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Headlines for Tuesday, January 26, 2021

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Winter Weather Advisory Taking Effect for Much of Kansas, Including Lawrence, Topeka, Manhattan, Emporia  

TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory in effect tonight (TUE) through Wednesday morning for a large section of Kansas, including Lawrence, Topeka, Manhattan, Junction City and Emporia.  As a wintry mix of precipitation moves through the state, Kansas, Kansas Public Radio's transmitters and broadcast towers are getting iced over.  KPR's Director of Engineering, Steve Kincaid, said Monday morning that KANV FM 91.3 in Junction City - and KPR's two translator stations in Manhattan - were becoming ice-covered.  This will affect power levels, decreasing the coverage area of KPR stations (frequencies) in the Junction City and Manhattan areas.  The wintry weather is not expected to improve until sometime Thursday.

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"Historic" Snow Blankets Parts of Midwest, Disrupts Travel

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A major winter storm blanketed parts of the middle of the country with snow, disrupting traffic and closing some coronavirus testing sites. The snow was forecast into late Tuesday in some areas of the Midwest, with at least 4 inches expected across most of an area stretching from central Kansas northeast to Chicago and southern Michigan. Parts of southeast Nebraska and western Iowa got more than three times that much by Tuesday morning and totals could reach up to 15 inches. And a winter weather advisory was issued for northwest Indiana. Elsewhere in the U.S, a storm buried northern Arizona in snow on Monday while sending flurries to the outskirts of Las Vegas and Phoenix.

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Kansas Governor Signs Bill Extending Disaster Declaration

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Governor Laura Kelly has signed a bill to extend the state’s disaster emergency declaration, allowing Kansas to continue to tap into resources for its pandemic response efforts. The legislation signed Monday extends the declaration to March 31. Health officials say 132,145 people, or about 4.5% of the state’s population, have received the COVID-19 vaccine as of Monday. Meanwhile, the state has added another 2,602 COVID-19 cases since Friday, pushing Kansas's pandemic total to 269,255 cases. It has reported 24 more coronavirus-related deaths since Friday, bringing the state’s death toll to at least 3,622.

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COVID-19 Caseload in Kansas Nears 270,000; Virus-Related Deaths Exceed 3,600

TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) reported Monday that there have been 269,255 cases of COVID-19, including 3,622 deaths, since the pandemic began. That's an increase of 2,602 cases and 24 deaths since last Friday. KDHE will release another update on coronavirus case numbers Wednesday. 

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Kansas Lawmakers' Ire Rises over Handling of COVID-19 Shots

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators are suggesting that mistakes by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration are making it more difficult for older Kansas residents to get COVID-19 vaccine shots. But the head of the state health department, Dr. Lee Norman, told legislators Tuesday that the biggest problem Kansas faces in administering the vaccines is “there’s just not enough.” He acknowledged during a joint meeting of the House and Senate health committees that he can’t predict how long it will take for the state to inoculate enough people to say it no longer faces a pandemic emergency. Republicans in the GOP-controlled Legislature have grown increasingly critical of Kelly and the health department over vaccines.

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Demand Surges as Kansas Opens Up Vaccine to Second Group

MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is seeing demand for the coronavirus vaccine surge as it moves beyond vaccinating health care workers and long-term care residents. The state is leaving it up to county health departments to determine how to distribute the vaccine to those in the second phase. The Kansas Association of Local Health Departments conducted a survey that found nearly three-quarters of health departments planned to tier residents in the second phase, with the remainder leaving everyone on equal footing. Many health officials noted in a comment section that they planned to focus on residents that were 65 and older. But others were prioritizing teachers, law enforcement officers and essential workers.

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Missouri Last Among States for First COVID Shots; Kansas Not Far Behind

O'FALLON, Mo. (AP) — Missouri ranks dead last among states for the percentage of residents who have received their first dose of the coronavirus vaccine, and two neighboring states don’t fare much better. Information released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday shows that 242,937 Missourians have received the first shot, or 3,958 people per 100,000 residents. Idaho, Nevada and Alabama had the next worst per capita rates, followed by Missouri’s neighbors on both sides — Kansas with 4,374 vaccinations per 100,000 residents, and Illinois with 4,392 vaccinations per 100,000 residents.

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Confirmed Virus Cases Increasing Among Missouri Lawmakers

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The number of confirmed coronavirus cases among Missouri lawmakers is continuing to grow. At least four more lawmakers told The Associated Press on Friday that they had contracted COVID-19 since the session began on January 6. That's in addition to three others previously reported. The House canceled all work this week because of the virus outbreak. But the Senate remained in session. One of those who tested positive is Senator Andrew Koenig. He had presented a bill to a Senate committee on Wednesday that would crack down on public health orders limiting crowd sizes in homes, businesses and places of worship.

