"Situation Contained" at Panasonic Battery Plant in De Soto After Possible Shooting
DE SOTO, Kan. (KMBC) — There's a developing story out of De Soto where a large number of law enforcement officers have responded to the Panasonic battery plant. Deputies from the Johnson County Sheriff's Office remain on scene Friday, but it's still unclear what prompted the emergency response.
KMBC TV quotes local authorities who say the situation is now contained. Law enforcement will reportedly be on the scene for a prolonged period of time due to the incident. An employee with Panasonic shared a text from the business with KMBC TV. The message warned employees to stay away if possible and if not, "to hide due to an active shooter.” That report has not been verified by officials. The Panasonic plant produces lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles.
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Kansas County Sues State for $2 Million in Misdirected Funds
ELKHART, Kan. (Kansas Reflector) — A small county in southwestern Kansas plans to sue the state for more than $2 million it says it is owed to support a local hospital. Voters in Morton County approved a countywide sales tax in 2015 to support the Morton County Hospital. The county is in the southwest corner of the state, bordering Oklahoma and Colorado. Its population is less than 3,000. County officials say the state collected the sales tax money but through an administrative error sent it back to the county’s cities, not the county itself. The county says the mistaken payments were made for nine years. The Kansas Reflector reports state revenue department officials declined to comment on the pending suit.
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Two Arrested in Connection with Hypothermia Death of Kansas Teen
PLAINVILLE, Kan. (Junction City Post) — Two people have been charged in connection with the death of a teenager in north central Kansas last January. The 17-year-old from Plainville was allegedly abandoned on a country road in the middle of the night in freezing weather. The teen was allegedly intoxicated and was wearing minimal clothing. The cause of death was hypothermia. The two people facing charges are Serena Barnhill of Natoma and Walter Lowry II of Stockton. The Junction City Post reports both are charged with aggravated child endangerment. Lowry is also facing a count of interference with law enforcement.
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City of Lawrence: End of Iowa Street Construction Is Near
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LT) — Good news for motorists in Lawrence: Construction on Iowa Street will soon end. The Lawrence Times reports the city will fully reopen the street next week. Crews are still putting the finishing touches on the street. The nearly year-long Iowa Street reconstruction project includes a rebuilt roadway, new sidewalks, new streetlights, and new storm sewer infrastructure.
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KCK Ballfield Named in Honor of Fallen Wyandotte County Deputy
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KSHB) — A baseball field in Kansas City, Kansas, has been named in honor of a Wyandotte County deputy who was killed in the line of duty this year. KSHB reports the county officially changed the name of Heathwood Park to Elijah Ming Memorial Field on Thursday. Ming was shot and killed responding to a domestic disturbance on July 26.He was 34. The man accused of killing Ming, 38-year-old Shawn Harris, faces capital murder charges.
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U.S. Senators from Kansas Vote Against Democratic Plan to Extend ACA Subsidies
UNDATED (KNS) — Kansas Republican Senators Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran voted along party lines on two proposals to address the extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies Thursday. The current subsidies make health insurance plans on the government marketplace more affordable. Marshall and Moran both voted against a Democratic plan to extend subsidies. Marshall wants to get rid of them altogether and invest in private health savings accounts. Some experts say health savings accounts won’t address rising health insurance costs. Marshall also says he opposed the extension of tax credits offered by Democrats because it would not address fraud. “Regardless of whether we extend these subsidies or not, the cost of health insurance for everybody is going to go up 25% this year,” Marshall said. “All the Democrats want to do is just have the federal government pay a bigger share.” Health experts disagree over the scale of fraud actually taking place. Four Republican Senators voted with Democrats, including Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, who voted for both the Democratic and Republican plans.
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Emporia State Names New President
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — The Kansas Board of Regents has announced a new president for Emporia State University. In a unanimous vote Thursday, the Regents named Matthew Baker as Emporia State’s next president. He is currently vice president of student affairs at Northwest Missouri State University. Baker will take over from Emporia State President Ken Hush, who is retiring. Baker says he wants to cultivate a culture of trust and belonging at Emporia State. Baker told a group at ESU that higher education is changing, and that Emporia State will have to adjust to new demands. “Demographic shifts, technological disruptions and evolving workforce needs require regional universities to adapt with agility,” Baker said. “ESU will not sit on the sidelines of that change.” Hush has served as president of Emporia State since 2022, when the university fired 30 tenured or tenure-track professors to cut costs. Eleven of those professors are suing the university in federal court.
