Winter Storm Moves into Eastern Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Snow is likely to begin tonight (TUE) and continue through late Wednesday night across eastern Kansas. Periods of moderate to heavy snow are possible. Areas along and south of Interstate 35 may see a brief window of freezing rain and sleet. Total snow and ice accumulations of 4 to 7 inches are possible in most areas. However, some areas of Kansas and Missouri, including the Kansas City area, could receive more than a foot of snow. Motorists can expect slippery road conditions. Patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. Additionally, wind chills may fall to near 10 degrees below zero Thursday morning. Forecasters advise against travel. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1. Track the latest weather developments at the National Weather Service in Topeka.
(Additional reporting...)
More than a Foot of Snow Likely in Parts of Kansas and Missouri - Including Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A winter storm set to move across the country this week could drop more than a foot of snow in parts of Missouri and Kansas and, more ominously, coat trees and power lines with freezing rain. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for most of Missouri and southern and eastern parts of Kansas starting tonight (TUE) and running through Thursday. The weather service says up to 14 inches of snow could fall in the Kansas City area and up to 10 inches around St. Louis. But forecasters are warning that it's the threat of freezing rain — up to a quarter-inch in southwestern Missouri — coupled with the snow and high winds that could lead to widespread power outages.
Winter Storm to Bring Snow, Ice Across Wide Swath of U.S.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A major winter storm was expected to affect a huge swath of the United States, with heavy snow starting in the Rockies and freezing rain as far south as Texas before it drops snow and ice on the Midwest. The forecast comes nearly a year after a catastrophic winter storm devastated Texas' power grid, causing hundreds of deaths. Texas Governor Greg Abbott planned a briefing today (TUE) on the state's readiness. Winter storm watches and warnings covered a wide swath of the country from El Paso, Texas, through the Midwest and parts of the Northeast to Burlington, Vermont. During the multi-day storm, some areas may see a mix of rain and freezing rain before it changes to snow. More than a foot of snow is forecast in places.
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Kansas Lawmakers Consider Massive Incentives to Recruit Mystery Company
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is asking state lawmakers to help close a deal with a mystery company looking for a place to build a $4 billion manufacturing facility. But the deal could hinge on whether lawmakers approve a package of beefed-up incentives. The Kansas Senate has already approved the incentive package. A House committee begins hearings on the package today (MON). Lieutenant Governor and Commerce Secretary David Toland is leading the effort to close the deal. He says the package - which includes tax breaks and payroll rebates - is more generous than any the state has offered in the past. But, he says, the incentives aren’t giveaways. They have to be earned. “The company gets the investment tax credit after they invest," he said. "The company gets the payroll rebate after they’ve hired and paid people.”
At the company’s insistence, everyone involved in the negotiations has agreed not to disclose the name of the business. That bothers some lawmakers who say they need to know more before approving what could be up to a billion dollars in incentives over a period of 10 years. The cost and secrecy surrounding the deal raise red flags for some lawmakers, including Republican Senator Caryn Tyson. “You know, we used to talk about the backroom, shady, smoke-filled room deals and this appears to be along those lines," she said. State officials leading the recruitment effort say most companies insist on secrecy during negotiations. They say Kansas is one of two finalists for the facility and the 4,000 new jobs that come with it.
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Kansas Revenues Exceed Expectations for 18th Month in a Row
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Tax collections in Kansas exceeded the state’s expectations in January for the 18th month in a row and created a 14.5% surplus for the month. The state Department of Revenue reported Tuesday that Kansas collected nearly $945 million in taxes last month when the official forecast had predicted $825 million. The difference was almost $120 million. Since the current 2022 budget year began July 1, the state’s tax collections have been 4% above expectations with a surplus of $203 million. The state has collected more than $5.2 billion over the past seven months when it anticipated taking in about $5 billion.
