UPDATE: Kansas Advances Anti-Abortion Measure on Roe Anniversary
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans have pushed a proposed anti-abortion amendment to the Kansas Constitution through the state House on the 48th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s historic decision protecting abortion rights. The measure was approved Friday on an 86-38 vote, and abortion opponents had two votes more than the two-thirds majority necessary for passage. It goes next to the Senate for debate, possibly next week. The proposal would overturn a Kansas Supreme Court decision in 2019 declaring access to abortion a “fundamental” right under the state’s Bill of Rights. The debate came on the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.
(– Earlier reporting –)
Vote's Timing Is Key Issue with Kansas Anti-Abortion Measure
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican lawmakers advancing a proposed anti-abortion amendment to the Kansas Constitution insist that it should go on the state’s August 2022 primary ballot. That prompted criticism from abortion rights supporters Thursday that the measure's backers fear failure if the statewide vote is held in a different election. The GOP-controlled House Federal and State Affairs Committee approved the measure after rejecting a proposed change to put it on the ballot in the November 2022 general election. Its measure goes next to the House. The Republican-controlled Senate planned to debate a separate but identical measure Thursday. Both would overturn a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision protecting abortion rights.
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COVID-19 Caseload in Kansas Exceeds 265,000; Virus-Related Deaths Approach 3,600
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) reports there have been 266,653 cases of COVID-19, including 3,598 deaths, since the pandemic began. That's an increase of 3,241 cases and 23 deaths since Wednesday. KDHE will release another update on coronavirus case numbers Monday.
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Kansas House Extends Pandemic Emergency Declaration
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Republican-led Kansas House on Thursday approved a bill that would extend the state’s pandemic emergency declaration. The 119-3 vote sends the bill to Governor Laura Kelly, who has until January 26 to act before the declaration expires. It expands the use of telemedicine and adds flexibility in health care licensing through March 31. But it also limits Kelly’s ability to close businesses and allows counties to opt out of mask mandates and other health orders she issues. The move comes as Kelly said communities can move beyond immunizing health care workers and long-term care residents.
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Demand Surges as Kansas Expands Vaccine Access to Second Group
MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is seeing demand for the coronavirus vaccine surge as it moves beyond vaccinating health care workers and long-term care residents. The state is leaving it up to county health departments to determine how to distribute the vaccine to those in the second phase. The Kansas Association of Local Health Departments conducted a survey that found nearly three-quarters of health departments planned to tier residents in the second phase, with the remainder leaving everyone on equal footing. Many health officials noted in a comment section that they planned to focus on residents that were 65 and older. But others were prioritizing teachers, law enforcement officers and essential workers.
(–Related–)
Kansas Moves to Phase 2 of COVID-19 Vaccination Plan
UNDATED (KNS) – Kansas is moving to its second phase of COVID-19 vaccinations, offering the shots to people over 65 and close-contact essential workers. Governor Laura Kelly issued a press release Wednesday saying the state has given the shots to nearly 130,000 frontline health care workers and elderly Kansans. Nursing homes were among the first places to get the doses. The state will now begin delivering vaccinations to the next group. It covers about one million Kansans. But the next weekly supply of the vaccine for the state will include only about 45,000 doses. Kelly said local health departments will decide how to prioritize vaccinations with the limited supply.
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Kansas Expects Small Uptick in Vaccine Supply Amid Shortages
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The top health official in Kansas has told lawmakers that the state will likely see a only a small uptick in the immediate supply of the COVID-19 vaccine with the change in presidential administrations. Dr. Lee Norman, head of the state health department, says the state will likely get a 1% or 2% increase in its vaccine supply in the short run. Health officials reported Wednesday that about 3.8% of the state’s population has gotten the vaccine to date.
