Kansas Regulators Approve Evergy Rate Increase
UNDATED (Kansas Reflector) — Your electric bill could be getting bigger. Kansas regulators yesterday approved Evergy’s request to increase rates by $128 million. That’s 40% less than the utility requested. But it still means the average residential electric bill will go up by about $8.47 a month. The Kansas Reflector reports the new rates will take effect October 1.
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Kansas State Employee Fired for Charlie Kirk Comment Sues for Wrongful Termination
TOPEKA, Kan (KMBC) — A former Kansas Department of Education employee who was fired for a remark she made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk is suing the department for wrongful termination. Katie Allen was a research analyst for the department. She was fired after posting a comment on Facebook saying Kirk’s death was “well deserved. She later deleted the comment and apologized. In a suit filed this week in U.S. District Court, Allen alleges Education Commissioner Randy Watson violated her First Amendment rights by forcing her to resign. KMBC reports the filing also says Allen received threatening phone calls and emails, including one titled “resign or die.” Allen argues her comment was made as a private citizen and protected by the Constitution.
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Kansas Senator Limits Attendance at His Public Events
UNDATED (KWCH) — If you want to attend one of Senator Roger Marshall’s town halls, you’ll need an invitation. Citing fears of political violence, the Kansas Republican says his events in Kansas won’t be open to the general public for the time being. KWCH reports Marshall’s events will be limited to “specific locations and individuals, for safety’s sake.” Marshall says the limitations will remain in place “until political tempers die down.” The senator has been criticized in the past for not making himself available to voters. But Marshall insists he’s “got [his] finger on the pulse of Kansans and what they’re thinking.”
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USDA Secretary Promises to Resume International Food Aid Programs
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (HPM) — The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture promised Thursday to restart U.S. food aid programs. Harvest Public Media reports that such a move would be a sharp reversal. One of President Trump’s first executive orders shut down distribution of American international food aid. Dismembering the decades-old USAID program left grain rotting in ports and cut off a lucrative market for US farmers. Farmers will see excess grain piling up with no place to go this fall. Agricultural Secretary Brooke Rollins, speaking in Kansas City at a forum put on by Agri-Pulse Communications, said the new food aid initiative will advance an “America First Agenda”.
"Today, I'm proud to announce that USDA will purchase 417,000 metric tons of commodities from American farmers immediately to support these programs," she said, adding that corn, wheat and soybeans would be included. However, she offered no other details about how the program would work, or who would staff it. USDA fired all the people who administered USAID.
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Topeka Zoo Cheetah Euthanized
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW-TV) — A cheetah at the Topeka Zoo has been euthanized after it was found the animal was suffering from a broken spine. Animal care staff at the zoo noticed the cheetah named Leopold was limping on September 18. WIBW-TV reports a subsequent CT scan revealed a fractured vertebra, which could not be surgically repaired. Zoo officials say the animal may have been injured when he became “visibly excited” by activity outside his enclosure. Leopold was eight years old.
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Kansas Health Officials Warn of Dangers of Synthetic Drug 7-OH
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is alerting Kansans to the dangers of a product known as 7-OH that is widely sold in smoke shops, gas stations, and convenience stores. 7-OH is an unregulated synthetic drug, a highly potent opioid-like compound. The Health Department says the product is highly addictive, and using it “in combination with alcohol or other sedatives can cause severe respiratory depression, and in some cases, even death.” Health officials say the product can be “extremely harmful, even in small doses,” and urge consumers to avoid all products containing 7-OH.
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Kansas Board of Regents to Study Reduced-Credit College Degrees
UNDATED (KNS) — The Kansas Board of Regents is convening a task force to study the pros and cons of reduced-credit bachelor’s degrees. The Kansas News Service reports that the move comes as Kansas State University is proposing a 90-credit-hour degree in un-crewed aircraft systems, or drones. It would require the Regents to waive a policy mandating 120 credit hours for an undergraduate degree. Regents president Blake Flanders says any reduced-credit program should not erode the value of a traditional bachelor's degree.
"If we're thinking about, 'Well, let's just skinny-down or gut the systemwide general education and get all of our savings out of those credits,' I think this board would believe that would be a huge mistake," he explained.
A growing number of universities are creating three-year degree programs with fewer credit hours to save students time and money, and to get them into the workforce faster.
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Soybean Farmers Scramble to Find Customers for Crop
UNDATED (HPM) — Soybean producers across the country are getting ready to export their crop. But China, their biggest customer, hasn't placed a single order for the upcoming market year. Where does that put America's farmers? Harvest Public Media reports that China buys over half of all exported American soybeans. Its absence has sent soybean farmers scrambling for options for the beans they just can’t sell. One option is storing the beans until spring. Farmers like Caylor Rosenau from North Dakota say that tactic carries its own set of issues. "I've talked to many neighbors now, and they've said, you know, if we get filled up, our bins get filled up with beans and corn, we can't store both of them," Rosenau said. Producers could choose to sell to local crushers, which process the beans into oil and meal to then sell to other countries directly. But Rosenau says it’s a band-aid to a problem where the only cure might be a deal with China. (Read more.)
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KPR Seeks New Kansas Statehouse Bureau Chief
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — Kansas Public Radio is seeking a new Statehouse Bureau Chief. This position works primarily at the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka and is primarily responsible for reporting on state government. This includes, but is not limited to, covering the Kansas Legislature, the governor, attorney general, supreme court, the state's congressional delegation and statewide elections. (Click here for more details.)
Best radio and multimedia news job in Kansas? Maybe. Must apply online.
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