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GOP Kansas Lawmaker Arrested on Suspicion of Drunken Driving
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A north-central Kansas lawmaker has been arrested in Topeka on suspicion of drunken driving. Topeka police said Tuesday that officers stopped Republican state Representative Suzi Carlson of Clay Center at about 9 p.m. Monday a few blocks south and west of the Statehouse. They said testing showed that Carlson was operating her vehicle under the influence of alcohol. An online log shows that the 69-year-old Carlson spent about three hours in the Shawnee County jail before being released on $1,000 bond at 2:15 a.m. Tuesday. She has an appearance scheduled for March 1 in Shawnee County District Court. She has served in the House since 2019.
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Kansas City Police ID Man Killed in Sunday Morning Shooting
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City police have identified a man killed in a weekend shooting a block south of Cypress Park in the eastern part of the city. Police say 22-year-old Dillion Simmons died from his injuries. Officers called to a home in the area around 4:15 am Sunday found Simmons inside with gunshot wounds. Paramedics pronounced Simmons dead at the scene. Police have not announced any arrests in the case.
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Teen Shot and Killed in Kansas City, Kansas Saturday
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A teenager was shot and killed Saturday night in Kansas City, Kansas. Police said the shooting was reported around 10:30 pm Saturday in the 200 block of South 14th Street. Officers found a boy who was in its early teens with a gunshot wound inside a home. Paramedics said the boy died at the scene. The victim's name and age were not immediately released. No arrests have been announced.
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Earthquake in Northwest Oklahoma Felt in Multiple States
MEDFORD, Okla. (AP) — The U.S. Geological Survey says an earthquake centered near the northwest Oklahoma town of Medford had a preliminary magnitude of 4.5. The quake was reported at about 11:10 a.m., seven kilometers northwest of Medford. A Grant County dispatcher said there were no immediate reports of damage. People across Oklahoma, as well as in Kansas and Arkansas, reported feeling the quake. The USGS says the quake occurred at a depth of about 7.8 kilometers. Thousands of earthquakes have been recorded in Oklahoma in recent years, many linked to the underground injection of wastewater from oil and gas production. The strongest earthquake on record in Oklahoma was a magnitude 5.8 recorded near Pawnee in September 2016.
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Kansas Court Mulls Case of Man Facing Death for 4 Shootings
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’s highest court is wrestling with whether a man invoked his right to remain silent before making statements that were key to him being convicted of capital murder. The state Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in an appeal from Kyle Trevor Flack. He was sentenced to die over the fatal April 2013 shootings of three adults and a toddler whose body was found in a suitcase in a rural creek in Franklin County, about 50 miles southwest of Kansas City. Monday's hearing focused heavily on whether incriminating statements from Flack should have been suppressed at his 2016 trial when at the time he'd also made comments to officers such as, “Take me to jail!”
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2 Ex-Leavenworth Prison Guards Plead Guilty to Smuggling
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — Two former correctional officers at the Leavenworth Detention Center have pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle drugs and other contraband into the privately run federal prison. The Kansas City Star reports that 28-year-old Willie Golden, of Overland Park, and 36-year-old Janna Grier, of Horton, entered the pleas last week. Prosecutors said prisoners used an online app to pay bribes to corrections officers to smuggle in tobacco, marijuana and cell phones to prisoners from April through November 2020.
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Iowa Man Convicted of Lottery Rigging Scheme Granted Parole
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former lottery computer technician serving a 25-year prison sentence for ongoing criminal conduct by rigging computers to win lottery jackpots for himself, friends and family will be released from an Iowa prison on parole after serving nearly five years. Eddie Tipton was granted release by the Iowa Board of Parole on Jan. 20 and will be allowed to live in Texas, a board document said. Iowa offers time off of a prison sentence for good behavior. Tipton pleaded guilty in 2017 and was ordered to repay restitution to Colorado, Wisconsin, Kansas and Oklahoma. He could be ordered taken to prison in Wisconsin if he fails to complete payment of the more than $400,000 he owes by September 2026.
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Ralph Gage, Longtime Leader of Lawrence Media Company, Dies
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Ralph Gage, a longtime official with The World Company and the Lawrence Journal-World, has died. The newspaper reported that Gage died Saturday of natural causes. He was 80. Gage worked in a variety of roles for The World Company, which was the parent company of the Journal-World until the newspaper was sold in 2016. He began his career there in 1969 and retired in 2013. Gage continued to serve on The World Company's board of directors after his retirement, and was inducted into the Kansas Newspaper Hall of Fame in 2016. A memorial service is being planned.
