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Headlines for Thursday, March 7, 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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Voters Backed Abortion Rights. Yet Kansas Could Make Doctors Ask Patients Why They Want Abortions

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas moved closer Thursday to requiring abortion providers to ask patients why they want to terminate their pregnancies and report the answers to the state. It would join other states with Republican legislatures that ban most abortions even though Kansas voters have affirmed abortion rights.

The House approved, in an 81-39 vote, a bill that would require providers to ask patients 11 questions about their reasons for terminating a pregnancy, including that they can’t afford another child, raising a child would hinder their education or careers, or a spouse or partner wanted her to have an abortion. The bill goes next to the state Senate, where it also is likely to pass.

At least seven states require similar reporting, but none have had a statewide vote on abortion rights as Kansas did in August 2022. In the first state ballot question on abortion after the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, voters decisively protected abortion rights under the state constitution.

Democrats are frustrated because Republicans and anti-abortion groups have pursued new rules for abortion providers and aid to anti-abortion counseling centers despite that vote and votes affirming abortion rights in other states, including GOP-led Kentucky and Ohio.

“Quite honestly, I don’t understand it, you know, because I think Kansans made it very, very clear how they want Kansas to operate in this arena,” Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, a strong abortion rights supporter, said during a brief Associated Press interview this week. “Why would an elected official who’s facing an election in November go against the wishes of their constituents?”

Both chambers have large anti-abortion majorities and both sides believe there's a strong chance abortion opponents could override a Kelly veto of the reporting bill. Last year, Republicans overrode Kelly's vetoes of other restrictions on providers.

But Republicans are sensitive enough to criticism that their proposals go against the wishes of Kansas voters to argue that their proposals since the August 2022 ballot question have not reduced access to abortion. Kansas allows most abortion up until the 22nd week of pregnancy, and that would not change under the reporting bill.

“This bill has nothing to do with eliminating abortion in Kansas, doesn’t ban it, doesn’t touch on that whatsoever,” said House Health Committee Chair Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican. “I’ve respected that vote.”

Backers of the bill argued the state needs more and better data about why women and girls have abortions so lawmakers can create programs to address their concerns.

“If we're looking to protect unborn children and it's a socio-economic reason, then maybe a state can step up," said Ingrid Duran, state legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee.

In Kansas, a doctor who provides an abortion already must report the patient’s age and ethnicity, whether the person was married and the method used to terminate a pregnancy.

States requiring doctors to report the reasons for an abortion include Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Utah. Minnesota’s Democratic-controlled Legislature repealed its similar reporting requirement last year.

The law in Oklahoma, where most abortions are banned, includes a list of more than 30 questions a provider must ask a patient about her motives. Potential reasons include relationship problems and not feeling mature enough to raise a child.

Isabel Guarnieri, a spokesperson for the Guttmacher Institute, which researches abortion issues and supports abortion rights, said such data can be useful in public health. But she said such mandates also should be assessed in the context of lawmakers’ long history of trying to restrict access and stigmatize abortion.

Alesha Doan, a University of Kansas dean and professor who studies policy and gender, called the bill approved by the House “an unnecessary way for the state to continue to surveil people’s health decisions.”

Democrats, particularly female lawmakers, attacked what they saw as the unfairness of requiring women to face detailed questions about their motives for seeking health care when men would not. They started with vasectomies.

Then, Kansas City-area Democratic Rep. Stephanie Sawyer Clayton suggested requiring doctors to ask male patients whether they wanted to treat erectile dysfunction because a spouse wanted that or because it caused the man stress or embarrassment.

“Because I am still fertile right now, I don’t have that right to privacy,” she said after Thursday's vote, summarizing what she sees as the bill's real message. "Why am I less of a person than a post-menopausal woman? Why am I less of a person than a man?”

But that tactic prompted an eye-roll from Landwehr during a post-vote interview. She said Democrats should favor better data collection.

“You know, it amazes me that they don’t support this,” she said.

