Kansas Reports Biggest 7-Day Jump in Coronavirus Cases
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP/KPR) _ Kansas has reported its biggest seven-day increase in COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began. On Monday, the Department of Health and Environment said 3,437 new cases had been identified since August 10, for a seven-day average of 491 new cases a day. This brings the statewide total of COVID-19 cases to 35,167, which includes 405 deaths, since the pandemic began. An updated list of cases will be released online Wednesday.
- KPR's Coronavirus Information and Resources Guide
- Updated Regularly: What Kansans Need to Know About the Coronavirus
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Kansas Governor Imposes New Ban on Evictions, Foreclosures
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Governor Laura Kelly has imposed a new ban on evictions and foreclosures on home mortgages in Kansas. Kelly said Monday that she acted because one federal program to aid unemployed workers has expired and she isn’t sure that the state will participate in an alternative offered by President Donald Trump. Kelly’s order prevents landlords and lenders from initiating efforts to remove people from their apartments or homes if they can’t pay their rent or make their mortgage payments because of financial problems resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. Kelly’s executive order took effect Monday and remains in effect until September 15.
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Officials Identify Two New COVID-19 Outbreaks in Riley County
MANHATTAN, Kan. (The Manhattan Mercury) — There are two new coronavirus outbreaks in Riley County. Officials with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Riley County Health Department confirmed that they have identified outbreaks with the Phi Delta Theta fraternity at Kansas State University and the Blue Valley USD 384 District Office in Randolph. Officials said 13 fraternity members have tested positive at Phi Delta Theta. Seven people — staff members and school board members — have tested positive at the Blue Valley school district. RCHD made the announcement Tuesday afternoon. The announcement concerning the fraternity comes after K-State began the fall semester Monday. USD 384 Superintendent John Cox told The Manhattan Mercury that the school district is still preparing to start classes next week, but the situation will be reassessed closer to the scheduled first day of school, August 26.
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Kansas State Limits Stadium Capacity at 25% for Football Games
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Fans can attend Kansas State University football games this fall, but no tailgating will be allowed. On Monday, the Riley County Commission approved the university's plan to open the Bill Snyder Family Stadium at about 25% capacity. Face coverings will be required upon entering the stadium and while inside when 6 feet of social distancing cannot be maintained. Kansas State Athletics Director Gene Taylor said in a statement they are implementing several new policies that will be strictly enforced.
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Kansas City Mayor Spot Checks Social Distancing Efforts at Bars
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City, Missouri’s mayor has been getting plenty of messages about people not following social distancing guidelines at bars, so he decided to check for himself. Mayor Quinton Lucas told the Kansas City Star that on Saturday night, he spent two hours dropping by or looking into eight businesses throughout the city. His decision to spot check came after a video circulated online showing more than 100 people — most without masks — at an event in the Power & Light District. Lucas found “one bad actor,” another that did an “outstanding” job following protocols, and most somewhere in the middle.
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Prosecutors Seek Prison for Ex-Soldier They Say Is Satanist
BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — Prosecutors say that a former Army soldier they have described as a Satanist who hoped to overthrow the U.S. government should spend around three years in prison for providing viable instructions for building explosive devices to people who wanted to commit violence. Jarrett William Smith was a private first class stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas. The 24-year-old will be sentenced Wednesday after admitting earlier this year that he provided information about explosives to an FBI undercover agent. Prosecutors are opposing the more lenient sentence of 15 months sought by the defense.
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Ultralight Plane Crashes at Lake of Ozarks; Pilot Survives
CAMDENTON, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the pilot of an ultralight aircraft suffered minor injuries when his plane crashed into the Lake of the Ozarks. Patrol Sgt. Scott White say the plane went down Monday in the Little Niangua Arm of the lake. The pilot told the patrol he heard the engine cutting out before it quit working. The pilot was able to swim to shore. The plane sank in 20 feet of water. It was located by sonar and will be recovered later this week. The accident comes a day after a single-engine plane crashed near the Grand Glaize Airport, killing a couple from Iowa.
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Officials ID 2 Killed in Plane Crash Near Lake of the Ozarks as Iowa Couple
OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say two people killed in a plane crash in central Missouri over the weekend were a couple from Iowa. Officials in Osage Beach say the plane crashed Sunday afternoon near Grand Glaize Airport, killing Scott and Amy Lowe of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. The Lowes were the only people aboard the small plane. Osage Beach is located next to the Lake of the Ozarks. Authorities have not indicated what may have caused the single-engine plane to crash. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board will take over the investigation.
