Republicans pick Ken Rahjes for western Kansas House seat

A man who runs an agriculture news website will join the Kansas Legislature in 2016.

Ken Rahjes was selected over two other candidates to replace Travis Couture-Lovelady, who took a job with the National Rifle Association, in District 110 in western Kansas.

Rahjes runs AgView.net, a website that provides agriculture news for Kansas and Nebraska. He is a native of Kansas, but lived in Nebraska until recently and served as a member of the school board in Elwood, Nebraska. He is still listed as a member of the school board on the district’s website.

His father was Doyle Rahjes, former president of the Kansas Farm Bureau, who died in October.

Clay Barker, executive director of the Kansas Republican Party, who ran the meeting in Phillips County where Rahjes was selected Thursday, said he met Rahjes for first time that night.

“He seemed like a great guy,” Barker said. “People in the community knew him. He did a great job speaking.”

Rahjes will serve in the position through 2016.

This story was originally published December 11, 2015 at 4:46 PM with the headline "Republicans pick Ken Rahjes for western Kansas House seat."