Anna Kaminski, Kansas Reflector

Southeast Kansas farmer challenges Republican incumbent for 2nd District congressional seat

by Anna Kaminski, Kansas Reflector
September 9, 2025

TOPEKA — A southeast Kansas farmer, veterinarian and veteran is running for Congress because he is “increasingly alarmed at the direction this administration is heading.”

Don Coover, a Democrat and political newcomer, is challenging Republican Derek Schmidt, who currently holds the 2nd District seat. Coover wants to see a more inclusive, solutions-oriented government and country, he said.

“I think we, as a country, are becoming more and more authoritarian, less and less tolerant of each other, and less willing to seek solutions to problems we all see through slightly different lenses,” he said.

The focus of his campaign largely revolves around the pocketbook. Tariffs are harming the agriculture industry, Coover said. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is piling on trillions to the national debt, he said, “and if we don’t do anything about it, people like my granddaughter are going to be left to clean up the mess.”

He said he is also concerned about the availability and sustainability of rural hospitals.

“If you get your arm torn off in a hay baler or your kid spikes a high fever, you shouldn’t have to drive four hours to get to an ER,” Coover said. “We’ve got to get our health care system working for people, not insurance companies.”

Coover is a West Point graduate, and he later earned a degree from Kansas State University’s veterinary medicine school. In between, he was a U.S. Army military intelligence pilot in Korea.

Coover helps run the family business, raising Wagyu beef on a southeast Kansas ranch “built on science, legacy, and the belief that truly great beef begins long before the plate,” the company’s website says. He also owns a Galesburg-based company offering routine veterinary and health management services for cattle, along with cattle embryo transfer and in vitro fertilization.

Coover lives on a ranch in Galesburg with his wife. He has two stepchildren and a granddaughter. His campaign office is headquartered in Pittsburg, according to federal campaign filing records.

“Any sane person can see how broken politics is these days. When something is broken, something has to be done to fix it,” Coover said. “I’ve always been one of the guys who would do the jobs that had to get done, but no one else wanted to do. We need less career politicians making decisions in Washington and more folks who are used to putting in a hard day of work.”

Kansas’ 2nd District stretches from the state’s southeast border to its northeast corner, meandering around Johnson, Miami, Franklin and Anderson counties, through parts of Douglas and Wyandotte counties and as far west as Marion County. Schmidt won the district in 2024, defeating Democrat Nancy Boyda by more than 57,000 votes. Kansas has one Democratic congressional delegate, U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids of the state’s 3rd District. Each of the state’s U.S. House seats and one U.S. Senate seat are up for reelection in 2026.

Coover filed paperwork to run for Congress on Aug. 25. He is beginning his campaign while his opponent has a more than $260,000 lead, according to campaign records. Coover said he is focused on getting his message out to people across his district and doing “the right things for Kansans and our country.”

“Compare that to Rep. Schmidt, who’s been running for and been in elected office for the past 25 years. He’s part of the career politicians who are more focused on doing what their party leaders want them to do,” Coover said. “I think people are ready for new voices.”

Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com.

TOPEKA — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly joined 22 other states and Washington, D.C., in suing the Trump administration for terminating federal funding, which she said has led to cuts to state agriculture, health and safety programs “on a whim.”

The federal lawsuit, initially filed in June in Massachusetts, targets decisions from President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency that are rooted in a regulation allowing the administration to eliminate funding if it “no longer effectuates the program goals or agency priorities.”

Kelly said in a news release that the decisions have made “no sense.”

“I joined this lawsuit on behalf of Kansas to ensure funds going towards critical programs our state depends on are not ripped away by the Trump administration — or any presidential administration — on a whim,” she said.

Kelly joined the lawsuit in an amended complaint filed July 31.

States are suing the Office of Management and Budget and a slate of other federal agencies that have relied on the regulation to eliminate billions in funding.

Those decisions have been devastating, the states said in the lawsuit, depriving states of resources used to equip law enforcement, conduct medical and scientific research, address food insecurity, secure clean drinking water and educate students.