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Missouri Governor: Mass Vaccination Sites Planned Across Missouri
O'FALLON, Mo. (AP) — Missouri plans mass vaccination sites by the end of the month in an effort to get more protection against COVID-19 to more people. Governor Mike Parson said Wednesday that he will activate the National Guard to help with new vaccination sites in each of the nine Missouri State Highway Patrol regions. Specific dates and locations for those sites were not announced. Each site will be capable of administering up to 2,500 doses per day. The state also plans to send “targeted vaccination teams” to St. Louis and Kansas City, where they will work with clergy to help get vaccinations to “vulnerable populations.”
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Dodge City Commission Votes to Drop Mask Mandate
DODGE CITY, Kan. (KNS) _ The Dodge City Commission has voted to end its local face covering ordinance this week after seeing the city’s COVID rates fall. Dodge City’s mandate requiring people to wear masks in indoor public spaces had been in place since November. It was set to last until mid-February. Mayor Rick Sowers was the only commissioner who voted against ending the mandate. He says he’s worried about the message it sends to the community. “The front page of the paper’s gonna be ‘City Removes the Mask Ordinance',’" Sowers said, "and people are gonna think, ‘Hey, it’s safe to take my mask off because the city said so.’ That’s my fear." Former Dodge City Mayor Joyce Warshaw’s support for the original mandate made her the target of threats, which led her to resign last month.
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Kansas House Panel to Warn New Member over Past Behavior
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A legislative committee will send a newly elected Kansas House member an informal letter admonishing him over issues that include an alleged threat against a top lawmaker and accusations of abusing or threatening girls and young women. The House committee reviewing a complaint Friday against Rep. Aaron Coleman of Kansas City, Kansas, said the letter will include a list of expectations for Coleman’s future behavior. The decision means that he will not face possible removal from office. Coleman said he will abide by whatever the committee spells out. A new allegation Friday was that he called a staffer for House Democratic Leader Tom Sawyer this summer and threatened to harm Sawyer. Coleman denied it, but also said that a post-November election tweet he made about Governor Laura Kelly was inappropriate.
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UPDATE: Sedgwick County Will Not Fight Firing of Election Official
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Sedgwick County commissioners have decided to not fight the firing of Election Commissioner Tabitha Lehman after Secretary of State Scott Schwab promised the county a role in choosing her successor. Lehman lost her job for violating a policy by remotely accessing the state’s voter registration database when working from home while fighting cancer during the coronavirus pandemic. The Wichita Eagle reports commissioners complimented Lehman for conducting a nearly flawless election, but opted not to propose legislation to scale back Schwab’s authority to pick the top election official in the state’s four most populous counties.
(– Earlier Reporting –)
Kansas Election Official Loses Job for Violating Policy
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Tabitha Lehman says she is losing her job for violating a policy by remotely accessing the state’s voter registration database when working from home while fighting cancer during the coronavirus pandemic. The Wichita Eagle reports that Lehman said Wednesday that Secretary of State Scott Schwab informed her earlier this month that when her term as election commissioner expires on July 19, he did not intend to appoint her to another term. Lehman said she “knowingly chose” to violate Schwab’s policy in order to direct a fair and accurate Presidential election. Schwab says this was “not a hasty decision,” and they could not jeopardize the safety of Kansas election systems to the benefit of one.
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GOP Senators Reject Kansas Appeals Court Nominee for a 2nd Time
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans in the Kansas Senate have rejected Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s nomination of a public defender to the state’s second-highest court for the second time in eight months. The vote Thursday against Carl Folsom III came even though he had support from the state’s top federal prosecutor and dozens of other attorneys. The vote was 18-17, but Folsom needed 21 votes in the 40-member Senate to join the Kansas Court of Appeals. The Senate rejected him in June for a different Court of Appeals vacancy. Democrats said he is well-qualified for the court, but Republicans said his experience isn't broad enough and suggested that he would be an activist judge.
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Regents Give University CEOs More Power to Fire Employees
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Board of Regents has approved a temporary policy that gives university CEOs more power to suspend or fire employees, including tenured faculty. The regents unanimously endorsed the change Wednesday, citing financial pressures caused by the coronavirus pandemic, cuts in state funding and declining enrollments. The regents gave universities 45 days to submit a framework to determine how they will make employee-related decisions. A representative of the Council of Faculty Senate Presidents told the regents that the policy basically suspends tenure and will damage employee morale. The policy will be in effect until December 31, 2022.
