Jeff Colyer Drops Out of Kansas Governor's Race Following Cancer Diagnosis
MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Former Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer is dropping out of the 2022 Republican primary for governor after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. In his announcement Monday, Colyer said he's endorsing Attorney General Derek Schmidt in the governor's race. Colyer had been Schmidt’s main rival for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s reelection. He was governor for a little less than a year. He was elevated from lieutenant governor in January 2018 when Republican Governor Sam Brownback resigned to become U.S. ambassador at large for international religious freedom. Colyer then narrowly lost the GOP primary.
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20 States -- Including Kansas -- Sue over Biden Admin School, Work LGBTQ Protections
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Attorneys general from 20 states have sued President Joe Biden’s administration seeking to halt directives that extend federal sex discrimination protections to LGBTQ people, ranging from transgender girls participating in school sports to the use of school and workplace bathrooms that align with a person’s gender identity. Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery filed the lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Knoxville, arguing that legal interpretations by the U.S. Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are based on a faulty view of U.S. Supreme Court case law. The attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and West Virginia also signed on to the lawsuit. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Kansas COVID Deaths Spike in August
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) _ Kansas has seen a significant increase in the number of COVID-19 deaths in August with more than 300 reported over the past four weeks. That’s three times as many as in the previous month and health officials say September could be even deadlier as the delta variant continues to surge. During the past week, Kansas confirmed nearly 10,000 new cases of COVID-19. The state hasn’t experienced case numbers this high since January. The surge is also affecting long-term care facilities. In the spring, Kansas had stopped nearly all outbreaks in nursing homes and similar facilities, but dozens of people have died in COVID outbreaks linked to long-term care since early July.
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Missouri Nursing Home Workers Lag Far Behind in Vaccinations
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Officials face a tall order to get all Missouri nursing home workers vaccinated because fewer than half of them have received the shots. By that metric, Missouri’s 48% ranks third-lowest in the nation, trailed only by Florida and Louisiana, both at 47%. Hawaii leads the states, at 89%. But at the same time, some 82% of Missouri’s nursing home residents have been vaccinated, which is just behind the national average of 83%. Joseph Shafer is the chief operating officer for Prime Healthcare Management, which operates seven nursing homes across outstate Missouri said he's already had several employees quit over the vaccine mandate the Biden administration announced for nursing home workers.
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Wellington Schools Close Due to COVID
WELLINGTON, Kan. (KNS) _ A south-central Kansas school district has announced that it is closing all of its schools because of COVID-19 outbreaks. The announcement from leaders in the Wellington School District comes less than two weeks after school started. Sumner County health officials identified three of the district’s six school buildings as COVID cluster sites with at least five positive cases each. Masks have been optional in Wellington District classrooms. The district, south of Wichita, is closing all schools at least through September 7th and sending about 1,500 students home. Wellington is the first district in the state to shut down all classes, sports practices, and school-related activities because of COVID outbreaks. The district is not offering any remote learning options during the closure. A state law passed earlier this year limits remote learning to 40 hours per student each year. Schools risk losing state funding if they offer additional online learning opportunities. Wellington School District officials say they will reassess the situation after Labor Day.
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State Guidelines in Kansas Call for Fans Who Attended Chiefs Game to Quarantine
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs had a big crowd Friday for their preseason game win over Minnesota, and unvaccinated Kansas residents who were part of the crowd should quarantine. The Kansas City Star reports that Kansas' travel rules aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 advise anyone unvaccinated attending mass gatherings to spend seven days in quarantine if they get a negative test result, and 10 days if no test is taken. Those who have been vaccinated are advised to quarantine if they become symptomatic after traveling. The game marked the first time Arrowhead Stadium opened to a full crowd since the team raised a Super Bowl LIV banner.
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Police in South-Central Kansas Discover 2 Bodies on Property
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Sheriff's deputies called to a south-central Kansas property for a welfare check discovered the bodies of two people and are searching for a person of interest in their deaths. The Reno County Sheriff's Office says deputies were called Friday evening to a property east of Hutchinson and spoke to friends of a person they had not seen or heard from in two days. Officials said that during a search of the property, deputies found a body believed to be that of the missing person. Officials say deputies obtained a search warrant for the property and subsequently found the body of a second person. Investigators believe both people were killed, but did not say how they died.
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Fatal Kansas Turnpike Shooting May Be Considered Self-Defense
HAYSVILLE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a fatal weekend shooting along the Kansas Turnpike may have been done in self-defense in response to road rage. Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Chad Crittenden said the shooting was reported shortly before 7 pm Saturday near the Haysville exit of the Kansas Turnpike toll road, but officials didn't immediately release many details of the shooting. Crittenden said one least one person had a gunshot wound and two vehicles were stopped in the southbound lanes. First responders began providing aid to the injured person who was rushed to a Wichita hospital where he later died. The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Lt. Benjamin Blick said the shooting appears to have been done in self-defense.