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Report: Loss of Manufacturing Jobs Leads to Index Drop
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new monthly report shows that a loss of manufacturing jobs combined with other factors to slow growth in the regional economy of nine Midwest and Plains states. The overall index in January for Creighton University's Mid-America Business Conditions survey released Tuesday fell to 56.2 from December’s 64.6. Any score above 50 on the survey’s indexes suggests growth. Creighton economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the monthly survey of business leaders, pointed to a loss of manufacturing jobs. The survey’s business confidence index, which looks ahead six months, plummeted to 36.2 — the lowest reading since the beginning of the pandemic. The monthly survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
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Woman Dies After Being Hit by Car in Wichita
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police say a 73-year-old woman died after she was hit by a vehicle being backed out of parking space. Police say Luella Beemer was injured when she was hit by a car being driven by a 15-year-old girl Saturday afternoon. Beemer died later at a hospital. Additional information was not released.
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Protesters Rally Against Missouri's New Health Director
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Protesters are railing against the confirmation of Missouri's new health director over concerns that he's overstepping in his approach to the coronavirus pandemic, even though he's repeatedly said that he opposes government mandates. At least 100 protesters rallied Monday in the Missouri Capitol to urge senators to vote down Director Don Kauerauf's appointment. Kauerauf says he doesn't support government mandates on masks or vaccines. But he encourages people to wear masks and get vaccinated. Republican Gov. Mike Parson is defending his appointment. He repeated that Kauerauf opposes government mask and vaccine mandates, as Parson does.
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Missouri Attorney General Seeks Temporary Restraining Orders in Face Mask Lawsuits
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt is seeking temporary restraining orders to halt mask mandates in three of the 45 mask-requiring school districts he has sued, and his office said additional requests will follow. The motions announced Monday ask judges to halt mask mandates at Columbia Public Schools, St. Charles School District and Ferguson-Florissant School District. A news release said more restraining order requests are “on the way,” but didn’t say when or how many. Some school leaders and elected officials have accused Schmitt of a political ploy. He is a candidate for the Republican nomination for Senate in the August primary election.
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Missouri Hospitals Ask Office Workers to Help Nurses
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Hospitals across Missouri are asking staff members and administrators to take on additional duties to help deal with the current surge in COVID-19 patients. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that hospital employees are being asked to pick up shifts helping nurses by doing things like grabbing supplies or answering phones, or by filling absences in areas such housekeeping and patient transport. Mercy's incoming president Steve Mackin said hospital administrators are doing whatever it takes to help the nurses and doctors who provide patient care. COVID-19 cases have been declining in the St. Louis area over the past couple weeks but the number of patients in hospitals remain near the highest levels of the pandemic.
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Feds: Kansas Woman Led All-Female Islamic State Battalion
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — A woman who once lived in Kansas has been arrested after federal prosecutors charged her with joining the Islamic State group and leading an all-female battalion of AK-47 wielding militants. The U.S. Attorney in Alexandria, Virginia, announced Saturday that 42-year-old Allison Fluke-Ekren has been charged with providing material support to a terrorist organization. Prosecutors say Fluke-Ekren wanted to recruit operatives to attack a college campus in the U.S. and discussed a terrorist attack on a shopping mall. An FBI affidavit also alleges that Fluke-Ekren became leader of an Islamic State unit called "Khatiba Nusaybah" in the Syrian city of Raqqa in late 2016. The all-female unit was trained in the use of AK-47 rifles, grenades and suicide belts.
(–Additional Reporting–)
Family Wants No Contact with Woman Facing Terrorism Charge
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — The family of a Kansas woman charged with joining the Islamic State group and leading an all-female battalion has told prosecutors they want nothing to do with her. Allison Fluke-Ekren made an initial appearance Monday in federal court in Alexandria. She was ordered to remain jailed pending a detention hearing set for Thursday. An attorney was appointed to represent her. Prosecutors say Fluke-Ekren became leader of an all-female Islamic State unit in Syria in 2016 that trained in the use of AK-47 rifles, grenades and suicide belts. She grew up in Kansas but left the U.S. more than a decade ago.
