Pottawatomie Co Dems - Jan 2026

January Monthly Meeting, Welcoming Lauren Reinhold

Please make time to attend the monthly meeting on January 27, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 700 Lincoln Ave., Wamego. Social time will be at 6:30 pm followed by a meeting from 7-8 pm. Come meet Lauren Reinhold who is running against U.S. Representative Tracey Mann. Lauren was recently featured in the Kansas Reflector.

Guest Speaker Lauren Reinhold has been a Kansan for 32 years, raising her family in Lawrence. As an attorney and longtime federal employee for the Social Security Administration, Lauren has spent her life helping families navigate federal systems. Her career was cut short by DOGE cuts to the Social Security Administration programs.

We are collecting canned food items at our monthly meetings. Please donate if you can. Thank you.

Chair’s Message

Where to begin this January 2026 newsletter. We have acquired a high-powered speaker, Lauren Reinhold, for our next meeting on January 27th. I encourage you to attend our meeting. We strive to have informative speakers and open discussions.

As you have observed, 2025 completely changed what we call home, and we ask how could things get worse in 2026? Already we have seen armed agents posing as police, roaming the streets asking for “papers”, breaking into homes and pulling individuals out, many times based on color. How can we live in a county where a United States Citizen, Renee Good, mother of three, was shot at point blank range by a masked individual reported to be an ICE agent? It appears ICE has become emboldened and lawless. They have killed, beaten up, or tear gassed unarmed individuals, many who are U.S. Citizens.

The time has come for you to decide, do you want to have to apply for a travel permit and carry a certificate to get past a check point? Where failure to have the correct papers may result in you suddenly disappearing? The upcoming 2026 election is our opportunity to elect individuals to put a stop to this abuse of power. But we must all be willing to put in the work.

I also encourage you to attend area rallies, run for office, and help us locate individuals this month willing to become a Precinct Committee Person (PCP). The end goal is to turn Pottawatomie County Blue. If you are interested, please contact me at: pottawatomiecodems@gmail.com

The 2026 candidate filing deadline is June 1, 2026, at 12:00 pm. If you are interested visit: https://sos.ks.gov/elections/candidate-information.html

To learn more about how to become a 2026 candidate, please contact Linda with the Recruitment Committee by emailing littleapplevoter@yahoo.com

In Memory of Renee Good

On January 7, 2026, Renee Good, a 37-year-old American citizen was fatally shot by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This is not an isolated tragedy but part of a continuing story in today’s United States of America.

Ann-Marie Jamaica Update

Brendan and I will return to Jamaica soon to collect and distribute the items which have finally cleared customs. On our return, we will post updates for you. With so many things happening in the news, the vast destruction from the Category 5 hurricane on the island has pretty much been forgotten. Our thanks go out to all are friends for the support.

Calander of Events

Wabaunsee County Democrats & Friends, January 20th, 6pm, Longbranch Bar and Grill at Paxico.

Pottawatomie County Democrats & Friends, January 27th, 6:30pm social, 7-8:00pm meeting. St. Luke’s Episcopal Church Meeting Hall @700 Lincoln Ave. Wamego.

Grocery Store Watch

In case you are wondering if things are getting cheaper at the Grocery Store, the official USDA reported inflation rate for 2025 is 2.4%. See our graphic for individual cost changes, based on data by Kansas Public Radio for the years of 2024 through 2025. (Graphic above, scroll through)

The original USDA estimates for food costs were $299 to $569 ($18.96/day) for a monthly food budget for one person, and $1,002 to $1,631 ($54.37/day) for a family of four.

The latest USDA estimates presented yesterday, January 15th, 2025, have been revised downward to $3/person/meal or $9.00/day/person. This meal would consist of a piece of chicken, sprig of broccoli, tortilla shell, and an unidentified 4th item. The m&m would be unavailable for all food stamp recipients. The above would probably not meet your daily caloric requirements. By the way “Where is the Whole Milk?”

Websites

Six Degrees of Activism-Kansas Edition: https://erin723.substack.com/

Kansas Public Radio: https://support.kansaspublicradio.org/?

Register to vote at: ksvotes.org

Indivisible Team: email info@indivisible.org

Bluesky: https://bsky.app

Tell Congress to protect Kansas Families: www.kssnap.org

Kansas Reflector for in-depth reporting: https://www.kansasreflector.com

Kansas Public Radio, KCUR

National: Politico and Associated Press

National bills and your area representatives’ information: https://5calls.org

Food & Farm Caucus Website: https://www.harvestblue.org

Learn How to fact check: https://my.lwv.org/california/torrance-area/article/are-you-target-fake-news-learn-how-be-digital-detective

Questions? Suggestions?

We’re here to help! Message us your thoughts or sign up to get this newsletter emailed to you: pottawatomiecodems@gmail.com.