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Headlines for Saturday, October 3, 2020

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Manhattan Police Shoot Man During Standoff

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A 41-year-old Manhattan man is hospitalized in critical condition after being shot by police following a lengthy standoff. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the shooting happened early Friday after the man allegedly used a gun to threaten a relative. The name of the man who was shot has not been released. Riley County Police spokeswoman Rachel Pate said the two officers who fired at the man are on administrative leave and another department, the Lawrence Police Department, is handling the investigation of the shooting. The officers’ names were not released.

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KU Football Fans Return to Memorial Stadium

LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - The University of Kansas Memorial Stadium is welcoming back its first football fans of the season.  Stadium seating is limited to 10,000 people for today's (SAT) game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys.  About 1,000 tickets are going to students, the other 9,000 are going to season ticket holders.  Memorial Stadium normally can seat more than 47,000 people.  Kansas Athletics Director Jeff Long says he's optimistic that fans will follow the rules for attending, including wearing masks and no tailgating.  

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KC Police Officer Under Fire for Kneeling on Pregnant Woman During Arrest

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Video of a Kansas City police officer kneeling on the back of a pregnant Black woman while arresting her have led to call for the officer involved to be fired and have reignited demands that the police chief resign. Civil rights groups and the police tell different versions of what happened Wednesday night when the woman was arrested.  Police say she interfered while they were trying to arrest a man and while they were trying to handcuff her.  The woman's attorney and others ridiculed that story yesterday (FRI), and said the arrest was another example of the police department's abuse of Black citizens in Kansas City.

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Missouri Gubernatorial Debate Back on after COVID Delay

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -  A forum featuring Republican Missouri Governor Mike Parson and his Democratic opponent Nicole Galloway is back on.  The Missouri Press Association says the forum has been rescheduled for October 9th in Columbia.  The forum will also feature Libertarian candidate Rik Combs and Green Party nominee Jerome Bauer.  The forum had been scheduled for September 25th but was postponed after Parson tested positive for the coronavirus.  
 
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Months Later, Still No Charges after Cars Drove into Protests

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The Douglas County district attorney’s office is still deciding whether to file charges for two incidents earlier this year where vehicles drove into protests in Lawrence. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that meanwhile, at least three defendants have been charged for similar allegations that weren’t protest-related. On May 31st, video showed a woman accelerating an SUV into protesters during a march against police brutality. On June 29th, another woman drove an SUV through protesters’ makeshift barricades and into a crowd. No serious injuries were reported. An official with the DA's office says there were differences between the cases involving the protests and the other cases.

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Officials Allow JoCo Middle, High-Schoolers to Switch to Hybrid School

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Health officials in Kansas’ largest county are making it easier for older students to head back to class even as coronavirus outbreaks in schools and sports infect hundreds statewide. The Kansas City Star reports that Johnson County’s health department released new criteria Thursday that allows middle and high schoolers to switch to a hybrid mode in which they go in-person part of the time and learn at home the rest as long as there are safety precautions in place such as masks and daily symptoms screenings. Statewide, Kansas added 1,362 new confirmed and probable cases from Wednesday to Friday, bringing the total to 61,111. Kansas also added 20 more deaths to bring the total to 698. 

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Historic Kansas Inn Closing after 125 Years

ABILENE, Kan. (AP) — An iconic Kansas hotel with a long history is closing, a casualty of the coronavirus. The Brookville Hotel in Abilene announced its closure in a Facebook post on Thursday. The Martin family has operated the hotel for 125 years. The Facebook post cited the COVID-19 pandemic, “and the lack of traffic” resulting from the virus. “We hung on as long as we could, but the writing was on the wall,” the post said. The hotel moved from Brookville to Abilene about 20 years ago.

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Kansas Has $73 Million Tax Surplus; Recovery Still Considered "Fragile"

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is reporting that it collected nearly $73 million more than expected in taxes in September. But state officials said the economic outlook in coming months remains uncertain because of the coronavirus pandemic. The state Department of Revenue said Kansas collected nearly $729 million in taxes last month, when it expected to take in $656 million. The surplus of 11% for the month was tied largely to better-than-expected income tax collections. The surplus comes after state officials and university economists slashed revenue projections in April. Revenue secretary Mark Burghart said the economic picture remains “uncertain at best.”

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Spirit AeroSystems to Close Oklahoma Plant

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Spirit Aerosystems plans to close its plant in McAlester, Oklahoma, which employs about 175 people. Spirit president Tom Gentile said in a message to employees Thursday that the closure was the result of a decline in commercial aviation during the COVID—19 pandemic, as well as the grounding of the 737 Max airplane. Spirit will consolidate the work done in McAlester at its plants in Wichita and Tulsa. The Wichita-based company plans to close the Oklahoma plant in the second quarter of next year. Gentile said in the message that employment at the McAlester plant had already dropped by 50% this year.

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Kansas Colleges and Universities See 8.1% Enrollment Drop

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Board of Regents reports enrollment at the state's universities and colleges fell 8.1% this fall. School leaders had expected a drop in enrollment because of the coronavirus outbreak. Enrollment at the state's six universities declined 3.6%; community colleges saw a drop of 11.7% and enrollment at technical colleges dropped 8.7%. Regents president and CEO Blake Flanders said it was a challenge this fall to recruit international students and new students while also trying to retain current students. He says the institutions also face long-term issues such as a decline in the number of Kansas high school students going to college. 

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Man Wanted in 2 Arkansas Killings Captured in Kansas

PINE BLUFF, Ark. (AP) — Authorities say a man charged with shooting and killing two people in Arkansas was captured in Kansas and sent back to stand trial. Bryant Lamont Smith was arrested Friday in Parsons, Kansas, in an operation that included officials from the U.S. Marshals Service and the Kansas Highway Patrol. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the 33-year-old was taken back to Pine Bluff on Tuesday and was being held in jail without bail in Jefferson County. Prosecutor Kyle Hunter says Smith was charged September 24th in Jefferson County Circuit Court with two counts of capital murder in the fatal shootings of Kavon Mitchell and Emonya Moten.

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