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Write-In Campaign Launched Against Kansas Democrat Who Engaged in Blackmail, Revenge Porn
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A veteran Kansas House member says he’ll run a write-in campaign this fall after a narrow primary loss to a 19-year-old candidate who has been disowned by many Democrats over his incendiary and abusive social media posts. State Representative Stan Frownfelter lost to Aaron Coleman by 14 votes in their Kansas City, Kansas, district. Coleman initially led by just five votes. But when provisional ballots were counted Monday, the teenager picked up 16 votes. Frownfelter picked up seven, making the final vote count 823-809. Coleman, who currently works as a dishwasher, admits to making incendiary comments on social media and acknowledges abusive behavior online toward girls while he was in middle school. He has apologized for the comments and said his past actions were those of "a sick and troubled" 14-year-old.
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Man Shot in Southeast Wichita During Fight Dies of Injuries
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police say a man who was shot in southeast Wichita during a fight has died from his injuries. Police say 27-year-old Miguel Tapia was found lying outside a vehicle around 7:30 am Monday. Investigators believe Tapia was inside the vehicle when a fight broke out and he was shot. He was rushed to a Wichita hospital, but later died. Police have said they believe Tapia was targeted in the shooting, but have not released any information on a suspect or whether any arrests in the shooting have been made.
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Topeka Man Gets Nearly 4 Years in Prison for ID Theft Scheme
TOPEKA, KAN. (AP) — A Topeka man has been sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison for stealing more than $47,000 in an identity theft scheme. Federal prosecutors for Kansas say 42-year-old Joseph Adams was sentenced Monday to 46 months in federal prison after pleading guilty earlier to one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of conspiring to commit bank and wire fraud. In his plea, Adams admitted that he and another person obtained stolen mail containing checks and information on victims' identities, then used a software program to make counterfeit checks and identification cards.
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Investigators Search for Oklahoma Girls Missing Since 1999
PICHER, Okla. (AP) — Investigators are searching a site in the former northeastern Oklahoma town of Picher for the remains of two girls who disappeared in 1999. Searchers on Tuesday began excavating a vacant lot for the remains of Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman, who haven't been seen since Dec. 30, 1999, after Freeman's parents were found murdered in their burned mobile home in Welch. The location in what is today a ghost town was provided by Ronnie Busick of Wichita, who pleaded guilty in July to accessory to murder charges in the case as part of a deal that requires him to provide information leading to the recovery of the remains of the girls, who were both 16 when they vanished.
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Chicago Adds Kansas to Quarantine List; City's Navy Pier to Close Again
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago's Navy Pier is closing again until next spring because attendance has been so low during the coronavirus pandemic. The tourist spot began reopening June 10, but officials say they're only seeing about 15% to 20% of the usual crowds during what's generally the busiest time of year. Pier president and CEO Marilynn Gardner says the closures will help limit losses. Also Tuesday, Chicago officials added Iowa and Kansas to its list quarantine list and removed Wisconsin and Nebraska. People from those states who travel to the city are expected to quarantine for two weeks or face possible fines.
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Kansas Forest Service Assists on Wildfires in Colorado, Other Western States
MANHATTAN, Kan. (KPR) – Each summer, firefighters and other specialists with the Kansas Forest Service answer the call for help from western states to manage wildfires. KFS is the primary state agency with the authority to provide such help to national fire incidents. As of August 11, 32 staff members and fire protection specialists with KFS assisted on 26 fires. KFS is a state agency housed in K-State Research and Extension under the Kansas State University College of Agriculture. The KFS wildland fire management program offers training, firefighting equipment and incident support to firefighters across Kansas. Now in the 18th season of accepting national fire assignments, KFS personnel face a new kind of safety hazard for personnel as they accept assignments during an international pandemic. While on assignment, crews and units operate as a “module of one,” or family units, to reduce exposure to other resources within the incident and the public. Currently, KFS personnel are assigned to the Pine Gulch and Grizzly Creek Fires in Colorado and the Red Salmon Complex in California. The Pine Gulch Fire alone has consumed more than 30,000 acres to date, causing the evacuation of several communities in the area.
