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Headlines for Tuesday, June 22, 2021

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Chief: Prognosis Improves for Wichita Officer Who Was Shot

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Wichita Police Chief Gordon Ramsay says an officer who was shot during the weekend remains in critical but stable condition and his prognosis is improving. Ramsey said Monday the officer, a five-year veteran, was shot in the head and legs. His family has asked the officer's name not be released. He was shot and a suspect was killed while officers were checking on the welfare of a woman and her daughter Saturday night. Investigators say the woman's boyfriend, 28-year-old Tyler Hodge, ignored commands to put down a gun when officers found him in a shed. Hodge fired 18 shots. Police say officers fired back and Hodge was hit once, killing him.

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Uber Eats Tackles App Profile Issue That Outs Trans Drivers Following Topeka Incident

BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — Uber Eats says it has apologized and resolved issues with app profiles that outed a Kansas man as transgender. The move comes after the ACLU of Kansas warned the food delivery service that its app profiles place transgender drivers at risk of harassment and violence. ACLU released a letter Tuesday that it had sent the day earlier to the food delivery service on behalf of Laine Repic, a 41-year-old transgender man in Topeka, who has been driving for the company since April. The ACLU of Kansas contended that Uber Eats has forced Repic to have his app profile display his legal name, which he no longer uses and which does not match his male gender presentation.

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Kansas City Carjacking Suspect Dies in Gun Battle with Police

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - A carjacking suspect is dead after an exchange of gunfire with police in Kansas City, Kansas. Police did not identify the suspect who was killed Sunday but say he was a 25-year-old man. Police say the armed carjacking happened Thursday in Kansas City, Kansas. Officers in Kansas City, Missouri, on Sunday spotted a vehicle that matched the description and a pursuit began. The pursuit went into Kansas City, Kansas, and ended when the suspect's vehicle crashed. Police say video footage from body and in-car cameras show the suspect shot at police, who returned fire. The man died at a hospital.

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Wichita Police Seek Federal Partnership to Address Violence

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police are asking the City Council to approve a federal partnership in an effort to address a surge in violent crime. The Wichita Eagle reports that police want help from the U.S. Marshals Service as gun violence escalates in the city. Nine people were shot over the past weekend, including a police officer who was shot in the head and legs. The partnership with the U.S. Marshals Service would be known as Operation Triple Beam. It would be a 60-day effort starting in July with a goal of investigating and arresting people who have active state or federal arrest warrants.

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Kansas City: Lawsuit over Police Funding is 'False Flag'

LIBERTY, Mo. (AP) _ Kansas City officials say in a court filing that a lawsuit filed over a change in how a portion of the police department's budget is spent is legally and factually false. The state-controlled Board of Police Commissioners sued the city and several officials after the city council approved moving about $42 million of the police department's budget into a new fund. The board contends state law gives sole authority to the commission to determine how police funds are spent. In a response filed Tuesday, the city said that despite the rerouting of some funds, the city has met its obligation to provide one-fifth of its general revenue funds to the police department. 

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Man Sentenced to 50 Years in Prison for Killing Girlfriend

WEBSTER CITY, Iowa (AP) — A Kansas man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for killing his girlfriend in Iowa in 2018. The Fort Dodge Messenger reports that 34-year-old Zackery Bassett, originally from Elwood, Kansas, must serve at least 35 years of the sentence that was handed down Monday. A jury in February convicted Bassett of second-degree murder in the death of 50-year-old Andrea Solokowski. She was killed in September 2018 in Webster City, Iowa. Prosecutors said Bassett had abused and stalked Solokowski, of Sioux City, Iowa, for more than a year before her death. An autopsy found injuries consistent with asphyxiation but Solokowski's cause of death was listed as undetermined.

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KBI: Remains Found in April Identified as El Dorado Man

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ Authorities say remains found in April in northeast Kansas have been identified as an El Dorado man. The KBI says DNA evidence confirmed the body was that of 40-year-old Waylon Fort, of El Dorado. The remains were found April 26 east of Beloit along the Mitchell and Cloud County line. The KBI says investigators did not find evidence of foul play. Fort was last seen in January near Beloit, while he was fleeing on foot from a traffic stop.

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Body Found in Topeka Park; Foul Play Not Suspected
 
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Police in Topeka are investigating after a man's body was discovered in a park. Police say foul play is not suspected. WIBW-TV reports that officers were called shortly after 5 a.m. Monday to Chesney Park. The body was in a seated position at a picnic table beneath a lighted gazebo. The cause of death remains under investigation.

