Severe Weather Spawns Tornadoes, High Winds, and Hail in Central and East-Central Kansas
UNDATED — Severe weather moved through portions of the KPR listening area on Saturday, leaving behind damage in Marysville, Blue Rapids, Manhattan and many other areas in eastern and central Kansas. WIBW reports 80 mile-per-hour winds on the east side of Manhattan toppled power lines, leaving some 14,000 Riley County customers without power. KVOE reports that The Symphony in the Flint Hills event in Chase County was cut short by the weather, forcing the thousands who had gathered there to leave the area early. The Kansas City Symphony began its program in Irma's Pasture near Bazaar, but a line of strong thunderstorms moved into the area near 8 pm, forcing the cancellation of the event. KVOE Radio reports several hundred Evergy customers in Eureka remained without power Sunday morning. WIBW reports that a tornado did touch down in Marysville, leaving debris and damaged roofs in its wake, but no injuries were reported. The forecast for the region includes a chance for more thunderstorms this (SUN) afternoon and evening, and heat advisories throughout the area.
(–AP Reporting–)
Kansas Storms Damage Sorority House, Cancel Outdoor Symphony Event
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Strong winds and storms forced crowds who gathered in a rural Chase County, Kansas field for a symphony performance to evacuate and damaged a sorority house at Kansas State University. The Kansas City Star reports that about half a dozen tornado warnings were issued Saturday evening in eastern Kansas. National Weather Service meteorologist Daniel Reese said crews were on the ground Sunday morning, working to survey the damage, including downed power lines and trees, likely caused by a combination of tornadoes and straight line winds.
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Topeka Man Found Not Guilty in Douglas County Rape Case
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) - Jurors in Douglas County District Court have acquitted a Topeka man who was accused of raping a former University of Kansas student. On Friday, the jury found 22-year-old Thomas John Zarse not guilty of one count of rape. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the verdict came after jurors heard conflicting accounts from Zarse and the woman he was accused of raping. She testified that Zarse had assaulted her in her apartment between January 11 and January 12, 2020, after she repeatedly said no to his advances; Zarse maintained that the encounter was consensual. ( Read more.)
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Additional Child Rape Charge Filed Against Former Kansas Nurse
MANHATTAN (KSNT) – Another charge has been filed by the Riley County Attorney’s Office against a former preschool nurse who was arrested in relation to sex crimes earlier this year. KSNT TV reports that 44-year-old Joshua Penabaz, of Manhattan, was previously charged with rape, indecent liberties with a child and criminal sodomy charges when he was arrested in February 2022. Penabaz was charged on Friday with aggravated criminal sodomy, two counts of rape and four counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child related to incidents that occurred between 2009 and 2011 involving a female victim between the ages of two and four at the time. He has also been charged with another count for rape in light of newly discovered information connecting him to a reported September 2021 incident involving a five-year-old female student at a preschool within the USD 383 district where he was employed at the time.
These new charges are unrelated to his February 18 arrest. Those sex crimes were reported to have occurred over the course of many years and were unrelated to his previous employment. Penabaz has remained at the Riley County Jail since his arrest in February.
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Kansas City Police: Man, Woman Die in Apparent Murder-Suicide
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KMBC) - Kansas City police are investigating a fatal shooting that took place late Friday afternoon (in the 7100 block of Lee's Summit Road). KMBC TV reports that police officers were called to the area just before 5 pm on a reported shooting. When they arrived, they found a man and woman inside a vehicle who had been shot. Authorities say the woman died at the scene. The man was taken to a hospital, but died a short time later. Investigators said that based on witness accounts and a preliminary investigation, the shooting appears to be a murder-suicide.
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Lawrence Community Gathers to Honor Black Men Lynched 140 Years Ago
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) - Community members gathered in Lawrence Friday to honor and remember three Black men who were lynched more than a century ago. It was in 1882, the Lawrence Journal-World reports, that a mob of about 100 white men took Pete Vinegar, Isaac King and George Robertson from their jail cells and lynched them from the Kansas River bridge. But on Friday, 140 years to the day since the lynching, a different kind of crowd gathered. On the bank of the Kansas River, about 100 men and women of all races came together to commemorate the lynching. Together, they said the names of the three victims, whom the mob lynched in the early morning hours of June 10, 1882. Together, they watched as a marker for the lynching was unveiled. ( Read more.)
