KCK Mayor Will Not Seek a Second Term
UNDATED (KCUR) – After just one term, Unified Government Mayor Tyrone Garner said Tuesday that he won’t run for reelection next year. KCUR reports that the former Kansas City, Kansas, police captain said in a statement that he’ll spend his last year in office on property tax reduction, police reform and reducing the BPU PILOT fee on residents’ utility bills. Garner ousted former UG mayor David Alvey with 51 percent of the vote in 2021. He is the first African-American to be mayor of KCK. Garner is the third Unified Government mayor in a row to only serve a single term. Wyandotte County and the city merged in 1997. In the last year, Garner has suggested that it might be time to break up the Unified Government, saying that the government might be bankrupt by 2026. He also made a pitch for the Royals to move to KCK.
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City of Topeka Appoints New Police Chief
TOPEKA, Kan. (TCJ/KSNT) – The City of Topeka has chosen a new police chief. City officials announced Tuesday that Chris Vallejo will be the new leader of the Topeka Police Department. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Vallejo has 30 years of law enforcement experience, including with the Austin, Texas police department and as a National Policing Institute Executive Fellow. KSNT reports that Vallejo will take over in his new role in January. Former Topeka Police Chief Bryan Wheeles retired earlier this year, and Jamey Haltom has been serving as Interim Chief.
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Report: Fewer Kansas Juveniles Being Charged with Misdemeanor Crimes
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – A new report says fewer Kansas children and teens are being charged with misdemeanor crimes each year. The Kansas News Service reports that the data comes from the state’s Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee. The report says misdemeanor filings against minors have decreased by about 4 times since 2017. Johnson County Assistant District Attorney Don Hymer chairs the committee. He says the drop in misdemeanors could stem from programs aimed at keeping kids out of the courts system. “We will send you a notice that you’re eligible and ask you to do X, Y and Z. And if you do X, Y and Z, then you avoid going to court. But if you don’t engage, then you do end up going to court,” he explained. Felony charges against minors remain more steady year over year, but they dipped significantly in 2023.
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Kansas Participates in CDC Initiative on Antibiotic Use
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – This week is “Use Antibiotics Wisely Week” in Kansas, part of a national initiative to fight antibiotic resistance. The Kansas News Service reports that health experts say if the medications are wrongly prescribed, they can cause bacteria to mutate and become resistant to antibiotics. Kellie Wark with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment says doctors need to be more selective when prescribing antibiotics and patients should ask if they’re needed. She says people should also ask their veterinarians if an antibiotic is necessary when one is prescribed to their pets. “There’s a lot of inappropriate prescribing that’s not just happening in humans but also in animals as well,” she cautioned. Wark says antibiotic resistance can lead to dangerous infections that are hard to treat.
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GM Announces Layoffs at Fairfax Assembly Plant in KCK
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCUR) – One of the biggest factories in the Kansas City area is laying off more than a thousand workers. KCUR reports that the General Motors Fairfax Assembly plant in Kansas City, Kansas, is about to go through a major retooling. Workers at the Fairfax plant build Chevy Malibus and small Cadillac SUVs. But by this time next year, the plant is scheduled to be making an entirely different car, the next generation Chevy Bolt EV. In between, the assembly line will mostly shut down for a $391 million retrofit. The company’s going to lay off more than 1,400 workers in two stages, one just after Thanksgiving, the other just after New Year’s. They’ll continue to make about 75% of their current earnings, and keep health insurance. All 250 temp workers at the plant will lose their jobs. In fall of next year, GM plans to roll out a new version of its compact electric car, the Bolt, which it hopes to build for years in KCK.
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Roc Nation Sues KCK Police Department over Alleged Open Records Act Violations
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCUR) – Jay-Z’s entertainment company Roc Nation has sued the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department, claiming it has violated the state’s open records act. KCUR reports that Roc Nation claims the documents it seeks would shed light on decades of abuse by KCK cops. The lawsuit, filed in Wyandotte County court, says for decades minority and immigrant communities have been “subjected to an alarming pattern of abuse,” by KCK police. Roc Nation and the Midwest Innocence Project last November filed a Kansas Open Records Request seeking, among other things, complaints and investigations against current and former officers, documents relating to the investigation of KCKPD by the FBI and training manuals. The lawsuit says so far the department has produced mostly training materials and also alleges the department has charged an unreasonable fee for those documents. The KCK Police Department and the Unified Government said they do not comment on litigation.
