def parse_var(s):
    """Returns (key, value) tuple from string with equals sign with the portion before the first equals sign as the key
    and the rest as the value.

    Args:
        s: string to parse

    Returns: Tuple of key and value
    """
    items = s.split("=")
    key = items[0].strip()  # we remove blanks around keys, as is logical
    value = ""
    if len(items) > 1:
        # rejoin the rest:
        value = "=".join(items[1:])
    return key, value