Audit: Kansas Lost $700 Million in Fraudulent Unemployment Claims
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - A new legislative audit shows the state of Kansas has paid out nearly $700 million in fraudulent unemployment claims. Phony claims skyrocketed as scammers tried to take advantage of new unemployment programs created during the pandemic. The report, released Monday, is preliminary but lawmakers say the scam may be the largest in state history. The Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit says almost 25% of all unemployment claims paid between January 2020 and February 2021 were likely fraudulent. The determination comes after auditors examined Department of Labor data and trained a neural network to spot imposter fraud. A neural network is a type of artificial intelligence that uses algorithms to recognize relationships in data through a process that mimics the way the human brain operates. About $350 million was paid by the state and the rest came from federal unemployment funds. Kansas is working with federal officials and banks to recover fraudulent payments but does not have an estimate of how much they’ve recovered so far. The Kansas Department of Labor says the audit may have overstated the number of bogus claims. The audit also estimates that the state caught and prevented about $2 billion in fraudulent claims from being paid out.
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Governor Announces $100 Incentive for Kansans to Get Vaccinated at Select Dillons Stores
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and Dillons Health have launched a new vaccine incentive program to encourage vaccinations and mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. As COVID cases continue to rise statewide, vaccine clinics at select Dillons locations will offer $50 Visa gift cards per dose to encourage residents to get the shots. All newly vaccinated Kansans 12 years of age and older will be eligible to receive $50 per dose for a total of $100. “Getting every eligible Kansan vaccinated is critical to our efforts to slow the spread of the virus, protect our businesses, and keep kids in school,” Kelly said. Vaccines will be administered in the pharmacies of the select Dillons stores. Gift cards will be available on a first-come first-serve basis. COVID-19 vaccines are provided at no cost. No appointment is required.
Participating Dillons Locations:
Barton County:
4107 10th Street, Great Bend, KS
Ellis County:
1902 Vine Street, Hays, KS
517 West 27th Street, Hays, KS
Finney County:
1211 Jones Avenue, Garden City, KS
1305 East Kansas Avenue, Garden City, KS
Ford County:
1700 North 14th Street, Dodge City, KS
Geary County:
618 West 6th Street, Junction City, KS
McPherson County:
1320 North Main, McPherson, KS
Pratt County:
1108 East 1st Street, Pratt, KS
Riley County:
130 Sarber Lane, Manhattan, KS
1101 Westloop Place, Manhattan, KS
Saline County:
2350 Plane Avenue, Salina, KS
1235 East Cloud Street, Salina, KS
1201 West Crawford, Salina, KS
Seward County:
1417 North Kansas, Liberal, KS
Sumner County:
1111 West 8th Street, Wellington, KS
Thomas County:
1605 South Range Avenue, Colby, KS
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Kansas COVID Deaths Spike in August
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) _ Kansas has seen a significant increase in the number of COVID-19 deaths in August with more than 300 reported over the past four weeks. That’s three times as many as in the previous month and health officials say September could be even deadlier as the delta variant continues to surge. During the past week, Kansas confirmed nearly 10,000 new cases of COVID-19. The state hasn’t experienced case numbers this high since January. The surge is also affecting long-term care facilities. In the spring, Kansas had stopped nearly all outbreaks in nursing homes and similar facilities, but dozens of people have died in COVID outbreaks linked to long-term care since early July.
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Jackson County, St. Louis Extend Mask Mandates
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Two of Missouri’s largest jurisdictions have approved extensions of their mask mandates, as COVID-19 continues to cause a big spike in cases and hospitalizations. St. Louis aldermen on Monday approved an extension of the city’s indoor mask mandate at the request of Mayor Tishaura Jones. The order that began July 26 is now extended through September 29. Meanwhile, the Jackson County Legislature voted to extend the public health order that would have expired September 7. The order extends the county’s mask mandate to October 7.
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As School Districts Insist on Vaccines, Some Teachers Push Back
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A growing number of communities are moving to require teachers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as part of aggressive campaigns to ward off the delta variant, which has infected hundreds of thousands of children in the United States. While some school districts are allowing teachers to opt out of vaccine requirements with weekly testing, New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago and St. Louis have taken tougher stances by limiting exemptions to bona fide medical and religious reasons. In addition, the states of Washington and Oregon are taking a similar approach. As a result, teachers opposed to mandatory vaccines find themselves in a quandary — weighing their anti-vaccine beliefs against their professional calling.
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Missouri Nursing Home Workers Lag Far Behind in Vaccinations
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Officials face a tall order to get all Missouri nursing home workers vaccinated because fewer than half of them have received the shots. By that metric, Missouri’s 48% ranks third-lowest in the nation, trailed only by Florida and Louisiana, both at 47%. Hawaii leads the states, at 89%. But at the same time, some 82% of Missouri’s nursing home residents have been vaccinated, which is just behind the national average of 83%. Joseph Shafer is the chief operating officer for Prime Healthcare Management, which operates seven nursing homes across outstate Missouri said he's already had several employees quit over the vaccine mandate the Biden administration announced for nursing home workers.
