500 U.S. Immigration Agency Jobs to Return to Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A federal immigration agency says it plans to restore 500 jobs in the Kansas City region that were cut last year. The U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service laid off 800 workers last year because of budget concerns caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The agency has a National Benefits Center in Lee's Summit, Missouri, and Overland Park. Employees process immigration-related paperwork, including international adoptions. The agency is funded by fees on immigration applications. It blamed last year's layoff on a decline in immigration activity during the pandemic. Some of the jobs had been restored in December.
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Kansas Businesses Hurt by COVID Closures Could Get Paid Under Proposed Legislation
MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Kansas businesses that were ordered to shut down or limit capacity because of the pandemic could receive financial relief under two bills in the Legislature that would address pending litigation but have riled up county leaders who could be forced to pay out millions. Both bills provide businesses the chance to apply for property tax reimbursements, although the details vary. Eric Stafford, a lobbyist for the influential Kansas Chamber of Commerce, said Thursday at a hearing that a lawsuit is pending. He said the state could be “on the hook for a significant amount of money if something isn’t resolved."
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Kansas Records More than 297,500 COVID-19 Cases, Including 4,824 Deaths, Since Start of Pandemic
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR/AP) — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) reported Friday that there have been 297,748 cases of COVID-19, including 4,824 deaths, since the beginning of the pandemic. The total death toll was revised downward from the numbers reported on Wednesday, following a routine review of death certificates. Such revisions are not unusual. KDHE will provide another update Monday. Health officials say the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continues to drop in the state while vaccination efforts are expanding.
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Error Forces Lawrence Memorial Hospital to Discard 570 Vaccine Doses
MISSION, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas hospital had to throw away 570 doses of a coronavirus vaccine because of a refrigeration mistake, officials say. Lawrence Memorial Hospital said in a news release that city and county health officials transferred the doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to the hospital on Wednesday. The hospital then put them in a freezer, not realizing they were thawed. Confusion arose because most doses are shipped frozen, but the health department had received this batch in a refrigerated state. The hospital reached out to Johnson & Johnson for guidance and was instructed that the doses would have to be discarded.
LMH Health President & CEO Russ Johnson described what happened as a “heart wrenching situation for our hospital.” He said the hospital is reviewing processes aimed at preventing vaccine waste to prevent future errors. Health officials also have requested replacement doses and are working to reschedule appointments.
Meanwhile, it isn’t clear whether the statewide state of emergency for the coronavirus pandemic will remain in effect past March 31, when it is due to expire. The Republican-controlled Legislature would have to extend it, and some GOP leaders want to let it and any remaining restrictions expire with new cases down.
Gov. Laura Kelly said at a call Friday with local officials that there was a 52% drop in cases and 35% decline in hospitalizations over the past two weeks.
“It has been a long time, but it is slowly starting to get better and be able to open up and live a little bit more normally as we go forward here,” she said.
She said that new stimulus money is headed to the state and that the vaccine rollout is gaining momentum again after a winter storm temporarily disrupted the process. State data shows that 18.1% of residents have been vaccinated with at least one dose, and the number could rise rapidly after President Joe Biden vowed Thursday to make all adult Americans eligible for vaccinations by May 1.
“Governor Kelly has said all along that available doses are the most significant constraint impacting Kansas’ ability to vaccinate its population,” a spokeswoman said in a statement. “If the federal supply increases as President Biden has indicated, we will gladly adjust our timetable so that vaccines will be available across the state by May 1st.”
The state recorded 519 new confirmed COVID-19 cases from Wednesday to Friday, raising the its pandemic total to 297,748. Kansas’ coronavirus death toll actually shrank from 4,851 to 4,824 following a review of death certificates that determined COVID-19 didn’t contribute to some fatalities, said health department spokeswoman Kristi Zears.
In the Topeka area, Shawnee County Commissioners removed all hours restrictions on bars, restaurants and nightclubs.
Commissioner Aaron Mays sought to go further and automatically rescind all health orders and replace them with recommendations, rather than requirements, when the state moves to the next vaccination phase. That is expected to happen next month. But his amendment failed, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported.
“We are doing well, almost to the point where we can declare we are out of the woods,” he said, noting that vaccines are making a difference.
But Dr. Lee Norman, the head of the state health department, said earlier this week that the vaccination rate among prison staff was a concern. The staff and inmates are part of the current vaccination phase because of widespread outbreaks that have infected thousands.
The death Tuesday of an inmate at the Winfield Correctional Facility pushed the state’s death toll among inmates and staff to 21.
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No. 11 Kansas Withdraws from Big 12 Tournament Due to COVID-19
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The University of Kansas men's basketball team has withdrawn from the Big 12 Tournament after a positive COVID-19 test within the program. The decision sends No. 13 Texas into the championship game against No. 2 Baylor or No. 12 Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks learned earlier this week they would be without center David McCormack and backup forward Tristan Enaruna due to COVID-19 protocols. They were due to play the Longhorns in the semifinal round. Kansas had gone the entire season without an outbreak that caused it to cancel or postpone a game.
