© 2024 Kansas Public Radio

91.5 FM | KANU | Lawrence, Topeka, Kansas City
96.1 FM | K241AR | Lawrence (KPR2)
89.7 FM | KANH | Emporia
99.5 FM | K258BT | Manhattan
97.9 FM | K250AY | Manhattan (KPR2)
91.3 FM | KANV | Junction City, Olsburg
89.9 FM | K210CR | Atchison
90.3 FM | KANQ | Chanute

See the Coverage Map for more details

FCC On-line Public Inspection Files Sites:
KANU, KANH, KANV, KANQ

Questions about KPR's Public Inspection Files?
Contact General Manager Feloniz Lovato-Winston at fwinston@ku.edu
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Headlines for Thursday, August 26, 2021

kpr-news-summary_new.jpg
kpr-news-summary_new.jpg

 

Eatery Owners, Managers in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma Charged in Federal Immigration Case

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Federal prosecutors in Missouri have charged more than a dozen restaurant owners and managers in Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma, accusing them of a racketeering scheme to hire and employ immigrants living in the U.S. illegally. The Kansas City Star reports that the indictment unsealed Wednesday charges the owners and managers with various counts ranging from fraud and conspiracy to money laundering and illegal use of social security numbers. The indictment involves 45 Mexican restaurants across several states that received employment services from Specialty Foods Distribution, a Joplin-based company, and another affiliate. Prosecutors say that over the course of nearly 20 years, the company helped staff the restaurants with people not eligible to work in the U.S.

==========

Kansas Schools Prioritize Mental Health for Pandemic Aid

BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — Education officials overseeing the more than $1.1 billion in federal pandemic aid for Kansas schools say districts are spending much of the money to meet the mental health needs of students and staff. Districts also are hiring "intervention specialists" who can work one-on-one or in small groups to fill in learning gaps. They're also spending to upgrade curriculum. Since March 2020, the federal government has provided $190 billion in pandemic aid to the nation's schools, which is more than four times what the U.S. Education Department spends on K-12 schools in a typical year. In Kansas, the aid averages nearly $2,400 per student.

==========

Health Officials Release Report on COVID Risk in All Kansas Counties

TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) _ Kansas health officials are now ranking the state’s counties according to their COVID-19 risk. The report from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment is aimed at helping local leaders stop the spread of COVID-19 by tracking three key measures: vaccination rate, test rate and number of cases. The top-ranking counties are a mix of more urban areas like Johnson and Douglas counties, and some rural counties that have succeeded in getting people vaccinated and making plenty of tests available. Sedgwick, Shawnee and Wyandotte counties are in the top 20. At the bottom of the rankings are mostly rural counties in southeast and western Kansas with high rates of COVID-19 transmission and low vaccination rates.

==========

Kansas Governor Directs State Agencies to Resume Remote Work

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Governor Laura Kelly has directed Kansas state employees to resume working remotely if possible because of the more contagious COVID-19 delta variant. Kelly’s announcement Wednesday came after two months of steadily rising numbers of new COVID-19 cases that have stressed hospitals and led some public schools to require masks indoors. Kelly’s directive applies to state agencies under her control; employees must resume remote work by September 3 and continue at least through October 4. A memo from Kelly's administration secretary said any employee who was able to work remotely earlier should do it again. Many state employees spent more than a year working remotely and normal operations resumed in June. (View the text of the order at governor.kansas.gov.)

(–Earlier Reporting–)

Kansas Governor Directs Some State Agencies to Return to Remote Work

LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) —  Kansas Governor Laura Kelly on Wednesday afternoon released new guidelines directing state agencies that report to the Executive Branch to resume remote work operations in places where that is possible. The remote work option is set to take effect by no later than close-of-business on Friday, September 3, and will remain in place through October 4th. (View the text of the order at governor.kansas.gov.)