“Federal agencies have done all of this without any advance notice, without any explanation to the state recipients and in direct contravention of the will of Congress,” the lawsuit said. “The state recipients’ sole offense has been that they used the grant funding precisely how they had promised in the grant applications — and as they were instructed by the agencies at the time of the grant award.”

The governor’s office said the Trump administration has used the regulation “to terminate millions of dollars used to purchase goods from Kansas farmers, to mitigate natural disasters and to enhance childhood education.”

The states and D.C. want a judgment from the court that agrees the regulation does not embolden the administration to terminate funding based on priorities created after funding has been awarded. If that isn’t possible, the parties want the court to vacate the administration’s decision to rely on the regulation as the reasoning for terminating billions in federal funding.

The case is one of hundreds against the Trump administration’s actions, according to a public tracker by Just Security.

TOPEKA — State troopers are on standby in Kansas as demonstrations against federal immigration raids crop up around the country following an increased military presence in response to protests in Los Angeles.

The Kansas Highway Patrol is aware of Kansas City-area protests this week, said April McCollum, a spokeswoman for the agency.

Protests in LA began Friday, mostly in downtown and central parts of the city, in opposition to targeted, sweeping raids from federal immigration officials that result in the arrest and detention of immigrants lacking permanent legal status. The demonstrations escalated once President Donald Trump ordered thousands of members of the California National Guard to the city’s streets, against the wishes of state leaders. Protesters in dozens of other cities joined their LA counterparts Tuesday.

Col. Erik Smith, superintendent of the state highway patrol, told legislators Tuesday that a protest similar to those in LA was planned in the Johnson County area, but the agency did not disclose specifics when asked. The only report of a protest in the area Tuesday occurred in Kansas City, Missouri’s downtown and Westside, drawing hundreds of attendees, according to reporting from The Kansas City Star.

A slate of more than 1,800 protests are scheduled across the nation for Saturday. More than a dozen of them are set to occur in Kansas cities, from Garden City to Hiawatha to Arkansas City to the Kansas City area.

“We encourage those involved to maintain civility while exercising their First Amendment rights,” McCollum said.

The agency’s mobile field force is prepared to assist local law enforcement during all incidents of “civil unrest,” Smith said.

The force is “a specially trained and equipped unit composed of Troopers from across the state that can be deployed to support local law enforcement agencies in the event of civil disorder, natural disasters, and other public safety emergencies,” McCollum said.

Kansas Bureau of Investigation director Tony Mattivi told lawmakers Tuesday at a Senate Committee on Government Efficiency hearing that state agents are not currently trained to assist U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials with raids and arrests in Kansas.

Sen. Mike Thompson, a Shawnee Republican, asked Mattivi during the hearing why federal agents aren’t responsive to one-off local arrests.

“ICE, right now, is just overwhelmed,” Mattivi said. “They’re focused on busloads at a time.”

State and local officials don’t have the authority to investigate federal immigration violations, but Kansas, was the second state in the country to agree with the Trump administration to exercise 287(g) authority, which refers to section 287(g) of the federal Immigration and Naturalization Act. Once agents are trained, they will be able to make those one-off arrests and fill the gaps federal immigration officials leave behind.

Eventually, Mattivi said, he would like to examine the 48,000 people who are listed as a sex offender, drug offender or violent offender in Kansas and determine whether any of those people are in the country without permanent legal status.

Politicians sound off

As chair of the Democratic Governors Association, Gov. Laura Kelly, along with most of the rest of the country’s Democratic governors, condemned Trump’s decision to deploy a state’s National Guard as “an alarming abuse of power” and “ineffective and dangerous.”

“Further, threatening to send the U.S. Marines into American neighborhoods undermines the mission of our service members, erodes public trust, and shows the Trump administration does not trust local law enforcement,” the governors said Sunday in a joint statement.

The Trump administration deployed around 700 active-duty U.S. Marines to L.A. from a nearby base to “restore order,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in a social media post.

Trump called for California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s arrest after Newsom expressed his disapproval of Trump’s actions. Newsom sued the Trump administration, alleging the president’s takeover of the state’s National Guard was illegal. Governors typically hold the power to deploy the guard.

