Winter Storm Blankets Kansas in Snow
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) –Kansans spent Wednesday digging out from a winter storm that dropped between two and four inches of snow late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning. The storm did not dump as much snow as forecasters expected but it was enough to cause schools, universities and government offices to close for the day.
KSNT TV reports that the National Weather Service in Topeka recorded snowfall totals of several inches in parts of northeast Kansas.
Topeka received between two inches in the southwest part of the city to more than three-and-a-half inches in the northeast and northwest.
East Lawrence saw nearly four inches of snow while the northwest portion of the city received a little less than three. In Manhattan, the totals ranged between two and two-and-a-half inches and snowfall in Emporia ranged from about two-and-a-half to nearly four inches.
Communities near the Nebraska state line received the most snow in in northeast Kansas with just over four inches reported in Marysville and Hiawatha. The highest snowfall amount reported in the state was seven inches in Sharon Springs in Western Kansas.
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Kansas Lawmaker Proposes Bill to Seal Tenant Eviction Records
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) - A Sedgwick County state legislator introduced a bill requiring courts to seal certain tenants' eviction records. Eviction records can include a variety of documents, from the initial petition to evict to the final judgment allowing a tenant's removal. Currently, landlords can use all of these publicly-available records to evaluate a potential tenant. The new bill would require courts to seal records from the public if the case is dismissed or ruled in favor of the tenant. Evictions where the judge rules against the tenant would be automatically expunged from the record after two years, if all debts are paid. State Representative Leah Howell introduced the bill. "Having eviction records that are again permanent, that end up like a criminal record, is not the American way," Howell said. A representative of the Associated Landlords of Kansas says the group opposes automatic sealing and expungement because the eviction records are needed to screen tenants.
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Johnson County Voter Fraud Investigation Targeted County’s Top Election Official
OLATHE, Kan. (KNS / KCUR) - The three-year investigation into voter fraud by former Johnson County Sheriff Calvin Hayden targeted only one person for prosecution: the county’s top election official. Investigative documents obtained by KCUR radio under the Kansas Open Records Act show Hayden wanted to charge Election Commissioner Fred Sherman with voter intimidation and violating Kansas labor law. The former sheriff’s attempt to prosecute Sherman stemmed from a complaint by a woman who said Sherman was rude to her during poll worker training. Office policy is for poll workers to vote by mail or in advance, but the woman said that would be a violation of her civil rights. Sherman was interrogated for two hours by the sheriff’s detective. District Attorney Steve Howe declined to prosecute, saying in a statement there was no evidence of a crime. Sherman says this is all water under the bridge and didn’t want to comment further. Hayden did not return a call seeking comment.
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Some Kansas School Board Members Say Pre-School Programs Are Harming Children
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas preschool programs are under fire from some state school board members who say they could be harming children. Republican Debby Potter tried to postpone a vote on more than $8 million in pre-K funding to school districts, after raising questions about the quality of state-run preschools. “Almost eight and a half million dollars to pay for programs that I would argue, and my constituents are concerned, are harming the children,” Potter said. Last month, Potter referenced a Tennessee study that found negative outcomes for students in a state-run pre-K program. Preschool advocates say the programs improve children’s academic and social development and help prepare them for kindergarten. The board narrowly approved the funding with a 7-3 vote.
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Proposed Funding Cuts for the National Institutes of Health Could Mean Loss for Biomedical Research in Kansas
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) - An order by the Trump administration could result in millions of dollars in lost funding for biomedical research in Kansas. Last year, Kansas institutions received more than $140 million from the National Institutes of Health for cancer research and other health studies. The University of Kansas Medical Center received the majority of that funding. KU Medical did not respond to a request for comment from the Kansas News Service. A significant portion of the money is threatened by a directive last week from the Trump administration that would slash the amount of NIH money that can go toward overhead costs. That could make it more difficult for Kansas research institutions to do things like hire staff, maintain security and keep the lights on. A federal judge temporarily blocked the directive this week, but it’s unclear how the case will progress.
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Director of Wyandotte County Health Department Leaves Office in Wake of TB Outbreak
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KNS) - Following a large tuberculosis outbreak, Wyandotte County has parted ways with the director of its health department. Emails obtained by the Kansas News Service show behind-the-scenes conflict as the TB outbreak was growing. A spokesperson for Wyandotte County says the Public Health Department director, Elisha Caldwell is no longer working for the department. The health department was under Caldwell’s leadership when the tuberculosis outbreak started. Officials from the state and federal government later stepped in to help. Emails show turmoil, as Caldwell and state health officials clashed over things including office space and how to best respond to the outbreak. Ultimately, it resulted in the state taking over the TB response. (Read more.)
