Judge: Kansas Election Database Function Not Public Record
BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — A judge has ruled that the Kansas secretary of state did not violate the state’s open records law by ordering the removal of an election database function that generates a statewide report showing which provisional ballots were not counted. The decision Wednesday by Shawnee County District Judge Teresa Watson comes in a lawsuit filed by voting rights activist Davis Hammet. He's the president of Loud Light, a nonprofit that strives to increase voter turnout. The judge sided with Republican Secretary of State Scott Schwab in finding that the ability to produce a statewide provisional ballot report in the database is not a public record as defined by the Kansas Open Records Act.
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Rice County Man Arrested, Accused of Child Sex Crimes
RICE COUNTY, Kan. (KPR) – A Sterling man has been arrested for child sex crimes following an investigation by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI). KBI agents took 43-year-old Jonathan A. Braden, also known as Jonathan Behnke, into custody this (THUR) morning at a residence in Sterling (2020 Avenue R). The Rice County Sheriff’s Office and the Kansas Highway Patrol assisted during the arrest, which took place without incident. Braden was booked into the Rice County Jail on two counts of aggravated criminal sodomy, two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child, and 25 counts of sexual exploitation of a child. The crimes allege Braden engaged in sexual conduct with a juvenile, and possessed and manufactured child pornography. In September 2019, a report was made to the Grandview Plaza Police Department when a subject discovered images of child pornography that were suspected to be Braden’s. The Grandview Plaza Police Department began investigating. They requested KBI assistance in October of 2019. in December 2019, a search warrant was executed at Braden’s residence in Sterling, and evidence was located and seized.
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Kansas, Other GOP States Urge Court to Let Texas Abortion Law Stand
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas ban on most abortion is getting a show of support from 18 states. It comes as clinics and the Biden administration on Thursday waited for a ruling to determine whether the most restrictive abortion law in the U.S. can remain in place. Republican state attorneys general from 18 states say the Biden administration overstepped by bringing a lawsuit against Texas in their attempt to stop the restrictions. The Texas law bans abortions once cardiac activity is detected, which is usually around the sixth week of pregnancy. It has been in effect since September. Signing on in agreement were the state attorneys general from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and West Virginia.
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Kansas Lawmakers Question National Guard Vaccine Mandate
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (KNS) – A Republican state lawmaker says members of the Kansas National Guard should not be required to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Representative Pat Proctor, of Leavenworth, sent a letter to the commander of the Kansas National Guard, raising questions about whether a vaccine mandate conflicts with state law. The new law bars state funds from being used to enforce a vaccine mandate. “I don’t know how the Kansas National Guard, which when not federalized is a state agency, can legally require proof of vaccination,” Proctor said. Proctor says said he isn’t questioning the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine and says he has no issues with other vaccines required by the National Guard.
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Study: Kansas Has Nation’s Lowest Childhood Obesity Rate
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – A new report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation finds that the national rate for child obesity is 16.2 %. About 12% of Kansans aged 10 to 17 are considered obese. Missouri’s rate exceeds the national average at nearly 20%. Jaimie Bussel, Senior Program Director at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation says the rates for Black, Hispanic, and Native American youth are worse than those for their white and Asian counterparts. “Children of color and those who live farthest from economic opportunity are at greatest risk,” Bussel said. The report reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened the childhood obesity problem. The foundation makes several policy recommendations, including making universal school meals permanent, expanding Medicaid in states that haven’t done so, and extending eligibility for WIC, the supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children.
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Kansas Legislators Press State School Board on Race Theory
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Chairpersons of the House and Senate education committees are taking the Kansas State Board of Education to task because they don’t think the panel is taking seriously enough lawmakers’ and parents’ concerns about how race and racism are discussed in schools. Republican state senator Molly Baumgardner of Louisburg, who chairs the Senate Education Committee, told board members to direct state Department of Education staff to look into how Kansas schools are applying the concept of “critical race theory,” which centers on the idea that racism is systemic in the nation’s institutions. Baumgardner said in Wednesday’s meeting that she is aware of four bills being prepared for the 2022 session that oppose teaching some theories of race and racism.
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2 Larned State Hospital Employees Charged in Sex Offender's Escape
LARNED, Kan. (AP) — Two employees at Larned State Hospital are charged with helping a convicted sexual offender escape last summer. The two female employees, 50-year-old Rachel Rena Perez, of Larned, and 45-year-old Liliana Guadalupe Houser, of Garden City, made their first court appearances Tuesday. They each face more than a dozen charges related to the escape of John Freeman Colt in June. Colt was recaptured in Utah in September. Pawnee County Attorney Douglas McNett said in a release the charges against Perez and Houser include having unlawful sexual relations with a patient and trafficking in contraband.
