Kansas Lawmakers On Break Until April 10
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Kansas lawmakers are on a two-week break. They wrapped up the majority of their business last week and will return for a veto session on Thursday of next week. The Legislature is on track for a pretty short session. Last year, they didn’t adjourn until June after a special session. It’s uncertain whether lawmakers will reach a substantial deal on property tax cuts this year. When they return to Topeka next week, they'll also have to decide whether to try to override the governor's vetoes on certain bills. Republicans have already successfully overridden two vetoes by Democratic Governor Laura Kelly.
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Governor Kelly Vetoes Bill to Extend State Budget if Legislature Fails to Pass One
TOPEKA, Kan. (Kansas Reflector) – Governor Laura Kelly has vetoed a bill designed to roll over a previous year's state budget if lawmakers fail to pass a new one. The Kansas Reflector reports that Kelly issued a statement pointing out every Legislature since the founding of the state has managed to pass a budget, and she expects current legislators to continue fulfilling that obligation. In a joint statement Senate President Ty Masterson and House Speaker Dan Hawkins said that the bill would prevent government from shutting down at the state level by providing a means for continuing appropriations.
Governor Kelly also vetoed a bill restricting the use of federal funds for elections and election-related activities without legislative approval. She said election officials would be more able to address issues of voter fraud and foreign interference if they were able to receive Congressional funding.
The Kansas Legislature is scheduled to return to the Statehouse on April 10th to consider the governor's vetoes and pass any other legislation before adjourning the session.
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No Degree? No Problem for Most State Jobs in Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has signed several new bills into law. One of them ensures that applicants for state jobs can't be denied a position solely due to their lack of a post-secondary degree. WIBW TV reports that the law does NOT apply to positions for which a college degree is necessary. According to the governor, less than 15% of state employees work in jobs that require a post-secondary degree.
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GOP Lawmakers Send Fetal Development Education Bill to Governor Laura Kelly
UNDATED (KNS) – Republican lawmakers in Kansas sent a bill to the governor Monday that requires some public school classes to include instruction on fetal development. The Kansas News Service reports that the legislation was backed by anti-abortion advocates. The bill concerns sex education and biology classes across all grade levels. It mandates that teachers of those classes show kids at least three minutes of high-definition ultrasound footage — or computer-generated animation — showing the development of fetal organs. Reproductive rights groups oppose the bill and say it’s an attempt to insert anti-abortion propaganda into classrooms. Governor Laura Kelly, a Democrat, is expected to veto the bill. It’s unclear if Republicans will have the votes needed to override that veto.
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City of Leavenworth Suing CoreCivic Over Proposed Immigrant Detention Center
UNDATED (KNS) – The city of Leavenworth is suing CoreCivic, a private corrections company seeking to operate an immigrant detention center in the city. The Kansas News Service reports that the city is asking a federal court to block the corporation from housing detainees on behalf of federal immigration authorities. The filing says CoreCivic needs a special use permit before it can reopen the former prison, which has been inactive since 2021. CoreCivic argues that local rules do not require a permit, which would involve several weeks of public hearings. The company has said it plans to resume operations in the coming weeks. CoreCivic has not yet commented on the lawsuit.
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Researchers Say Kansas Now Less Prepared for Public Health Emergencies
UNDATED (KNS) – Kansas residents may be at risk when the state faces public health emergencies. The Kansas News Service reports that researchers say Kansas is less prepared now than last year. Trust for America’s Health reported Kansas had some of the highest scores in the nation for public health emergency preparedness last year. But a new study shows the state’s scores are now in the middle tier. Twenty-one states are considered more prepared than Kansas. Researcher Matt McKillop co-authored the report. He says states need to take public health more seriously. “Recent proposed cuts to federal funding threaten to severely weaken state and local emergency preparedness and create dangerous gaps,” he explained. McKillop says to improve its scores, Kansas needs to invest more in public health.
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KSU Professor Making Headway in Treating Animal Pain
MANHATTAN, Kan. (KNS) - A Kansas State University scientist is finding ways to ease pain in livestock - and... he's getting national recognition for it. The National Academy of Sciences will give K-State veterinary professor Hans Coetzee a medal for what it calls groundbreaking research. It’s not easy to know when animals are in pain - many evolved to hide it to avoid tipping off predators. But Coetzee found ways - such as by using pressure mats. “You actually see the footfalls of the animal as they walk over the mat. And we can see changes in the stride length of the animal," he said. That can reveal pain from lameness. Coetzee and his collaborators then also proved that putting a medicine on the animal’s skin alleviates the pain. And this led to the first federal approval of a pain reliever for livestock.
“You know, our livestock producers that we work with all have a very special bond with the animals that they work with. And they want to do everything they can to alleviate fear and pain and make those animals as comfortable as they can," Coetzee said. His research, funded partly by the USDA, has shown how to check cattle for pain from lameness - and how to ease that pain.
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Law School Applications Increase in Kansas and Missouri, Mirroring National Trend
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR) – Law school applications in Kansas and Missouri have skyrocketed in the last year. The Law School Admission Council says applications nationwide are up 20 percent from last year. UMKC Law School Dean Lumen Mulligan told KCUR that applications are up about the same amount, and says it mostly has to do with politics. “When you have changes in administration and politics are in the news much more aggressively that tends to correlate to people attending law school,” he explained. Mulligan also says the employment picture for lawyers is good. The University of Kansas Law School says its applications have surged 70 percent in the past two years, and Washburn Law in Topeka says applications have spiked 49 percent from a year ago.
