Kansas GOP Fails to Override Veto of Congressional Redistricting Map
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Top Republican lawmakers in Kansas don't yet have the votes to override Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of a GOP congressional redistricting plan. The Senate voted 24-15 on Monday to override Kelly's veto of a measure making it harder for the state’s only Democrat in Congress to win reelection. But Republican leaders needed 27 votes in the 40-member chamber. Senators can reconsider Tuesday, giving GOP leaders one more shot. The plan would split the Kansas City area into two congressional districts and cost Democratic U.S. Representative Sharice Davids some territory where she performs well. The city of Lawrence would be placed into a district with western and central Kansas.
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Mystery Megaproject Hits Snag in Kansas Legislature
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - A package of incentives that Democratic Governor Laura Kelly says is needed to attract a $4 billion manufacturing plant and 4,000 jobs to Kansas is stalled in a legislative committee. The legislation is caught up in negotiations over tax cuts. Some Republican leaders support the incentive bill as much as Governor Kelly does, but they want it to include a cut in the Kansas corporate tax rate. That's something, they say, that will benefit all businesses. Democrats are opposed to cluttering up the incentive bill. They say the tax breaks in it should go only to companies willing to invest at least $1 billion in the state. There could be room for compromise. A separate bill that includes both the business tax cut and the governor’s proposal to eliminate the state sales tax on groceries. Negotiations are continuing, but economic development officials warn the clock is ticking. The mystery company looking to build the plant could make its decision any day.
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Man Shot and Killed During an Arrest in Topeka Sunday
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — One man was shot and killed as officers from the Shawnee County Sheriff's Department tried to make an arrest in Topeka Sunday morning. Shawnee County Sheriff Brian Hill said two deputies were making an arrest connected to a car chase that happened on Friday when the shooting happened. The man died at the scene of the shooting between two motels along Southwest Wanamaker Road in western Topeka around 7:45 am Sunday. The name and age of the victim wasn't immediately released Sunday, and Hill didn't identify the deputy who shot him. The deputies involved weren't hurt. No additional details about what led to the shooting were released Sunday.
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Police Shoot Suspect After Man Killed in Manhattan
FORT RILEY, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is investigating after a man was shot and killed and the suspect was later shot and injured by a Riley County police officer. The KBI says three officers responding to gunshots at a Manhattan bar early Saturday found 21-year-old Joshua J. Wardi, of Fort Riley, suffering from a gunshot wound. He died at the scene. Two officers pursued an armed suspect seen running from a bar in Manhattan's Aggieville district. The KBI says one officer shot the suspect, 19-year-old Tremelle R. Montgomery, of Fort Riley, in the leg. Montgomery was in fair and stable condition Saturday. No officers were injured.
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Police: 11-Year-Old Set Fire at Manhattan Bar and Grill
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say an 11-year-old child intentionally set a fire at a Manhattan bar and grill over the weekend. The business, RC McGraws, was occupied when the fire started Sunday morning but patrons were able to leave and no one was injured. Manhattan firefighters quickly extinguished the small fire. Manhattan fire officials and Riley County police say they later determined the 11-year-old intentionally set the fire. Officials estimated the fire caused about $12,000 damage to the business.
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KBI Investigates Jewell County Deputy's Shooting Death
MANKATO, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting death of a Jewell County Sheriff's deputy at his home in Mankato. The KBI said in a news release that officers went to the home early Monday after the sheriff's office received two calls from different people about a domestic argument occurring at the the home. The responding sheriff's deputy found 27-year-old Colton Koch dead from a gunshot wound. Deputy Koch was a Jewell County Sheriff’s deputy for about two and a half years. An investigation is continuing.
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Derby Police Identify 2 Killed in Apparent Murder-Suicide
DERBY, Kan. (AP) — Police have identified a man and woman who died in an apparent murder-suicide in the Wichita suburb of Derby. The Wichita Eagle reports that 19-year-old Haley Powell, of Wichita, died after being shot Friday afternoon outside the Trails at Derby Apartments. Police called to the scene found Powell with gunshot wounds and rushed her to a hospital, where she died. Police said witnesses told officers that 21-year-old Tiryn Young had shot Powell. Police later spotted Young at the Derby Golf & Country Club about a mile north of the apartments, but say he shot himself in the head as officers ran to arrest him.
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Man Charged in Death of Topeka Man Who Testified Against Him
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 34-year-old Topeka man has been charged with killing a man who had testified against him in a robbery. John Clayton Riley II was charged Friday with eight crimes, including first-degree murder and theft of 29-year-old Palmer Thompson's identity. Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay said in December 2019, Thompson reported he had been robbed while working maintenance at Topeka apartment complex. Riley was charged with robbery in that case and Thompson testified against him at a preliminary hearing. In September 2021, Thompson was found dead of a gunshot wound inside his burning house. Investigators say Riley stole Thompson's identity and used it to access his financial accounts after his death.