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Garden City Immigrants Cheer President Biden's Lifting of Travel Ban
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (KNS) _ President Joe Biden has reversed the travel ban for several predominantly Muslim nations. For immigrants in southwest Kansas, that could mean finally reuniting with their families. Elama Mohamud, a Somali-American in Garden City, says she has heard from friends and family in African refugee camps who have been closely following Biden’s inauguration. “They are very much happy." Mohamud says, "There was a lot of celebration and they have a lot of hope. Before, they never had any hope." President Biden signed 15 executive actions in his first day in office, including a reversal of the Trump administration’s travel ban. The ban had been in place since January of 2017.
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Kansas Legislative Panel Recommends Changes to Mental Health Treatment
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — A group of Kansas lawmakers says the state needs to further adjust its mental health system to new demands posed by the pandemic. The new legislative report says the state needs to improve its telemedicine system and gather more information about which Kansans need mental health care. The report also calls for better privacy and standard training for online health care and it says the state needs to gather more robust data about the mental health needs of children. The report suggests the state hire parents of children in the mental health system to act as support for other parents.
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Halt of XL Pipeline Construction May Impact Eastern Kansas County
CLAY CENTER, Kan. (KNS) _ President Joe Biden halted construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline on his first day in office. Part of the 1,700-mile route passes through six counties in eastern Kansas. A Clay County pump station would connect to the pipeline to help move the increased load of crude oil from Nebraska to Oklahoma. That pump would require a lot of electricity. Clay Center Public Utilities Superintendent Scott Glaves says that, in turn, would lower power costs for residents. “The load forecast with the XL would be more than our entire system consumes on the hottest day in August." Glaves said. "That one customer would be bigger than our entire city plus all of our rural footprint.” If pipeline construction is eventually completed, Clay County would also benefit from millions of dollars in property taxes collected from the pipeline and pump station. Opposition to the pipeline has come from environmental organizations, indigenous communities, and many farmers and ranchers in the path of the pipeline, primarily focused on possible environmental consequences from oil spills and leaks.
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Kansas Man Sentenced to Prison in Assault Rifle Case
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A man who officers believed was intending to fire a semi-automatic assault rifle around closing time in a popular Lawrence bar district has been sentenced to 16 months in prison. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the judge told 19-year-old Dayson G. Kelley of Topeka during his sentencing Thursday that he or police officers could have lost their lives. Kelley was arrested in February after two Lawrence police officers saw him take a rifle out of the trunk of a vehicle in a parking lot. Police believed he intended to fire it. He pleaded no contest in December to two counts of attempted aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer.
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Police: Husband Arrested in Stabbing Death of Wichita Woman
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police say 43-year-old Wichita woman has been stabbed to death and her husband is in jail. The Wichita Eagle reports that police responding to a call made by Rebecca Nimmo’s husband early Thursday morning found that Nimmo had been stabbed in the chest and was unresponsive. She died at the scene. Police said during a news conference Friday that her 47-year-old husband, Shawn Allen Nimmo, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder.
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Authorities: Body Found in Rail Grain Car Near Dodge City
DODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and local officials in southwest Kansas are investigating after a body was found inside a rail grain car near Dodge City. Television station KAKE reports that the body of a man was found in the grain car Wednesday morning in the unincorporated community of Wright, just northeast of Dodge City. The KBI and Ford County Sheriff's Office are working to identify the man. Authorities say a preliminary investigation does not show any foul play in the case.
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Lawrence Agrees to Return Sacred Prayer Rock to Kaw Nation
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The Lawrence City Commission has unanimously approved a measure to return to a Native American tribe a prayer rock that was transformed into a monument honoring Kansas settlers. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the commission voted 5-0 Tuesday to return the rock to the Kaw Nation. Before the Kaw people were forcibly moved from Kansas to what is now Oklahoma in 1873, they held ceremonies and gatherings before the 23-ton boulder known as the “Big Red Rock.” As Lawrence prepared for its 75th anniversary in 1929, the rock was moved to a park in town. Last month, the tribe sent a letter to the city seeking the rock's return.
