Dangerously Cold Weather Prompts Schools, Universities to Close
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - Bone-chilling temperatures have forced numerous Kansas schools and universities to cancel classes Tuesday. School districts in Lawrence, Topeka and other communities are closed. Universities have also cancelled classes, including the University of Kansas, Kansas State, Emporia State, Washburn, Wichita State and Haskell Indian Nations University. The National Weather Service issued a Wind Chill Warning and said wind chill values will drop as low as 27 below zero.
See the complete list of school closures for Tuesday, January 16, 2024.
(-Related-)
Bitter Cold Weather Sent 15 People to Hospitals Saturday During Chiefs Playoff Game
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KSHB) — Temperatures at Arrowhead Stadium got so cold last weekend that some football fans had to be hospitalized. The Kansas City Fire Department says crews responded to 69 calls at GEHA Field during the Chiefs/Dolphins game Saturday. KSHB TV reports that the effects of the cold weather also sent 15 people to area hospitals. Officials say seven people suffered from hypothermia and three people were treated for frostbite. It was the coldest game on record at Arrowhead and the fourth coldest game in NFL history. The official temperature when the game began was -4 with a wind chill factor of 27 degrees below zero. More than 71,000 attended the game.
More Arctic Air Headed for Kansas
UNDATED (KNS) – Kansas meteorologists say the arctic air mass that has been gripping the state is starting to let up. Highs for Wednesday are expected to warm to near-freezing temperatures in many parts of the state. But Chelsea Picha, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Topeka, says residents should plan for a second, smaller arctic air mass to bring more frigid temperatures Thursday evening through Saturday morning.
Picha explained that the next incursion of cold air would not be “...as prolonged as what we just had, but still could see wind chills in the teens and 20s below zero to start off Friday and Saturday mornings. And then once we get into next week, then we see a pattern shift with temperatures returning to more seasonal values.” Next week, Kansans can expect milder nighttime lows around freezing and daytime highs in the 40s across much of the state.
==========
Proposed Bill Would Limit Ways for Kansans to Request Mail-In Ballots
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – Kansas voters would have fewer ways to apply for mail-in ballots under a bill being considered by state lawmakers. The Kansas News Service reports that under current state law, voters can apply for mail-in ballots through sources like advocacy groups and the Kansas Secretary of State’s office. But the Kansas Senate will soon discuss a bill that would allow only county election officials to send out applications, and only at the request of a voter. Some Republicans have pushed conspiracy theories about mail-in ballots since 2020, when they played a role in Democratic President Joe Biden winning key states. Kansas election officials have defended the legitimacy of voting by mail.
==========
Top Official Says Kansas Courts Need at Least $2.6 Million to Recover from Cyberattack
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas court system needs at least $2.6 million in additional funds to recover from an October cyberattack that prevented the electronic filing of documents and blocked online access to records for weeks, the state's top judicial official told legislators Tuesday. State Supreme Court Chief Justice Marla Luckert included the figure in a written statement ahead of her testimony before a joint meeting of the Kansas House and Senate Judiciary committees. The Republican-controlled Legislature must approve the funding, and Democratic Governor Laura Kelly also must sign off.
Luckert's written statement said the courts needed the money not only to cover the costs of bringing multiple computer systems back online but to pay vendors, improve cybersecurity and hire three additional cybersecurity officials. She also said the price tag could rise. “This amount does not include several things: recovery costs we will incur but cannot yet estimate; notification costs that will be expended to notify individuals if their personal identifiable information has been compromised; and any services, like credit-monitoring, that the branch may decide to provide for the victims,” Luckert's statement said.
The attack occurred October 12. Judicial branch officials have blamed a ransomware group based in Russia, saying it stole data and threatened to post it on a dark website if its demands were not met.
Judicial branch officials have not spelled out the attackers' demands. However, they confirmed earlier this month that no ransom was paid after responding to an Associated Press request for invoices since October 12, which showed as much.
Luckert said little about the costs of the cyberattack during Tuesday's joint committee meeting and did not mention the $2.6 million figure. She and other judicial branch officials also met with the House committee in private for about 15 minutes to discuss more sensitive security issues. “The forensic investigation is ongoing,” she said during her public testimony to both committees. Luckert said courts' costs include buying a new firewall as well as software and hardware. She said the court included the three new cybersecurity jobs in its proposed budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1 but now wants to be able to hire them in April, May or June.
