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Headlines for Friday, January 31, 2020

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Kansas City, Kansas Company Pleads Guilty to Violating Clean Air Act

TOPEKA, KAN. (KPR) – A company based in Kansas City, Kansas, has pleaded guilty to violating a federal clean air law.  Harcros Chemicals entered the guilty plea today (FRI) in connection with a toxic chlorine gas cloud that formed over Atchison in 2016.  According to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister, Harcros is expected to pay a $1 million fine. The co-defendant in the case, MGP Ingredients, of Atchison, pleaded guilty in November in the same case. That company also is expected to pay a $1 million fine.  Harcros is set for sentencing May 27.  In its plea, the company admitted that on October 21, 2016, a greenish-yellow chlorine gas cloud formed when 4,000 gallons of sulfuric acid were mistakenly combined with 5,800 gallons of sodium hypochlorite. The Atchison County Department of Emergency Management ordered community members to shelter in place and to evacuate in some areas. Approximately 140 individuals including members of the public, first responders, employees of MGP Ingredients and Harcros Chemicals sought medical attention.

Victims can get more information on U.S. v. Midwest Grain Products by visiting this website and filling out a victim questionnaire, leaving a message on a designated phone line at (913) 551-6543 or emailing questions to usaks.victim.witness@usdoj.gov.

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Dental Instructor at Kansas Women's Prison Convicted of Molesting Inmate

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A jury has convicted a former Kansas prison dental instructor on one of six charges that he molested female inmates. On Thursday, a Shawnee County jury found Thomas Co guilty of unlawful sexual relations with an inmate and not guilty on five other counts. Prosecutors alleged Co molested six female inmates at the Topeka Correctional Facility between 2011 and 2018 while teaching them how to make dentures. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the conviction came on a charge related to a woman whose complaints in January 2017 prompted an internal investigation that concluded Co should be fired.

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Kansas AG Sues over Counterfeit Chiefs, Super Bowl Gear

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The top prosecutor in Kansas is suing over counterfeit Kansas City Chiefs and Super Bowl merchandise. Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced in a news release Friday that two lawsuits were filed Thursday in Shawnee County District Court. The suits allege that a Tennessee man and two people from Alabama were hawking the goods out of multiple tents in Topeka. The business went by the names of Novelties Jr. and Sports Connection Plus. The release says the attorney general’s office is seeking a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation, in addition to reimbursement of the cost of the investigation in both cases.  

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KU Students Want to Get Out of Classes After the Super Bowl

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — University of Kansas students are urging administrators to call off classes on the day after the Super Bowl and to provide vomit bags on campus if they don't. The Student Senate made the request in a resolution passed Thursday as the Kansas City Chiefs prepared to play the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in the team's first trip to the Super Bowl since 1970. It said that the chancellor should consider the “health implications of students attending classes and attempting course work less than 12 hours after the culmination of the Super Bowl and any celebrations that follow the game." 

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Kansas to Offer Public Access to Earthquake Investigations

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Corporation Commission will offer public access to documents and data related to investigations of earthquake activity in Reno and Rooks counties. The commission voted Friday to open general investigation dockets, which will become available on the commission's website next week. The website will include all information gathered during investigations of seismic activity in the counties. They also will be a place where the commission can issue orders related to the investigations. Commission spokeswoman Linda Berry says there is a lot of concern about earthquakes in the two counties, and the dockets will let the public see that their concerns are being taken seriously. 

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Man Convicted in Triple Killing in Kansas City, Kansas

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A 29-year-old man has been convicted in a triple homicide in a Kansas City, Kansas, duplex. Jurors found MonDale Douglas guilty Thursday of three counts of premeditated first-degree murder in the April 2018 shooting deaths of 51-year-old Edward Rawlins, 46-year-old David Rawlins and 40-year-old Addrin Coats. A woman called police the next day after seeing one of the victim's bodies lying near the front door of the duplex. Arriving officers found the other victims inside. Douglas will be sentenced on March 13.

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Records: Wichita Man Played Video Games After Hurting Twin Who Died

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Court records say a Kansas father charged with killing his 2-month-old son told authorities he repeatedly told the crying baby to "shut up" and squeezed his head "extra hard," but didn't notice he was seriously hurt for 30 minutes because he had been playing video games. The Wichita Eagle reports that the affidavit in the case against 22-year-old Marlin Williams Jr. was released Tuesday. Williams was charged last week with first-degree murder in the death of his son, Marrell, and three counts of aggravated battery. Marrell's twin sister suffered a broken femur.

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Woman Arrested After Body Found in Burning Car in Wichita

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police say a woman has been arrested after a body was found in a burning vehicle earlier this week. KAKE-TV reports 30-year-old Laura Branning was booked Thursday evening on possible charges of arson and criminal desecration of dead body. The body was found Wednesday morning inside a burning SUV near an apartment complex in southeast Wichita. Officer Charley Davidson says investigators determined Branning was involved in the fire but further details were not released. Investigators are trying to identify the victim and the cause of death.

