Magnitude 4.3 Earthquake Rattles Central Kansas
GYPSUM, Kan. (AP) — Officials say a moderate earthquake shook parts of central Kansas Wednesday as residents were starting their day. The U.S. Geological Survey says a magnitude 4.3 earthquake was recorded around 7:45 am, with the epicenter just southwest of Gypsum in Saline County. The survey says the quake hit at a depth of 1.86 miles. Residents in Salina and as far away as Arkansas City in southeastern Kansas reported feeling the quake. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
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UPDATE: Kansas Reports More than 4,400 New COVID-19 Cases, 25 More Deaths, Since Monday
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Kansas health officials have recorded 4,443 new COVID-19 cases and 25 new, virus-related deaths since Monday. In all, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment has recorded 482,232 cases of COVID-19 and 6,768 deaths from the virus since the start of the pandemic. Another update is expected Friday afternoon.
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Kansas Universities Pause COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate for Employees
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Officials with the three largest universities in Kansas say they will pause efforts to require employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The University of Kansas, Kansas State University and Wichita State cited a federal judge's ruling on Tuesday that blocked implementation of a directive from President Joe Biden requiring federal contractors to be immunized. The universities announced in October that they would comply with the president's mandate because the schools receive millions of dollars in federal research grants. University officials said Tuesday they would halt their vaccination efforts while awaiting further guidance.
Missouri AG Demands an End to Local COVID Mandates
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt is warning school districts and local public health departments that he will take legal action if they do not stop enforcing COVID-19 related health orders such as mask mandates and quarantine rules. In letters sent Tuesday, Schmitt cited a Cole County judge’s ruling last month that said health orders issued by local authorities under state health regulations were “null and void.” Schmitt also said his office has advised local public health authorities and school districts to stop enforcing or publicizing any COVID-19 health orders immediately because state law doesn’t give them the authority to issue such orders.
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Private Prison in Leavenworth About to Become Empty
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (Midwest Newsroom) - A private prison in Leavenworth is about to empty out as its contract with the government to hold federal prisoners who await trial ends this month. But questions still swirl about what will happen to the private prison in the future. CoreCivic has operated the facility in Leavenworth under a government contract to lock up federal defendants awaiting trial or sentencing. But that contract expires this month after President Biden issued an executive order telling the Justice Department to stop doing business with private prisons. The Leavenworth facility has a reputation for poor and unsafe conditions. Prisoners there will now move to the government-run prison in Leavenworth. Federal immigration officials declined to say whether the emptied prison will be used to house immigration detainees, a rumor that cropped up earlier this year. But two lawyers familiar with the situation say it appears unlikely the Leavenworth prison will end up holding immigration detainees. ( Read more.)
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Kansas Considers Alternatives to Future Highway Funding
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - The increasing number of hybrid and electric vehicles on the road is prompting Kansas transportation officials to look for new ways to fund the state’s highways. With gas tax revenues dropping, the Kansas Department of Transportation is exploring the feasibility of taxing drivers based on how much they drive. KDOT Secretary Julie Lorenz says the agency is starting with a public survey. That information will then be used to shape a study of potential options before officials take action. “There is nothing about this that’s set. I don’t want anybody to be worried about it. It’s a study and a conversation," she said. Lorenz says one of the biggest questions is how to design a system that’s fair to rural drivers who often have to travel long distances for essential services. The current Kansas gas tax of 24 cents-a-gallon gas generates about a quarter of the money needed to maintain and expand the state’s sprawling road system. Sales taxes generate most of the rest. But by 2045, gas-tax revenues will barely cover 10% of road costs. Lorenz says it will likely be a couple of years before any changes are made.
