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Headlines for Wednesday, March 6,2024

A graphic representation of eight radios of various vintages, underneath the words "Kansas Public Radio News Summary"
Emily DeMarchi
/
KPR

Hundreds Rally at Statehouse for Medicaid Expansion

TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – Hundreds of people rallied at the Kansas Statehouse Wednesday to demand lawmakers pass Medicaid expansion this session. The Kansas News Service reports that demonstrators held signs and chanted as they gathered on the second floor of the Capitol building. Speakers at the event, including Democratic Governor Laura Kelly, said Medicaid Expansion will help save rural hospitals and provide healthier outcomes for Kansans. Kelly has campaigned heavily this year to pressure more lawmakers to support Medicaid Expansion or face potential backlash at the polls in November. Republican leaders remain opposed to expansion because they say they don’t want to give government-run health care to able-bodied, working-age adults.

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Lawmakers and Education Officials Tout Literacy Blueprint Plan

WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – Kansas lawmakers and education leaders want all teachers in the state to get better at teaching children to read. The Kansas News Service reports that the proposed Kansas Blueprint for Literacy would target about $100 million over the next seven years to the science of reading. It would be a return to phonetic, sound-it-out instruction rather than older approaches that focus on context clues. The plan would establish a state director of literacy education. It would also require teachers to take classes on the science of reading to maintain their license. Pittsburg State University President Dan Shipp grew up with a reading disability and supports the statewide effort, saying “...this work, it’s inspiring, because it will make change for this state in ways that we can’t even calculate today.” A bill in the Kansas Legislature would establish the blueprint and dedicate $18 million to it next year.

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Shooting in Downtown Lawrence Leaves 1 Dead

LAWRENCE, Kan. (The Lawrence Times) – The Lawrence Police Department is investigating a downtown shooting Wednesday that left one person dead. The Lawrence Times reports that police say the incident occurred at around 5:10 p.m. in the 700 block of Vermont Street. The Lawrence Public Library issued a message just before 6 p.m., saying that the library had closed for the day "due to an incident across the street." Police officers blocked off streets in the area and interviewed witnesses. Lawrence police said in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, that they are seeking more witnesses and want anyone with any information to contact them at (785) 832-7509.

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Lawrence Commission Approves Rezoning Requests for New Development Near South Lawrence Trafficway

LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) - All eight of the rezoning requests for a large new development project along the South Lawrence Trafficway were approved Tuesday night by the Lawrence City Commission. The Lawrence Journal World reports that all of the rezoning requests for the “New Boston Crossing” project passed on 4-1 votes at the City Commission’s meeting Tuesday night. Commissioner Lisa Larsen opposed the requests because they involve areas that overlap with the Wakarusa River floodplain. A little less than half of the 177-acre project site would be developed on the floodplain. Other commissioners said they voted in favor of the rezoning requests, because of the city’s need for more housing. Vice Mayor Mike Dever noted that the project won’t be able to move forward without federal approval related to the floodplain.

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Late Night Shooting in Lawrence Leaves One Dead

LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - Lawrence Police are seeking the public’s assistance in locating 21-year-old Dawson Edward Paine. He is suspected of shooting another man Tuesday night on Crestline Drive in south Lawrence. Officers were dispatched to a residence just after 10:30 p.m. Paine allegedly shot the 18-year-old victim, then fled the area before officers arrived. The victim was transported by ambulance to a Kansas City area trauma center where he was later pronounced dead. The victim is identified as Lawrence resident Davin Gregory Kerr. Police ask that anyone who may have information on the whereabouts of Dawson Paine call 911. Paine should be considered armed and dangerous, and no one should try approach or contact him other than law enforcement.