(–Related–)
Positive COVID-19 Tests Derail Kansas, Virginia Tournament Runs
UNDATED (AP) — Major conferences have had to call off tournament games with cancellations involving No. 11 Kansas and No. 16 Virginia. The Jayhawks withdrew from the Big 12 Tournament on Friday after a positive COVID-19 test within the program. That forced the cancellation of a semifinal matchup with No. 13 Texas. In the Atlantic Coast Conference, the Cavaliers' semifinal matchup with Georgia Tech was canceled due to a positive COVID-19 test, quarantining and contact tracing within the Cavaliers program. The cancellations came a day after Duke withdrew from the ACC Tournament and ended its season due to its own positive test.
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GOP Lawmaker Pushes Plan to Undo Kansas Policy on Vaccines
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Republican lawmaker in Kansas outlined a measure this week that would overturn Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s policy of withholding doses of COVID-19 vaccines from counties wanting to move to a new phase of inoculations before the rest of the state. Senate health committee Chair Richard Hilderbrand, of Galena, called the policy “blackmail or extortion.” The state Department of Health and Environment has described withholding vaccine doses as an “enforcement mechanism” and Kelly says the goal is to “keep the train running as smoothly as we possibly can.” ( Read more in the Lawrence Journal-World.)
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COVID-19 Variant Found in Only 1 Missouri Wastewater System
CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — Weeks after the faster-spreading U.K. variant of the coronavirus was found in 15 Missouri wastewater systems, new testing has found it only in one. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services has been testing wastewater for clues about the spread of COVID-19. The latest results found that testing could be done only at 10 wastewater systems in Missouri because of declining levels of COVID-19 particles. Of the 10 tested, only the Coldwater Creek system in St. Louis County indicated the presence of the U.K. variant. Testing in February found 15 of 23 systems tested across Missouri showed evidence of the variant.
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Death of 4-Month-Old Kansas City Boy Ruled a Homicide
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City police are investigating the death of a 4-month-old boy as a homicide. Officers went to a Kansas City home early Tuesday after receiving a call that a baby wasn't breathing. Police say the officers and medical crews found no obvious signs of injuries or trauma to the child, who died at a hospital on Wednesday night. Police announced Thursday that the medical examiner ruled the death a homicide after finding evidence of internal injuries.
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Police ID Woman Fatally Shot in Kansas City Neighborhood
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police in Kansas City have identified a woman found her fatally shot in the Pendleton Heights neighborhood earlier this week. Police say the officers were on patrol nearby around 10 p.m. Wednesday when they heard gunshots and searched the area. They found the woman, later identified as 25-year-old Deja Veal, lying in the street in the 500 block of Wabash Avenue. Arriving paramedics pronounced Veal dead at the scene. Homicide detectives were called to the scene to gather evidence and canvass the area for witnesses. No arrests or suspects in the shooting had been announced by Friday.
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UPDATED: Police: Wichita Man Shot 2 Before Turning Gun on Himself
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police say a man suspected of shooting two others — one fatally — before turning the gun on himself has been released from a hospital and booked into jail. Police say 26-year-old DeAdrian Johnson was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on Wednesday night on suspicion of first-degree murder and criminal possession of a firearm by a felon. Detectives say they suspect Johnson was under the influence of drugs Saturday night when 20-year-old Christopher Terrell and a 16-year-old boy were shot. Officers sent to investigate the shooting also found Johnson with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. All three were taken to hospitals, where Terrell died.
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Missouri Woman Whose Dad Aided Murder-Suicide Found Guilty
MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Prosecutors say a former Missouri jail guard has been convicted of convincing her terminally ill father to fatally shoot her estranged husband with whom she was embroiled in a custody dispute before killing himself so it appeared to be a murder-suicide. The Missouri Attorney General’s Office made the announcement Thursday, five days after jurors found Elizabeth Kilgore guilty of first-degree murder, introducing a dangerous instrument into a county jail, acceding to corruption and possession of methamphetamine. Sentencing is set for April.
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KU Picks Emmett Jones as Interim Football Coach
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Emmett Jones will serve as the interim football coach at the University of Kansas as the beleaguered school searches for a new athletic director and head football coach following a scandal-plagued week. Jones is entering his third season with the Jayhawks, serving first as the wide receivers coach and most recently as the passing game coordinator. He has also coached at Texas Tech and several high schools in Texas.
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Grass Fire Burns Through 7,000 Acres, 2 Homes in Kansas
CEDAR POINT, Kan. (AP) — A fire fueled by dry grasses and strong winds burned some 7,000 acres of grassland and two homes in east-central Kansas Wednesday. Several fire departments were called to the area in Marion and Chase counties for what was dubbed the Clover Fire. Marion County Emergency Management Director Randy Frank told station KWCH that two homes were destroyed by the fire, but fire crews were able to save several other homes. The two homes destroyed were described as abandoned, and no injuries from the fire were reported. The fire was first reported Wednesday afternoon near Burns in southeast Marion County and was pushed east into Chase County by high winds. Officials had the fire under control by Wednesday night.
