28 People Arrested in Geary County Drug Bust
GEARY COUNTY, Kan. (Hays Post) — Police in Geary County have arrested 28 people in connection with an alleged drug ring. Police announced the arrests this week. They follow a year-long investigation into the distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamine within Junction City and Manhattan. The arrests were made on June 16 by the Junction City Police Department, with assistance from the Geary County Sheriff’s Office and the Riley County Police Department. The Hays Post reports additional arrests are anticipated.
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Clock Ticking on Kansas Stadium Offer—Sort of
TOPEKA, Kan. (KMBC) — The clock is ticking on Kansas’s offer to help build new stadiums for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals. The offer is set to expire next Monday, June 30. However, the legislature can extend that deadline–even retroactively. The teams are weighing competing offers from Kansas and Missouri. KMBC reports lobbyists for both teams have told lawmakers they hope to choose between the two states by the end of the month.
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Kansas Governor Says Proposal to Shift SNAP Funding Could Cost State Millions of Dollars
UNDATED (KNS) – Thousands of low-income Kansans could lose access to food assistance under proposed cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as “SNAP.” It’s part of the Trump administration's budget reconciliation bill. The Kansas News Service reports that Kansas Democratic Governor Laura Kelly says Republican lawmakers in the U.S. Senate want to shift some SNAP costs to states. She says the proposed federal cuts would cost Kansas $15.5 million annually, adding that “...the idea that states will respond to massive cuts of federally appropriated dollars by backfilling with state resources is total bunk. We don’t have the money.” The bill also proposes more work requirements for SNAP recipients. Kelly says that could lead to 27,000 Kansans losing the food assistance.
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New Law Changes Child Support Rules in Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) — Among the new laws taking effect on July 1 in Kansas is one that changes the way child support is calculated. The new law modifies how Individual Retirement Accounts are treated in calculating child support. It also allows for child support in cases involving unborn children from the date of conception, including the direct medical and pregnancy-related expenses of the mother. KSNT reports the Kansas Supreme Court is currently accepting written comments on how the new law should be implemented.
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Reports of Measles Cases Continue to Rise in Kansas
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – Measles cases continue to rise in Kansas. The Kansas News Service reports that most of the infections are connected to an outbreak in the southwestern part of the state. Kansas officials reported one new measles infection this week, bringing the state’s yearly total to 80 cases across 11 counties. Gray and Haskell Counties have the largest number of cases, and most of those infected have been children. Measles is a highly contagious respiratory virus that has led to three deaths in the U.S. so far this year. No deaths have been reported in Kansas, but three people have been hospitalized. Public health officials are urging all Kansans to ensure they and their families are vaccinated. Babies can get their first dose at 6 months.
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Missouri Lawmaker Advocates for Cuts to Federal Funding for Public Broadcasting
UNDATED (KNS) – A federal lawmaker from Missouri testified Wednesday in favor of cutting federal funding for public broadcasting. President Trump is asking Congress to claw back over a billion dollars from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting because he says public radio and television programming has a liberal bias. Republican U.S. Senator Eric Schmitt told the Senate Appropriations Committee that many stations receiving money have other funding mechanisms. “Most are largely funded and sustained by hundreds of millions of private dollars through donors, corporate sponsors, foundations, and state and local governments,” he argued.
Opponents say the cuts would harm rural broadcasters and cut communities off from emergency alerts. Kansas Republican Senator Jerry Moran sits on the committee.
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More Than $5 Million Awarded for KDOT Projects
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — Governor Laura Kelly has announced $5.3 million in grants for transportation projects in Kansas. The projects include street, sidewalk, and bridge improvements in eleven cities and counties, including Junction City and Eudora. These projects are part of the Kansas Department of Transportation’s Cost Share Program. The state investment will also include nearly $3 million in community matching funds, amounting to more than $8 million for the improvements.
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Lack of Inspectors Endangers Kansas Nursing Home Residents
UNDATED (KNS) — Understaffing at the Kansas agency that regulates adult care homes is putting elderly and disabled residents at risk of abuse and neglect. Data obtained by the Kansas News Service indicates a critical shortage of nursing home investigators. In May and June, more than half of surveyor positions for nursing facilities and state-licensed adult care homes were vacant. The result, advocates say, is that some patients have died before officials could investigate complaints filed by family members. Click here for an in-depth look at this story.
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Tribal Leaders React to Haskell U. Governance Proposal
UNDATED (KNS) — Federal lawmakers from Kansas have introduced a bill that would transfer control of Haskell Indian Nations University to Haskell’s Board of Regents. The Kansas News Service reports that the legislation would maintain federal funding for Haskell, but shift its governance away from the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Lawrence college serves about 850 American Indians and Alaska natives. U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran and Rep. Tracey Mann announced the draft bill in a news release. Joseph "Zeke" Rupnick is chairman of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. He supports transferring control of the college: “This is something that we’ve worked for for a long time, to allow us to provide those services to our tribal members and students.” Haskell leaders have faced criticism from Congress over their alleged failure to address student complaints.
