Kansas High Court Backs Governor's Effort to Limit Size of Religious Services During Pandemic
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A state Supreme Court ruling over the weekend supported the governor's order limiting the size of religious services in Kansas to 10 people or less. But when Easter arrived the following day, not all churches complied. A Republican-dominated legislative panel had tried to overturn Democratic Governor Laura Kelly's executive order banning large religious and funeral services during the pandemic. When she first issued the order, the governor pointed to three religious gatherings that led to outbreaks of COVID-19. On Saturday, the state Supreme Court ruled in the governor's favor.
In its ruling, the state's highest court held that the Republican-controlled Legislative Coordinating Council (LCC) exceeded its authority when it tried to overturn the governor's executive order. The decision came after the justices heard oral arguments the day before Easter, which is typically the busiest day on the Christian calendar in terms of church attendance. The Saturday hearing was the court's first conducted completely via video conferencing. The court ruled that legislative action designed to give the LCC the authority to overrule the governor's executive orders was flawed.
Meanwhile, some churches still defied the order. Heritage Baptist Church in rural Douglas County held Easter services. The Lawrence Journal World observed about 40 vehicles in the church parking lot Sunday morning. The newspaper reports that the Rev. Scott Hanks, who leads the congregation, held services despite being aware of the governor's order that limits the size of all assemblies. “God wants us to have church,” Hanks said. A few other churches defied the governor's order as well. Pastor Aaron Harris of Calvary Baptist Church in Junction City told The Wichita Eagle that about 21 people attended his Easter Sunday service. The church seats 300.
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KU Med Participates in Clinical Trial of Hydroxychloroquine in Health Care Workers
KANSAS CITY, KANSAS (KPR) – The University of Kansas Medical Center will participate in a nationwide clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in preventing COVID-19 infection in exposed health care workers. The KU Medical Center made the announcement today (MON) that it is one of 60 such sites across the nation that would be participating in this clinical trial, led by the Duke Clinical Research Institute. The trial will launch April 22. ( Read more about this story.)
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Coronavirus Deaths at Kansas Rehab Facility Increase to 12
MISSION, Kan. (AP) — A coronavirus outbreak at a Kansas City area rehabilitation facility has now claimed 12 lives and sickened nearly 100 other residents and staff members. Health officials in Wyandotte County said that the Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation of Kansas City has 90 residents who tested positive and 20 staff. Five of the residents are currently in the hospital. The facility said in a statement posted on its website that about 90% of patients are responding positively to care and that it is making palliative and supportive care available to those residents whose “overall course has not been as encouraging despite the efforts of our clinical team.”
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Kansas City Police Investigate After Man Shot Dead on Easter
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City police are investigating the murder of a man who was fatally shot on Easter. The Kansas City Star reports 33-year-old Daniel Washington was found dead Sunday. A Kansas City police spokeswoman told the newspaper that officers responded to a 3 am Sunday call about a shooting in Kansas City's Midtown area. Police found Washington inside a vehicle but were told the shooting happened roughly two miles away. Police are asking for tips about the homicide.
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Kansas Unemployment Numbers Don't Show the Full Picture
BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — Even record-high unemployment claims do not capture the full extent of job losses in Kansas amid the coronavirus outbreak. Some people do not qualify for unemployment benefits and others are choosing to find temporary work to tide them over until businesses reopen. Many others simply cannot get through to the overwhelmed Kansas Department of Labor. The state's 43-year-old mainframe computer cannot keep up with claims and telephone lines are jammed with frustrated callers. Last week, more than 50,000 new unemployment claims were filed in Kansas.
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Sedgwick County Asking Employees to Volunteer for Furlough
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Sedgwick County has told its 2,500 employees in an email that it is looking for people to voluntarily furlough amid the coronavirus pandemic. An email Friday from County Manager Tom Stolz says the furlough will span from April 19 to May 23. The Wichita Eagle reports employees could be called back before if "services are able to return to normal-functioning capacity." The Sedgwick County Commission is expected to weigh in during its Wednesday meeting.
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Kansas Surpassed 1,300 COVID-19 Cases
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - As of 11 am Sunday, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 1,337 COVID-19 cases from 63 Kansas counties, including 56 deaths. Find more updates here.
- KPR's Coronavirus Information and Resources Guide
- What Kansans Need to Know About COVID-19 and Coronavirus, from the Kansas News Service
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More than 4,100 Positive Virus Cases in Missouri
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri’s health department is reporting 136 more confirmed cases of coronavirus. The Sunday update brings the state’s total number of reported cases to 4,160. The Department of Health and Senior Services reports 110 people have died from the virus in Missouri so far, up one from Saturday. The uptick comes as places of worship grapple with how to handle services on Easter Sunday while following social distancing guidelines. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the pastor at one St. Louis-area church printed out photos of his congregation and placed them throughout the church pews.
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Inmates Moved After Coronavirus Confirmed at 2nd Facility
MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials announced Monday that 113 inmates at a work-release facility have been relocated after a resident tested positive for the coronavirus amid a fight to control an outbreak at another facility. The Kansas Department of Corrections said the inmates who were relocated Sunday night lived in the same housing unit as the infected resident at the Wichita Work Release Facility. They were moved to a newly reconstructed building at the Lansing Correctional Facility, which is battling its own outbreak with 18 inmates and 21 staff testing positive.
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Kansas State Works to Boost Enrollment, Offers Virtual Tours
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State University is still working to increase enrollment despite challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic. Enrollment has been declining for years, and it hit a 20-year low in fall 2019. To turn things around, The Manhattan Mercury reports the university is offering virtual campus tours to prospective students. During the virtual tours, students can talk over Zoom with admissions counselors and representatives from different programs. But enrollment management Vice Provost Karen Goos told the newspaper that students won't get the same sense of the university's traditions and culture on a virtual tour as they would walking around campus.