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Man Arrested After Car Chase Ends with Trooper's Car Hit
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Highway Patrol says a man is facing several charges after a car chase ended when a patrol trooper's car was hit twice by the fleeing driver. The trooper was treated at a hospital for minor injuries after the crash Monday west of Topeka. The driver, 35-year-old Deandre Martin, of Kansas City, Kansas, was also treated at a hospital for minor injuries. The patrol says the chase began when authorities received a report of a person driving recklessly on Interstate 70 between Topeka and Lawrence. The chase reached speeds up to 100 mph before the driver hit a patrol car twice on the interstate. Martin is being held on several possible charges.
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300 Pizza Huts, Mostly Dine-In Locations, Set to Close
(AP) - Up to 300 Pizza Hut restaurants will be closed, most of them dine-in locations not well suited for carryout and delivery at a time when millions of people are sheltering and eating at home. Pizza sales have exploded during the pandemic. Domino's last month reported a 30% spike in quarterly profits. The company said it was hiring more than 20,000 people to handle surging orders. Franchisee NPC International said in documents filed in bankruptcy court that it had come to an agreement with Pizza Hut to close hundreds of locations. The Leawood-based company filed for bankruptcy protection last month. NPC owns 1,225 Pizza Huts and 385 Wendy's restaurants in 27 states. There are 6,700 Pizza Hut restaurants in the U.S. In its filing, NPC said that closing stores not designed for pick-up or delivery will allow it to invest in smaller stores that can better handle online orders. In May, Pizza Hut's U.S. carryout and delivery sales reached an eight-year high, according to Yum Brands Inc., the Louisville, Kentucky, company that also owns KFC and Taco Bell. But Pizza Hut's U.S. sales grew just 1% in the April-June period. Rival Domino's Pizza, which has smaller, carryout-focused stores, posted a 20% jump in U.S. sales. Yum Brands said the stores being closed had under-performed others owned by NPC, and that shedding them would strengthen NPC’s remaining portfolio.
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Historic Kansas Attraction Recovering from Last Year’s Landslide
SALINE COUNTY, Kan. (KPR) - As a historic Kansas landmark neared its centennial last year, heavy summer rains loosened several layers of earth and triggered a rare three-foot slump in the landscape. Damage at Coronado Heights Park, which sits on a 300-foot sandstone bluff northwest of Lindsborg, made access unstable. The Kansas Reflector reports(link is external) the landslide forced cancellation of a 100th anniversary party planned for June of 2019, as well as ongoing repairs and attention to drainage issues. Heavier than average rainfall on the weekend of the planned celebration, as well as weeks prior, led to a break in the sites underlying rock and clay. “It was the most displacement I’ve seen in Kansas all at once,” said Neil Croxton, a geologist for the Kansas Department of Transportation. “A three-foot drop, cutting a road, is unusual in Kansas because few roads climb as steep a feature such as this one." According to legend, Coronado Heights is where the explorer Francisco Vásquez de Coronado abandoned his search for seven cities of gold and decided to return to Mexico. The park was built in the 1930s as part of a scenic overlook project by the WPA, federal Works Progress Administration.
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Can You Spare a Dime? Coin Shortage Hits Retailers, Laundromats, Tooth Fairy
UNDATED (AP) - A convenience store chain is offering a free beverage or sandwich in exchange for them. A laundromat owner drove 4 hours to get $8,000 worth. A young girl in Illinois wrote the tooth fairy saying she'll gladly take dollars as a substitute if it helps. There is a shortage of coins across the U.S., yet another odd side effect of the coronavirus pandemic. Coins aren't circulating as freely as they usually do because many businesses have been closed and people aren't out spending as much. The U.S. Mint and Treasury Secretary Mnuchin have urged Americans to use coins or turn them in to banks.
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Reds-Royals Tuesday Game Postponed; Harvey to Pitch for Royals in Wednesday's Doubleheader
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Cincinnati Reds and Kansas City Royals were supposed to begin a two-game series in Kansas City on Tuesday night, but Major League Baseball decided to postpone the game to give Cincinnati more time for testing. Now, the clubs will play a doubleheader Wednesday with the first seven-inning game taking place at 4:05 p.m. CT and the second about 30 minutes after completion of the first game. Matt Harvey will start Game 2 for the Royals in his return to the mound after more than a year. He once pitched for the Mets against Kansas City in the 2015 World Series, but has struggled to regain his former All-Star form.
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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.