Federal Government Shutdown Jeopardizes Flights at Kansas Airports
UNDATED (KSN) — The government shutdown is threatening to put an end to service at at least five Kansas airports. KSN reports the federally-funded Essential Air Service program is expected to run out of money in early November. The program subsidizes service at small airports, including airports in Dodge City, Garden City, Hays, Liberal, and Salina. Supporters of the program say it’s essential for communities located far from major airports. Salina, for example, is more than 80 miles from the nearest major airport.
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Shutdown Affects Midwestern Farmers, Restricting Federal Loans and Important Data
UNDATED (HPM) — The government shutdown comes at a terrible time for Midwestern farmers. Harvest Public Media reports that farmers are finding themselves shut off from federal loans and vital information. Corn and soybean farmers have been losing money for years. They’re expecting huge harvests this year, but weak demand thanks to the trade war with China. Normally, they’d be able to tap U.S. Department of Agriculture loans to help cover costs. But USDA is mostly shutdown, and Iowa State University economist Chad Hart says USDA reports that help farmers decide how to sell their grain are missing as well. “This is one of the worst times within the year to shut down USDA. You combine that with you’re shutting it down at a time when you know the ag economy is in a recession, so it’s sort of a double barrel hit there,” Hart added. President Trump has promised a bailout for farmers, but that’s stalled, in part because the USDA employees aren’t on the job to help distribute the money.
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Rate of Child Deaths in Kansas Remains Above National Average
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — A new report says the death rate for Kansas children remains above the national average. The annual report by the Kansas State Child Death Review Board found that 361 Kansas children died before their 18th birthday in 2023. That’s a rate of 52 deaths per 100,000 population. The national average is 49.8. It’s the fifth straight year Kansas has exceeded the national average. Most of the deaths were attributed to natural causes. The second leading cause of death was unintentional injury. Homicide accounted for 8% of the deaths, suicide 7%.
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Kansas School Districts Under Federal Scrutiny Deny Need for Investigation
UNDATED (KNS) — Four Kansas school districts say they have not received any formal complaints about their policies for accommodating transgender students. The Kansas News Service reports that the U.S. Department of Education is investigating them anyway.
The investigation began in August. A conservative nonprofit had accused the districts of allowing transgender students to use restrooms that match their gender identity and hiding their transgender status from parents. The districts are asking for clarification from the department, which has threatened to withhold federal funding. Rachel Perera, who studies education policy at the left-leaning Brookings Institution, says the combative nature of this type of investigation is unprecedented. “This idea that we're going to withhold federal funding if you don't give us this information is completely divorced from the way OCR is mandated to operate,” she argues. The districts have partially fulfilled a data request and asked to meet with federal officials.
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Court Documents Establish Timeline in Death of Wyandotte County Detention Center Inmate
UNDATED (KNS) — Court documents say a Wyandotte County Sheriff’s deputy kept his knee on an inmate’s back for about a minute and a half before the man died. The Kansas News Service reports that the documents offer a timeline leading to Charles Adair’s death. The affidavit says deputy Richard Fatherley kept his knee on Adair’s back while other deputies tried to subdue him in his cell. Adair was facedown on the cell’s bunk and eventually moved his hands toward a deputy who removed his handcuffs. Fatherley then kept his weight on Adair’s back as the other deputies left the cell. The affidavit says Adair did not move again and was pronounced dead after a nurse checked on him. Prosecutors have charged Fatherley with second-degree murder.
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Topeka Zoo Mourns Death of Elderly Elephant
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) — An elderly elephant at the Topeka Zoo has been euthanized. The elephant, named Cora, was 67 years old. Zoo officials say Cora had started behaving lethargically and stopped eating and drinking. Cora was something of a movie star: she had a role in the movie “Smokey and the Bandit II”. She arrived at the zoo in 2016. KSNT reports Cora passed peacefully, in the company of her care team.
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Injuries, Illness Force Kansas High School To Cancel Football Season
CHASE, Kan. (KPR) — A Kansas high school has been forced to cancel the rest of its football season due to injuries and illness. Chase High School in Rice County competes in six-man football. The team began the season with just eight players. Two were injured in the first game. A third is battling cancer. Down to just five players, the team was forced to call it quits for the season. Still, the district is commending the team for showing “incredible heart, courage, and dedication.”
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Report: One Kansas School District Banned a Book Last School Year
GARDNER, Kan. (Kansas Reflector) — Only one Kansas school district banned a book during the 2024-25 school year, according to PEN America, a group that tracks book banning in schools. That district was the Gardner Edgerton School District, which has schools in Johnson and Miami counties. The Gardner Edgerton district banned a book called Lily and Dunkin from its school libraries. The Kansas Reflector reports the book details the friendship of two Florida eighth graders, one navigating her transgender identity, the other grappling with his mental health. The book was banned by the Gardner Edgerton district last December. One school board member said the book had “no good qualities.”
