Three Vaccinated Residents Die of COVID at Manhattan Nursing Home
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Three vaccinated residents of a long-term facility in Manhattan have died with COVID-19. The Topeka Capital Journal reports that the three deaths are amid an outbreak at the Via Christi Village, one of 28 active outbreaks at long-term care facilities in Kansas. Via Christi Village has had 16 cases of the coronavirus in the past two weeks, making it the largest active outbreak at a long-term care facility. Less than 60 percent of the staff at Via Christi have been fully vaccinated; that's well below the industry goal of having 75 percent of staff to be vaccinated by the end of July.
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2 Kansas Aircraft Companies Fined for Using Illegal Software
PARK CITY, Kan. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say two Kansas companies must pay a total of nearly $150,000 in fines and restitution for using illegal software. The U.S. Justice Department announced Friday that Lightning Aerospace in Newton and Fly Manufacturing in Park City used unlicensed versions of a design program often used in manufacturing and engineering. The companies had previously pleaded guilty to circumvention of protected copyrighted work. The companies used the unlicensed software to design and test parts for aircraft, which prosecutors said could have grave consequences for customers. The department said the companies defrauded a software company and gave themselves an unfair financial advantage over competitors.
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Missouri Reports Uptick in Drowning Deaths
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Missouri State Highway Patrol says 47 people have drowned in Missouri in the first six months of this year. That's far more drowning deaths than at any time since the patrol began recording them in 2008. Those numbers do not include drownings officially listed as boating accidents. The average number of drowning deaths for the first half of the year since 2008 is 39. Patrol spokesman Kyle Green said it is unclear why drownings have increased this year.
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Update: Kansans in Olympics
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - At the Toyko Olympics, former Lawrence-based swimmer Michael Andrew won his first gold medal yesterday (SAT). Andrew swam the second leg in the Team USA men's 4x100 medley relay team. Team USA finished their race in 3:26.78, which set a new world record. Lawrence-based runner Christina Clemons missed qualifying for the finals in the women's 100-meter hurdles this morning (SUN) by only 9-hundredths of a second. University of Kansas graduate Bryce Hoppel finished fifth in the men's 800-meter semifinal and will not advance to Wednesday's final.
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Lyon County School District to Make Changes after LGBTQ Dispute
AMERICUS, Kan. (AP) — A northeast Kansas school district says it will provide anti-discrimination training to its teachers and staff after a controversy over the treatment of a student who said she was a lesbian. North Lyon County officials said in a letter the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas that it will also make Title IX complaint procedures more transparent and publicly state the district’s policies against discrimination. The ACLU had threatened to sue the district if it didn't provide the training. That came after an eighth-grade student was suspended from riding a school bus in January after saying, “I’m a lesbian.”