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Johnson County Withdraws Plans for Special Tax Election
OLATHE, Kan. — (KNS) Johnson County officials withdrew plans for a special sales tax election in the spring. Thursday’s vote comes after a Kansas judge ruled against the proposal earlier in the week. The county wanted to extend a public safety sales tax. Johnson County’s quarter-cent sales tax for public safety was originally enacted in 2016 with authorization from the Kansas Legislature. The county wanted to extend it and use the annual $54 million of revenue for mental health and emergency medical services. But the judge sided with Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach, who argued the tax authority granted by the Legislature only allowed the funds to be used for items like the construction of law enforcement facilities. Democratic Johnson County Commission Chair Mike Kelly says the county will look elsewhere to pay for the services when it builds a budget next year. The current sales tax is set to expire in early 2027.
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Report: EPA Cuts Will Push States Pick Up Slack
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — A new report suggests that proposed federal budget cuts to environmental programs would force Kansas and other states to fill the gap. Funding and staffing for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment has held steady for 15 years. But the Trump administration has suggested cutting funding for the federal Environmental Protection Agency by 55%. That’s according to the Environmental Integrity Project, a national advocacy organization. Jen Duggan, the group’s executive director, warns that could mean less support for environmental research, disaster preparedness and public health. “If EPA’s capacity to do its job is further diminished,” Duggan said. “How prepared are our states to shoulder more responsibility for protecting us from these threats?” The Trump administration says its proposed budget reigns in unnecessary regulation and renewable energy research.
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Trump Administration Proposal Would Change Kansas Water Regulations
UNDATED (KNS) — The Trump administration has proposed a new rule through the Environmental Protection Agency that would deregulate certain Kansas waters. The proposal would redefine certain terms in the Clean Water Act and remove wetlands and temporary waters from protection. The move is seen as a step backward for environmentalists who say this leaves Kansas wetlands and some waters vulnerable to pollution. But Aaron Popelka of the Kansas Livestock Association says all this proposal does in practice is determine whether you seek approval from federal or state authorities. “If you look at the Clean Water Act,” he told the Kansas News Service, “it purposely left things to the states.” With this new proposal, ranchers would deal with less bureaucracy to manage lagoons and stock water. Popelka says they would still comply with regulations at the state level.
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Kansas Woman Sentenced to Life Without Parole for Murder of Georgia Man
BATON ROUGE, La. (WBRZ) — A Kansas woman convicted of murder in Georgia has been sentenced to life in prison without parole. WBRZ TV reports that Danetta Knoblauch, of Wichita, was found guilty of multiple charges, including felony murder, arson and concealing the death of Melvin Cooksey, a man who had been missing from Georgia. The man's body parts were discovered in 2023 by a couple hiking through the mountains of northern Georgia (Fannin County). They came across a human skull, leading law enforcement to the discovery of a pacemaker with a serial number matching Cooksey's.
Prosecutors say Knoblauch was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole plus thirty years in prison due to the "particularly heinous nature of her crimes, her steps to try to cover-up the murder and her lack of remorse." Witness statements, social media, phone and license plate reader camera records led to the identification of Knoblauch, who was previously wanted for allegedly attacking a man with a sledgehammer in Kansas.
Knoblauch was tracked to East Baton Rouge, La., and arrested on Kansas warrants following a lengthy standoff with the Baton Rouge Police Department and Louisiana State Police. She was later transferred to Georgia to stand trial.
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Kansas-Based Cavalry Unit that Served in Civil War Deactivated
FORT RILEY, Kan. (KSN) — A Fort Riley cavalry unit that was organized during the Civil War has been deactivated. KSN reports the Army said goodbye to the 1st Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment in a ceremony on the base on Wednesday. In its 164 years, the “Fighting Sixth” saw action from the Battle of Fredericksburg to the war in Afghanistan. The unit is being deactivated as part of a wide-ranging military reorganization known as the Army Transformation Initiative. The Army says the initiative will create “a leaner, more lethal force.”
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