It’s been more than 30 days since Gov.

Laura Kelly

announced Executive Order 20-04, prohibiting mass

gatherings in response to COVID-19. This E.O., effectively

a ‘Stay-at-Home’ order immediately paralyzed the state

of Kansas.

Businesses shutdown, unemployment numbers

skyrocketed, hysteria over food and supply shortages

resulted in empty shelves throughout Kansas - many with

a stockpile of toilet paper to last more than a year.

Despite the ‘Stay-at-Home’ order, Gov. Kelly provided

nearly 2 dozen ‘exceptions’ for industries and professions

she deemed ‘essential’. These ‘essential’ businesses

included waste collectors, healthcare and even grocery

stores, among others. However, in addition to businesses

most people would deem ‘essential’, Gov. Kelly extended

‘essential’ status to abortion clinics while declaring

churches ‘non-essential’ - kill a child, but don’t pray to

God - Gov. Laura Kelly’s version of democracy.

Despite the long weeks, many found solace in more

family time, walks with pets and household improvement

projects - great things to pass the time during what will

be more than 40 days of being isolated and separated

from the real-world.

40 days? That’s 40 days and 40 nights, the length of time

God left Noah and the Ark adrift during the Great Flood.

The difference between the Great Flood and Gov. Kelly’s

crisis was the Great Flood brought forward hope, healing

and renewing of mankind. Gov. Kelly’s Crisis brings

depression, doom and despair.

More than 40,000 Kansans are already unemployed -

those are the one who have managed to get through to

Kelly’s broken Department of Labor. Instead of staffing up

the call center around the clock 24/7, the unemployment

call center continues to operate on government time,

leaving tens of thousands of Kansans unable to receive

critical benefits to feed their families and pay their bills.

As we approach May 1 - the end of Gov. Kelly’s

Emergency Declaration, she and her administration

remain focused on how to continue her crisis instead of

reopening Kansas. Every day Kansas remains shutdown,

the depression, doom and despair climbs. Just this week,

the Consensus Revenue Estimate Group, who prepares

our budget projections, shows Kansas coming up short

$1.27B - money Kansas doesn’t have, won’t have

anytime soon and this shortfall will critically impact

essential services for our state. Instead of focusing on a

solution, Gov. Kelly continues to attempt to push our

state deeper into despair and ruin, while blaming

everyone except herself.

Now is the time - now is the moment when our state

needs to open the doors of the ‘Ark’, now is the time to

leave our ‘Ark’ - to rebuild our lives, our economies and

our futures - the very things which will give Kansans

hope, healing and renewal. Lifting the Stay-at-Home

orders will allow people unable to access unemployment

benefits to return to work - earning wages for their

families, contributing to the state’s financial health and

reducing dependency on state resources.

The private sector - our business community, our work

force - is best equipped to solve the economic crisis

before us - former President Ronald Reagan once said,

“The nine most terrifying words in the English language

are: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.”

Americans and Kansans alike can solve problems - we

can overcome obstacles and we can create prosperity - if

only the government will get out of the way. Let’s join

together and end the Kelly Crisis and start a new chapter

of hope, healing and renewal.

Ad Astra Per Aspera - To the stars through hardships.

Stay safe, take care of one another and let’s create

prosperity together!