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Kansas GOP Senator Votes Against President Biden’s Pick for Secretary of State

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KPR) - Kansas Senator Roger Marshall voted against Antony Blinken to become U.S. Secretary of State. Following his vote today (TUE), the Republican from Great Bend issued a statement, saying Blinken is weak on China and weak on Iran.  "And," Marshall said, "he’s Biden’s right-hand man when it comes to rejoining the Paris Climate Accord – a deal which will kill jobs and raise the price of energy." Marshall, who is also a physician, called the Iran nuclear deal "disastrous" and said implementing it again would give Iran a free pass at developing its ballistic missile program and spreading state-sponsored terrorism. "We simply can’t afford another soft-on-China official in the Biden administration," Marshall said, "particularly at a time when we should be holding China’s feet to the fire for their lies and cover ups of the Coronavirus and intellectual property theft."  Marshall and Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley were among 22 Republicans to vote against the confirmation of Biden’s nominee to lead the U.S. State Department.  The two other GOP senators from Kansas and Missouri, Republicans Jerry Moran and Roy Blunt, supported Blinken’s confirmation. His nomination was confirmed on a 78-22 vote.

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Appeals Court Upholds Convictions in Kansas Bomb Plot

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal appeals court has upheld the convictions and sentences of three militia members facing decades in prison for their roles in a foiled 2016 plot to massacre Somali Muslims in southwest Kansas. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected all the arguments raised by attorneys for Gavin Wright, Curtis Allen and Patrick Stein. The appellate court was not swayed by claims the men were entrapped and that  the method of selecting jurors was flawed. Jurors convicted them in 2018 of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and conspiracy against civil rights for a scheme to blow up a mosque and apartments housing Somalis in Garden City.  ( Read more in this report from Reuters.)

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Statehouse Path Unclear for Move to End Kansas Columbus Day Commemoration

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Legislators have heard testimony from Democratic lawmakers pushing for Kansas to join a handful of states observing a day honoring Native Americans instead of Christopher Columbus, but it's not clear the bill will get a vote. The House Federal and State Affairs Committee on Tuesday listened to remarks from three lawmakers who said Kansas needs an Indigenous Peoples Day to acknowledge how understanding of Columbus’s legacy has changed over the years. Committee Chair John Barker, an Abilene Republican, told reporters he doesn’t know whether he will hold a committee vote on the bill. Without one, the bill would stall as it has in previous years.

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Former KC Fire Captain Sentenced for Illegally Selling Guns

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former fire department captain in Kansas City, Missouri, has been sentenced to six years in federal prison for illegally selling guns, including to convicted felons. James Samuels was sentenced Monday. He pleaded guilty to several gun charges in August, admitting he bought 77 guns from November 2013 to August 2018, and transferred 47 of the guns to third parties. He made a profit of $40 to $50 per firearm. Authorities say 10 to 20 of the guns were sold to people forbidden to possess firearms. Samuels also was ordered to pay a fine of more than $11,000.

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Affidavit: Teen Posted Video of Setting of Kansas Mall Fire

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A court affidavit alleges a Kansas teenager posted a video on social media showing the setting of a blaze that heavily damaged a Topeka mall in December. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports a tip provided the next day to Crime Stoppers led investigators to the video posted on messaging service Snapchat. It led to the arrest of 18-year-old Joel Sink and two other youths. They face charges that include arson tied to the December 29 fire that caused an estimated $100,000 in damage at the former White Lakes Mall in Topeka. Snapchat is a messaging service in which users send each other texts, photos or videos that are usually scheduled to disappear after a few seconds.

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Vatican Clears Retired U.S. Bishop of Multiple Abuse Claims

ROME (AP) — The Vatican has essentially slapped a retired U.S. bishop on the wrist for “flagrant” imprudent behavior with teenagers. The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith cleared retired Cheyenne, Wyoming Bishop Joseph Hart of seven accusations abuse, determined that five others couldn’t be proven “with moral certitude” and that two cases involving boys, who were 16 and 17, couldn’t be prosecuted given the Catholic Church didn’t consider them minors at the time of the alleged abuse. Another allegation wasn’t addressed in the decree.Hart, 89, had long maintained his innocence and denied all allegations of misconduct.

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Advocates Seek Law for Appeals of Adult Care Home Evictions

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ Advocates for older Kansans in assisted living facilities are pushing for legislation that would allow them to appeal to the state if a facility evicts them. The Topeka Capital Journal reports that the House Children and Seniors Committee plans to have a hearing Thursday on the measure. It would allow older Kansans who've been involuntarily discharged from an adult residential care facility to appeal to the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services. While advocates worry about evicted residents having no recourse, a Kansas Adult Care Executives official says the measure would add more burdens to an over-regulated industry.