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Two Arrested in Unusual Drug Bust in Stafford County
MACKSVILLE, Kan. (Hays Post) - An unusual drug bust in south-central Kansas resulted in the arrest of two people and the confiscation of drugs, guns, explosives and a number of animals - including 17 dogs, 3 pigs and 2 pythons. A combination of law enforcement agencies gathered in Stafford County late Friday morning to serve a seach warrant in the town of Mackville. Two people were taken into custody: 47-year-old Jeremy Luce and 37-year-old Desiree Parks. The Hays Post reports that the accused are also facing charges of child endangerment, animal abuse and ID theft.
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Officials: Data Not Properly Analyzed Prior to Fatal Plane Crash in January
UNDATED (KMUW) – Safety officials said Thursday that data on near collisions at Reagan National Airport was not properly analyzed before a deadly crash in January. KMUW reports that the remarks came during a U.S. Senate hearing chaired by Jerry Moran of Kansas. Officials discussed the preliminary report of a midair collision between a military helicopter and an American Airlines flight from Wichita. The crash occurred as the plane prepared to land in Washington, D.C. Investigators say there were 85 near collisions around the airport in the three years before the crash, which Moran said indicated a safety problem. “67 lives that were lost on January 29th were taken prematurely in an accident that by all indications should have been avoided,” he said. Helicopter traffic around the airport has been restricted since January. Safety officials say they are analyzing data to see whether similar safety problems exist in other cities with heavy helicopter traffic.
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Demonstrators in KC Protest Trump Policies, DOGE
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KC Star/KPR) - Demonstrators gathered in downtown Kansas City over the weekend to protest recent actions by the Trump administration. The Kansas City Star reports that the "March for Democracy" included protests against DOGE -- the Department of Government Efficiency. The crowd marched a little over a mile from downtown KC to Union Station to outside the National World War I Museum and Memorial. Demonstrations took place in more than 250 cities around the world in what organizers called a "global day of action."
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Northeast Kansas Man Charged with Intentionally Damaging a Tesla
WICHITA, Kan. (Hays Post) – A Northeast Kansas man has been charged with intentionally damaging a Tesla Model X in Northwest Wichita. Police say 30-year-old Johnathan F. Erhart, of Jefferson County, has been charged with one count of criminal damage to property. The Sedgwick County District Attorney's office says the crime took place on March 20th. The Hays Post reports that the felony charge carries a sentence of 5 to 17 months in prison.
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3 Men Found in KC Metro Charged After Previous Deportations
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) - Three people in the Kansas City metro have been charged in a federal indictment after re-entering the country after having been previously deported. The U.S. Department of Justice says that a Mexican national, a Guatemalan national and a Honduran national have all been charged with unlawful entry following deportation.
Those charged include: 32-year-old Jesus Enriquez-Vasquez, 31-year-old Victor Vasquez-Perez and 31-year-old Noe Alberto Hernandez-Perez.
WDAF TV reports that all three men were found living in the metro area and were swept up as part of Operation Take Back America.
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Former Olathe Teacher Sentenced to More than 5 Years in Prison on Sex Crimes
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — A former Olathe North High School choir teacher has been sentenced to more than five years in prison for having sex with a student. The Johnson County district attorney said Micah Horton was sentenced to prison Friday for unlawful sexual relations. He will be required to register as a sex offender for 25 years. WDAF TV reports that in March 2024, Horton was charged with sexual exploitation of a child and two counts of unlawful sexual relations with a student under the age of 16.
According to court records, students at Olathe North went to school authorities and told them that Horton had been messaging students on Snapchat and had persuaded one student to send him nude photos and videos. He also sent nude photos of himself to that student. The student disclosed that the two had a sexual relationship.
Court records also revealed that Horton allegedly had sex with another student while he was working for a different school district. During the investigation, a student from a different school said the same thing happened when he was teaching there. Court records said Horton had sex with this student multiple times, including in his office. The district attorney’s office said Horton was only charged for the crimes committed while he was teaching at Olathe North High School.
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Funding Issues Likely to Curtail Free Sunflower Summer Student Program
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – A summer program that lets Kansas students visit museums, zoos and other attractions for free will likely be scaled back this year. The Kansas News Service reports that Sunflower Summer launched in 2021 as a way to keep Kansas children learning over summer break. It was funded initially with federal COVID-relief money. Kansas lawmakers allocated $3 million for the program next fiscal year. But that doesn’t start until July 1st, so this year’s Sunflower Summer will likely be cut short. Ben Sauceda, president of the Kansas Aviation Museum in Wichita, says the program boosts the state’s economy and should be part of long-term budgeting. “I believe this one has a true benefit all the way around, holistically, for our state, that deserves its continued support year-over-year,” he added. The program runs through a smart-phone app, and it offers free admission to more than 200 historic sites and other attractions.
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KPR Community Spotlight Shines on SOS in Emporia
EMPORIA, Kan. (KPR) - This month, the KPR Community Spotlight shines on SOS, Inc. in Emporia. The agency advocates for those affected by domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking - as well as child abuse and neglect. SOS is an umbrella agency that houses numerous services for east-central Kansas. Listen to KPR's interview with SOS Executive Director Mickey Edwards.
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Sporting KC Manager Departs Team After Disappointing Start to Season
UNDATED) (KPR) – Peter Vermes of Sporting KC entered this season as the longest-tenured manager in Major League Soccer. But after the team’s start this season with no wins, five losses and one draw, he and the organization have mutually agreed to part ways. Vermes had been Sporting KC’s manager since 2009. Under his leadership, the team won the league championship in 2013 and made 11 playoffs, including eight straight from 2011 to 2018. But team has gone into a tailspin the last couple of years and is currently last in the Western Conference standings this season. Assistant coach Kerry Zavagnin has been elevated to the manager position on an interim basis. The team has scheduled a Tuesday news conference to address the changes.
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