Public Universities in Kansas Get Ready for New DEI Law, Taking Effect in July
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS/KMUW) — Public universities in Kansas are preparing for a new law that bars them from requiring diversity statements. Wichita State University is merging its office of diversity and inclusion into another department. And leaders at the University of Kansas in Lawrence recently posted a reminder to employees that job interviews should not include questions about DEI. Teri Hall is WSU’s vice president for student affairs. She says changes to the school’s DEI office aren’t related to the new law, but rather a desire to broaden what diversity means. “What we’re looking at is the breadth and depth of who our students are on our campus, and how do we help them be successful, without just looking at certain identity markers?” Wichita State and other colleges are also reviewing current scholarships to make sure they attract an inclusive pool of applicants.
Teri Hall is vice president for student affairs at Wichita State. She says a newly named Office of Student Engagement and Belonging is a more efficient way to approach diversity on campus. "Inclusion is best when it’s part of the tapestry, woven in and not a separate thought," she said. Kansas and Missouri are among several states whose public university systems have scrapped the use of diversity statements in employment decisions. The Kansas law takes effect July 1.
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Johnson County Had 2 Tornadoes Touch Down, So Why Didn't Any Storm Sirens Go Off?
OVERLAND PARK, Kan.. (KCUR) — Officials have confirmed that two tornadoes touched down in Johnson County on Sunday, but storm sirens were not activated. KCUR Radio reports that a tornado briefly touched down in western Shawnee, near Mill Valley High, and another brief tornado landed around 79th Street and Lamar Avenue, near the border between Prairie Village and Overland Park. But neither county nor city outdoor warning sirens went off, nor was there any alert issued. Officials say the tornadoes formed and dissipated before a tornado warning could be issued and before sirens could be activated. As the storm approached the Kansas City area Sunday, the weather service had only issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Johnson County.
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Drought Setting Up Intense Canadian Wildfire Season that Could Affect Air Quality in the Midwest
UNDATED (HPM) — Smoke from Canadian wildfires has already had an impact on the Midwest and Great Plains early in the fire season. Harvest Public Media reports that it was an especially bad season for wildfires in Canada last year and widespread drought is setting up another potentially intense wildfire season. The fire season has already sent smoke south. Dr. Juanita Mora is watching the air quality closely. The Chicago-based immunologist and allergist says last year’s smoke caused problems for her patients. “I saw many cases in which it was their first time, never had an asthma exacerbation, came in with wheezing and respiratory difficulty and shortness of breath," she said. Mora is also a national spokesperson for the American Lung Association. She says people should keep an eye on air quality with a weather app and stay indoors if pollution is high. That’s especially true for sensitive groups.
Zombie Fires?
As the Canadian wildfire season begins, some fires are left over from last year. 2023 was an exceptional year for wildfires that led to unhealthy air in the U.S. And some of those fires smoldered through the winter. Those fires are called “zombie fires.” And, according to Christopher Redmond, a meteorologist with Kansas State University and the Kansas Forest Service,
the weather continues to set the scene for more fires. “They're in a significant drought. So, the weather's been warm and dry, very conducive to fire." he said. "And then that in return has led to the fuels with the timber and the grasses, and everything that burns to be able to dry out.” Redmond says wildfire smoke doesn’t always get low enough to cause breathing issues. But earlier this month (May), a cold front did push smoke down to the surface. (Read more.)
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New Data Indicates Many Kansas Cities Losing Population
UNDATED (KNS) — New data shows populations are falling in hundreds of cities across Kansas. The Kansas News Service reports that overall, the Kansas population grows a little each year. But according to new census data, almost 70 percent of municipalities have shrunk since 2020. While numbers dipped in small and big cities across the state, the Kansas City suburbs like Olathe are booming. Xan Wedel, a Data engineer at KU’s Institute for Policy and Social Research, says many Kansas towns will struggle without the workers and taxpayers they need to thrive. “These data illuminate the demographic challenges we're going to be faced over the next 20 years,” he explained. Wedel says housing costs, remote work and falling birthrates are driving those changes.
