Independence Sanitation Worker Killed in Crash
INDEPENDENCE, Kan. (AP) — A sanitation worker for the southeast Kansas town of Independence has been killed in the crash of a truck. The Wichita Eagle reports that the crash happened Thursday on U.S. 160 as the truck was on its way to the county landfill, killing 20-year-old Taylor Lee Edwards of Independence. Edwards was a temporary worker for the sanitation department. Officials say a second employee in the truck, a 52-year-old man, was hurt and taken to a hospital. The Kansas Highway Patrol says in a report that a driver's side tire blew out on the truck, sending the truck over oncoming lanes and into a ditch, where it rolled several times. Both Edward and the passenger were thrown from the vehicle. Edwards died at the scene.
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Fire Injures One Person at Dodge City Cargill Plant
DODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) — Fire officials say one person suffered smoke inhalation in a fire at a meatpacking plant in southwestern Kansas. Wichita station KSNW reports that the fire broke out Friday afternoon at the Cargill plant in Dodge City. The station says Dodge City Fire Chief Robert Heinz reported the fire was on the roof of the rendering side of the plant, and crews found a fire in the area's ventilation system. The blaze was extinguished in minutes. Heinz says a spark from welding work being done at the plant ignited grease. He says one person had to be taken to a hospital for smoke inhalation, but is expected to recover.
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KCK Investigating Shooting Fatality
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police in Kansas City, Kansas, are investigating the shooting death of a man in his 20s. Police say in a news release that the shooting happened just after 2:30 p.m. Friday in a commercial district near the Bethel Welborn neighborhood. Arriving officers found the man in the street suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital, where he died. The victim's name has not been released. No arrests had been reported by Saturday afternoon.
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Kansas Job Report: Labor Force Drops
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials are trumpeting the state's growing economy while also worrying about how to find enough employees to fill new jobs, especially in high-demand careers like health care. The state's recent monthly economic report showed Kansas created 14,000 jobs in the last year, and unemployment is 3.3%. The Kansas News Service reports the state's total labor force dropped from a high of 1.521 million in 2009 to 1.479 million in July. Kansas Labor Secretary Delía García says the state is in good shape economically, but leaders need to think ahead to attract more workers. She hopes state officials will work more closely with education and business groups to train workers. And she wants state lawmakers and other officials to support economic development programs that would attract workers to Kansas.
