State of Kansas Reports Fifth Child Death from COVID-19
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas health officials are reporting a fifth child has died from COVID-19 in the state. The health department said the child was in the 10 to 17 age group but no other details were provided, including when the death occurred. The health department reported Wednesday the state has recorded 5,807 new COVID-19 cases in the last week, including 1,460 children. Kansas also has seen 249 new hospitalizations, including seven children, in the last week. Another 160 deaths were recorded in the last week but that includes health officials recording death records from the past several months.
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Members of KCK-Based United Nation of Islam Accused on Child Abuse, Forced Labor
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCUR) - Prosecutors say eight members of a religious group have now been charged with child abuse. A federal grand jury also indicted members of the religious group on charges that they engaged in forced labor. The indictment against the members of the United Nation of Islam accuses them of forcing children as young as eight to work long hours without pay in the sect’s businesses around the country. The indictment accuses them of regularly punishing the children by beating them, depriving them of food and medical treatment, and humiliating them. In 2018, a federal judge ordered the group and its founder, Royall Jenkins, to pay nearly $8 million in damages to a girl they enslaved for 10 years. The judge later ordered the arrest of Jenkins, who represented to his followers that he was Allah. Jenkins’ whereabouts were unknown, however, and he eluded arrest. In a news release late Wednesday, the Justice Department said that Jenkins was deceased.
(AP version)
Eight Members of Religious Group Charged with Child Abuse
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - Federal prosecutors are accusing eight people connected to an organization in Kansas City, Kansas, with forcing children to work without pay and abusing them for years. An indictment charges the organization, formerly known as the United Nation of Islam, with conspiracy to commit forced labor. A federal judge in Kansas labeled the group a cult in 2018. The group was founded in the 1970s by Royall Jenkins and is also known as the Value Creators. The indictment alleges that for the past 20 years, the organization ran businesses in several states - including Kansas and Missouri - using unpaid labor from followers and their children. Prosecutors also allege the children were abused.
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Kansas Representative Russ Jennings Dies from Cancer
LAKIN, Kan. (KPR) - Veteran Kansas lawmaker Russ Jennings has died from cancer. The death of the Lakin Republican will further reduce the ranks of moderates at the Kansas Statehouse. Jennings served five terms as a moderate Republican from a vast southwest Kansas district that has been growing more conservative. He died just four months after disclosing that he had cancer and wouldn’t run for a sixth term. Leaders from both sides of the aisle praised Jennings. Republican House Speaker Ron Ryckman, a conservative, said Jennings had the kind of character that is “a rare find.” Senate Democratic Leader Dinah Sykes eulogized Jennings as a man of compassion who “fought hard for commonsense policies to improve the lives of Kansas kids.” As chair of the House Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee, Jennings spearheaded efforts to reform the state’s juvenile justice system. He died Wednesday at the age of 66.
(AP version)
Western Kansas Lawmaker Russ Jennings Dies from Cancer at 66
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A member of the Kansas House has died. Representative Russ Jennings was 66. House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr. says the Lakin Republican died from cancer Wednesday morning. Russ Jennings was elected to the Legislature in 2012. He served as chairman of the House Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee for the past three legislative sessions. Before his election, Jennings served as commissioner of juvenile justice for the Kansas Juvenile Justice Authority from 2007 to 2010. In previous years he was also a deputy sheriff and a magistrate judge.
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Progress on National Bio-Defense Lab in Manhattan Delayed Again
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) - Progress has been delayed on construction of a national bio-defense lab in Manhattan. Earlier this year, federal officials said NBAF, the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, would be substantially completed by this month. But now, officials say construction is expected to finish next spring, with the laboratory commissioned in the summer. The Manhattan Mercury reports the Department of Homeland Security says technology upgrades and equipment installation are taking longer than expected. Once completed, the federal lab will be used to study diseases that can be spread from animals to humans.
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Dodge City Police: 5 Critically Sickened by CO from Exhaust
DODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) - Five family members in southwest Kansas are now fighting for their lives after being sickened by carbon monoxide. Police were called to a home in Dodge City Monday where they encountered thick vehicle exhaust and found five men unconscious and critically ill. Police say all five were quickly removed and taken to hospitals, where they remain in critical condition. Investigators say the poisoning was an accident, caused when one of the men left a vehicle running in the home's closed garage, allowing fumes to fill the home. Police say four of the men are brothers and the fifth is the adult son of one of the men.