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Lawrence Police Chief Updates Media and Community on Recent Shootings

LAWRENCE, Kan. (Lawrence Times) – Chief Rich Lockhart of the Lawrence Police Department spoke to the media Thursday to update the community on two separate shootings that occurred within 24 hours in the city. The Lawrence Times reports that Lockhart identified the man shot and killed Wednesday in downtown Lawrence as 39-year-old Vincent Lee Walker of Lawrence. Walker was a musician who performed under the name V-Dubb. Police arrested 32-year-old Nicholas Beaver Wednesday night on suspicion of second-degree murder. Lockhart said Beaver is from Topeka and had been in Lawrence for “a very short period of time.”

As regards a fatal shooting Tuesday night, Lockhart said that the Topeka Police Department arrested 21-year-old Dawson Paine on Thursday in Topeka, following a joint investigative operation. Paine is accused of shooting 18-year-old Davin Gregory Kerr. Kerr was taken to a Kansas City-area trauma center, but did not survive his injuries.

Lockhart also said during the press conference that two of the people killed in the city’s three recent homicides were experiencing homelessness, and that he thinks the community needs to push for better funding of mental health treatment programs.

(–Earlier reporting–)

Lawrence Police Investigate Two Deadly Shootings in a 24-Hour Period

LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) – The Lawrence Police Department has arrested a suspect in a shooting that occurred downtown Wednesday evening and left a 39-year-old man dead. The Lawrence Journal World reports that the incident occurred just after 5:00 p.m. in the 700 block of Vermont Street, across the street from the Lawrence Public Library. Late Wednesday night, Lawrence police announced that they had taken a suspect into custody without incident. Nicolas Beaver was booked into the Douglas County Jail awaiting a court appearance. Authorities have not released the victim’s name pending notification of his next of kin. This is the second homicide in Lawrence in less than 24 hours. Police are also seeking the public’s assistance in locating 21-year-old Dawson Edward Paine. He is suspected of shooting another man on Crestline Drive in south Lawrence on Tuesday night. Officers found 18-year-old victim Davin Gregory Kerr of Lawrence suffering a gunshot wound. He was transported to a Kansas City area trauma center where he was later pronounced dead. Investigators say Paine fled before officers arrived and they are asking that anyone who may have information on the whereabouts of Dawson Paine call 911.

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Kansas Attorney General Announces Lawsuit Against TikTok

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has filed a lawsuit against the social media platform TikTok. Kobach’s office announced that it filed the suit against TikTok on Wednesday in Shawnee County District Court for allegedly misrepresenting its age-appropriateness in app stores. WIBW TV reports that Kobach also accuses the company of deceiving parents about the effectiveness of its parental tools and creating and aggressively promoting an addictive app that erodes the mental health of Kansas children. The lawsuit alleges that TikTok knew its app was not safe for children when it released it in 2017. Additionally, the attorney general’s office says, the company misleads parents by marketing its app as age appropriate for children 12 and older. Despite its assertions, the suit alleges that TikTok features significant amounts of mature and suggestive themes including profanity and crude humor, as well as alcohol, tobacco and drug use. The state is seeking civil penalties of $10,000 per violation and enhanced civil penalties of $20,000 for deceptive and unconscionable acts against protected consumers.

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State of Kansas Seeks to Reduce Time Waiting for In-Home Support Disability Services

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KC Beacon) – It takes 10 years for some Kansas families to get in-home support so their intellectually or developmentally disabled kids can go about their daily lives. The state is trying to fix that. The Kansas City Beacon reports that Governor Laura Kelly has proposed a $23 million investment to add 500 slots to two waitlists. Republicans want to double that. But some advocates say adding a few hundred spots does nothing for waitlists that are over 7,500 people long. Rocky Nichols with the Disability Rights Center of Kansas says the state has spent over $200 million on providers, which means better pay and more qualified staff. But that money is not getting families the help they need. “The state has been starving the waiting list, and that’s why it’s skyrocketing.” State lawmakers are not currently planning to spend as much as Nichols would like. But they are eyeing millions in investments to get families help.

