Volume 74, Number 11 | February 2024 | _________________________________
| Legislative Coffees Continue Through April
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Happy Valentines Day and 103rd birthday to the League of Women Voters! We are
proud to follow in the footsteps of suffragists!
The LWVJoCo has been adapting to changing circumstances for 72 years. Our January
13 planning meeting was an excellent example. Mother Nature threw us a curve ball
with sub-zero temperatures upending the plans we’d had in place for months, yet we
prevailed, and YOU showed up!
Let us give a special shout out to Richard Pund for finding a solution to the online rank
choice vote casting! And to Debbie Kitchen, our Goddess of Technology for problem-
solving member notification for a new format and multiple technical “opportunities”.
We would like to know what you learned from the Leadership presentations. Were
you surprised at the wide variety of work done by the LWVJoCo? Did rank choice
voting make sense? Please let us know! president@lwvjoco.org
The following program topics were ranked as the top 5:
1. Combating Mis/Dis-information in the Political Arena/Government
2. Expanding Medicaid in Kansas
3. Cyber Security: Protecting Kansas Election Systems
4. Constitutional Convention: What Happens to Voting Rights?
5. Special Education: Are children being left behind in Kansas?
Marching on,
Janet and Connie
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Announcements: Important Opportunities!
🔑 February 3 is an important program about the Kansas Presidential Preference
Primary to be held on March 19.
o How will it work?
o Who is in charge?
o Who can (and cannot) vote?
o Register at www.lwvjoco.org.
🔑 Watch your email inbox! An electronic version of the Annual Report will be sent
to you in a couple of weeks. Thank you Amber Stenger for producing this
important document and to the board members for submitting your reports. 2023
was a productive year!
🔑 March 3 is the Annual Voters Meeting. Elect our new board and approve the
budget. Reminder, you must be a member of the LWVJoCo on January 31, 2024 to vote. Please make
sure to renew your membership.
🔑 February 17 and 24: Legislative Coffees. See what is percolating in the Kansas
Legislature. Meet the candidates and those who currently serve. Did you know
that ALL Kansas senators and representatives are up for election this year?
Kansas will have three elections in 2024. Be informed! Register online.
wwwonlineo.org.
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| March Presidential Preference Primary: Why? How? Who?
At our February meeting, we will explore:
❓Why is it happening in March?
❓How will it work?
❓Who is in charge?
❓Who can vote?
Saturday, February 3, 2024 | 9:00 - 11:00 a.m.
Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church (SMUUCh)
9400 Pflumm Rd
Lenexa, KS 66215
☕ The Hospitality Team invites you to bring a baked treat or healthier option (fruit, cheese, etc.) to share at this meeting! Sign Up Here if you can help. Thank you!
🥫 As always, the SMUUCh Fuud Pantry appreciates our donations of non-perishable food items. Additional needs in winter are: Soups and stews (either ready-to-eat or shelf-stable ingredients such as beans, broth, spices, etc.), warm socks, and gloves.
| Winter Coat and Apparel Drive for Refugees being resettled in Kansas.
As you declutter during the holidays, we encourage you to think about refugees that are being resettled in the KC area. This year, Jewish Vocational Services has resettled 420 refugees, many who come with only the clothes on their back. New or gently used winter coats, sweaters and clothes for infants through adults are desperately needed. We will have a collection bin at the February meeting. | _________________________________
|  | DEI Moment - Black History Month
February is Black History Month. There are countless individuals to celebrate including Rosa Parks, Kamala Harris, Oprah Winfrey, Maya Angelou, Ida B. Wells, Katherine Johnson, Beyonce, former President Barack and Michelle Obama, to name a few. One person that I’d like to call attention to is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
I could go into a brief history lesson, but I suspect all generations of members have background on this individual. Your favorite news outlet or social media outlet had an inspiring tribute to the memory and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on his birthday, January 15.
I would like to focus on the actions and spirit of Dr. King and how they directly contribute to and influence the work that each member of this chapter of the League of Women Voters does on behalf of our community each day. Dr. King was not the first to ask for equal rights regardless of race or ethnicity, nor was he the first to live a life espousing the goals of his faith. But, he was among the most consistent, persistent examples of combining the two goals in modern times. Dr. King envisioned a unification of all people by working collectively toward common goals. A “many hands make for light work” mentality, if you will, that by collaboration within our civic duties, we might mold our local and larger communities into places we’d be proud to call “home.”