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AAA Issues Travel Forecast for Kansas, U.S.
UNDATED (KNS) — Starting Thursday, hundreds of thousands of Kansans begin hitting the road for Memorial Day weekend. Triple-A Kansas says half-a-million people in the state will travel between now and Monday. That's up slightly from last year.
Triple-A's Shawn Steward says most travelers in Kansas will be driving to their destinations and motorists will need to be cautious. "It could very well be very dangerous," Steward said. "Especially if drivers are not focusing on safety. So, we like to make sure that people stay focused on the roads, avoid distractions.” Steward reminds travelers to wear their seatbelts, slow down and be patient with fellow drivers. Nationwide, a record number of people are expected to hit the road between now and Monday. Average gas prices in Kansas are currently lower than much of the country, around $3.15 a gallon.
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Kansas Lawmaker Charged with DUI, Gun Crime
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) — A state representative from south-central Kansas has officially been charged with driving under the influence, among other charges, after being arrested earlier this year. Republican Representative Carl Maughan, from Colwich, has been charged with driving under the influence and possession of a firearm while under the influence. His court date is scheduled for June 26. KSNT reports that, in a separate case, Maughan is at risk of having his law license suspended. The Kansas Supreme Court heard oral arguments earlier this month on the matter, for which Maughan failed to appear. In that case, he's accused of misconduct in representing a client involved in a deadly crash in Wichita.
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Federal Crop Insurance Proposal Draws Opposition from Kansas Rural Center
UNDATED (KNS) – A proposal to make insurance for major crops more affordable does not sit well with a Kansas agriculture group. The Kansas News Service reports that the organization says the U.S. House farm bill proposal fails to help smaller farms. The House Agriculture Committee’s $1.5 trillion bill would establish farming policy for the next five years. The nationwide American Farm Bureau supports the proposal because it would offer cheaper insurance for crops like corn and wheat. But Tom Buller of the Kansas Rural Center says smaller farms producing specialty crops that sell at farmers markets do not get as much protection, and they feel left out. “The difference between what they get under these insurance programs and what they would have gotten if their crop hadn’t failed is often very dramatic,” Buller added. The current farm bill is set to expire at the end of September.
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Topeka Woman Drowns in Arkansas
HARRISON, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA/KSNW) – A Topeka woman died after her kayak overturned on a river in Arkansas. The National Park Services says 69-year-old Judy Henderson-Baily drowned on Sunday. KSNW reports that her body was recovered from the Buffalo National River where her kayak had overturned and trapped her under a submerged tree. Members of her floating party tried to rescue her but to no avail. Authorities say Henderson-Baily was not wearing a life jacket.
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Bodies of Two Kansas Women Who Disappeared in Oklahoma Were Found in a Buried Freezer
UNDATED (AP) – The bodies of two Kansas women who disappeared in Oklahoma were found in a buried freezer, according to recently unsealed court documents. The bodies of Veronica Butler, 27, and Jilian Kelley, 39, both of Hugoton, Kansas, were found April 14 buried on land in rural Texas County and rented by Tad Cullum, who is among five people charged with kidnapping and killing the two women, according to the documents filed May 15.
Also found on the land, which Cullum rented for cattle grazing, were articles of clothing, duct tape and a knife, each “with possible blood on them,” in addition to black tape, electrical cord and a combination stun gun/flashlight, according to the documents.
Cullum, 43, his girlfriend Tifany Adams, 54, both of Keyes, Oklahoma; husband and wife Cole Twombly, 50, and Cora Twombly, 44, of Texhoma, Oklahoma; and Paul Grice, 31, are each charged with two counts of murder, two counts of kidnapping and a single count of conspiracy to commit murder. All are being held without bail and a gag order in the case prohibits attorneys from commenting on the case.
