Evergy: Power Restored to More than 90% of Customers
UPDATE: Evergy Reports that Fewer than 1,300 Customers Remain Without Power, as of 10:20 a.m.
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Evergy, the state's largest electric utility, said early Wednesday morning that it had about 4,500 customers without power due to this week's winter storm. At one point, as many as 160,000 Evergy customers were affected by power outages. Evergy says power was restored to 85% of them within 12 hours... and 90% within 24. Crews are still working to restore power to all customers.
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Another Round of Snow, Bitter Temps Coming to Eastern Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Another round of snow is headed toward eastern Kansas Thursday night and Friday. Less snowfall is expected Thursday night and Friday, but temperatures will drop to dangerous levels. Matt Wolters, with the National Weather Service, says less snowfall is expected but it will be brutally cold. "Our forecast right now has temperatures hanging out in the single digits for Saturday, Sunday and Monday, if you can believe that. We don't even get into the teens. And then wind chills on top of that could be dangerous with, uhh... negative 20 to negative 30 and... we're flirting with frostbite conditions," he said. Wolters also says it's a good idea to have a professional check your furnace to make sure it's in good working order. "Now is the time to think about making preparations for a prolonged period of cold weather. Check in on those who might be vulnerable to, to the cold and make sure they can stay warm," he said. Snow is likely Thursday night into Friday. Another round of snow is possible Sunday and Sunday night.
For the latest weather conditions, check with the National Weather Service office in Topeka.
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Kansas Chief Justice Says Restoration of Court Records After Cyber Attack Is on the 'Near Horizon'
UNDATED (AP) – Kansas courts are getting closer to functioning normally after affiliates of a Russian-based ransomware group infiltrated the system three months ago, state Supreme Court Chief Justice Marla Luckert told lawmakers Wednesday in her State of the Judiciary address. “As of today, our centralized case management system has been restored, and with it, the free public portal that allows quick access to electronic work records,” she said. Electronic filing also was restored Wednesday in two judicial districts, and it is expected to be brought back statewide in about two weeks.
Court officials discovered in October that crucial servers were inaccessible and then found ransomware on the encrypted systems. In the ensuing shutdown, courts in all but the state's most populous county had to switch to paper filings and other workarounds. Johnson County in the Kansas City area was spared because it has its own systems and isn’t scheduled to join the state’s systems until next year.
Although backup systems made it feasible to recover data, the restoration process has been slowed by the need to fortify the system. “Once hacked,” Luckert said, "the likelihood of another attack increases.”
Luckert stressed that the state didn't pay the ransom, and it is working to identify and notify those whose personal information was stolen. “We are optimistic that full functionality of our systems, including appellate e-filing, is on the near horizon,” Luckert said. Her comments came as Governor Laura Kelly, a Democrat, prepared to deliver her annual State of the State address.
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Workers' Families Upset that Meatpacking Plants Stayed Open During Blizzard Conditions
LIBERAL, Kan. (KNS) – Families of meat packing workers in southwest Kansas are criticizing companies for keeping the plants open during the blizzard conditions this week. The Kansas News Service reports that workers at Tyson and Cargill said on social media that they had to stay in the plants after the winter storm reduced visibility and closed roads. Videos and photos show workers sleeping on the floor of the plants. Community members in Garden City, Dodge City, and Liberal say the plants should have closed when it was clear hazardous weather was coming. Paul Resley, the emergency management director for Finney County says he advised Tyson workers to shelter in place. “Most of them did go back to the plant and spent the night. They did leave early in the morning. So that was a situation with Tyson,” Resley explained. Cargill has released a statement saying that their workers safety is their primary focus. Tyson said workers were given the option to shelter in place and served a hot meal. National Beef in Liberal did not penalize workers for not making it to work.
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Kansas Board of Education Approves New Early Learning Standards
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – The Kansas Board of Education has approved new learning standards for children from birth to kindergarten. The Kansas News Service reports that the updated standards are intended to guide preschool teachers and daycare workers. They lay out what babies and young children should be able to do at various stages of development. Three conservative board members voted against the new standards, saying public schools have no role in early childhood education. Board member Danny Zeck of Leavenworth accused public preschools of espousing controversial ideas and agendas, saying “You’re not gonna indoctrinate kids. You’re not gonna brainwash kids. Because that’s what’s going on here — that everybody thinks the same.” Supporters say the standards offer guidance about typical development so teachers and families can better identify potential delays.
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Police Investigate Death of Woman and Dog in Lawrence Park; Foul Play Not Suspected
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - Lawrence police are investigating the death of a woman and a dog found dead in a park Tuesday. Detectives do not suspect foul play was involved. Police were called early Tuesday afternoon to Sandra Shaw Park in north-central Lawrence where officers found the 31-year-old woman and a dog deceased in a tent near a pond. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that officers detected a strong odor of propane near the tent. The coroner will determine the official cause of death.
