USDA to Begin Testing National Milk Supply for Bird Flu Virus
UNDATED (HPM) — Starting next week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin testing the national milk supply for bird flu. Harvest Public Media reports officials say it will help them determine exactly where the virus is spreading in dairy cattle. Under a new federal order, facilities and farms will have to share samples of unpasteurized milk to be tested for bird flu. The virus first appeared in cattle earlier this year and has infected hundreds of herds across 16 states. It’s also infected nearly 60 humans… mainly through exposure from infected cows or birds. Until now, testing has been mostly voluntary. Catalina Picasso, a veterinary epidemiologist at Michigan State University, says this new approach will help pinpoint the virus’s movement. “We as a country are gonna be able to understand where the disease is and where the disease is not,” she added. Michigan is one of six states that will be part of the first round of the new testing strategy. The others are California, Colorado, Mississippi, Oregon and Pennsylvania. (Read more.)
==========
Organizations Scramble with Next Steps for DACA Recipients Following Court Ruling on Health Care Access
UNDATED (KNS) – Immigrant rights organizations in Kansas are regrouping after a recent blow to health care access. The Kansas News Service reports that over 4,000 migrants in Kansas who came to the United States as kids had hoped to expand their health care options through the Affordable Care Act. But Kansas led a group of 19 states to block that access. Immigrant rights groups say the current system might cost even more money because people are forced to seek expensive care at crowded emergency rooms instead. At the nonprofit Advocates for Immigrant Rights and Reconciliation in Kansas City, Kansas, Itzel Vargas-Valenzuela says there are widespread misperceptions about immigrants receiving benefits. “People are gonna try to continue blaming the immigrants seeking care...instead of the people profiting off of our system,” she said. Her organization is boosting efforts to help folks find care they can afford.
==========
Man in Custody After Standoff at KC's Westport Shopping Center
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — One man is in custody following a standoff at Westport Shopping Center in Kansas City. Police were called to the center late Wednesday morning after reports of an armed man making threats to a rideshare driver. WDAF TV reports that the driver pulled over at the shopping center, got out of the car and called police. A standoff began when officers arrived and the armed passenger refused to get out of the car. After more than two hours of negotiations, the suspect was taken into custody around 1 pm. No one was hurt.
==========
Miami County Teen Charged in Connection with 15-Year-Old’s Death
MIAMI COUNTY, Kan. (WDAF) — The District Court of Miami County has charged a 16-year-old boy after investigators say he tried to conceal or destroy evidence related to the death of another teenager. According to court records, the 16-year-old is being charged with one count of interfering with law enforcement officers and concealing or destroying evidence after a 15-year-old boy was found dead at a Spring Hill home last week.
WDAF TV reports that Miami County sheriff’s deputies were called to the Spring Hill home in response to an unresponsive person in the early-morning hours of December 4. After deputies arrived, they found the 15-year-old boy dead inside the home. The 16-year-old was later taken into custody at a juvenile detention facility. Both teens were students at the Spring Hill School District and lived in different cities.
==========
KU Professor Named One of Nation's Top Inventors
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) — A professor at the University of Kansas has been named one of the nation's top inventors. Ron Barrett-Gonzalez, a professor of aerospace engineering, has been named to the National Academy of Inventors, which is considered the highest distinction for academic inventors in the U.S.
One of his latest inventions is guided hypersonic ammunition. The professor leads a student laboratory that's credited with creating super-fast micro quad-copters, a drone-like aircraft. Other designs include an unmanned hypersonic spy plane, an unmanned helicopter device to deliver disaster-relief supplies, a flying motorcycle and eco-friendly jets called Skyblazers.
Over the years, Barrett-Gonzalez has been interviewed many times on KPR - primarily because his engineering students routinely win major international design competitions for aircraft, spacecraft and even space stations. KU aerospace engineering students have won more prestigious design awards from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics than any other school in the world.
Barrett-Gonzalez becomes just the seventh KU faculty member to be inducted into the National Academy of Inventors, but is the second in two years. Brian McClendon, one of the creators of Google Earth, was inducted in 2023 and is now a research professor at KU.
==========
Drug Bust in Southwest Kansas Nets 45 Pounds of Meth
SEWARD COUNTY, Kan. (KAKE) — Authorities are reporting a major drug bust in southwest Kansas. A Seward County sheriff's deputy discovered 45 pounds of meth inside a car during a routine traffic stop. It happened Wednesday morning on Highway 54 near the town of Kismet. KAKE TV reports that a 48-year-old man was taken into custody.
==========
Wichita Nonprofit Group Receives Federal Grant to Provide Free Job Training for Pollution Cleanup Work
WICHITA, Kan. (KMUW) – A Wichita nonprofit has received a nearly $500,000 federal grant to provide free job training for workers to clean up polluted sites. KMUW reports that Wichita has dozens of brownfield sites, or land with previous development on it that may be affected by environmental contamination. The grant to the Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas will assist Wichitans interested in getting the training needed to clean those up. That includes asbestos abatement and hazardous waste training. Keith Lawing is the CEO of the Workforce Alliance. He says at least 90 people will receive job training. "We will have a pretty deliberate and intentional outreach program that is going to be - work with our community-based organizations, a lot of the neighborhood groups, certainly in some of our areas where we know there's high unemployment, there's poverty issues," he added. Lawing says the program can also assist trainees with childcare or transportation costs.
==========
Hunters Shoot, Kill Federally Protected Pelicans in Kansas
CLAY COUNTY (KSNT) — It's bad enough that bird flu is killing off so many birds but now comes news that several hunters have shot and killed migrating pelicans in central Kansas. KSNT reports that in mid-September, several American white pelicans were shot and killed at the Smith Bottom Wetland Area in Clay and Dickinson Counties. Kansas game wardens issued several citations in the incident. American white pelicans are protected in both the U.S. and Canada under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, making it illegal for people to take or possess any migratory bird unless they are given special permits.