The Democratic governors said they stand with Newsom, “who has made it clear that violence is unacceptable and that local authorities should be able to do their jobs without the chaos of this federal interference and intimidation.”

Kansas Republicans rebutted Democrats’ remarks with condemnations of their own.

In a series of social media posts, Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins, who is also a Republican candidate for state insurance commissioner, applauded Trump’s actions.

He said he was shocked by the Democratic governors’ statement.

“It’s indefensible that Governor Kelly and other Democrat Governors would seemingly side with the rioters over law and order. Their Trump Derangement Syndrome truly knows no bounds,” Hawkins wrote.

Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, who is widely expected to run for governor, criticized Kelly in a statement.

“Laura Kelly is slow to condemn attacks on law enforcement, but quick to side with Gavin Newsom and rioters waving foreign flags as they try to burn down an American community. It is shameful,” he said.

Conservatives in opposition to the protests have frequently used rhetoric that depicts L.A. in flames or in complete disarray. The protests have been confined to a few areas of the city, mostly around local and federal government buildings. Misinformation and doctored or fabricated photos have circulated.

Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, who is a 2026 Republican candidate for governor, wrote on the social media platform X in response to the statement from the Democratic governors: “This is wrong.”

In a separate post, Schwab said protesters in California were “endangering” law enforcement “because they embrace disorder and crime over civility.”

He added: “Our founders are rolling in their graves.”

Saturday protests

Protests in 15 cities in Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri, fall under the banner of No Kings Day, a collection of anti-Trump protests. Saturday is also Flag Day.

Ahead of the protest in Topeka at the Statehouse, organizers with the Kansas chapter of 50501 emphasized in a statement its desire for a peaceful demonstration.

“We are committed to the safety of every protester and are exploring unforeseen and uncontrollable challenges and how to respond to them,” the statement said. “We are continuing to plan for a safe gathering.”

Activists are chartering buses and establishing carpools to Topeka from Abilene, Junction City, Manhattan, Franklin County, Lawrence and the Kansas City, Kansas, area.

Ahead of Wichita’s rally, organizers with Defend Democracy ICT said the protest date is symbolic, “aligning with Flag Day, President Trump’s birthday, and a controversial military parade in Washington, D.C.”

“This is a stand against authoritarianism and the growing disregard for democratic norms,” organizers said in a statement. “We are here to remind our leaders that power belongs with the people — not kings, not billionaires, not dictators.”

Protests are scheduled to take place in the following cities, according to the No Kings online tracker: Arkansas City, Emporia, Garden City, Great Bend, Hiawatha, Hutchinson, Lawrence, Lenexa, Manhattan, Ottawa, Overland Park, Pittsburg, Salina, Topeka, Wichita and Kansas City, Missouri.

by Anna Kaminski, Kansas Reflector

February 19, 2025

TOPEKA — The Kansas Senate gave preliminary approval Wednesday to legislation that would ban school district employees from using names or pronouns other than a minor student’s corresponding biological sex or birth certificate without parental permission, received preliminary approval Wednesday from the Kansas Senate.

Senate Bill 76 is among a slate of anti-trans bills making their way through the Legislature this year. In a 40-minute debate on the Senate floor, Democrats and Republicans questioned the bill’s validity.

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The bill, called the “Given Name Act,” would create a new civil cause of action and prohibit any district, college or university employees “from suffering any adverse employment actions for declining to address an individual by a name or pronoun inconsistent with the individual’s birth certificate or biological sex,” the bill reads.

Kansas schools do not require a student’s birth certificate to attend.

Freshman Sen. Patrick Schmidt, a Democrat from Topeka, attempted to introduce an amendment to the bill that would change its contents to instead characterize it as the “right to bully” act.

“This bill legalizes bullying in schools,” he said. “That is the intent.”

Schmidt’s amendment failed with all 31 Senate Republicans voting against, three Democrats voting in favor and six Democrats passing on a vote. Before introducing his amendment, Schmidt asked Wichita Republican Sen. Renee Erickson, who introduced the bill, about the intentions behind the bill.

