KDHE Issues Air Quality Health Advisory Due to Canadian Wildfire Smoke
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has issued an air quality health advisory for the state, focusing mainly on central and eastern Kansas. The Air Quality Index (AQI) is likely to range from "Moderate" to "Unhealthy" at times. The conditions are expected to persist through Saturday. For a view of the current air quality, AQI and fire activity, visit the AirNow.gov website.
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Health Officials: Kansas at “High Risk” for West Nile Virus
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) — Kansas health officials say the state is at an increased risk for West Nile Virus. The mosquito-borne virus can infect humans and horses. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has placed the entire state in the “high risk” category for West Nile. KSNT reports the warning is based on the number of active mosquitoes in the state. The state health department says it has confirmed two cases of West Nile Virus in humans so far this year.
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Missouri Lawmakers File Suit over Stadium Funding Bill
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR) — Two conservative Republican legislators in Missouri are suing the governor and attorney general over a stadium funding bill aimed at keeping the Chiefs and Royals from moving to Kansas. KCUR reports that the lawsuit filed in Cole County suggests the 500-million dollars in potential subsidies for stadium construction are "a direct gift or bribe to the team owners." The lawsuit claims the Chiefs could receive $33 million a year in subsidies over 30 years. It also says Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes makes $45 million a year, meaning taxpayers would pick up 73% of his salary. The teams are weighing incentives from both states, including a billion dollars in sales tax bonds from Kansas.
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Report: KDHE Finds Evidence of Child Abuse at KU Hilltop Child Development Center
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) — State health officials have found evidence of child abuse at the Hilltop Child Development Center at the University of Kansas. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that investigations are ongoing. Records on the state child care licensing website indicate that investigators with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) found several violations. The report says a teacher at the center's main campus location would "humiliate children by spraying them with a squirt bottle to have them stop talking." Investigators also found evidence that a staff member at the newest Hilltop location on KU's West Campus forcefully grabbed children in some instances.
Parents of children who attend Hilltop received a letter Wednesday from Hilltop leaders and KU, informing them that state officials had substantiated reports of child abuse at the centers. The letter did not include details of the abuse. There are at least nine investigations by KDHE that are currently active between Hilltop’s two facilities.
Hilltop Child Development Center serves children from infants to grade-school age. Staffing at the center is now in flux. Wednesday's letter told parents that a program director has suddenly left the employment of the Hilltop West facility.
There had been previous signs of operational problems at Hilltop. The Journal-World reported in April that a 5-year old child was inadvertently left unsupervised in a Hilltop van that had transported students to a field trip. That incident, and others, were determined by KDHE to be violations of the state’s child care licensing regulations. According to the KDHE documents, Hilltop has had at least seven substantiated violations in 2025.
Hilltop Executive Director Cori Berg took over leadership of the center in June. The Journal-World reports that Berg said at a staff meeting earlier in July that the incidents at Hilltop have attracted attention and concern from top KU administrators. While Hilltop has its own board of directors, it is a controlled affiliate of KU, and the university has legal responsibilities for Hilltop.
University officials say they are taking the issues seriously. Spokeswoman Erinn Barcomb-Peterson confirmed that multiple personnel changes have occurred at Hilltop in recent months. Barcomb-Peterson also said that KU remained committed to keeping the center open.
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Kansas Supreme Court Rules Against Woman Contesting Large Late Fee
UNDATED (KNS) — A Kansas woman owes $21,000 in late fees to her landlord for unpaid rent in 2020. The Kansas News Service reports that the Kansas Supreme Court recently upheld the large fine based on a procedural question. Sherri Foster failed to pay $1,900 of rent on her Prairie Village home in the summer of 2020. The unpaid rent accrued a $20 late fee each day until the case went to trial. That took nearly three years — or more than 1,000 days. Foster argued the fees were unconscionable. She asked the court to find them legally unfair. But the court unanimously ruled that Foster did not follow correct legal procedure to oppose the fine.
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U.S. Senators Not Convinced on Proposed USDA Reorganization Moves
UNDATED (KCUR) — The Trump Administration wants to break up U.S. Department of Agriculture offices in Washington and move most of the staff to five regional offices, including Kansas City, Missouri. KCUR reports that the plan drew bi-partisan pushback on Capitol Hill Wednesday. Members of the Senate Agriculture Committee weren’t consulted before the administration released a plan to reorganize the USDA and disperse thousands of employees. Farm groups weren’t notified either. Senators on both sides of the aisle are miffed about that. Ranking Democrat Amy Klobuchar compared the proposal to a much smaller effort in the last Trump administration, which tried to move USDA’s research arms to Kansas City. KCUR reports that the previous relocation of the Economic Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture was nothing short of a disaster. As a result of that move, the agencies lost most of their seasoned employees. Reports started coming out late, and agricultural research grants slowed.
