Number of Drug-Related Deaths in Kansas Children on the Rise
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (KNS) – The number of children in Kansas dying from drug-related incidents is rising. According to the Kansas News Service, a new report from the State Child Death Review Board shows the trend is related to increasing fentanyl overdoses. The report analyzes the deaths of Kansas children up to the age of 17 in 2022. It shows that 16 children died of drug-related incidents that year. That’s a significant rise from three drug-related deaths in 2018. Most of the deaths were among teens who were unknowingly using fentanyl-laced drugs. The report recommends raising awareness of the dangers of using opioid drugs.
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Reading Scores Slightly Improve for Kansas Students
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – Reading scores for Kansas students have improved slightly, and education leaders credit a change in literacy instruction. The Kansas News Service reports that over the past three years, the Kansas Department of Education has spent $25 million to train teachers in the science of reading. The strategy teaches kids to sound out letters and words rather than focus on context clues. Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson says the number of students scoring in the lowest level on reading dropped last spring by about a tenth of a percent, which is progress. “I wanted Level One to go down more. I wanted Level Three and Four to go up more. But they both trended in the right direction now for the last two years,” Watson added. About a third of students scored in the bottom level on reading this year, compared with 20% a decade ago.
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Autopsy Shows Kansas City-Area High School Football Player Died of Heat Stroke
UNDATED (KCUR) – An autopsy shows that a 15-year-old football lineman from Shawnee Mission Northwest High School died from heat stroke after a workout in August. According to KCUR, the autopsy report says Ovet Gomez Regalado was sweating profusely before he collapsed after the workout. The autopsy, first reported by KSHB, said the teen weighed 384 pounds. An open records request revealed the teen ran a series of 120- and 40- yard sprints before he collapsed. Heat stroke expert Scott Anderson says linemen should not be subjected to that kind of workout. “Linemen don’t run 120 yards up and down the field in a game...they don’t even run 40 yards,” Anderson added. The district said in a statement that coaches acted in accordance with state rules and school emergency protocols. (Read more.)
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Kansas Communities Get More than $17 Million to Shore Up Energy Grid
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) – Eleven Kansas communities have secured more than $17 million to shore up the energy grid. The investment combines nearly $12 million in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and more than $5.8 million in matching funds from the Kansas Infrastructure Hub and Build Kansas Fund. Governor Laura Kelly announced the funding Tuesday.
“By leveraging federal funds to supplement our state and local investments, we are strengthening opportunities for economic growth across Kansas,” Kelly said. “The Grid Resiliency program ensures our communities have the resources to build, operate, or maintain critical infrastructure.”
“The survival and economic development of our rural communities are dependent on a solid infrastructure,” said Representative Troy Waymaster, chair of the Build Kansas Fund Advisory Committee. “The awards made through the Build Kansas Fund Advisory Committee, and ultimately approved by the U.S. Department of Energy, ensure that these communities will continue to thrive. I am glad these eleven Kansas projects were selected for this program.”
“The importance of grid resiliency cannot be overstated,” said Rick Pemberton, energy division director for the Kansas Corporation Commission. “Safe and reliable power infrastructure is vital to our rural economy.”
The 11 Kansas projects receiving grid resiliency funding are:
City of Garden City – Underground Conductor and Transformer Replacement
Total project cost: $928,638
City of Pratt – Substation Hardening
Total project cost: $3.175 million
Victory Electric in Dodge City – South Dodge City Grid Resiliency
Total project cost: $2.195 million
Heartland Rural Electric Cooperative in Girard – Resiliency Enhancements to Strategically Transfer Optimized Reliable Energy
Total project cost: $615,030
Ark Valley Electric Cooperative in Hutchinson – System Resiliency Project
Total project cost: $722,500
Holton Electric – Transformer and Feeder Circuit Improvements
Total project cost: $2.444 million
City of Blue Mound – Substation, Electric Line & Pole Replacement
Total project cost: $445,674
City of Anthony – Circuit Reconstruction
Total project cost: $402,530
Pioneer Electric Cooperative in Ulysses – Grid Resiliency, Vulnerability, and Innovation Initiative
Total project cost: $4.835 million
City of Horton – Substation Upgrade
Total project cost: $1.625 million
City of Attica – Rebuild High-Voltage Feeder Line
Total project cost: $440,000
In recent months, the Build Kansas Fund has also been used to leverage federal grant awards in the cities of Ozawkie, Manhattan, Russell, Concordia, Dodge City, Topeka, Nortonville, Ellsworth, Edgerton, Hutchinson, Independence; Coffey and Morton County; Southwest Kansas Groundwater Management District; and the Salina Airport Authority. The combined total investment by the Build Kansas Fund in all projects is just over $28.5 million, which has resulted in federal grant awards of more than $44 million.
