Kansas Lawmakers Moving Quickly on COVID-19 Legislation
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers have been moving quickly on legislation that would extend the state's COVID-19 emergency declaration before it expires on January 26. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the two temporary bills moving in the state Senate and House deal with COVID-19-related provisions and will have an effect on the coronavirus response. Both have had public hearings and passed out of committee in the first week of the session. The bills extend legislation passed last year outlining temporary changes in law in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Those include allowing establishments to offer to-go alcohol, expanding the use of telemedicine and adding flexibility in health care licensing.
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COVID-19 Fuels Quick Push for Kansas Anti-Abortion Measure
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas abortion opponents are moving with unusual speed to put an anti-abortion amendment to the state constitution on a ballot. Backers of the measure fear a COVID-19 outbreak could thwart them if they delay. The proposed amendment would overturn a state Supreme Court decision in 2019 that declared access to abortion a "fundamental" right under the state constitution. It would declare that there is no Kansas constitutional right to abortion and preserve the Legislature's power to regulate abortion. One or both chambers could debate the measure later this week. Efforts to pass the measure last year ended when the Legislature shortened its session because of the pandemic.
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COVID-19 Caseload in Kansas Nears 260,000; Virus-Related Deaths Surpass 3,500
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — The Kansas Department of Health reported Monday that there have been 259,822 cases of COVID-19, including 3,525 deaths, since the pandemic began. KDHE will release another update of the statistics on Wednesday.
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Ex-Kansas Prison Guard Charged in Prison Drug-Smuggling
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — A former Kansas prison guard will stand trial on 10 counts related to a drug-smuggling case at a Hutchinson prison. The Hutchinson News reports that Zachary Wood was bound over for trial last week following a preliminary hearing on counts ranging from possession with intent to distribute to trafficking in a correctional facility. Prosecutors say Wood tried to smuggle drugs into the prison last summer after arranging sales with three women. The three women are charged with conspiracy to traffic in a penal institution and also appeared in court Thursday. Denisha Starnes, Esther Davis and Stephanie Thindiu — along with Wood — were all set for formal arraignment on February 1.
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Largest Public Housing Project in Kansas Making Plans to Close
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — More than 100 residents of the largest housing project in Kansas have been told they'll have to move because the facility is closing. But officials say that won't happen for roughly two more years. The Housing Authority of Kansas City, Kansas, is making plans to shut down Juniper Gardens partly because the complex that opened in 1962 is in need of major upgrades and officials favor a different approach to public housing. The more successful model today calls for public housing to be tucked into regular neighborhoods often with people receiving subsidies to help them pay rent.
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New Lawsuit Brought Against Corps of Engineers over Missouri River Flooding
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — The federal government faces a second lawsuit over flooding along the Missouri River after it was ordered last month to pay some landowners for damages. R. Dan Boulware, of the Polsinelli law firm, filed the new class-action lawsuit on behalf of 60 plaintiffs who experienced damages during flooding in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013 and 2014. The St. Joseph News-Press reports that Boulware successfully argued in the earlier case that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers knowingly flooded some farmland when it made changes to protect endangered species. Boulware currently is waiting for the class-action lawsuit to be certified. If that occurs, there could be additional plaintiffs added to the case. He estimates that the current claim of damages exceeds $50 million.
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Judge Awards $1 Million to Veteran in Kansas VA Hospital Abuse Case
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge has awarded more than $1 million in damages to another veteran who says he was sexually abused by a former physician assistant at a VA hospital in Kansas. KCUR Radio reports it's the third time since November that U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree has ruled against the government in cases charging the government with medical malpractice at the Dwight D. Eisenhower VA Medical Center. The veterans allege they were subjected to unnecessary genital exams and other physical abuse by physician assistant Mark Wisner. He was convicted of aggravated sexual battery and aggravated criminal assault in 2017 and sentenced to nearly 16 years in prison.
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Kansas on Track to Pay Extra Unemployment Benefits
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is on track to pay out an extra $300-a-week federal unemployment benefit as part of a coronavirus rescue aid package enacted late last month. Top Department of Labor staffer Ryan Wright said the agency was in the process of testing the requisite system. Roughly two dozen states have begun paying out the extra benefit, but Wright noted that neighboring states were also not yet up and running either. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that he didn't commit to a firm time frame but said "we are talking days and weeks, not months" and insisted that the state is "not behind."
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Wichita Police: Parolee Fatally Shot Restaurant Owner
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a parolee rummaging through trash fatally shot the owner of a south Wichita restaurant. Police Captain Jason Stephens identified 42-year-old Oscar Acosta of Wichita as the person shot Thursday outside of Birrieria Tito restaurant. The Wichita Eagle reports that police arrested 26-year-old Adrian Nicholas Zongker a couple of blocks west of the restaurant. He was booked into Sedgwick County Jail on suspicion of first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon as well as on a state warrant in a separate case. Kansas Department of Corrections records show that Zongker has five prior convictions, all in Sedgwick County, for charges that include criminal possession of a firearm, battery and aggravated assault.
