Kansas Governor Issues Emergency Declaration; Grassland Fire Danger is High
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has issued a state of disaster emergency declaration due to the potential risk of wildland fires through March 7. “In recent years, we have seen the devastation wildland fires can cause across the state," Kelly said. "They destroy crops and grazing land, and may threaten homes and lives. This declaration will allow the state to use whatever resources we have available to mitigate the risks and respond to fires, should they occur, in support of local emergency responders.” Officials say the majority of the state is at some risk of fire danger as conditions across the state are dry with low humidity, strong southerly winds and an abundance of fuel for fires in the form of dry grass and other flammable vegetation. The State Emergency Operations Center in Topeka will be activated to a partial state of readiness (Level 2) through Saturday night to monitor conditions in central and eastern Kansas. The Kansas National Guard will be placed on alert, if needed, for aerial fire suppression support with UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.
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Kansas Governor, Health Officials Prepare for Potential Outbreak of Coronavirus
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas health department's top administrator says health officials are monitoring up to a dozen people a day for the possibility that they have the new coronavirus. Secretary Lee Norman also said that the Department of Health and Environment now can do its own testing. Earlier this week, the health department launched an online resource center to disseminate information about coronavirus. A legislative committee also approved an increase Wednesday in state aid to local health departments. Kansas has had no confirmed cases of the virus that causes COVID-19, but Norman said a positive test in inevitable.
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Kansas Trooper's Bullet Grazes Fleeing Missouri Motorist
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper fired multiple shots at a fleeing Missouri motorist and grazed the man with a bullet after he rammed a patrol car. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said in a news release that the pursuit started Thursday night after a trooper attempted to stop a pickup truck with a stolen tag on the Kansas Turnpike in Douglas County. The release said 40-year-old Robert Knapp, of Springfield, drove west toward Topeka until troopers were able to use tire-deflating devices and a tactical maneuver to stop the truck. The KBI said Knapp then rammed the patrol car, leading a trooper to fire shots.
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FEC Reviews Father's Funds Funneled to Kansas Congressman Steve Watkins
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Federal Election Commission is examining now-refunded campaign contributions that Kansas Rep. Steve Watkins’s father funneled through the freshman Republican congressman’s sisters and others during the 2018 campaign. The Kansas City Star reports that Topeka physician Steven Watkins Sr. confirmed Friday that the FEC is looking into thousands of dollars he steered into his son’s campaign through other donors, including his daughters and a homebuilder. The congressman has been under investigation by local officials over whether he violated state election laws for previously listing a UPS Inc. store as his residence. He's facing a GOP primary challenge from State Treasurer Jake LaTurner.
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Amid Opioid, Vaping Suits, Kansas Looks to Curb Local Action
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Business groups and Kansas's Republican attorney general are pushing for a state law that could prevent cities, counties and local school districts from suing big corporations such as opioid and vaping products manufacturers. The proposal would give Attorney General Derek Schmidt's office oversight of local officials' decisions to hire outside attorneys, and it's modeled after a law Texas enacted last year. Supporters say they're trying to make it easier to reach broad, nationwide settlements of legal issues, and prevent what the U.S. Chamber of Commerce calls a “shakedown.” Critics say the measure would allow big corporations to escape accountability for their misconduct.
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GOP Senators Urge Changes to Reduce Missouri River Flooding
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Republican senators from four states that have seen severe flooding from the Missouri River are backing legislation that would require the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to change its management of the river to reduce flood risk. The proposal would require the Corps to take steps to reduce flood risks along the lower Missouri River by changing the way it manages the dams and by strengthening levees along the river. The proposal is backed by all the senators from Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa. Corps officials say flood protection remains their highest priority.
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KU Investigating Massage Therapist for Female Athletes; Suspect Stands Accused of Child Sex Crimes
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — University of Kansas officials say a Lawrence man recently charged with a child sex crime had provided massage services to some women's athletic teams since 2015. The therapist, 48-year-old Shawn O'Brien, was an independent contractor who operated a massage business in Lawrence. O'Brien was charged recently in Douglas County with aggravated indecent liberties with a child in incidents from seven or eight years ago under the guise of a "massage." KU Chancellor Doug Girod and Athletic Director Jeff Long said in a statement Thursday they were “deeply troubled” by an internal inquiry into the situation. They said the school is providing support to student-athletes, parents and staff who might have been impacted by the therapist’s association with the university.
