Lawsuit Challenges Pregnancy Exclusion in Kansas Natural Death Act
UNDATED (KNS) — Three Kansas women and two doctors are suing the state over a law that invalidates pregnant women's decisions about life support care. The Kansas News Service reports that the Kansas Natural Death Act allows adults to decline life-support like feeding tubes and ventilators. But those advance directives are invalid if a patient is pregnant. The lawsuit asks the court to prohibit Kansas from enforcing the pregnancy exclusion. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach did not respond to a request for comment. More than 30 states have pregnancy exclusions, but a smaller number — including Kansas — exclude women at all stages of pregnancy. The lawsuit comes as concern grows over a legally dead Georgia woman who has been kept on life support for more than three months due to her pregnancy. (Read more.)
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Kansas City Royals Confirm Acquisition of Property in Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR / The Beacon) — The odds of the Kansas City Royals moving across the state line may have improved after the team secured a site in Overland Park, Kansas. But KCUR Radio reports that no final decision on the future of Kauffman Stadium has been made. The Royals confirmed they have bought the mortgage of the Aspiria development near 119th Street and Nall Avenue. But they also said negotiations in both Kansas and Missouri are ongoing, and all options are on the table. The news comes just days before a special legislative session is set to convene in Jefferson City. There, lawmakers are expected to consider tax incentives that could help keep the Royals and Chiefs in Missouri. Last year, Kansas lawmakers approved legislation allowing the state to issue bonds that would pay up to 70% of the cost of stadiums for both teams. (Read more.)
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Kansas Supreme Court Rules Police Can Search Vehicle If Driver Has No Legal License
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) – The Kansas Supreme Court narrowly ruled police can search a vehicle when the driver does not have a legal license. Wichita police arrested Gina Wilson after a drug dog alerted them to oxycodone in her vehicle. Wilson argued in court that the K-9 sniff was unconstitutional. She said she did not consent to a search and was not allowed to leave after being issued a traffic citation. The court ruled that a K-9 sniffing the outside of a car in public does not amount to a search. Wilson also had a suspended license, which the majority argued nullified her rights against unreasonable search and seizure. Three justices argued that the search was illegal.
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Kansas Satanists Won’t Face Charges, Plan Another Protest
TOPEKA, Kan. (Reflector) — Prosecutors in Shawnee County say they won’t pursue charges against members of a satanic group in connection with a demonstration at the Statehouse in March. Three members of the Satanic Grotto were arrested after they entered the Statehouse to perform a so-called black mass. They had been warned that their permit only permitted them to demonstrate outside the building. The three were charged with unlawful gathering. One faced an additional charge of disorderly conduct. The Reflector reports the group is planning another protest.
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Unemployment Claims in Kansas Decline
UNDATED (USA Today/KPR) — The U.S. Labor Department says initial filings for unemployment benefits in Kansas went down last week compared with the previous week. USA Today reports new jobless claims fell 6.2 percent in the week ending May 24. Nationwide, unemployment claims increased by 6.2%.
North Dakota saw the largest percentage increase in weekly claims, with claims jumping by 187.7%.
Wyoming, meanwhile, saw the largest percentage drop in new claims, with claims dropping by 24.6%.
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Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas Installs New Archbishop
UNDATED (KPR) — The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas has a new archbishop. William Shawn McKnight was installed in a Mass at the Church of the Nativity in Leawood this week. He becomes the archdiocese’s fifth archbishop. McKnight succeeds Archbishop Joseph Naumann, who had held the role since 2005. The archdiocesan newspaper, The Leaven, reports he new archbishop is a Wichita native. The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas includes 21 counties in eastern Kansas.
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KBI Arrests Law Enforcement Officer in Child Sex Crimes Case
FORD COUNTY, Kan. (KPR) – Agents with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) have arrested a fellow Kansas law enforcement officer for alleged child sex crimes. Friday morning, KBI agents arrested 42-year-old Erik Lalicker, of Ashland. He was taken into custody in Dodge City. Lalicker was arrested on seven counts of child sexual exploitation. He served as a Kansas Gaming and Racing Commission (KGRC) Enforcement Agent and is currently on leave, pending the outcome of the investigation.
The KBI Child Victims Unit began investigating after a cyber tip was submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Following his arrest, Lalicker was booked into the Ford County Jail.
Anyone with information related to this investigation is asked to call the KBI at 1-800-KS-CRIME. Anonymous tips can be submitted online here.