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Two Men Charged After Double Homicide in Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Two men have been charged with murder after a double homicide earlier this year in Kansas City. The Jackson County Prosecutor's office announced Wednesday that 20-year-old Earl L. Dunn III and 24-year-old Vontez G. Howard, both of Kansas City, are each charged with two counts of first-degree murder, robbery and five other counts. Officers called to the scene of a shooting and crash on March 1 found Kyle Gerhardt and Kristopher Lunsford-Barrett inside a car that had crashed and burned. Both men had been shot. Prosecutors said video showed the two suspects chasing the victims' car until it crashed.
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Heating Bills Set to Soar as Inflation Hits Energy Prices
NEW YORK (AP) — With prices surging worldwide for heating oil, natural gas and other fuels, the U.S. government said Wednesday it expects households to see jumps of up to 54% for their heating bills from last winter. The sharpest increases are likely for homes that use propane, but others are also likely to see big increases. Homes that use natural gas, which make up nearly half of all U.S. households, may spend $746 this winter, 30% more than a year ago. A forecast for a colder winter means people will likely be burning more fuel to keep warm, on top of paying more for each bit of it.
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Man Charged in Shooting of 2 Kansas Brothers Enters Plea
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — One of two Topeka men accused in a 2019 double shooting in a Lawrence park that injured two brothers will get prison time after pleading no contest last month to attempted first-degree murder. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that 19-year-old Sahavione Caraway also pleaded no contest to aggravated robbery on September 13. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors dropped additional counts of each charge. The minimum sentence for the attempted murder charge is about 12 years in prison. Caraway is set to be sentenced next Wednesday. Prosecutors say Caraway and another man, Benson Edwards Jr., were 17 when they shot two brothers, ages 18 and 16, in Holcom Park on March 19, 2019, seriously injuring both. Edwards has pleaded not guilty and will face trial in January.
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Wichita Woman Charged with Murder, Child Abuse, in Baby Daughter's Death
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A 27-year-old Wichita woman is charged with first-degree murder and felony child abuse in the death of her 1-year-old daughter. Neriah Dilley is jailed on $250,000 bond after making her first court appearance on Thursday. KAKE-TV reported officers found Dilley's daughter in critical condition after responding to a call about an infant not breathing on Saturday. The girl, Myonna Townley, died later at a hospital. Police said she suffered trauma to her body. A criminal complaint alleges Dilley tortured or cruelly beat her daughter. Her next court appearance was scheduled for October 28.
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University of Kansas Museum Reinstalls Vandalized Native American Art Exhibit
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Native American art exhibit that was vandalized at the University of Kansas has been reinstalled. The Spencer Museum of Art announced Wednesday the exhibit, called “Native Hosts,” is back in front of the museum. Officials are inviting the public to an event Thursday afternoon to celebrate the artwork. The exhibit consists of five aluminum signs that name tribes who historically or currently live in what is now Kansas. University police said two people vandalized four of the panels on September 4. The fifth panel was later taken but it was recovered.
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Kansas Hospitals Get Retention Funding for Workers
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — Kansas hospitals will split $50 million meant to retain and attract frontline hospital workers as the pandemic continues. During the pandemic, health care workers have often grappled with too many patients and not enough resources, along with other challenges faced by frontline workers. The money from federal COVID-19 relief funding can be used to increase pay for nurses to entice them to stay or to return from retirement. The money will be distributed among hospitals based on bed capacity. The amounts vary widely. Ascension Via Christi hospital in Wichita is set to get more than $7 million. The University of Kansas Health System will get around $5 million. The much smaller Edwards County Hospital will receive less than $50,000. While the latest surge in COVID-19 cases is beginning to wane, many hospitals are still struggling to care for their patients and employees.
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Nursing Schools See Applications Rise, Despite COVID Burnout
STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Nurses around the U.S. are getting burned out by the COVID-19 crisis and quitting, yet applications to nursing schools are rising, driven by what educators say are young people who see the global emergency as an opportunity and a challenge. Nationally, enrollment in bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral nursing programs increased 5.6% in 2020 from the year before to just over 250,000 students, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. The higher enrollment could help ease a nursing shortage that existed even before COVID-19. But the increase, combined with the departure of too many experienced nurses whose job is to help train students, has left many nursing programs without the ability to expand.
