 2021, and who have not yet renewed their licensure.

Any of these licensees that are not renewed by Aug. 28, 2021, will begin to lapse on Aug. 29, 2021, according to officials.

A nurse with a lapsed Kansas nursing license can no longer work until their license is reinstated, officials stated.

Kansas nurses or those who employ a Kansas nurse and are unsure of when the nursing license expires, may check the status of your license at the Nursing License Verification Database. This is a free service offered to the public and nurses.


Renewing a Kansas nursing license is a simple process that takes only minutes to complete.


• To renew your license, simply visit the “Getting Started” section of the Board of Nursing website.
• Read and follow all applicable instructions.
• Then, log into the Kansas Nursing License Portal to complete your renewal and pay applicable fees.
• To confirm your renewal has been completed, the nurse may do so via the same portal or by checking the Nursing License Verification Database. (Please allow up to two hours for the public verification database to update prior to checking.)


For more information or to renew a nursing license, visit the Board of Nursing’s website at https://ksbn.kansas.gov/