Powerful Thunderstorms, Possible Tornadoes to Sweep Through Eastern Kansas, KC Metro
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KC Star) - Stormy weather is headed for eastern Kansas and the KC Metro area. Citing the National Weather Service, the Kansas City Star reports that multiple rounds of strong to severe thunderstorms are expected to push through the region for the next couple of days. The first round of showers and storms is expected to move into the area Monday afternoon and evening. The primary threat from this round will be damaging winds and small hail. Around sunrise on Tuesday, a second round of strong to severe storms will move from eastern Kansas into the Kansas City area. A third round of storms is possible Tuesday afternoon and evening. Large hail, damaging winds, locally heavy rainfall and an isolated tornado are likely from the strong to severe storms, with the highest potential coming Tuesday afternoon.
For the latest weather for northeast and east-central Kansas, visit the National Weather Service webpage for Topeka.
(–Additional reporting–)
Much of Central US Faces Severe Thunderstorm Threat and Possible Tornadoes
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tens of millions of Americans stretching from Lincoln, Nebraska, to Baltimore could face strong thunderstorms Monday night through Wednesday, with tornadoes possible in some states. A large storm system hitting much of the central U.S. over the next few days is expected to bring severe thunderstorms to Kansas and Nebraska on Monday evening, the National Weather Service’s Storm Prediction Center said. The two states could see strong tornadoes, too, while parts of Oklahoma, Missouri and Virginia face a slight risk. Severe scattered thunderstorms are also expected to bring strong winds, hail and flash flooding.
WHAT AREAS ARE MOST AT RISK?
After moving through the Great Plains, NWS says the the storm system could move into the Mississippi Valley, Great Lakes and Ohio Valley areas on Tuesday and bring “severe weather and isolated flash flooding." Southern Iowa, Northern Missouri and Central Illinois face the largest threat of "significant hail and tornado potential," on Tuesday the agency said.
The risk of tornadoes forming Monday evening over parts of Kansas and Nebraska will increase with the development of a few, discrete supercells, NWS said. Those are the tall, anvil-shaped producers of tornadoes and hail that have a rotating, powerful updraft of wind often lasting for hours.
WHEN IS TORNADO SEASON AND IS IT CHANGING?
May is generally considered the midpoint of tornado season, said Harold Brooks, a tornado scientist at the National Severe Storms Laboratory. Brooks said late April to the middle of May is when the strongest tornadoes that cause fatalities usually appear.
“There's a lot of uncertainty in those estimates,” Brooks added, because of how much each tornado season varies year to year.
Some scientists believe that over the past few decades, tornadoes in the U.S. have been shifting — with more spinning up in states along the Mississippi River and farther east. But scientists aren’t entirely sure why that’s happening. One possible factor could be that the western Great Plains are getting drier thanks to climate change, said Joe Strus, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, “and so your precipitation has shifted east a little bit.”
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Members of Anti-Government Group ‘God’s Misfits’ Held in Killings of Kansas Women
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Two Kansas women who vanished as they tried to pick up children for a birthday party two weeks ago were killed over a custody dispute involving a group of anti-government Oklahomans calling themselves “God’s Misfits,” authorities said Monday.
Their vehicle was found March 30 along a rural Oklahoma highway with ample evidence of a bloody confrontation, setting off a multi-agency effort to secure the children’s safety while searching for the women and avoiding more violence.
Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, of Hugoton, Kansas, had arranged with the grandmother of Butler’s two children to meet at a highway intersection on the morning of March 30 and pick up the 6- and 8-year-old.
“This case did not end the way we had hoped. It’s certainly been a tragedy for everyone involved,” Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Director Aungela Spurlock said.
The four people arrested Saturday on charges of kidnapping and first-degree murder are the grandmother, Tifany Adams, 54; her boyfriend Tad Cullum, 43; Cora Twombly, 44; and her husband Cole Twombly, 50. All meet regularly with several others in a group they call “God’s Misfits,” their arrest affidavits said. Relatives of Tad Cullum and the Twomblys did not immediately return phone messages seeking comment. Tifany Adams’ stepmother, Elise Adams, said she had no information on the case.