“The truth,” Erickson said. “And protecting teachers’ and employees’ First Amendment right not to be compelled to use speech that violates their beliefs.”

“I find that a little curious, perhaps a little disingenuous,” Schmidt said.

Erickson said the bill clarifies the confusion school staff experience when confronted with a child who wants to use pronouns or a name other than those that are consistent with the child’s biological sex or birth certificate.

“When this occurred in the school that I was principal at, the staff was very confused,” she said.

Erickson was formerly a middle school principal in the Wichita public school district.

“I think it’s pretty simple. There’s biological fact,” Erickson said. “And when a student wants to contradict that, teachers are conflicted between their belief that this is fact and what their beliefs are and respecting what the student wants to be called.”

The act specifies a teacher can call a student by their chosen pronouns with written permission from a student’s parent. However, students also cannot be compelled to use speech that violates their personal beliefs, Erickson said.

“If a student chooses to call another student by a different pronoun, they are welcome to, but they are not compelled to,” Erickson said. “They cannot be forced to against their personal beliefs, but if they choose to, they are more than welcome to.”

Schmidt cited during debate the disproportionately high rates at which minors who identify as transgender attempt suicide or experience suicidal ideation.

Erickson, after acknowledging that any and every suicide is a tragedy no matter the reason, responded: “It’s not surprising due to their confusion over the most basic biological fact.”

A 2024 study also showed a link between anti-trans legislation and increased suicidality among transgender and nonbinary youths.

Erickson mentioned on the floor the use of “threats” from the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas directed toward school districts creating policies related to pronoun use.

Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas, said the organization is engaged in emphasizing students’ rights to privacy and protection from harassment under civil rights law and the U.S. Constitution.

“If Sen. Erickson finds guidance about what the Constitution says threatening, perhaps that’s an indication that she recognizes that the proposed bill in question has serious problems with its legality,” Kubic said in an emailed statement.

Melissa Stiehler, the advocacy director for Kansas-based social justice organization Loud Light, pointed out that the Senate’s vote to advance Senate Bill 76 came one day following a successful veto override vote in both chambers enacting gender-affirming care bans for minors.

She called Wednesday’s bill a continuing “attack” on transgender children.

“This bill is sloppily written, overly broad, unenforceable and will lead to harassment of both school employees and students,” Stiehler said.

She added: “Rather than coddling the irrational feelings of this overly fragile minority, it may be wise to encourage them to unclutch their pearls and mind their own business.”

Stiehler scrutinized in a press release the bill’s “broad litigation clause.” Republican Sen. Kellie Warren, a Leawood Republican, also questioned whether the bill could expose districts and institutions to increased lawsuits.

The First Amendment generally protects students’ and teachers’ right to free speech and some case law strengthens those protections. Schools cannot force students to engage in speech they disagree with. However, the government, including public schools and universities, has broad authority to limit its employees’ speech if that speech impacts the workplace.

Republican Sen. Joe Claeys, of Maize, said the bill solves one constitutional violation by creating another.

“In my opinion, the Legislature needs to get out of the pronoun business entirely,” Claeys said.

He said the bill creates “a litigation minefield.” It turns “classrooms into courtrooms” and “teachers into defendants,” he said.

“I say we let teachers teach,” Claeys said. “Let the students learn, and keep the courts out of preferred grammatical constructions.”

Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com.

TOPEKA — A pair of House Republicans entertained a hypothetical act of violence toward a former representative Thursday as they acted out a traditional hazing ritual for new legislators.

Wichita Republican Rep. Patrick Penn performed the custom of grilling freshman lawmakers as they present legislation on the House floor for the first time. Rep. Kyler Sweely, a Republican representing Hutchinson who defeated Democratic incumbent Jason Probst in November, was the subject of Penn’s interrogation. Penn and Sweely have a shared history of serving in the U.S. Army in the Middle East and knowledge of the intricacies of combat.

During the hazing ritual, with the attention of the full chamber, Penn posed a hypothetical to Sweely. They referred to “that guy from Hutch,” a moniker Probst adopted for his online newsletter.