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Man Accused in Independence Shooting Deaths Jailed Awaiting Trial

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KSHB) - The man accused of a shooting and killing an Independence, Missouri officer and a Jackson County civil process server last week was released from an area hospital and booked into the Jackson County Jail on Tuesday. KSHB TV reports that 69-year-old Larry Acree is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, three counts of armed criminal action and one count of assault of a special victim in the deaths of Independence police officer Cody Allen and civil process server Drexel Mack. The shooting happened at a home in Independence on February 29th as Mack was assisting with serving a Notice to Vacate. The home where Acree was living had been sold at a delinquent tax sale six months ago. He owed more than $29,000 in delinquent taxes and fines due to failing to pay taxes for several years. He allegedly ambushed Mack and two other civil process servers who were at the home to serve the notice. 41-year-old Drexel Mack, a civil process server with Jackson County, and 35-year-old Independence Police Officer Cody Allen died at an Independence hospital. The other two officers are expected to make full recoveries from their injuries.

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75-Year-Old Phoenix Man Arrested in 42-Year-Old Kansas Killing

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — A Phoenix man has been brought to Kansas to face charges in a 42-year-old killing after a multistate investigation.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said in a news release that 75-year-old Jerry Allen was booked Wednesday into the Reno County Jail in Kansas.

Agents secured a warrant for him in late January and arrested him in Phoenix in the March 1982 killing of 44-year-old Michael McKeown. He was brought to Kansas after waiving extradition.

Investigators believe McKeown was shot and killed in his car, while it was parked in the lot outside of his Hutchinson apartment. His body was found the next day, the KBI said.

The KBI said agents conducted several key interviews in three states, which provided the additional evidence needed to proceed with charges in this cold case.

The KBI said Allen will be formally charged Friday when he makes his first court appearance.

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Kansas City Area Man Sentenced in January 6th Capitol Attack

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KC Star) - A Raytown, Missouri man who federal prosecutors say assaulted police and carried a pitchfork on the Capitol grounds during the January 6, 2021 riot was sentenced Tuesday to nearly six years in prison. The Kansas City Star reports that 39-year-old Christopher Brian Roe must also serve two years of supervised release and pay $2,000 restitution for damage to the Capitol, which prosecutors say stands at more than $2.9 million. Roe pleaded guilty in November to three felony counts of assaulting a federal officer. Much of Roe’s sentencing document was dedicated to blaming former President Donald Trump and others, including Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, for his actions.

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UPDATE: GOP Split Thwarted Election Conspiracy Promoters in Kansas and Sank Tighter Mail Ballot Rules

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A deep split among Republican lawmakers in Kansas on Tuesday doomed proposals from election conspiracy promoters to upend how the state conducts elections and also sank an effort with broader GOP support to shorten the time voters have to return mail ballots.

The state Senate rejected, 18-22, a bill that would have banned remote ballot drops boxes and, starting next year, barred local election officials from using electronic machines to count ballots. Far-right Republicans across the U.S. have targeted drop boxes and advocated a return to hand-counting ballots, spreading baseless claims that elections are rife with fraud and amplifying former President Donald Trump's lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.

Republican senators added those provisions during a debate Monday to a bill that would have eliminated the three days after Election Day that Kansas voters have to return mail ballots to local election officials. Many Republicans argue that the grace period undermines confidence in the state’s election results, though there’s no evidence of significant problems from the policy.

Even if the GOP-controlled Senate had approved the bill, Republicans in the GOP-controlled House saw no chance that the provisions on vote-tabulating machines and ballot drop boxes would pass there.

Ending the grace period for mail ballots was an iffy proposition by itself because Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly opposes the idea, and GOP leaders didn’t have the two-thirds majority necessary to override her veto of a similar bill last year.

Still, some Republicans had hoped they could pass a narrow bill this year and keep the Legislature’s GOP supermajorities together to override a certain Kelly veto. GOP senators who voted no Tuesday said they would have supported a bill only ending the grace period and argued that the other proposals weren't vetted. “It's a bridge too far for me to support,” said Sen. Ron Ryckman Sr., a Republican from western Kansas. Eleven of the Senate's 29 Republicans joined all 11 Democrats in voting no, an unusual show of dissent within the GOP supermajority.

Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab had criticized the legislation after the Senate rewrote it Monday, saying the changes “further undermine voter confidence and compromise election integrity.” Schwab is a conservative Republican who has repeatedly vouched for the integrity of Kansas elections and promoted ballot drop boxes. “It’s unfortunate that elected officials lack trust in the democratic system that brought them into office,” Schwab said in his statement.

Schwab is neutral on whether Kansas should eliminate the grace period. Lawmakers enacted the policy in 2017 over concerns that the U.S. Postal Service's processing of mail was slowing.

More than 30 states require mail ballots to arrive at election offices by Election Day to be counted, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, and their politics vary widely. Among the remaining states, the deadlines vary from 5 p.m. the day after polls close in Texas to no set deadline in Washington state.

Voting rights advocates argue that giving Kansas voters less time to return their ballots could disenfranchise thousands of them and particularly disadvantage poor, disabled and older voters and people of color.

In the House, the Republican Elections Committee's chair, Rep. Pat Proctor, said Monday that there's no appetite in the House for banning or greatly restricting ballot drop boxes. “Kansans that are not neck-deep in politics — they see absolutely no issue with voting machines and, frankly, neither do I," he said.

During the Senate's debate, conservative Republicans brushed aside criticism that returning to hand-counting would take the administration of elections back decades. They also incorrectly characterized mysterious letters sent in November to election offices in Kansas and at least four other states — including some containing the dangerous opioid fentanyl — as ballots left in drop boxes. “The pursuit toward safe and secure elections never rests and never ends," Sen. Mark Steffen, a conservative Republican from central Kansas who wrote the provision to bar vote-tabulating machines, said Tuesday in explaining his support of the bill.

(–Earlier reporting–)

Republican-Backed Bill Would Change Mail-In Ballot Receipt Date

TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas voters would have to return mail-in ballots by the end of Election Day under a bill advanced Monday by Republicans in the state Senate. Current Kansas law gives mail-in ballots three days to arrive and be counted, as long as they’re postmarked by Election Day. Some Republicans say they want to end that practice so it doesn’t look like results are changing after the day of an election. But critics call the bill voter suppression. They say results aren’t finalized on Election Day anyway. Democratic state Senator Mary Ware says the bill would make voting harder for Kansans with disabilities who rely on mail-in ballots. “They have trouble getting to the polling place,” Ware said. “They have trouble getting inside the building; they have trouble with the steps.” The bill would also ban counties from using remote ballot drop boxes. The measure still needs a final vote in the Senate before going to the House. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed similar legislation last year.

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Kansas Lawmakers Seek to Change U.S. Senate Vacancy Replacement Process

TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – Kansas lawmakers want to put more restrictions on filling vacancies in the U.S. Senate. The Kansas News Service reports that the proposed restrictions seem to be in anticipation of a Republican winning the presidency and offering a job in their administration to a Republican senator from Kansas. Under current law, if a U.S. senator from Kansas were to resign, Democratic Governor Laura Kelly could choose a replacement from either party to finish their term. A bill in the legislature would require the governor to appoint someone who has been in the same political party as the outgoing U.S. senator for at least 10 years. The bill would also require the Kansas Senate to confirm the replacement U.S. senator.

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Bill Guaranteeing In-Person Visitation at Hospitals Passes Kansas Senate, Awaits Committee Approval in House

TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – Kansas patients would be entitled to in-person visits while in the hospital under a bill being considered by lawmakers. The Kansas News Service reports that the bill would prevent hospitals and other medical facilities from barring visits from certain people, including close relatives. Republican state Senator Mark Steffen is pushing for the change in response to COVID protocols that left some people unable to visit family members. But Tara Mays of the Kansas Hospital Association says hospitals need the discretion to limit visitation when it’s not safe, adding “...we were all frustrated when the federal government said, carte blanche, ‘You cannot allow visitors in hospitals.’ But the answer is not for the state government to say, carte blanche, ‘You can never get rid of visitors.’” The bill has passed the Senate but awaits committee approval in the House.

