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Headlines for Tuesday, April 7, 2020

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Kansas Limits Size of Church Services Heading into Easter

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Laura Kelly says religious services and funerals will be limited to 10 people after Kansas officials identified three coronavirus clusters related to church gatherings. Kelly’s initial statewide stay-at-home order allowed for religious gatherings as long as social distancing was maintained. Her new order takes effect Wednesday, just days before Easter. She noted that most churches already had taken action, including by livestreaming services or offering drive-up gatherings in which people stay in their vehicles. Statewide, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 grew by 6.5% Tuesday to 900. Twenty-five people have died.

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UPDATE: Confirmed Cases Now at 900 in Kansas

TOPEKA, Kan. (KDHE/KPR) -- As of 11 am Tuesday, there are 900 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Kansas, with 27 deaths. Cases have been reported in 57 of Kansas's 105 counties.  223 of 694 cases (32.1%) have been hospitalized. 

(–earlier reporting–)

COVID-19 Cases in Kansas Climb Past 845; Missouri Tops 2,700

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - State health officials say the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Kansas continues to climb.  On Monday, the statewide number hit 846, which was nearly 100 more cases than the day before.  The total is expected to be even higher when the latest numbers are released later today (TUE).  Kansas is also reporting 25 deaths caused by the virus.  Kansas Health Director Dr. Lee Norman says he expects the increases to continue, in part because more testing is now being done.  The number of confirmed cases in Missouri rose by more than 350 on Monday to 2,722. The state blames 39 deaths on the virus.  

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Governor Laura Kelly: Kansas Scouring State for Healthcare Supplies

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP / KNS) - Kansas Governor Laura Kelly says officials are now scouring the state, looking for supplies to help frontline healthcare workers treating people with the coronavirus.  The governor says she expects Kansas to finish distributing supplies it received from a federal national stockpile sometime today (TUE).  But she notes Kansas has still not received any of the millions of supplies it has requested from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.  The Kansas News Service reports that Kansas received about 90% of its share of the national stockpile of supplies controlled by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. But the state doesn’t expect to receive the rest.  State officials have also turned to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, asking for gloves, masks and more.  And the state has placed big orders with private vendors, hoping supplies will come through that way if FEMA doesn’t deliver.

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Virus Reported in State Hospital, Spreads at Nursing Home

UNDATED (AP) — Three staff members and a resident at a state hospital that serves people with intellectual disabilities have tested positive for the coronavirus as another outbreak at a nursing home continues to grow. The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services announced the new cases at Parsons State Hospital and Training Center in southeast Kansas in a news release Monday night. The sickened resident has been moved into on-site isolation. Health officials reported 900 confirmed cases of the coronavirus Tuesday, up from 845 on Monday. The number of confirmed cases at the Life Care Center of Burlington has grown to 41. 

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4 Die from Coronavirus at Kansas Rehabilitation Facility

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — A rehabilitation facility in Kansas City, Kansas, has reported four deaths from the coronavirus. It's one of a few group living facilities in the state that's dealing with coronavirus outbreaks among their vulnerable residents. Local health officials say the people who died at the Riverbend Post Acute Rehabilitation Center were among 37 who were sickened there. Four were staff members. The rest were patients. Meanwhile, three staff members and a resident at the Parsons State Hospital and Training Center for people with intellectual disabilities have tested positive. At the Life Care Center of Burlington, 41 residents and one staff member have tested positive. 

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Kansas Officials Review Inmates for Possible Early Release

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Officials are making plans to free some Kansas prison inmates who are close to finishing their sentences amid the coronavirus outbreak. Gov. Laura Kelly said at a news conference Tuesday that “hopefully we will be able to move quite a few of those folks back into their community.” Priority will be given to inmates with “viable plans,” such as a place to live or a job. She offered no specific numbers and noted that the state will coordinate with local officials so that there will be “no surprises.”