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Kansas Legislators Seek Halt to Gas Payment Plans for Utilities
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) —A group of Kansas lawmakers is asking state regulators to stop approving payments to utilities to recover the costs associated with spikes in natural gas prices during a winter storm in February. During the storm, the price of natural gas from one of the main pipelines in Kansas went from around $2.00 per unit to more than $600.00.The current plans allow gas utilities to pass their costs on to customers. Kansas legislators are asking for a pause while the federal government finishes its investigation into potential price gouging and market manipulation. Kansans are currently on the hook for about $1 billion in gas bills due to those spikes. But if federal regulators find the market was manipulated, that bill could be significantly decreased. The major gas utilities in Kansas are asking regulators to approve payment plans that would have customers pay the extra costs over a period of 10 to 15 years.
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Deere & Co. Workers Go on Strike After Rejecting Contract
MOLINE, Ill. (AP) — More than 10,000 Deere & Co. workers went on strike today (THUR) after the United Auto Workers union said negotiators couldn't deliver a new agreement that would meet the "demands and needs" of workers. The vast majority of the union rejected a contract offer earlier this week that would have delivered 5% raises to some workers and 6% raises to others. Thirty-five years have passed since the last major Deere strike, but workers are emboldened to demand more this year after working long hours throughout the pandemic and because companies are facing worker shortages. Illinois-based Deere says it's committed to resolving the strike with an agreement that benefits all employees. A strike could affect Deere dealerships and farmers across the nation, especially in the farm belt.
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No Indictments in Two Deaths After Dispute over Firewood
PARKVILLE, Mo. (AP) — A Platte County grand jury declined to indict a man in the death of two men after a dispute over $200 in firewood. Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd announced Wednesday the grand jury found no crime was committed when 44-year-old Jonathan Lutz, of Kansas City, and 34-year-old Kalob Lawrence, of Kimberling City, died in February. Zahnd said the two men had delivered firewood to a Platte County home but left before unloading the entire order. The homeowner's 22-year-old son chased the men and confronted them. Zahnd said when Lawson pointed a gun at the son and threatened him, the son grabbed his own gun and fired several times, killing the two men.
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Weather Service Confirms Tornadoes in Western Kansas
SHARON SPRINGS, Kan. (AP) — The National Weather Service says an EF-0 tornado touched down in northwest Kansas as severe storms swept through the state Tuesday evening and early Wednesday. The weather service in Goodland said a twister near Sharon Springs traveled about 3.3 miles, with a peak gust of 85 mph. No injuries were reported. A cart and maintenance shed at the Sharon Springs Golf Course was destroyed. Meteorologists with the weather service in Dodge City were surveying damage from at least four tornadoes in lightly-populated areas near Dodge City. Those twisters were reported near Howell, Spearville, Trousdale and between Sublette and Copeland.
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'We Have to Be Heard': Texas Women Travel to Seek Abortions
SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) — The nation's most restrictive abortion law is driving many women from Texas to seek services as far away as Oklahoma and Kansas. The Hope Medical Group for Women in Shreveport, Louisiana, near the Texas border, is among the clinics seeing a major influx of Texas patients. On a recent Saturday, more than a dozen women arrived at the single-story brick building. Some came alone. Others brought their children because they were unable to get child care. All were seeking to end pregnancies. One of the patients was a 33-year-old woman who already has three kids. She said adding a baby to the family would take time and resources away from her other children.
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Chiefs Begin Prep for Washington Game with Mounting Injuries
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs practiced without five key starters on Wednesday, including wide receiver Tyreek Hill and pass rusher Chris Jones, adding a long list of physical ailments to their battered pride five games into the season. Hill was out with a bruised quad that he sustained in Sunday night’s blowout loss to the Bills, when the Chiefs also lost running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire to a sprained knee ligament. Jones continues to deal with a lingering wrist injury. Also out were linebacker Anthony Hitchens, defensive back Charvarius Ward and guard Joe Thuney.
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Former KU Football Coach David Beaty Withdrawn from NCAA Case
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) _ Former University of Kansas football coach David Beaty is no longer part of an NCAA infractions case against the school. The independent organization that investigates such cases notified Beaty last week that an allegation against him had been withdrawn. In 2019, KU self reported violations in the football program. Beaty says he plans to get back to coaching now that the NCAA allegations are behind him. He hasn't worked in football since KU fired him in 2018. The two reached a $2.5 million settlement last year in a dispute over his buyout.
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KU Chosen by Big 12 Coaches as Preseason Favorite
IRVING, Texas (AP) — The University of Kansas has been selected as the Big 12 preseason men's basketball favorite by the league's head coaches. The Jayhawks got eight of 10 first-place votes from coaches who couldn't vote for their own teams. Texas got the remaining two first-place votes. Defending national champion Baylor was picked to finish third. AP Big 12 player of the year Jared Butler is among three standouts guards no longer with the Bears. The coaches picked three Kansas players for the preseason All-Big 12 team. That includes preseason player of the year Remy Martin.
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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. This news summary is made possible by KPR listener-members. Become one today!