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Prosecutors: Kansas City Man Raped Woman at Gunpoint, Filmed Encounter
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City man has been charged with sexually assaulting a woman at gunpoint after meeting her online. The Jackson County prosecutor’s office said Sunday that Jamen Jackson, 23, has been charged with sexual assault and possession of child pornography. According to court documents, the victim told police that she met Jackson on January 9 at her apartment, and he immediately took out a gun, pointed it at her head and ordered her to perform oral sex on him while he recorded the assault on his phone. Authorities say he then forced the woman to have sex with him.
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Missouri Youth Basketball Coach Charged with Sexual Abuse
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A Springfield youth basketball coach has been charged with sexually abusing a half-dozen girls over the past 25 years. The Springfield News-Leader reports that 52-year-old Antwuan Looney Sr. was charged Thursday with multiple counts of statutory rape, statutory sodomy and child molestation. Several of Looney’s accusers were girls who played basketball for Looney, according to prosecutors. The allegations go as far back as 1995. Court documents describe multiple instances where Looney allegedly worked to get children as young as 9 alone and then raped them or touched them inappropriately. In an interview with police, Looney denied the allegations against him.
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Arrest Made in Connection with Kansas City Homicide
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A 21-year-old Kansas City woman has been charged in connection with a fatal shooting that took place last week. The Jackson County prosecutor’s office said Sunday that Tityana Coppage has been charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in Wednesday’s shooting death of 36-year-old Keith Lars. The shooting happened shortly after noon Wednesday. Officers who arrived at the scene found evidence of a shooting but no victims. A short time later, a woman flagged down firefighters to report that Lars was in her car with a gunshot wound. Firefighters tried to save Lars but he died at the scene.
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More Backlash Against Missouri GOP Senator Josh Hawley as Loews Hotel Cancels Event
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Loews Hotels says it has backed out of an upcoming fundraiser in Orlando, Florida, for Missouri GOP Senator Josh Hawley. It's the latest fallout for the Republican who challenged the certification of Electoral College votes for President-Elect Joe Biden. The challenge came on the same day extremist supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol. The hotel chain said Saturday that it was horrified by the events of January 6 at the U.S. Capitol and by all who supported and incited it. Hawley's fundraiser was scheduled for February at a hotel at Universal Orlando. Hawley said Saturday that to equate leading a Senate floor debate with inciting violence was a lie. He vowed not to bow to what he called “left wing corporate pressure.”
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Kansas Man Sentenced to Prison, Fined $310,000 for Poaching
MEDICINE LODGE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man has been sentenced to prison and fined $310,000 for poaching 60 deer over several years. John Blick Jr., of Sharon, pleaded guilty in November to 139 charges after killing deer by using artificial light and hunting from a vehicle. Last week, the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks & Tourism said Blick was sentenced to 14 months in prison. He must pay the state agency $310,000, which is the estimated value of the deer. The 139 charges originated in Barber County. Blick also was charged with 33 misdemeanors in Harper County after the killing of three trophy deer there.
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Lawrence Officer Accused of Injuring Skateboarder Resigns
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — An Lawrence police officer who has been accused of fracturing a skateboarder's elbow during an arrest has resigned. The Lawrence Journal World reports that Brad Williams' resignation took effect January 6. Police spokesperson Patrick Compton did not indicate a reason for the resignation. Williams arrested 45-year-old Duc Tran, of Lawrence, after encountering him skateboarding in the street in June 2019. The case against Tran' later was thrown out, and his attorney alleges excessive force was used. A notice of claim sent to the city in September alleges that Tran suffered a fractured elbow, dislocated right shoulder, a chipped tooth, bruising and lacerations, emotional distress and more. It sought monetary damages of $3 million.
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Audubon Sues over Water Rights at Quivira Wildlife Refuge
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Audubon of Kansas has sued over water rights at a wildlife refuge in central Kansas. The federal lawsuit filed Friday by the environmental group against the U.S. Department of the Interior and various federal and state officials alleges they have failed to protect the senior water rights belonging to the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. The lawsuit contends the 22,135-acre refuge provides sanctuary to a wide variety of waterfowl, shorebirds and other wetland species. Quivira has suffered from a water shortage because of groundwater pumping upstream in the Rattlesnake Creek basin by irrigators, who the Audubon contends have lesser water rights than the refuge.
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Kansas City Police Have Body Cameras, More Are Coming
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ Kansas City police officials say all patrol officers in the city are expected to be equipped with body worn cameras by March. Police spokesman Sergeant Jacob Becchina says 340 officers are already using the cameras, and another 475 cameras should be ordered soon. Community leaders have pushed for officers to wear body cameras for years, and the effort grew after social unrest protests last year. The city had delayed buying the cameras because of funding issues. In June, the police department received a $1 million donation from the DeBruce Foundation, with another $1.5 million from other groups to fund a body camera program.
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University Withdraws Directive Muting Kansas Student Newspaper
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The president of Haskell Indian Nations University has walked back a directive instructing the school's student newspaper editor not to contact any government agency for information while representing the newspaper or "attack" any student, faculty member or staff in copy. Haskell President Ronald Graham wrote that the university "took an incorrect approach" in sending out that October 16 directive to Jared Nally, editor of The Indian Leader. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Nally received Graham's letter on Wednesday. The about-face comes after advocacy groups complained that Graham's directive violated the First Amendment.
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