GOP Claims Kansas Governor Is Spending COVID Funds Illegally
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Top Republican legislators in Kansas are accusing Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s administration of illegally spending at least $86 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds by not getting their approval first. Kelly’s office didn't respond Tuesday to a letter from Senate President Ty Masterson, House Speaker Ron Ryckman Jr. and the House and Senate budget committee chairs. In the letter, the lawmakers threaten to explore filing a lawsuit if Kelly does not change course. The Republicans say a budget measure requires legislative leaders’ consent for any spending of relief dollars starting July 1. Kelly's office contends agencies already have the authority to spend relief dollars.
==========
Johnson County Sheriff Will Not Require Masks or COVID-19 Vaccinations for Employees
OLATHE, Kan. (KCUR) - The Johnson County Sheriff’s Office has announced that it will not follow the Johnson County Manager’s Office in adopting a new policy requiring county employees to submit to weekly COVID-19 tests if they cannot show proof of vaccination. Sheriff Calvin Hayden says he will leave decisions on face masks and vaccinations up to his 700 employees. About 130 sheriff’s department employees, including Hayden himself, have contracted the disease since the pandemic began but, he said, they all quarantined and followed public health guidelines. Hayden said the department did not have statistics on how many employees were vaccinated, but said it was probably about 50%. County officials estimate the overall rate of vaccination for Johnson County employees is about 46%. County Manager Penny Postoak Ferguson recently issued a new vaccination and testing policy for about 2,700 county employees which goes into effect Monday, August 23. But that directive does not apply to employees of the Sheriff’s Office and the Parks Department who fall outside the county manager’s administrative authority.
==========
Rural Kansas Hospitals at Capacity, Transferring Patients Out of State
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KNS) — Rural hospitals are again struggling to find beds in intensive care units for patients as COVID-19 cases climb. Many rural facilities don’t have intensive care units. Last week, the 25-bed Memorial Health System Hospital in Abilene sent a COVID patient by air ambulance to Wisconsin. His condition was deteriorating and he needed a ventilator. Doctors at the Abilene hospital say they spent hours calling hospitals farther and farther away before finding the bed in Oshkosh. Larger Kansas hospitals have been inundated with transfer requests from as far away as Georgia and Mississippi. Some hospitals in the state say they haven’t been able to hire enough workers to replace people who quit after last winter’s COVID-19 crisis and the shortage of health care workers is compounding the difficulty of handling the delta variant’s rapid surge across the state.
(– Related –)
With No Beds, Hospitals Ship Patients to Far-Off Cities
MISSION, Kan. (AP) _ Many overwhelmed hospitals, with no beds to offer, are putting critically ill COVID-19 patients on planes, helicopters and ambulances and sending them hundreds of miles to far-flung states for treatment.The delta variant of the virus, combined with low vaccination rates in many states, is causing a surge that has hospitals scrambling to find bed space _ even if it means sending patients far away from home. The issue is that large hospitals in urban areas already were full and struggling with staffing problems when the outbreak started. That means they have no free beds to offer to patients from small rural hospitals without ICUs. In some cases, the larger hospitals also are looking to transfer out some of their own patients to relieve the strain.
==========
Kansas Congressional Delegation Urges Afghanistan Veterans to Seek Support
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — As images of the government falling in Afghanistan fill the news, members of Congress from Kansas are urging the soldiers who served there to seek out support and they’re encouraging veterans to connect with their peers. Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall and Representative Sharice Davids are urging Afghanistan military veterans to check-in on each other. In a video posted to Twitter, the senators and congresswoman advised that veterans can find online help at the Veterans Crisis Line or 1-800-273-8255.
==========
Pompeo Speaks to Wichita Conference About U.S. Withdrawal from Afghanistan
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) _ Former Kansas Congressman and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calls the fall of the government in Afghanistan a foreign policy failure. Speaking at a conference in Wichita Monday, Pompeo said the fall of the government in Afghanistan is a foreign policy failure by the Biden administration. Pompeo said that allowing the Taliban to take over so quickly makes the U-S look weak to its enemies. “We let the other side believe they could route us and they drove a truck through it. You can be sure that Chairman Kim, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin are all watching what’s happening in Afghanistan today” Pompeo said. He also predicted that the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan will have long-term consequences in the region. Initial drawdown of troops and a plan to exit Afghanistan started during former-President Trump’s administration. President Biden says the Trump plan left the U.S. in a weak position to exit the country.
==========
Kansas Redistricting to Focus on Democratic Representative's Region, Cut Rural Clout
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Ten years of population shifts will boost the clout of the Kansas City and Wichita areas in Kansas politics and fuel a fight over redrawing the district of the only Democrat representing the state in Congress. The Republican-controlled Legislature must use census data released last week to redraw congressional and legislative districts next year. The 3rd Congressional District represented by Democrat Sharice Davids, is now overpopulated. If GOP state lawmakers remain united, they will set the new lines. Meanwhile, the new census figures suggest Johnson County could gain three Kansas House seats and a Kansas Senate seat, and Sedgwick County could gain a House seat.