The Kansas Infrastructure Hub connects multiple state agencies and serves as a resource center for Kansas communities to identify best practices for maximizing funding opportunities. The Build Kansas Fund provides state matching dollars for projects throughout Kansas that successfully apply for federal grants. In 2023, the Kansas Legislature approved $200 million for the Build Kansas Fund to provide state-matching dollars to Kansas entities and projects to meet federal-local match requirements.
(See Scott Carlberg's commentary on the need to modernize and strengthen the energy grid.)
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Free Speech Group Criticizes KU over Discipline of Instructor in Viral Video
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – A free speech advocacy group says the University of Kansas was wrong to discipline an instructor who was caught on tape making inflammatory political remarks in class. The Kansas News Service reports that the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression says former KU instructor Phillip Lowcock was only joking when he said men who refuse to vote for a woman could be lined up and shot. The group says Lowcock did not express serious intent to commit violence. They say the First Amendment gives instructors the right to make jokes and use hyperbole. KU initially placed Lowcock on administrative leave but he has since left the university. KU would not say whether he quit or was fired.
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Donald Hall, Longtime Hallmark CEO and Civic Leader, Dies at Age 96
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KMBC) — Donald J. Hall, the longtime chairman and chief executive officer of Kansas City-based Hallmark, has at the age of 96. The company announced Tuesday that Hall died on October 13. KMBC reports that Hall led Hallmark for 20 years, and was heavily involved in many civic initiatives throughout the Kansas City area, including the construction of Crown Center in the late 1960s. Hall, the son of Hallmark founder J.C. Hall, joined his father's company at the age of 17, becoming president and CEO in 1966. He served in those roles until 1986. Hall had served as chairman emeritus since 2016. He chaired the Hall Family Foundation for many years, and was a founding member of the Kansas City Community Foundation. He also served as a member of the Nelson-Atkins Board of Trustees for 31 years. (Read more.)
(–Additional reporting–)
Former Hallmark CEO and Philanthropist Donald J. Hall Dies
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR) – Former Hallmark chairman, civic leader and philanthropist Donald Joyce Hall has died at the age of 96. KCUR reports that Hall’s tenure as Hallmark president and CEO saw the construction of Crown Center and other growth for the iconic Kansas City company. Hall’s successor, Irv Hockaday Jr., says Hall was an innovator who could see into the future. "He was a giant in his corporate life, his civic life, philanthropic life, and family life. We see lots of people in positions of prominence who are good at one, but not all of them. He may have looked like Clark Kent, but he was really Superman," Hockaday added. Hall was involved in multiple civic initiatives over the decades, and his legacy includes the Donald J. Hall Sculpture Park at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. (Read more.)
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KC Police: Homeless Man Stabbed Church Member
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KMBC) - A homeless man is facing felony charges after entering a South Kansas City church and stabbing a church member in the chest. KMBC TV reports that the stabbing took place Sunday morning at First Church of the Nazarene (118th and State Line Road). The suspect, Jarod Hill, has been charged with first-degree assault and criminal action. Witnesses told police that Hill was upset over vandalism to his tent. While being taken into custody, police say Hill tried to grab an officer's gun.
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KC Ranked Worst for Handling Chronic Homelessness
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KC Star) - Out of all major U.S. cities, Kansas City ranks the worst for handling chronic homelessness. That's according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Kansas City Star reports that the share of Kansas City’s chronically homeless population living outside and not in some kind of shelter is bigger than any other major city in the country.
The report from HUD says the Kansas City area has the highest percentage of people experiencing chronic homelessness living unsheltered of any major U.S. city. That rate is worse than places known for significant homeless populations like Los Angeles.
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KU Hoops Top Preseason Men's Rankings
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR / CBS) - The Kansas Jayhawks are ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press preseason men’s basketball poll - ahead of Alabama and defending champion UConn.
KU's regular season begins November 4 at Allen Fieldhouse against Howard University. After winning the 2022 national championship, the Jayhawks in the last two seasons have not been able to advance past the first weekend of the NCAA tournament.
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