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Kansas Governor Vetoes Ban on Gender-Affirming Care for Minors
UNDATED (KC Beacon) – Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has vetoed a bill that bans gender-affirming care for transgender youth. If the legislature overrides the governor's veto, the bill would still face legal challenges before becoming law. The Beacon reports that D.C. Heigert with the ACLU of Kansas says the ban on gender-affirming care for minors is unconstitutional. That’s for a few reasons, but the bill violates Kansans’ constitutional rights to bodily autonomy, they say. Bodily autonomy isn’t defined in the Kansas Constitution. But the Kansas Supreme Court ruled women seeking abortions have the right to do what they want with their body because of bodily autonomy. The same logic applies to gender-affirming care, Heigert says. “That bodily autonomy protection extends to the context we're talking about now, which is a Kansan’s right to access the health care that they choose,” Heigert added. Republicans who pushed the bill disagree with this and say the state can regulate health care.
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Kansas Legislation Would Require Parental Permission for Kids to Use Different Names at School
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – A Kansas bill would require students under 18 to get their parents’ permission to use a name other than the one on their birth certificate at school. The Kansas News Service reports that under the bill, parents would have to consent to their child using a different name or pronouns at school. Proponents say the bill would protect parents’ right to know about decisions involving the health of their child. But critics say it’s an attempt to politicize the existence of transgender people. Shannon Berquist is the parent of a trans student in Kansas. She spoke against the bill. “She’s 1 in 420 kids and the only trans kid in her school, in her friend group or in her extended families. Her existence should not merit laws,” Berquist said. The bill would allow teachers to use middle names and other names derived from a student’s birth name.
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Measure Would Eliminate Many Tenure Protections for College Faculty in Kansas
UNDATED (KNS) – Kansas lawmakers are considering a bill that would eliminate many of the protections of tenure for college faculty. The Kansas News Service reports that the bill was written by attorney Steven Lovett, who is representing Emporia State University in a legal battle over the firing of tenured faculty members in 2022. The bill would remove the understanding that tenured faculty hold a property interest tied to their employment. Lovett says tenure costs Kansas millions of dollars by making it nearly impossible for colleges to fire faculty. “The long-term unfunded liability created by declaring tenure to be a property right is a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar receipt that our taxpayers shouldn’t have to bear,” Lovett says. The presidents of KU, K-State and the Kansas Board of Regents oppose the bill. They say tenure is crucial for recruiting and keeping talented professors and researchers.
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Employee Charged with Assaulting Students Inside Lawrence Elementary School
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) - A 60-year-old teacher has been arrested after investigators say he sexually assaulted more than two students at a Lawrence elementary school. According to a Facebook post by the Lawrence Police Department, Mark Elliot Gridley, a Speech and Language Pathologist at Prairie Park Elementary School, was arrested and charged with aggravated indecent liberties with a child and one count of kidnapping.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports that police launched an investigation Saturday into the alleged sexual assault of two students that occurred during the school day Friday. Gridley was arrested Saturday morning and charged Monday. His bond has been set at $1.5 million. Lawrence Interim Superintendent Jeanice K. Swift said Gridley, a support staff member, has been terminated.
The Lawrence Police Department said in a press conference Tuesday that it is investigating allegations from more than two victims, but would not specify how many. The scope of the investigation has now expanded to include students who were not receiving services for speech at the school, and Lawrence Police are asking parents of students at Prairie Park Elementary School to have conversations with their children about any possible contact with Mark Gridley. If they have concerns following any of those conversations, they are urged to contact the hotline set up for this investigation at (785) 830-7430.
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Education Leaders Could Change Kansas State Assessment Tests
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – Kansas education leaders are considering changing the state assessment test for high school students. The Kansas News Service reports that Kansas schools administer standardized tests every year for students in third through eighth grades and again in 10th grade. The tests measure progress in reading, math and other subjects. Education Commissioner Randy Watson wants to drop the 10th grade test, and instead let students take tests based on their goals after high school. “Maybe we should shift the high school assessment to mean something for the kid: ‘Where am I going?’" Watson argued. Students aiming for military service would take the Armed Services aptitude test. College bound students would take the ACT, and students going straight into a job would take the ACT WorkKeys, which measures workforce skills. Watson says the change would require federal approval. State board members will consider his proposal in coming months.
