Kansas, Nebraska Brace for Winter Storm
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Parts of Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and Iowa are bracing for a winter storm tonight (SUN) and tomorrow (MON). The National Weather Service is issuing a Winter Storm Warning for north central Kansas, where a wintry mix is expected to change into heavy snow overnight, with 4 to 9 inches of snow possible. A Winter Storm Watch will take effect overnight for a band of counties from Manhattan to Salina to Great Bend, where the National Weather Service says 3 to 7 inches of snow are possible tomorrow, following a wintry mix of rain and freezing rain overnight. Another band of counties from Atchison to Topeka to Hutchinson will be under a Winter Weather Advisory overnight tonight. In addition, a Winter Weather Advisory will be in effect overnight and tomorrow for much of western Kansas.
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KC Chiefs Vie for AFC Championship against Buffalo Bills
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP/KPR) - The Kansas City Chiefs face the Buffalo Bills today (SUN) for the AFC Championship. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has been cleared to play after being released from the league's concussion protocol following an injury last weekend. Today's game makes the Chiefs the first team to host three straight conference championship games since 2002 to 2004. That's when the Philadelphia Eagles hosted the conference championship for three years. The Eagles coach at the time? Andy Reid, now coach for the Kansas City Chiefs.
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Confirmed COVID Cases on Rise among Missouri Lawmakers
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The number of confirmed coronavirus cases among Missouri lawmakers is continuing to grow. At least four more lawmakers told The Associated Press on Friday that they had contracted COVID-19 since the session began on January 6th. That's in addition to three others previously reported. The House canceled all work this week because of the virus outbreak. But the Senate remained in session. One of those who tested positive is Senator Andrew Koenig. He had presented a bill to a Senate committee on Wednesday that would crack down on public health orders limiting crowd sizes in homes, businesses and places of worship.
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Nebraska Negotiates New Contract with Troubled Kansas Foster Care Provider
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska is negotiating a new and costlier contract with a troubled Kansas-based foster care contractor that is less than three weeks away from running out of money for operations. The Omaha World-Herald reports that St. Francis Ministries interim CEO William Clark told Nebraska lawmakers Friday that the nonprofit needs another $25 million to cover its costs for this year and about $10 million to cover a shortfall for the fiscal year that ended June 30th. Dannette Smith, the CEO of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, said the state is pursuing the new agreement to maintain continuity. She promised increased state oversight, saying, “I think we learned a bitter lesson.”
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Topeka Man Sentenced in Assault Rifle Case
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A man who officers believed was intending to fire a semi-automatic assault rifle around closing time in a popular Lawrence bar district has been sentenced to 16 months in prison. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the judge told 19-year-old Dayson G. Kelley of Topeka during his sentencing Thursday that he or police officers could have lost their lives. Kelley was arrested in February after two Lawrence police officers saw him take a rifle out of the trunk of a vehicle in a parking lot. Police believed he intended to fire it. He pleaded no contest in December to two counts of attempted aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer.