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Ex-Kansas City Officer Asks to Remain Free During Appeal
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former Kansas City police detective officer who was convicted in a man's shooting death is asking to remain free while his case is appealed. KSHB-TV reports attorneys for 43-year-old Eric DeValkenaere filed a motion Monday arguing that he should be free on bond because he is not a flight risk and the judge who convicted him did not find any malice involved in the shooting. DeValkenaere, a white man, was convicted in November of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the December 2019 death of Cameron Lamb, who was Black. He is scheduled to be sentenced March 4.
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Kansas Woman Loses Fiance and Son in Five-Vehicle Crash
RENO COUNTY, Kansas (AP) — A Kansas woman lost both her fiance and her 13-year-old son in a five-vehicle crash Friday. The Wichita Eagle reports that Lacy Lomax was supposed to marry Alexander Dennis next month and her son Teagan Lomax was set to be one of the groomsmen, but now both are dead. Lomax said her son was a smart, funny and athletic eighth-grader at Reno Valley Middle School. She said Dennis was a fellow recovering addict who joined Lacy Lomax as an active advocate for other addicts. The Kansas Highway Patrol said Dennis and Teagan Lomax were the only two people killed in the crash. The other nine people in the crash were not seriously hurt.
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Missouri Governor's 'Christian Values' Statement Questioned
UNDATED (AP) - Missouri Governor Mike Parson's spokeswoman says the governor has no “litmus test for appointments,” despite a statement he issued last week indicating he would only nominate a state health director who shares his “Christian values.” The Republican governor, a Baptist, was angered after the Missouri Senate effectively ousted Donald Kauerauf as director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Though Kauerauf opposes government mask and vaccine mandates and opposes abortion, hardline conservatives in the legislature questioned if he was conservative enough. That prompted a statement from Parson saying Missourians know he "would not have nominated someone who does not share the same Christian values.”
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State High Court to Hear Challenge to Missouri Gun Law
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court is set to hear arguments over whether a new state law forbidding local law enforcement from enforcing federal gun laws is constitutional. A lower court judge rejected the challenge to the law brought by St. Louis city and county and Kansas City officials last August, but that decision was appealed. The law has drawn opposition from police departments statewide, and federal law enforcement officials say it hampers criminal investigations and hurts cooperation between federal and local investigators. State officials who are defending the law argue it's necessary to prevent federal officials from trying to enforce new gun control measures. The high court will hear arguments Monday.
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FBI Reviewing In-Custody Death of Restrained Kansas Teenager
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say the FBI is reviewing the death of a Black teenager who died after he was restrained at a Kansas juvenile detention center. Sedgwick County Commissioner David Dennis said Friday that the FBI has asked for all information regarding the death of 17-year-old Cedric Lofton. He died in September after he was restrained facedown for more than 30 minutes at the Wichita detention center. Dennis commented at a commission meeting called to discuss a recommendation from a community task force that the U.S. Department of Justice be asked to investigate Lofton's death. Dennis said the county provided all the information requested by the FBI, which is part of the Justice Department.
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Kansas Supreme Court Upholds Conviction in Triple Killing
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has upheld a man's conviction in the shooting deaths of three people in Lawrence in 2017. Anthony Roberts Jr. was convicted in 2019. The shooting started after two groups from Topeka got into a fistfight in downtown Lawrence and ended with up to 20 shots being fired. Roberts was convicted of second-degree murder, two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted second-degree murder. In a ruling Friday, the Supreme Court rejected Roberts' argument that the Douglas County District Court judge should have instructed jurors that they could consider a voluntary manslaughter conviction. The court also ruled the evidence was sufficient to uphold Roberts' convictions.
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Kansas Provides $2 Million for Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas has awarded $2 million in grants to the operators of travel centers on Interstate 70 and the Kansas Turnpike to install charging stations for electric vehicles. The state Department of Transportation announced grants Friday for stations in seven locations. The grants are financed with funds from legal settlements with German automaker Volkswagen Corp. over a 2015 emissions-testing cheating scandal. The stations are to be installed along I-70 at Oakley, WaKeeney, Russell, Abilene and Maple Hill, west of Topeka. On the turnpike, the stations are to be installed at the Matfield Green service area in central Kansas and the Belle Plaine service south of Wichita.
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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, 11 am weekends. This news summary is made possible by KPR listener-members. Become one today!
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