Butler’s family found the vehicle just a few miles from the meet-up spot after the women missed the party in Kansas. It was a gruesome scene.
“Blood was found on the roadway and the edge of the roadway. Butler’s glasses were also found in the roadway south of the vehicle, near a broken hammer. A pistol magazine was found inside Kelley’s purse at the scene, but no pistol was found,” the affidavits said.
Investigators gathered evidence that the killings were planned, with Adams buying pre-paid “burner” cellphones to communicate and five stun guns at a nearby store. Her internet searches included asking about pain levels using the weapons, the affidavits said.
A teenage witness told authorities that Cora Twombly said that at one point, “the plan was to throw an anvil through Butler’s windshield while driving, making it look like an accident because anvils regularly fall off of work vehicles.”
The affidavits said Butler and Adams were in a “problematic custody battle.” Adams’s son was in a rehabilitation facility hours away in Oklahoma City, and Butler was allowed only supervised visits each Saturday. Kelley, the wife of a pastor in Hugoton, was Butler’s court-authorized choice to supervise visitations.
The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals had directed a trial judge in 2022 to give the children’s parents shared custody. The ruling described them as “very young and immature parents” who accused each other of “inappropriate behavior and choices,” but said “the children are nurtured and comforted by Mother” and ”happy and excited to be with Father.”
Butler's request for more time with her children and unsupervised visitation was likely to be granted at a hearing in April, Butler’s attorney told investigators.
On March 23, with a court date looming, Adams bought the stun guns. On March 29, Cullum used heavy equipment to dig a hole in a pasture he rented, not far from the meet-up site, the affidavits said.
Authorities wouldn’t say at Monday’s news conference where the bodies were found, but the affidavits said some of the “burner phones” stopped transmitting that morning in the vicinity of the pasture, where “a hole had been dug and filled back in and then covered with hay.”
It wasn’t entirely clear where the children were during the search. Adams told investigators that she had left them in the care of another couple on March 29 and 30; the affidavits said that couple regularly hosted the “God’s Misfits” meetings.
Authorities said the affidavits weren’t unsealed until after the children’s safety was assured. “We were successful. No shots were fired and the children were kept out of harm’s way," said District Attorney George Leach III.
The four people charged are being held without bond in the Texas County Jail pending court appearances Wednesday, said Texas County Court Clerk Renee Ellis. Court records don’t indicate whether any have an attorney speak on their behalf.
“I don’t know a thing about her business,” Elise Adams said when asked about Tifany Adams. “All I can tell you about her is she was a wonderful step-daughter to me.”
OSBI spokesman Hunter McKee said the bodies' identities and causes of death are pending a medical examiner’s report.
“This case is tragic,” McKee said. “You have two people who are dead and four people who committed an absolutely brutal crime.”
(–Earlier Reporting–)
Missing Southwest Kansas Women Found Dead in Oklahoma, Four People Arrested
TEXAS COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR/KPR) - A child custody dispute may have led to the murder of two women from southwest Kansas. Authorities say the bodies of two women missing from Hugoton were discovered Sunday in the Oklahoma panhandle. KFOR TV reports that the women - 27-year-old Veronica Butler and 39-year-old Jilian Kelley - had been missing for two weeks. They were traveling to Eva, Oklahoma, to pick up Butler's children when they disappeared. On Saturday, the grandmother of the children was arrested, along with her boyfriend and two other people. All four are being held on charges of first degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder.
