OSKALOOSA - U.S. Rep. Steve Watkins faced disgruntled constituents Tuesday weary of the immigrant crisis on the border with Mexico, frustrated with President Donald Trump's antics and alarmed by tepid concern among GOP lawmakers about Russian election meddling.

The cost to Kansas taxpayers of consolidating information technology services in the executive branch of state government could increase by millions of dollars depending on the level of IT staff retained and the replacement of outdated infrastructure, auditors said.

Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss said he would retire in December, creating the second vacancy on the state's highest court to be filled by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and inspiring critics of the selection process for justices to renew calls for reform.

The Kansas attorney general embraced the U.S. Department of Justices' decision to allow merger of Sprint and T-Mobile to go forward in a $26 billion deal drawing opposition from consumer groups uneasy about consolidation of the wireless carriers.

Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle took the plunge Wednesday by launching a Republican campaign for the U.S. Senate entrenched in conservative abortion, tax and health care roots formed during a nearly 30-year career in state legislative politics.