Kansas Governor Calls US Officials Unprepared for COVID-19
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly is strongly criticizing the U.S. government as unprepared for the coronavirus pandemic. The Democratic governor said Thursday that her state hasn’t gotten needed supplies despite multiple requests approved since mid-March. She said Kansas has sought “hundreds of thousands of everything,” including masks, gloves, gowns and testing kits to deal with the outbreak of the virus. The state also has been overwhelmed by questions and claims from people seeking unemployment benefits. Trump has said his administration is backing up governors. The number of Kansas coronavirus cases rose Thursday to 552. Thirteen people have died in the state.
=========
March Taxes $8.6 Million Short in Kansas and COVID-19 Effect Has Yet to Hit the State Budget
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The coronavirus pandemic has yet to fully hit the Kansas state budget. Tax collections fell only $8.6 million short of expectations in March. The state Department of Revenue reported Wednesday that tax collections last month were $523.4 million when the state projected collections of $532 million. The shortfall was 1.6%. The lower-than-expected revenues can be attributed largely to insurance companies paying the state tax on their premiums early. State officials expect job losses and a decrease in economic activity to cut into state revenues starting next month. Governor Laura Kelly issued a statewide stay-at-home order in that is effect until April 19. Kansas now has more than 500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and at least 12 deaths have been attributed to the coronavirus.
- KPR's Coronavirus Information and Resources Guide.
- The Kansas News Service maintains this resource about the pandemic: Updated Regularly: What Kansans Need to Know About COVID-19 and Coronavirus
==========
Kansas Nursing Home Outbreak Swells: 1 Dead, 25 Sickened
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas coronavirus cases have increased nearly 15% in one day. That comes as an outbreak at a nursing home grows and officials urge people to stay away from each other to control the virus's spread. Health officials reported 552 cases in Kansas on Thursday, up from 482 a day earlier. Thirteen people have died, including a 90-year-old resident of the Life Care Center in Burlington. Twenty-five other residents and staff members at the facility are sickened. The company also runs a nursing home near Seattle tied to 40 deaths and one in Kansas City, Kansas, where a resident died last month.
==========
Kansas Plans to Increase Testing Soon in Fight Against Virus
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas's top health official expects an influx of coronavirus tests in the coming weeks that should help with efforts to bring the pandemic under control. Dr. Lee Norman is the Kansas secretary of health and environment. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that he said Wednesday that he expects to have up to 64,000 test kits that can produce results in 45 minutes. Health officials reported 482 confirmed cases of the virus in Kansas on Wednesday. That's up 54 from a day earlier. Eleven people have died. Norman says more testing will allow experts to better analyze the virus's spread.
==========
Kansas Review of Cellphone GPS Data Raises Privacy Concerns
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas's top health official is facing questions over the state's monitoring of GPS data gleaned from people's cellphones about how residents have cut down on travel during the coronavirus pandemic. Kansas Department of Health and Environment Secretary Lee Norman has cited information provided by data-analysis firm Unacast on a publicly accessible website. The public-interest law firm Kansas Justice Institute is demanding that Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly provide more information about how the information is collected and used. Unacast said in a statement Thursday that it uses aggregated mobility and anonymous data from tens of millions of devices but it "never shows individuals’ behavior.”
==========
Missouri Coronavirus Cases Spike; Unclear if It's a Hot Spot
O'FALLON, Mo. (AP) — Coronavirus cases in Missouri are rising at an alarming rate, but health experts say it’s too soon to know if the state is emerging as one of the next hot spots for the pandemic. Health officials say Missouri has 1,581 confirmed cases as of Wednesday, a jump of 19.1% from Tuesday. Eighteen deaths are blamed on COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Missouri’s first confirmed case was reported March 7 and its second was March 12. Two weeks ago there were 24 confirmed cases, and 356 just a week ago. Confirmed cases have more than quadrupled since then.