==========
Democrat Leaving Kansas House Joins National Atheists Group
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A Democrat who has announced that he’s stepping down from the Kansas House will serve as state policy director for a national group that defends the rights of atheists and fights to keep religion out of government. American Atheists on Monday announced the appointment of Democratic state Representative Brett Parker, of Overland Park. Parker announced in May that he would resign from the Legislature after helping to found the liberal nonprofit advocacy group Prairie Roots. His resignation from the House is effective August 29. American Atheists said that as its state policy director, Parker will manage its communications with state lawmakers and how it engages grassroots supporters.
==========
Lawrence Police Investigate Death in Store's Parking Lot
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Lawrence police are investigating a death in the parking lot of a grocery store. Lawrence police spokesman Patrick Compton said officers were called to a Dillons grocery store Wednesday morning and found the victim in the parking lot. Authorities arrested 54-year-old Robert Earl Davis of Lawrence. He was booked into jail on possible charges of second-degree murder and cruelty to animals. No other information was immediately available.
==========
Five People Arrested in Death of Emporia Man in 2017
EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) — Four people from Kansas and one from Oklahoma have been arrested in the 2017 death of an Emporia man. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said the five suspects were arrested Wednesday in various locations in Emporia and Tulsa, Oklahoma. They are accused in the Sept. 6., 2017, death of 19-year-old Jesus Avila-Galvin Jr., whose body was found in his burning car in a rural area east of Emporia. The four Kansas suspects are being held in the Lyon County jail and the Oklahoma suspect is jailed in Tulsa County, Oklahoma. The KBI did not say what motivated the killing or what led police to the suspects.
==========
Report: Extreme Heat is Endangering Farmworkers
WASHINGTON, D.C. (HPM / KPR) - A new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists says that as summers become increasingly hot due to climate change, farmworkers in the Midwest will continue to face dangerous working conditions. The report says workers must often choose between risking their lives in extreme heat of losing significant amounts of their income. The report looked at how workers whose jobs require them to be outside, will fare economically as summertime heat intensifies. It found that if greenhouse gas emissions are not curbed, outdoor workers in the Midwest will continue to be exposed to dangerous conditions and could lose out on billions of dollars in earnings. The report says farmworkers are among the most vulnerable to heat related illness and death. The UCS says one of the objectives of the study was to develop information that can be used to prevent workers from having to make that choice. The report recommends that the government impose heat safety standards to protect workers, specifically farmworkers, who are among the most vulnerable to heat-related illness and death.
==========
Parents of 3-Year-Old Boy Who Died at Dentist Office Sue
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The parents of a 3-year-old Scott City boy who died after a dental procedure in Wichita have filed a wrongful death lawsuit. Angel Zapata and Nancy Valenzuela filed the lawsuit Tuesday, alleging their son did not receive proper care during a procedure to remove teeth on July 6. The suit names dentist Scott White, nurse-anesthetist Jeremy Salsbury, Tiny Teeth Dentistry and Special Anesthesia Services. The lawsuit says that shortly after the boy received anesthetics, he showed signs of an irregular heart rhythm and inadequate patient ventilation. Emergency responders were called but the boy died at a hospital.
==========
Eudora Man Sentenced for Kidnapping, Robbing Elderly Relatives.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW / KPR) — A Eudora man has been sentenced to 18 years in prison after being convicted of kidnapping his elderly relatives in a robbery scheme. The Lawrence Journal World reports that 32-year-old Raymond Stilley was sentenced after his conviction on two counts of aggravated robbery. Before agreeing to a plea deal when he was convicted in May, he was also facing charges of kidnapping and mistreatment of an elder. Two of Stilley’s relatives, who are in their 80s, said he broke into their home in July 2020 and demanded money and bank cards from them before taking them hostage. They said he drove them around to ATMs and bank branches in Lawrence and Topeka withdrawing money from their bank accounts. The relatives said they complied because Stilley was threatening them with a gun. After he released them, the elderly relatives reported the incident to the Lawrence Police Department and Stilley was arrested two days later after a reported standoff with Topeka police. He told the court he regretted committing the crimes and blamed the incident on his drug addiction.
==========
Toddler in Car Stolen from Missouri Gas Station Found Safe
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police say a 2-year-old girl who was in a car stolen from a Kansas City, Missouri, gas station has been found safe. Police say the girl was in the back of the car when it was stolen around 5:40 pm Tuesday from a gas station across from Central Park. Police say the girl was found nearly two hours later in Kansas City, Kansas, after a woman called police to say a young child was in her backyard. Police say she was unharmed, and officers in Kansas City, Missouri, drove the mother to her child. The stolen car was found abandoned several blocks away.