========== 

Kansas School Leaders Say State Law Limits Remote Learning

WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) _ Some Kansas school leaders say a new state law is limiting students’ options for attending class remotely, even during COVID-19 quarantines. Legislators passed a measure last year to urge schools to conduct only in-person classes. It cuts funding to the school for any student who logs more than 40 hours of remote learning per school year. There are exceptions for illnesses or emergencies with a special waiver. Wichita school board member Ernestine Krehbiel says some families want a longer-term remote option, but state lawmakers tied their hands. “I try to explain to parents that it wasn’t our choice. We’re not the ones making the decision.” Wichita is the state’s largest school district. School officials say says more than 1,600 Wichita students have been quarantined since school started on August 12.

==========

Kansas Hospitals Seek Traveling Nurses Amid COVID Surge

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ Kansas hospitals are clamoring for traveling nurses as the number of COVID-19 patients rises to levels last seen in January. The state had 407 open travel nurse positions as of Monday, according to data from Aya Healthcare, a leading travel nursing agency. The Kansas City Star reports that advertised positions in Kansas and Missouri top $5,600 a week. The Kansas Hospital Association has floated several options to address demand, including additional funding to offset the cost to retain and recruit staff. The director of the Kansas State Nurses Association said nurses are making three times more traveling than they could in a regular job. 

==========

KU Shows Strong Interest in Vaccine Mandates, but Contends State Law Prohibits Them

LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) - University of Kansas officials say they're interested in a vaccine mandate for students returning to campus, but don’t look for one to be implemented any time soon.  A KU spokeswoman said the university still believes Kansas law precludes state universities from implementing vaccine mandates, and the recent FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine does nothing to change that status.  “KU would strongly consider a vaccine mandate if it were an option,” KU spokeswoman Erinn Barcomb-Peterson told the Lawrence Journal-World on Tuesday. “But it is not an option at this point given state law.”  KU for weeks has been saying state law limits its ability to mandate that students and staff receive vaccinations or provide proof of vaccination. However, some faculty members and others have questioned whether the state laws in question actually apply to KU and other state universities.  KU on Tuesday, however, showed no signs of reconsidering its legal analysis of the vaccine mandates. Some universities across the country began implementing a vaccine mandate after the FDA gave the Pfizer vaccine full approval, removing its emergency status label.  KU is strongly encouraging students to get vaccinated. Earlier this month it announced a program offering about $235,000 in incentives — including drawings for free tuition and other prizes — for students who voluntarily provide proof of vaccination. ( Read more.)

==========

Missouri Attorney General Sues to Stop School Mask Mandates

UNDATED (AP) - Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has filed a lawsuit that seeks to stop school districts from enforcing mask mandates, requirements aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19. The lawsuit filed this week names Columbia Public Schools along with the district’s Board of Education and board members, but is a class action lawsuit that would apply to any Missouri district requiring masks. President Joe Biden's press secretary said during a briefing that Biden finds such lawsuits unacceptable and has told his education secretary to use all his authority to help school districts protect students across the country.

==========

Woman Involved in Fatal Kansas City Crash Says She Was Fleeing Gunfire

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police in Kansas City say a woman involved in a fatal crash told investigators she had been fleeing gunfire when she ran a red light and crashed into another car. The crash happened on the morning of August 3 at an eastern Kansas City intersection. Police say the woman was driving east on Truman Road when she ran a red light and slammed into a northbound car. Police say the 80-year-old driver of the northbound car was taken to a hospital and died there Monday from his injuries. His name has not been released. Police said the woman involved in the crash told officers she fled when someone started shooting at her.

==========

Topeka Police Say Shooting Leaves 37-Year-Old Man Dead

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Police in Topeka say a local man died in a shooting at a motel. The shooting happened Tuesday afternoon, when officers were called around 1:45 pm to Travelers Inn for reports of a shooting. Arriving officers found a man with gunshot wounds, and paramedics pronounced the man dead at the scene. Police identified the victim as 37-year-old James Epps Jr.  Police later arrested 19-year-old Isaiah Krainbill, of Topeka, on suspicion of first-degree murder in the case.