==========
Missouri Governor Cuts Spending as Virus Hits Economy
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Gov. Mike Parson says he's expecting a $500 million revenue shortfall this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. Parson on Wednesday cut roughly $175 million in state government spending to help bridge the gap. Many of those cuts are to spending for public colleges and universities. Parson blocked more than $61 million from going to public four-year colleges and another $11 million intended for community colleges. State Budget Director Dan Haug says Parson's action will free up money for the state to spend quickly on ventilators and other scarce supplies.
==========
Child Critically Injured when Shots Fired in Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City police say a child was critically injured when someone shot into a vehicle. Police spokesman Sgt. Jacob Becchina says the child, who is believed to be under the age of 10, was riding in a vehicle Tuesday evening when another car drove by and shots were fired. An office duty police officer reported the shooting in east Kansas City and a short time later, 911 received a report of someone inside a vehicle being shot. Police found the vehicle about three miles away in Independence. Becchina says the child is hospitalized in critical condition. No further information was released.
==========
As Coronavirus Moves into Rural Kansas; Small Town Hospitals Struggle to Prepare
NEODESHA, Kan. (KNS) — In Kansas, coronavirus has mostly shown up in cities and suburbs. But now, infections are creeping into rural parts of the state, areas with less medical equipment and older health care workers. Celia Llopis-Jepsen, of the Kansas News Service, recently interviewed a physician in the small town of Neodesha, who's anxious about the spread of this fast-moving virus into his part of the state. ( Get more on this story.)
==========
Kansas Man Allegedly Threatened to Give Girl Coronavirus
SCOTT CITY, Kan. (AP) — A western Kansas man is jailed after he allegedly coughed on an 11-year-old girl and told her he was going to give her the coronavirus. Scott County authorities say 31-year-old Chance Archie Seamans, of Scott City, is being held in the county jail on possible charges of terrorism and criminal threat. Chief David Post says police were called to a Dollar General store in Scott City Tuesday night after a man allegedly told the girl he was going to give her the virus and then coughed in her face. No further details were released.
==========
Missouri Man Allegedly Intentionally Coughed on Customers
CUBA, Mo. (AP) — A 33-year-old eastern Missouri man is charged with making a terrorist threat after police say he intentionally coughed on customers at a store and wrote COVID on a cooler. Crawford County authorities say John Swaller, of Cuba, was arrested and charged Tuesday after a clerk at a Dollar Tree store in Cuba told police he was coughing toward customers and had breathed on a cooler before writing COVID on the inside. Cuba police chief Doug Shelton says it is unknown if Swaller has the coronavirus. The store was closed and sanitized after the incident. Online court records do not name an attorney for Swaller.
==========
Wichita Officials Seek to Restrict Abortion Amid Outbreak
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Officials in the Wichita area took what is likely to be an unsuccessful step toward halting abortions amid the coronavirus outbreak. Sedgwick County commissioners voted Wednesday to approve a recommendation to restrict abortion clinics to only essential medical procedures during the coronavirus pandemic, a move designed to stop abortions at the Trust Women Wichita Clinic. State officials are expected to shoot down the proposal. The Kansas Supreme Court last year declared access to abortion a "fundamental" right under the state constitution. Gov. Laura Kelly said health care clinics will be considered essential because women's reproductive health is an essential need.
==========
Kansas Seminary President's Resignation Followed "Ethical Lapse"
SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) — Officials with the the Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Shawnee say the school's longtime president resigned last month because of an "ethical lapse." The school issued a statement this week but did not provide further details on the resignation of the Rev. Molly Marshall. She resigned March 1 after being school president since 2004. The seminary's headquarters are in Shawnee and it has nine other locations across the country, serving 500 students. The Rev. Pamela Durso, president of the Baptist Women in Ministry, will become the seminary's new president on June 1.
==========
Woman Struck, Killed While Walking Dog in Northeast Kansas
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a driver has struck and killed a 61-year-old woman as she was walking a dog in suburban Kansas City. Police in Olathe, Kansas, say the crash happened just before noon Tuesday. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Her name has not been released. Police say the dog also was injured and was taken to an animal hospital for treatment. The driver wasn't injured and remained on scene. The crash remains under investigation.