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Bill Would Eliminate State Sales Tax on Menstrual Products and Diapers

TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – Kansans would no longer have to pay state sales tax on menstrual products or diapers under a bill being considered by lawmakers. The Kansas News Service reports that the bill would create a sales tax exemption for products like tampons and menstrual pads, which can cost women thousands during their lifetime. Diapers also would be exempted from sales tax. Those cost parents with one baby an average of about $70 per month. The bill is supported by Democratic Governor Laura Kelly. Republican leaders did not include the measure in their most recent tax package, which was ultimately vetoed. If approved, the bill would take effect in July and provide an estimated $8.7 million in sales tax relief next year.

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Groups Behind Substance Use Assessment to Tour State of Kansas

WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – Groups leading a statewide substance use needs assessment will make several stops across Kansas to generate feedback. The Kansas News Service reports that the assessment will help guide the Kansas Fights Addiction Board on where it should distribute the state’s opioid settlement funds. The money is part of national legal settlements against prescription opioid makers, distributors and pharmacies to help abate the opioid epidemic. Several in-person events will be held beginning March 19th. Stops include Garden City in western Kansas, Wichita, several stops in northeast Kansas and more. You can visit unitedtotransform.com for a complete list of meetings and to learn more about the assessment.

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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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"Choose Topeka" Cash Incentive Program Drawing Strong Response Among Latinos

UNDATED (KNS) – Latino people are strongly responding to an incentive program that offers cash for moving to the Topeka area. The Kansas News Service reports that’s led program officials to market the incentive specifically to Spanish-speaking immigrants. The Choose Topeka program offers up to $15,000 to each applicant who finds a job and moves to Shawnee County. It's an economic development effort by Go Topeka, a local public-private partnership. Program officials say interest has spiked among first-generation Latino immigrants. And now the program is working harder to persuade them to apply. Bob Ross of Go Topeka says the community has strong Spanish-speaking resources, like a school district that offers bilingual education. “If you're a first generation immigrant and you speak Spanish, Topeka can be a very welcoming community for you.” Anyone who can legally work in the U.S. is eligible for the incentive. The program awards cash to about 60 people each year.

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Businesses and Local Agencies Team Up for Free Ornamental Pear Tree Replacement Program

UNDATED (KNS) – People in northeast Kansas can get a free native tree for chopping down an invasive ornamental pear tree. The Kansas News Service reports that invasive Callery or Bradford pear trees are easy to spot right now because their white flowers began popping open this week. These trees spread aggressively and displace the food that songbirds and pollinators need to reproduce. Local agencies, like Shawnee County Parks and Recreation, have teamed up with businesses and nonprofit groups to distribute free replacement trees to people who cut down Callery pears. The replacements – like redbuds and serviceberries – support wildlife. Details are available at Deep Roots.org.

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Bill Kurtis to Deliver 2024 Dole Lecture

LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) — Journalist and native Kansan Bill Kurtis will deliver the annual Dole Lecture at the KU Dole Institute of Politics on April 16. Kurtis is a KU alumnus who worked as a student announcer at KANU early in his career, and went on to establish himself as a network news anchor, producer, and narrator. and producer. Kurtis worked at WIBW television in Topeka, and went on to serve as a national co-host of CBS Morning News in the 1980s. He is the recipient of two Peabody Awards, numerous Emmy Awards, a DuPont award, and the William Allen White Citation from the University of Kansas School of Journalism.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Kurtis will also participate in an interview with Dole Institute Director Audrey Coleman, focusing on Kurtis’s Kansas roots and the various news events that “have shaped the nation over the course of his seven decades in journalism.”

Kurtis will participate in the event in person at the Dole Institute of Politics, 2350 Petefish Drive, in Lawrence. The event is free and open to the public, but also can be viewed on the Dole Institute’s YouTube channel. The institute hosts the Dole Lecture each spring to commemorate the date on which Senator Bob Dole was critically wounded in Italy while serving in World War II.

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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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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.

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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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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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