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Wichita School Board Votes to Close Six Schools

WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) - The Wichita school board voted 5-2 Monday night to close two middle schools and four elementary schools at the end of this academic year to help bridge a $42 million shortfall in the district’s budget. A majority of board members said closing the six schools is the only way to avoid massive job cuts. Families pleaded with the board to explore other alternatives, saying the schools are a crucial part of their students’ lives. The board's two newest members voted against the closures. Member Ngoc Vuong said the plan was rushed through without a clear explanation or enough time for parents and school employees to give feedback on the plan. "True financial oversight of our school district has been violated,” Vuong said. “I cannot vote for this package. I want all options on the table moving forward." The closures will require about 2,200 students to attend different schools when school begins in August. Employees at closed schools will have the option to be reassigned to schools elsewhere in the district.

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State Representative Leaves Vice Chair Role Following Arrest; Stays on Committee

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – State Representative Carl Maughan, a Republican from Colwich, has given up his role as Vice Chair of the Kansas House Judiciary Committee following his arrest on multiple charges Monday in Shawnee County. WIBW reports that Maughan was arrested on the charges of possession of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol or drugs; failure to signal when changing lanes or turning; and improper driving on laned roadway. The arrest took place near 29th and Topeka Boulevard Monday morning around 12:30 a.m., following a traffic stop. Maughan bonded out of jail on $2500 bail. A spokesperson for the Speaker of the Kansas House confirmed to WIBW that Maughan stepped down from his Vice Chair position, but will remain on the judiciary committee. A new Vice Chair will be appointed.

(–Earlier reporting–)

State Representative Arrested on Traffic Charges, Gun Possession While Under the Influence

TOPEKA, Kan. (KC Star) – A Kansas lawmaker was arrested Monday on suspicion of traffic violations and a firearms violation. The Kansas City Star reports that state Representative Carl Maughan, a Republican from Colwich representing District 90, was arrested by Topeka police and booked into the Shawnee County Jail early Monday morning. It is alleged that Maughan failed to use his turn signal, engaged in "improper driving on laned roadway," and was in possession of a firearm while under the influence. Maughan bonded out of jail on $2500 bail, and is scheduled to appear in court Friday morning.

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Kansas House Approves SOUL Family Program for State Foster Care

UNDATED (KNS) – Kansas teenagers in the state’s foster care system may soon have the ability to choose their families if state lawmakers approve a new program. The Kansas News Service reports that the SOUL Family program would allow foster children 16 and older to select one or more adults to be responsible for them. Yusef Presley is an organizer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas. He says as a young person, he lived in many different foster homes and having the ability to choose his placement might have changed that. “You actually get to tell them, you know, ‘Hey, this is where I need to be, this is where I want to be, and this is, this is gonna help me get where I need to go,” he explained. As written, the SOUL program has fewer legal requirements than adoption and a teenager’s chosen family would require court approval. The House has already passed a bill establishing the program, and a Senate committee hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.

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City of Wichita Repeals Campaign Finance Contribution Restrictions for Corporations, LLCs

WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – The Wichita City Council has repealed its ban on campaign finance contributions by corporations and limited liability companies. The Kansas News Service reports that after hours of debate, council members came to a compromise to allow corporate campaign contributions if a principal owner is listed along with the donation. Kansas state law caps contributions at $500 dollars to a candidate each election cycle. Council member Dalton Glasscock says the disclosure increases campaign finance transparency. “It offers accountability, it offers a person, an individual who can still be reached out if someone has concerns or comments about undue influence,” he expanded. An ordinance banning corporate contributions to city election campaigns was narrowly passed before the new council was sworn-in last January. The ordinance change followed record fundraising activity in last fall's mayoral race by Lily Wu.