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Kansas Ethics Panel to Hear Campaign Finance Complaints

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ Former Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O'Donnell could be on the hook for potentially thousands of dollars in civil fines if an ethics panel this week finds he violated state campaign finance law. A complaint shows O'Donnell faces nine counts of campaign finance violations for allegedly funneling money from his campaign account to his personal checking account and to four friends he fraudulently reported as campaign workers. The Wichita Eagle reports that the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission has scheduled a hearing Wednesday in Topeka. O'Donnell could not be reached for comment Monday.

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Police Investigate Man's Shooting Death in Baldwin City

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police are investigating the shooting death of a man at a home in Baldwin City. The man's body was found Monday night after a 25-year-old woman went to a neighbor's home and asked for help because her boyfriend had fired a shotgun at her. Police say in a news release that officers who entered the home found the man dead from a gunshot wound. No further information was released.

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Mom of Man Who Killed His Father and Shot 2 Lawmen Charged

LYONS, Kan. (AP) — The mother of a man who killed his father and wounded two Rice County law officers has been charged in the case. Rice County Attorney Remington Dalke says Shirley Loder, of Arlington, was charged this month with suspicion of criminal distribution of a firearm. Prosecutors allege Loder gave her son, David Madden, a weapon he used in April 2019. He shot and killed his father at their rural Rice County home. Madden also shot Rice County undersheriff Chad Murphy and Sheriff Bryant Evans before killing himself. Madden was a convicted felon who was not legally allowed to have a gun. Loder bonded out of the Reno County jail on Friday.

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Man's Death Investigated by Kansas City, Kansas, Police

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police in Kansas City, Kansas, say they are investigating the death of a man whose body was found inside an apartment. Police say officers were sent to the apartment complex along Orville Street on Saturday morning to check on the welfare of a man. Arriving officers discovered the body of the man, believed to be in his 70s, inside the apartment. His name has not yet been released. Police say the department's Major Case Unit is investigating the death and have asked the public for any information to help in the investigation.

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Kansas Resident Using Lighter as Flashlight Sparks Fire

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Fire officials say a Hutchinson resident who used a lighter as a flashlight accidently lit the underside of the bed, starting a fire that heavily damaged the house. The Hutchinson News reports that firefighters responding to a call at 5:20 pm Sunday found heavy smoke and fire coming from a window on the front of the single-story home, The two adults and child who were in the home got out unharmed. Crews were able to contain the fire to the room where it started, but the two-bedroom home sustained smoke and heat damage throughout. Red Cross is helping the tenants, as the home is uninhabitable.

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Missouri Legislation Would Allow Use of Deadly Force Against Demonstrators

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri senator is trying to pass a bill that would allow the use of deadly force against protesters on private property. Members of a state Senate committee on Monday debated the change. The legislation also would give immunity to people who run over protesters blocking traffic. It would make demonstrations blocking traffic a felony crime. Republican supporters of the bill said blocking traffic can be dangerous if it blocks ambulances or police from responding to emergencies. Activists said enacting the bill would encourage vigilantism.

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Shawnee Mission School District Ditches Mascots with Native American Names

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A large Kansas City area school district is ditching the Braves and Indians mascots that four of its schools use. The board for the Shawnee Mission district, which is the state's third-largest with about 27,000 students, voted 7-0 Monday to make a change that requires mascots to be culturally and racially sensitive and appropriate. The board then decided that the mascots at Shawnee Mission North High School and Belinder, Shawanoe, and Ruston elementary schools violated that policy and will need to be replaced.

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U.S. Supreme Court Won't Hear Nevada Church's COVID-19 Case

RENO, Nev. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has refused a rural Nevada church’s request to weigh in on a legal battle over the government’s authority to limit the size of religious gatherings. The high court on Monday denied Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley's petition seeking to review the case on its merits. Attorneys general from 19 other states, including Kansas, had recently joined in support of the church east of Reno. They were urging the Supreme Court to rule on the Nevada case to help bring uniformity to various standards courts across the country have used to balance the interests of public safety and freedom of religion.

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Nebraska Negotiates New Contract with Troubled Kansas-Based Foster Care Contractor

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska is negotiating a new and costlier contractor with a troubled Kansas-based foster care contractor that is less than three weeks away from running out of money for operations. The Omaha World-Herald reports that St. Francis Ministries interim CEO William Clark told Nebraska lawmakers Friday that the nonprofit needs another $25 million to cover its costs for this year and about $10 million to cover a shortfall for the fiscal year that ended June 30. Dannette Smith, the CEO of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, said the state is pursuing the new agreement to maintain continuity. She promised increased state oversight, saying, "I think we learned a bitter lesson."

