KU Men Survive Samford and Advance to 2nd Round in NCAA Tourney
SALT LAKE CITY (KPR) - The Kansas Jayhawks have advanced to the second round of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. KU escaped the Samford Bulldogs 93-89 in Salt Lake City Thursday night. KU will face more Bulldogs in the next game when they take on Gonzaga Saturday.
Meanwhile, the KU women are preparing for their own first-round game in the NCAA women’s tournament. The 8th-seeded Jayhawk women play #9 Michigan Saturday at 1 pm in Los Angeles. The #4 seeded K-State women defeated Portland in their first-round game Friday in Manhattan, 78 to 65. (More on this story further below.)
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Internet Problems at Kansas State Agencies Resolved
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – Internet problems that affected State of Kansas agencies on Thursday have been resolved. Director of Public Affairs Allie Denning with the Office of Information Technology Services told KSNT that two separate problems were reported. The one involving the state of Kansas internet network was due to a hardware issue that was resolved on Thursday around 4:15 p.m. The other problem was linked to a nationwide outage affecting Department of Motor Vehicle services in multiple states, which Denning says has also been resolved.
(–Earlier reporting–)
State of Kansas Agencies Report Loss of Online Service, as Disruptions Occur Nationwide
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – State agencies in Kansas reported problems with online access Thursday. Other state agencies nationwide had similar issues. KSNT reports that the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, had interruptions to its motor vehicle services. Other Kansas counties - including Lyon, Pottawatomie and Clay - reported problems via social media.
The outage affected the Kansas Department of Revenue and Motor Vehicle Registration software. Reports indicate that DMV facilities across the U.S. were affected by network outages. As of late Thursday afternoon, the Kansas State Office of Information Technology said most services had come back up, but that "not all (systems) may be functioning yet."
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Kansas Lawmakers Fail to Advance Medicaid Expansion
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas lawmakers have voted against advancing a proposal to expand Medicaid. Lawmakers heard testimony this week on Medicaid expansion, which would provide health care to 150,000 more low-income Kansans. In a blind House committee vote, only five lawmakers supported advancing the bill to the House floor. That's the same number as Democrats on the 17-person committee. Democrats say all lawmakers should have the opportunity to consider a proposal that polls show Kansans overwhelmingly support. But Republican leadership fiercely opposes expanding Medicaid to people they say should have to work to get health care. Expansion now has little chance of progressing this year.
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Google Announces $1 Billion Data Center in Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KPR) – Google plans to build a $1 billion data center in Kansas City, Missouri. The news was announced Wednesday. Google data centers help power digital services, like Google Cloud, search functions and maps for people and organizations worldwide. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas praised the news saying, "“Kansas City continues to be one of the fastest-growing technology markets in the country."
(–Additional Reporting–)
Google to Build Billion-Dollar Facility in North Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR) – Google is building a $1 billion data center in North Kansas City, which will help run all of the tech company’s apps and services, including cloud and AI. The development includes a skilled trades and readiness program that will begin next year. Matt Sexton, a spokesperson for Google, said the center will employ more than 1,200 workers during construction, and about 100 people once it’s up and running. "Kansas City has so many factors in its favor, particularly for a project like this, including you know available land, and a talented workforce," he added. Google also donated $100,000 to the North Kansas City School District. The company does not currently have a timeline to finish construction. The data center has been in the works since 2019. Sexton said Kansas City will join 16 other data center campuses in the U.S.
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1 Person Killed, Others Injured in Chanute Apartment Building Fire
CHANUTE, Kan. (AP) — Flames engulfed an apartment complex in Chanute early Thursday morning, killing one person and injuring several others. The Iola Register reports that the blaze damaged the roughly 15-year-old, 24-unit Cornerstone Apartments throughout the building, The apartment building's company president said the cause is unknown. The building was fully occupied with sprinkler systems, fire alarms and smoke detectors that all appeared to function, he said. The number and types of injuries weren't immediately announced.
Firefighters arrived to find the south side of the building engulfed in flames. The Iola, Parsons, and Thayer fire departments helped Chanute firefighters fight the blaze. Chanute police helped evacuate the building. Local, state and federal officials were investigating the fire's cause Thursday afternoon.