==========
Overland Park Police Investigate Body Found Near Highway
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (The Kansas City Star) — Police in Overland Park are asking for witnesses to come forward after a body was found last week along Interstate 435. The Kansas City Star reports police believe the person died after being hit by a vehicle on March 26. Officer John Lacy says the person apparently was hit in the westbound lanes of the interstate under the Roe Avenue bridge. The victim’s identity has not been released.
==========
Arrest Made in Pedestrian's Hit-and-Run Death in Parsons
PARSONS, Kan. (The Wichita Eagle) — A woman is jailed after she allegedly hit and killed a pedestrian while driving under the influence in Parsons this week. Police say 29-year-old William Treiber, of St. Paul, died when he was hit Wednesday night as he walked in the shoulder of a highway in Parsons. The driver left the scene. The Wichita Eagle reports 29-year-old Tiffany Jakee, of Parsons, is jailed in the Labette County jail on possible charges including involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence. A Kansas Highway Patrol crash report says Jakee passed another vehicle in a no-passing zone, then drove onto the shoulder, where Treiber was struck.
==========
Kansas Prison System Sees 1st Coronavirus Cases in 3 Workers at Lansing Facility
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Three Kansas prison workers have contracted the coronavirus in the first cases reported in the state's prison system. The Department of Corrections announced Tuesday night in a news release that the three employees at the Lansing Correctional Facility are recovering at home. Residents who had close contact with the workers have been moved to medical isolation where they will be monitored for symptoms. Meanwhile, health care providers in Kansas are facing financial strains. Topeka-based Stormont Vail Health CEO Robert Kenagy said in a statement Tuesday that cuts in wages are necessary so all staff can continue getting paid.
==========
Kansas Governor Creates Easier Path for Unemployment Benefits
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is taking steps to address what she described as hundreds of thousands of calls to the state labor office by making it easier for Kansans to receive unemployment benefits amid the coronavirus outbreak. Kelly announced that Kansas would temporarily waive the one-week waiting period for people to receive the unemployment benefits and waive the requirement that they seek employment. (Learn how to file for unemployment benefits in Kansas.)
==========
Ex-Chief of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Trump Rule Could Kill Billions of Birds
BUTTE, Mont. (AP) — The Trump administration is moving to scale back criminal enforcement of a century-old law protecting most American wild bird species. The former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service told AP billions of birds could die if the government doesn't hold companies liable for accidental bird deaths. On the edge of a former open pit copper mine in Montana, sirens and the pop of propane cannons are meant to keep geese, swans and ducks from landing on a lake of toxic water. Montana Resources says it will keep up efforts to scare birds away after thousands landed and later died in 2016.
==========
U.S. Army Corps: Some Levees Damaged in 2019 Still Vulnerable
O'FALLON, Mo. (AP) — With flood concerns already high in the Midwest, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is warning that many levees on the Missouri and Kansas rivers that were damaged during last year's devastating floods remain vulnerable to high water. The National Weather Service has said Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri and eastern North Dakota and South Dakota face an above-average flood risk this spring, due largely to soil saturation to the north. Record flooding in 2019 damaged several levees, many of which have yet to be repaired. The Corps says "challenging weather conditions and higher flows" continue, delaying the ability to fully assess damage.
==========
Survey Suggests Pandemic Draining Vigor from Midwest Economy
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A survey of supply managers in a nine-state region of the Midwest and Plains is showing more signs of the coronavirus pandemic's disruptive economic impact. A report released today (MON) says the Mid-American Business Conditions index sank in March to 46.7 — its lowest reading since September 2016. The survey's confidence index plunged to a record low of 14.5. The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth. A score below that suggests decline. The survey covers Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
==========
2 More Charged in Shooting at Kansas City Entertainment Area
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Two more suspects have been charged in the fatal shooting of a teenager in a Kansas City entertainment district. The Jackson County prosecutors announced Thursday that 18-year-old Lavont Carter and 20-year-old Christien Woody, both of Kansas City, Kansas, are charged with second-degree murder and three other charges. Three other people are already charged in the February death of 17-year-old Devin Harris. Four other people were injured in the shooting in the Westport district. Investigators said Carter and Woody were with other people in a vehicle from which shots were fired.
==========
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.