Governor Declares State of Emergency for Doniphan County Due to Flooding
Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has issued a state of disaster emergency declaration for Doniphan County, which has been affected by flooding this week. The state declaration may be amended to include any additional counties that may experience flooding. The declaration authorizes the use of state resources and personnel to assist with response and recovery operations in affected counties that meet certain criteria. "We urge residents to be aware of their safety. Flood waters can be deceptive; it only takes 18 inches of water to float a car," Kelly said. "Although people often think of tornadoes as the big destructive force of nature in Kansas, floods can be just as damaging, if not more so." The Kansas Division of Emergency Management has activated the State Emergency Operations Center to a partial level and is working closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Weather Service to provide support to Doniphan County. KDEM has sent three regional coordinators to assist Doniphan county emergency management officials. Other state agencies that have reported to the SEOC are State Fire Marshal's Office, Kansas Highway Patrol and Department of Children and Families. The Kansas State Animal Response Team has been requested to deploy to assist with sheltering of evacuated pets.
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Investigators Probing Cause of Kansas Church Fire
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Investigators are trying to determine the cause of an overnight fire that destroyed a church near downtown Hutchinson. The Hutchinson News reports that crews battled until 4 am Friday the blaze at the Foundation of Life Church Ministries, also known as McGee Chapel. A police officer on patrol spotted the fire in the second story shortly before midnight. Hutchinson Fire Chief Steven Beer says investigators from the Kansas Fire Marshal's Office were on the scene. Officials with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms were also asked to respond. Church officials told investigators that the last time the building was occupied was Wednesday night. The fire chief says they don't know what may have started the fire. Extensive damage was reported to the church and a nearby building.
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GOP Tax Relief Bill Clears Kansas Legislature
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A tax relief bill pushed by Republican leaders has cleared the GOP-controlled Legislature. The measure went to Democratic Governor Laura Kelly after the Senate's 24-16 vote Thursday evening. The House approved it last week. The bill is designed to prevent businesses and individuals from paying more in state income taxes because changes in federal tax laws at the end of 2017. It also contains a small cut in the state's sales tax on groceries. Republicans said the bill is a matter of fairness and prevents an unlegislated tax increase. But Democratic senators excoriated the bill as a budget-buster. Kelly has stopped short of saying she will veto the measure but lawmakers in both parties expect her to reject the measure. Senators approved the bill after passing an education funding increase.
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Kansas Legislative Panels Nix Funding for Expanding Medicaid
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Two Republican-controlled committees of the Kansas Legislature have stripped Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's proposed state spending for Medicaid expansion out of budget legislation. The Senate Ways and Means Committee voted 7-6 on Thursday to remove $14 million from a proposed budget for the state health department for the fiscal year beginning in July. The money represented Kelly's initial estimate for the state tax dollars needed to draw down federal funds for the first six months after expanded Medicaid coverage started in January. Medicaid expansion has bipartisan support, but GOP leaders strongly oppose it. They argue that supporters are underestimating the state's potential costs. The House Appropriations Committee voted 13-9 on Wednesday to remove not only the state tax dollars but the entire $509 million for expanded Medicaid coverage.
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Kansas Attorney General Investigating 2 Closed Hospitals
PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas attorney general's office says it executed a search warrant at a southeastern Kansas hospital that closed last month. The Pittsburg Sun reports the search warrant was executed in February at Oswego Community Hospital about a week after the hospital and two other medical facilities in Labette County closed. C.J. Grover, spokesman Attorney General Derek Schmidt, confirmed the search warrant but declined to comment further. On Tuesday, the Horton Community Hospital in Brown County also closed. Grover said the attorney general's office also is investigating that hospital. The hospitals were once run by EmpowerHMS, which has had several hospitals close across the country.
