Man Fatally Shot in Confrontation at Wichita Home
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police say a man has died after being shot when he confronted another man at a Wichita home. The shooting happened early Friday morning in southeast Wichita. Police say 40-year-old Charles Cunningham and his older brother went to the home as part of an ongoing dispute and confronted a 26-year-old man there. Police say Cunningham attacked the younger man, who then shot Cunningham. Cunningham was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police arrested the 26-year-old man on unrelated drug charges.
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Kansas Foster Care Problems Left Kids Vulnerable to Sex Traffickers
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — More than a dozen children who ran away from state custody in Kansas have wound up incarcerated for crimes related to human trafficking, drawing the ire of victims' advocates and some lawmakers who say the runaways were victims themselves. After former Governor Sam Brownback took office in 2011 and reduced aid to needy families, the foster care population ballooned from 5,200 to nearly 7,500. KCUR and The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that child placement agencies struggled to recruit homes for the additional children. Social workers say that led to an increase in runaways, whom researchers say are vulnerable to sex traffickers. The prosecuted runaways include Hope Zeferjohn, whose boyfriend began prostituting her after she ran away from foster care. She's serving a six-year prison sentence for aggravated sex trafficking.
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Study: Kansas Schools Relying Too Heavily on Test Scores
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A study has determined that Kansas schools are relying too heavily on test scores rather than teacher comments when deciding if changes are needed in an individual student's education. KCUR-FM reports that University of Kansas researchers argue student assessments in the state should be data-driven rather than data-dependent in determining if a deviation from the established curriculum is required. The study released earlier this year calls for a balanced system that includes teacher recommendations, test scores and other metrics. Don Stull is one of the study's authors and a professor emeritus at KU. He says good teachers are right to say standardized tests are merely a part of the picture, and that assessments of a child's performance should include "all that we know."
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African Lion that Died in Salina had Fungal Infection
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — Officials say an African lion that died at the Rolling Hills Zoo in Salina suffered from encephalitis caused by a fungal infection. The lion, called Sahar, died September 27th. Zoo officials announced Thursday that a necropsy performed at Kansas State University found the infection caused lesions on the lion's brain and a lung. It said Sahar had no outward signs of illness until the day before his death. The fungus is not contagious. The Salina Journal reports Sahar was born in January 2010 at the Bronx Zoo/ Wildlife Conservation Society. He was moved to the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago in 2012 along with 5-year-old litter mates, Kamali and Zalika. The three lions moved to the Salina zoo in June.