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Kansas Congressman Hopes to Move "Food for Peace" Program to USDA
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KPR) – Republican members of Congress from Kansas are hoping to move a food assistance program from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The 70-year-old U.S. program, called "Food for Peace" sends surplus agriculture commodities around the world, for free, to feed malnourished and starving populations. Kansas Republican Representative Tracey Mann and Kansas Senator Jerry Moran have signed on to legislation that would move the program to USDA, which already runs two international food assistance programs that deal with in-kind food donations (Food for Progress and the McGovern-Dole Food for Education program). Officials credit Food for Peace with feeding more than 4 billion people in more than 150 countries.
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Shortage of Kansas Lawyers Raising Concerns
WICHITA, Kan. (KMUW) - Kansas does not have enough attorneys practicing law, especially in rural areas. Some experts worry the situation could grow worse in the coming years. The shortage of lawyers is what a recent study by the state's supreme court calls a “crisis.” Rural areas are particularly vulnerable to shortages, and the situation has far-reaching impacts. Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett says the issue directly affects his office. "If you're the county commission in McPherson, or Harvey, or Riley, or some of these other counties … you're going to have to pay a lot more," he said. "And that's what they're doing. And so I am losing attorneys to those smaller counties because they're paying so much more because they need to get them there." Bennett has facilitated discussions aimed at alleviating the problem. One idea is to work with one of state's law schools to open a satellite location in the Wichita area, similar to the University of Kansas School of Medicine.
Several factors are hindering the state's ability to alleviate the shortage, including rising education costs, lawyer attrition rates, and the location of the state's only two law schools, which are just 30 minutes apart. Sedgwick County Commissioner Ryan Baty says he and District Attorney Bennett have discussed ways to make legal education more accessible. "One of the ideas that we're kicking around is, 'Hey, what if we could get KU or Washburn to do a satellite location here?' Not open up a full law school in Wichita, but to do a satellite location to where there was more options and flexibility," he said. Baty says the satellite location could be modeled after the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Wichita. The idea is far from actually happening, but proponents promise to continue the discussion. (Read more.)
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Study: Black Kansans Dying from Some Major Diseases at Higher Rates than Other Kansans
UNDATED (KNS) – New research shows that Black Kansans are dying from most major diseases at higher rates than other Kansans. The Kansas News Service reports that the study examined nine common causes of death, such as Alzheimer’s disease and kidney disease. It found that Black Kansans die of seven of them at higher rates than all Kansans. Carla Gibson is with the REACH Healthcare Foundation, which funded the study. She says for the most part, she was not surprised by the study’s findings. “Overall, I think it was just very validating. And it’s good to have data,” she added. Gibson says the study helps fill information gaps and will help groups like her own know what issues to address.
The study was conducted by the Urban Institute.
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Great Backyard Bird Count Happening This Weekend
UNDATED (HPM) – Bird watching is a fast-growing hobby around the United States and the world. But you don’t need to be an expert to participate. Harvest Public Media reports that you can help researchers learn more about the birds in your backyard during a global bird counting event this weekend. Each year, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and other bird organizations coordinate the “Great Backyard Bird Count.” The event encourages people to go outside and report what birds they’re seeing. Becca Rodomsky-Bish, the project leader, says it's meant to help scientists gather data… all while exposing newcomers to the songs and colors of bird species like northern cardinals, bluejays, and chickadees. “Birds? I mean, they’re fun… And so I find that birds are this really wonderful entry point for a lot of people to sort of become awoken to the mysteries and wonders of the natural world,” she explains. People who are interested can visit birdcount.org.
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Biofuel Industry Expects Trump Administration to Increase Ethanol Blend Requirements
UNDATED (HPM) – Oil refiners and fuel importers are required by federal law to blend a certain volume of biofuels, like ethanol, or buy credits from companies that do their own blending. Harvest Public Media reports that biofuel industry leaders expect the new administration to increase that volume. The Environmental Protection Agency sets Renewable Volume Obligations - or RVOs - for the fuel industry. Biofuel advocates say the requirements have not kept pace with recent growth in ethanol and biodiesel. The EPA’s new head Lee Zeldin said during his confirmation hearing that he’s committed to setting appropriate and timely RVOs. Kevin Studer is the VP of government relations at the Iowa Corn Growers Association. “I think it's our job at Corn Growers to hold his feet to the fire on those words, as we did with President Trump many years ago, on a lot of ethanol policy,” he explained. Studer spoke at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit. Nearly half of the corn grown in the U.S. goes to ethanol.
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