Rainy, Stormy Weather Expected over the Weekend
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — A storm weekend is expected in eastern Kansas. The National Weather Service says some of the storms could be severe. Kansas residents are asked to stay "weather aware" and to have more than one way to get the latest weather information.
KSNT reports that Governor Laura Kelly has already issued a state of disaster emergency. "Due to the forecast of severe weather, I’ve declared a disaster emergency to ensure state assistance is readily available if needed,” Kelly said.
KSNW reports that McConnell Air Force Base is relocating aircraft to protect them from possible severe weather threats. It's the second time this month such an action has been taken.
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Kansas House Overrides Governor's Tax Cut Veto; Senate Vote Expected Later
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – The Kansas House voted Friday to override Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of major tax cuts. The Kansas News Service reports that all Republicans and most Democrats in the House voted in favor of rejecting the veto and passing the bill into law. Kelly vetoed the bill because she says it’s too costly. She’s made her own counter-offer with more modest cuts. The Senate would need a few more votes to reach a two-thirds majority and override the veto. They are expected to vote as soon as Friday evening.
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Kansas Won't Have Legal Medical Marijuana or Expand Medicaid for at Least Another Year
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas will remain among the handful of states that haven't legalized the medical use of marijuana or expanded their Medicaid programs for at least another year.
Republican state senators on Friday blocked efforts to force debates on both issues before the GOP-controlled Legislature's scheduled adjournment for the year Tuesday. Supporters of each measure fell short of the 24 of 40 votes required to pull a bill on each subject out of committee.
Backers of both proposals argue that they have popular support yet have been thwarted going on a decade in each case. Kansas doesn't allow voters to put proposed laws on the ballot statewide, a path that has led to approval for each measure in other states.
All but 12 states have legalized medical marijuana, and all but 10 have expanded Medicaid in line with the 2010 federal Affordable Care Act and its promise to cover almost all of the cost. Besides Kansas, only Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and Wyoming have done neither, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
“We're behind the times,” state Sen. John Doll, a western Kansas Republican who voted for both measures, said after Friday's votes.
Republican leaders had expected both efforts to fail, given the GOP's 29-11 Senate majority, and viewed them largely as political grandstanding.
The medical marijuana vote was 12-25, with three senators absent. Law enforcement officials oppose the idea, seeing medical marijuana as likely to be close to legalizing recreational use.
During committee testimony earlier this year, opponents also pointed to Oklahoma officials' frustration with the legalization of medical marijuana by ballot initiative there in 2018. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a Republican, has said the explosive growth of the marijuana industry under a lax law has attracted an influx of criminals and foreign nationals for illegal black-market operations.
"We had no idea we were going to have 10,000 growers, way more than they have in California and all these other states, and anybody with a hangnail could get a medical card," Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt said.
But Oklahoma also received nearly $52 million in revenue from its excise tax on marijuana and an additional $67 million in state and local sales taxes in 2023.
Cheryl Kumberg, a registered western Kansas nurse and president of the Kansas Cannabis Coalition, said Oklahoma's problems stem from its lax law. She said Kansas residents who can get cannabis from other states are using it, risking legal issues to address their medical problems.
“It’s ridiculous,” she said. “I can go 45 minutes one way, a couple hours in the other direction, and you can just you can just use it however you want.”
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly even linked medical marijuana to Medicaid expansion in 2021, unsuccessfully pitching marijuana taxes to cover the state's relatively small share of the cost of expanding Medicaid health coverage to another 150,000 people.
The Medicaid expansion vote Friday was 18-17 despite months of aggressive public campaigning by Kelly and other expansion advocates. In early January, she said she was taking a “more political approach” and suggested plans to hit anti-expansion Republicans hard during the fall campaign.
She backed off that idea this month, telling reporters after one pro-expansion event, “Whether it's an election year or not — that's irrelevant.”
But last year, Kelly formed the Middle of the Road political action committee, and it raised nearly $1 million by the end December for elections this year for all legislative seats.
Also last year, two former Kelly campaign aides helped form a nonprofit advocacy group, the Kansas Coalition for Common Sense, to back the governor's goals. That group put out a post-vote statement suggesting that a no vote was a vote against lowering health care costs and helping rural hospitals.
