Gun Found at Sedgwick County School, Two Students Arrested
MAIZE, Kan. (KSN) — Two students were arrested yesterday after a gun was found at Maize High School in Sedgwick County. According to the district, several students reported a possible firearm at the school. KSN reports police found the gun in a backpack and confiscated it. No injuries were reported. Two students were arrested and transported to jail. A third student who was involved was released into the custody of a parent.
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Lawrence School District, Support Staff Reach Agreement
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LT) — The Lawrence School District and negotiators representing support staff have reached an agreement on a new hourly wage. Support staff include custodians, cafeteria workers, secretaries, and others who keep the schools running. The Lawrence Times reports the workers have accepted a $1 hourly raise. The district’s original offer was 54 cents. Some workers will see even larger raises. The agreement also bumps up the lowest-paid support staff to the next-highest level on the salary schedule.
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Kansas Governor Orders Flags Lowered in Remembrance of Victims of Political Violence
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has ordered flags lowered to half-staff in remembrance of all victims and survivors of political violence. In a statement, Kelly mentioned conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated this week in Utah. She also named the Minnesota Speaker Emerita, Melissa Hortman, a Democratic politician who was also slain in an act of political violence. The governor's executive order directs all flags to be lowered until sundown Sunday
“Our nation should not be a place where freedom of speech is silenced with political violence,” Kelly said. “I call on all Kansans, and all Americans, to join in a movement to bring political violence to an end. We must stop the use of dangerous rhetoric and return to respectfully debating issues without threats, hate, or violence.”
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Elderly Kansas Couple Scammed Out of $120,000
SALINA, Kan. (JC Post) — Two men have been arrested after allegedly scamming an elderly Kansas couple out of $120,000. According to the Saline County Sheriff’s Department, the scammers pretended to be federal agents. The men told the couple their identities had been stolen and were being used to launder money. They demanded the couple pay $80,000 to cover nonexistent “court costs.” After the couple made a second payment of $40,000, family members became suspicious and contacted the sheriff’s office. The Junction City Post reports the two scammers were arrested after they showed up to collect another “payment” from the couple. They have been charged with theft by deception.
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Kansas Corn Harvest Off to Slow Start
UNDATED (KSNT) — The corn harvest in Kansas is off to a slow start. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports just 2% of corn has been harvested so far. That’s down 11% compared to this time last year. Most of the corn in the state is harvested in September and October. KSNT reports this year’s harvest has been hampered by recent rains and cooler than usual weather.
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Lawmakers Look to Restore Funding for Kansas Schools for the Blind and Deaf
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) — Kansas lawmakers say they intend to reverse budget cuts made to the state’s schools for the blind and deaf. Earlier this year, lawmakers imposed a 1.5% budget cut across several state agencies. That included the schools for the blind and deaf, which lost more than $300,000 from their budgets. KSNT reports some lawmakers didn’t realize the schools would be included in the cuts, and now want to undo them.
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Kansas Uninsured Rate Among Children Hits Highest Level in a Decade
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — The rate of Kansas children without health insurance has climbed to its highest level in more than a decade. That's according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Historically, the uninsured rates for Kansas children have been close to the national average. But that gap widened in 2024. The share of uninsured children in Kansas rose to 7% in 2024. That's the highest rate in 11 years. For the fourth consecutive year, the overall uninsured rate in Kansas was higher than the national average.
This means children in Kansas are more likely to be uninsured than children in other parts of the country. All low-income children are affected, but Hispanic, Black and Native American children are more likely to be uninsured than white children.
The President and CEO of the Kansas Health Institute, Kari Bruffett, says the new data release confirms that the uninsured rate for children increased significantly in 2024.
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Kansas Senate Committee Considering Use of AI to Find Waste and Abuse
UNDATED (KNS) — A Kansas Senate committee studying government efficiency is considering the use of artificial intelligence to detect waste and abuse. The Kansas News Service reports that the idea is to use AI for things like processing payments and detecting fraud in Medicaid or unemployment claims. Rob Cohan is a representative from Accenture, a global tech consulting firm. He told Kansas lawmakers that new technology could also help the state get reimbursed faster for money spent on natural disasters. “AI can crank through thousands and thousands and thousands of items on an invoice in hours versus weeks and months which it takes humans,” Cohan said. But lawmakers raised concerns about data privacy and mistakes made by AI. Committee members said they want to continue studying how other state governments use AI.
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Feds Send $5.7 Million in Emergency Relief Funds to Kansas Following Storms in June
UNDATED (KPR) — The Trump Administration will send $5.7 million in emergency aid to Kansas, following a request submitted by the entire Kansas congressional delegation. In early June, severe storms, straight-line winds, tornadoes, and flooding ravaged several Kansas communities (specifically Barber, Butler, Chase, Coffey, Cowley, Franklin, Greenwood, Harper, Hodgeman, Kingman, Lyon, Morris, Osage, Stanton, Sumner, and Wallace). The federal funds will also be used for Hazard Mitigation projects across the state.
Republican U.S. Senators Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran, along with Democratic Congresswoman Sharice Davids and all three Republican congressmen - Tracey Mann, Derek Schmidt and Ron Estes - requested the money. Earlier in the year, the Trump Administration also provided $6.7 million in disaster relief aid in response to a tornado outbreak (in Bourbon, Cheyenne, Edwards, Gove, Kiowa, Logan, Pratt, Reno, Scott, Sheridan and Stafford counties).
(–Related–)
Kansas Governor Declares Flooding Emergency for Parts of Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — Governor Laura Kelly has issued a state of disaster emergency due to flooding in parts of north-central and south-central Kansas. The declaration allows state resources to be used in the affected areas. In Ottawa County, about 50 residents in the town of Tescott evacuated their homes due to rising flood waters. As much as 10 inches of rain fell in parts of Kansas Monday night. The Kansas Division of Emergency Management has partially activated the State Emergency Operations Center in Topeka to monitor flooding and coordinate resources.
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USDA Extends Comment Period on Agency's Reorganization Plan
UNDATED (HPM) — Opinions about the Trump Administration’s plan to reorganize the U.S. Department of Agriculture are strong, but little is known about how, precisely, the plan would be implemented. Now, the USDA has extended the comment period through the end of the month. Harvest Public Media reports that basically, the USDA spread more than half its positions currently in Washington among 5 cities including Kansas City and Indianapolis, where the jobs would be closer to farmers and pay less. Karen Perry Sillerman with the Union of Concerned Scientists says the USDA has already lost more than 16,000 employees this year, and the shake up would trigger another round of departures. “When you make it hard for people to do their jobs on behalf of the American public, you lose those people. And we've seen this before," she said. In the first Trump Administration the USDA moved two agencies to Kansas City. More than half the employees quit, the agencies were hobbled, and ultimately moved back to Washington.
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Kansas Museum of History Reopening After Three Years of Renovations
TOPEKA (KSNT) – The Kansas Museum of History in Topeka is preparing to reopen later this year after a years-long renovation process. The renovation of the museum includes updating records and pictures and remodeling the lobby. The museum will also now be set up thematically instead of chronologically. KSNT reports that visitors will be able to explore four different galleries, all explaining the history of Kansas. Repeated delays pushed the timeline back, but the museum is now expected to reopen to the public on November 22.
The director of the Kansas Museum of History, Sarah Bell, says the Kansas Historical Society raised more than six million dollars to complete the renovations, which had been expected to finish last year.
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