No matter which side of the aisle, the commentary of today is that people spend more time arguing than actually listening to each other in order to create solutions. That’s the spirit and beauty of the LWV we all embody today. We show up, across generational, race/ethnic lines, city lines, political lines to work together to ensure everyone has access, information and empowerment to create and shape our Johnson County community as they see fit.
This Black History Month, I challenge each of us to meet one new person and listen, truly listen, about their life, goals, hopes, dreams, and fears for our community. For as Dr. King. said, “We must come to see that the end we seek is a society at peace with itself, a society that can live with its conscience.”
Submitted by Maggie Roby
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| Immigration 101
Let’s discuss the myths and messages we hear about our immigration system. This nonpartisan discussion is facilitated by Itzel Vargas-Valenzuela, Program Coordinator for AIRR (Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation) and Angela Ferguson, immigration attorney.
Sunday, February 25 | 3:00-4:45 p.m.
Central Resource Library
9875 W. 87th St. | Overland Park, KS 66212
This is a follow-up to our September Immigration Program. Please come to learn more about a complex issue so we can effectively advocate.
Please fill out our survey when you register to help us assess the knowledge you have about immigration and the immigration system. Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation has a basic presentation prepared, but we would like your feedback as to what you would like to learn during this "Immigration 101."
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Join us for our annual meeting on Saturday, March 2 at Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church (SMUUCh). The 2024 Annual Report, which includes the proposed budget and board/officer nominations, will be available prior to the meeting. Please review it to prepare for the meeting.
The meeting will begin with our keynote address by Kim Bergman and Lesa Patterson-Kinsey. Exceptional members will be honored for their service as well.
Registration for this event is requested. Only members attending in person can vote. Non-members are welcome, but only members can vote. Social time begins at 9:00 a.m. The program will start at 9:30.
Breaking the silence: Telling stories to seek change
Featuring Kim Bergman and Lesa Patterson-Kinsey
Every person's story has the power to spark meaningful change. Just ask our featured speakers, Kim Bergman and Lesa Patterson-Kinsey, who spearheaded the movement to pass the Statute of Limitation (SOL) Reform bill in Kansas for child sexual abuse. These advocates and survivors played a pivotal role in driving the legislation forward, and sharing their stories and encouraging others to do so was pivotal in their achievement. Learn firsthand from those who championed change and discover how their efforts have reshaped the landscape of child protection.
☕ The Hospitality Team invites you to bring a baked treat or healthier option (fruit, cheese, etc.) to share at this meeting! Sign Up Here if you can help. Thank you!
🥫 As always, the SMUUCh Fuud Pantry appreciates our donations of non-perishable food items.
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| Calling All Book Club Lovers
Start a new adventure and join the LWVJoCo Book Club! There will be a virtual (Feb. 27) and an in-person (Feb. 29) discussion of The Librarian of Burned Books by Brianna Labuskes. All details can be found on the Event Calendar.
Registration is recommended. The Johnson County library has 15 copies of this book. | _________________________________
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Help us cover Johnson County! We still have openings for the Board of County Commissioners, City of Overland Park, JCCC Board of Trustees, and others.
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| BOARD AND COMMITTEE BRIEFS
| Voter Registration participated in Prairie Village's inspiring MLK Day event, "I Have a Dream (Vote)," at Village Presbyterian Church, where our own Wandra Minor received an appreciation award for her service from Stand UP Black Lives + Prairie Village. Congratulations, Wandra!
From Membership:
New Member Orientation:
Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024 | 2:00-3:00 p.m.
Johnson County Library - Central Resource Library
9875 W 87th Street, Overland Park, KS 66212
✅ Please update your membership profile on our website. Like other social media sites, uploading a photo of yourself and checking your interests helps all members feel engaged with other members. It is all behind a password, so it is not public.
From LWVK's Policy Watch: The League Day at the Capitol has been postponed, per a correction to Policy Watch #3.
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| LWV Kansas is a supporter of Kansas Rural Center's Policy Watch.
Our partners at Mainstream and Loud Light publish newsletters with their observations on legislative action.
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Our monthly newsletter, The VOTER, provides information on League programs and events. Get it delivered to your inbox. Subscribe for free!
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