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Kansas Bill Would Criminalize Encouragement of Suicide
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - A Kansas bill would make it illegal to encourage someone to take their own life. The mother of a Wichita man is spearheading efforts to get the bill passed into law. Jill Janes’ son Max was 21 when he died by suicide last year. She says he received texts from people encouraging him to take his own life, even though they knew he was struggling with depression. She talked to Representative Nick Hoheisel, a Wichita Republican, to draft the new bill. “We’re hoping that this law will reroute behaviors. You’ve got someone that is tempted to hide behind their screen and push someone towards action like this - that they might go, ‘They could trace this back to me. I don’t want to be involved in this.’” Janes says she’d also like to see resources put into increased access to mental health services.
Hoheisel says this is the first step of several needed to address the state’s high suicide rates. “I think we do a poor job here in the state of Kansas on suicide prevention. Our suicide rates, especially among our youth, are very alarming. But this legislation is the first cog of the overall discussion that we will continue to have," he said.
The nonprofit Mental Health America ranks Kansas among the worst states in the country on mental illness and access to treatment.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 9-8-8.
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Federal Grant to Help Kansas Foster Kids Get Environmental Job Certifications
UNDATED (The Kansas City Beacon) – A federal grant is helping Kansas foster kids get jobs in the environmental field. The Kansas City Beacon reports that the money was given to foster care agency Cornerstones of Care. The $450,000 grant helps foster kids get the months of training needed for job certifications. It also gives them real world experience, said Theo Bunch, director of Build Trybe, which is part of the group that is getting the money. “There might be a day where they got their waders on and they are, you know, knee deep in a creek, and they're doing water testing, and they're removing trash and debris.” Foster kids are more likely to be homeless, short on food and struggle with college. The Build Trybe program hopes to stabilize their futures. The EPA says the grant trains kids to get jobs cleaning up polluted Brownfield sites in Missouri.
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Kansas Educators Seek Law Change for At-Risk Student Spending
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas education leaders want to change a law that dictates how they can spend money earmarked for academically struggling students. A report last year showed that many Kansas schools are misusing millions of dollars set aside for students at risk of failing academically. The law requires programs to be delivered specifically to those students, and that they be backed by five years of research. Deputy Education Commissioner Ben Proctor says some schools gear at-risk programs toward whole classrooms. And he urged state school board members to push for updates. “Ultimately make recommendations to the Legislature on statutory changes based on how students are benefiting from programs that may not meet the current law.” Kansas sends about $400 million a year in at-risk aid to school districts.
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Kansas Governor Laura Kelly Announces New Tax Proposal
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – Kansas Democratic Governor Laura Kelly unveiled a new tax proposal Monday on the first day of the 2024 legislative session. The Kansas News Service reports that Kelly’s plan includes eliminating the food sales tax by April instead of next year and increasing the residential exemption on state property taxes. While the plan has support from a few Republican lawmakers, GOP leaders are expected to instead pursue a single-rate tax plan. Kelly opposes that idea, referencing budget shortfalls after tax cuts during the administration of former governor Sam Brownback. “I refuse to take us back to the days of four-day school weeks, crumbling roads and bridges, and crippling debt,” Kelly said. Kelly’s plan would also increase the standard deduction on state income taxes and eliminate income taxes on social security.
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Task Force Wants $350 Million for Kansas Special Ed Funding
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - A group created to study special education in Kansas is urging lawmakers to increase funding by nearly $350 million over four years. The task force split 6-4 on the recommendation. It echoes Governor Laura Kelly’s plan to bring Kansas into compliance with state law on special-ed funding. Four Republican lawmakers oppose the move, citing problems with the overall funding formula. Rep. Kristey Williams says schools get more money for special education than their budgets reflect. “There is money attributable to special-education students, and we are not counting any of it. We are not counting the local option budget, and that’s just one," she said. The task force recommended further study on how districts provide special-ed services. The group also wants the state to reimburse schools for special-ed costs more quickly.
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Overland Park Venue Defaults on STAR Bonds Payments
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (KPR/KNS) - The Prairiefire entertainment venue in Overland Park has defaulted on its payments related to a state economic development program. Prairiefire was built with $65 million in Kansas Sales Tax Revenue Bonds … or STAR bonds … issued in 2012. The program lets cities issue bonds for development and pay them off later with diverted sales tax revenue. But a report from the Kansas City Star says the venue has failed to generate enough revenue to pay off its first $15 million in debt. Some lawmakers have criticized the program after certain developments have failed to meet expectations. To date, Prairiefire has reportedly only paid $130,000 on its bonds.
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Jackson County Puts Stadium Sales Tax on April Ballot
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR) - Voters in Jackson County, Missouri, will decide in April whether to renew a stadium sales tax that, if approved, would keep the Chiefs and the Royals in the Show-Me State. This week, the county legislature approved putting the question on the ballot in an eight to one vote. If it passes, the three-eighths cent sales tax would be renewed for another 40 years. The tax revenue would be split evenly between the Chiefs and the Royals, who would both commit not to move to Kansas.