But Senate President Ty Masterson, a Wichita-area Republican, said before the vote that he wasn't expecting Medicaid expansion to become a major campaign issue. He dismissed surveys and polling that expansion supporters released showing its popularity as “just based on how the question is asked.”
"If you ask them, 'Do you want able-bodied people to get free health care?” people will vote no," Masterson said, repeating a common GOP argument.
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Derek Schmidt to Run for Congressional Seat
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – Former state Attorney General Derek Schmidt Friday announced a run for the second congressional district in Kansas. The Kansas News Service reports that Schmidt is the highest profile Republican to enter the race since U.S. Representative Jake LaTurner announced he would not seek another term. Schmidt served as Kansas attorney general for 12 years before running against Democratic Governor Laura Kelly in 2022. He ultimately lost that race by 2 percent of the vote. LaTurner’s former senior advisor Jeff Kahrs is also running for the Republican nomination. On the Democratic side, Elgin Woody IV has filed for the race but says he will withdraw and run for the Kansas Legislature instead.
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Kansas Senator Calls for Action After Reports of Official Misconduct at Haskell University
LAWRENCE, Kan. (WIBW) - U.S. Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas is calling for changes to the oversight of Native American educational institutions. Moran sent a letter to the Department of the Interior after the release of a report detailing serious problems at Haskell Indian Nations University including misconduct by leadership, a lack of safeguards against sexual assault, and improper treatment of university employees. WIBW TV reports that the Bureau of Indian Education investigated several allegations against the University’s administrators. Students at Haskell say they submitted claims of sexual assault, harassment and abuses of power to university administrators, but did not see any action taken. Moran is calling for an overhaul of the Bureau of Indian Education to create more transparency and accountability within the agency.
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Kansas Governor Signs Law Tightening Rules on Civil Forfeiture
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – People who have their property taken by Kansas police will soon have a better chance at getting it back. The Kansas News Service reports that Democratic Governor Laura Kelly has signed a new law tightening rules on civil asset forfeiture. The changes include raising the legal standard for forfeitures, speeding up the court process and forcing the return of seized property faster. It also denies forfeiture in cases of lower level crimes like simple possession of drugs. Sam MacRoberts of the Kansas Justice Institute says it was previously too easy for police to take property and cash from people, even if they are not charged with a crime. “We think this is a really good start to cut down on the more abusive forfeiture cases,” he said. The bill received broad bipartisan support in the Legislature. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation had opposed some proposals but supported the final bill that became law. (Read more about this story.)
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A Ban in Kansas on Gender-Affirming Care Also Would Bar Advocacy for Kids' Social Transitions
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A proposed ban in Kansas on gender-affirming care for minors also would bar state employees from promoting it — or even children's social transitioning.
Teachers and social workers who support LGBTQ+ rights worry that they could be disciplined or fired for helping kids who are exploring their gender identities.
Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed the proposed ban, and top Republicans anticipated Friday that the GOP-controlled Legislature will attempt to override her action before lawmakers adjourn for the year Tuesday. Their bill appeared to have the two-thirds majorities needed in both chambers to override a veto when it passed last month, but that could depend on all Republicans being present and none of them switching.
Supporters of the bill said the provision now being singled out for criticism is designed to ensure that the banned care — puberty blockers, hormone treatments and surgery — isn't still promoted with tax dollars or other state resources.
But compared to the restrictions or bans on gender-affirming care in two dozen other states, the Kansas proposal appears more sweeping because of its broad language against the promotion of social transitioning that applies to state employees “whose official duties include the care of children," LGBTQ+ rights advocates said.
“That is not something that we have seen before," said Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, an attorney for the LGBTQ+ rights group Lambda Legal. “It really allows us to look behind the curtain at what is the true motivation behind this bill, which has nothing to do with protecting the health and safety of youth and everything to do with attacking transgender people and erasing transgender identity.”
About 300,000 youths ages 13 to 17 identify as transgender in the U.S., according to estimates by the Williams Institute, an LGBTQ+ research center at UCLA Law. It estimates that in Kansas, about 2,100 youths in that age group identify as transgender.