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19-Year-Old Charged in Killing at Topeka Motel
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 19-year-old Topeka man is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of a man at a motel. WIBW-TV reports that Isaiah Quin Dale Krainbill was charged Friday in the death of 37-year-old James Epps Jr. Epps was killed Tuesday at a Travelers Inn in Topeka. He had been shot in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police say Krainbill was immediately identified as a suspect. He was arrested a short time later. Krainbill is jailed on $1 million bond. It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney.
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Kansas Man Struck and Killed by Semi in Missouri
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A 28-year-old Kansas man is dead after being struck by a semi-truck on Interstate 70 in Kansas City, Missouri. Kansas City police say the accident happened just before 3:30 am Saturday in the westbound lanes. A tire blew out on a Chrysler sedan and the driver, a man from Osawatomie, got out of the vehicle. A semi swerved to avoid the stopped vehicle and struck the driver who was standing nearby. The man, whose name has not been released, died at the scene. The truck then overturned after driving off the shoulder. The driver was not hurt but a passenger was hospitalized with an injury authorities called non-life threatening.
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2 Young Children in Missouri Die After They Were Found Unresponsive in Pool
JACKSON COUNTY, MO. (AP) — Two children under the age of three died after they were found unresponsive in a residential pool. Jackson County Sheriff Darryl Forte said police were called to the home near Smart Road and Bob White Lane southeast of Kansas City shortly after 4 pm Saturday. The Kansas City Star reports that a 1-year-old and 2-year-old had been found unresponsive in the pool. Both children were taken to a local hospital where they died.
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Wichita Boy Drowns in Pool at Home
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — An 8-year-old Wichita boy is dead after drowning at a home swimming pool during a party. Police were called Friday night to a home and found Lucas Kindrick unresponsive. Emergency workers performed lifesaving measures but Lucas was pronounced dead at the scene. Police say the Lucas was at the home for a back-to-school party. Police say the investigation is ongoing.
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Missouri Prosecutor Files Motion to Free Longtime Inmate
LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri prosecutor has filed a motion asking a judge to exonerate a man who has been imprisoned for four decades for a triple murder that she and many others do not believe he committed. The motion was filed Saturday and made public Monday. It stems from a new law that gives local prosecutors the authority to ask judges to exonerate prisoners they believe are innocent. Members of the team that prosecuted Kevin Strickland, federal prosecutors in the Western District of Missouri, Jackson County’s presiding judge, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and some Republican members of the Missouri Legislature have all said Strickland should be released.
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Wichita Man Gets 4 Life Sentences for Child Pornography
WICHITA, Kan (AP) — A Wichita man has been sentenced to four concurrent life sentences for sexually molesting and producing pornographic video of a young girl while he was living with a friend. Prosecutors say they learned of the abuse because the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported that images of the girl were circulating online. Investigators determined that Tyler Dudley likely abused the girl and took the pictures in 2018 and 2019 when the girl was 5 or 6 years old. Dudley told investigators he produced the videos while using a girl who was underage while staying with a friend in southeast Wichita. Dudley also admitted downloading child pornography on his phone.
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Man Accused of Kidnapping for Stealing Car with Toddler Onboard
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City man suspected of stealing a car is charged with felony kidnapping because a 2-year-old girl was inside the vehicle. The Kansas City Star reports that 38-year-old Truman Brown was arrested Friday. He also is charged with tampering with a motor vehicle. Police say 2-year-old Khalecia Richards was inside a Ford Mustang stolen from a gas station around 5:40 p.m. on Aug. 17. The child was found safe in Kansas City, Kansas, within a couple of hours. The car was discovered nearby. Brown is jailed on $50,000 cash-only bond.
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Actor Ed Asner, TV's Blustery Lou Grant, Dies at 91
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actor Ed Asner, the blustery but lovable Lou Grant in two successful television series, has died. He was 91. Asner’s representative confirmed the death in an email Sunday to The Associated Press. Asner was a journeyman actor in films and TV when he was hired in 1970 to play the grumpy TV news boss, Lou Grant, on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” The show ended after seven seasons and Asner moved on to star in “Lou Grant,” playing the same character, but in a newspaper drama. He won Emmys for both shows as well as for “Rich Man, Poor Man” and “Roots.” Asner was born in Kansas City, Missouri and graduated from Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kansas.
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City of Wichita Made $196,000 Selling Guns Since 2015 Law
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — One of he biggest gun dealers in south-central Kansas is the city of Wichita, but it actually received less than half the proceeds from the sales because it works with several online companies to auction off the firearms. Since a new state law allowing the gun sales was passes in 2015, Wichita has sold 2,082 guns. that were seized during a variety of crimes but were no longer needed. The city generated $196,000 on the gun sales. But The Wichita Eagle learned that the city is received less than half of the $425,000 in total sales the guns generated because the companies than handle the sales take a significant chunk of the proceeds.
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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. This news summary is made possible by KPR listener-members. Become one today!