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Wellington Schools Close Due to COVID
WELLINGTON, Kan. (KNS) _ A south-central Kansas school district has announced that it is closing all of its schools because of COVID-19 outbreaks. The announcement from leaders in the Wellington School District comes less than two weeks after school started. Sumner County health officials identified three of the district’s six school buildings as COVID cluster sites with at least five positive cases each. Masks have been optional in Wellington District classrooms. The district, south of Wichita, is closing all schools at least through September 7th and sending about 1,500 students home. Wellington is the first district in the state to shut down all classes, sports practices, and school-related activities because of COVID outbreaks. The district is not offering any remote learning options during the closure. A state law passed earlier this year limits remote learning to 40 hours per student each year. Schools risk losing state funding if they offer additional online learning opportunities. Wellington School District officials say they will reassess the situation after Labor Day.
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Jeff Colyer Drops Out of Kansas Governor's Race Following Cancer Diagnosis
MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Former Kansas Governor Jeff Colyer is dropping out of the 2022 Republican primary for governor after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. In his announcement Monday, Colyer said he's endorsing Attorney General Derek Schmidt in the governor's race. Colyer had been Schmidt’s main rival for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s reelection. He was governor for a little less than a year. He was elevated from lieutenant governor in January 2018 when Republican Governor Sam Brownback resigned to become U.S. ambassador at large for international religious freedom. Colyer then narrowly lost the GOP primary.
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Former Congressional Candidate Running for Kansas Treasurer
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former executive with an advocacy group for those with Down syndrome has launched a campaign for Kansas state treasurer. Sara Hart Weir said in an email to supporters on Monday that she plans to bring a “conservative, outsider approach to problem-solving.” Weir joins state Sen. Caryn Tyson of Parker, state Rep. Steven Johnson of Assaria and former adviser to Governor Sam Brownback Michael Austin in seeking the Republican nomination for treasurer. The incumbent is Democrat Lynn Rogers, who was lieutenant governor until Governor Laura Kelly appointed him in December to fill the vacancy created when Treasurer Jake LaTurner was elected to Congress.
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Projects Financed with STAR Bonds Not Meeting Tourism Goals
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A new state audit found that few projects financed with STAR bonds are meeting requirements for bringing visitors and money into Kansas. The report from the Legislature's auditing arm was released Monday. Auditors found that only three of the 16 attractions they reviewed met tourism goals by bringing in a significant percentage of visitors from other states. STAR bonds allow municipalities to issue bonds to finance major developments, which are paid through sales tax revenue generated by the project. The three businesses that met the goals are the Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas Speedway in Kansas City and the Hutchinson Underground Salt Museum.
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Firefighters Find Body of Man Found in Burning Wichita House
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Firefighters say crews found the body of a 50-year-old man inside a burning home on the east side of Wichita. The fire was reported around 9:45 am Monday, when firefighters were called to the home just south of the Crestview County Club. Arriving firefighters first put out flames that had overtaken the home's garage, then moved into the home to extinguish several small fires. Crews found the man's body inside the home. The victim's name has not been released. The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office initially reported the man's death as suspicious, but later said there appeared to be no foul play in his death.
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Suspect Arrested After Uncle Stabbed to Death near Derby
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 32-year-old man is a suspect in the stabbing death of his uncle near Derby. Sedgwick County authorities say Douglass Ray Ryan McGathy was arrested early Tuesday on a possible charge of second-degree murder. Sheriff Jeff Easter says McGathy’s uncle, 48-year-old Kelly Joe Ralph, was killed in an apparent fight over a gun sale. The two men lived in a home in a rural part of Sedgwick County near Derby. Deputies found Ralph lying in the driveway suffering from several stab wounds on Monday night. He died later at a hospital. McGathy is being held on $250,000 bond.
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Missouri Highway Patrol: Man Drowns at Lake of the Ozarks After Jumping from Cliff
GRAVOIS MILLS, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri State Highway Patrol says a man drowned over the weekend at a popular lake after jumping from a 125-foot cliff. Television station KYTV reports the incident happened Saturday evening when 41-year-old Thomas Painter, of Bosworth, jumped from the cliff into the Lake of the Ozarks on the western portion of the lake. Witnesses say Painter did not resurface after going into the water. Missouri officials have said they've seen an increase this year in the state's number of drownings.
