Woman Killed in I-35 Hit-and-Run in KCK
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police in Kansas City, Kansas, say a woman has been killed in a hit-and-run along Interstate 35. Kansas City station KMBC reports that the incident happened early Saturday morning when the woman was hit by a vehicle around the northbound lanes of I-35 near the Seventh Street Trafficway. Police had not released the identity of the woman by midmorning Saturday. Investigators are asking the public for any information on the hit-and-run.
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Kansas Officials Concerned about Drop in Young Hunters
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials are concerned about a possible drop in conservation funds as fewer young people take up hunting. Out-of-state hunters continue to flock to Kansas for its deer, elk and turkey. The total number of licenses and permits for out-of-state hunters more than doubled in the past two decades to more than 150,000. The Kansas News Service reports in-state licenses have declined about 14%. Hunters' fees and licenses bring in about 60% of Kansas' conservation dollars. The Department of Wildlife and Tourism last year hired 23-year-old Tanna Fanshier as its new hunting recruitment coordinator. She said to attract younger hunters, Kansas is moving away from emphasizing the long tradition of hunting in the state toward emphasizing how hunting helps conservation of wildlife and habitat.
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Kansas Council on Expanding Medicaid to Hold First Meeting
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Governor Laura Kelly's new council on expanding Medicaid is scheduled to have its first meeting Monday at the Statehouse. The agenda for the meeting includes a welcome from Kelly and briefings about other states' experiences in expanding Medicaid health coverage for low-income residents.Kelly formed the council earlier this month to review other states' expansions and advise her and the Republican-controlled Legislature on the best alternatives for Kansas. The governor took office in January promising to expand Medicaid, but her efforts were blocked by conservative Republican leaders in the Senate who said they were worried about its potential cost to the state. They said lawmakers would consider a plan next year. Kelly formed the council after creating a Medicaid working group in January that had no public meetings.
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Kansas Court: Stalking Order Violated Free Speech Rights
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Court of Appeals has ruled that a Lawrence-area woman's free speech rights were violated by an anti-stalking order that barred her from disparaging a neighbor. A three-judge appeals panel overturned the woman's conviction in Douglas County and her sentence of 12 months' probation for violating the order. She accused a neighbor of sexual misconduct with her child. He denied it and obtained a protection-from-stalking order in 2017. The order barred her from disparaging the neighbor publicly. Months later, he overheard a disparaging comment she made in a conversation outside her home. The appeals panel said her comment wasn't a threat and neither side presented evidence during her trial about its truthfulness, so it remained protected speech. The panel said the anti-stalking order improperly restrained her speech beforehand.
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Kansas Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted Rape of 4-year-old
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A 76-year-old northeast Kansas man has pleaded guilty to trying to rape a 4-year-old girl. FOX4KC reports Galen Hurt, of Linwood, pleaded Thursday in Leavenworth County court to attempted rape and aggravated child endangerment. Hurt was originally charged in 2018 with rape of a child. Investigators say the girl told her mother that Hurt touched her inappropriately while she was at his house. Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson said his decision to offer the plea out of consideration for the girl, who is now 6 years old.
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JoCo Polling Place's Move to Catholic Church Questioned
ROELAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Some officials, candidates, and LGBTQ rights advocates are questioning a decision by county election officials to move a suburban Kansas City polling place to a Catholic church. The Kansas City Star reports that critics worry relocating the Ward 2 polling place in Roeland Park to St. Agnes Catholic Parish will confuse voters in the November municipal election and decrease turnout. The ward's polling place has been at the Horizon Academy private school for students with learning disabilities. The new polling place is outside Ward 2. A City Council candidate from the ward is a St. Agnes parishioner and his opponent is gay. Johnson County election officials said the relocation was routine and that the former polling site had heating and electrical issues. Churches often serve as polling locations.
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Prosecutor: Fort Riley 'Satanist' Soldier Sought Government Overthrow
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A prosecutor says an Army soldier charged with distributing information about making explosives online is a Satanist who wanted to overthrow the U.S. government. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Mattivi said during a federal court hearing Thursday in Kansas that 24-year-old Jarrett William Smith had a specific plan to overthrow the government and told the FBI he was distributing information on explosives "for the glory of his Satanist religion." But an attorney for Smith said he is only an internet "troll" who was "spouting off online" and sharing widely available information. Smith pleaded not guilty to two federal charges of distributing explosives information and a third alleging he threatened to set fire to the home owned by a far-left-leaning "antifa" member. A federal magistrate ordered him detained until his trial.
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Olathe School District is Suing E-Cigarette Maker
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A suburban Kansas City school district plans to sue a leading e-cigarette maker as the number of deaths from a vaping-related lung disease continues to climb. The Kansas City Star reports that the Olathe school board voted Friday to sue Juul. Olathe Superintendent John Allison said the district believes middle and high school students are being targeted with misleading advertising by e-cigarette and vaping manufacturers. He says vaping is causing serious disruption in the district's schools. Goddard school officials announced earlier this month that they would file a similar lawsuit. On Friday, health officials reported 805 confirmed and probable cases of the vaping-related lung illness. Thirteen people have died. Juul has said it doesn't market to youth and its products are meant to be an alternative to smoking.