==========
Abilene Man's Body Pulled from River; Death Ruled Accidental
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — The body of an Abilene man who fell into the Smoky Hill River just east of Salina has been recovered, and authorities have ruled his death as accidental. The Saline County Sheriff’s Office says the accident happened around 6:30 pm.Monday, when a witness reported seeing a man peering over, then tumbling over, the rail of a bridge spanning the river. A search for the man was called off Monday night and resumed Tuesday morning, when the body was found about a quarter-mile downstream from the bridge. Authorities identified the victim as 78-year-old Troy Leatherman.
==========
Body Found in Wichita Alley; 1 Person Questioned by Police
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police are investigating after the body of a man was found in a Wichita alley. Police say officers were called Tuesday afternoon to the area in southeast Wichita after a person walking through the alley behind a business spotted the body. Police say the victim appeared to be a man in his late 20s or early 30s, although police Lt. Krys Henderson said it appeared the body “had been there longer than a day.” Investigators say the victim had suffered some type of trauma to his body. Police say a person was taken into custody, but did not say whether that person was considered a witness or a suspect.
==========
Wichita Man Convicted of Beating Friend to Death with Hands
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 37-year-old Wichita man will be sentenced in November after being convicted of beating a friend to death with his bare hands. Steven Speakman was convicted earlier this month of involuntary manslaughter in the death of 33-year-old Haley Collins, of Bel Aire. Investigators say Speakman and Collins got into an argument that turned physical in the parking lot of a Dillon's store on August 21, 2019. An affidavit says Collins had refused to give Speakman a ride home. Dillon's employees who witnessed the fight said Speakman punched Collins, jumped on top of him and hit him several more times. Speakman is scheduled to be sentenced November 1.
==========
Former Junction City Athletic Trainer Sentenced for Sexual Exploitation
JUNCTION CITY, Kan. (AP) _ A former high school athletic trainer in Junction City has been sentenced to two months in a county jail and three years' probation for sending obscene photos and text messages to an underage student. Television station KSNT reports that 30-year-old Brandon Martino was sentenced Monday in a Geary County courtroom after pleading no contest last month to a single count of sexual exploitation of a child. Martino's license to serve as an athletic trainer was suspended in July by a state licensing board after an investigation found he had sent sexually explicit text messages and nude images of himself to the student. Martino was suspended from his Junction City High School job following his arrest in January.
==========
Kansas City Southern Delays Vote on $33.6 Billion Rail Takeover Bid
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Kansas City Southern will delay this week’s planned shareholder vote on Canadian National’s $33.6 billion offer to buy the railroad because regulators haven’t ruled on a key part of the acquisition plan. The vote scheduled for Thursday was put on hold while investors wait to hear whether the U.S. Surface Transportation Board will approve Canadian National’s plan to use a voting trust as part of the acquisition. Without that approval, the deal may fall apart. The STB has said it expects to rule by August 31. If the CN deal gets derailed, Canadian Pacific railroad is waiting in the wings with a competing $31 billion offer to purchase Kansas City Southern.
==========
Minor League Basketball Team to Play in Topeka
TOPEKA, Kan. (TCJ / KPR) — Topeka will soon have a minor-league professional basketball team. The Topeka Capital Journal reports that a new team will start playing in the capital city next year as part of TBL, The Basketball League. The league is headed by former University of Kansas basketball star David Magley. Magley played for KU from 1978 to 1982 and then played for the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers during the 1982-83 season. The team will be part of TBL, which has 47 teams around the country. Topeka had a minor league pro basketball team in the 1980s, the Topeka Sizzlers of the Continental Basketball Association. The Sizzlers moved to Yakima, Washington in 1990. The new team does not yet have a name and basketball fans are invited to submit suggestions for names online.
==========
Big 12 Teams Face Forfeits if Virus Keeps Them from Playing
IRVING, Texas (AP) — Big 12 teams will have to forfeit games and be given a loss if unable to play a conference game this fall because of COVID-19. Or any other reasons. The Big 12 says a no contest will be declared only if both teams are unable to compete. There are no plans to make up any games not played as scheduled. And there are no longer football roster thresholds in effect like there were last season and allowed teams to seek a no contest.
==========
U.S. Women to Play Four Post-Olympic Matches, Including One in KCK
CHICAGO (AP) — The U.S. women’s national soccer team will play a series of four matches in September and October. The team will play Paraguay in Cleveland on Sept. 16, and again on Sept. 21 in Cincinnati. They’ll also play South Korea on Oct. 21 in Kansas City, Kansas, and on Oct. 26 in St. Paul, Minnesota. The match in St. Paul will be forward Carli Lloyd’s final game with the national team.
==========
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 and by 1 pm on weekends. This news summary is made possible by KPR listener-members. Become one today!