Nearly 13,000 Evergy Customers in Kansas Without Power Wednesday Morning
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Severe storms knocked out power to tens of thousands of Kansans this week. As of Wednesday morning, nearly 13,000 customers of Evergy remain without electricity. The utility company says it has restored power to about 85% of those who lost service after multiple rounds of storms Tuesday in south-central Kansas.
Crews from Missouri, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma and Minnesota have joined our Evergy crews and local contractors to focus on power restoration. A workforce of more than 1,000 line and vegetation personnel and support teams will be working in the Wichita area Wednesday.
Check out the Evergy Outage Map.
(Earlier reporting...)
South-Central Kansas Pummeled by Storms, Thousands Lose Power
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH / KPR) — While northeast Kansas largely escaped any major damage from Tuesday's storms, south-central Kansas wasn’t as lucky. Heavy rain and baseball-sized hail were reported in Cowley and Sedgwick counties. KWCH reports a record-setting 101 mph wind gust was recorded at Eisenhower Airport. Utility poles were knocked down, and at one point on Tuesday, Evergy reported more than 66,000 customers were without power. The power company is bringing in 150 additional workers from Missouri, Colorado, Nebraska, and Oklahoma to assist in power restoration efforts. (Click here for the latest on Evergy power outages.)
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Kansas Measles Cases Stand at 78
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — Eleven Kansas counties have recorded measles cases this year. As of Monday, state health officials said the state had 78 cases, mostly in southwest and south-central Kansas. Most of the cases are in just three counties - Gray, Haskell and Pawnee. Doctors say the best way to prevent the spread of measles is to get the vaccine.
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In Wake of Political Violence, Kansas Lawmakers Worry About Security
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) — The political assassination of a Democratic Minnesota lawmaker is prompting conversations about lawmaker security here in Kansas. The Kansas News Service reports that one state lawmaker says she feels like she has a target on her back.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes says Kansas legislators are discussing ways to increase security, like making their home addresses less visible. She worries an increase in political violence could dissuade some people from running for office in Kansas. “What does this do to potential candidates? Because you're putting yourself out there, you're putting your family out there," she said.
A Kansas City, Missouri, Congressman was on a hit list believed to be written by the Minnesota assassination suspect. Sykes says she and other Democratic lawmakers have received death threats in the past. She says legislative leaders are considering making lawmakers’ home addresses less accessible, and other ways to increase security. “We need to make sure that our lawmakers and staff are aware of, you know, things to be, like, cautious of if something happens," she said.
Sykes says the recent assassinations and attempted assassinations could dissuade candidates from running for office. It comes two years after over 100 Republican Kansas lawmakers received threatening letters containing suspicious powder. No injuries were reported.
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In the Air Capital of the World, Tariffs Come with Challenges — and Opportunities
WICHITTA, Kan. (KNS) — One Wichita manufacturer says tariffs are buoying demand for its products. But industry leaders warn of long-term harm to American planemakers. Etezazi Industries is working overtime. On a recent afternoon at the north Wichita manufacturer, machinists fashioned sheets of metal into airplane parts: one for a passenger plane’s engine pylon; another to hold a jumbo jet’s black box computer. The 35-person company’s customers include major planemakers like Boeing and Airbus, along with their suppliers. And here, steel and aluminum are king. Both materials now carry a 50% tariff when imported from abroad — which cuts into Etezazi Industries’ bottom line.
“We noticed some increases in a lot of costs,” CEO Amir Etezazi said. “We don’t know if some of that are due to inflation or if it’s due to some of the tariffs — we don’t see an itemized invoice. But we have seen some increases.” The situation at the company offers a window into how sweeping tariffs enacted by the Trump administration are already reshaping global commerce. That includes the Kansas aircraft manufacturing industry, with major businesses like Wichita’s Spirit Aerosystems and Textron Aviation and Olathe’s Garmin and Honeywell. Aviation employs tens of thousands of Kansans and contributes more than $7 billion annually to the state’s gross domestic product.
Some of Etezazi’s customers in Canada and Mexico have pulled back on orders in response to 25% tariffs against those countries initiated by President Donald Trump earlier this year that spurred reciprocal tariffs by their governments. “That has impacted our customers,” Etezazi said, “as far as doing business with U.S. companies.”
Amid the tumult, Etezazi said he’s also finding new opportunity. (Read more.)
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Despite Court Ruling, Gender Markers on Kansas Licenses Still Banned
UNDATED (The Reflector / KPR) — Despite a Kansas Court of Appeals ruling Friday that allows Kansans to change the gender markers on their driver’s licenses, attorney general Kris Kobach has told state officials to hold off on implementing the ruling while the state files an appeal.
The Kansas Reflector reports a trans woman who went to a driver’s license office on Monday to change the gender on her license was turned away. The attorney general’s office has 30 days to appeal the ruling. In a statement, Kobach said the ruling contains “multiple factual errors” and a “deeply flawed” legal analysis.
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Another Trader Joe’s Coming to Johnson County?
MERRIAM, Kan. (WDAF TV) — Trader Joe’s wants to open a store in Johnson County. The popular grocery store chain has submitted a building permit application to the city of Merriam, which recently rezoned multiple parcels along Ikea Way to encourage redevelopment. WDAF TV reports the new Trader Joe’s would take over the former Hen House Market on Antioch Road. It would be the chain’s third location in the Kansas City metro area.
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Kansas Officials Hear About Pandemic-Era Fraud and Raise Questions
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — The Kansas Department of Labor says it’s recovered about $11 million from fraudulent unemployment claims filed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The recovered money is a small piece of the $460 million the state paid out in fraudulent claims. State officials say an influx of unemployment requests during the pandemic overwhelmed the labor department’s dated computer system. Kansas Labor Secretary Amber Shultz says scammers in other countries filed most of the fake claims. “What we started seeing is either people stealing identities, or they would hijack claims. And our system, being from the ‘70s, simply wasn’t prepared for that," she said.
Republican state Senator Rick Billinger says Kansas paid much more in fraudulent claims compared to states like Colorado that also had dated computer systems. “I believe Colorado and several others had the same system, and they didn’t lose near the money that Kansas did," he said. The state recently launched a new system and website for unemployment claims.
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