Lawrence Police Seize 33 Pounds of Meth, 1 Pound of Cocaine
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - With the help of a dog named "Shadow," Lawrence police seized more than 30 pounds of meth and cocaine Wednesday evening. Authorities say a police officer and his K9 were conducting a routine security sweep at a local transportation facility when Shadow detected the presence of illegal drugs in a piece of luggage. Inside, police uncovered 33 pounds of meth and 1.26 pounds of cocaine. Investigators will forward the suspected drugs to the KBI for laboratory testing and to determine whether fentanyl is contained within the drugs. So far, no one has stepped forward to claim the luggage and no arrests have been made.
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At Least Two Upsets Took Place in Primary Elections for Kansas Legislative Seats
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Tuesday's primary elections in Kansas didn't feature too many upsets. But one notable loss was in the Kansas Legislature. House Minority Leader Vic Miller won't have a seat in the Legislature next year. Miller left his seat in the House to run for the state Senate. But he lost the bid for the Democratic nomination to Patrick Schmidt, who was endorsed by Governor Laura Kelly. House Democrats will select a new minority leader once the session begins in January.
Another upset came in the Kansas Senate. Republican state Senator Dennis Pyle, of Hiawatha, lost his bid for reelection. The longtime senator lost his race to Republican Craig Bowser, who earned 41% of the vote. Pyle finished last among three candidates. Pyle upset members of his party when he ran for governor as an independent in 2022. They accused him of helping Democratic Governor Laura Kelly win reelection. The senator from Hiawatha had served in the Senate for 20 years.
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State Representative Marvin Robinson II Loses Primary Contest
UNDATED (KNS) – Democrat Wanda Brownlee Paige defeated sitting lawmaker Marvin Robinson II in a pivotal primary contest for the Kansas House of Representatives. The Kansas News Service reports that with no Republicans running, Paige will automatically win her November election to the 35th House District in Wyandotte County. Robinson had angered many other Democrats by siding with Republicans on transgender and health care issues. Paige says she will support increasing access to health care for low-income Kansans. “I want to work on Medicaid expansion, I think that’s critical. Because too many people are uninsured,” she explained.
Top Republicans in the Kansas Statehouse have argued that expanding Medicaid would be too expensive.
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Homeless Population Up 18% in Lawrence, Douglas County
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) - The number of homeless people living in Lawrence and Douglas County has gone up. The latest survey, known as the point-in-time homeless count, shows that the number of unhoused people is up 18% this year. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the survey was taken in late January
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Kansas Educator Arrested for Alleged Sexual Relationship with Student
DE SOTO, Kan. (KCTV) - An educator at a Johnson County middle school is accused of having sex with a student. Court documents reveal that a paraprofessional at Lexington Trails Middle School in De Soto has been charged with having sex with a male high school student. KCTV reports that 27-year-old Kassidy Alexander has been charged with three counts of unlawful sexual relations. The De Soto woman was booked into the Johnson County Jail Wednesday. The crimes allegedly took place between July of 2023 and March of this year with a victim who was 16-years-old or older.
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Kansas Public School Enrollment Expected to Decline
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS/KMUW) - New projections show that the number of students attending Kansas public schools will continue to fall over the next decade. When the COVID pandemic hit, public school enrollment in Kansas took an immediate dive. The National Center for Education Statistics projected a short-term bounceback, but that didn’t happen. Now, the center projects much lower enrollments for the rest of the decade. Kansas could lose more than 32,000 students - or nearly 7% - by 2031. The decline is due to several factors, including lower birth rates and a shift to private schools and homeschooling. Urban districts like Kansas City and Wichita have closed schools, and so have some rural areas across the state. School leaders aren’t sure how a new open enrollment law will affect trends. The official count date will happen next month.
Long-term student losses will mean less state funding for many Kansas school districts. Wichita Superintendent Kelly Bielefeld says his district plans to keep extra counselors and social workers hired with COVID relief funds. But declining student enrollment means he’ll have to cut about $7 million elsewhere. “We’re going to continue to look at becoming more efficient and leaner, especially at non-school sites," he said. Federal financial aid helped Kansas school districts cover budget shortfalls durng the past several years.