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More Anti-Trump Protests Planned Across Kansas
UNDATED (TCJ) — More demonstrations against President Trump are planned across Kansas this weekend. Organizers are calling them “Rage Against the Regime.” The protests are organized by a group called 50501, which stands for "50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement." The group is inviting people to bring pots and pans to its protest at the Statehouse, which is scheduled to begin at 10 am Saturday. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports other protests are planned in Emporia, Hiawatha, Wichita, Fredonia, Garden City, and Pittsburg.
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Democratic Lawyer Chris Mann Running for Attorney General Again
UNDATED (KNS) — Democrat Chris Mann says he will run for Kansas attorney general again. Mann officially entered the race this week. He lost the 2022 election to Republican Kris Kobach by less than 2 percentage points. Mann is a former prosecutor in the Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office. He also served as an attorney for the Kansas Securities Commission before opening a private law practice in Kansas City. Wichitan Jill Docking is serving as Mann’s campaign treasurer. Kobach is expected to run for a second term in 2026 but has not announced his reelection plans.
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Dodge City Considering New Wastewater System in Conservation Effort
LIBERAL, Kan. (KNS) — Dodge City officials are proposing a wastewater system to utilize its now-dry portion of the Arkansas River to help recharge the Ogallala Aquifer. The Kansas News Service reports that it’s an effort to conserve dwindling water in western Kansas. The proposed system would dump the city’s treated waste water into the riverbed so it can trickle down to the aquifer. City engineer Tanner Rutschman says the water levels in the aquifer have been falling quickly. “In this well just west of town, in 2000, that depth was about 12 foot to water. In 2020, we're down over 40-45 foot depth to water,” he said. The agriculture industry’s water usage has left the Arkansas River dry. The Dodge City plan may not revive the river or the aquifer, but could make the city's water usage more efficient.
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7 People Arrested During Law Enforcement Sweep of Kansas Lake
JUNCTION CITY, Kan. (KAKE) — Seven people were arrested and dozens of citations were issued at Milford Reservoir earlier this month. The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks said game wardens partnered with park rangers, the Geary County Sheriff's Office and other law officers to conduct the operation. KAKE TV reports that 74 vessels were stopped on the water, resulting in 28 charges, two warnings and seven arrests.
Many of the citations were for boats that lacked safety equipment, like fire extinguishers, navigation lights or that didn't have enough life jackets onboard. Other citations were for boating under the influence, missing vessel registration or having too many people onboard a boat.
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Nurse Indicted in KCK for Deceptively Obtaining Narcotics
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KPR) — A federal grand jury in Kansas City, Kansas, has returned an indictment charging a Missouri woman with illegally obtaining prescription narcotics. Prosecutors say 40-year-old Brooke Haller, of Kansas City, Missouri, is charged with four counts of possessing a controlled substance by deception and subterfuge. Haller, a nurse, allegedly obtained Percocet and Oxycodone through misrepresentation and fraud. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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Lowrider Car, Bike, and Culture Show Scheduled in Bonner Springs
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCUR) — A celebration of Mexican American car culture hits the streets for the first time on Sunday in Bonner Springs, Kansas. Around 80 drivers from local lowrider car and bike clubs will parade through Wyandotte Park during The Chicano Heritage Car and Culture Festival. Many feature eye-popping paint jobs and tricked out hydraulics. Historian Gene Chavez says the cars emerged as a form of cultural expression in the 1940s. “A Chicano-style lowrider car reflects Mexican culture as well as aspects of American culture," he explained. The parade of cars will also include arts and crafts, folkloric dancers and live music. It all starts at 11:30 Sunday morning.
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Kansas Can Claim (Part of) the Largest Lightning Bolt Ever Recorded
UNDATED (KPR) — An enormous bolt of lightning that raced across the sky from Texas to Kansas has officially been declared the longest ever recorded. The bolt measured an astounding 515 miles and stretched from East Texas to the Kansas City suburbs. It occurred during a major thunderstorm in October 2017, but has just now been certified as the world's longest by the World Meteorological Organization’s Committee on Weather and Climate Extremes. The committee used radar and satellite data to measure the big bolt, which broke the old record by 38 miles. The phenomenon is known to meteorologists as megaflash lightning. (Read more.)
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