Investigators have said Butler and Adams were in a bitter child dispute over custody of Butler’s children, who are Adams’ grandchildren. Butler's attorney told investigators that Butler was likely to be granted unsupervised visitation during a hearing scheduled just more than two weeks after the two disappeared, the documents state. Butler and Kelley, who was to supervise a visitation with Butler and her children, disappeared March 30 while driving to pick up Butler’s two children from Adams for a birthday party.
The women’s car was found near the rural highway intersection about 260 miles (418 kilometers) from where Butler was to pick up her son and daughter. Butler’s glasses were found near the car and blood was found on the roadway, according to an arrest affidavit.
The buried freezer with the bodies inside was found about 8.5 miles from where the car was found and in the area where prepaid cell phones purchased by Adams were traced, according to the court documents.
A witness also told an investigator the Grice had asked him shortly after the bodies were found how long it would take the state lab to process DNA evidence, how long DNA would tast in dirt, how long DNA would last on clothing in dirt in a 15 feet deep hole and if he knew how to get a “guy and his family” into Mexico, according to documents.
The witness told the investigator that Grice said he was concerned about his DNA being in the hole where the bodies were found “because he had been to the Twombly residence.”
Another witness told Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents that all five suspects were part of “an anti-government group that had a religious affiliation” known as “God's Misfits” according to an affidavit.
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BuskerFest Returns to Lawrence Friday, Saturday & Sunday
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) — It'll be circus on the streets of downtown Lawrence this weekend. Starting Friday, the Lawrence Busker Festival returns to town, featuring a variety of entertainment, including magicians, jugglers, clowns and contortionists. All of the busking, or entertainment, in downtown Lawrence is free, but cash tips are greatly appreciated. It's the 16th year for the Busker Fest in Lawrence. The spotlight this year is on the area's local musicians.
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KCK Landmark Saved from Collapse
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCUR) – The Sauer Castle, which has stood for 150 years in Kansas City, Kansas has been saved from collapse. KCUR reports that Mike Heitmann bought the mansion last year and says he’s spent the last 12 months shoring up the red brick, five-story mansion. “It was just such a beautiful building and it was so well loved by the community and I felt like if something didn’t happen quickly that it was literally going to fall down,” he explained. The mansion sits on Shawnee Road just north of I-35 and overlooks the Kansas River. Heitmann says it will take another two years to finish the renovation.
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Death Penalty Sought for KC Area Man Accused of Killing Police Officer, Court Employee
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri prosecutors will seek the death penalty against a Kansas City-area man charged with murder in the killings of a court employee who tried to serve an eviction notice on him and a police officer who responded. Larry Acree, of Independence, is accused of shooting court employee Drexel Mack on February 29, as well as two police officers. One of them, Cody Allen, was killed. Acree suffered minor injuries in the shootout.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker’s office filed a notice with the court Wednesday saying the state will prove aggravating circumstances sufficient to warrant the death penalty. The 70-year-old Acree's lawyer asked for a continuance. Acree is charged with 18 total counts including two of first-degree murder.
According to court papers, Acree owed delinquent taxes dating back to at least 2019. His 9-acre property and three-bedroom home was sold last August for $260,000, and the new owner paid the taxes. A “Notice to Vacate” sign was posted at the property in February, and authorities have said Acree had no right to be there.
At a brief hearing Wednesday, Acree’s attorney, Edward Berrigan of the Missouri State Public Defender’s office, asked for a continuance so that the public defenders who handle death penalty cases could be reassigned, the Kansas City Star reported. Acree's next court date is set for July 10 in Independence, a suburb of Kansas City with about 122,000 residents. Eleven people are currently on death row in Missouri.
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$5,000 Reward Posted in Double-Murder Case in Southeast Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - A $5,000 reward has been offered for information in an unsolved double-homicide case in Labette County, Kansas. Governor Laura Kelly has issued an executive order offering the reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of whoever was responsible for killing two people in a home in Mound Valley in October of 2022. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Labette County Sheriff's Office have been investigating the murders of 39-year-old Jason Bakken and 43-year-old Leanda Pound, of Mound Valley. Their bodies were discovered by a friend in October of 2022 but investigators believe the murders may have happened up to a month prior to their discovery. Both Bakken and Pound were shot.