Other provisions of the proposed ban would prevent gender-affirming care from occurring on state property and prohibit groups receiving state funds from advocating medications or surgery to treat a child whose gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth.
Brittany Jones, an attorney and policy director for the conservative Kansas Family Voice, said courts have consistently ruled that a state “has the right to direct what is being done with its funds.”
“This does not block any child from socially transitioning, but it cannot be at the behest of a government entity,” she said in an email.
In statehouses across the U.S., Republicans have promoted restrictions on gender-affirming care by portraying it as experimental and the potential source of long-term medical problems.
Backers of the Kansas proposal have repeatedly pointed to the National Health Service of England's recent decision to stop prescribing puberty blockers as a routine treatment for minors seeking gender transitions.
“Obviously, we believe in our heart of hearts that they shouldn’t be steering students toward that sort of thing, that they should be looking at all alternative counseling and things of that nature,” said state Sen. Mike Thompson, a conservative Kansas City-area Republican.
Such bans are opposed by major American medical groups, which have firmly endorsed gender-affirming care for minors. At least 200 Kansas medical and mental health professionals signed a letter to lawmakers opposing the proposed ban.
Young transgender Kansas residents have repeatedly said their transitions improved their lives dramatically. Parents of transgender kids have described gender-affirming care as vital to combatting severe depression and suicidal tendencies.
But as troubling as they and others find the loss of access for kids to gender-affirming care, they have focused in recent weeks on the provision against promoting social transitioning as especially scary to them.
“I was taught to uplift students and make them know that I will support them 100 percent, no matter who they are,” Riley Long, a transgender special education teacher, said during a news conference in the Kansas City area. “This bill makes it seem like it is only OK to listen to my cisgender students, and that my transgender students are automatically incorrect.”
Under the bill, social transitioning includes “the changing of an individual’s preferred pronouns or manner of dress.” The measure doesn’t spell out what constitutes promoting it.
The Kansas State Department of Education says public school teachers and administrators aren’t legally considered state employees. However, educators who support transgender rights aren’t confident that they wouldn't fall under the ban — or that opponents of transgender rights wouldn’t attack their jobs regardless.
Isaac Johnson, who is completing a social work degree and just finished an internship in Topeka’s public schools, said problems could arise from interactions like one he had with a girl who told him, “I don’t really feel like a girl. I only feel like a boy.”
“All I said back in response is, ‘Well, what does that mean? What does it mean to be a girl?’ ” Johnson, who is transgender, told reporters during a Statehouse news conference Thursday. “My fear is that, per the law, because I didn’t come out explicitly and say, ‘No, you’re a girl. You’ll always be a girl,’ that will be seen as promoting social transition.”
Transgender Kansas residents and parents of transgender kids also believe they have even more cause to be nervous after Republican lawmakers last year overrode Kelly's veto of a measure that ended the state's legal recognition of transgender people's gender identities. The law's most visible consequence has been to keep transgender people from changing their driver's licenses and birth certificates to reflect their gender identities — something that wasn't the focus of last year's debate.
Aaron Roberts, the pastor of a United Church of Christ congregation in the Kansas City area, said support from social workers was crucial to his transgender daughter before she joined his family out of foster care. She is now a college student.
“All the support that she got from those wonderful social workers who went above and beyond to help her navigate her gender identity — this bill wipes them out," he said. “Gone.”
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KU Faculty and Academic Staff Vote to Join Labor Union
UNDATED (KNS) – More than 1,500 professors, researchers and librarians at the University of Kansas will be represented by a labor union. The Kansas News Service reports that faculty and academic staff voted Thursday to form the union. More than 85% of the vote was in favor of the new organization that will bargain on behalf of the employees. Organizers pointed to wages, job security and academic freedom as driving factors for the union. Berl Oakley, a molecular biologist at KU, says the union gives employees a voice. “This will give us more of a say in what the university does.” The union will next focus on negotiating its first contract. A university spokesperson says administrators look forward to working with the union.