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Authorities: Deputy Fatally Shot Man in Blue Springs Standoff
BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri State Highway Patrol says a man suspected of firing gunshots into a suburban Kansas City home before a standoff with police was fatally shot by a Jackson County sheriff's deputy. The Kansas City Star reports that the shooting happened Monday night after deputies were called to a rural Blue Springs home, where the occupants reported that a man outside was firing shots into the house. Patrol Sgt. Bill Lowe says law enforcement responded, and the man later rammed his vehicle into a SWAT team armored truck and brandished a rifle. Lowe says a Jackson County deputy then fired a single shot that killed the man, later identified as 48-year-old Douglas Halphin of Blue Springs.
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Kansas Highway Patrol: Woman Who Ran to Help Crash Victim Fatally Hit
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - The Kansas Highway Patrol says an Alaska woman who got out of her vehicle to try to help at the scene of a rollover crash in northeastern Kansas died after she was hit by a semitrailer. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the crash happened Sunday afternoon on Interstate 70 in western Shawnee County. Investigators say 21-year-old Autumn Johnson, of Wasilla, Alaska, was westbound on the interstate when she pulled over on the right shoulder near the crash scene, ran through traffic toward a car crashed in the grassy median and was hit by the semi. The 37-year-old man driving the semi said he was unable to stop or switch lanes because of traffic.
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Kansas City Police: 3 Men Shot in Westport; 1 Later Dies
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police in Kansas City are looking for a shooter or shooters after three men were shot in the city's Westport Entertainment District early Monday, and one later died at a hospital. Police say officers working off-duty in the district heard multiple gunshots fired just after 2:30 am Monday. Within seconds, a man ran up to the officers saying he had been shot. Other officers found a second victim around the same time, and medics rushed the man to a hospital. Police say a third man who had been shot during the same incident was taken to a hospital by a private car. Police say one of the victims died a short time later from his injuries.
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Former Missouri Police Chief Gets Probation for Hitting Father Who Tried to Drown Infant Daughter
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former Missouri police chief has been sentenced to five years of probation for striking a man who tried to drown his infant daughter in a pond. A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced 52-year-old Greg Hallgrimson, who was police chief in Greenwood. Hallgrimson pleaded guilty in August to violating the civil rights of Jonathon Zicarelli, who walked into the Greenwood Police Department in December 2018 and said he had just drowned his daughter in a pond. Hallgrimson and another officer rushed to the pond and pulled the unconscious child from the water. She was treated for severe hypothermia. Prosecutors alleged Hallgrimson returned to the station and threw Zicarelli to the ground and hit him. Zicarelli pleaded guilty in August to felony child abuse.
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Police ID Teen Fatally Shot at Kansas City, Kansas, Party
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police have identified a person killed in a shooting at a party in Kansas City, Kansas, last week as a 16-year-old high school student. Police say Hugo Hernandez-Vasquez died at a hospital following the Friday night shooting in the city's Shawnee Heights neighborhood that also injured several others. Police say an 18-year-old woman at the party, Ximena Acevas-Vargas, later died of traumatic injuries that were not associated with the shooting, but did not give more details about how she died. Police continue to investigate both deaths, and no arrests have been reported.
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President Joe Biden Scheduled to Visit Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — President Joe Biden will visit Kansas City today (WED) to promote the recently passed infrastructure law. It's Biden's first visit to Kansas City as president. He did visit the area in March 2020 as he campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination. Biden signed the $1 trillion infrastructure bill on November 15. It contains money for roads, bridges, broadband, water systems and a shift to electrical vehicles.
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Kansas Attorney General: State Will Get Nearly $28 Million in Settlement with Centene Corporation
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt says the state will get nearly $28 million from a legal settlement with the company that manages prescription costs for the Kansas Medicaid program. Schmidt says the settlement with St. Louis-based Centene Corporation came after an investigation of nearly two years into whether the firm had overcharged Medicaid for prescriptions. Kansas settled with Centene before filing a lawsuit. The company denied wrongdoing and called the settlement a "no-fault agreement." States across the U.S. have been investigating companies known as pharmacy benefit managers, and Mississippi and Ohio in June settled lawsuits against Centene for a total of nearly $144 million. ( Read more.)