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Wichita Schools Launch Microschool Project
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – The Wichita school district is launching an experimental micro-school in hopes of luring back families who have left public schools. The Kansas News Service reports that the Creative Minds program will feature a one-room schoolhouse set-up, with about 20 students from kindergarten to sixth grade. It will be housed at the for-profit Learning Lab space inside Wichita's Union Station downtown. Rob Dickson with Wichita schools says the pilot project will start next week. It’s designed to appeal to private or homeschool families who want something different for their kids. “We targeted those families to find out, like, ‘All right, what was it? What was the reason you exited Wichita public schools? Could we...entice you to come back, and what would that look like?’”, Dickson explained. The Wichita district will pay Learning Lab $6,000 a year to rent the space. It will not provide transportation or meals for students. Leaders plan to collect feedback from parents and could expand the program if it’s successful. (Read more.)
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Kansas Governor Becomes Chair of Democratic Governors Association
TOPEKA, Kan. (LJW) - Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has become the leader of the Democratic Governor's Association. The outgoing chair, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, had to step away from that role to join the presidential campaign of Kamala Harris as the VP candidate. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Kelly has been the vice-chair of the partisan organization since December 2022.
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Kansas Governor Laura Kelly Chosen as Chair of Democratic Governors Association
UNDATED (KNS) – Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is now the leader of a group representing Democratic governors in the U.S. The Kansas News Service reports that Kelly has been promoted to chair of the Democratic Governors Association. She is taking over for Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who was selected as the running mate for Democrat Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign. Sam Newton of the association says Kelly will help lead efforts to raise funding and will campaign for Democratic governor candidates. “That's especially important, given her experience winning multiple races in a really tough state and then bring both sides together," he added.
Kelly said in an announcement that the DGA helped her win election in Kansas, a strongly Republican state, in both 2018 and 2022.
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Sedgwick County Considers New Regulations for Solar Power
WICHITA, Kan. (KMUW) The Sedgwick County commission has been considering a stringent new set of regulations for utility-scale solar power. The county has engaged in an exhaustive process to create new regulations since last September, when the commission put a temporary ban on commercial solar projects. A local planning committee recommended rules to the commission in March, but commissioners asked for revisions to answer unaddressed concerns. The new set of proposed rules is stricter, limiting the size of solar projects and banning large ones from cities’ predicted growth areas. Mitch Lucas is with Invenergy, a company proposing a solar farm in west Sedgwick County. He says the new rules threaten the project. "It would wipe away a $200 million+ investment, without even the chance for the details of that project to be publicized." The commission voted to defer a vote on the new regulations until next Wednesday.
Andrew Nave is with the Greater Wichita Partnership, an economic development agency. The partnership didn't take an official stance on the regulations. But Nave told commissioners to prioritize making land around cities available for housing and commercial development. "Our cities need the ability to have growth and to be able to add tax base," he said.
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Ransomware Attacks Causing Concern in Kansas, Missouri and Nationwide
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) - Ransomware attacks on hospitals are rising in Kansas and nationally. New research suggests they’re especially costly for rural facilities. Rural hospitals are less likely to be the target of ransomware attacks but those attacks are likely to be more detrimental. The University of Minnesota’s Hannah Neprash says rural hospitals are probably less likely to be victimized because hackers know smaller hospitals have less money to pay ransoms. But Neprash says that lack of money makes the attacks especially damaging when they do happen. “Inpatient admission volume drops, emergency room visits fall and the effects are considerably worse for rural hospitals because they need every dollar coming in the door," she said. She also says hospitals should try to prevent ransomware attacks and prepare to minimize the impact if they occur.
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Kansas Volleyball Voted No. 1 in Big 12 Preseason Coaches’ Poll
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) – The Kansas volleyball team will enter the upcoming season as the conference favorite, having secured the top spot in the 2024 Big 12 Preseason Coaches’ Poll. It marks the first time the Jayhawks have been designated in the top spot in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches’ Poll.
“This reflects what this group has done over the past couple seasons and we have a lot of veteran players returning,” said KU head coach Ray Bechard, who's entering his 27th season at KU. Bechard has guided the Jayhawks to 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, including each of the past three seasons.
The Jayhawks concluded the 2023 season with a 24-6, 14-4 conference record, finishing second in the Big 12 and making it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where they fell in a tight five-set match to Penn State.
Kansas will open the 2024 season on Saturday, August 24, at 1 pm when it plays host to Drake in an exhibition match at the Horejsi Family Volleyball Arena. KU's regular season will begin on the road at the Duke Tournament from August 30-September 1.
2024 Big 12 Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1 Kansas
2 BYU
3 Arizona State
4 TCU
5 Baylor
6 Iowa State
7 K-State
8 Houston
9 Utah
10 Colorado
11 UCF
12 Arizona
13 Cincinnati
14 West Virginia
15 Texas Tech
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