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Overland Park Couple Charged with Rape, Sodomy of Woman at Lake of the Ozarks

GRAVOIS MILLS, Mo. (KRCG TV) — An Overland Park couple was charged with multiple felonies in connection with an alleged rape over the summer.  KRCG TV reports that a probable cause document was filed in Morgan County Circuit Court.  The document stated that 41-year-old Carl Mort and 39-year-old Cassandra Wedeking had raped a female victim July 6, 2019 on Wedeking's boat at the Lake of the Ozarks.  The victim later told law enforcement they were aboard a vessel from the Cocunuts Bar and Grill to Shady Gators, at which they had consumed alcohol, when they stopped at Wedeking and Mort's dock at the Millstone Marina. Once on her boat, Wedeking put out lines cocaine on the counter and asked the victim if she wanted any, the document stated.  The victim claimed she tried to leave the boat, but Mort boarded the vessel and prevented her from leaving. The victim said Wedeking held her hands down while Mort and Wedeking raped her, the document stated.  The court document stated the victim was able to run off after convincing the suspects she needed a bottle of water and Mort left the room.  ( Read more from KRCG.)

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Kansas Senate Approves Abortion-Related Bill

TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — A push to amend the Kansas Constitution’s language about abortion took a major step forward Wednesday night.  After nearly five hours of debate, the Kansas Senate passed a bill that aims to reverse a Kansas Supreme Court decision from last year, which said the state constitution ensures the right to an abortion.  Senate Democrats opposed the amendment, saying it opens the door to undue restrictions. Fighting back tears, Democratic Senator Vic Miller said the amendment would impose on a woman’s right to choose.  "I don't know that I can even come close to knowing what it would be like to be a woman and have these types of decisions in my face," Miller said.  Republican senators say the amendment protects women and unborn children, putting regulatory power back in lawmakers’ hands.  If the proposed amendment is approved by the House, it will appear as a question on the August primary ballot.

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Governor: Abortion Measure Would Put Kansas in "Dark Ages"

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Governor Laura Kelly says a proposed anti-abortion amendment to the Kansas Constitution would return the state “to the Dark Ages.” Kelly on Thursday called the measure a political attack on women's rights that will hurt the state's business climate. Kelly is a strong supporter of abortion rights and has no formal role as the Republican-controlled Legislature considers putting the proposed amendment on the ballot for possible approval by voters. The measure would overturn a Kansas Supreme Court decision last year declaring access to abortion a “fundamental” right. Abortion opponents argue the amendment will allow the state to preserve reasonable regulations.

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Medicaid Expansion May Save Kansas Prisons and Jails Millions of Dollars

TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — If the Medicaid expansion bill passes in Kansas, it could save prisons and county jails millions of dollars.  Medicaid covers only a fraction of low-income people in Kansas -- including less than one percent of people in state prisons. Under the Medicaid expansion bill under consideration, 80 to 90 percent of those people would be eligible for coverage if they’re hospitalized. Since most of the money would come from the federal government, the state Department of Corrections says it would save more than two million dollars a year. The bill would also affect county jails. Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter says the county jail spent about a million dollars on hospitalizations in 2018.  "If Medicaid expansion would go in, that million dollars wouldn't be coming out of my budget and taxpayer money,” Easter said.  The total cost for most of the other counties in Kansas in 2018 was six million dollars.

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Death of Man in Central Kansas Investigated as Suspicious

HOLYROOD, Kan. (AP) — Authorities are investigating the death of a man in central Kansas as suspicious. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation announced in a news release that law enforcement executed several search warrants Thursday while investigating the death of 56-year-old John Glenn III, of Great Bend. Last week, the Ellsworth County Sheriff's Office and emergency crews responded to a home in the town of Holyrood after a resident called 911 to report that an unconscious man had been found outside and exposed to the weather for an extended period of time. The KBI says Glenn was taken to a hospital, where he died the next day. 

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Driver in Kansas Crash That Killed 5 Pleads No Contest

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A 59-year-old truck driver from Colorado has pleaded no contest to five counts of vehicular homicide for causing a wreck on the Kansas Turnpike that killed five people. Kenny Ford, of Greeley, Colorado, pleaded Friday to the misdemeanor charges without an agreement on his potential sentences. Investigators say Ford failed to stop at a traffic backup on Interstate 70 on July 11, 2017, and hit three vehicles. The drivers and passengers in those vehicles were killed. Two were from Illinois and three were from Kansas. Ford will be sentenced March 20. 

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Lawsuit: Kansas Highway Patrol Targets Out-of-State Drivers

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal court filing alleges that the Kansas Highway Patrol has a practice of unlawfully targeting motorists based on their out-of-state license plates or Colorado travel plans, due to that state's legalization of marijuana. Among the allegations contained in the new filing are statistics showing that drivers with out-of-state plates made up 93% of all of the agency's traffic stops in 2017. What began as a hand-scrawled complaint filed last December by two irate drivers themselves in federal court got some legal firepower on Thursday when the American Civil Liberties Union and a Missouri law firm filed an amended complaint. The Kansas Highway Patrol says it cannot comment on pending litigation.