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Third Suspect Named in Death of KC Telemundo Reporter
UNDATED (KCUR) – A third suspect was named Friday in what police are calling a “scheme” that led to the death of Kansas City Telemundo reporter Adan Manzano. KCUR reports that 33-year-old Christian Anderson of New Orleans was arrested and charged by police in Kenner, Louisiana. Manzano was found in his hotel room on February 5th while in New Orleans covering the Super Bowl. He died of a combination of Xanax, alcohol and asphyxiation. Police say Anderson offered logistical support to two others in a scheme that targeted people and drugged them, then stole their money and credit cards. The others are 48-year-old Danette Colbert and 34-year-old Rickey White, who have been charged with second-degree murder.
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EPA Funds Brownfield Fixes in Kansas
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KSNW) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded nearly $4 million in grants to clean up so-called brownfields in eastern Kansas. A brownfield site is a previously used industrial or commercial property where redevelopment is complicated by potential environmental contamination. KSNW reports the grants will support cleanup projects in Beloit, Topeka, and across several eastern Kansas counties.
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KBI Investigates Financial Woes in Comanche County
TOPEKA, Kan. (Kansas Reflector) — The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is digging into allegations against official county personnel in Comanche County, in south-central Kansas. The Kansas Reflector reports that residents have been reaching out to local officials to ask what happened after former county clerk Casey Huck resigned in March and the KBI opened an investigation. Until that investigation concludes, it’s unclear how the county may have been affected by potential financial wrongdoing. The possible wrongdoing appears to involve the use of county owned credit cards. A spokesman for the KBI confirmed an investigation continues. In a previous story, former county clerk Casey Huck told the Reflector that she “made a mistake.”
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Legal Battle over CoreCivic Facility Continues
UNDATED (KNS) — The legal battle between the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, and a private prison company is not over yet. The Kansas News Service reports that the city has filed a new lawsuit in state court. The city of Leavenworth has been fighting the Tennessee-based company CoreCivic over its plans to operate a dormant facility as an immigrant detention center. Attorneys for the city argue CoreCivic needs to follow a special permitting process to reopen the former prison. But a federal judge dismissed Leavenworth’s complaint last week for lack of jurisdiction. Now, the city has filed a challenge at the state level, with a hearing set for June 4th. CoreCivic did not respond to questions about whether it would reopen the facility as planned on June 1st.
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Kansas Department of Commerce Grant to Aid Milford Medical Helipad Project
LIBERAL, Kan. (KNS) – A rural town with limited access to hospitals is building a helipad to improve its medical response. The Kansas News Service reports that the upgrade highlights the lack of medical services in rural parts of the state. The Kansas Department of Commerce awarded small grants to help improve rural health. The town of Milford in Geary County is using $10,000 from the state to finish a helipad for rapid medical services. Patients in small towns often need to travel to larger communities for health care. The helipad offers quicker access to emergency services not only to small towns but also for incidents along the nearby highway.
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Federal Court Dismisses "Swampbuster" Lawsuit
UNDATED (HPM) – A federal judge in Iowa has dismissed a lawsuit aimed at dismantling a long-standing wetlands law known as "Swampbuster." Harvest Public Media reports that under Swampbuster, the U.S. Department of Agriculture can withhold federal dollars, like crop insurance and disaster payments, from farmers who clear, drain or convert designated wetlands. CTM Holdings, a company that owns farmland in Iowa, claimed that was unconstitutional.
Dani Replogle is a staff attorney with Food and Water Watch, one of several environmental and sustainable agriculture groups that intervened in the case.
“We were thrilled with Judge Williams’s order. This is a decisive victory for wetlands and for everyone who understands how important wetlands are for climate resiliency and for wildlife habitat,” she said.
Liberty Justice Center, one of the law firms representing CTM Holdings, says it will appeal the decision.
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Kansas Farmer Indicted for Defrauding Federal Government
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNW) — A federal grand jury in Topeka has indicted a Kansas man with intentionally defrauding the federal government. KSNW TV reports that 48-year-old Steven W. Porubsky, of Topeka, is accused of selling crops that he used as collateral for a government loan from the USDA's Farm Service Agency. Porubsky is charged with one count of conversion of mortgaged collateral. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investigating.
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Kansas Man Charged with Assaulting Flight Attendant
CHICAGO (WLS) — A Kansas man is charged with assaulting a flight attendant on a plane traveling from Connecticut to Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Officials say 24-year-old Julius Jordan Priester, of Wichita, is facing federal charges related to the assault Tuesday night.
WLS TV reports that Priester stood up, began to take off his shirt, then ran to the back of the plane yelling "Help me." Witnesses say he then grabbed a flight attendant, forced the victim to the ground and attempted to drag the victim up the aisle.
The American Eagle flight had to return to Hartford, Connecticut, due to the disruption. The plane landed safely and Priester was taken into custody. He was taken to a hospital for evaluation. Priester appeared in court Wednesday. He will return to court Friday for a bond hearing.
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