Shooting and killing migratory birds can come with heavy fines. State wildlife officials warned waterfowl hunters last year to avoid harming endangered whooping cranes, which is considered a federal offense punishable by a $100,000 fine.
==========
Kansas Schools Look to Teacher Apprenticeship Program to Help Fill Vacancies
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) — A new program in Kansas is helping people become teachers and schools fill vacancies. The Kansas News Service reports that the teacher apprenticeship program launched last year with a dozen teachers-in-training in six Kansas districts. This fall, nearly 200 apprentice teachers are working in 42 districts across the state. Apprentice teachers are mentored by experienced teachers while they pursue their teaching degrees, and the state picks up some of their college costs. Shane Carter oversees the program for the Kansas Department of Education. He says state lawmakers approved $3 million for the program, but state regulations have held up tuition payments for some students. “We’ve had these funds awarded to us since ‘22-’23. We haven’t been able to tap into those yet,” he explained. Kansas is facing its worst-ever teacher shortage, particularly in rural parts of the state.
==========
Partnership Will Expand Ag Degree Access in Southwest Kansas
DODGE CITY, Kan. (High Plains Journal) — Garden City Community College and Kansas State University have joined forces to make bachelor’s degree programs available to students in southwest Kansas without requiring them to relocate. The High Plains Journal reports that the collaboration will allow students to complete their education locally, addressing a critical need in a region where less than 18% of residents hold a four-year degree (compared to the statewide average of nearly 34%).
The new initiative enables students to complete their first 60 to 75 credit hours at GCCC before finishing their bachelor’s degrees with K-State in Garden City. Programs will combine remote instruction with on-site lab experiences, offering flexibility and alignment with local workforce demands in fields like agriculture, education and health and human sciences. The partnership will initially work to develop a new bachelor’s degree through K-State’s College of Agriculture.
The degree program will be for students with an associate’s degree, allowing specialization in areas such as animal science, crop science or agribusiness. GCCC and K-State will soon launch a community survey to shape additional program offerings based on regional industry needs.
==========
Project to Restore Passenger Rail Service in Kansas Could Cost $573 Million
UNDATED (KAKE) — Restoring passenger rail service from Newton, Kansas, to Oklahoma City is projected to cost $573 million, with Kansas paying about a third of that. The Kansas Department of Transportation wants to expand Amtrak's "Heartland Flyer" route out of Ft. Worth, Texas, from Oklahoma City to Newton, with a stop in Wichita. Passengers would then connect with the Southwest Chief train that travels from Chicago to Los Angeles. Kansas would be responsible for at least $175 million of the cost of the expanded service.
KAKE TV reports that KDOT still needs approval from the state legislature for matching funds. Officials with KDOT are also monitoring how the incoming Trump administration could affect the plans.
Routes would be scheduled daily, with the train leaving Newton at 3 am. Trip times are estimated at 3.5 hours to Oklahoma City and 7.5 hours to Fort Worth, Texas. KDOT hopes to have the route in operation sometime in 2029.
==========
Shawnee Mission District to Consider Restricting Student Cellphone Use During School Day
JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan. (Johnson County Post) — Another school district in suburban Johnson County is closer to imposing new restrictions on students’ cellphone use. The Johnson County Post reports that new rules being contemplated by the Shawnee Mission School District would require students to keep their phones silenced and stowed away during most of the school day. There would be some exceptions. Middle and high schoolers, for instance, would be allowed to access their devices between classes. The Shawnee Mission school board hopes to have the new rules finalized by early next year. Increasingly worried that devices are a distraction, local schools including Olathe have begun implementing stricter rules around students’ cellphone use. A special task force in Kansas earlier this year recommended schools prohibit student cellphone use at all times during the school day.
==========
Charges Dropped Against One Juvenile Connected with Murder of Beloved KC Restaurateur
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KC Star) — Jackson County, Missouri Family Court has dropped all charges against one of two teens arrested in August in the shooting death of Shaun Brady, a popular Brookside restaurant owner. The Kansas City Star reports Tuesday that the charges against one of the juveniles, noted in court documents only as "L.M.," had been dropped. L.M. had been charged with second-degree murder, attempted theft of a motor vehicle and armed criminal action. A second teen, a 15-year-old identified as "K.H.," is similarly charged. A December hearing is set to determine whether he will be tried as an adult.
It's up to Jackson County Family Court - and not the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office - to either file charges or drop charges against juveniles. Police on Tuesday referred questions to the Jackson County Family Court regarding what evidence they had to secure L.M.’s arrest and why the charges were dropped.
Brady’s shooting happened on August 28, amid a rash of thefts and break-ins in Kansas City. He was the co-owner of the Brady & Fox Restaurant and Lounge, and a well-known member of Kansas City’s Irish heritage community.
==========
Survey: Half of Kansans Say They Haven’t Heard of the Ogallala Aquifer
LIBERAL, Kan. (KNS) — The Ogallala Aquifer is a critical source of water in western Kansas, and it’s running dry. But despite playing a major role in the daily lives of Kansans, a recent survey revealed half of Kansans say they have never heard of the Ogallala. The Kansas News Service reports that all residents in the state should care about the Ogallala, even if they don’t live directly above it.
==========
This summary of area news is curated by KPR news staffers. Our headlines are generally published by 10 am weekdays and are updated through 7 pm. This ad-free news summary is made possible by KPR members. Become one today. And follow KPR News on X (formerly Twitter).