2 Bodies Found in Rural Oklahoma After 4 Arrested in Case of Missing Kansas Women
GUYMON, Okla. (AP) — Two bodies have been recovered in a rural Oklahoma county, a day after four people were charged there with murder and kidnapping in connection with the March disappearance of two Kansas women. Authorities say 27-year-old Veronica Butler and 39-year-old Jilian Kelley, of Hugoton, Kansas, were driving through the Oklahoma panhandle to pick up Butler’s children for a March 30 birthday party in Kansas but never showed up. Investigators arrested four people on Saturday. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation announced the next day that two bodies were found and were taken to the medical examiner’s office to determine identification and cause of death.
The sheriff’s office requested help from the state bureau of investigation, which said its officers immediately suspected foul play, based on undisclosed evidence found in the vehicle. On Saturday, Oklahoma authorities said they arrested and charged four people with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping and one count of conspiracy to commit murder in the first degree: Tad Bert Cullum, 43; Tifany Machel Adams, 54; Cole Earl Twombly, 50, and Cora Twombly, 44. Court records don’t indicate whether any of the four defendants have an attorney who could speak on their behalf.
Authorities announced the next day that two bodies were recovered in Texas County. The Medical Examiner’s Office would determine their identification and cause of death, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement Sunday night. Authorities in Texas County said they would reveal more about the case on Monday.
All four suspects are being held without bond in the Texas County Jail and are scheduled to make an initial court appearance Wednesday morning, said Texas County Court Clerk Renee Ellis.
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Kansas Governor Signs New Foster Care Option Proposal into Law
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – Kansas teens in foster care will now have the option to choose relatives or close friends as their custodial parents. The Kansas News Service reports that Governor Laura Kelly signed the new permanent-home option into state law on Monday. The new law allows Kansas teens in foster care to choose one or multiple adults to serve as their custodian. Older foster children can be adopted or placed with foster parents. But many children end up bouncing around homes and aging out of care without being adopted. The governor called the new law “transformational” for Kansas children. State officials believe Kansas is the first state to legalize the new option.
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Judge Orders Kansas Highway Patrol to Pay $2.3 Million in "Two-Step" Case
UNDATED (KNS) – A federal judge has ordered the Kansas Highway Patrol to pay more than $2.3 million in attorney fees to plaintiffs in the “Kansas Two-Step” case. The Kansas News Service reports that the financial judgment comes after the court ruled the agency’s policy for detaining out-of-state drivers was unconstitutional. The “Kansas two-step” is a maneuver where troopers turn routine traffic stops into drug searches. The highway patrol argued the drivers and troopers were having voluntary conversations. But siding with the plaintiffs, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, the judge ruled the searches lacked reasonable suspicion and targeted out-of-state drivers coming from states with legal marijuana. The judge ordered a permanent injunction against the practice. The highway patrol is appealing the injunction.
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Kansas Board of Education Restores Accreditation to KCK Public School District
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – Kansas education leaders have restored full accreditation to the public school district in Kansas City, Kansas. The Kansas News Service reports that the Kansas State Board of Education voted last year to put the KCK district on conditional accreditation because of concerns over student test scores and a lower-than-average graduation rate. In 2020, the district’s graduation rate fell below 69%, compared to the state average of 89%. After a review of the district’s improvement plan, the state board voted last week to grant full accreditation. Kansas City Kansas is the largest school district in Wyandotte County. On May 7, voters will decide on a $420 million bond issue to build and renovate schools.
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Primary Care Providers May Be Eligible for Thousands in Student Loan Forgiveness
UNDATED (KNS) – Primary care providers working in areas like rural Kansas may be eligible for an extra $25,000 in student loan forgiveness. The Kansas News Service reports that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently bumped federal loan forgiveness from $50,000 up to a total $75,000 for health care providers who commit to working for two years in underserved areas. Chessa Quenzer works in recruiting for the Community Care Network of Kansas, a nonprofit that runs health clinics across the state. She says the increase is necessary because tuition for medical school has increased dramatically. “And if you think about it, $75,000 for two years of service, that’s just much more enticing than $50,000 to live in a rural area,” Quenzer added. She says an additional $5,000 in loan forgiveness is available to fluent Spanish speakers. The deadline to apply is May 9.