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KC Public Schools Suspend Free Meal Program After Food Service Worker Tests Positive for COVID-19

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Kansas City Public Schools has suspended its free meal distribution program for students after a food service worker helping with the effort tested positive for COVID-19. The Kansas City Star says the district announced the suspension Monday. Officials have given no timeline for when the program might resume.  Officials suggested families go to the Harvesters Community Food Network website to locate food pantries and mobile distribution sites. Most school districts in the area launched grab-and-go food pickup programs when coronavirus closed schools.  The idea was to help ensure children in at-risk homes were getting enough to eat. But several programs have been interrupted as the spread of the virus has grown, including those at Tonganoxie and Raytown.  

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Spirit AeroSystems Announces Temporary Layoffs

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Thousands of Spirit AeroSystems employees in Wichita and other locations are being furloughed for three weeks without pay amid an outbreak of a novel coronavirus that has paralyzed air travel around the globe.  The Wichita Eagle reports that most managers and hourly employees at Spirit will be placed on 21-day unpaid leave starting tomorrow (WED).  It's unclear exactly how many employees will be affected.  Spirit AeroSystems is Wichita's largest employer, with some 18,000 workers.  The aircraft parts maker's company profile says it employs around 18,000. The temporary layoffs apply to Spirit employees associated with the company's Boeing commercial program. It includes Spirit employees in San Antonio and in Tulsa and McAlester locations in Oklahoma.

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Missouri Seeks Retired Medical Staff, Others to Fight Virus

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Missouri is asking medical professionals who are not working to join a specialized state team that responds to critical health emergencies. Selected medical workers would become part of the Missouri Disaster Medical Assistance Team. The state is asking health care students, retired health care workers or those whose professional registration recently expired to apply online for the team.  Individuals are needed with backgrounds in medicine, nursing, allied health, biomedicine, laboratory science, logistics and communications.  Medical personnel from the team have already deployed to two hospitals, including Western Missouri Medical Center in Warrensburg.

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Sedgwick County Reviews Nearly 2,000 Stay-at-Home Violations

WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) - Sedgwick County is reviewing complaints on a daily basis about non-essential businesses operating during the statewide "stay-at-home" order.  Assistant County Manager Tania Cole says the county received more than 18-hundred calls, emails and online complaint forms in the first week of the public health order.  Cole says the county will ask businesses that violate the order to shut down. If they don’t close, law enforcement will be notified.  Governor Laura Kelly issued the statewide stay-at-home order last week to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

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Rural Hospitals in Kansas, Missouri Face Cash Crunch

LEAWOOD, Kan. (KCUR) - An advocacy group in Leawood says rural hospitals are facing “catastrophic cash shortages,” brought on by the COVID-19 crisis and Congress needs to take action to save them.  In a letter Monday, the National Rural Health Association asks that 20 percent of the $100 billion in funding for hospitals in the CARES Act, the $2 trillion coronavirus response bill, be set aside for rural providers.  Brock Slabach is a senior vice president of the association. “We have hospitals all over the United States that are desperately hanging on by a thread,” he said.  Rural hospitals were hurting before the pandemic, with about half posting financial losses. In the last 10 years, 128 rural hospitals have shuttered, including six in Kansas and seven in Missouri.  ( Read more about this story.)

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KC Police Investigate Shooting Involving Off-Duty Officer Who Says He Accidentally Shot His Neighbor

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Kansas City police are investigating a shooting involving an off-duty officer who says he shot his neighbor when his service weapon unintentionally fired.  Police say the shooting happened around 12:30 am Monday, when the officer called for help saying he had accidentally shot his neighbor.  A preliminary investigation shows the officer was inside his home when his service weapon fired and the round entered the home of his neighbor, hitting a man in his 30s.  The victim was taken by ambulance to a hospital in stable condition. Police say the officer - a 24-year veteran assigned to the Metro Patrol Division - has been placed on administrative leave.

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Topeka Zoo Changes Annual Fundraisers in Wake of Outbreak

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Topeka Zoo has announced it will make changes to two major fundraisers as officials look to slow the spread of COVID-19. Television station KSNT reports that the zoo announced the changes Sunday. The Roar & Pour Wine Fest will be held online as a Facebook Live Event on April 25. The zoo's Brew At the Zoo event has been pushed to July 24. It had been scheduled for early June. Those who have already bought tickets will receive new tickets with the rescheduled date. The zoo is also offering refunds for those who want them.