State Rep. Stephen Owens, a Republican from rural central Kansas who serves on both the House judiciary and budget committees, said the courts are asking for “an awful lot of money” because of the cyberattack. “That being said, I also think that we have to prioritize cybersecurity,” he said after Tuesday's meeting. “We have to prioritize safeguarding of the information that we store on behalf of Kansans.”
Separately, Kelly is seeking $1.5 million to staff an around-the-clock, 12-person cybersecurity operations center, hire an official to oversee the state's strategy for protecting data and hire someone to create a statewide data privacy program.
==========
Kansas Governor Hopes to Reduce Child Care Red Tape
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) – Governor Laura Kelly wants to remove what she calls “red tape” that can make it difficult to open new child care centers. Kansas Public Radio reports that the state has a major shortage of daycare openings. As it stands, the governor says navigating the state’s child care services is too complicated and creates a hurdle for people wanting to open child care centers. “Right now, if a daycare center wants to set up shop, it must work with one state agency to get licensed, another to receive workforce support and a third to get funding,” Kelly said. In an effort to streamline the process, Kelly wants to consolidate all of those services under a new agency called the Office of Early Childhood. The governor also wants to put more than $56 million toward building new child care centers and helping existing ones stay open. (Read more.)
==========
Bill Would Include Drug Overdoses in Good Samaritan Law Protections
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – A bipartisan group of Kansas lawmakers has introduced a bill to include drug overdoses in its Good Samaritan law. The Kansas News Service reports that the bill would protect most people from prosecution if they call 9-1-1 to get medical attention for someone they’re with who’s experiencing an overdose. Advocates say it will allow people to feel more comfortable calling for help without fear of prosecution for being in possession of a substance. Thomas Simmons of the Kansas Recovery Network in Reno County says that if the bill is passed, it can help save lives. “My take on this is how many people are dying that don't have to be because we are threatening the people that are trying to save them,” he explained. The lawmakers have already received support from law enforcement groups, which removes a major hurdle in getting the bill passed.
==========
ACLU Raises Concerns About KCK Public Safety Program
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCUR) – A new public safety program that gives police direct access to private security cameras … is raising concerns for a Kansas civil rights group. KCUR reports that the ConnectKCK program lets residents and businesses in Kansas City, Kansas, register security cameras and doorbells so KCK police can request footage. It includes the option to give police direct access to the video feed in case of nearby emergencies. But Micah Kubic, who leads the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, has major privacy concerns. “There are lots of examples of surveillance technology being used … in ways that really undermine the rights of individual people,” Kubic said. The ACLU of Northern California sued San Francisco in 2020, after police there used a network of private cameras without permission to surveil protestors.
==========
More than 1.500 Kansans Owed Back Wages
WICHITA, Kan. (KMUW) – More than 1,500 Kansas workers are owed more than $1 million dollars in back wages recovered by the U.S. Department of Labor. KMUW reports that the department of labor can require companies that don’t follow certain labor laws to pay their workers back wages. But the agency says many workers don’t collect the money because they can’t be located. A recently-updated online portal allows workers to search their name and employer to determine whether they are owed any wages.
Trini Murguia of the Department of Labor recommends any worker in Kansas check the portal, but says some are more likely to be owed back wages. "Some of the industries where we commonly find wage violations include construction, agriculture, restaurants and the care worker industry," she advised.
The department doesn’t ask about workers’ documentation status. The portal, called Workers Owed Wages, is also in Spanish. It's available at dol.gov.
==========
Students in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska Riding "Greener" School Buses
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KNS) - Hundreds of students in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska will soon ride greener buses to school, instead of traditional diesel buses. The Environmental Protection Agency is granting $33 million to schools and bus operators in Kansas City, Missouri, Topeka and other places. The new buses will reduce or eliminate tailpipe emissions. That means they will be electric buses or buses that run on propane or compressed natural gas. First Student, a national company, says this helps toward its phaseout of 30,000 diesel school buses by 2035. The EPA says diesel is linked to health problems, so cleaner vehicles will benefit bus drivers and students. Topeka's USD 501 is among the districts where students will soon be riding more environmentally-friendly school buses.