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Douglas County Commission Approves Giant Solar Energy Project
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) - Over the weekend, the Douglas County Commission gave unanimous approval for an 11-hundred acre solar project to be built north of Lawrence and west of the city's airport. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the Kansas Sky Energy Center is an industrial-scale solar energy project that, when built, will be capable of supplying electricity to about 30,000 homes a year. A group of people who own land near the project site have protested against the solar farm. Many opponents spoke out against the project at a 10-hour meeting on Saturday. But in the end, commissioners approved a conditional use permit for the solar project.
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KU Marks 70th Anniversary of Brown v Board Ruling with Two-Day Conference
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - The University of Kansas is marking the 70th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education case with a two-day conference this week (April 18th and 19th). The KU School of Education and Human Sciences is partnering with the Brown v. Board National Historic site in Topeka for "Brown v. Board at 70: Looking Back and Striving Forward." Dr. Jim Williams, the superintendent of the Brown v. Board National Historic Park, recently spoke to KPR's Kaye McIntyre about the lessons learned from Brown, 70 years later.
Learn more about "Brown v. Board at 70" by visiting soehs.ku.edu.
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"Stories for All" Festival Comes to Lawrence
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - Storytellers of all kinds - writers, artists and filmmakers - will gather in Lawrence this week. The "Stories for All" festival highlights the work of DIGITAL storytellers. Dr. Giselle Anatol is the director of KU's Hall Center for the Humanities, a lead sponsor of the festival. She tells KPR's Kaye McIntyre that more that 40 partners are involved in Stories for All, which takes place Thursday, Friday and Saturday (April 18th, 19th, and 20th).
Learn more at StoriesForAll.org.
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Online Age Verification Bill Set to Become Law Without Kansas Governor's Signature
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – People in Kansas will have to verify their age before accessing adult content online under a bill set to become law. The Kansas News Service reports that supporters say the new law will prevent minors from accessing websites that host sexual content. Those sites would have to verify their users are at least 18, most likely through a government ID, or other personal information. Critics, however, say the measure is a violation of internet privacy. Democratic Governor Laura Kelly allowed the bill to become law without her signature. She says it’s well intended but could open up the state to potential lawsuits, which has happened in other states.
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Kansas GOP Lawmakers Will Try To Override Governor's Veto Banning Gender-Affirming Care
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Republican lawmakers in Kansas wanted to prevent doctors from giving puberty blockers to children. They also wanted to ban sex change surgery for minors. They sent such a bill to the governor but she vetoed it. Now, lawmakers say they’re prepared to override that veto. The bill would ban Kansas teens with gender dysphoria from receiving hormone therapy and some other treatments, which advocates say can be life-saving. But supporters of the ban have called the treatments experimental, and say minors sometimes regret getting them. Governor Laura Kelly, a Democrat, says she vetoed the ban because it tramples parental rights. House Speaker Dan Hawkins says Republicans stand ready to override her veto in a few weeks. It’s not clear yet if they’ll have the votes to do that when they return to the Statehouse later this month.
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2019 Flooding in Kansas Set Stage for Current Fire Risk
MANHATTAN, Kan. (KNS) - Recent wildfires at Tuttle Creek are connected to the heavy rains that set records in the spring of 2019. In 2019, the Tuttle Creek dam held back massive amounts of water - to protect people downstream on the Kansas River. As the reservoir valley filled with all that water, it killed thousands of trees there that ended up inundated. It’s very hard to deal with so many dead trees. Years later, the Kansas Forest Service says all those trees are still there, long dried out. And this month, they caught fire. Thousands of acres burned in Riley, Pottawatomie, and Marshall counties. Many more dead trees remain standing, meaning they could fuel future wildfires.
