Dana Chandler Found Guilty in Third Trial
WESTMORELAND, Kan. (KSNT) - Dana Chandler has been found guilty in the 2002 deaths of her ex-husband and his fiancee. KSNT reports that a Pottawatomie county jury returned the verdict this afternoon (FRI) after deliberating for less than four hours. This was Chandler's third trial in the deaths of Mike Sisco and Karen Harkness, who were killed by gunfire in their bed in 2002. Chandler was originally arrested in 2011 and convicted in 2012; that verdict was overturned by the Kansas Supreme Court. A jury failed to reach a verdict in Chandler's second trial. Chandler will face sentencing at a later date.
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Wichita Voters Narrowly Reject Bond Issue
Wichita voters have narrowly rejected a $450 million bond issue to rebuild and renovate schools. Final results released today (FRIDAY) by the Sedgwick County Election Office show that opponents edged supporters by just more than 300 votes. About 14 percent of registered voters participated in the special election.
Ben Davis led a group that opposed the bond issue. He says voters sent a clear message that schools need a better plan to deal with aging buildings. District leaders plan to gather a focus group and survey voters later this month. They have not said whether they plan to ask for a smaller bond issue.
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Stormont Vail Names New CEO
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Stormont Vail Health has named a new president and CEO. WIBW reports that Mark Slyter will take over from Dr. Rob Kenagy, who is retiring in May. Most recently, Slyter was president and CEO of a health care system in the Phoenix, Arizona, area. Slyter is a native of Augusta, Kansas, and graduated from the University of Kansas. Stormont Vail Health employs more than 5,700 people, including 500 physicians and advanced practice providers.
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Kansas Lawmakers Remove Grace Period for Ballots To Be Counted
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Poll workers in Kansas might have to stop counting mail-in ballots that arrive after polls close on Election Day. State lawmakers have passed a bill to end what’s known as the grace period. As of now, advance ballots that arrive up to three days after an election still count, as long as they’re postmarked with the right date. Republican lawmakers like Representative Pat Proctor have led an effort to change that. He says voters will adapt. “I think the voters are smart. And I think that if you tell them what the rules are. They'll adjust their behavior to make sure that their vote gets counted," he said. Critics say the bill amounts to voter suppression. If the Governor vetoes the bill, supporters may have enough votes to override her.
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Kansas Senate Passes Supreme Court Election Bill
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Kansas senators have passed a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would change how Kansas Supreme Court justices are selected. Under current law, the governor selects each nominee from a list of recommendations from an independent commission. Instead of doing that, Republicans want the state to elect justices by popular vote.
State Senator Mike Thompson says electing the justices would make the court more accountable for its decisions. “Since 2007, over 87% of the decisions they’ve made that have advanced to the U.S. Supreme Court have been overturned," he said. But Democrats, like state Senator Dinah Sykes, say justices need to be separate from partisan politics to remain impartial. “There’s no place for politics in the courts," she said. "Our justices and judges must be free to rule based on the law.”
The court has clashed with the Republican-led Legislature in recent years over issues like abortion and education. The House still needs to vote on the proposed amendment, which would ultimately have to be approved by voters.
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Kansas Senate Committee Holds Hearing on Property Tax Lid
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas lawmakers are still trying to figure out how to address what they’ve said is their top priority this year: cutting property taxes. A Senate committee is considering a bill that would bring back a policy known as a “property tax lid.” In practice, that means your local government would have to win approval from a majority of voters any time it wants to raise property taxes above the inflation rate. Dave Trabert, with the conservative Kansas Policy Institute, says that proposal and others like it are urgently needed and overwhelmingly popular. “We cannot adjourn this session without major tax reform... or we’re probably all gonna end up on the wrong end of the pitchforks," he said. But the right-leaning think tank the Tax Foundation criticized a tax lid, saying it places too high of a burden on local governments.
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Some Haskell Employees Reinstated with Back Pay
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) - The Lawrence Journal-World reports that some of the employees at Haskell Indian Nation's University who recently lost their jobs will be reinstated - with back pay. More than 35 probationary employees were let go last month during a nationwide purge of federal workers. (More details can be found in the Lawrence Journal-World.)
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KCK Man Gets Life Sentence in Fatal Shooting of Deputies
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KNS) - A Kansas City, Kansas, man has been sentenced to life in prison for shooting and killing two Wyandotte County sheriff’s deputies seven years ago. Prosecutors charged Antoine Fielder with two counts of capital murder and aggravated robbery after shooting Wyandotte County deputies Patrick Rohrer and Theresa King in June of 2018. The deputies were transporting Fielder from a courthouse to jail for another crime when he took one of their guns and killed them. Fielder's trial was delayed several times since 2019. He was scheduled to go to trial last month before he entered a guilty plea in order to avoid the death penalty. He received the life sentence in Wyandotte County District Court Thursday.
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Lawrence Church Receives Cultural Heritage Grant
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KNS) - An historic church in Lawrence will get much-needed help from the National Trust for Historic Preservation's African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund. Ninth Street Missionary Baptist Church is one of 30 churches in the U.S. awarded a grant this month, as part of an effort to preserve buildings that are important to Black history. Senior Pastor Eric Galbreath says the church has been a become for the Black community ever since it was founded by formerly enslaved people 162 years ago. The first stage of the $600,000 grant will create a plan to address needed repairs to the church.
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Congress Honors Lives Lost in Wichita-DC Crash
WASHINGTON, DC (KCTV) - Members of Congress honored all 67 lives lost during the January 29th collision between a military helicopter and an American Airlines airplane in Washington DC. KCTV reports that the resolution was introduced by Congressman Ron Estes and other members of the Kansas delegation, and cosponsored by more than 80 other members of Congress. American Airlines flight 5342 originated in Wichita and was preparing to land when it collided with a Black Hawk helicopter. The resolution honoring the victims passed the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously by voice vote.
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Two Men Plead Not Guilty in Deaths of 3 KC Chiefs Fans Whose Bodies Were Found in Friend's Backyard
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Two Kansas City men have pleaded not guilty to charges in connection with the deaths of three Kansas City Chiefs fans whose bodies were found in a backyard more than a year ago. The Associated Press reports that Jordan Willis and Ivory Carson appeared in court Thursday, charged in the deaths of Ricky Johnson, Clayton McGeeney, and David Harrington in January 2024. The three mens' bodies were found in Willis' backyard days after the men gathered to watch a Kansas City Chiefs game. The medical examiner determined the deaths were due to a combination of fentanyl and cocaine.
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