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Third Man Charged with Murder in the Kansas City Super Bowl Rally Shooting
UNDATED (AP) – A third man was charged with second-degree murder Thursday in connection with the shooting during the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl rally that killed a woman and injured nearly two dozen others. Terry Young, 20, of Kansas City, Missouri, was also charged with unlawful use of a weapon and two counts of armed criminal action. He is jailed on $1 million bond and doesn't yet have an attorney. Phone messages left for his family weren't immediately returned.
Lyndell Mays and Dominic Miller were also charged with second-degree murder and several weapons counts soon after the Feb. 14 shooting at a parade attended by an estimated 1 million people as Kansas City celebrated the Chiefs' second straight Super Bowl win. Two juveniles are also in custody, and three other men face gun-related and resisting arrest charges, accused of illegal purchase of high-powered rifles and guns with extended magazines, including weapons used at the rally.
Jackson County Prosecuting Attorney Jean Peters Baker said the investigation has reached an important milestone. “Everyone we’ve identified who discharged a firearm in response to the verbal altercation detailed here has been taken into custody,” she said in a statement. Though all of the suspected shooters are accounted for, Baker said additional charges are expected.
Police and prosecutors have said the gunfire broke out when one group of people confronted another for staring at them. Authorities have said a bullet from Miller’s gun killed Lisa Lopez-Galvan, who was in a nearby crowd of people watching the rally. She was a mother of two and the host of a local radio program called “Taste of Tejano.” The people injured range in age from 8 to 47, police said.
The latest man charged and two others approached someone in the other group, and an argument broke out, according to a probable cause statement. When someone else pulled out a gun, the man pulled out his own weapon, the document stated. Surveillance video showed him appearing to shoot several times.
The man's social media postings showed him wearing the same distinctive backpack seen in the surveillance video, and his phone data showed the device was in the area of the shooting when it happened, according to Baker and the probable cause statement.
Court documents unsealed earlier this month said 12 people brandished firearms and at least six people fired weapons at the rally. The guns found at the scene included at least two AR-style rifles, court documents said. U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore has said at least two of the guns recovered from the scene were illegally purchased.
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Federal Judge Rules Women Claiming Assault Can Testify at Golubski Trial
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR) – A federal judge has ruled that seven women who say they were assaulted by a former Kansas City, Kansas, police detective can testify at his trial. KCUR reports that U.S. District Judge Toby Crouse ruled federal prosecutors can use the testimony of the seven women to try to prove their case against Roger Golubski, who is charged with depriving two women of their civil rights through sexual assault and kidnapping. Prosecutors say Golubski showed a pattern against all nine of the Black women – using rape, his status as a police officer, and threats to hurt them or their families if they told anyone. Crouse has yet to set a trial date for Golubski – who was arrested in September 2022.
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Fire Breaks Out at Liberal Meat-Packing Plant
LIBERAL, Kan. (KPR) - Fire broke out at a meat-packing plant in Liberal but no one was injured. Fire officials say the blaze erupted Wednesday, affecting box and container trailers at National Beef Company. The plant, which was operating at the time, was evacuated. The exterior of the plant suffered significant damage. Officials are still investigating the cause.
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Barbie Comes to Bonner Springs; Mattel Plans Theme Park in Wyandotte County
BONNER SPRINGS, Kan. (WDAF) — Barbie is coming to Bonner Springs. Toy maker Mattel says it will build a new theme park in Wyandotte County: a Mattel Adventure Park. The attraction will feature Hot Wheels roller coasters as well as a Barbie rooftop restaurant and bar. WDAF TV reports that crews plan to break ground this year and open the new theme park in Bonner Springs in 2026. “Mattel Adventure Park Kansas City" will feature a theater, dining options and family-friendly attractions. This will be the second Mattel Adventure Park from Mattel. The company's first-ever theme park opens this year in Glendale, Arizona.
