In the News

Representative Sharice Davids was in De Soto earlier today working on a construction shift on the K-10 Project as a part of "Sharice's Shift," a series to bring attention to the bipartisan infrastructure law on the local level.

As part of her work with Clarkson Construction Company, Davids assisted with "potholing for utilities, a non-destructive digging process that uses vacuum excavation to dig precision holes to expose utility lines," per a media release.

Congress is gearing up for another Farm Bill this year.

It's a piece of legislation voted on every five years and is often known as one of the biggest safety nets for farmers.

Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.) has been on a listening tour the past couple of weeks, hearing from local ranchers, farms, and businesses about their priorities when it comes to the bill.

She visited Pat and Rachel's Gardens in Olathe Tuesday afternoon and learned about how owner, James Leek, grows his organic produce and some of the issues other farmers are facing.

A financial burden is lifted. Some Medicare recipients are now paying less for insulin thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, which passed last year.

The cost is saving people hundreds of dollars, including Julie Cogley from Overland Park.

"It's a life-changer for me," she said.

Cogley is one of nearly 38,000,000 Americans with diabetes. She was diagnosed three years ago and the possibility of spending $700 on insulin weighed on her.

Fortunately, her doctors provided her with free samples to get by.

An insulin maker responsible for about 30% of the nation's insulin announced it is capping costs at $35.

Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks said in a press call Wednesday he believes "patients should have a consistent and lower cost experience at the pharmacy counter," per NBC News.

The $35 out-of-pocket maximum is now consistent with Medicare Part D rates after the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, taking effect at the beginning of the year.

"Well, I was just thrilled," said diabetic Julie Cogley. "[I] literally cried the day I heard it because it's been a huge worry."

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has appropriated $2.48 million to the University of Kansas Medical Center Research Institute, Inc. to expand and improve mental health care for youth across Kansas.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on Monday hailed the massive Panasonic battery plant planned for De Soto as part of a wave of industrial production centered on electric vehicles that is spurring an "American renaissance" in manufacturing.

Buttigieg was among a host of officials who descended upon the old Sunflower Army Ammunition Plant in western Johnson County to survey the vast field of dirt where the $4 billion plant that is expected to employ 4,000 people will one day stand. In the distance, excavators and heavy equipment were already at work.

Leaders from Missouri and Kansas gathered Monday to celebrate the opening of the new single-terminal Kansas City International Airport with federal officials during a ceremony and ribbon-cutting.

U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, Kansas Lt. Gov. David Toland, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II of Missouri and Rep. Sharice Davids of Kansas joined other leaders at the ceremony in at the new terminal, which will officially open on Tuesday.

.S. Rep. Sharice Davids admits she's negotiating a steep learning curve as one of the newest members of the House Agriculture Committee.

Davids was appointed to the committee last summer at a time that practically coincided with new boundary lines drawn in her district – Kansas' 3rd District of the U.S. House of Representatives. The new district split Wyandotte County along Interstate 70 and still included Johnson County in its entirety, but also added Miami, Franklin and Anderson counties to the mix, making it decidedly more rural.