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Ag Officials Seek Farm Bill Passage
UNDATED (HPM) – Agricultural officials want Congress to pass a farm bill as soon as possible. Harvest Public Media reports that the farm bill was supposed to be renewed last year. President Biden signed a one-year extension for the five-year legislation that expires in September. Iowa Farm Bureau President Brent Johnson recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby members of the agricultural committee to tackle the bill in the next few months. “In this presidential election year, national politics is going to get in the way. And we really don't need this farm bill to be extended into the new administration. That's going to be...it's been...a really long time,” Johnson said. The farm bill provides a safety net in the form of subsidies, crop insurance, trade, and conservation programs. However, most of the funding, more than 80%, goes toward food programs.
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New KU Study Reveals Plant Diversity Improves Soil Health
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KNS) - A study at the University of Kansas shows that diverse plant species produce higher yields and better soil health. Kansas is known for its vast fields of singular grain crops. But a new study on prairie plants shows that having diverse crops slows the spread of pathogens that can lead to crop failure. Agronomy scientists have believed this for years, and now they say the research provides concrete evidence that more innovation in industrial farming is needed. James Bever, an author of the study, says the results show that monoculture planting could leave current and future crops vulnerable: “What's unique about our study is how strong the evidence that we found and how fast it happens that we get these pathogens building up very quickly.” Bever says focusing on diverse species could save farms money on pesticides and tillage.
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Chiefs' Chris Jones Could Be Calling Arrowhead Stadium Home for Final Time Saturday Night
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — There was always the hope, and perhaps even the expectation, that Chris Jones would still be wearing a Kansas City Chiefs jersey this season when he walked out of Arrowhead Stadium following their victory in the AFC championship game last year. Jones was entering the final year of his contract, and his representatives had been talking with the Chiefs for more than a year about a long-term deal. The five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle was coming off his finest season, matching a career high with 15 1/2 sacks, and was about to lead the Chiefs into the Super Bowl for the third time — and win his second title.
None of that worked out how anyone envisioned, though. And now Jones is much less certain about his future in Kansas City as the Chiefs prepare to play the Miami Dolphins on Saturday night in a wild-card playoff game.
Even if the Chiefs win, it could be their last game at Arrowhead Stadium this season.
"If it is, it is. If it's not, it's not,” Jones said. “You can't think about what-ifs. You can't think about the future. Things change by the day. You just got to roll with the punches in life. They give you lemons, make lemonade. Right now, we're trying to make lemonade out of this, man. We got an exciting Dolphins team coming. We're slowly knocking off the goals we had."
First was winning the AFC West for the eighth consecutive season, which the Chiefs did with a week left in the regular season, allowing them to rest the majority of their starters for a 13-12 victory over the Chargers last weekend.
But after failing to agree to that long-term deal, the reworked contract that Jones signed for this season — after holding out all of training camp and through Week 1 — was laden with incentives.
One of them was a $1.25 million bonus for reaching 10 sacks, and the gregarious defensive tackle from Mississippi State needed a half against the Chargers to reach it.
So he asked Chiefs coach Andy Reid to play. Then asked to keep playing when he continually pressured Chargers quarterback Easton Stick but kept coming up short. And when he finally got that sack late in the game, the wild celebration that it triggered on the Kansas City sideline proved just how much it meant to Jones, and how much Jones means to his team. “They were all on board pulling for him,” Reid said. “That's kind of the neat thing about that.”
Jones said afterward that he would reward his fellow defensive linemen with Rolex watches. Whether it is in Kansas City or elsewhere, he should have plenty of money to buy them come the start of next season.
The 29-year-old Jones is due to hit free agency, and while the Chiefs could conceivably use the franchise tag on him, the cost of that would be prohibitive. They have several others that they hope to keep on the roster, including lockdown cornerback L'Jarius Sneed, and the salary cap hit for quarterback Patrick Mahomes will be steadily increasing.
So the most likely scenario is that Jones signs elsewhere in free agency, and that means he could be preparing for his final walk out of the Arrowhead Stadium tunnel on Saturday night. He will no doubt be warmly received by Chiefs fans — despite wind chills expected to be well below zero — before taking on the Dolphins to kick off the postseason.
“You usually reflect after, right? After it's all done, you reflect on what's the next chapter for you, for the team,” Jones said. “Trying to think about it — it could be my last game at Arrowhead — who knows? But most importantly, we've got a game to play, try to make a deep run in the playoffs. If it is my last game, have to make it worthwhile.”
NOTES: LT Wanya Morris (concussion) did not practice Wednesday. WR Justyn Ross (neck) was back after missing the previous day. LT Donovan Smith (neck) also practiced for the second straight day. ... The Chiefs took their kickers from their practice facility to Arrowhead Stadium on Wednesday to get a feel for kicking there in cold, snowy weather. “Today is like nothing compared to what we're going to get,” Chiefs special teams coach Dave Toub said. “We're going to go outside and it's 30 (degrees) or something. Eight (on Saturday night) is different.”
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