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Douglas County Launches Mental Health Program for Jail Inmates
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KNS) – Some Kansas inmates are required to receive mental health care to be able to stand trial. But they often have to wait months to get it. The Kansas News Service reports that a Douglas County program hopes to help reduce those wait times. The Douglas County initiative will provide competency restoration care to inmates locally so they can resolve their cases sooner. Until recently, those inmates had to receive care at a state facility, like Larned State Hospital. But the hospital is plagued by a long wait list and some inmates wait more than a year to get in. Douglas County Sheriff Jay Armbrister says that means some inmates spend more time in jail waiting than the prison time they are ultimately sentenced to, adding that "...it’s stasis. You’re just stuck and you can’t go forward or backward.” Douglas County has about 10 inmates on the waitlist. The local program is set to launch April 1.
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Kansas House Advances Anti DEI Bill
TOPEKA, Kan. (Kansas Reflector) - The Kansas House has tentatively approved a plan that would impose a $10,000 fine for every instance in which a public university or college tied student admissions or faculty hiring to an ideological pledge or statement related to diversity, equity and inclusion. The Kansas Reflector reports that the measure would not apply to private or parochial colleges and universities in the state. The bill was crafted by Representative Steven Howe, the chair of the House Higher Education and Budget Committee. He says House Bill 2460 would protect freedom or speech and academic freedom. Critics, like Representative Tom Sawyer, say the bill fails to define diversity, equity and inclusion. The bill is scheduled for final action today (THUR) in the Kansas House.
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Kansas Senator Urges More Work on New Farm Bill
UNDATED (KNS) – Kansas Republican Senator Jerry Moran is urging his colleagues to resume work on the farm bill. The Kansas News Service reports that the nation’s current farm bill must be revised or extended before the end of 2024. It’s currently stalled in Congress. The farm bill protects the nation’s food supply by providing support for farmers during weather events and economic downturns. Experts predict that farm income will fall by $42 billion this year. Moran argued this week on the Senate floor that the losses are unsustainable. “Farmers can't manage these circumstances. These challenges don’t just impact farmers, but ultimately, they impact American consumers trying to feed their families,” he said. Moran says agriculture is the state’s top economic driver and contributes $81 billion to the Kansas economy. It also supports about 250,000 jobs, more than 10% of the state's workforce.
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Wichita Weighing an End to the Practice of Publishing Public Notices in Newspaper
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – Wichita will consider ending its contract with the Eagle and McClatchy, the paper's parent company, to publish the city's public notices. If approved, Wichita will become one of the largest cities to do so. The Kansas News Service reports that the city spends $150 thousand dollars a year to publish its notices in The Eagle, its paper of record. Council members argued that they’d rather continue publishing notices on the city's website or find other publications. But other council members said that older members of the community still read the notices in the paper. Emily Bradbury is with the Kansas Press Association. She says publishing notices in the paper helps keep local governments accountable: “At the end of the day, it's about transparency, and we feel like we're advocates for the public. And we know, that transparency will be harmed, and the public will be harmed if the public notices are pulled from newspapers.” Council members will discuss the contract at their April 2nd meeting.
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Jayhawks Get Friendly Whistle Late to Advance in March Madness with Victory over Samford
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Kansas got a kind whistle at the end and Nicolas Timberlake made both his free throws to help the Jayhawks hold off Samford for a 93-89 victory in the NCAA Tournament. The 13th-seeded Bulldogs were trapping after trimming a 22-point deficit to one when Timberlake got the ball as he was streaking alone toward the basket. Timberlake went to dunk and Samford’s A.J. Staton-McCray came from behind and blocked the shot, touching nothing but ball. The whistle blew and Timberlake calmly made both free throws to give KU a three-point lead. The Jayhawks will play Gonzaga on in the second round of the Midwest Regional.
KU player Timberlake swears he got fouled. If he did, Samford’s A.J. Staton-McCray insisted, then “I guess Casper hit him.” The fourth-seeded Jayhawks took advantage of what looked like a phantom foul in the waning seconds Thursday night that set up two key free throws by Timberlake for a 93-89 victory in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 13th-seeded Bulldogs used their frenetic press and deep bench to trim a 22-point deficit to one with less than a minute left. They were trapping KU in the backcourt when Timberlake took a long pass in stride as he was streaking toward the basket. As he went up to dunk, Staton-McCray came from behind and blocked the shot, appearing to touch nothing but ball. The whistle blew and Timberlake calmly made both free throws with 14.7 seconds left to help Bill Self's team push the lead to three and set up a second-round meeting against Gonzaga. “I was definitely fouled on the breakaway,” Timberlake said.
