Kansas Population More Concentrated; 80 Counties Lose People
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — New census figures show most Kansas counties lost residents over the past 10 years as the state's population concentrated in more populous places, including the Kansas City area. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau's once-a-decade count of the nation's population showed that 80 of the state's 105 counties declined in population since 2010, 16 of them by more than 10%. Most of those counties were rural. Five of the top 10 fastest-growing counties were in or close to the Kansas City metropolitan area. The state's most populous county, Johnson County, has affluent Kansas City suburbs that have been growing for decades, and its population grew another 12.1% in the past 10 years. Census figures also show that Kansas saw a 3% increase in population over 10 years, to almost 2.94 million. Population shifts within the state mean a shift in political clout away from rural areas and toward Kansas City and a few other areas when the Legislature redraws political boundaries next year.
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Kansas Redistricting to Focus on Democratic Representative's Region, Cut Rural Clout
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Ten years of population shifts will boost the clout of the Kansas City and Wichita areas in Kansas politics and fuel a fight over redrawing the district of the only Democrat representing the state in Congress. The Republican-controlled Legislature must use census data released last week to redraw congressional and legislative districts next year. The 3rd Congressional District represented by Democrat Sharice Davids, is now overpopulated. If GOP state lawmakers remain united, they will set the new lines. Meanwhile, the new census figures suggest Johnson County could gain three Kansas House seats and a Kansas Senate seat, and Sedgwick County could gain a House seat.
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Leavenworth Detention Center on Lockdown After Inmate Dies
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — The CoreCivic Leavenworth Detention Center is on lockdown after an inmate died there. Leavenworth police Major Dan Nicodemus said 39-year-old Scott Wilson died two days after he was attacked at the center on August 2. Nicodemus said a 28-year-old man has been identified as a suspect but no charges were filed as of Friday. Ryan Gustin, spokesman for CoreCivic, said the detention center was placed on lockdown August 3 and the lockdown remained in effect on Friday. Gustin said CoreCivic is working with the U.S. Marshals Service to determine when to lift lockdown. The Leavenworth Detention Center houses pretrial detainees for the Marshals Service.
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Democrat Leaving Kansas House Joins National Atheists Group
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A Democrat who has announced that he’s stepping down from the Kansas House will serve as state policy director for a national group that defends the rights of atheists and fights to keep religion out of government. American Atheists on Monday announced the appointment of Democratic state Representative Brett Parker, of Overland Park. Parker announced in May that he would resign from the Legislature after helping to found the liberal nonprofit advocacy group Prairie Roots. His resignation from the House is effective August 29. American Atheists said that as its state policy director, Parker will manage its communications with state lawmakers and how it engages grassroots supporters.
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Unvaccinated Johnson County Employees Must Get Tested Weekly
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) - The most populous county in Kansas is requiring its employees to submit to weekly COVID-19 testing if they aren't vaccinated. Johnson County Manager Penny Postoak Ferguson said that only 46% of county employees had reported being fully vaccinated as of Wednesday. Countywide, nearly 58% of eligible residents are fully vaccinated. Beginning Aug. 23, government employees who are not fully vaccinated must get tested once a week. The Kansas City Star reports that employees who work in departments providing direct care to residents are subject to tests up to twice weekly.
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Kansas Patrol: Atchison Man Killed in UTV Crash
ATCHISON, Kan. (AP) _ The Kansas State Patrol says an Atchison man is dead after the utility vehicle he was driving crashed into a car. Television station KSNT reports that the crash happened Saturday afternoon, killing 26-year-old Eli Whittaker. Investigators say Whittaker was driving a UTV on Kansas Highway 7 when he swerved to try to avoid another UTV in front of him that had slowed for traffic. Troopers say Whittaker hit the other UTV, then crossed into the patch of oncoming traffic and was hit by a car. Whittaker died at the scene. Investigators say he was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.
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Kansas Firefighter Dies After Being Shocked by Power Lines
ROLLA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a southwest Kansas firefighter died after being shocked by power lines while working at the scene of a traffic crash. Morton County Emergency Management officials said the firefighter and a sheriff's deputy were the first to arrive at the accident site Sunday afternoon just south of Rolla. The responders were searching for victims when the firefighter was shocked by damaged power lines. Emergency management says CPR was performed at the scene but the firefighter died later at a hospital. The firefighter's name has not been released. An investigation is continuing.
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Wichita Police Say a Man Was Killed in Sunday Night Shooting, Another Arrested
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ Police in Wichita say a shooting has killed a man in his 20s, injured another and led to the arrest of a person suspected in the killing. Police say the shooting happened around 9 p.m. Sunday on a south Wichita street when a fight led to gunfire. Investigators say one man who was shot was pronounced dead at the scene. Another person was taken to a hospital for injuries that were not specified. Police said another person was arrested. Police have not released the names of any of the people involved.
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Report Shows Racial Disparity and Low Overall Vaccination Rates for Kansas Kids
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - A new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation shows COVID-19 vaccination rates remain low for Kansas kids, and especially low for some racial groups. Children over 12 are eligible for the vaccine and pediatricians are pleading with families to get their kids vaccinated but only about 1 in 10 Kansas children have gotten the shot. The report also indicates that there are broad racial disparities. Black children are half as likely as their white peers to have been vaccinated. Latoya Hill is an analyst at the Kaiser Family Foundation. She says the survey found parents of color have more concerns including difficulty traveling to a vaccination site and falsely believing they may have to pay out of pocket for the shot. Covid vaccines are free. Hill says low vaccination rates are especially worrying right now because of the rapid increase in delta variant cases involving kids.