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A.G. Kobach Asks Feds to Investigate Kansas School Districts
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) — Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach asked the U.S. Department of Education Tuesday to investigate four Kansas school districts over concerns about transgender students. The Kansas News Service reports that last year, Kobach sent letters to six Kansas school districts challenging policies that allow employees to hide from parents the fact that a student may be using a different name or pronoun at school. Now the attorney general is asking federal officials to investigate four districts he says are “socially transitioning” students without parents’ consent. The districts are Kansas City, Kansas, Olathe, Shawnee Mission, and Topeka. In a letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon, Kobach says the policies violate the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Officials with the districts have said their practices protect students and parents and comply with current laws.
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Federal Court Advances Case Accusing Sedgwick County Juvenile Officers in Death of Teen
WICHITA, Kan. (KMUW) – The case against five Sedgwick County juvenile detention officers involved in the 2021 death of Cedric “CJ” Lofton will move forward after a recent federal court ruling. The officers hoped a federal appeals court would agree they were protected by qualified immunity for their part in the death of 17-year old CJ Lofton. They asked the court to dismiss the case against them. KMUW reports that the appeals panel denied their immunity claims and agreed with the federal district court that a jury should decide whether or not the officers' actions were constitutional. Lofton died of a cardiac arrest in 2021 after he was restrained on the ground for more than 40 minutes. His brother brought a civil lawsuit against the officers in 2022. A jury trial was scheduled for late 2024 before the officers appealed. No new trial date has been set since the appeals ruling.
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Kansas Wheat Harvest Gains Momentum, Still Faces Challenges
UNDATED (KPR) — The wheat harvest is finally in full swing across much of southern and central Kansas, but some farmers are still facing setbacks. After recent rain and humidity slowed progress, farmers have returned to the fields, though many are having to navigate muddy conditions. According to the USDA’s crop progress report for the week ending June 22, the Kansas wheat harvest is only 20% complete. That’s behind the 49% completion rate at this time last year and the 31% annual average. The Kansas Wheat Commission says some crops have been infected with a virus called wheat streak mosaic, which is impacting yields.
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EEOC Files Lawsuit Against KDHE over Alleged Age Discrimination
UNDATED (KNS) — The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is suing a Kansas agency for allegedly discriminating against an employee because of her age. The lawsuit claims that in 2023, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment discriminated against Annette Carper, a lab tech who was 58 at the time. The agency allegedly offered a promotion to a younger, less qualified employee without publicly listing the job. Josh Pierson, an assistant attorney for the federal commission, told the Kansas News Service that the lawsuit aims to send a message about ageism. “While we are of course interested in Miss Carper’s damages and we want her to be made whole, we value just as much the obligation that we have to ensure that this kind of discrimination does not happen again,” he added.
KDHE declined to comment because the case is pending.
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USDA to Open Facility to Research New World Screwworm Threat
UNDATED (HPM) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to open a facility in south Texas to defend against new world screwworms – a parasite that once terrorized American ranchers. Harvest Public Media reports that screwworms are heading through Mexico toward the U.S. They were pushed out of the country in the 1960s by dropping sterilized insects from airplanes. The new facility at an inactive air force property in south Texas will be a staging area for that same technique. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said it was just one of her department’s investments to keep screwworms out of the country, including potential expenditures in new technologies, new science, and plans to move forward with the design process of a domestic production facility. A separate production facility to make more sterilized flies would also be housed at Moore Air Base, but Rollins said it would take several years to build. (Read more.)
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Log Jam Causing Concern in Salina
SALINA, Kan. (KSNW) – Officials in Salina are warning people to stay away from a large log jam on the Smoky Hill River in Bill Burke Park. KSNW reports people have been seen walking atop the unstable pile of logs and even swimming just downstream. Local emergency officials say such actions are “incredibly dangerous” and potentially “life-threatening.” They warn that a safe and swift rescue would be unlikely if someone were to fall into the log jam. The City of Salina is currently evaluating options to address the problem.
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Royals Not in a Hurry to Make Deals as MLB Trade Deadline Approaches
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KPR) – So far this month of June, the Kansas City Royals are winless at home. But with the July 31 trading deadline approaching, their general manager says they’re in no hurry to make a deal. The Royals’ main problem is a lack of scoring. To open this week’s series against Tampa Bay, the Royals were held to just four hits in their 5-1 loss on Tuesday night, and they didn’t get their first hit until the sixth inning. Royals general manager J.J. Piccollo, however, is holding out out hope that the offense will come alive. "All it takes is one good week of baseball, two good weeks of baseball, and you’re clearly in the middle of things. Probably thinking, 'What can we add for ’25?'", he said. The Royals homestand will continue with the Rays at 6:40 pm Wednesday and at 1:10 Thursday afternoon. The world champion Los Angeles Dodgers come to Kansas City for the weekend.
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This summary of area news is curated by KPR news staffers. Our headlines are generally published by 10 am weekdays and are updated through 7 pm. This ad-free news summary is made possible by KPR members. Become one today. And follow KPR News on X (formerly Twitter).