Well, maybe not, according to Staton-McCray. “I feel like it was a great play by me,” he said “Terrible call.”
The debate will play out for about a day back in Lawrence, where bigger things await, but will linger longer in Birmingham, where tiny Samford, champion of the Southern Conference, was denied the first tournament victory in program history. “I thought A.J. made an incredible play, you know what I’m saying?” Samford coach Bucky McMillan said. “I’m not faulting the call. You can see it different ways. But I was really proud of our guys’ ability to go make a play.”
The call certainly didn't detract from the game Hunter Dickinson had for Kansas.
Playing with a sleeve on to protect his recently dislocated right shoulder, the KU center finished with 19 points, 20 rebounds and four blocks. KJ Adams Jr., led the Jayhawks with 20 points, while Timberlake finished with 19 after his two game-deciding free throws. Self’s team came into the tournament slumping — a popular pick to go down early without leading scorer Kevin McCullar Jr. (knee) and having lost four of its last five.
The Jayhawks play on. But the Kansas coach wouldn't play into the good call-bad call debate. “I thought Nic attacked the basket well,” Self said. “He’s a much better athlete than what a lot of people think. He attacked it strong, just like he should.”
That he had legs left to do that was a feat, given the way Samford played fullcourt basketball for 40 minutes, slowly wearing down a KU rotation that had essentially been reduced to six players.
Achor Achor had 23 points and eight rebounds for Samford, including a tomahawk jam with 38 seconds that cut the Bulldog deficit to two.
Dickinson then hit Adams with a long pass for a dunk, but Jaden Campbell (18 points) answered with a 3-pointer for the Bulldogs to set up the crazy finish.
Kansas, and the refs, walked off the court to lusty boos from the rowdy Samford contingent, many of whom stuck around, calling up replays of the foul call on their phones.
The Jayhawks won this game, but they were forced to do it Samford’s way. The Bulldogs rushed Kansas into tying its season high with 18 turnovers. The tradeoff was that Kansas shot 60% from the floor and made this look like a dunk contest at times. Of KU's 35 field goals, 14 were layups and eight were slams The biggest shot, though, was the one that didn’t go in by Timberlake.
“I’m not blaming the whistle (but) if there is no whistle, we’re going to have the numbers advantage going the other way to advance to round two,” McMillan said. "That’s how close the game was and that’s how well our guys played when we were down 22.”
UP NEXT
The first tipoff Saturday in Salt Lake City will be at 10:45 a.m. local time between Arizona and Dayton, with the Kansas-Gonzaga matchup to follow. This will mark the third matchup between the programs; they split the last two.
MYSTERY TECH
A technical foul on the Samford bench gave Kansas two easy points in the first half that turned out to be important in a game this close. Samford officials said they weren't told which coach was slapped with the ‘T,’ which was officially charged to the bench.
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Kansas State Uses Big First Quarter to Defeat Portland 78-65 in Women's NCAA Tournament First Round
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Gabby Gregory had 22 points and Ayoka Lee scored 21 to lead Kansas State to a 78-65 win over Portland in the first round of the women's NCAA Tournament on Friday.
The fourth-seeded Wildcats built a big first-half lead and then kept the No. 13 seed Pilots at an arm’s reach the rest of the game. They led 40-28 at halftime.
K-State will face the winner of the Colorado vs. Drake game on Sunday in the second round.
Serena Sundell added 16 points for Kansas State (26-7).
Portland (21-13) was led by Maisie Burnham, who had 17 of her 21 points in the second half. The Pilots also got 12 points from Kianna Hamilton-Fisher.
The game became chippy in the second half as there were 10 fouls called before the midway point of the third quarter. There were 15 total fouls called in the third quarter.
Lee, who finished with nine rebounds, had 11 points in the third quarter as the Wildcats maintained their 12-point lead.
K-State shot 26 of 51 from the field, including 7 of 16 on 3-pointers. The Wildcats, however, only made 65.5% of their free throws.
Portland shot 44% for the game.
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