Topeka Police Seek Help in Solving Teen’s Death
TOPEKA, Kan. (TCJ) — Topeka police investigating the shooting death of a teenager are appealing for the public’s help in solving the case. The 16-year-old male was apparently shot early Saturday near SE 36th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports he was taken to a hospital in a private vehicle. The teen later died. Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Topeka Police Department. There have been 18 homicides in Topeka this year.
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Lawrence Old-Fashioned Christmas Parade Canceled Due to EHV Outbreak Concerns
UNDATED (KNS) — A well-known Christmas horse parade in Lawrence has been canceled because of a horse virus outbreak. The Kansas News Service reports that an outbreak of herpesvirus is affecting horses in eight states, so as a precaution the Lawrence Old Fashioned Christmas Parade is canceled. The parade, a more than 30 year tradition, includes dozens of horse-drawn carriages and riders dressed for Christmas. It was scheduled for December 6th. Although the virus is not dangerous to people, it spreads quickly among horses and in rare cases can cause neurologic disease. Parade organizers estimate the event normally draws tens of thousands of people to Lawrence. (Read more.)
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Police: Woman Killed in Lawrence Crash Possibly Had Medical Issue
LAWRENCE, Kan. (Lawrence Times) — A woman was killed in a crash on 23rd Street in Lawrence Monday evening. It happened just before 7 p.m. near Harper Street. Police say the woman was traveling eastbound when her vehicle crossed into the westbound lanes and struck another vehicle nearly head-on. Police also say the woman was elderly and may have suffered a medical emergency. The Lawrence Times reports she was declared dead at the scene. The people in the vehicle she struck suffered minor injuries not requiring hospitalization.
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Topeka Man Accused of Murder, Kidnapping Not Fit to Stand Trial
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW-TV) — The Topeka man accused of killing his sister and father and kidnapping his nephew last July has been declared unfit to stand trial. Christopher Barnshaw is charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping. The three-year-old boy he allegedly abducted was found safe. WIBW-TV reports Barnshaw was ordered to undergo an evaluation in October to see if he was fit to stand trial. On Monday a court filing showed it had been found that Barnshaw was “not competent to stand trial.” The next hearing in the case is scheduled for February.
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Former K-State Athletics Director Max Urick Dies at 85
MANHATTAN, Kan. (KPR) — Former Kansas State University athletic director Max Urick has died. The school says Urick died at his home in Manhattan, Kansas, last Friday. He was 85. Urick was K-State’s athletic director from 1993 to 2001 and was a key figure in the development of the Big 12 Conference. He was also enshrined in the university’s Athletics Hall of Fame. Before arriving at K-State, Urick was the athletic director at Iowa State University for ten years.
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Midwestern Farm Economy Faced Major Challenges in 2025
UNDATED (HPM) — Midwestern farmers are rounding out a very tough year. Many have been growing corn, wheat and soybeans at a loss. Harvest Public Media reports that Trump administration policies have mostly made matters worse. Lots of farmers were in a tough spot going into this year. Then President Trump dismantled the international development organization USAID, which bought heavily from grain farmers, cut Department of Agriculture funding, and started a global trade war, further cutting into commodity markets. Trump’s health secretary came out against seed oil, another Midwestern product, and a popular farm herbicide. Immigration raids made it hard to find workers. University of Michigan political scientist Mike Shephard says farmers expect more support from Republican administrations. "There does seem to be a real disjoint between the Republican Party and the needs and wants of food producers that we haven't really seen before," Shephard explained. Despite that, Shephard says most farmers are sticking with Trump. He says they think Democrats would be worse.
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Kansas Sen. Moran’s Bill Addresses Problems with Military Graves
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Kansas Reflector) — The U.S. Senate has passed a bill introduced by Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) to ensure that Jewish-American servicemembers’ graves are given the appropriate religious identification. It’s estimated that hundreds of Jewish-Americans are buried overseas in military cemeteries with their graves being marked by a Latin cross instead of a Star of David. The bill introduced by Moran will establish a 10-year program to identify those graves and correctly mark them. The Kansas Reflector reports the program will cost about $500,000 annually. Moran says all veterans “deserve to have their faith accurately represented at their final resting places.”
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Lawrence, Douglas County Officers to Step up Enforcement This Week
LAWRENCE, Kan. (Lawrence Times) — Police in Lawrence and Douglas County are advising motorists that they will be increasing enforcement of seat belt laws this week. The Lawrence Police Department and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office will both have more units on the streets as travel ramps up for Thanksgiving. The Lawrence Times reports extra officers and deputies will be out looking for seat belt infractions and distracted and impaired drivers. It’s estimated about half of all traffic fatalities in Kansas involve someone not wearing a seat belt. The Kansas Department of Transportation provides funding for overtime to make the extra patrols possible.