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Kansas Considers Requiring "In God We Trust" in Classrooms

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Conservative Republicans are pushing for a law in Kansas to require the posting of the national motto of “In God We Trust” in public buildings and all classrooms and libraries in public schools and colleges. Critics link the idea to a broader effort by the Christian right to promote their religious beliefs in public life. A Kansas House committee had a hearing Thursday on a bill sponsored by 13 GOP lawmakers that would require the posting of the motto as soon as schools, colleges, cities and counties receive donations, either of “durable" posters or money to cover the costs.

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Spirit Aerosystems CFO Resigns

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Spirit Aerosystems Chief Financial Officer Jose Garcia has resigned as the aircraft parts maker found it did not comply with its established accounting processes. Spirit said Thursday that it started a review of its accounting process compliance in December and has since found that it didn't comply with the accounting processes related to certain potential contingent liabilities that it received after the end of 2019’s third quarter. Spirit said it doesn't believe the non-compliance will result in a third-quarter financial restatement or materially impact its financial statements for fiscal year 2019. But the company said the review is ongoing and no final conclusion has been made.

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Grounded Jet Sends Boeing to First Annual Loss in 2 Decades

UNDATED  (AP) — Boeing is reporting its first annual loss in more than two decades as the crisis surrounding its grounded 737 Max drags on. Boeing said Wednesday that it lost $1 billion in the fourth quarter and lost $636 million last year. The company is sharply raising its estimate of spending related to fixing the Max and compensating airlines for canceling tens of thousands of flights. Boeing is now estimating the Max-related extra costs at more than $18 billion. The company still hopes to get FAA approval for changes it's making to the Max around mid-year.

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Kansas Man Charged in Federal Court with Battery Acid Threat

WICHITA, Kan.  (AP) — Authorities allege in a federal indictment that a man threatened to burn government employees with battery acid. The Wichita Eagle reports that Roland Keith Vandenberg was indicted this week in federal court on one charge of assaulting, impeding, intimidating and interfering with employees of the U.S. government or one of its agencies. The charge alleges Vandenberg made the threat last month. Court documents don't identify what government agency the employees worked for or where exactly the incident took place. The case originated in Sedgwick County. The misdemeanor charges carries a fine of up to a year in prison.

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Kansas Native Katie Sowers Becomes 1st Woman Coach in the Super Bowl

MIAMI (AP) —  Katie Sowers says being the first woman and openly gay coach to work the Super Bowl feels a bit surreal. She also hopes she's blazing a path for more to follow. Sowers says she feels like a broken record but will continue saying that the most important thing is that she not be the last woman or openly gay coach at the Super Bowl. Simply attending a Super Bowl was Sowers' dream growing up in Hesston, Kansas, and playing football in the yard with her twin sister. Sowers is an assistant coach on offense for the San Francisco 49ers but she sports an image of the Kansas City skyline on her arm with the word "Home."  ( Learn more in this report from KPR's Greg Echlin.)

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Tight Security Promised for Super Bowl 54, as Kansas City Chiefs Face San Francisco 49ers in Miami

MIAMI (AP) — Florida and federal law enforcement agencies preparing for the Super Bowl this Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens say they are ready for anything, including a detonated bomb or massive food poisoning. But they say they haven't identified any threats. Events for the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers kicked off Monday with an interactive Super Bowl Experience in Miami Beach and Super Bowl Live at Miami’s Bayfront Park. It's a lot of mileage to patrol. But officials say they are well prepared. A Homeland Security official says, “It’s all hands on deck.”

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KC Fans Under Closer Scrutiny for Chants, "Tomahawk Chops"

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — While other sports teams using Native American nicknames and imagery have faced decades of protests and boycotts, the Kansas City Chiefs have largely slid under the radar. Until now. The Chiefs will appear in their first Super Bowl in 50 years when they play the San Francisco 49ers Sunday. What is traditionally the largest TV audience of the year will watch as Kansas City fans break into the “war chant" and mimic tomahawk chop. Although many defend the display as a fun fan tradition, others view it as offensive and racist to Native Americans.

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Column: Lessons Learned Young Propel Patrick Mahomes to Football Greatness

MIAMI (AP) — Patrick Mahomes learned his lessons at a young age and in a perfect place. He hung around major league locker rooms with his father, a journeyman pitcher, and saw what made the greats of the game so great. Columnist Tim Dahlberg writes the young Mahomes hung around superstars like Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter. He watched how they prepared and saw how they dealt with both success and failure.With the Chiefs in the Super Bowl for the first time in a half century, the quarterback is poised to become the face of the NFL for a long time to come.

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KPR's daily headlines are generally posted by 10 am weekdays and updated throughout the day.  KPR's weekend summary is usually published by 1 pm Saturdays and Sundays.

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