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All Clear After Bomb Threat at WSU
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - Authorities at Wichita State University have given the “all clear” following a bomb threat Thursday night. The bomb threat was reported about 10 pm. KWCH TV reports that students and staff were evacuated from two buildings while police completed a search. No dangerous devices were found. Investigators suspect the threat was not credible but say they always take every precaution to ensure campus safety.
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Kansas Approved for Federal Funding to Expand Internet Access
LIBERAL, Kan. (KNS) – Kansas is among the first states to be approved for the latest round of federal funding to increase internet access for everyone. The Kansas News Service reports that the $452 million should help connect more underserved Kansans. With new updates in technology, people should be more connected than ever. But many rural Kansans are left out when it comes to reliable internet access That’s where this federal funding comes in: State officials will use it to build fiber-optic and wireless infrastructure across the state. Jade Piros de Carvalho, director of broadband development for Kansas, says one of the requirements of the program is to keep costs low for internet users. “It doesn't do any bit of good to have infrastructure running past your home if you can't afford to take advantage of it, ” she added. The next step will be to designate funding to applicants that will bid to provide service in the state. Efforts will focus on western and southeast Kansas, where service is needed the most.
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Kansas GOP Senator Calls for Action on Farm Bill
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – Kansas Republican Senator Jerry Moran is calling on his colleagues to pass a new Farm Bill. The bill is typically updated every five years. It helps support farmers and food producers, as well as providing funding for crop insurance and conservation initiatives. The Kansas News Service reports Moran said Thursday in Wichita that some members of the agriculture committee are satisfied with extending funding for the bill and are not interested in creating a new one. “We need a new farm bill to take into account the new circumstances that farmers are facing. And those…circumstances are pretty damning in the cost of production, and the reduction in income,” he added. Moran says the new bill needs to address issues such as drought and inflation. Lawmakers passed an extension of the 2018 farm bill last year, which is set to expire in September.
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Kansas Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Crash That Killed Officer, Pedestrian and K-9 Last February
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A man who sped through a red light in Kansas City and crashed into a patrol car has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter in the deaths of an officer and a bystander. Before he was sentenced Wednesday, 20-year-old Jerron Lightfoot, of Tonganoxie, said he was “truly sorry and never intended to hurt anyone.” The February 15, 2023, crash killed Officer James Muhlbauer, who was 42, Jesse Eckes, who was 52, and Muhlbauer's police dog, Champ. Police determined that Lightfoot sped up to nearly 90 mph just two seconds before hitting Muhlbauer’s car on the driver’s side. The impact sent the car crashing into Eckes, who was sitting on a concrete barrier.
Lightfoot, who initially blamed his brakes, entered a guilty plea in February in which prosecutors agreed to recommend no more than 10 years in prison. Eckes's sister, Mandi Dunbar, argued against sentencing Lightfoot to prison, saying her brother was in and out of jail during his life. She said his life might have turned out better if he had been given a chance when he was younger.
But family and friends of Muhlbauer, a celebrated officer and father of three, sought the maximum sentence.
The hearing ended with Lightfoot handcuffed and led out of the courtroom, which was packed with friends and family, along with uniformed officers. “Currently, I don’t think I can forgive him, maybe in time,” Muhlbauer’s widow, Cassie Muhlbauer said outside the courthouse.
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Coalition to Host Spanish-Language Health Conference Sunday
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KNS) - The Immunize Kansas Coalition will host a conference for Spanish speakers this weekend in Kansas City, Kansas. The conference will focus on women’s health. Called “Entre Mujeres: The Health of Women,” the conference will be held from noon to 4 pm Sunday at Memorial Hall in KCK. Giovannie Gone, executive director of the Immunize Kansas Coalition, says the conference will highlight preventive health care for women and their children and help connect them to resources. “Women are key to the health of their family," she said. The presentations will be translated into English. Free HPV vaccines will also be available. Gone says women are encouraged to bring their teenagers and male partners. People can register online or in person the day of the conference. An optional $10 donation is requested to cover lunch.