==========
Boil Water Advisories Remain in Effect for Topeka, Muscotah and Belvue
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Kansas health officials have issued a Boil Water Advisory - until further notice - for the city of Topeka. The advisory was issued Sunday morning after low chlorine levels were detected at the water treatment plant. Meanwhile, two other communities in northeast Kansas are also under boil water advisories: the city of Muscotah, in Atchison County, and the city of Belvue, in Pottawatomie County.
==========
Boeing Picks a Retired Admiral to Lead a Team to Review Safety in Manufacturing Planes
UNDATED (AP) – Boeing named a retired Navy admiral as a special adviser on matters including quality of work done at suppliers as the aircraft maker responds to a midflight blowout aboard one of its planes this month. Boeing CEO David Calhoun said he asked Kirkland Donald to a team that will make recommendations to improve oversight of quality in the company's factories and those of its suppliers.
Before retiring from the military, Donald was the director of the Navy’s nuclear-propulsion program for eight years. He is chairman of shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries. The retired admiral's appointment was announced a day after the company said it would increase quality inspections on its Boeing 737 Max 9 planes following an accident on an Alaska Airlines jet. A plug used to fill a spot for an emergency exit blew out while the plane flew over Oregon on January 5.
The inspections come after Federal regulators grounded most Max 9 jets, including all those used by Alaska and United Airlines. A Boeing official said Monday it is “clear that we are not where we need to be” on quality assurance and controls.
The door plug that blew off the Alaska jet was installed by a supplier, Spirit AeroSystems, and is being examined by the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the accident. Boeing 737 and 787 jets have been plagued in recent years by several manufacturing problems that have interrupted delivery of new planes to airlines.
==========
Grant to Aid Foster Kids with Job Training
UNDATED (KC Beacon) - A $460,000 grant will help 50 Kansas and Missouri foster kids get environmental job training. The federal money went to foster care agency Cornerstones of Care to give months of training so kids get important certifications. It’ll also help them clean up streams and study waterways so they get real world training. Theo Bunch is the director of Build Trybe, a Cornerstones program that got the money. He says foster care agencies need to focus on job placement. “To provide shelter and food and therapy is not enough," he said. "You have to help them transition into being successful adults and that means career training.” The program has existed for a few years, but the EPA grant will help it grow.
==========
Chiefs Will Face Bills in Buffalo in AFC Divisional Round
UNDATED (KPR) - The Buffalo Bills defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-17, Monday. That means the Kansas City Chiefs will have a rematch against the Bills when they meet Sunday night in Buffalo in the AFC Divisional Round. It will be the first playoff game on the road that Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will play in. As a starter against the Bills, Mahomes has a 3-3 record. When the Chiefs faced the Bills at home, back on December 10th, Kansas City lost, 20-17, in an emotional contest. It’s best remembered for an offsides penalty by wide receiver Kadarius Toney that nullified what could’ve been a game-winning touchdown pass by the Chiefs.
==========
3rd Mahomes vs. Allen Playoff Showdown to Take Place in Buffalo (for a Change)
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Get ready for Patrick Mahomes versus Josh Allen: Playoff Edition Part III.
Only this time there’s a twist — and no, it doesn’t involve potential sightings of Taylor Swift at Buffalo’s more popular wing joints.
The most significant change from a football perspective involves the Kansas City Chiefs (12-6) leaving the frigid comforts of Arrowhead in January by traveling to the equally frigid — and snowier — confines of Highmark Stadium for an AFC divisional round playoff showdown on Sunday night.
Rather than being serenaded by the “Tomahawk Chop,” the Chiefs will be greeted by a fanbase better known for trashing folding tables and which celebrated Buffalo's playoff-opening rout over Pittsburgh by throwing tufts of snow in the air like confetti on Monday.
Though this will be Mahomes's second trip to Western New York following the Chiefs’ 26-17 regular-season win in 2020, it'll be the quarterback’s first true playoff road game.
Fittingly, it’s Buffalo, where the Bills (12-6) and their fans have long fantasized over how home-field advantage might turn the tables after two of their past three playoff runs ended in Kansas City.