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Multi-Million Dollar Entertainment Complex Could Come to Olathe
UNDATED (KCUR) – The Olathe City Council Tuesday opened the door for the development of a $320 million entertainment complex. Kate Mays reports that it could potentially receive millions of dollars in public tax incentives. The proposed district, located at 119th Street and Renner Boulevard, would have sports facilities, an amusement park, shops, and a medical center. It’s all designed to be accessible for people with disabilities. A development company run by Lamar Hunt Jr. is behind the project. To help with financing, the Kansas Department of Commerce approved a maximum of $65 million in STAR bonds, which the state uses to attract major destinations like stadiums. The Olathe project requires further approvals before construction starts– which could be as early as next summer, with an anticipated opening in 2026.
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Remembering the Kansas Connection to the Nuremberg Trials, 79 Years Ago Today
UNDATED (KPR) - On this date - November 20th - in 1945, the Nuremberg Trials began. For nearly a year, judges representing the victorious Allied countries of World War II listened to testimony about war crimes and crimes against humanity. A Kansas man played a key role leading up to those trials. John Meyer grew up in Phillipsburg, in north-central Kansas, and served in the Big Red One during the war, where he received several medals. As the war in Europe came to an end, Meyer helped with the construction of the Palace of Justice, where the Nuremberg Trials were held. Meyer was put in charge of mocking up a miniature of the courtroom to allow designers and architects to work out where to put everyone - judges, lawyers, defendants, witnesses, interpreters and members of the media. (Learn more.)
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KC Police Arrest 33 in Sweep of Suspected Gang Members
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KMBC) - Police in Kansas City say they're disrupted a violent criminal gang. According to the Jackson County, Missouri, prosecutor's office, a police sweep last week involved the arrest of 33 members of a gang called "256 356." KMBC TV reports that the 33 suspected gang members were arrested on outstanding warrants. At least one of those arrested is suspected of taking part in a shooting outside a North Kansas City High School basketball game in March. Two people were injured in that shooting.
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Johnson County Works to Spend Leftover COVID Relief Funds Prior to Deadline
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (KCUR) – Local governments are in a time crunch to spend any remaining COVID relief funds. KCUR reports that Kansas Senator Roger Marshall pushed to tighten that deadline. Originally, local lawmakers had until 2026 to spend money allocated under the American Rescue Plan Act. But a resolution from Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt and Kansas Senator Roger Marshall changed that to the end of 2024. Schmitt said he wanted to prevent wasteful spending. Johnson County still has $6 million remaining, and Commission Chair Mike Kelly said they want to use it to address housing insecurity. "We wanted to work quickly with trusted partners to make sure that we can maximize the benefits that were possible for Johnson County right now," Kelly explained. The county previously planned to convert a hotel into a low-barrier homeless shelter, but the Lenexa City Council rejected the permit.
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Report: Children's Vaccination Rates Declining in Kansas and Nationwide
UNDATED (KNS) – New data shows that children’s vaccination rates are declining nationally and in Kansas. The Kansas News Service reports that the portion of Kansas kindergartners receiving vaccine exemptions has risen from 2% in 2020 to over 3% in 2024. Dr. Brandan Kennedy is a pediatrician with the Immunize Kansas Coalition. He says Kansas is already seeing consequences of lower vaccination rates, including a steady rise in whooping cough cases. “We’re going to see higher numbers of children getting serious bacterial and and viral infections, and those higher rates are going to result in an increase in serious morbidity or serious illness and death of children,” he added. Kennedy says it’s unclear whether federal vaccine programs will be impacted when the Trump administration takes power next year.
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Dozens of Plow Drivers Needed in KC Before Snow Starts to Fly
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KMBZ) – The Kansas City area is in need of more snow plow drivers. The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) says it has 200 slots to fill across the state, including 80 in the Kansas City area. KMBZ Radio reports that qualified applicants will receive extensive training so they can perform routine, entry-level duties related to snow removal. Applicants must be at least 18 years of age and have a valid Class A or B Commercial Driver’s License. The pay ranges from about $23 to $28 per hour, depending on experience.
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Teacher Sues Kansas School District over DEI Policies
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (Johnson County Post) – A teacher is suing the Shawnee Mission School District, saying that its policies on diversity and inclusion have violated her personal beliefs and free speech rights. The Johnson County Post reports that Jennifer Caedran Sullivan is an English teacher at Shawnee Mission North High School in Overland Park. She’s been an outspoken critic of the district’s “gender ideology,” and its diversity training for teachers, which she called “anti-white.” In an October lawsuit, she contends that administrators retaliated against her for not using transgender students’ preferred pronouns at school, among other things. She also took issue with district guidance that gives students the right to be addressed by the name and pronouns that match their gender identity, without needing to notify parents. Shawnee Mission declined to comment on the lawsuit. A spokesperson said the district is “strongly committed to maintaining an educational environment and workplace that is free from discrimination and harassment.” More than 50 students at Shawnee Mission North walked out last year in protest against an op-ed that Sullivan wrote for a right-wing publication.
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