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Family Wants Topeka Officers Returned to Shooting Lawsuit
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The parents of a man who was shot and killed by Topeka police are asking a judge to reinstate two officers as defendants in a lawsuit they filed over his death. Attorneys for the family of Dominique White filed a motion seeking to add a wrongful death count against officers Justin Mackey and Michael Cruse. A federal judge last September removed the two officers from the lawsuit. The officers shot White after a struggle in September 2017. Attorneys for the city said in a motion March 1 that they object to the officers being reinstated to the lawsuit.
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Missouri Reform School Owners Charged with Abusing Residents
LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — The owners of a former reform school in southwest Missouri are facing more than 100 charges alleging they abused girls at the facility. Boyd and Stephanie Householder, who operated the Circle of Hope Girls Ranch in Cedar County, were charged Tuesday. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt says the charges involve 16 former residents. Boyd Householder faces 80 charges, including statutory rape and statutory sodomy. His wife has been charged with 22 counts, most involving abuse or neglect of a child. They both pleaded not guilty during an arraignment Wednesday afternoon. The home outside Humansville was closed shortly after state investigators removed about two dozen girls in August.
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Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft Won't Run for U.S. Senate
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft says he won't run for the U.S. Senate. The Republican said in a statement Wednesday that he'll continue serving as the state's top elections official. Ashcroft was eyed as a top candidate to run for Republican U.S. Senator Roy Blunt's seat. Blunt says he's not seeking reelection. Blunt's decision has opened the door for a number of ambitious Missouri Republicans interested in making a bid for the Senate. Republicans who have said they're interested include former Republican Governor Eric Greitens. He resigned in 2018 amid the fallout of a sex scandal and ethics investigation.
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Missouri Lawmaker Faces Complaint for Saying "China Virus"
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A complaint has been filed against a Missouri lawmaker for describing COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus.” Kansas City Democratic Rep. Emily Weber filed the complaint against Branson Republican Rep. Brian Seitz with House human resources Wednesday. Seitz didn't immediately return an Associated Press request for comment Wednesday. Weber says the term stigmatizes and denigrates people who look like her. Weber was born in South Korea. She was adopted and raised in Kansas. Seitz is one of several Missouri lawmakers who have described the coronavirus as Chinese. Former President Donald Trump often called COVID-19 the “China virus” or the "Wuhan virus." Wuhan is the name of the city in China where COVID-19 was first detected.
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State Worker Finds Alligator Carcass in Southern Kansas River
WELLINGTON, Kan. (AP) — The carcass of an American alligator has been found in a south-central Kansas river, and wildlife officials say the animal was likely being kept as a pet before being released into the wild when it got too big. Kansas City television station WDAF reports that a Kansas Department of Transportation worker recently discovered the carcass in the Ninnescah River in Sumner County as he worked along the river bank. A zoologist determined the reptile, which is native to the southeastern U.S., was about 3 years old. Alligators can't survive the harsh winters of the Midwest and Plains states out in the wild.
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Wichita State Defeats USF to Advance in AAC Tournament
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Tyson Etienne made a pair of free throws with eight seconds remaining to lift Wichita State to a 68-67 win over South Florida in the American Athletic Conference Tournament quarterfinals. Tyson Etienne had 20 points to lead the Shockers. Michael Durr led the South Florida Bulls with 13 points and 13 rebounds.
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No. 11 KU Holds off No. 25 Oklahoma in Big 12 Quarterfinals, 69-62
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Ochai Agbaji scored a career-high 26 points, Marcus Garrett added 17, and No. 11 Kansas held on after blowing most of a 20-point halftime lead to beat No. 25 Oklahoma 69-62 in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament. Mitch Lightfoot added 11 points for the No. 2 seed Jayhawks, who played without big man David McCormack and backup forward Tristan Enaruna. Both players were caught up in COVID-19 protocols leading up to the tournament. KU will now play Texas tonight (FRI) in the semifinals. In the opening round of the Big 12 women's tournament Thursday, the KU women lost to TCU, 75-72.
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No. 2 Baylor Holds off K-State 74-68 in Big 12 Tournament Quarterfinals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — MaCio Teague scored 24 points, Davion Mitchell added 23 and second-ranked Baylor held on to beat Kansas State 74-68 and avoid what would have been one of the biggest upsets in the history of the Big 12 Tournament. The top-seeded Bears didn't put the game away until Kansas State threw away a pass in the final minute with a chance to make it a one-possession game. The Bears advanced to play No. 12 Oklahoma State in the semifinals. Nijel Pack led the Wildcats with six 3-pointers and 18 points.
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4 People in Michigan Won January's Billion Dollar Mega Millions Prize
DETROIT (AP) — Four people in a suburban Detroit lottery club have won a $1.05 billion Mega Millions lottery jackpot and will share $557 million after taxes. Officials made the announcement Friday, nearly two months after the Jan. 22 drawing. The winners chose the lump sum option, which means an immediate payment of $776 million. After taxes, it amounts to $557 million for the four. Their names weren't released. They have a lottery club in Oakland County called Wolverine FLL Club and had the single jackpot-winning ticket from that drawing. Their attorney, Kurt Panouses, says the winners plan to stay humble and "pay it forward through charitable giving" in southeastern Michigan.
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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.