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Chiefs' Hill Linked to Domestic Battery Case in Suburban KC
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — The Chiefs are investigating an incident in which star receiver Tyreek Hill was involved in a domestic battery episode in suburban Kansas City earlier this week. The team said in a statement to The Associated Press that it was aware of a police report filed Thursday by the Overland Park Police Department that lists Hill's address and identifies a juvenile as the victim. Hill's fiancee, Crystal Espinal, is identified among "others involved." The couple has a 3-year-old son, Zev. Overland Park police Officer John Lacy said the case has been turned over to prosecutors for review. No charges have been filed against Hill, and Johnson County prosecutor's spokeswoman Kristi Bergeron didn't immediately return a phone message seeking comment. Chiefs spokesman Ted Crews said Friday the team has been in contact with local authorities and the NFL as it gathers more information but declined further comment.
The 25-year-old Hill has a history of domestic violence. While starring at Oklahoma State in 2014, Hill allegedly punched and choked Espinal when she was pregnant with their son. He was kicked off the team and pleaded guilty to domestic assault and battery by strangulation, and received three years of probation in the case. The conviction was dismissed in August and expunged from his record after he finished probation.
Hill transferred to West Alabama and was chosen by the Chiefs in the fifth round of the 2016 draft, a selection widely criticized given his history. The Chiefs said at the time they had vetted Hill and were comfortable with their decision, and they put safeguards that included counseling and other checks they hoped would keep Hill on the right path.
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3 Kansas Students Credited with Rescuing Boy in Florida
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Three University of Kansas fraternity brothers on a spring break trip to Florida are credited with rescuing a young boy from a riptide. The Kansas City Star reports that Sigma Phi Epsilon brothers Jared Cox, of Overland Park; Connor Churchill, of Olathe; and Cole Firmature, of Omaha, Nebraska, went to a beach on March 11 in Destin, Florida. They were at a beach bar when they heard a woman cry out for a lifeguard and point to the water. There was no lifeguard patrolling the beach at the time and the three men sprinted to the water. They spotted a young boy drifting on a boogie board 40 yards out into the ocean. The three men swam out and brought the child to shore by pushing him on the board.
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Affidavit: Sheriff's Charges Stem from Girlfriend's DUI Stop
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas sheriff who's charged with two misdemeanors tried unsuccessfully to interfere in the drunken driving arrest of his girlfriend, according to charging documents. Montgomery County Sheriff Robert Dierks told a Kansas Bureau of Investigation special agent that his girlfriend of two years ultimately broke up with him because she said he "ruined her life by not helping her get out of a DUI," according to the affidavit released Thursday. He is charged with interference with law enforcement and witness intimidation. Deputy Ian Hurst, who pulled over the woman in January 2018 in a rural part of the county, said she refused a field sobriety tests and told him to call "Bobby" because she was the sheriff's girlfriend, a Kansas Bureau of Investigation special agent wrote in the affidavit. While Hurst was consulting with his supervisor about what to do, the woman called the sheriff herself. She then handed the phone to Hurst, who explained to the sheriff that the caller who reported his girlfriend's erratic driving to dispatch was watching and that she had possibly hit something. Dierks said he would pick her up, but before he got there, Hurst headed to jail with her. The affidavit says Dierks called and sounded surprised. Hurst responded: "Sir. To be honest, if the roles were reversed, I wouldn't be asking you to do this." Dierks told Hurst he was doing the right thing and hated to be putting him in this position. But Dierks then asked the deputy if there was any way he could change the deputy's mind. After Hurst said no, the sheriff said to continue to the jail.
The woman then refused to give a breath sample, and a search warrant for a blood sample was granted. The woman pleaded with Dierks to do something, the affidavit said. But Dierks said he told her that he couldn't help because he was the sheriff and not her attorney. She eventually provided the blood sample, and Dierks allowed her to be released on her own recognizance without posting bail. He said he didn't know at the time that it was her second DUI arrest, the KBI agent wrote.
The affidavit says Dierks then talked to Hurst about not attending her driver's license hearing. But Hurst's supervisor and the undersheriff told Hurst to attend the hearing, where the woman lost her license. The undersheriff told Dierks it was "inappropriate to ask one of his deputies to purposely not show up at the hearing." When an arresting officer doesn't appear in court, judges often dismiss cases or continue the trials.