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Doctors: Death Risk High for Ill Kansas Election Official

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Two doctors who treated a Kansas election commissioner who was fired for accessing a voter database when working from home while battling cancer say she faced a one-in-four chance or more of dying if she got COVID-19. The Wichita Eagle reports it talked to Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Tabitha Lehman’s oncologist, Dr. Dennis Moore and her infectious disease specialist, Dr. Tom Moore, with her consent. The doctors, who are brothers, said she would have been unnecessarily risking her life if she worked in the office during the election. Lehman at the time was on a very aggressive form of chemotherapy for lymphatic cancer that is now in remission.

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Sedgwick County Will Not Fight Firing of Election Official

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Sedgwick County commissioners have decided to not fight the firing of Election Commissioner Tabitha Lehman after Secretary of State Scott Schwab promised the county a role in choosing her successor. Lehman lost her job for violating a policy by remotely accessing the state's voter registration database when working from home while fighting cancer during the coronavirus pandemic. The Wichita Eagle reports commissioners complimented Lehman for conducting a nearly flawless election, but opted not to propose legislation to scale back Schwab's authority to pick the county's top election official. 

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R&B Artist Trey Songz Arrested at AFC Championship Game

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police say R&B artist Trey Songz was arrested during the AFC Championship game in Kansas City after fans complained he wasn't following COVID-19 protocols and other rules and he then punched an officer who was trying to remove him. Songz, whose name is Tremaine Aldon Neverson, was released Monday from the Jackson County jail. Jackson County authorities say an investigation continues and no charges have been filed. Kansas City police say fans complained about a man who was not wearing a mask or following the stadium's code of conduct during Sunday's game at Arrowhead Stadium. TMZ released a video showing Songz struggling with several officers before being led away. A representative for Songz declined to comment.

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Kansas Governor Wants Tourism Division Moved to Commerce Department

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Goveror Laura Kelly says she wants to move the state's tourism division into the Department of Commerce. Kelly said in a news release Monday that she wants to make tourism a tool for economic growth and development. The tourism division is currently part of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. Kelly says businesses, destination marketing groups and other industries support the proposed move. The change would become effective July 1 if the Kansas Legislature does not object. The tourism division would then be part of the business development area of the Department of Commerce.

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Kansas City T-Bones Renamed Monarchs as Tribute to Historic Negro Leagues' Team

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City T-Bones of the independent American Association are being renamed the Kansas City Monarchs after the team that played in the Negro Leagues. The original Monarchs were founded in 1924 and won the first Negro League World Series in 1920. The team played in the Negro National League and Negro American League and later as an independent. A museum exhibit is to travel with the team. The Monarchs also plan to establish a youth academy for baseball and softball.

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Peregrine Falcons May No Longer be Endangered in Missouri

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri officials are moving to remove peregrine falcons from the state’s endangered species list. The Missouri Conservation Commission gave initial approval Friday to the removal. The plan, however, calls keeping the bird as a species of conservation concern. Peregrine falcon populations plummeted nationwide during the 1940s through the 1960s due to the widespread use of pesticides such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane in their food chain. The Missouri Department of Conservation said in a news release that the birds were removed from the federal endangered species list in 1999 but have remained on the state list.

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Black Rhinoceros Born in Garden City Zoo

GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) — A rare black rhinoceros has been born in captivity at the Lee Richardson Zoo in Garden City. The zoo says in a news release that the male rhino was born Wednesday to 10-year-old Johari and her 7-year-old mate Jabari. The pair were moved from zoos in Cleveland and Atlanta in 2016 as part of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Eastern Black Rhinoceros Species Survival Plan. A news release from the zoo says mother and baby will be kept indoors for bonding and until weather conditions are appropriate for them to venture outside. Eastern black rhinos are native to eastern Africa and are listed as critically endangered.

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Sporting KC Hires Feilhaber as Part of Technical Staff

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Sporting Kansas City has hired longtime midfielder and former U.S. national team standout Benny Feilhaber as part of the Major League Soccer club’s technical staff for the upcoming season. Feilhaber retired last March after 15 seasons spent in MLS, the Bundesliga in Germany, the Danish Superliga and the English Premier League. He was part of Sporting KC clubs that won the 2013 MLS Cup and the 2015 and ’17 U.S. Open Cups and part of the national team that won the 2007 Gold Cup and participated in the 2010 World Cup.

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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.