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Kansas Man and Maryland Man Both Charged with Making Separate Threats to Kill President
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Authorities say a Maryland man and a Kansas man have been charged with making separate threats to kill President Joe Biden. Ryan Matthew Conlon of Halethorpe, Maryland; and Scott Ryan Merryman of Independence, Kansas; were arrested last week. Conlon's case was sealed until Monday. Authorities say Merryman called the White House switchboard last week and threatened the president. Federal charges against both men were filed in Baltimore. They say Conlon sent a string of messages to National Security Agency and FBI tiplines threatening to blow up the White House to kill the president, blow up NSA headquarters in Ft. Meade, Maryland, and carry out a mass shooting of NSA employees.
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15-Year-Old Accused of Shooting Airsoft Gun in Theater
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have arrested a 15-year-old boy who is suspected of firing an airsoft gun in a Wichita movie theater. KAKE reports that officers responded early Sunday to the AMC theater. Wichita Police Department spokesperson Trevor Macy said the suspect was located running in the area and taken into custody. Authorities recovered two airsoft guns, which are commonly used to shoot BBs. Officials say one victim reported getting into a physical altercation with the suspect, who then punched the victim in the face, dropped the airsoft gun, and fled the scene. One victim was shot by an airsoft gun but only received minor injuries.
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Vandalized Plaque Honoring Jackie Robinson Headed for Kansas City Museum
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A plaque honoring baseball legend Jackie Robinson that was vandalized in Georgia is coming to Kansas City's Negro Leagues Baseball Museum to be put on display. The sign was erected in 2001 outside the birthplace of Robinson near Cairo, Georgia. Community members there discovered last year that someone had shot the plaque multiple times. Curator and museum vice president Ray Doswell tells the Kansas City Star that displaying the defaced marker is an opportunity to teach the public about Robinson’s story and combat hate. Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color barrier in 1947 when he became the league's first Black player. Robinson’s hometown has replaced the damaged marker, with help from the league.
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Lawrence Hopes to Prevent Lifeguard Shortage Repeat
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Winter is still nearly two months away from ending but Lawrence already is gearing up for swim season as it tries to prevent the kind of lifeguard shortage that delayed pool openings last year. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Aquatics Supervisor Lori Madaus said the city was only able to fill 60 of the 100 lifeguard positions it needed last year to have the two city pools fully operational. The Outdoor Aquatic Center opened a couple of weeks later than usual last year, with reduced hours and features, and the Indoor Aquatic Center continues to have reduced hours. That’s why that the city started hiring for summer lifeguards at the beginning of January, which is about a month earlier than usual.
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Britt Reid's DUI Trial Date Postponed Until September
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid's trial on a felony driving while intoxicated charge has been postponed until at least September. Reid's trial was scheduled for April but was rescheduled on Friday to September 26. Reid, the son of Chiefs Coach Andy Reid, was charged after a February 4, 2021, crash near Arrowhead Stadium that critically injured a 5-year-old girl. Reid pleaded not guilty in June. The trial was rescheduled after discussion during a brief hearing Friday concerning the availability of toxicology reports and some expert witnesses.
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Judge Sides with Treasury in Indian Tribes' Coronavirus Relief Case
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A federal judge has sided with the Treasury Department in a case that challenged the distribution of coronavirus relief aid to Native American governments. Tribal governments had received $4.8 billion from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act based on federal population data. Three tribes in Oklahoma, Florida and Kansas sued over the methodology, alleging they were shortchanged by millions of dollars. The Treasury Department ultimately revised the methodology and sent additional payments to some tribes. But two of them weren't satisfied with the amounts and continued their legal challenge. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled Friday that the Treasury's methodology was reasonable.
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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, 11 am weekends. This news summary is made possible by KPR listener-members. Become one today!