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Police: Hoisington Man Fatally Shot
HOISINGTON, Kan. (AP/KPR) - Police in central Kansas are investigating the shooting death of a man in Hoisington. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is helping the Hoisington Police Department in the investigation. Police were called early Wednesday morning to a home by a 911 caller who reported the shooting. Arriving officers found 22-year-old Chase Anderson, of Hoisington, with a gunshot wound to his chest. He died at the scene. A 32-year-old acquaintance of Anderson's who was in the house at the time of the shooting was arrested on suspicion of unrelated drug possession counts. Charges in Anderson's death have not yet been filed.
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Salina Residents Seek to Undermine City Government's Emergency Powers
SALINA, Kan. (KPR) - Some Salina residents angered by COVID-19 restrictions are trying to limit the emergency powers of their city commission and the measure they’re backing will be put to voters next week. The group Salina Freedom got the proposed ordinance on the ballot. It’s leader, businessman Kevin Korb, says it’s needed to prevent the city from ever again imposing mask mandates and restrictions on businesses. Korb defended the measure on a local radio talk show. “The city commissioners are there to represent us and not to rule over us like kings," he said. On that same program, former city commissioner Jon Blanchard said the ordinance would hinder the city’s response to future public health emergencies. “I fail to see how that makes anybody more free and it certainly does not make people safer," he said. The city has challenged the ordinance in court, meaning a judge will likely have the final say.
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Pandemic Restrictions Fuel Recall Efforts on Fall Ballots
MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Dozens of recall campaigns are underway across the U.S. ahead of next week's election. Many of the efforts are led by people who oppose any COVID-19-related rules. The races illustrate the contentiousness that has upended usually sleepy school board and city council meetings. The tension is almost certain to last into 2022, when more recall efforts are expected in the spring. Brian Steele is the mayor of Nixa, Missouri, whose future will be on the ballot. He was targeted for recall for enacting a mask mandate, even though it had already expired. Nationally, more than 500 attempts to recall elected officials have happened this year.
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Police Arrest Woman in Violent Rampage That Left 1 Dead
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A woman is facing a dozen charges, including second-degree murder, after prosecutors said she went on a violent rampage that left one man dead and another woman hospitalized. The Wyandotte County prosecutors office said Alyssa Leanne Arreola began the rampage early Wednesday when she stole a vehicle in Kansas City, Kansas. In the next several hours, Arreola allegedly was involved in two hit-and-run crashes, broke into a woman's home and stabbed her, and then fatally shot a man before stealing his car. The stabbing victim remains hospitalized. Authorities have not said what prompted Arreola's actions.
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NWS: 12 Tornadoes Hit Kansas, Missouri, Illinois on Sunday
ST. LOUIS (AP/KPR) - The National Weather Service has now confirmed that 12 tornadoes hit parts of Missouri, southwest Illinois and northeast Kansas on Sunday. The Kansas City office of the National Weather Service confirmed seven tornadoes struck northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas Sunday. No serious injuries or deaths were reported from the tornadoes, which caused power outages, damaged some buildings and downed trees. The weather service says tornadoes also touched down near St. Louis, as well as southeast Missouri and parts of Illinois.
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Republican Attorneys General Criticize Biden Vaccine Order
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Twenty-one Republican state attorneys general -- including Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt -- have sent a letter to President Joe Biden criticizing his COVID-19 vaccination mandate for federal contractors. The Wednesday letter is signed by attorneys general from Texas, Mississippi, Alaska and other states, including Kansas. They say the mandate “stands on shaky legal ground,” is confusing to contractors and could worsen supply-chain problems. They wrote that companies could be blacklisted for federal contracts unless they get their workers vaccinated on “an unworkable timeline.” Some legal experts say they think the Biden administration is on strong legal footing with the mandates to protect public safety. The letter was sent by the Attorneys General for Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. (Read a copy of the letter here.)
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Attorney: Kansas Deputy Who Ran over Black Man Now Works at State Prison
BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP/KPR) - The attorney for a Black man who was run over by a Kansas deputy in an encounter caught on video says he was shocked to learn the deputy is now employed as a master sergeant at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility while still under criminal investigation. In a lawsuit filed last year, Lionel Womack accused Kiowa County Sheriff's Deputy Jeremy Rodriguez of intentionally driving over him in August of 2020. Rodriguez has denied he intentionally swerved his truck to hit Womack
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Company Challenges Seizure of Marijuana Proceeds in Kansas
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A cash management company is asking a federal court to return nearly $166,000 in proceeds seized in Kansas from sales at Missouri medical marijuana stores. The Dickinson County sheriff's office seized the money in May as it was being driven through Kansas to Colorado. Medical marijuana is legal in Missouri and Colorado, but not in Kansas. The driver (who worked for Empyreal Logistics) has not been charged. Authorities in Kansas contend in court filings that the money was made by activities that are still illegal under federal law. A federal judge has set a hearing on the dispute for January 4.