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Missouri Supreme Court Declines to Hear Appeal of Ex-Kansas City Detective Convicted of Manslaughter

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court on Tuesday announced it will not hear an appeal from a former Missouri detective convicted in the 2019 shooting death of a Black man.

The state Supreme Court denied former Kansas City detective Eric J. DeValkenaere's motion to hear his case. The Western District Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the conviction in September.

DeValkenaere is serving a six-year sentence for second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action. He was convicted of fatally shooting Cameron Lamb in the driveway of Lamb's home on Dec. 3, 2019.

Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s office in June asked the appeals court to reverse DeValkenaere’s conviction or order a new trial. That was unusual because the attorney general’s office typically defends convictions, rather than appeals them. A message was left with Bailey's office.

Police said DeValkenaere, who is white, and his partner went to Lamb’s home after reports he had been chasing his girlfriend’s convertible in a stolen pickup truck. DeValkenaere said he fired after Lamb pointed a gun at another detective.

But Judge J. Dale Youngs, who found DeValkenaere guilty in a bench trial, said the officers had no probable cause to believe any crime had been committed, had no warrant for Lamb’s arrest, and had no search warrant or consent to be on the property. Police were the initial aggressors and had a duty to retreat, the judge said.

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Kansas Lawmakers Consider Offering Tax Breaks as Incentive to Draw More Electric Vehicle Manufacturers

TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – Kansas lawmakers are considering new tax breaks to attract electric vehicle manufacturers to the state. The Kansas News Service reports that a qualified company could receive up to $35 million in incentives, including an investment tax credit and a sales tax exemption on construction costs. Proponents say such tax breaks are an effective way to draw in new businesses and boost the economy. But critics say projects supported by incentives often don’t meet economic expectations. In 2022, the legislature passed more than $800 million in tax breaks for Panasonic to build a factory in De Soto. That factory will produce batteries for electric vehicles starting next year.

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Severe Weather Awareness Week Begins; Statewide Tornado Drill Wednesday

TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - This week is Severe Weather Awareness Week. The National Weather Service in Topeka says the time to prepare for summertime storms is now, and that Kansans should make a plan to get weather notifications, communicate with family members, and prepare their homes for possible tornadoes and storms. Each day this week will focus on a particular weather hazard, and the National Weather Service will held a statewide tornado drill on Wednesday.

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Windy, Dry Weather Puts Kansas Meteorologists on High Alert for Wildfire Conditions

LIBERAL, Kan. (KNS) – Kansas is on high alert for wildfires as windy, dry conditions persist. The Kansas News Service reports that after two large fires scorched areas of Texas and Nebraska, Kansas State University meteorologists have become increasingly concerned about the risk for Kansas. A wet season last year has actually increased fire risks right now. Christopher Redmond, a meteorologist at K-State says the rain helped crop production, but also created more fuel that can burn in dry times. “It was really important for agriculture to have a wet year like that after so many dry years. But you always know that okay, that was the positive and the negative unfortunately, is the grass load going into fire season,” he explained. Redmond says relief may not come until late April when grasses start to green up.

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Research Shows Regional Cold Snaps Becoming Shorter in Duration

UNDATED (KNS) - People in Kansas and Missouri face shorter cold snaps than they once did. The Kansas News Service reports that Climate Central - a nonprofit group that compiles weather data - analyzed the longest cold streaks that nearly 250 cities across the country see each winter. Almost all of them are seeing shorter cold streaks than they did 50 years ago. In Topeka, winter’s longest cold streaks are two weeks shorter now than they used to be. Wichita, Kansas City, Joplin, Jefferson City have all seen their longest cold streaks get shorter, too. Climate Central says snowfall also has decreased over the past 50 years in most of the Kansas and Missouri cities it studied.

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State of Kansas Considers $40 Million Fund for Local Governments to Aid with Homeless Services

TOPEKA, Kan. (Kansas Reflector) – Kansas lawmakers are considering the creation of a $40 million fund to provide support for communities struggling to provide shelter and services for the unhoused. The Kansas Reflector reports that the House Committee on Welfare Reform heard testimony Thursday from Andy Brown, deputy secretary for programs at the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, on potential ways to reduce homelessness in the state.