Anyone with information - no matter how small the detail might be - is urged to call 1-800-KS-CRIME.
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Rolling Stones to Swing Through Missouri's New Arena in the Ozarks
UNDATED (AP) — The Rolling Stones will roll through the Ozarks this summer. The Stones announced Thursday that at the end of their Hackney Diamonds tour they will play the brand new Thunder Ridge Nature Arena in Ridgedale, Missouri. The pristine, amphitheater surrounded by nothing but nature is the dream creation of Johnny Morris, the founder and CEO of Bass Pro Shops. Morris built the venue next to the river and lake where he fished with his father and grandfather as a child, before he started his huge outdoor retail business. The arena opens Saturday with a show by country star Morgan Wallen.
The Rolling Stones and the Ozarks don't seem like the most natural pairing. But nature itself, and of all things fishing, have brought them together. The Stones announced Thursday that they will end their summer Hackney Diamonds Tour on July 21 at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena, a brand new monument to mountain beauty in Missouri built by Bass Pro Shops founder and CEO Johnny Morris.
The Missouri native hopes that Thunder Ridge, which opens with a Morgan Wallen concert Saturday — will be a name heard alongside Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre in Colorado and The Gorge Amphitheatre in Washington state when people talk about the nation's most beautiful music venues.
“I just I really love my home here in the Ozarks,” Morris told The Associated Press in an interview. “I’m happy to share it with the world.”
For him, the site is as personal as it is pristine. Since he was a boy, with his father and grandfather, he fished the White River and Table Rock Reservoir — both visible from the venue's seats — in the deep-green Boston Mountains section of the Ozarks that surrounds it.
Morris entered the first national bass-fishing tournament — full of future fishing legends — on the reservoir in 1970, and the competitors' hard-to-get lures convinced him to start selling tackle to fishermen on the way there out of his father's liquor store in the early years of what would become Bass Pro Shops.
The 18,000-capacity arena in Ridgedale is about 10 miles from Branson and is downright tiny compared to the 80,000-plus-seat MetLife Stadium where the Stones will play Thursday night.
For Mick, Keith and their crew, coming to these mountains also had its origins in fishing. About a decade ago, Morris took his friend Chuck Leavell, a former member of the Allman Brothers Band who has been the Rolling Stones’ primary touring keyboardist and musical director since the early 1980s, on a fishing trip to Canada. “We were on this pristine little stream, he hooks on this big fish, he said, ‘John this is like the happiest day of my life. If you ever need a favor, you let me know," Morris remembered with a laugh. "A couple years ago we were working on this, and I said, ’Chuck remember that day you asked if there was anything you could do for me? How about you get the Rolling Stones to Ridgedale, Missouri?”
Morris has for years dreamed of putting a venue on the site. Many musical acts have played in more makeshift set-ups for summer camps and fishing tournaments. Garth Brooks played to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Morris' stores. “It just inspired me to see if we could expand this facility,” he said, "just to share the beauty of the Ozarks.
The site won't necessarily require roughing it. Its 12-story “Nature Tower” — designed to look like the old fire-watching towers in national parks — rises over the back of the venue. The amenities in the VIP suites inside it include bedrooms. Morris later plans to have it re-dubbed the “Veterans Tower” to honor, among others, his father who fought in the Battle of the Bulge in World War II.
He takes the “Nature” part of the name seriously. Morris and those promoting the site say its structures were designed to blend and peacefully co-exist with their environment, and along with 1,200 acres of surrounding land they have been permanently set-aside as part of a not-for-profit foundation committed to the cause of conservation, to which all the proceeds will also go. “Hopefully, it’ll be undisturbed,” Morris said. “You won’t come there in the future and see condos or nothin’. Only beautiful nature.”