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UAW Member Hit, Killed by Car Near John Deere Picket Line
MILAN, Ill. (AP) - Police say a vehicle struck and killed a United Auto Workers member as he was walking to a picket line outside a John Deere plant in Illinois. Milan, Illinois, Police Chief Shawn Johnson said the man was struck Wednesday morning near a road that leads to the John Deere Parts Distribution Center in the northwest Illinois city. Police identified him as 56-year-old Richard Rich. UAW leadership in Detroit said that Rich had worked at the plant for 15 years. Workers are on strike at 14 Deere factories in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Colorado and Georgia.
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Kansas Audio-Reader Network Celebrates 50 Years on the Air
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - The Kansas Audio-Reader Networkis celebrating its 50th year on the air with a party in Lawrence next month. Audio-Reader is a reading and information service for blind, vision-impaired and print-disabled people in Kansas and Missouri. Fifty years ago this month, Audio-Reader began broadcasting from the KU campus. And next month, the service will celebrate. Audio-Reader is holding its 50th anniversary party at Abe and Jake's Landing in Lawrence on Friday, November 5th. Among the honored guests will be Academy Award-winning KU film professor, director and screenwriter Kevin Willmott. The Junction City native's 8-and-a-half pound Oscar statuette will be on display. In addition to its other services, Audio-Reader provides descriptive services to audience members at the Lied Center, Theater Lawrence and Starlight Theater in Kansas City, ensuring that visually impaired theatergoers can also enjoy live performances. More information about Audio-Reader's 50th birthday party can be found online at READER.KU.EDU.
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Several Cities in Kansas Land on 2021 List of 100 Best Places to Live
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (WDAF) - Overland Park has once again been named one of the best places to live in the United States. That’s according to Livability.com’s annual ranking that analyzed over 1,000 small to mid-sized cities on factors like safety, affordability, recreation and accessibility. Last year, the giant Johnson County suburb came in at No. 7 on Livability’s list, but this year it’s climbed even higher — reaching the No. 3 spot. WDAF TV reportsthat only Madison, Wisconsin, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, were ranked higher. The Livability website praised Overland Park for its great schools, affordable homes and entertainment and recreation options, including the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. Overland Park also ranked at No. 7 on Money’s list of the 50 Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2021.
Home of the University of Kansas, Lawrence also landed on Livability’s 100 Best Places to Live list at No. 84. The site says even if you’re not a KU student, you’ll love living here. “Lawrence has great schools, a strong economy, tons of entertainment and outdoor options, and an affordable cost of living – median home values here are around $204,000,” Livability writes. Outside the greater Kansas City area, two other college towns in Kansas and Missouri were named among the 100 best places to live.
Columbia — home of the University of Missouri — ranked at No. 40, praised for its thriving downtown, arts and culture scene, and relatively low cost of living.
Manhattan, where the Kansas State Wildcats call home, came in at No. 81. Livability notes this Kansas city appeals to college students just as much as it appeals to retirees and veterans. "The Little Apple" is an affordable place to live with high-quality health care and great access to education,” the site says.
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No. 15 Oklahoma State Ready to Bounce Back Against KU
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — One play here or there could have made a difference for No. 15 Oklahoma State in their 24-21 loss to Iowa State last week, their first defeat of the season. They want to be sure that they don’t overlook a pesky University of Kansas squad that nearly pulled off a monumental upset of No. 4 Oklahoma.
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Chiefs Aim to Get on Track as Giants Visit Arrowhead Stadium
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The New York Giants think the Kansas City Chiefs are still one of the heavyweights in the NFL even though the two-time defending AFC champs are just 3-4 through their first seven games. The Chiefs believe in themselves, too. But if Kansas City is going to claw back into playoff contention, it had better start against the struggling Giants on Monday night. The Chiefs play five of their next six games at Arrowhead Stadium with a bye week thrown in the mix. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will play despite taking a wicked blow to the head against Tennessee.
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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!