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$1 Million Bond Set for Kansas Man in Killings of Girlfriend, Her Child
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man charged with capital murder for the shooting deaths of his girlfriend and her 8-year-old daughter is in jail on a $1 million bond. The Sedgwick County district attorney's office says a judge set bond for 25-year-old Daniel Lopez on Monday. Lopez was wanted for the killings until police arrested him Friday without incident. He’s charged in the deaths of 25-year-old Mickayla Sorell and her daughter Natalya Sorrell. An Associated Press request for comment to Lopez's public defender wasn't immediately returned Monday.
(–earlier reporting–)
Kansas Man Arrested in Killings of Girlfriend, Her Daughter
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police say they have arrested a Kansas man wanted on capital murder charges in the shooting deaths of his girlfriend and her 8-year-old daughter. Authorities said that 25-year-old Daniel Lopez was arrested Friday evening without incident at a residence in Wichita after police followed up on a tip that he was at the home of family members. Sedgwick County authorities charged him earlier this month in the deaths of 24-year-old Mickayla Sorell her daughter, Natalya Sorell.
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Inmates Rampage Through Offices, Set Fires at Lansing Prison
LANSING, Kan. (AP) — Prison officials say inmates at a Kansas prison where at least 28 people have been sickened by the coronavirus rampaged through offices, breaking windows and setting small fires for several hours before the facility was secured. The disturbance involving about 20 men began about 3 pm Thursday in medium-security cell house C of the Lansing Correctional Facility. Two inmates had minor injuries and were treated at the site. Staff members were able to get out of the building when the disturbance began and no staff was injured. The cell house sustained "quite a bit of damage."
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Spike in Law Enforcement Impersonations Reported in Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities are investigating a spike in people impersonating law enforcement officers in Kansas. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said in a news release Friday that it has identified about 10 reports of suspected law enforcement impersonations in the past several weeks in multiple counties. There have no reports of injuries or thefts. The KBI says that the impersonator often questions whether the driver's travel is "essential," or asks for workplace documentation. The Kansas stay-at-home order doesn't require people to carry or a letter, identification card, or other paper proving they are allowed to leave their home.
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Abortion Clinics: Pandemic Boosts Demand, Heightens Stress
NEW YORK (AP) — The coronavirus outbreak has fueled attempts to ban abortions in some states. Where the procedure remains available, some abortion providers are reporting increased demand. They describe patients who are distraught over economic stress and health concerns linked to the outbreak. Some clinics are seeing patients who traveled hundreds of miles from Texas, which has banned abortions during the pandemic. A clinic doctor in Chicago says one recent patient was a teen who drove all the way from Texas with her mother. And a clinic in Wichita, Kansas, says it performed nearly three times as many abortions last month as it did in March 2019.
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Kansas Man Charged in Fatal Shooting Near Library
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man has been charged with murder for a fatal shooting near a Johnson County library. The Kansas City Star reports Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe charged 27-year-old Overland Park resident Dvonte Brown with first-degree murder. Authorities allege he killed 29-year-old Prairie Village resident Micah Babick last week. Police say Babick was fatally shot in a parking lot near the Johnson County Central Resource Library. Brown was arrested for the killing on Saturday. His bond is set at $1 million. No lawyers were listed for Brown in court records Monday.
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Kansas Woman Dies After Wichita Shooting
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW-TV) — Kansas police are investigating the fatal shooting of an 18-year-old woman in Wichita. Wichita television station KSNW-TV reports Aubrey Resendez died after an early Monday morning shooting. Wichita police told the station that an 18-year-old man was driving Resendez and another passenger when they got into a disturbance with people in a silver truck. Police say someone in the truck fired multiple shots at the car and hit Resendez. The driver and the other passenger were not hurt. But Resendez was taken to a hospital and later died. Police say the shooting wasn't random.
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Kansas Suspends Sales of Nonresident Turkey Permits
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas has suspended sales of general nonresident turkey permits to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Governor Laura Kelly says in a news release that while turkey hunting is largely a solitary activity, the potential for inadvertent spread of COVID-19 due to travel associated with nonresident participation is "something we simply cannot risk." This was initially not an issue because nonresident permit sales were lagging behind last year, when 14,700 nonresident spring turkey permits were issued. But state officials became alarmed when nonresident demand for them in Kansas began to rise after hunting opportunities diminished in other states.
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Former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens and Wife to Get Divorced
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens and his wife Sheena Greitens are divorcing. The couple announced Saturday that they have decided to end their marriage and co-parent their two sons. The divorce comes nearly two years after Greitens resigned amid accusations that he took a compromising photo of a woman without her consent during a 2015 extramarital affair. Greitens was charged with invasion of privacy in connection with that allegation and with a separate felony related to fundraising. Both charges were dropped. Greitens resigned in June 2018. Sheena Greitens is an assistant professor in political science at the University of Missouri.
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KU's Devon Dotson Announces He's Entering NBA Draft
UNDATED (AP) — University of Kansas guard Devon Dotson is entering the NBA draft after leading the Big 12 Conference in scoring his sophomore season. The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 18.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4 assists and 2.1 steals while helping Kansas go 28-3 and win its final 16 games. He earned second-team honors on The Associated Press All-America team. Kansas owned the No. 1 ranking when the season was halted due to the coronavirus pandemic. Dotson says he intends to sign with an agent.
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