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Fatal Shooting Reported at Kansas City, Kansas, Park
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - Authorities are investigating a fatal shooting at a park in Kansas City, Kansas. Wyandotte County Sheriff's Captain Kyle Harvey said the shooting was reported in Matney Park shortly before 5:30 a.m. Sunday. First responders who went to the park found a man inside a car who had been shot several times. The man's name and age were not immediately released Sunday. No arrests were reported Sunday by the sheriff's office, which is investigating the shooting. The Kansas City Star reports that this shooting is the 24th homicide of the year in Kansas City, Kansas.
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Small Plane Makes Emergency Landing on Northeast Kansas Highway
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A small airplane had to make an emergency landing on a highway in northeastern Kansas Saturday night. Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse said a 1961 Bonanza V-35 airplane made an emergency landing on U.S. Highway 75 near 142nd Road near Mayetta Saturday after it lost engine power after taking off in Topeka. No injuries were reported from the landing. Morse said four people were on the plane when it encountered engine trouble shortly after takeoff. Northbound traffic on the highway was reduced to one lane after the plane landed, and both northbound lanes were closed for a time while the plane was removed from the highway.
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Former Teacher Sentenced to Probation for Sex with Student
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - An ex-teacher and former Wichita City Council candidate has been sentenced to three years of probation for having a sexual relationship with a teenage student. Rodney Wren also was ordered Friday to undergo mental-health treatment, medication management, substance-abuse treatment and treatment for being a sex offender. Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett said Wren also will be under a post release supervision for his lifetime and will have to register as a sex offender. The Wichita Eagle reports that he faces a 34 month prison sentence if he violates his probation.
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Topeka Lawyer Disbarred After Hit-and-Run Crash Conviction
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A Topeka attorney who was convicted in a fatal hit-and-run crash has been disbarred. The Kansas Supreme Court revoked Roy Artman's law license because of his role in the fatal 2016 crash that killed 29-year-old Anthony Espinoza. He was found guilty in 2019 of leaving the scene of a fatal crash. According to court records, Artman struck two people who were changing a tire on their vehicle while he was driving on Interstate 70 between Topeka and Lawrence. Espinoza was killed and the other person was injured. Artman was sentenced to 24 months of probation after he was convicted in November 2019.
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Prosecutor: Fatal Police Shooting in Lenexa Was Justified
LENEXA, Kan. (AP) — Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe says officers in Lenexa were justified in their actions when they shot and killed a Tennessee man in May. Darren Dejuan Chandler, of Nashville, was shot and killed in late May during a shootout with police at a Lenexa hotel. Officers responded to an Extended Stay America hotel after receiving reports of a domestic violence situation. Howe said body camera video showed Chandler fired two rounds at officers when they opened the door to the motel room. Chandler was shot as he advanced on the officers. No officers were injured.
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Man Who Fled to Mexico Convicted of 2015 Rape in Topeka
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Topeka man who fled to Mexico in 2017 after being accused of rape has been convicted in the case. A jury on Thursday found Daniel Arreola guilty of seven felony counts. Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay said Arreola forced his way into a woman's apartment in July 2015 and raped her at gunpoint. He fled to Mexico in February 2017, four days before his trial was scheduled to begin. He was arrested in Mexico and returned to Kansas in August of 2019 and has remained in custody since. Arreola's sentencing is scheduled for October 15.
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Eudora Woman's Conviction in Day Care Death Overturned
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Court of Appeals has ordered a new trial for a Eudora woman who was convicted of murder after a baby died at her day care center. The appeals court said Carrody Buchhorn received ineffective counsel before she was convicted in 2018 of second-degree murder in the death of 9-month-old boy, Oliver “Ollie” Ortiz. He was found unresponsive at the day care in 2016. The court said Buchhorn's attorney did not properly investigate a coroner's ruling that the boy died from a blow to the head. The Douglas County District Attorney's office said it plans to appeal Friday's ruling to the Kansas Supreme Court.
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Kansas City Chiefs Defeat San Francisco 49ers in 1st Pre-season Game
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — After a brief appearance by Kansas City's star quarterback, Patrick Mahomes, to begin the game, Chad Henne threw a TD pass to Byron Pringle, and rookie Shane Buechele scored on a 1-yard play with 1:14 to play to win the game for the Chiefs. While the 49ers held out 22 players, including nearly their entire starting defense, Kansas City took a different approach, with only one starter held out in linebacker Willie Gay. Mahomes played one series behind Kansas City’s overhauled offensive line that features five new starters including three players who had never before suited up for an NFL game. Mahomes took part in four plays, handing off twice, completing a short pass to Travis Kelce and then a third-down incompletion to Mecole Hardman that led to a punt. The Chiefs head to Arizona on Friday for the second pre-season contest opposite the Cardinals. The first regular season game is set for Sunday September 12 against the Cleveland Browns at Arrowhead Stadium.
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These area headlines are curated by KPR news staffers, including J. Schafer, Laura Lorson, Kaye McIntyre and Tom Parkinson. Our headlines are generally posted by 10 am weekdays and by 1 pm on weekends. This news summary is made possible by KPR listener-members. Become one today!