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KCC Approves Plan to Speed Transition to Electric Vehicles
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas regulators have approved a plan that could help speed the transition to electric vehicles. State regulators say they will allow electric utility Evergy to begin offering up to a $500 rebate to people who install a 240-volt outlet in their home to more quickly charge electric vehicles. The five-year program will start next year. But regulators denied a request to expand Evergy’s EV charging network and include the costs in everyone’s bills. Regulators said Evergy is free to use investor profits to expand their network and that it might allow the costs to be passed on to all customers in some cases. For example, if Evergy built chargers in areas underserved by private charging companies.
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Missouri Effort Launched to Put Legal Marijuana to Vote
UNDATED (AP) - Leaders of a group working to legalize marijuana for adult use in Missouri say they believe the measure will pass if they collect enough signatures to get the issue on next year’s ballot. Legal Missouri 2022 launched its initiative petition campaign last week in St. Louis. If voters approve the measure, anyone 21 or older could buy marijuana for any reason. Currently Missouri allows marijuana use only for medical reasons. John Payne, campaign manager for Legal Missouri 2022, noted that Missouri residents passed the medical marijuana initiative with close to 66% of the vote in 2018. The campaign must get about 170,000 valid signatures in six of the state’s eight congressional districts to place the initiative on the ballot.
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Kansas GOP Secretary of State Draws Primary Challenger
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (KNS) - Former Johnson County commissioner Mike Brown is challenging Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab in the Republican primary and he's staking his campaign on election security. Brown accused current Secretary of State Schwab of being lax when it comes to voter security, despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Kansas. Schwab supports Kansas voter ID laws and worked to provide in-person voting options during the pandemic. A statement from his campaign team says those actions have made Kansas elections secure. Brown attracted controversy when he was a county commissioner. Last year during social justice protests, he urged people on social media to buy guns and prepare for what he called a coming war.
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Salvation Army Hopes to Generate Donations from KU, Mizzou Rivalry
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) - As the University of Kansas and the University of Missouri prepare to meet Saturday on the court for the first regular-season matchup between the two schools in nearly a decade, The Salvation Army locations in Lawrence and Columbia, Missouri, are set to face off too. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the generosity of the two fan bases will be put to the test Friday through Sunday as part of The Salvation Army’s annual Red Kettle holiday campaign. Fans will be able to donate at any Red Kettle in Lawrence or online in the corps’ Virtual Red Kettle. “We know Kansas fans want nothing more than to beat Missouri at every opportunity,” said Captain Curtis Lunnam, corps officer of the Douglas County Salvation Army. “We’re rooting for a victory at Allen Field House and a victory at the kettles this weekend, because every dollar donated keeps hope marching on for families in need in our community.” The KU athletic department will join the competition with the return of Rock Chalk Ring Day with student athletes manning kettles across Lawrence the entire day on Friday. The Salvation Army will accept donations at 10 Red Kettle sites and at The Salvation Army location (946 New Hampshire St.) in downtown Lawrence.
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Kansas Statewide Virtual Job Fair Goes Live December 8 & 9
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) – The state of Kansas is hosting another statewide virtual job fair, December 8 and 9. Kansans seeking employment opportunities are encouraged to participate starting at 8 am Wednesday, December 8 and ending at 5 pm on Thursday. The event will give job seekers the opportunity to meet virtually with multiple businesses. Candidates will be able to upload their resumes to their Virtual Job Fair account as well as live chat and conduct interviews through any digital device such as a computer, tablet or mobile phone.
Click here to register for the Virtual Job Fair.
Kansas has conducted 11 virtual job fairs since the first one in 2020. Hundreds of employers and registered job seekers participated in each online job fair. The next scheduled statewide virtual job fair in Kansas is set for February 16 and 17. Kansas officials encourage job seekers to visit KANSASWORKS.com and jobs.ks.gov.