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Kansas Legislature Commits Millions to Aid Public Universities with Deferred Maintenance Needs
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – The Kansas Legislature has committed nearly $200 million over the next six years to help public universities address deferred maintenance. The Kansas News Service reports that the bill signed by Governor Laura Kelly allocates $30 million a year to state universities and $2.7 million a year to community and technical colleges to address a backlog of building maintenance, repairs or demolition. Chad Bristow, director of facilities for the Kansas Board of Regents, says the state funds — plus a required dollar-for-dollar match from universities — will help tackle about $1.2 billion worth of projects. “A lot of maintenance and a lot of needs have accrued, but the big idea here is, don’t keep adding to that. Get to a point where you’re not deferring maintenance," he explained. The plan encourages schools to reduce their campus footprint and to focus on mission-critical buildings.
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Kansas Accountant Accused of Embezzling Client's Money to Build House
WICHITA, Kan. (KPR) — A certified public accountant in Colby is accused of defrauding his clients, taking their money and using it to build a home. Federal prosecutors say 43-year-old Quintin Flanagin made his first appearance Wednesday in federal court in Wichita.
He's facing various charges, including bank fraud, wire fraud, making false statements and money laundering. The U.S. Attorney's Office says Flanagin created a fake business called "Middle Finger Ranch" and then used that company to allegedly steal more than $400,000 from one of his clients, Diamond M. Farms in Thomas County. Prosecutors say Flanagin used the stolen money to build a house.
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Prosecutors Charge Fifth Member of Anti-Government Group in Kansas Women's Killings
GUYMON, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma prosecutors charged a fifth member of an anti-government group on Wednesday with killing and kidnapping two Kansas women. Paul Jeremiah Grice, 31, was charged in Texas County with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder. Grice told an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agent that he participated in the killing and burial of Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, of Hugoton, Kansas, according to an arrest affidavit filed in the case. Grice is being held without bond at the Texas County Detention Center in Guymon, a jail official said. Court and jail records don't indicate if Grice has an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Four others have been charged in connection with the deaths and are being held without bail: Tifany Adams, 54, and her boyfriend, Tad Cullum, 43, of Keyes, and Cole, 50, and Cora Twombly, 44, of Texhoma, Oklahoma.
Butler and Kelley disappeared March 30 while driving to pick up Butler’s two children for a birthday party. Adams, who is the children's grandmother, was in a bitter custody dispute with Butler, who was only allowed supervised visits with the children on Saturdays. Kelley was authorized to supervise the visits, according to the affidavits.
A witness who spoke to Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents said all five suspects were part of “an anti-government group that had a religious affiliation,” according to the affidavit. Investigators learned the group called themselves “God’s Misfits” and held regular meetings at the home of the Twomblys and another couple.
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Hunter Dickinson Announces His Return to KU for a Final Season
UNDATED (AP) – University of Kansas star center Hunter Dickinson announced Friday he would return for a final season with the Jayhawks.
Coach Bill Self also announced he has signed a fourth player from the transfer portal in Rylan Griffen, a starter on the Alabama team that reached the NCAA Final Four.
Dickinson was a first-team All-Big 12 pick and conference newcomer of the year after averaging 17.9 points and 10.8 rebounds per game in his first season with the Jayhawks after transferring from Michigan.
“Yeah you're right coach. I guess it's time to tell everyone I'm coming back! Rock Chalk!” Dickinson wrote on social media.
Griffen started 33 of 37 games and averaged 11.2 points per game for Alabama. He should help a KU offense that ranked 11th in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting.
“Rylan’s won everywhere he’s been,” Self said. “He’s a solid shooter, making 39% from 3-point range on last season’s Final Four team at Alabama. He’s also a solid defender, often guarding the best perimeter player on the opposing team. Rylan fits our system well.”
Griffen scored a career-high 21 points twice last season, against Missouri and at Kentucky. He had 19 games of 10 or more points and had 10 games where he made at least three 3s.
The Jayhawks also have signed AJ Storr (Wisconsin), Riley Kugel (Florida) and Zeke Mayo (South Dakota State).
