Kansas Governor Unveils Plan to Reopen Kansas; State Will Lift Limits Monday on Many Businesses - but Not All
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Laura Kelly has announced that she will allow many Kansas businesses to reopen next week if they can maintain social distancing. She also said Thursday night that she hopes to lift all state limits on mass gatherings and other restrictions by June 15. Kelly is lifting a statewide stay-at-home order Monday. But her plan won’t allow bars, gyms, theaters, barbershops, hair and nail salons or state-owned casinos to reopen until at least May 18 and local officials will be allowed to impose stricter rules. Meanwhile, the state began testing all inmates at its prison in Lansing because of a growing coronavirus outbreak. Kansas Department of Corrections Secretary Jeff Zmuda announced Friday that there are now five Department of Corrections facilities with confirmed COVID-19 cases, as a staff member tested positive at El Dorado Correctional Facility. Details of the governor's four phase plan to reopen Kansas are now available at a new website: covid.ks.gov.
Get more information about this story: Kansas is Set to Reopen with Restrictions (Includes AUDIO from Governor's Address)
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Some Kansas Business Owners Upset by Governor's Reopening Plan
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Some Kansas business owners are frustrated by Gov. Laura Kelly’s plan to gradually reopen the state’s coronavirus-battered economy because they won’t be able to open their doors again Monday while others can. Kelly is letting a statewide stay-at-home order expire at midnight Sunday and allowing many businesses to reopen with social distancing and take other steps. But bars, restaurants, gyms, barbershops and hair salons are won’t be able to reopen until at least May 18. Nathan Hunt owns a martial arts academy in Junction City and says he can observe social distancing, keep classes small and disinfect his premises to operate safely.
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With Rural Kansas Looking to Reopen, Doctor Remains Nervous
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A family physician in northwest Kansas would like the state to remain under a stay-at-home order even as the governor contemplates how to gradually reopen the economy. Dr. Beth Oller and her husband are doctors in the small town of Stockton, roughly halfway between Denver to the west and Kansas City to the east. And she's been watching for weeks as the coronavirus pandemic has crept closer. Her home of Rooks County confirmed its first case April 5 and now has six. Some residents said they'd like to see the state start reopening next week, when the stay-at-home order is set to expire.
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Missouri Will Reopen Businesses Monday, with Guidelines
LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Governor Mike Parson says businesses and social events across the state will be able to reopen next Monday, with certain social distancing requirements. The governor announced Monday the first phase of the state's reopening will begin May 4. Parson said citizens and businesses must continue to follow social distancing requirements, and local governments may impose stricter guidelines. There will be no limits on crowd sizes at social gatherings if 6 feet of distance can be maintained between individuals. And the governor said some businesses will need to take additional precautions, such as limiting occupancy.
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Kansas Exceeds 4400 Cases of COVID-19, Including 130 Deaths
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — As of Friday morning, Kansas health officials had recorded 4,449 cases of COVID-19, including 130 deaths. Cases have been reported in 81 of the state's 105 counties. Get the latest updates here.
- KPR's Coronavirus Information and Resources Guide
- Live Coverage: Coronavirus in the Kansas City Area
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Nearly 300 Workers Test Positive at St. Joseph Meat Processing Plant
O'FALLON, Mo. (AP) _ Nearly 300 workers at a northwestern Missouri pork processing plant have now tested positive for the coronavirus, the latest of several meat plants around the country to see huge spikes in confirmed cases of the virus. Missouri's health department oversaw testing this week of more than 2,300 asymptomatic workers at the Triumph Foods plant in St. Joseph. State health director Dr. Randall Williams says that results for the first 1,625 asymptomatic workers showed that 259 tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Thirty-six others previously tested positive.
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Coronavirus Outbreak Prompts Kansas to Stop Prison Releases
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Laura Kelly says Kansas began releasing inmates this week as a way to check the spread of coronavirus in its prison system but stopped when an outbreak mushroomed. She said Friday that the outbreak created a danger of returning infected offenders to their communities. Kelly said the Department of Corrections released only six inmates and put them under house arrest for the rest of their sentences. But confirmed coronavirus cases at the Lansing Correctional Facility have skyrocketed among inmates and staff. Meanwhile, her plan for a gradual reopening of the state's economy sparked criticism over its disparate treatment of different businesses.
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UPDATE: Spirit AeroSystems Announces Layoffs of 1,450 Employees
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Aircraft parts maker Spirit AeroSystems is laying off 1,450 employees because demand for new airplanes has plummeted during the coronavirus pandemic. The Wichita Eagle reports that an email sent to employees says Boeing and Airbus reported their first-quarter financial reports this week and indicated there would be a decline in demand for new airplanes. Spirit is a supplier of parts for both companies. Affected employees in Wichita will start leaving on May 15 but some “may be asked to work during this 60 day period to provide cross training.” Employees working on the defense side will not be affected.
(–earlier reporting–)
Spirit AeroSystems Offers More Voluntary Layoffs
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Spirit AeroSystems is offering more voluntary layoffs to its employees in response to the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX and the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. In an email sent to employees Wednesday, the company said it is offering the layoffs to all union-covered technical and professional employees. The Wichita Eagle reported it wasn't immediately clear how many jobs the company will cut. The final day of work for those taking the layoffs will be no later than May 14. The latest layoffs come after Boeing said Wednesday that it would reduce its workforce by 10% because of a drop in production rates.
