Two Arrested in Suspected Homicide of Five-Year-Old Girl in Topeka
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) — Two people have been arrested in connection with the suspected homicide of a five-year-old girl in Topeka. KSNT reports the girl was found when police responded to a medical emergency on Tuesday at a home in the 500 block of Southwest Buchanan Street. The girl had suffered “life-threatening” injuries and was taken to a nearby hospital, where she died. A 24-year-old woman and a 35-year-old man were arrested. They face charges including first degree murder. Police say the suspects are part of the victim’s family but gave no further details. The investigation is continuing.
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Lawrence Police Bust Retail Scam Ring
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) — Lawrence police have arrested four people in connection with a retail scam allegedly perpetrated across the Kansas City metro area. Police say the four used fraudulent payment cards to trick cashiers into giving them cash. The scam netted the four about $6,000. A security officer at the Walmart on 33rd and Iowa in Lawrence noticed the suspects’ suspicious activity and alerted police. The four were arrested Tuesday night after a traffic stop on I-70 near Bonner Springs. They face charges of felony shoplifting.
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Two Kansans Indicted for Threatening Federal Officials in Separate, Unrelated Incidents
WICHITA, Kan. (KPR) — In separate and unrelated cases, two Kansas men have been indicted for allegedly threatening violence against federal officials. A federal grand jury in Wichita returned the indictments earlier this month against two Wichita men.
In one case, prosecutors accuse 23-year-old Joaquin Hernandez of threatening to murder federal law enforcement agents with ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In a separate case, prosecutors say 60-year-old Adam Lee Osborn threatened to kill Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. Both men are accused of using social media to convey the threats.
The Wichita Police Department and the FBI are investigating both cases.
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Transgender Bathroom Ban Bill Fast-Tracked Through Kansas Legislature
UNDATED (KNS) — Republican lawmakers in Kansas have rushed to pass a bill that bars transgender people from using bathrooms based on their gender identity. The Kansas News Service reports that the bill requires government agencies to divide restrooms and locker rooms by sex. Individuals who violate the law could face financial and criminal penalties. Legislative leaders used a procedural maneuver known as “gut and go” to fast-track the bill and avoid holding public hearings on the bathroom provisions. Republican Representative Susan Humphries chairs the committee where the bill was introduced. She says everything she did was aboveboard, explaining that “...procedurally, it was permissible to add it in and that really just seemed like the best way to do it.” Democratic Governor Laura Kelly is expected to veto the bill. But two-thirds of lawmakers in each chamber support the legislation, which could allow Republicans to pass it anyway. (Read more.)
(–Additional Reporting–)
Kansas Legislature Passes Controversial “Bathroom Bill”
TOPEKA, Kan. (Kansas Reflector) — The Republican-led Kansas legislature hurriedly approved a “bathroom bill” on Wednesday. The bill would make it illegal for people to use a public bathroom that does not align with their biological sex. The bill would also require Kansans to list their biological sex on their drivers licenses. The Kansas Reflector reports Democrats are calling the bill “anti-transgender.” The bill was passed without the usual public hearing. It now goes to Democratic governor Laura Kelly.
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Kansas Senate Resolution Makes October 14 “Charlie Kirk Day”
TOPEKA, Kan. (Kansas Reflector) — The Republican-led Kansas Senate has passed a resolution designating each October 14 “Charlie Kirk Free Speech Day.” October 14 was the late right-wing activist’s birthday. He was assassinated last September. Democrats opposed the resolution. The Kansas Reflector reports Democratic state senator Silas Miller of Wichita called attention to many of Kirk’s controversial comments regarding civil rights, including Kirk’s opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
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Topeka Police Announce New Body Camera Policy
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) — The Topeka Police Department has announced changes to its body camera policy. The new policy will allow people directly involved in an incident, or their designated family members or legal representatives, to view body-worn camera footage within a set timeframe. On Wednesday the department also released body-cam footage of two fatal officer-involved shootings from 2022. Both shootings were declared lawful. KSNT reports the new policy puts Topeka in compliance with state law. Police Chief Chief Chris Vallejo said the new policy was made with input from “our community, our officers, and our partners.”
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NTSB Presents Findings on Fatal Wichita-to-Washington DC Flight
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) — The National Transportation Safety Board presented its findings Tuesday on what led to the deadly crash of an American Airlines flight from Wichita to Washington, D.C., last year. The Kansas News Service reports that Flight 5342 was approaching the runway at Reagan National Airport last January when it collided with an Army helicopter. Sixty-seven people died. In its report, the NTSB said a local air traffic controller was communicating with six planes and five helicopters at the same time. Board member Mike Graham, a Wichita native, says evidence points to systemwide issues, adding that "I want to make it crystal clear: Any individual shortcomings were set up for failure by the systems around them." Some family members of victims are in D.C. to hear the investigators' findings. The NTSB is expected to publish its final report and recommendations in coming weeks.
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Child Sexual Abuse Survivors Group Seeks Kansas Passage of "Erin's Law"
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) — A group of survivors of child sexual abuse is advocating for Kansas to pass what’s known as Erin’s Law. The Kansas News Service reports that the bill would require K-12 public schools to teach students once per year about preventing sexual abuse. It calls for age-appropriate lessons to help students identify and report behavior that amounts to grooming or abuse.
Kim Bergman is with the group Protecting Kansas Children From Sexual Predators. She is also a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, and says that “when kids are educated, they are more likely to speak up themselves and/or be able to help their friends.”
The national group behind Erin’s Law offers free course materials, but local school boards would ultimately decide which curriculum to use. Parents could also opt their students out of the classes.
At least 38 other states have adopted Erin’s Law.
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Kansas Cattle Ranchers Prepare for Coping with Cold Temperatures
PITTSBURG, Kan. (KRPS) — Parts of Kansas that are recovering from a major snowstorm are bracing for another round of below-freezing temperatures this weekend. KRPS reports that the cold weather could have an impact on one of the state's largest industries. Nearly six million cattle are in Kansas ranches and cattle yards. Kansas State University researchers say the animal is largely adaptable to temperature and weather changes. Wendie Powell with the Wildcat Extension District says ranchers should be most concerned with newborn calves during winter weather, saying that they "...have to make for sure that they have windbreaks and that we are ready to go to help that calf stay warm. So making for sure our calving kit is ready to go, calf warmers, things like that." Powell recommends farmers and ranchers make sure cattle have enough nutrient-dense hay, and urges them to closely watch the weather for any severe changes.
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Time Running Out for KC Royals to Find a New Home
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR) — It’s increasingly likely that the Kansas City Royals will stay in Kansas City, Missouri. On Wednesday, the Clay County (Missouri) Commission officially pulled out of talks with the team about a Northland ballpark. KCUR reports that the options for the Royals to build a baseball stadium have dropped off, one by one, leaving a ballpark in downtown Kansas City as the last widely-discussed option. The Royals weighed building a new stadium on sparsely used industrial tracts in North Kansas City. But the team missed Clay County’s deadline to commit to a formal proposal, and the county has suspended talks. ON Monday, the Royals officially scratched a much-discussed site in Overland Park, on the old Sprint Campus grounds, near 119th Street and Nall Avenue. That leaves Washington Square Park as the last broadly publicized possibility. Crown Center surrounds two sides of the site, which is served by the streetcar, and is an easy walk from Union Station or the Crossroads Arts District.
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