==========

Kansas Man Dies in Death Valley National Park, Second Hiker to Die Within Days

DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — A Kansas man has died in the California desert.  Death Valley National Park rangers are reminding visitors to limit stressful activities during summer heat after another hiker died along the same trail within days. Authorities say 52-year-old Blake Chaplin, of Leawood, was found dead August 21 along the Golden Canyon Trail. The temperature on August 21 was 109 degrees, below the normal high of 115, but still requiring precautions. On August 18, 60-year-old Lawrence Stanback, of San Francisco, died of suspected heat stroke. The park urges summer visitors to limit hiking to the relatively cooler morning hours, drink plenty of water, eat salty snacks and stay close to air conditioning.

==========

Informal Talks Take Place on Building a 3,000-Acre Solar Panel Farm Near the Douglas / Johnson County Line

LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) - The Lawrence Journal-World reports that a 3,000-acre solar panel farm, the largest in the state, could be coming to an area along the eastern edge of Douglas County.  While official plans for the project have not been filed, informal talks about the project have taken place.  The Journal-World reports that planning commissions in both Douglas and Johnson counties have been holding such discussions for the past several months.  A Florida-based energy company hopes to build a large solar farm that would straddle parts of the border between Douglas and Johnson counties.  Officials with NextEra Energy are actively planning for a project that would be located several miles east of Baldwin City.  NextEra estimates the solar farm would produce enough renewable energy to power about 40,000 homes.  ( Read more.)

==========

Wichita Council Sets $15 Minimum Hourly Wage for Employees

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Wichita City Council raised the minimum hourly wage to $15 for full-time city employees as part of the city's new $670 million budget. Tuesday's vote comes as the city plans to begin filling several positions that were kept vacant to save money. Officials had predicted the city would face a $10 million to $11 million shortfall because of the coronavirus pandemic. But Wichita will receive $70 million in federal COVID-19 funds and unexpected increases in sales tax revenue. City officials plan to start filling 139 civilian positions, and add seven police officers. Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple said the current minimum wage is between $12 and $13 per hour.

==========

Report: Most Federal Election Security Money Remains Unspent

UNDATED (AP) - A federal report finds that in the run up to the 2020 presidential election, U.S. states and territories had spent less than a third of the $805 million Congress had provided to shore up security for state and local election systems. A state-by-state snapshot released last month by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission shows they had spent a little more than $255 million allocated under the Help America Vote Act. Officials say many states were focused on the coronavirus pandemic last year and received much of the money too late to use before the 2020 election.

==========

Special Prosecutor Appointed in Kansas City Police Shooting

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A judge has approved a request by Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate a fatal police shooting in Kansas City. St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell’s office has appointed Rachel Smith as special prosecutor to determine if the shooting of 31-year-old Malcolm Johnson in March was justified. She says her office had charged Johnson in a 2014 fatal shooting, and she was concerned that previous interaction with Johnson could be seen as a conflict of interest in the shooting investigation. A group of Kansas City clergy and civil rights advocates is questioning the police department's version of Johnson's shooting.

==========

Motorcyclist Dies in Hit-and-Run in Wichita; Suspect Sought

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police are looking for the person who struck and killed a motorcyclist before fleeing the scene. Police say 37-year-old Kenneth Ballinger, of Derby, died when his motorcycle was hit by a black SUV at a Wichita intersection on Tuesday night. The initial investigation indicates the vehicle was turning at the intersection when Ballinger's motorcycle was hit. KWCH reports Ballinger was a Wichita  music promoter who owned two venues, Barleycorns and the Elbow Room.

==========

Kansas State Will Limit Beer Sales During Football Games

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) _ Kansas State University football fans will have to search a little harder for beer and alcohol during football games this season. A year after allowing beer and wine sales throughout Bill Snyder Family Stadium, the university says it will return to a previous practice of limiting alcohol sales to specific areas. Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor said 60% of fans who answered a survey said they preferred limited beer sales and combined exit/re-entry over beer sales at every concession stand and no re-entry. The university said it will open a third beer garden at the stadium this season. 

==========

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. This news summary is made possible by KPR listener-members. Become one today!