There was the lopsided 38-24 blowout loss in the AFC championship game in the 2020 season.
More immemorable was the heart-wrenching 42-36 overtime loss in the divisional round a year later in a game dubbed “13 Seconds” by Bills fans.
That’s how much time was left in regulation for the Chiefs to gain 44 yards on two plays and set up Harrison Butker’s game-tying 49-yard field goal. Kansas City won the coin toss and scored on its opening possession, which led directly to the NFL changing its playoff rules in now allowing the coin-toss loser one possession to tie the game if scored upon.
So nightmarish was the outcome, Bills coach Sean McDermott, to this day, refuses to reveal what went wrong in the team’s decision to kickoff into the end zone — rather than bounce it short — after Gabe Davis scored his fourth touchdown to put the Bills ahead.
This season, Buffalo earned the right to host the game with a 20-17 win at Kansas City on Dec. 10, which sparked the Bills five-game winning streak to close the season and clinch their fourth straight AFC East title.
The Bills, however, know all too well to be careful what they wish for in knowing the task of beating the Chiefs won’t be easy after splitting their previous six meetings, including playoffs, since 2020
“We’ve had our battles over the years and this will be another one. I mean, you watch what they did the other night. They were dominant,” McDermott said, referring to the Chiefs’ playoff-opening 26-7 win over Miami on Saturday. “So we gotta get our rest and try and get a little bit healthier, if we can, and then, and get ourselves ready to go again.”
Complicating matters further are the Bills are playing on an even shorter week after their playoff opener was moved from Sunday to Monday because of a lake-effect storm hitting the region. With another storm set to hit Buffalo on Tuesday night, there’s concern the Bills may not be able to travel to their facility for practice on Wednesday.
Injuries are an even bigger issue. Buffalo closed the game against Pittsburgh with a patchwork defense after starting linebacker Terrel Bernard (right ankle), backup linebacker Baylon Spector (back), starting cornerback Christian Benford (knee) and starting nickelback Taron Johnson (concussion) were hurt. This is a defense that began the game without starting cornerback Rasul Douglas (knee) and starting linebacker Tyrel Dodson (calf).
The onus will be on Allen to relieve the burden, as he did against the Steelers with a no-turnover, four-touchdown outing that included an electrifying 52-yard run, the longest in franchise playoff history.
Allen is counting on "Bills Mafia" to make a difference.
“The vibe, the energy, the juice that we can use from that,” Allen said. "You just can’t chalk it up to anything other than momentum, something you can’t see but something you can definitely feel. And they give that to us.”
WHAT’S WORKING
A running attack that provided the offense balance in gaining 179 yards — including Allen's 74 — and improving to 12-2 when topping 100 yards this season.
WHAT NEEDS HELP
A training staff dealing with a rash of injuries that could include punter Sam Martin, who stayed in the game after hurting his left hamstring attempting to chase down a blocked field goal.
STOCK UP
LB A.J. Klein. The 11th-year player was planning to retire before the Bills re-signed him to the practice squad last week. He stepped in by leading Buffalo with 11 tackles against Pittsburgh.
STOCK DOWN
PK Tyler Bass. The fourth-year player had a 49-yard attempt blocked and then missed wide left from 27 yards, the first time Bass has failed from inside the 29.
INJURIES
McDermott had no updates on the status of his long list of injured players except to say the team is taking things day to day.
KEY NUMBERS
29-5 — Allen's record when he doesn't commit a turnover, including 4-1 in the postseason.
NEXT STEPS
After facing Steelers coach and former William & Mary college teammate Mike Tomlin, McDermott faces his mentor in Kansas City coach Andy Reid. McDermott was part of Reid's staff in Philadelphia from 1999-2010.
==========
K-State Climbs to No. 7 in AP Top 25 Women's College Basketball Poll
UNDATED (AP / KPR) – The Kansas State women's basketball team is really good and getting better. The Wildcats have moved up to No. 7 in The Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll. K--State shot up five spots to seventh, which is the Wildcats' best ranking since they were fifth in the preseason poll in 2003.
==========
This summary of area news is curated by KPR news staffers. Our headlines generally post by 10 am weekdays and are updated through 7 pm. This ad-free news summary is made possible by KPR members. Become one today. And follow KPR News on Twitter.