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Women Face Intrusive Entry Requirements at Wyandotte County Courthouse
UNDATED (KCUR) — Women entering the Wyandotte County Courthouse say their underwire bras are triggering hyper-sensitive metal detectors. KCUR reports that it’s being called “Bra-gate 2.” Not only are the bras triggering security, but women are allowed into the building only after a female deputy does an aggressive pat down. Attorney Nicole Forsythe says she noticed that change starting in the fall of 2023. She calls the thorough patdowns “humiliating.” “So if you’re female – lawyer, witness, any sort of professional coming into this building to work -- you have to get felt up, basically,” Forsythe said. Forsythe is calling this “Bra-gate 2” because there was a similar situation in Jackson County in 2019. The Wyandotte County Sheriff’s office defends the security, saying they are trying to keep the courthouse safe.
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FBI: Topeka Strip Club Had $1 Million in Cash Hidden Behind Wall
TOPEKA, Kan. (TCJ) — After a Topeka strip club was raided earlier this year, federal agents found about $1 million in cash in vacuum-sealed packages hidden behind a wall. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the details of the hidden cash are included in recently released court documents. The owner of Topeka Sports Cabaret, Leonard Rrapaj, has been indicted in federal court on one count of illegally possessing a machine gun. That charge stems from an FBI raid in June.
New court filings show investigators were searching for — and seized — far more than a single gun with a conversion device. Such details have been made public through court filings over the past month. An attorney representing the owner of the strip club is asking the court to return all property not associated with the machine gun charge. The attorney claims that in addition to the cash, the FBI has been holding on to the owner's guns, ammunition, surveillance equipment, watches and jewelry.
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Kansas School Board Races Taking Less Partisan Tone in 2025
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) — Next month’s election will decide hundreds of local school board seats across Kansas. The Kansas News Service reports that education advocates say this year’s races are shaping up differently than the recent past. Over the past four years, a wave of conservative school board candidates have won seats at local and state levels. They protested COVID-19 school closures, critical race theory and other hot-button issues, and they were supported by national conservative groups. Leah Fliter with the Kansas Association of School Boards says this year's field is different. “It’s not like two years ago when we had the Moms For Liberty people and ‘We’re gonna flip the board.’ It just hasn’t played out that way,” she explained. Fliter says there are still controversial races in some districts, but overall, there's not the same level of partisan politics or funding from national lobbying groups.
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Student Journalists in Lawrence Say District Officials Pressured Them
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KC Star) — Students who recently filed a lawsuit against the Lawrence School District say district officials are pressuring school newspapers to not report on the suit. The lawsuit alleges the software the district uses to monitor usage of district-issued computers is illegally searching and seizing students’ digital files. Court documents obtained by the Kansas City Star allege district staff intimated that a student journalism advisor might be fired if students reported on the lawsuit. The student journalists are seeking an injunction blocking the advisor’s firing. In its own filing, the district says students have been told they can report on the suit and no “adverse action” will be taken against the advisor.
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Kansas Commerce Department Funds Provide Rural Main-Street Housing Opportunities
UNDATED (KNS) — Many upper-floor spaces on main streets in rural Kansas towns are unused. But newly available funds will provide the opportunity to revitalize them… and help address affordable housing shortages. The Kansas News Service reports that the Kansas Department of Commerce has $250,000 available to support new upper-floor housing in commercial buildings. Assistant Secretary Matt Godinez said this will enhance the overall functionality of downtowns in small communities. “Now we're getting people living downtown, shopping locally, restaurants, retail, might be down there as well,” he added. The funds are available to designated Kansas communities working to preserve historic main streets and downtown districts. Some new housing units will be ready within a year.
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Drug Bust in Western Kansas Leads to Arrest of 59-Year-Old Woman, 69-Year-Old Man
HAMILTON COUNTY, Kan. (KAKE) – A drug bust in western Kansas has led to the arrest of at least one senior citizen. Authorities in Hamilton County executed a search warrant at a home in Coolidge, Kansas (at 207 N. Maple Street) as part of an ongoing investigation into the distribution of methamphetamine. During the search, investigators recovered meth and related drug paraphernalia. KAKE TV reports that two people were arrested: 69-year-old Claude Bezona and 59-year-old Patricia Apodaca, both of Coolidge.
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Two Area Coaches to Enter AVCA Volleyball Hall of Fame
UNDATED (KPR) — Ray Bechard and Tracy Rietzke, two coaches with Kansas ties, will be inducted to the American Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame this December as part of the NCAA Division I women's volleyball Final Four activities in Kansas City.
Bechard is in his first year of retirement after leading the Kansas Jayhawks to 13 NCAA tournaments, including one Final Four appearance, in his 27 years as the KU coach.
Rietzke started his women's volleyball coaching career at Kansas Wesleyan in Salina before becoming the head coach at Rockhurst University in Kansas City. Rietzke retired after the 2019 season after 38 years in coaching.
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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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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).