“The fact that we have a high percentage of unsheltered folks means that the visibility of homelessness is high,” Brown said. “As we’re able to reduce the percentage of our homeless that are unsheltered, it will become something where it’s more difficult to see.”

During last year’s legislative session, reform committee lawmakers heard a bill criminalizing homeless people, which fizzled after public outcry. This session, committee chairman Rep. Francis Awerkamp, a St. Marys Republican, called homelessness in Kansas not “a massive issue,” but “certainly something we need to consider addressing.” House Bill 2723 would create a program that would be administered by KDADS to address homelessness on the local level. The $40 million would administered for one year, in fiscal year 2025, and would provide Kansas local governments with grants to build or improve shelters and homelessness services. The committee will hold a hearing on the bill March 5.

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KSU Chemical Engineer Receives Grant to Reduce Medical Use of Animal Testing

UNDATED (KNS) – A Kansas researcher is trying to reduce the medical industry's use of animal testing and streamline drug development. The Kansas News Service reports that Davood Pourkargar, a chemical engineer at Kansas State University, will help build a computer model that predicts how diseases progress in the human body and how drugs interact. To do so, he’ll use data from drug testing experiments that use cells from human organs, instead of animals. He says many times, things like adverse side effects aren’t caught in animal trials, explaining that “...for example a drug might work well in a mouse but not in a person because their bodies process things differently.” Pourkargar says ultimately, the study aims to speed up drug development, make clinical trials more efficient and reduce the risk of side effects. The two-year study is funded through a grant from the National Science Foundation.

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Grand Jury Indicts Junction City Couple for Defrauding V-A

TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) – A federal grand jury in Topeka has returned an indictment that charges a Kansas couple with defrauding the Department of Veterans Affairs. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Kansas announced Monday via press release that 47-year-old James Bradford and 45-year-old Equanda Bradford of Junction City have been charged with one count of conspiracy and one count of theft of public money, property or records. James Bradford is a U.S. Army veteran. He and his wife, Equanda, are accused of providing false and fraudulent information to the VA about his caregiver needs and her caregiver work. They're accused of taking $172,426 in disability compensation to which they were not entitled. The Department of Veterans Affairs and the General Services Administration are investigating the case. An indictment is only an allegation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Missouri Governor Offers 'Deepest Sympathy' After Reducing Former Chiefs Assistant's DWI Sentence

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has offered his “deepest sympathy” to the family of a 5-year-old girl who was seriously injured in a drunken driving crash, after facing criticism for releasing from prison the driver who caused the crash, former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid.

But in a statement Tuesday to The Kansas City Star, Parson stopped short of apologizing for commuting the remainder of Reid’s three-year prison sentence to house arrest, subject to conditions.

Parson's office said no one asked the governor — who is a Chiefs fan — to commute the sentence, including Reid himself, his father Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid, or anyone else associated with the team that recently won the Super Bowl for the second consecutive year.

Parson spokesman Johnathan Shiflett later provided a copy of the statement to The Associated Press.

“It seems the laws don’t apply equally to the haves and have nots. The haves get favors. The have nots serve their sentence,” the injured girl's mother, Felicia Miller said in a separate statement provided through the family’s attorney.

Prosecutors said Reid was intoxicated and driving at about 84 mph in a 65 mph zone when his Dodge truck hit two cars on an entrance ramp to Interstate 435 near Arrowhead Stadium on Feb. 4, 2021.

Six people were injured in the collision, including Reid and 5-year-old Ariel Young, who suffered a traumatic brain injury. One of the vehicles he hit had stalled because of a dead battery, and the second was owned by Felicia Miller, who had arrived to help.

Reid pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated causing serious bodily injury and was sentenced to three years. Parson reduced that term and ordered his release on March 1. Reid had been expecting to be released about eight weeks later.