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Kansas Prison Dental Instructor Sentenced to 32 Months
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former Kansas prison dental instructor convicted of molesting a female inmate has been sentenced to 32 months in prison. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Thomas Co also will have to register as a sex offender for 25 years. Prosecutors had said Co molested six female inmates at the Topeka Correctional Facility between 2011 and 2018 while teaching them how to make dentures, but a jury convicted him on only one count. The conviction involved a woman whose complaints in January 2017 prompted an internal investigation that concluded Co should be fired.
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6 Arrested, 1 Sought in Multi-County Drug Bust in Central Kansas
GREAT BEND, Kan. (KAKE-TV) — Central Kansas law enforcement authorities arrested six people and are searching for a seventh after an investigation into a multi-county methamphetamine ring. Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir said seven warrants were issued in Barton, Stafford and Pawnee counties. He said officers developed information from several sources including an inmate who was allegedly running drug deals on a recorded line in the Barton County jail. KAKE-TV reports officers found large amounts of cash, methamphetamine, drug processing materials and firearms. Three preschool-aged children were taken into protective custody at one location.
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Guatemalan Man Sentenced in U.S. Identity Theft Scheme Affecting Kansas, New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. prosecutors say a man from Guatemala has been sentenced to more than 4.5 years in prison for an identity theft scheme that compromised the identities of dozens of Americans. Federal authorities say 34-year-old Manuel Solis-Zetino was convicted of conspiracy, unlawful transfer of identification documents and aggravated identity theft. Court documents say Solis-Zetino and other defendants produced fraudulent documents that were used to obtain driver’s licenses for people in the country illegally. Officials say Solis-Zetino transported many of them from Kansas to New Mexico, where he instructed them how to use the fake documents to obtain genuine licenses and other forms of identification.
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Laptops, iPads and Sports Uniforms Taken from Topeka School
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW-TV) — A private Topeka school is closed for one day after thieves stole laptops, iPads and sports uniforms and damaged at least 10 rooms. Topeka police are investigating the burglary early Thursday at Topeka Lutheran School. Staff discovered the break-in when they arrived for work. WIBW reports police say more than 20 laptops, Chromebooks, iPads, food, cash, uniforms and other items were taken. The school cancelled classes Thursday to allow teachers and staff to clean up the damage.
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Man Charged with Running Kansas Drug Ring from Oklahoma Prison Cell
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A man serving a 90-year sentence for participating in the 1993 murder of a Kansas corrections officer is charged in a 55-count federal indictment with running a drug ring from his Oklahoma prison cell. The U.S. attorney's office said Wednesday that 47-year-old Travis Knighten was the brains behind a criminal organization that distributed methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine powder, crack cocaine and marijuana in Wichita. No attorney is listed for Knighten in online court records. Knighten, who is incarcerated at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Oklahoma, is serving a 90-year sentence for killing Officer Mark Avery in March 1993 during a fight in the Lansing Correctional Facility.
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Woman Sentenced to 13 Years in Kansas Deputy Dragging Case
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ A driver who dragged a Kansas sheriff's deputy while fleeing after being stopped has been sentenced to more than 13 years in prison. Melissa Heinzman was sentenced Thursday for aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer and for probation violations. She also was ordered to pay more than than $33,000 in restitution. Prosecutors say Heinzman drove off in June 2019 after a Sedgwick County sheriff's deputy pulled her over, dragging the deputy about 100 feet and running over her leg. The deputy wasn't seriously hurt.
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KU Objects to NCAA Charges in Response to Allegations
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas forcefully objected to charges that its storied men's basketball program, currently No. 1 in the nation, and its football programs had committed significant violations tied primarily to recruiting when it issued its formal response to the NCAA's notice of allegations Thursday night. In a series of documents that total nearly 300 pages of arguments and supporting materials, the school claims that several facts involving Bill Self's basketball program are in dispute, including charges that Kansas lacked institutional control and that the Hall of Fame coach and his assistant, Kurtis Townsend, had committed a series of high-level violations.
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Correction: KCK School Resource Officer Pleads No Contest in Child Sex Crimes Case
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — In a March 5 story about a former Kansas City, Kansas, school resource officer, The Associated Press, based on information from The Kansas City Star, erroneously reported that Michael Eugene English Sr. pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated indecent liberties with children between the ages of 14 and 16. English pleaded no contest to the charges. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is treated as such for sentencing purposes.
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