Penn: “Now when we talk about the commands for firing, what are the components of a firing command?”

Sweeley: “Identifying the target, the direction the target is, the range that the target is, and then the type of ammo that you’re going to use to address the target.”

Penn: “So if I were to come to you and say, I have a firing command, and that command is, ‘Gunner, sabot, that guy from Hutch in the open, fire for effect,’ what would you say?”

Sweeley: “Gunner, sabot, that guy from Hutch.”

Penn: “Alright, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you on his maiden voyage here before you as colleagues, that new guy from Hutch.”

Probst, when reached by phone Thursday, chuckled at the exchange.

“Usually I find when people hate you that much and they talk about you that much, they want to be you,” he said.

He could take two interpretations, he said. One, the legislators were alluding to a violent threat, or two, “they’re very pleased with having won the election very narrowly,” Probst said.

“It’s really rewarding to know that I live rent-free in their heads,” Probst said.

Sweely defeated Probst by 294 votes in the November election.

Neither Penn nor Sweely immediately responded to an inquiry from Kansas Reflector. The House Speaker’s office also did not immediately respond to repeated requests for comment.

House Democrats expressed indignance and disbelief in response, with some calling on Penn to apologize and for the House Speaker’s office to discipline the legislators.

Rep. Alexis Simmons, a Topeka Democrat, said she told House leadership she expects formal action.

“We routinely hear members of the Republican caucus call points of order on Democratic members for benign, perceived slights because their feelings are hurt,” she said in a text message.

Simmons said the comments were “clearly violent in nature,” and said it would be “not only irresponsible but negligent” to allow them to stand.

“Bottom line, it’s just a ridiculous thing to even suggest shooting a political adversary,” she said.

Immediately following the exchange, some House Democrats exchanged looks of disbelief and caused disruption as they scrambled to confirm the question, “Did he say that?” according to Rep. Ford Carr, a Wichita Democrat.

“Had I known the individual that uttered those words,” Carr said, “there would be talk of disciplinary action and nothing less.”

House Minority Leader Brandon Woodard in a statement denounced “the use of inflammatory rhetoric that incites violence in any form, particularly during a time when attacks on public officials are increasing.”

Woodard, a Lenexa Democrat, said political disagreements ought to be addressed at the ballot box. He called the exchange a promotion of political violence.

“This behavior cannot be overlooked,” Woodard said. “Representative Penn must take responsibility for his comments, recognize their inappropriate nature, and offer a sincere apology.”

Penn has served in the House since 2021 and this year is co-sponsoring legislation with more than 60 Republicans to cement the right to own guns, ammunition and firearm accessories in the state constitution.

Penn and Sweely, at different times, were deployed to the Middle East to support Operations Spartan Shield and Inherent Resolve, which included campaigns in Iraq and Syria.

TOPEKA — Kansas Republicans lambasted a Manhattan-area Democratic candidate who used a racial slur in a 2020 Facebook post that detailed the candidate’s feelings about an outburst she witnessed.

Kim Zito, a Democrat running for House District 67, posted to Facebook, “F**K YOU N*****S!!!!” preceded by a middle finger emoji on Nov. 9, 2020. The post continues, “I write that because I want you to see that. That’s what we heard yday (sic) while we were cheering for our new President and our first female VP.”

Republicans called on Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly to rescind her endorsement of Zito in a Wednesday news release, and called the post a “shocking and racially charged rant.”

Zito said in a statement Republicans were attempting to distract voters from concerns with her opponent, Angel Roeser.

In the 2020 post, which has been deleted, Zito explained she was illustrating the “level of hate being hurled at people of color and anyone supporting the end of the” Trump administration. She pleaded with friends and family to “stand up against the violence of fellow human beings.”

The Kansas Black Republican Council brought the post to the attention of the Kansas House Republican Campaign Committee on Tuesday, according to the news release. Joseph Elmore, chairman of the Sedgwick County Black Republican Council and member of the state council’s executive board, called on Democrats to “unequivocally disavow and divest themselves.”