In his statement, Parson expressed his “deepest sympathy for any additional heartache this commutation has caused the Young Family,” saying that was not his intention.

The Republican governor, a longtime Chiefs season ticket holder who celebrated with the team at its recent Super Bowl victory parade in Kansas City, has faced criticism even from within his own party.

“This is not justice,” said State Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer, a Parkville Republican who chairs the Missouri Senate Judiciary and Civil and Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, in a post on X.

Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said in a statement that the original sentence was “just,” noting that the crash wasn't Britt Reid's first legal issue. He graduated from a drug treatment program in Pennsylvania in 2009 after a series of run-ins with law enforcement. His father was coach of the Philadelphia Eagles at the time.

“He," Baker said of the governor, “used his political power to free a man with status, privilege and connections.”

She also criticized the governor's office for not contacting Ariel's family before freeing Reid, but Shiflett said that is not part of the clemency process.

Reid had anticipated being released April 30 due to time served and completing an intensive treatment program while in custody, Katie McClaflin, Reid’s attorney, told The Star.

“Now that he is out of prison, he’ll continue focusing on maintaining sobriety and being an engaged and present father to his three children,” said McClaflin, who did not return a phone call from the AP seeking comment.

Shiflett has also mentioned the completion of the treatment program as one of the factors the governor considered when deciding to commute Reid's sentence.

Reid’s house arrest will continue until Oct. 31, 2025, with requirements that include weekly meetings with a parole officer, counseling and community service.

The Chiefs, who have declined to comment on the commutation, reached a confidential agreement with Ariel’s family to pay for her ongoing medical treatment and other expenses.

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Kansas City Prepares to Host Men’s and Women’s Big 12 Basketball Tournament

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KNS) - For the first time, the Big 12 men’s and women’s tournaments will be played at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, and preparations have already begun for the women’s teams before they start competition Thursday night. Some street closures in downtown Kansas City started on Monday near the T-Mobile Center and some street closures will remain until March 17. That’s the Sunday after the men’s Big 12 championship game. Josh Zabel director of events for the Kansas City Sports Commission, says hosting the tournaments begins with trust between local organizers and the Texas-based Big 12. “We feel like they know Kansas City so well that we go in with a great template to work from and try to build on that each year.” For fans heading downtown, tournament officials suggest checking in advance with the VisitKC website for specific information on road closures. The Big 12 women’s basketball regular season ended Sunday and the final seedings for the conference tournament in Kansas City this weekend are set. As the No. 3 seed, Kansas State will get two days' rest before playing Saturday night. The No. 7 seed Kansas Jayhawks will play on Friday against BYU.

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Head Coach of KU Track and Field Named to Lead Team USA Track and Field at 2024 Summer Olympics

LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) – Stanley Redwine, the University of Kansas Track and Field Head Coach, has been chosen as the Head Coach of Team USA Men’s Track and Field for the 2024 Paris Olympics. The appointment was announced Tuesday.

Redwine is currently in his 24th season at KU, and is one of the most decorated track and field coaches in the nation. He is a five-time Big 12 Champion coach, a five-time Big 12 Coach of the Year, and is the longest-tenured coach in KU history.

Redwine has previously served as an assistant coach for Team USA at the 2015 Pan-American Games, as well as earning a spot as an assistant coach for Team USA at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He served as the Team USA Men’s Head Coach at the 2022 IAAF World Outdoor Championship, before his appointment as the Head Coach for the 2024 Paris Olympics, which begin on July 26.

He said via KU Athletics press release that he is "...honored for the opportunity and am excited that I get to be around the other coaches from other schools and just to help Team USA get better. Being around those athletes, there's not a lot that they really need from me, but I will get more out of it than they will. Just to serve them is a great opportunity."

Redwine will be joined by former Kansas Relays Meet Director and KU graduate Tim Weaver, who was named Event Manager for Team USA.

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This summary of area news is curated by KPR news staffers. Our headlines are generally published 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.