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Report: Housing Costs a Major Factor in Poverty and Hardship for Kansans
UNDATED (KNS) — Nearly 450,000 Kansans face financial hardship and struggle to afford basic needs. The Kansas News Service reports that there's evidence housing costs are a major driver of the problem. A report this year by United Ways of Kansas shows about 12% of Kansas households fall below the federal poverty level. But more than three times that amount also face financial hardship. About 38% of Kansas households cannot afford basic needs like food and child care. Todd Jordan of United Way says state lawmakers can help by making housing costs more affordable in both urban and rural areas. “We continue to need significant investment in affordable housing all across the state in every kind of county,” he explained. Jordan also says lawmakers should consider offering housing assistance to prevent evictions.
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Johnson County Ambulance Fees to Rise
UNDATED (JoCo Post) — Johnson County commissioners have agreed to hire nine emergency medical technicians and reallocate $1.2 million in general fund reserves to pay for them next year. That means that the county will increase user fees for ambulance calls for the first time since 2020. The Johnson County Post reports that the move is designed to help MED-ACT, the only ambulance service in the county, deal with a 67% increase in its call volume since 2010. That increase means that MED-ACT response times have begun to fall short of county goals.
The ambulance fees vary widely, based on what type of service a patient receives. Those fees are currently set at 1.8 times the Medicare reimbursement rate. The new fees will be set at 2.0 times the Medicare reimbursement rate.
While the majority of that cost will be paid by private insurance, Medicare, and Medicaid, the uninsured or underinsured will have to find a way to manage the higher fees. Johnson County Commissioner Julie Brewer told the Post that while there is a fund to support uninsured users, that fund is not inexhaustible. Commission Chair Mike Kelly calls the fee increase a "stopgap" measure to strengthen MED-ACT until county officials determine whether a public safety sales tax extension could be placed on the ballot after the current tax expires in 2027.
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End to Federal Shutdown Hasn't Eased Demand for Food Assistance
UNDATED (KCUR) — The demand for food assistance in Kansas and Missouri hasn’t subsided after the federal government shutdown ended last week (Nov. 13). The food bank Harvesters says requests for food assistance doubled for some of their agencies during the shutdown, and food is going out to pantries as fast as it's coming onto their shelves. Valerie Nicholson-Watson is Harvesters’ interim president and CEO. She says families were already stretched thin financially before the shutdown began. "Now they also have to start preparing for colder weather, higher utility bills, the cost of food, as we all know, has been rising. So that is a continuous stressor," she added. Staff say cash donations go further for the food bank, but canned goods are helpful to address immediate needs during supply chain delays.
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KSU Research Shows Bison Could Help Suppress Invasive Tree Spread
UNDATED (KNS) — New research from Kansas State University shows that bison can help protect prairies from evergreen trees that are aggressively spreading on the Great Plains. The Kansas News Service reports that the finding is counterintuitive – because bison feast on grass, not trees. But decades of research by K-State shows bison take a toll on eastern red cedars – the evergreens that are smothering prairies. Sidney Noble worked on the research as a doctoral student. When K-State planted young red cedars on a prairie with bison, many died. “With bison, there was a lot more mortality. Specifically, there was eastern red cedar that was ripped up, browsed, trampled,” Noble explained. Using controlled fire is the most effective way to kill these trees, K-State says. But on prairies that don’t get burned often, bison could help curb their spread.
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Small Business Owners Reporting Lower Confidence Levels for Holiday Season
UNDATED (HPM) — Business owners with fewer than three full-time employees reported lower confidence levels for this year’s holiday season, according to a Main Street America national survey. Harvest Public Media reports that tariffs, inflation and a downturn in consumer spending were big factors for many of the survey respondents. Melissa Fabian, owner of Simply Nourished Market & Mercantile in Mason City, Iowa, says she’s seen a drop in revenue this year with less foot traffic. Small Business Saturday after Thanksgiving is typically her biggest day of the year. “Believe me, we appreciate it, and we need people there to do that. But we really need the people there to come every week. People can't shop one day a year with us and be surprised six months later that we're gone,” she cautioned. Fabian says supporting small businesses circulates dollars locally and helps downtowns thrive.
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Washburn Ranked #2 in NABC Men's Basketball Poll
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KPR) — The Washburn Ichabod men's basketball is ranked No. 2 in the first NABC Top 25 Division II coaches poll of the season. The Ichabods are 6-0 this season and will host Friends University Tuesday night at 7 p.m. in Lee Arena. They'll face Ottawa on Saturday at 2 p.m. following the Thanksgiving holiday. The Ichabods have been ranked in the top 10 in the last 16 polls dating back to last year, and the top five in the last 14 consecutive polls.
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