Data Shows Decline in Number of Children Entering Kansas Foster Care System
UNDATED (KNS) — Kansas officials say the state’s focus on finding alternative solutions for children facing foster care is paying off. The Kansas News Service reports that state data shows a steady decline of children entering the system in recent years. Approximately 2,500 Kansas children were placed in the state’s custody last year. That’s about a 40% decrease since 2018, when more than 4,200 children were removed from their family homes. Secretary Laura Howard of the Kansas Department for Children and Families says prevention efforts like addressing the child’s in-home danger or temporarily moving the child to a relative’s home are making a difference. “The children belong with their families, they belong in their communities, we can serve them safely,” Howard added. Kansas is still ranked in the top 10 nationally for the number of children entering foster care each year.
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Kansas Tribes Say Members Subject to Double Jeopardy
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – Leaders of the four federally recognized tribes in Kansas say their members are not protected from double jeopardy under current law. The Fifth Amendment says no United States citizen can be tried for the same crime more than once. But under the federal Kansas Act of 1940, tribal members in the state can potentially be tried separately for the same crime under tribal, state and U.S. laws. Joseph Rupnick, chairman of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, told the Kansas News Service “...that happens today, and it’s still going on, and that’s part of that over-reach because of the Kansas Act.” The act says Kansas can prosecute crimes committed on reservations like it does elsewhere in the state. At the time, Congress passed it due to a gap in jurisdiction on tribal land. Tribes have since developed their own judicial systems, but the federal law unique to Kansas hasn’t changed.
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Kansas Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Traffic Stop Case
UNDATED (KNS) — The Kansas Supreme Court heard arguments Thursday in a case focused on how long police can hold a person during a traffic stop. The Kansas News Service reports that in 2020, Wichita police pulled over Gina Wilson. The officer wrote her a ticket for driving with a suspended license, while they waited for a police dog to arrive. The dog sniffed out oxycodone tablets in her car and police arrested her. But Wilson argues that search was unconstitutional. Her attorney says she should have been free to leave once the ticket was written. Justice Melissa Standridge drilled the state’s attorney, asking how many minutes police should have to search for evidence of a crime that’s unrelated to a traffic stop, posing the question “I just wanna know, if we're gonna adopt what you say, when the next case comes, what are we supposed to do?” The Court’s decision could set a precedent for police conduct in Kansas.
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Report: Food Price Inflation Declining
UNDATED (Harvest Public Media) – Food inflation is going down. That’s according to data out this week from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But prices are still much higher than they were a few years ago. Harvest Public Media reports that sticker shock is making its way into the presidential campaigns. Candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris frequently bring up high grocery prices when pitching why they should be the next president. Pocketbook issues are extremely important and motivating for voters, according to Donna Hoffman, a political science professor at the University of Northern Iowa. "If their pocketbook is particularly being hit by high gas prices or high food prices, then those are certainly things that can work their way into the things that the presidential campaigns want to address," Hoffman added. Above all else, Hoffman says presidential candidates want to convince voters they care about the concerns of an average American. But once they’re in office, Hoffman says presidents are limited in their ability to lower food prices.
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KU Pilot Program Works to Bridge Conflict Between Renewable Energy and Ag Interests
LIBERAL, Kan. (KNS) – A pilot program from the University of Kansas is looking to reduce contention between renewable energy and agriculture. The Kansas News Service reports that the program will place solar panels in the corners of crop fields called pivot corners. These unused corners are left by center pivot irrigation circles, and will not only collect solar energy for farmers to use or sell, but also collect rain water. These panels will have a gutter system leading underground with the purpose of slowing use of the High Plains Aquifer. Geologist Sam Zipper, who leads the program, said it “...helps us to bypass a lot of the kind of emerging conflict that's happening between renewable energy and agriculture, this land is either, you know, marginally productive or not farmed at all.” The project will test the solar panel placement in southwest Kansas, where water availability remains a major concern.
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KU to Host Speaker Series on Taylor Swift and Popular Culture
UNDATED (KNS) – The University of Kansas is hosting a speaker series this fall that will explore topics through the lens of pop star Taylor Swift. The Kansas News Service reports that members of KU’s faculty will talk about Taylor Swift’s music, her business sense and her influence on popular culture. The series will also feature a poet and literary critic from Harvard University who teaches an English course called “Taylor Swift and Her World.” KU economics professor Misty Heggeness helped organize the speaker series. She’s developing a Swift-focused course that will launch at KU next fall. “Using Taylor Swift or using some of these pop culture moments as learning opportunities, I think, is a win-win for everybody. And it’s also fun for the faculty,” Heggeness explained. All six events on the Lawrence campus are open to the public.
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Migrant from Honduras Sentenced to 13.75 Years in Prison for Raping Child in Topeka Park
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) — A 20-year-old citizen of Honduras has been sentenced to nearly 14 years in prison for raping a child at a Topeka city park. The Shawnee County District Attorney’s Office says Kevin Javier Benitez was found guilty of raping a 13-year-old child in July of 2023. WIBW TV reports that Benitez met the victim the same day the sexual assault took place. He was arrested about a week later.
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List of KC Area Schools Investigating Violent Threats Grows
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KSHB) — Two more Kansas City-area school districts are investigating threats made against their schools. Both the Bonner Springs school district in Kansas and the Kearney School District in Missouri have been dealing with threats. Police in Bonner Springs say this week's threat involved Clark Middle School but found the threat was not credible. KSHB TV reports that the Kearney School District received an anonymous tip Wednesday evening about potential violence involving its schools. Classes were held Thursday with heightened security but no threats materialized.