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Kansas House Democrat Resigns Her Overland Park Seat

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) - A Democratic state representative from Overland Park has resigned after serving just one year in the Legislature. Jennifer Day announced her resignation Monday. She won the seat in May 2020 by only 62 votes. A spokeswoman said Day was resigning because she is moving out of the district. The Democratic precinct committee in her district will appoint a replacement to fill her unexpired term. Republican Terry Frederick, who lost to Day in November, has already filed to run for the seat again next year. Day is the third Democrat in the Kansas House to resign this year.

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New Kansas Firefighting Team Deployed Out of State

TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - A brand new Kansas wildfire fighting team is on its first out-of-state assignment and officials say it's a trip that will ultimately benefit Kansans. The 10-person team of firefighters from the Kansas Forest Service is positioned in South Dakota near the Black Hills National Forest, where record-breaking temperatures and drought have created a severe fire risk. The team will help fight any fires that might pop up, but can also help protect properties and reduce excess vegetation in high risk areas. The leader of the group, Chris Hanson, says the assignment will provide much needed real-world experience. Hanson says the group can then use that experience to help fight Kansas wildfires and teach other local firefighters. The creation of the unit is among several improvements the Kansas Forest Service has made in the wake of the state’s largest wildfires that burned in south-central Kansas in 2016 and 2017. The Kansas team could be in South Dakota for the next three weeks.

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Man Sentenced to Prison for Fatal Drunken Driving Crash

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 36-year-old Wichita man with previous drunken driving convictions was sentenced to more than six years in prison for a crash that killed a woman in 2018. Monty Carpenter Jr. was sentenced Monday to 76 months in prison in the death of 56-year-old Marsha Oglesby. He pleaded guilty in April to involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence. Police say Carpenter ran a red light and hit Oglesby's car on Sept. 3, 2018. KAKE-TV reports court records show Carpenter had three previous convictions for drunk driving.

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Suspect Sought in Wichita Shooting That Left 1 Dead, 1 Hurt

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police are searching for a suspect in a shooting that killed one person and left another critically injured. Officers called to a home in northeast Wichita on Sunday found 47-year-old Deandre Freeman dead from several gunshot wounds. A 53-year-old man at the home who was also shot was hospitalized in critical condition. Police spokesman Charley Davidson said Monday investigators determined a disturbance broke out between the men and the suspect fired several shots. He said those involved knew each other and it was not a random shooting. 

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12-Year-Old Boy Injured in Branson Roller Coaster Accident

BRANSON, Mo. (AP) _ Two state inspectors are trying to determine how a 12-year-old boy was badly injured in an accident at a roller coaster attraction in Branson. The accident happened Sunday night at The Branson Coaster. A city spokeswoman says the child was "trapped on the ride with what appeared to be serious injuries.'' A Facebook posting from the Branson Professional Firefighters Local Union said the boy was trapped beneath the coaster. No further details were released. The child was flown by helicopter to a hospital in Springfield.

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11 Injured in Accident Near Branson

HOLLISTER, Mo. (AP) - Eleven people have been treated for mostly minor injuries after a shuttle bus and a car collided. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the accident happened early Monday morning in Taney County, in the Branson area. Two passengers on the bus were treated for moderate injuries. The other passengers and both drivers suffered minor injuries. The patrol says the bus was turning onto Highway 86 and was struck by a Ford Mustang. All of the bus passengers were from Branson. The bus driver is from Holiday Hills, Arkansas, and the Mustang driver is from Ridgedale, Missouri.  

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Kansas Orders COVID-19 Tests to Continue in Adult Care Facilities

TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR/KNS) - The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has issued an order requiring continued COVID-19 testing in all adult care facilities. Governor Laura Kelly directed Dr. Lee Norman, the secretary of the department, to issue the order to continue testing, even after the end of the state's disaster declaration. Facility staff who have been vaccinated will not be required to get tested, and the state strongly encourages all employees to get vaccinated. The order took effect immediately.

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Missouri Leads Nation in Highest Rate of New COVID Cases

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) _ Missouri now leads the nation with the highest rate of new COVID-19 infections as vaccinations lag. One person in every 1,349 people in the state was diagnosed with COVID-19 from June 13 to Sunday. Missouri health officials say the north-central and southwest part of the state are driving the surge. While more than 53% of the population of Americans have initiated vaccination, most southern and northern Missouri counties are well short of 40%. And a handful of southern Missouri counties have fewer than 20% of residents vaccinated.

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Survey: Kansas Doctors Reporting Pandemic Burnout

WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) - New research shows the stress and exhaustion caused by the pandemic took a toll on physicians in Kansas. Just over half of family doctors in a survey showed at least one sign of professional burnout. Samuel Ofei-Dodoo, a professor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Wichita. led the study. He says severe and chronic stress can push doctors out of the profession. It can also cause depression and worse. “Fatigue, dependency on alcohol and drugs." Ofei-Dodoo said. "It can also cause marital problems and perhaps the most serious one, suicide.” Doctors who had treated COVID patients were four times as likely to report signs that they were struggling. Signs of burnout in the study included physicians feeling emotionally exhausted and like they weren’t really helping their patients.