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KC Mayor to Chiefs Fans: Celebrate with COVID-19 in Mind
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas is a big fan of the Chiefs, but he can't help but worry after watching news coverage of fans celebrating close together following the team's 22-17 NFL playoff game win over Cleveland. Now, with the Chiefs hosting Buffalo in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, Lucas is urging fans to keep COVID-19 preventative measures in mind as they gather to watch. The city will keep in contact with entertainment districts to make sure crowds next weekend don't leave "a lot of people sick around the Super Bowl." Lucas says the same measures will be in place on February 7 if the Chiefs advance to the Super Bowl.
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Kansas Crop Artist's Unity Work Part of Biden Inauguration
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Lawrence artist known for large, intricate crop art had his work featured in a virtual celebration of Joe Biden's inauguration. Stan Herd was asked by the inauguration team to contribute to a “Parade Across America” video that was shown Wednesday during the inauguration. Herd and a crew charred the phrase “America United” into a former hay field outside Lawrence. They finished Sunday. The large, block text covers about one acre of land belonging to one of Herd’s supporters. The team cut the words with weed trimmers and then used a butane torch to burn the interior part of the letters.
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Bankers Survey Shows Gains in Rural Economy of 10 States
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new monthly survey of bankers suggests growing improvement in the economy in rural parts of 10 Plains and Western states. But Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says bank CEOs' biggest fears for 2021 are excessive inflation and higher long-term interest rates. The overall index of January's Rural Mainstreet Survey improved to 52.0 from December’s 51.6 — the highest reading since before the onset last year of the coronavirus pandemic. Any score above 50 suggests a growing economy, while a score below 50 suggests a shrinking economy. Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.
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Pam Johnson, Former Arizona Republic Executive Editor, Dies in Kansas
PHOENIX (AP) — A former executive editor of Arizona’s largest newspaper has died. The Arizona Republic reported Thursday that Pam Johnson died January 20 at age 74 in Overland Park, after a lengthy battle with dementia. Johnson led the Republic’s newsroom and that of the sibling Phoenix Gazette for 13 years. She became managing editor of the Gazette in 1988, then was named managing editor and later executive editor of the Republic. A 1969 University of Missouri graduate, Johnson was hired at the Binghamton (New York) Evening Press and joined the copy desk of the Kansas City Times a year later before moving to the Kansas City Star. She was named the first executive director of the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at Missouri’s School of Journalism in 2004.
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Black Rhinoceros Born at Garden City Zoo
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) _ A rare black rhinoceros has been born in captivity at the Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City. The zoo says in a news release that the male rhino was born Wednesday to 10-year-old Johari and her 7-year-old mate Jabari. The pair were moved from zoos in Cleveland and Atlanta in 2016 as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Eastern Black Rhinoceros Species Survival Plan. A news release from the zoo says mother and baby will be kept indoors for bonding and until weather conditions are appropriate for them to venture outside. Eastern black rhinos are native to eastern Africa and are listed as critically endangered.
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Negro Leagues Roots: Kansas City T-Bones Renamed Monarchs
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City T-Bones of the independent American Association are being renamed the Kansas City Monarchs after the team that played in the Negro Leagues. The original Monarchs were founded in 1924 and won the first Negro League World Series in 1920. The team played in the Negro National League and Negro American League and later as an independent. A museum exhibit is to travel with the team. The Monarchs also plan to establish a youth academy for baseball and softball.
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Sporting KC Signs 2 Teens Among 3 Homegrown Players
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Sporting Kansas City has signed homegrown players Grayson Barber, Ozzie Cisneros and Brooks Thompson as the Major League Soccer club continues to get younger by developing players from within its system. The 18-year-old Thompson, along with the 20-year-old Barber and 16-year-old Cisneros, help to form the backbone of a major youth movement by Sporting KC. The average age on their roster is 25 years.
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