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TCU Knocks Kansas State Out of Big 12 Baseball Tournament with 9-4 Win
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Sam Myers went 3 for 4 with three RBIs, Kurtis Byrne also had three of TCU’s 14 hits and the ninth-seeded Horned Frogs beat No. 6 seed Kansas State 9-4 in the Big 12 Tournament. TCU continues in the consolation bracket with a game on Friday. Kansas State has been eliminated from the tournament. Myers led off the game with a double and scored on Logan Maxwell’s sacrifice fly following a 12-pitch at-bat. TCU added an RBI single on three straight at-bats in the second, capped by Myers’s hit for a 4-0 lead. The Horned Frogs loaded the bases with nobody out in the fourth to force Kansas State to go to the bullpen. Myers capitalized with a shot up the middle to score two for a 6-0 lead.
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KU Falls to Oklahoma in Big 12 Baseball Tournament, Will Play TCU in Consolation Bracket
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Jaxon Willits hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth inning, Scott Mudler went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and No. 1 seed Oklahoma survived its seven errors to beat Kansas 7-5 to advance to the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament Thursday. Oklahoma (36-18) plays against the winner between the seventh-seeded Jayhawks and No. 9 seed TCU earlier in the day. Kendall Pettis doubled down the line in left to lead off the bottom of the fourth and then scored on a single by Mudler to cut Oklahoma’s deficit to a run. After back-to-back strikeouts, Willits hit a deep shot to right field that made it 5-4 and the Sooners led the rest of the way. Lenny Ashby went 2 for 3 with two doubles for Kansas (30-22).
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Royals Sweep Tigers with 8-3 Win on Thursday
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals beat the Detroit Tigers 8-3 Wednesday to sweep the series. It was Kansas City’s first sweep of Detroit since July 2021. The Royals have won six straight. The Royals are off Thursday. They'll play the Rays Friday in Tampa.
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NFL Commissioner Declines to Expand on League's Statement on Chiefs Kicker Harrison Butker
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Commissioner Roger Goodell declined Wednesday to expand on the NFL's statement distancing the league from comments made by Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker during a commencement address at a private Catholic college in Kansas. “We have over 3,000 players,” Goodell said as the NFL concluded its spring meetings. “We have executives around the league that have a diversity of opinions and thoughts just like America does. I think that’s something that we treasure, and that’s part of, I think, ultimately what makes us as a society better.” The league already said last week in a statement that Butker's comments and "views are not those of the NFL as an organization.”
(–Related–)
Chiefs' Mahomes Says Butker Entitled to His Beliefs, Even Though the QB Doesn't Always Agree with Him
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes said Wednesday that while he doesn't agree with all the beliefs espoused by kicker Harrison Butker during a recent commencement address, the Chiefs quarterback nevertheless respects his teammate's right to make them be known. Butker delivered what has become a polarizing speech May 11 at Benedictine College in Atchison, where the three-time Super Bowl champ said most women receiving degrees were probably most excited about getting married and having kids.
“I've known Harrison for seven years. I judge him by the character he shows every single day,” Mahomes said after one of the Chiefs' voluntary practices in Kansas City, Missouri. “We're not always going to agree, and there are certain things he said that I don't necessarily agree with. But I know the person he is and he's doing what he can to lead people in the right direction.”
“Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world," Butker said. “I can tell you that my beautiful wife Isabelle would be the first to say that her life truly started when she started living her vocation as a wife and as a mother.” Butker said his wife embraced “one of the most important titles of all. Homemaker.“
Chiefs coach Andy Reid said after Wednesday's practice that while he “talks to Harrison all the time,” he didn't believe he needed to discuss the commencement address with his kicker when the team reconvened in Kansas City. “We're a microcosm of life here,” Reid said. “We're from some different areas. Different religions. Different races. But we get along. We all respect each others' opinions, and not necessarily do we go by those, but we respect everyone to have a voice.”
Mahomes doesn't believe Butker's viewpoints will become a divisive issue in the locker room, either, as the Chiefs embark on their quest for a record-setting third consecutive Super Bowl title.
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