Another Small Earthquake Rattles Hutchinson
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Another small earthquake has rattled shelves and rattled nerves in the Kansas town of Hutchinson. The U.S. Geological Survey says the earthquake occurred at 8:21 am Sunday and was a 3.1 magnitude. There were no immediate reports of damage. Kansas regulators have been investigating the cause of about a dozen recent earthquakes in Reno County, where Hutchinson sits, including several in mid-August. The largest measured 4.2 and knocked down ceiling tiles and broke windows. That quake was felt as far away as Kansas City, Missouri, 200 miles to the east. The Kansas Corporation Commission is analyzing injection well activity in the county.
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Kansas City-Area Schools Innovate to Fill Teacher Vacancies
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Kansas City-area schools are rehiring retired teachers and training counselors and coaches to teach due to a critical teacher shortage. The Kansas City Star reports that last October the Kansas Department of Education logged a 19% increase in vacant teaching positions from a year earlier. About 11% of teaching positions are vacant in Missouri schools every year. The shortage affects urban, rural and some suburban schools. Kansas and Missouri education officials say low salaries don't help. The state education department says Missouri's average starting teacher salary is $31,842, while new Kansas teachers earn $34,883. Ann Jarrett, director of teaching and learning for the Missouri National Education Association, says teachers' varied skills are in high demand and can land them jobs that pay more.
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Minivan Strikes, Kills 1-Year-Old in Missouri Driveway
LATHROP, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas toddler is dead after being struck by a minivan on the driveway of a rural Missouri home. The Kansas City Star reports that 1-year-old Elijah Galloway of Overland Park, Kansas, was fatally struck Saturday evening on a private driveway east of the western Missouri town of Lathrop in rural Caldwell County. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says a 32-year-old woman struck the child, who was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Lathrop is 45 miles northeast of Kansas City, Missouri.
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Prowler Suspect Shot by Police in Suburban Kansas City
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) — A prowler suspect is hospitalized after being shot by police in suburban Kansas City, Missouri. The Kansas City Star reports that police were called around 8:45 am Sunday to a report of three prowlers at an apartment complex in Independence. An altercation occurred with the suspects and one of them was shot by police. Police say the injured suspect used a truck to ram a police vehicle and then fled. The truck crashed at an Interstate 70 ramp about three miles away. The injured man is hospitalized but police say his injuries do not appear to be life-threatening. Police were searching for the other two suspects, a man and a woman. The investigation of the shooting is ongoing.
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Kansas Police Search for Man in Relation to Fatal Stabbing
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Police are searching for a man as part of an investigation into a fatal Topeka stabbing. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports police are looking for 40-year-old Topeka resident Andrew Timothy Evans in relation to the stabbing. A release from Lt. Manuel Munoz says police found 41-year-old Raymond Lee Smith suffering with life-threatening injuries Sunday in a Topeka house. He was pronounced dead by medical personnel. Munoz says Evans was last seen leaving the area on foot. Munoz cautioned against approaching Evans and asked anyone who sees him to call police.
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Man Sentenced to Life in Prison for Double Murder in Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A 28-year-old man has been sentenced to life in prison for a double homicide in Kansas. The Kansas City Star reports that Jose Varela Jr. was given two life sentences for first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of Fabian Arriaga and Jose Morales. The charges stemmed from a 2017 triple shooting in Kansas City, Kansas. The Wyandotte County District Attorney's Office says Varela must serve 25 years before he is eliglble for parole.
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Popularity of Vaping Among Kansas Students Raises Concern
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas schools are struggling to prevent vaping among students, even as growing cases appear nationwide of a mysterious lung disease related to the use of electronic cigarettes. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment says it knows of three cases of the unidentified disease. Nearly 200 U.S. cases have been reported and at least one person has died. Health officials say the high nicotine content of e-cigarettes can harm developing brains and encourage cigarette use. A Kansas Department of Education survey of 2,000 high school students in 2017 found that 32.2% had tried vaping. Department health consultant Mark Thompson tells The Wichita Eagle he's heard of students secretly vaping in class. Thompson says raising the legal age for buying e-cigarettes to 21 could curtail vaping in schools.
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Lawsuit by Muslim Engineer Settled Days before Kansas Trial
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A court notice shows the federal lawsuit filed by a Muslim aerospace engineer has been settled days before the trial over allegations of discrimination stemming from a party at a Kansas lake. The filing Friday in U.S. District Court does not detail settlement terms between Munir Zanial and the Spirit Boeing Employees Association. The trial that had been scheduled for Tuesday is cancelled. The Malaysian national of Indian ancestry rented a pavilion at the group's lake in 2017 to celebrate Malaysian Independence Day. The lawsuit alleges the association suspended his rental privileges and reported him to authorities. It alleged an American flag had been desecrated by Islamic State group symbols. But the flag was actually a Malaysian flag and the guests included people of Malaysian Indian ancestry, some wearing hijabs.
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Kansas City Zoo to Spend $10 Million on Elephant Exhibit
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Zoo is planning a $10 million renovation of its elephant exhibit. The project announced this week will include easier access to the pool for the elephants, as well as adding shade and softer ground for the animals to walk on. Zoo Director Randy Wisthoff says the renovations will also improve visitors' views of the elephants, with additional seating and handicapped-accessible renovations. The zoo is still waiting to announce final plans for a $75 million saltwater aquarium. KCUR Radio reports the delay is caused mostly by a $7 million contribution from Kansas City. The city council directed City Manager Troy Schulte to try and find the money but a city spokesman said this week no funds have been identified to fulfill the request.
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Kansas Movie House Recognized for Longevity; Guinness Claims It's the Oldest Movie Theater in the World
OTTAWA, Kan. (AP) — The oldest continuously operating movie theater in the world might figure to be in New York or Hollywood. How about Ottawa, Kansas? The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Ottawa is home to the Plaza 1907 Cinema, showing films since May 22, 1907, when black-and-white silent movies ruled the day. Ottawa is about 50 miles southwest of Kansas City and is home to 12,300 people. What sets the theater apart is that over the past 112 years, it has never shut down and has remained at the same location. The Plaza applied for inclusion in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2017. As reported earlier this year by Kansas Public Radio, it achieved the distinction of being the "World's Oldest Operating Purpose-Built Cinema" after it was determined it was two days older than a theater in Denmark.
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Longtime AP Executive Robert Ladish Dies
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Robert G. Ladish (LAD'-ish), whose Associated Press career began as a copy boy and ended 50 years later as a communications executive, has died. Ladish died Wednesday at his home in Kansas City, Kansas, according to the funeral home handling arrangements. He was 83. No cause of death was given. Ladish joined the AP in his hometown of Kansas City, Missouri, in 1952 as a copy boy. He later worked as a technician in several cities. He was named assistant chief of communications for the Missouri-Kansas bureau in 1978 and held that position 24 years before retiring in 2002. Ladish's AP career was interrupted in 1955 with four years' service in the Army. He was a staff sergeant. He was preceded in death by his wife, Shirley. Survivors include two sons, one daughter, four grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
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