Kansas Governor, Churches Reach Agreement on Executive Order
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) — Governor Laura Kelly and two Kansas churches have reached an agreement over her executive order restricting the size of church gatherings. Kelly announced the agreement late Saturday night, less than one week before she's expected to make a decision on whether to relax statewide stay-at-home orders. Under the settlement, the two churches agree to comply with safety protocols put in place by the court. On April 18th, U.S. District Judge John Broomes in Wichita issued a temporary restraining order preventing application of Kelly’s mass-gathering rule to First Baptist Church in Dodge City and Calvary Baptist Church in Junction City. The civil suit filed by the two churches and their pastors asserted Kelly’s order violated their First Amendment rights. ( Read more about this story.)
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Kansas Now Has More than 3,000 Cases of COVID-19
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — As of 10 am today (SUN), Kansas health officials had recorded 3,174 cases of COVID-19, including 118 deaths. Cases have been reported in 76 of the state's 105 counties. Get the latest updates here.
Top Nine Kansas Counties with Most Cases of COVID-19
Wyandotte County (Kansas City, Kansas) = 565
Ford County (Dodge City) = 459
Johnson County (Overland Park) = 430
Sedgwick County (Wichita) = 338
Seward County (Liberal) = 336
Leavenworth County (Leavenworth) = 172
Lyon County (Emporia) = 146
Finney County (Garden City) = 140
Shawnee County (Topeka) = 101
- KPR's Coronavirus Information and Resources Guide
- Live Coverage: Coronavirus in the Kansas City Area
(-Related-)
KCK Nursing Home Tops 100 COVID Cases
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The number of coronavirus cases among residents of a Kansas nursing home has topped 100, after nine additional cases were confirmed. The additional cases were identified this week at the Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation facility in Kansas City, Kansas. The Kansas City Star reported that the latest rise in cases occurred after some residents who were said to be COVID-19-negative were retested and found to be positive. All told, 103 residents from the nursing and rehabilitation facility have tested positive. The health department also announced that another Riverbend resident has died, the 28th victim of the coronavirus from that facility.
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Deadline Nears for Atchison Toxic Cloud Victims
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A deadline is nearing for those who believe they were victims of a 2016 toxic gas release over Atchison. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that federal prosecutor are urging victims to submit written victim statements by Friday, April 3rd. U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister says sentencing of Harcros Chemicals, Inc., and MGP Ingredients Inc., is May 27th. Both companies pleaded guilty to violating the federal law and each agreed to pay a $1 million fine. In October 2016, two chemicals were mistakenly mixed to form a cloud of chlorine gas over Atchison.
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Wake Forest Fires KU Basketball Legend Danny Manning
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Wake Forest has fired coach Danny Manning after six seasons in which the Demon Deacons had a winning record only once. The school announced the decision Saturday. That came more than six weeks after the Demon Deacons lost to Pittsburgh in the opening game of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament. Manning went 78-111 in Winston-Salem with a 30-80 mark in ACC regular-season games. He made the NCAA Tournament just once, in 2017. Athletic director John Currie said associate head coach Randolph Childress will be the acting coach for now. Manning played for 15 seasons in the NBA after a legendary college career at the University of Kansas. He returned to KU for six seasons as an assistant coach with the Jayhawks, lead Tulsa as head coach for two seasons, leading the Golden Hurricanes to the NCAA tournament in 2014.
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Murder-Suicide Suspected in Haysville
HAYSVILLE, Kan. (AP) — Police in a Wichita suburb are investigating the deaths of two people as a possible murder-suicide. KAKE-TV reports that responding officers on Friday found two people dead inside a home in the town of Haysville. Police Chief Jeff Whitfield said it appeared to be a murder-suicide but did not disclose further details. The names of the victims were not immediately released.
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KPR's daily headlines are generally posted by 10 am weekdays and updated throughout the day. KPR's weekend summary is usually published by 1 pm Saturdays and Sundays.