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Kansas' First Transgender Lawmaker Not Seeking Reelection
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The first transgender state legislator elected in Kansas is not seeking reelection. Democratic state Representative Stephanie Byers, of Wichita, said Friday that she is moving to Texas so that she and her wife can take care of her wife’s aging parents. Byers was elected in 2020 and quickly became a leading legislative opponent of unsuccessful Republican proposals to ban transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s school and college sports. Byers also found herself in a media spotlight in April when a Republican Wichita-area lawmaker complained in an email about the “transgender female who is now in our restrooms in the Capitol.” Byers said those comments did not influence her decision.
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White Kansas Fire Department Supervisor Suspended over Racist Sweater
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A white Wichita Fire Department supervisor who texted a photo of himself wearing a sweater featuring a naked Black man has been suspended for three days without pay in one of the harshest penalties yet over racist, homophobic and sexist texts that were shared among the city’s SWAT team members. The Wichita Eagle reported Sunday that Captain Keith Niemann, who was punished this month, shared the image in a WhatsApp chat with the message, “having a good morning at the firehouse.” A firefighters union official said the city was trying to “make an example” out of Niemann because the police department was criticized for giving light punishments to its implicated officers.
Clarification: Wichita-SWAT Team-Racist-Messages Story
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — In a story published June 12, 2022, The Associated Press reported that a white Wichita Fire Department supervisor has been suspended in an investigation of racist, homophobic and sexist texts that were shared among the city’s SWAT team members. The story should have made clear that Capt. Keith Niemann’s text was not in the chain of texts shared among SWAT team members, some of which were racist and homophobic. The text for which Niemann was punished was discovered during that investigation.
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Kansas City Man Charged After Allegedly Shooting, Killing Victim in Car Sale
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KSHB) — A Kansas City man is accused of shooting and killing another man he was selling a vehicle to. KSHB TV reports the victime was Charles Bradham. Authorities say 28-year-old Andrew Keyvoun Young is charged with second-degree murder, three counts of armed criminal action, attempted robbery, unlawful possession of a weapon and first-degree assault. According to court documents, Young and Bradham discussed the transaction of a 2004 Mazda Protégé through Facebook, text and phone calls. On June 1, Young allegedly went to Bradham's residence to complete the sale. At some point, Young allegedly took out a handgun and shot Bradham and another woman. Investigators interviewed the woman who survived the shooting. Young denied ever being at the Bradham residence. However, investigators matched DNA from Young left at the scene. (Read more.)
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Ex-Kansas Officer Found Not Guilty in 2017 Fatal Shooting
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A second jury has found a former Kansas police officer not guilty in the 2017 shooting death of a man inside his vehicle while responding to a report of a domestic dispute at a home. The Kansas City Star reports that Matthew Harrington was acquitted Wednesday of involuntary manslaughter in the death of 47-year-old Antonio Garcia Jr. The decision came after a mistrial was declared in Harrington's first trial in April. Harrington shot Garcia in July 2017 while Garcia was sitting inside a vehicle in Leavenworth. Prosecutors said Garcia had a knife but didn’t threaten the officer. Harrington was fired after a department investigation found he had violated policies on use of deadly force. A lawyer for Harrington says the second jury made the correct decision.
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$30,000 in Copper Wiring Stolen from Kansas Grain Elevator
SALINA, Kan. (KSNT) – Authorities say about $30,000 worth of copper wiring has been stolen from a grain elevator in Salina. Police say they received a report of a burglary June 8 at the former Western Star Mill grain elevator. KSNT TV reports that the caller reported that an unknown number of suspects entered the building and took a substantial amount of copper wiring with an estimated value around $30,000. Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call Crimestoppers at (785) 825-TIPS.
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Odd Kansas Connection to the Reign of Queen Elizabeth II
UNDATED (KPR) - People in Great Britain and around the world are celebrating the Queen of England's Platinum Jubilee, her seven decades on the British throne. While few Kansans are aware, there's an odd but important Kansas connection to the 70-year reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Find out what it is here.
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These area headlines are curated by KPR news staffers, including J. Schafer, Laura Lorson, Kaye McIntyre, and Tom Parkinson. Our headlines are generally posted by 10 am weekdays, 11 am weekends. This news summary is made possible by KPR listener-members. Become one today.