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Kansas Waste Managers Issue Warning on Sewer Lines

WICHITA, Kan. (KMUW) - Wastewater managers across Kansas say they are seeing an increase in the number of clogged sewer lines because people are flushing things down the toilet that they shouldn’t. Johnson County Wastewater General Manager Susan Pekarek says people should only flush human waste... and toilet paper. That means no wipes, even wipes that claim to be flushable.  A clogged service line could cause all that waste to backup into a basement or other part of a home, creating a health hazard. Fixing a service line can also cost as much as $1,000 or more.

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Entercom Station in Kansas City Sued for Discrimination

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (The Kansas City Star) — A former on-air personality is suing the parent company of Kansas City radio station KRBZ-FM for sex discriminiation and for retaliating when she complained. Afrentra Bandokoudis, former co-host of “Afrentra's Big Fat Morning Buzz,” claims in the lawsuit against Entercom that she was paid less than male on-air personalities such as Johnny Dare and Lazlo even though her show outperformed theirs. Bandokoudis worked at the station, commonly called The Buzz, from 2002 until she was fired August 2018, except for two years at a Seattle radio station. Entercom did not return a message seeking comment.

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Supreme Court Overules Kansas High Court; Backs Police in Traffic Stops

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. Supreme Court has overuled the Kansas Supreme Court and sided with police in a case about pulling over a motorist.  The nation's highest court ruled that police CAN pull over a car when they know only that the car owner's license is invalid, even if they don't know who is behind the wheel.  The Supreme Court said in a decision yesterday (MON) that unless there's reason to believe otherwise, it's common sense for an officer to think the car's owner would be driving the vehicle. The high court reversed a Kansas Supreme Court ruling that found police violated a driver's constitutional rights when they stopped his pickup based solely on information that the truck owner's license had been revoked.

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Group Wants Riley County Official Gone over Virus Remarks

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — An activist group is pushing for the resignation of Riley County Commissioner Marvin Rodriguez over comments he made related to coronavirus and Chinese people. The Manhattan Alliance for Peace and Justice said Monday that Rodriguez should resign for saying at a March meeting that Manhattan, Kansas, wasn't at high risk for the coronavirus because it doesn't have many Chinese residents. The advocates contend such remarks fuel hatred toward Asians, by promoting a belief that China is responsible for the coronavirus pandemic. Rodriguez had earlier apologized for his remarks, saying he likes Chinese food and has Chinese friends.

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Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese Adds Priest's Name to Abuser List

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) According to the Kansas City Star, the Kansas City-St. Joseph Catholic diocese has added the name of a priest who served in the 1940s to its list of clergy credibly accused of sexually abusing minors. The diocese said Sunday on its website that allegations against the Rev. Peter Clement Vatter had been substantiated. The diocese says the abuse occurred in the late 1940s, when Vatter was pastor of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Moberly, which was renamed St. Pius X Parish in 1955. Vatter died in November 1950. The diocese has now named 25 credibly accused clergy who have served in the diocese.

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In Years Before Outbreak, America's Investment in Public Health Fell

UNDATED (AP) - In the decade before the coronavirus outbreak, state and local officials across the United States made steady and sometimes dramatic cuts to their first line of defense against pandemics and other public health emergencies. Funding for public health was slashed at the federal level and for state and local departments after the 2008 recession caused serious budget problems. But as the economy recovered, public health funding did not. A shortfall persisted despite several alarming outbreaks, from H1N1 to Ebola, and experts say that's left the U.S. more vulnerable now to COVID-19.

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Local and Small Town Newspapers Facing Their Own Coronavirus Crisis

NEW YORK (AP) — Just when Americans need it most, a U.S. newspaper industry already under stress is facing an unprecedented new challenge. Readers desperate for information are more reliant than ever on local media as the coronavirus spreads across the U.S. But newspapers, magazines and digital publishers are feeling the pressure as advertising craters. They are cutting jobs, staff hours and pay, dropping print editions -- and in some cases shutting down entirely. Some researchers warn that the next recession, which has almost certainly begun already, could be an “extinction level event” for newspapers. In Washington, the industry is looking for federal aid that won't compromise its independence.

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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.