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Study: Female Soldiers at Increased Risk of Sexual Assault at Fort Riley, Other Bases

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new study finds that female soldiers at Army bases in Kansas, Texas, Colorado, and Kentucky face a greater risk of sexual assault and harassment than those at other posts, accounting for more than a third of all active duty Army women sexually assaulted in 2018. Fort Riley in Kansas is among the posts with higher risks for female soldiers. The study by Rand Corp. says female soldiers at Fort Hood and Fort Bliss, both in Texas, faced the highest risk, particularly those in combat commands or jobs such as field artillery and engineering. And units with more frequent deployments to war also saw higher risk. Other bases with high risk were Fort Campbell in Kentucky, and Fort Carson in Colorado.

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Parents, Kids Become Ill After Visiting Water Park in Goddard

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A splash park at a wildlife attraction in the Wichita area has closed after health officials reported illness concerns and several families said their children became sick after visiting the site. Tanganyika Wildlife Park's Director Matt Fouts said in a Facebook post that he decided to close the attraction after discussions with the Sedgwick County Health Department. He said the park in Goddard is working to fix a filtration system problem, Cameron Vandusen said his 4-year-old daughter, Kennedy, was hospitalized Saturday after she started throwing up. Four other family members who went to the splash park Friday were also throwing up and having diarrhea on Saturday.

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Two Officers Charged with Assault Involved in Earlier Shooting

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Two Kansas City police officers who are facing assault charges and several lawsuits stemming from a 2019 arrest were also involved in an earlier shooting. The Kansas City Star reports that newly released records show that Officers Charles Prichard and Matthew Brummett were involved in a January 2019 shooting during an arrest in which a man was wounded after reaching for one of the officers' guns. That 2019 shooting was reviewed by an internal panel earlier this year that didn't recommend any action against the officers. Police department officials declined to comment last week on the officers' conduct. 

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KC Mayor Joins Group Committed to Reparations Projects

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP/KPR) — Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas joined with ten other U.S. mayors pledging to pay reparations for slavery to a small group of Black residents in their cities. Mayors Organized for Reparations and Equity (MORE) have committed to form commissions to advise them on how to develop the programs. Once they can identify funding, the mayors say they will develop and implement programs to pay reparations to a “cohort of Black residents.” The mayors, who represent big cities and the tiny town of Tullahassee, Oklahoma, say their goal is to set an example for the federal government on how a nationwide program could operate. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Denver Mayor Michael Hancock are leading the group.

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EXPLAINER: Why is Missouri Fighting Federal Gun Rules?

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - Missouri is clashing with the Justice Department over a new law banning police from enforcing federal gun rules. The Justice Department this week warned Missouri that the law could strain relationships between federal and local law enforcement. But Missouri's Republican governor and attorney general say they'll still enforce the new law. Federal and Missouri gun laws are almost all the same. Republican state lawmakers say they passed the bill because of concerns about new gun rules under Democratic President Joe Biden. Other states passed similar legislation. But so far, the Justice Department has only sent a warning letter to Missouri.

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Merchants Report Shortage of Fireworks as Independence Day Approaches

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KNS) - Consumer fireworks are in short supply this summer, and some shoppers could face empty shelves by Independence Day. Customers cleaned out fireworks inventory last year, and some fireworks dealers say they can’t keep up with demand this year. Supply chain snags have tripled the time it takes to get fireworks from Chinese ports to US stores. Mike Collar President of Winco Fireworks says the delays will short fireworks sellers by about 30%. "I think you'll see some tents not open because you're not going to have the merchandise." Collar said. On positive side, the fireworks shortage should decrease fireworks-related injuries.

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Kansas Public Radio Aims for More Sustaining Members

LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - After getting a $216,000 budget cut from the University of Kansas, Kansas Public Radio is hoping to make up the difference by holding a special two-day, on-air fund drive later this month. KPR's goal is to increase membership by 300 new or upgrading sustainers. Sustainers are donors who sign up for automatic monthly contributions to the radio station. The recent budget cut from KU is the largest in the 69-year history of the station and represents about 70% of the station's annual funding from the university. The on-air portion of KPR's two-day fund drive begins Thursday, June 24, but fundraising is already underway. KPR supporters have pooled their money to create a $30,000 matching grant when KPR receives 300 new or upgrading sustainers during the month of June. Those wanting to become KPR listener-members can join anytime by making a pledge.

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