“Exposure of Kim Zito’s racism is painful to see and, in my view, disqualifies her for service as a lawmaker,” Elmore said in the news release. “Racist words and racial slurs are hurtful and hateful to our Community.”

House Majority Leader Chris Croft, R-Overland Park, and House Speaker Dan Hawkins, R-Wichita, echoed Elmore’s condemnation.

Zito responded by accusing Roeser of being dishonest about her level of education and where she stands on abortion rights.

“The Kansas Republican Party has a fundamentally flawed candidate who has a broken relationship with the truth,” Zito said. “The Republicans are trying to distract the voters of Manhattan from the fact their candidate lies about her voting history and lies about whether she graduated from K-State, which is an insult to hard-working Kansans.”

Roeser, who doesn’t have a college degree, identified herself as a Kansas State University graduate in postcards produced by her campaign.

The first-time candidate said in a statement for this story she didn’t have “any ill intent to withhold information” about obtaining a college degree. She acknowledged it was a mistake to lie about her education.

“Kim Zito has yet to take responsibility for the offensive, insulting and downright hostile comments she has made about races of people, groups of worshipers and individuals in our community,” Roeser said. “Her partisan rhetoric and personal attacks won’t serve Manhattan well and will most definitely ensure we don’t have a seat at the table.”

MARION — Former Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody returned Monday to the town where he raided a newspaper to face a dozen journalists along with a felony charge for his actions after the raid.

Cody led police in the Aug. 11, 2023, raid on the Marion County Record, the editor’s home and a councilwoman’s home under the false pretense that a newspaper reporter had committed identity theft by looking up restaurateur Kari Newell’s driving record. Special prosecutors charged Cody with one count of interference with the judicial process, a low-level felony, for asking Newell after the raid to delete text messages between the two. Cody told her he was concerned their relationship would be misinterpreted, according to court documents.

One year later, Cody is party to five federal civil lawsuits in addition to the criminal case.

Monday’s hearing, which lasted less than 10 minutes, was Cody’s first public appearance in the town since he resigned as police chief amid intense scrutiny in October 2023. In a courtroom with an audience mostly of reporters, Cody was straight-faced and silent.

District Judge Ryan Rosauer rejected Cody’s motion to dismiss the charge for lack of probable cause.

Rosauer, prosecutors and Cody’s defense agreed that Cody won’t be required to appear in court for minor hearings and case proceedings, including the case’s next scheduled hearing on Dec. 16. Court filings show Cody is believed to be living in Hawaii.

Cody and Sal Intagliata, a Wichita attorney who is defending Cody, declined to answer reporters’ questions as they left the courthouse. Intagliata said the “full story” would come out as the case is litigated in court. Cody didn’t speak.

Intagliata, as he ushered Cody into a car, told reporters: “If I have any comment at all on behalf of Mr. Cody, it would be this: that the people of Marion County, really the most important people involved in this situation, take a minute to reserve judgment, take a moment to, like, avoid jumping to conclusions, and allow the system to work.”

Cody won’t be required to pay a cash bond. Instead, Rosauer ordered a $5,000 personal recognizance bond, which Cody only will have to pay if he fails to show up to court when required.

If convicted, Cody would face presumed probation

Following the hearing, Marion County Record editor and publisher Eric Meyer answered questions from a dozen reporters who gathered outside the newspaper office across the street from the courthouse. They asked him to respond to Intagliata.

“We can take a delay of the justice system, as long as the delay actually results in proper assessment of things,” Meyer said. “We’re not in a hurry. He should have plenty of time to think about what he did.”

Meyer said Cody shouldn’t be the only one who is charged with a crime. Others, Meyer said, should have intervened — including other police officers, the sheriff, the county attorney, and the magistrate who signed the search warrants.

“Somewhere the system failed,” Meyer said. “These are the people who are supposed to protect our rights. They didn’t do it. That’s why I hate to see Gideon Cody be the fall guy for all this. Yes, he deserves a great deal of credit or blame for what went on in here, but there are others who were well aware of it.”

Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and X.