Dierks told the KBI agent he didn't instruct deputies not to arrest the woman but admitted that he told them it would be nice if they didn't show up for her hearing "because he did not want to drive (her) and her kids around everywhere if she lost her license." Dierks said he later apologized to the deputies. Dierks and his attorney, Edward Battitori, didn't immediately return phone messages from The Associated Press.
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Judge Tosses Ex-Wichita Officer's Discrimination Lawsuit
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former Wichita police officer who alleged she was discriminated against after a hit-and-run crash. Tiffany Dahlquist sued the city and two Wichita police officials last year. She said she was treated differently because of her gender after a teenager reported that Dahlquist hit her car and didn't stop in September 2016. The Wichita Eagle report s Dahlquist denied sideswiping the girl's car. She wasn't charged after prosecutors cited lack of evidence. The department fired her in February 2017 but she as reinstated four days later. Dahlquist eventually resigned. She said her work environment became hostile after the Eagle reported allegations that the department covered up details of the collision. U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree dismissed the case Tuesday, saying Dahlquist's complaints didn't show a plausible claim for relief.
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Governor Nominates Southeast Kansas Judge for Appeals Court
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Governor Laura Kelly has nominated a southeast Kansas judge who previously served in the Legislature for a seat on the state Court of Appeals. Kelly announced Friday that she selected Labette County District Judge Jeffry Jack for the state's second-highest court. His appointment requires Senate confirmation. Jack would replace retired Judge Patrick McAnany on the 14-member appeals court. The 57-year-old Jack has served as a trial court judge since 2005 and was appointed to the bench by then-Democratic Governor Kathleen Sebelius. He represented a Parsons-area district in the Kansas House as a Republican from 2003 until becoming a judge. Kelly said Jack's legislative experience was an important factor in his selection. The other two finalists for the position were attorneys Sarah Warner of Lenexa and Marcia Wood of Wichita.
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Bardo's Funeral Procession to Wind Through Wichita State
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita State University is planning a special goodbye for President John Bardo, who died earlier this month. The university said in a news release Friday that the funeral procession for Bardo will wind through the campus before his burial on Monday. Bardo, who was Wichita State president since 2012, died Tuesday after battling a chronic lung condition since November. The university says the procession will make five brief stops on campus, including Neff Hall, where Bardo met his wife in 1974. The procession will include Bardo's wife, other members of his family and a police escort. Monday's funeral service is private. A date for a public celebration of life event is expected to be announced later this spring.
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Kansas Beats West Virginia 88-74 to Reach Big 12 Finals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Dedric Lawson transferred to Kansas in part to win championships. He'll have that chance Saturday night. The former Memphis standout scored 24 points and the No. 17 Jayhawks, who failed to win a share of the Big 12 regular-season title for the first time in 15 years, roared into the conference tournament title game with an 88-74 victory over West Virginia on Friday night. "It wasn't our best game," Lawson said, "but looking forward to going out there and playing for a championship. Looking forward to going out there and winning something meaningful." Quentin Grimes added 18 points before leaving late with cramps, Devon Dotson had 13 and Marcus Garrett 11 for the third-seeded and reigning champion Jayhawks (25-8). They advanced to the final for the third time in four years and will face fifth-seeded Iowa State. "We need to learn how to close something out, and we get that opportunity tomorrow," Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. "They have the same opportunity. It's going to make for a great game." Kansas has won the tournament 11 time, and Iowa State is unbeaten in four championship trips, but the two teams have met in the finals just once: The Cyclones won 70-66 in 2015.
BIG PICTURE
Kansas has played this week with a chip on its shoulder after failing to win a share of the regular-season title. Now, the Jayhawks have a chance to match the 1999 team by winning the tournament as a No. 3 seed, and perhaps help their NCAA Tournament seeding on Selection Sunday.
UP NEXT
Kansas plays the Cyclones for the championship Saturday night.
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