Head of Defunct Charity Must Pay More than $13,000
OLATHE, Kan. (KC Star) — A Johnson County judge has ordered the head of a now-defunct Overland Park charity to pay more than $13,000 in fines and court costs. Justin Brace was the executive director of the charity, Trans Heartland. Brace faced a civil suit filed by the Kansas Attorney General’s Office alleging the charity accepted donations without registering with the state.
The judge also prohibited Brace from participating in Kansas charitable organizations in the future. The Kansas City Star reports Brace was not in court for Monday’s hearing, and the Attorney General’s Office declined to comment on Brace’s whereabouts. The damages collected from Brace will be forwarded to one or more legitimate nonprofit organizations.
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KBI: Drinks Infused with THC Are Illegal in Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW-TV) — The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says it will be cracking down on stores that sell drinks infused with THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. Some retailers claim a loophole in the 2018 farm bill allows them to sell the beverages legally. But the KBI says any item with a THC level above point-three-percent is still illegal in the state. WIBW-TV reports KBI director Tony Mattivi recently met with the Kansas attorney general and beverage distributors to discuss removing THC-infused drinks from stores.
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Funeral Services Scheduled for Wyandotte County Deputy
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KC Star) — A funeral service for the Wyandotte County sheriff’s deputy killed in the line of duty last month will be held next Monday at Children’s Mercy Park, the soccer stadium in Kansas City, Kansas. Deputy Elijah Ming was shot and killed while responding to a domestic dispute on July 26. He was providing protection to a woman who was moving out of a house. The Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office has charged 38-year-old Shawn Harris with capital murder in the killing. The Kansas City Star reports Deputy Ming’s funeral service will be followed by a law enforcement procession.
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Election Day in Kansas Features Local Races
UNDATED (KPR) — Tuesday is an election day in Kansas, with local governments holding primary elections for offices such as city commissions and school boards. Six candidates are on the ballot seeking to replace Tyrone Garner as mayor of the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas. The top two vote-getters will advance to the general election in November. In Lawrence, 13 candidates are running for city commission. The top four finishers will advance to the general election to compete for one of two commission seats on the ballot.
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July Tax Collections in Kansas Come in 3% Higher than Expected
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — The State of Kansas ended the month of July with total tax collections of $670 million. That's about 3% above projections. The state took in $21 million more than anticipated last month, with individual income tax collections leading the way. Corporate income tax collections were substantially lower, about 47% below the estimate. While the overall economic news was good, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly says she remains concerned about the long-term fiscal health of the state. “We must stay vigilant and recommit to fiscally responsible budgeting in order to stay out of the red in the coming years," she said.
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Kansas Child Welfare Advocates Say Changes to State Notification Policies Could Help Parents
UNDATED (KNS) — A federal law lets parents at risk of losing their children to foster care ask for behavioral health services without notifying the state. The Kansas News Service reports that Kansas only offers that help through the state’s child protective services. The federal law provides funding for states to offer services for those parents like mental health and substance use care. Some states also let parents self-report issues to community groups so they can receive the services without the state's involvement. Christine Calpin of Casey Family Programs told Kansas lawmakers it may be more effective. She says parents do not want to ask the state for help because they fear it would cause them to lose their children. “When you have an in-grown toenail, we don’t call the doctor who can cut your foot off,” she explained. Kansas has not yet established a self-referral program.
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Dodge City Remembers Importance of Arkansas River
DODGE CITY, Kan. (KNS) — The Dodge City community wants to remember the Arkansas River, which helped shape southwest Kansas. Many towns in the region were built on the river and thrived because of it. It was used by Indigenous cultures for trade, and by early settlers for agriculture. But after decades of overpumping water for irrigation, it now runs dry for hundreds of miles.
“I don't know what you call a river that doesn't have any water in it, except you call it anything but a river, and that breaks my heart,” Hannes Zacharias of Dodge City, who kayaked across the river when it still had water, told the Kansas News Service. He says it’s important to remember the river’s impact, and he will host a Humanities Kansas podcast about the river to discuss ways southwest Kansans can still use and protect it.
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Feds Stop Tracking the Cost of Weather Disasters
UNDATED (KNS) — Extreme weather is bringing more billion-dollar disasters to Kansas and Missouri, but a program tracking that data has ended. In Kansas and Missouri, severe storms and droughts are the most common causes of billion-dollar climate and weather-related disasters. The past five years brought more than twice as many costly weather disasters to the two states, compared to recent decades. But scientists say it won’t be easy to track whether this pattern continues. That’s because the Trump administration recently ended the 45-year-old federal effort to track the costliest disasters.
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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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