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Survey Shows Hope for Recovery Even as Economic Indices Drop
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The latest survey of supply managers in a nine-state region of the Midwest and Plains shows many have hope for a rebound yet this year, even as the survey's other indices show the coronavirus pandemic has knocked the economy in Middle America for a loop. The Mid-American Business Conditions index released Friday plummeted from March's 46.7 to 35.1 in April — the lowest reading since February 2009. But the confidence index, which gauges supply managers' economic outlook for the next six months, rose to 45.5 from March’s record low 14.5. Any score above 50 suggests economic growth, while scores below 50 suggest decline. The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
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Kansas Couple Who Coughed, Claimed to Have Virus Charged
HESSTON, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas couple who authorities say repeatedly coughed on people at a Walmart and claimed the man had contracted the coronavirus are facing felony charges. Harvey County authorities on Thursday charged 29-year-old Hazel Hamrick and 47-year-old Ernest Williams after an incident at the Newton Walmart on April 6. Hamrick is charged with two counts of criminal threat. Williams faces two counts of aiding and abetting criminal threat. Prosecutors said the couple was trying to cause fear during the incident. Hamrick told The Wichita Eagle that she and Williams didn't consider whether they were frightening people. She says she feels like a “complete fool.”
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Third Arrest Made in April Shooting Death in Wichita
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW-TV) — Police in Wichita have made a third arrest in the April shooting death of a man. Television station KSNW reports that police arrested a 28-year-old Wichita man Thursday night who was wanted in the April 23 death of 30-year-old Blake Mayes. Officers found Mayes on his front porch suffering from a gunshot wound, and he later died at a hospital. Two others, including Mayes's girlfriend, 36-year-old Bobbie Williams, and an acquaintance, 51-year-old William Moore, have been charged in Mayes's death. Police say a disturbance involving all four led to one of the suspects shooting Mayes.
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Topeka Police Say 2 Separate Fatal Shootings Were Related
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Topeka police say two fatal shootings earlier this week were related. Police said in a news release Thursday that the first shooting on Tuesday morning led to the death of 37-year-old Mark Edwards. Police say Zennie Vasser Jr. shot Edwards. A witness to that shooting then shot Vasser in self-defense. Vasser's body was discovered later between two houses about a half-block from the where Edwards was shot. Police say the shootings were an isolated incident and they are not looking for anyone else in the case. Further details were not released.
(–Related–)
Topeka Police Investigate Fatal Shooting; ID Victim
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Police in Topeka are investigating the overnight shooting death of man near the city's Freedom Valley Park. Police say in a news release that officers were called to the area around 11:30 pm Tuesday for a 911 call reporting gunshots. Arriving officers found a person suffering from critical injuries who died at the scene. On Wednesday morning, police identified the victim as 37-year-old Mark Edwards, of Topeka. Police are asking the public for any information on the fatal shooting.
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Missouri Deputy Accused of Sexually Assaulting Inmate
LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — Authorities in suburban Kansas City say a Clay County Jail deputy has been placed on leave after being accused of sexually assaulting a man being held on charges in the jail. The Kansas City Star reports that the inmate was taken to a hospital Saturday after accusing the deputy of rape and later returned to the jail, where he's being held in a restricted area. Clay County Sheriff's spokesman, Captain Will Akin, says an investigation into the allegations has been launched, and the alleged victim will be moved to another jail while he awaits trial on charges of burglary and first-degree sexual abuse. Akin declined to release the accused deputy's name.
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Pork Producer Says It Needs Flexibility on Virus Guidelines
O'FALLON, Mo. (AP) — The world’s largest pork producer has told a judge in Missouri that it's working as quickly as it can to comply with federal guidelines that seek to slow the spread of the coronavirus. But Smithfield Foods says it it needs some flexibility in an industry where people typically work side by side. The comments from a lawyer for Smithfield Foods came as a judge weighed whether to issue an injunction requiring a rural Missouri plant to abide by federal guidelines. Meanwhile, testing found 92 coronavirus cases at another Missouri plant, and Tyson Foods announced the temporary closure of a beef processing plant in Nebraska for deep cleaning after hundreds of people in surrounding communities tested positive for the virus.
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Kansas Native R.D. Hubbard, Horse Racing Breeder and Executive, Dies at 84
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kansas native R.D. Hubbard, who bred, owned and raced thoroughbred and quarter horses and was an influential executive in the racing industry, has died. He was 84. Hubbard died at his home in Palm Desert, California. He had been in declining health. Hubbard was born in Smith Center, Kansas, in 1935. He became chairman of Hollywood Park in Inglewood, California, in the early 1990s. He helped bring the track from near-bankruptcy to profitability. He was also part of a deal with the Raiders and NFL to bring a football stadium to the site, but it fell apart when Raiders owner Al Davis refused to add a second team.
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Kansas City Chiefs Exercise 5th-Year Option on Patrick Mahomes, Works on Long-Term Deal
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs are exercising their fifth-year option on Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes, a person familiar with their decision told The Associated Press, though both sides remain optimistic that they will agree on a long-term contract before the start of the season. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the Chiefs had not announced the move. Teams are allowed to use a fifth-year option on players selected in the first round of the NFL draft. If the Chiefs are unable to sign Mahomes to a long-term deal, he would be due a base salary of $25 million for the 2021 season.
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