Kansas was the first state in the nation to legislate STAR (Sales Tax and Revenue) bonds, and remains one of only three states with such a financial instrument. In their 27 year history, Kansas has issued $1 billion in STAR bonds. Now, the state wants to use them to finance up to $2.775 billion for a single project, a new Chiefs stadium. Why is this a bad idea, and what has history taught us about STAR bonds?

I spoke with Merriam resident Billy Croan shortly after his 2025 bid to become mayor of this Johnson County town of around 12,000 residents. An IT systems administrator, Billy lost to incumbent Bob Pape, but managed to garner nearly a quarter of the votes cast. I wanted to hear in his words how a libertarian-leaning outsider managed to mount a serious challenge to the insider candidate.