This week, at least six other major Kansas City-area school districts have investigated online threats made toward their schools. This includes school districts in Grandview, Independence, Kansas City, Lee's Summit, Raytown and Kansas City, Kansas. One student in Lee's Summit was even arrested for allegedly posting threatening messages on social media.
Officials say that after a major school shooting happens, there is an uptick in non-credible threats made toward schools. Last week, four people died and nine others were injured in a school shooting in Georgia.
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It's Been a Deadly Week on Kansas Roadways
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) — It's been a deadly week on Kansas roadways. The Highway Patrol says six people were killed in 5 separate fatality crashes on Wednesday. WIBW TV reports that several others suffered serious injuries in those collisions. The fatal collisions were reported in Wilson, Marshall, Sedgwick, Thomas, and Cherokee counties.
• A 76-year-old man from Liberty, Kansas, and a 61-year-old woman from Independence, Kansas, were killed in a car-semitrailer crash Wednesday morning near Fredonia in Wilson County.
• A 23-year-old woman from Bremen, in Marshall County, was killed in a two-vehicle crash near Marysville Wednesday morning. An 89-year-old woman was transported to a hospital in Lincoln, Nebraska, for treatment of serious injuries.
• A 21-year-old woman from Sedgwick was killed in a three-vehicle crash Wednesday afternoon in Wichita.
• A 68-year-old woman from Rochelle, Illinois, was killed and six people -- including three children -- suffered serious injuries in a two-vehicle crash Wednesday afternoon northwest of Oakley in Thomas County.
• A 36-year-old Pittsburg man was killed when the motorcycle he was riding collided with a pickup truck Wednesday evening in Riverton in southeast Kansas.
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Eastern Kansas County Reports Crash Involving a Pickup and an... Elk?
WABAUNSEE COUNTY, Kan. (KSNT) — Lots of motorists driving through Kansas have had the unpleasant experience of hitting a deer with their vehicle. But one truck driver in eastern Kansas hit something else this week - an elk! The Wabaunsee County Sheriff’s Office has shared photos of the elk casualty on social media. KSNT reports that the elk was struck Wednesday on I-70, just southeast of Paxico. No humans were injured.
According to the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks, were released onto the Fort Riley Military Reservation in 1986, about 35 miles west of Paxico. The herd continued to increase in size until they started causing crop damage to landowners. As a result, the state issued 200 elk hunting permits in 1999 and 2000. In 2022 it was reported that 40 elk were harvested in Kansas. Wildlife officials say that in the last five years, elk had been harvested in about a quarter of the counties in Kansas.
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Fatal Dog Disease Striking Kansas City Pets
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KMBC) — A disease has been detected in Kansas City that can be fatal to animals. A recent rise in leptospirosis cases in local dogs now has veterinarians urging pet owners to vaccinate their pets. KMBC TV reports that the disease, also known as Lepto, is a bacterial infection. It can spread through wildlife, such as rodents, raccoons and other dogs. Lepto can cause kidney and liver failure - and it can be passed from animals to humans. Vaccination is an easy preventative measure to protect pets and their families with the typical cost of the vaccine around $15.
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New Kansas Law Requires Proof that Extra Funding Helps Struggling Students
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — A new state law requires Kansas school districts to show that struggling students are improving, or they risk losing money set aside for those kids. Conservative lawmakers pushed for the law because they say some districts are misusing money set aside for at-risk students. Starting this fall, 13 districts will set goals and track test scores for certain groups of students over several years. Next year, all Kansas districts will be required to do it. Deputy Education Commissioner Ben Proctor says districts can use any of about 150 peer-reviewed programs approved by the state to help students succeed academically. “It’s all about connecting what you’re doing to success for those at-risk students.” Under the new law, districts that don’t meet test-score goals by 2030 could lose some state funding.
While education leaders will start fulfilling the new requirements this year with 13 trial districts, they already see problems with tracking progress the way lawmakers want. Deputy Education Commissioner Frank Harwood says the law requires schools to track groups of 10 or more students, which is a challenge for many rural districts. "We have several districts that don’t have 10 third-graders, let alone 10 free-lunch third-graders. Just the logistics of how some of that will work out will have to be worked out in the pilot,” he said.
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Number of Kansans Receiving TANF Assistance Drops to Nearly 15-Year Low
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — The number of Kansans receiving cash assistance from a federal program for families in need is the lowest it’s been in nearly 15 years. The Kansas News Service reports that since 2009, Kansas has seen a nearly 80% decrease in the number of households getting monthly aid through TANF, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. State auditors say stricter eligibility requirements passed under Republican former Governor Sam Brownback played a role in that decrease. Sam Dadds of the Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit explained that "...the research we reviewed suggested that TANF rules, like those in Kansas, lead to mostly negative program outcomes for TANF families.” Dadds also says the federal government hasn’t adjusted the amount of money Kansas gets through TANF since the program was created more than 25 years ago.
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Topeka Man Accused of Falsifying Court Records, Faces More than 300 Felony Counts
TOPEKA, Kan. (TCJ) — A Shawnee County man has been accused of falsifying court records. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that a 333-count indictment has been returned by a grand jury against 52-year-old Andrew G. Johnson Jr. He's a former civilian employee at the Shawnee County Sheriff's Office. Johnson is accused of falsifying records related to the service of court documents. In addition to Shawnee County, prosecutors say 10 additional counties may have been affected.
Johnson, who had been on the job for about six months, was booked into jail Wednesday afternoon. The indictment, unsealed Wednesday, includes 333 criminal acts - all but three of them are felonies. The charges include perjury, making false statements, misconduct, theft and other crimes - mostly related to serving court documents.
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