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20 States -- Including Kansas -- Sue over Biden Administration's LGBTQ Protections
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Attorneys general from 20 states have sued President Joe Biden’s administration seeking to halt directives that extend federal sex discrimination protections to LGBTQ people, ranging from transgender girls participating in school sports to the use of school and workplace bathrooms that align with a person’s gender identity. Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery filed the lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court in Knoxville, arguing that legal interpretations by the U.S. Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are based on a faulty view of U.S. Supreme Court case law. The attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and West Virginia also signed on to the lawsuit. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Police in South-Central Kansas Discover 2 Bodies on Property
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Sheriff's deputies called to a south-central Kansas property for a welfare check discovered the bodies of two people and are searching for a person of interest in their deaths. The Reno County Sheriff's Office says deputies were called Friday evening to a property east of Hutchinson and spoke to friends of a person they had not seen or heard from in two days. Officials said that during a search of the property, deputies found a body believed to be that of the missing person. Officials say deputies obtained a search warrant for the property and subsequently found the body of a second person. Investigators believe both people were killed, but did not say how they died.
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Missouri Prosecutor Files Motion to Free Longtime Inmate
LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri prosecutor has filed a motion asking a judge to exonerate a man who has been imprisoned for four decades for a triple murder that she and many others do not believe he committed. The motion was filed Saturday and made public Monday. It stems from a new law that gives local prosecutors the authority to ask judges to exonerate prisoners they believe are innocent. Members of the team that prosecuted Kevin Strickland, federal prosecutors in the Western District of Missouri, Jackson County’s presiding judge, Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas and some Republican members of the Missouri Legislature have all said Strickland should be released.
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Missouri Lawsuit Seeks Reinstatement of Jobless Benefits
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Lawyers for Missouri residents who had their federal unemployment benefits cut when Governor Mike Parson pulled out of programs in June are asking a court for reinstatement, with back pay. The Kansas City Star reports that a hearing Monday in Cole County Circuit Court occurred a week before enhanced benefits, which added hundreds of dollars to unemployment checks for Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic, were set to end for the rest of the nation. A lawsuit filed earlier this month asks Judge Jon Beetem to rule that Missouri’s early withdrawal was unlawful. Lawyers are trying to get unemployment benefits paid retroactively.
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Kansas City Southern Suitor's Bid in Jeopardy After Ruling
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Canadian National’s $33.6 billion deal to acquire Kansas City Southern railroad is in jeopardy. Federal regulators on Tuesday rejected a key part of the plan and opened the door for a competing $31 billion offer from Canadian Pacific Railway. The Surface Transportation Board says Canadian National won’t be able to use a voting trust to acquire Kansas City Southern and hold the railroad while the board reviews the overall deal. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Kansas City Southern will still want to move forward with CN. But Kansas City Southern is now free to accept CP’s offer, which already has regulatory approval to move forward.
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Wichita Man Gets 4 Life Sentences for Child Pornography
WICHITA, Kan (AP) — A Wichita man has been sentenced to four concurrent life sentences for sexually molesting and producing pornographic video of a young girl while he was living with a friend. Prosecutors say they learned of the abuse because the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported that images of the girl were circulating online. Investigators determined that Tyler Dudley likely abused the girl and took the pictures in 2018 and 2019 when the girl was 5 or 6 years old. Dudley told investigators he produced the videos while using a girl who was underage while staying with a friend in southeast Wichita. Dudley also admitted downloading child pornography on his phone.
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Actor Ed Asner, TV's Blustery Lou Grant, Dies at 91
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Actor Ed Asner, the blustery but lovable Lou Grant in two successful television series, has died. He was 91. Asner’s representative confirmed the death in an email Sunday to The Associated Press. Asner was a journeyman actor in films and TV when he was hired in 1970 to play the grumpy TV news boss, Lou Grant, on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.” The show ended after seven seasons and Asner moved on to star in “Lou Grant,” playing the same character, but in a newspaper drama. He won Emmys for both shows as well as for “Rich Man, Poor Man” and “Roots.” Asner was born in Kansas City, Missouri and graduated from Wyandotte High School in Kansas City, Kansas.
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KU Leans Heavily on Transfer Help as Leipold Era Begins
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — There is never a good time to make a coaching change in college football, but the downtrodden University of Kansas program was forced into perhaps the most inconvenient of all: a month after national signing day and just as spring practices began. But new Jayhawks coach Lance Leipold made the most of the situation, bringing in 12 transfers from Division I schools to help with the rebuilding effort. Six of them followed from Buffalo, and at nine in all could be on the field for Friday night's opener against South Dakota at Memorial Stadium.
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K-State's Thompson Looks Forward to Sixth Year Under Center
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Just one game after Skylar Thompson threw for more than 300 yards in leading Kansas State to an upset of No. 3 Oklahoma last year, the senior quarterback’s season was over due to a shoulder injury. Now, nearly a year later, he’s back for a sixth season and ready to take the field again in Saturday’s season opener against Stanford. Thompson hopes it's the best year yet, especially after a fall camp that he said has been the best, most productive of his lengthy college career.
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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 a.m. weekdays. This news summary is made possible by KPR listener-members. Become one today!