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UPDATE: Bob Dole Honored with Events in DC, His Hometown and Kansas Capital
UNDATED (AP) - Bob Dole will be honored Friday in a private memorial service with President Joe Biden in attendance and a public service at the World War II Memorial in Washington. Those events will come before the casket of the former presidential candidate and decorated soldier travels to Kansas for events in his hometown and the state capital. Dole’s casket will lie in state Thursday at the U.S. Capitol. The Dole Institute of Politics says Biden will join former presidents, congressional leaders, friends and the Dole family for the private service Friday morning at Washington National Cathedral. A public memorial service is set for Saturday morning in Dole’s hometown of Russell, Kansas, and followed by a private afternoon ceremony at the Kansas Statehouse.
(Earlier and additioal reporting...)
Bob Dole to Lie in State at the Nation's Capitol Thursday
UNDATED (KPR) - Former Kansas Senator Bob Dole will lie in state this Thursday at the nation's capitol. The Republican statesman died Sunday morning at the age of 98. Local memorial services for Dole have not yet been announced, but the man from Russell will be honored at the U.S. Capitol. The ceremony is not open to the public. Dole spent decades representing Kansas in both the House and Senate. The World War II veteran was also the 1996 Republican nominee for president. Dole was a leader known for his caustic wit, which he often turned on himself but didn't hesitate to turn on others, too. He shaped tax and foreign policy and worked vigorously to help the disabled, enshrining protections against discrimination in employment, education and public services in the Americans with Disabilities Act. ( Read more.)
Listen to KPR's Kaye McIntyre's remembrance of Bob Dole.
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Toys for Tots in Need of 20,000 More Toys this Holiday Season
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (KPR) - Toy drive organizers in Overland Park are in need of 20,000 more toys this holiday season. The Marine Toys for Tots Foundation and Overland Park Convention Center are requesting community assistance to address the local toy shortage. Organizers say they are trying to provide toys to more than 56,000 area children who are in need this holiday season. To donate, guests are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy for donation and drop it off at the Overland Park Convention Center through December 16. “Based off our numbers, it looks like we’ll be falling short by about 20,000 toys this year — that’s 20,000 kids who won’t get a Christmas if we’re not able to produce,” said SSgt. Warren Ory, Marine and local Toys for Tots campaign coordinator. “We are looking to the community for help. If you could find it in your hearts to donate, we are really in need for ages 0-2 and 11 plus.” Last year, the local Toys for Tots served more than 34,000 children in the greater Kansas City area. The Overland Park Convention Center will once again serve as the largest donation site for the area Toys for Tots drive.
Toys for Tots assists children up to age 16. Items to consider for pre-teens and teens include, but are not limited to, sporting equipment, bags, balls, books, backpacks, cosmetics, purses, watch/wallet gift sets, bath gift sets, board games, radio control cars and trucks, hand-held electronics, skateboards/helmets, curling irons, hair straighteners, and hair dryers.
The Overland Park Convention Center will be open for public donations Monday through Friday, 8 am to 5 pm. Due to COVID-19, guests are asked to drop items off at the security entrance located on the east side of the convention center off Woodson Rd. (Directional signage is provided.)
Learn more at opconventioncenter.com/toys-for-tots or by calling 913.339.3000.
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Some Kansas Communities Get High Marks for Inclusivity
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) - Municipalities across Kansas have improved their inclusivity ratings this year. That's according to the Human Rights Campaign. The campaign describes itself as the largest LGBTQ advocacy and lobbying group in the United States. Kate Oakley is the group’s legislative director. She says the improvement is due in part to the state updating its sex discrimination laws to align with a recent Supreme Court ruling. “That has made the non-discirmination protections for Kansans significantly more rigorous. So that makes a big difference in the scorecard and also of course makes a big difference in people’s lives knowing that they have recourse if they’ve been discriminated against," she said. The "inclusivity rating" scores cities on a scale of 100 every year by analyzing municipal laws and policies for LGBTQ-plus individuals. This year, Topeka and Overland Park tied for having the most inclusive policies with a score of 93.
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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. This news summary is made possible by KPR listener-members. Become one today!