“We’ve had a lot of good things happen since the end of the season and Hunter coming back has definitely added to that," Self said. "Hunter made a huge impact on our team last year. He played and fought through injuries and was still one of the most consistent players in the Big 12 and nationally. Not only is Hunter a terrific player, he’s a great leader and teammate. We expect him to contend for first-team All-American next season.”
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Cyclones and Wildcats Will Open 2025 Season in Annual College Football Game in Ireland
UNDATED (AP) – Iowa State and Kansas State will play their 2025 season opener in Ireland at the Aer Lingus College Football Classic. The Cyclones and Wildcats will close the 2024 regular season in Ames, Iowa, on November 24, and meet again on August 23, 2025, at Aviva Stadium in Dublin. The fourth annual game in Ireland, announced Wednesday, marks the first time ISU and K-State have met in a season opener and third time they've squared off at a neutral site. They played at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, in 2009 and 2010.
“The opportunity for our student-athletes, coaches, staff, alumni and fans to visit one of the world’s top travel destinations and to showcase our football program and brand on a global stage was one we could not pass up,” K-State athletic director Gene Taylor said.
Iowa State will be playing outside the United States for the first time. Kansas State played Nebraska in Tokyo in 1992.
“This is a tremendous opportunity for the Big 12 Conference to play one of its classic rivalries on a global stage while showcasing our university and its football program,” ISU coach Matt Campbell said. “We are honored that Aer Lingus selected the Cyclones to participate in this prestigious game, which will afford a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our student-athletes to experience international travel while also helping to grow the game of college football outside of the United States.”
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Seth Lugo Throws 7 Scoreless Innings, Leads Royals Past Tigers 8-0
DETROIT (AP) — Seth Lugo pitched seven scoreless innings and the Kansas City Royals won their fourth straight game, beating the Detroit Tigers 8-0 on Friday.
Lugo (4-1) allowed three singles and matched a career high with nine strikeouts in a game played at 1:10 pm due to the NFL draft festivities in downtown Detroit on Friday evening.
“Being aggressive is always part of my plan, but I just had really good fastball command,” he said. “They took some early swings that gave me an idea of what their approach was going to be throughout the game.”
Tigers starter Reese Olson (0-4) allowed one run on three hits and three walks in seven innings, striking out eight.
Kansas City led 1-0 before scoring seven runs in the ninth inning.
“Lugo is a throwback to the guys who pitched, moved the ball around and changed speeds,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said.
With one out in the third, Adam Frazier and Kyle Isbel singled before Maikel Garcia walked to load the bases for the Royals. Bobby Witt Jr. hit a sacrifice fly to center.
The Tigers thought they had the lead in the bottom of the third, but Frazier reached over the right-field fence to rob Parker Meadows of a home run before doubling Javier Báez off first.
“I just tried to get back there with some space to jump,” Frazier said. “I wasn't sure if I would have a chance at it with the wind, but fortunately I was able to do it.”
Detroit got a hit and an error against former teammate John Schreiber in the eighth, but he struck out Spencer Torkelson to end the inning.
The Royals loaded the bases with one out in the ninth, thanks to two singles and a walk off Tyler Holton. Holton, usually one of Detroit's best control pitchers, then hit Frazier and Isbel with consecutive pitches to make it 3-0.
“He really didn't have command,” Hinch said. “That's really unusual for him — he rarely misfires at all. He was in a perfect spot facing two lefties, and he sailed the ball into their elbows, so I had to get him out of there.”
Garcia greeted Will Vest with a two-run single to put the Royals up by five, and Witt tripled before Vinnie Pasquantino's sacrifice fly made it 8-0.
“We did a good job of creating traffic against Holton and then we took advantage of a little wildness,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. Then we were able to tack on with Mikael and Bobby both coming up big."
TRAINER'S ROOM
Tigers C Carson Kelly (ribs) wasn't available for the game. Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said the team might make a roster move to avoid playing with one healthy catcher...Tigers utilityman Andy Ibáñez (hamstring) started a rehab assignment on Thursday, going 2-3 with a double for Triple-A Toledo.
UP NEXT
The teams play the second game of the series on Saturday evening. RHP Casey Mize (1-0, 2.95) is scheduled to start for Detroit against RHP Brady Singer (3-0, 1.82).
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