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Kansas Governor Vetoes Bills Supported by Anti-Abortion Groups
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Democratic Governor Laura Kelly has vetoed two Kansas bills backed by anti-abortion groups. Republicans may try to override her vetoes in a few weeks. One of the bills would require abortion providers to ask women why they’re seeking an abortion and report their answers to state officials. Supporters say the data could be used to help reduce abortion rates. But Kelly said the questions are invasive and unnecessary. She also vetoed a bill that would make it a felony to coerce someone to get an abortion. Kelly said threats of violence are already illegal and called the bill’s language overly broad. Anti-abortion advocates say her vetoes are “heartless” and are asking lawmakers to override them. Republicans are expected to attempt to do that when they return to the Statehouse in a few weeks.
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Fort Hays State University Creates Telehealth Certification Program for Mental Health Services
UNDATED (KNS) – Fort Hays State University has developed a telehealth certification program to create more access to mental health services in rural parts of Kansas. The Kansas News Service reports that it trains providers on using online appointments instead of in-person meetings. There’s a shortage of mental health services in much of rural Kansas and facilities are using telehealth to address the needs of farmers and rural communities. Lisa Southern, executive director for Compass Behavioral Health in Garden City, says the time it takes to access in-person services is a barrier for many people in rural areas. She says that sometimes rural residents think “...I gotta carve out a lot of time. And to come to a therapy appointment.," but the reality is that "...no, you don't, you can see us (through) telehealth from your farm.” Western Kansas counties were graded with the highest need for health care workers by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and providers are often stretched thin, sometimes covering up to 13 counties.
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The Chiefs' Rashee Rice, Facing Charges from Texas Car Crash, Will Participate in Offseason Work
UNDATED (AP) – Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Monday that wide receiver Rashee Rice, who is facing charges that include aggravated assault as a result of a sports car crash in Texas, would participate in the team's voluntary offseason program beginning this week.
Dallas police allege that Rice, the Chiefs' top wide receiver last season, and a friend, Theodore Knox, were driving at high speed in the far left lane of a freeway when they lost control. The Lamborghini that Rice has admitted to driving hit the center median, causing a chain reaction that involved six vehicles and resulted in injures to multiple people.
Rice turned himself in last Thursday after police issued warrants for one count of aggravated assault, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury and six counts of collision involving injury. He was released on bond.
Rice is being represented by Texas state Sen. Royce West, who said in an emailed statement the wide receiver “acknowledges his actions and feels deeply for those injured as a result of this accident,” and that he would continue to cooperate with police.
"I’m leaving that like we’ve done most of these: just for the law enforcement part of it to take place,” Reid said during a Zoom meeting with local reporters Monday. “We will go from there with that. So you can hold your (questions). I have had an opportunity to talk to Rashee. I’m not going to obviously get into that, but that part has been gone through.”
In recent years, the Chiefs have adopted virtual meetings during the early part of their offseason program because they have played into February for the Super Bowl. There is no on-field work allowed during the first two weeks.
After that, teams are allowed to do in-person, on-field work, and Reid would not say whether Rice would participate.
“We’ll just see how it goes there,” Reid said. “I want to keep gathering the information from the law enforcement people. We’ll just see where everything goes from there. Let the process take place.”
Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes also said Monday on Zoom that he has worked with Rice throughout the offseason.
“I’m sure we’ll continue that work as the legal process plays out,” he said.
Rice grew up in the Fort Worth suburb of North Richland Hills and played college football at nearby SMU, where Knox was still playing until he was suspended following the crash. Knox is facing the same charges as Rice.
The Chiefs selected Rice in the second round of last year's draft, and he quickly emerged as their top wide receiver, especially as others struggled with dropped passes and mental mistakes. He finished second on the team to Travis Kelce with 79 receptions for 938 yards while leading the Chiefs with seven touchdown receptions.
Rice may have been even better in the playoffs. He had 26 catches for 262 yards and a touchdown, including six catches for 39 yards against San Francisco in the Super Bowl, helping the Chiefs win their third Lombardi Trophy in five years.
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