Schools, Government Offices Close, Start Late After Snow
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Schools, businesses and government offices in Kansas have closed or announced plans to start late after another round of snow. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning and winter weather advisory across northern and eastern parts of the state. The Kansas Department of Transportation says many roads in the state are partially or completely snow covered. Governor Laura Kelly issued a delayed start for non-essential employees in the Capitol's Shawnee County. The Wichita Eagle reports that Kingman-Norwich district canceled classes with a parody of the song "Let it Go" from Disney's movie "Frozen." Several other school districts also called off classes, including Lawrence, Topeka, Manhattan-Ogden, Atchison and Shawnee Mission. Emporia State University, the University of Kansas and Baker University announced plans to start late, as did the Fort Riley army base.
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Weather-Related Traffic Fatality Reported Near Manhattan
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Highway Patrol says 67-year-old Kansas woman died when she lost control of her vehicle because of snow and ice. The patrol says Ann Marie Lochner, of Manhattan, died early Wednesday when her Chevrolet Blazer left the road because of snowy conditions and overturned in a ravine. The accident occurred in a housing division east of Manhattan. The storm that dropped several inches of snow as it moved across Kansas on Tuesday and early Wednesday prompted schools, businesses and government offices to close or have late start times. Gov. Laura Kelly issued a delayed start for non-essential employees in the Capitol's Shawnee County. Several school districts, as well as Emporia State University, the University of Kansas and Baker University started late Wednesday, as did the Army's Fort Riley.
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GOP Resistance Means New Kansas Governor off to Rocky Start
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's election created a national buzz about a shift to the left in Kansas politics. But many Republicans remain unimpressed and feel little pressure to take up her big initiatives. The GOP-dominated Legislature has yet to have committee hearings on her plan to expand the state's Medicaid health coverage for the needy. It has ignored her call to approve an increase in public school funding by the end of this month. Top Republicans are pursuing a tax relief bill she considers fiscally reckless. Many Republican legislators treat Kelly's victory as a fluke. She won with 48 percent of the vote and her political strength was concentrated in relatively few populous counties. Conservative Republican state Rep. Brenda Landwehr of Wichita said: "She wasn't given a mandate."
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State Donates $10 Million in Unused Equipment to Kansas State
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The state has given Kansas State University $10 million in unused computer equipment that was bought in a failed effort to develop a centralized storage system for computer information. The university says in a news release that it will use the equipment for research, education and to assist with technology issues created after a fire last year in its main library. The state bought the equipment in 2016, but then decided the proposal to create a Kansas GovCloud storage system was too expensive. The unused computer equipment had been in storage for several years in the Docking State Office building as the state tried unsuccessfully to find buyers. The equipment recently was delivered to Kansas State, which plans to put it into use in coming months.
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Man Ordered to Stand Trial in Death of Woman in Shawnee
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A 48-year-old man who allegedly stabbed a woman to death and stuffed her body into a trash can was ordered to stand trial for intentional second-degree murder. Ronald Lee Kidwell is charged in the July 2018 death of 43-year-old MeShon Cooper, whose body was found at Kidwell's home. According to testimony, Kidwell told police he killed Cooper in a rage after she threatened to tell people he was HIV positive. Kidwell is white and Cooper was black. At the time of the killing, the FBI said it was investigating the case as a possible hate crime . An FBI spokeswoman told The Kansas City Star Tuesday that she had no update on the hate crime investigation. There was no testimony about it Tuesday.
Kidwell is jailed on $1 million bond.
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Man Sentenced for Wounding Teen Amid Fireworks Fray
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Lawrence man has been sentenced to 17 months in prison for shooting and wounding a 17-year-old girl as several people shot fireworks at him. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that 21-year-old Rashan Gill apologized at Tuesday's hearing, saying through tears that he "will never forget" what happened and that he could have killed the girl. In the early morning hours of July 5, 2018, he shot at a group of people who were firing Roman candle fireworks at him and his apartment. One of the shots hit the girl who was in the group's car. She suffered serious injuries but survived. After a judge rejected Gill's argument that he was justified in the shooting under Kansas' stand-your-ground law, he pleaded no contest in January to attempted aggravated battery.
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Kansas Governor Names Topeka Attorney as New Revenue Chief
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Govvernor Laura Kelly has named a Topeka attorney who has specialized in tax cases as her new acting secretary of revenue. Kelly announced Tuesday that Mark Burghart would lead the Department of Revenue. He replaces interim Secretary Mark Beshears, who took over the agency temporarily when the new Democratic governor took office last month. Burghart previously worked as a legislative researcher and as the Department of Revenue's chief counsel for seven years, starting in 1987. His appointment as secretary will require state Senate confirmation. Kelly also announced that two interim Cabinet secretaries plan to stay in their jobs. They are Julie Lorenz at the Department of Transportation and Lee Norman at the Department of Health and Environment. The governor is asking the Senate to confirm their appointments.
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Topeka Will Hire Civilian to Investigate Police Misconduct
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The city of Topeka will hire an independent police auditor who will help investigate reports of police misconduct. City manager Brent Trout announced Tuesday he had authorized creating the new position in his office. He said the person will be a civilian and report to him. The person will work with the police department's professional standards unit. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Trout found funds for the position by eliminating an existing job in his office for a senior executive aide, which was vacant. The person will be paid $71,500 a year. The city hasn't started the process of finding someone to fill the position.
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Kansas to Receive About $922,000 in Walgreens Settlement
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas will receive about $922,000 as its part of a national settlement with Walgreens concerning over-dispensing of insulin pens to Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. Attorney General Derek Schmidt's office said in a news release the settlement resolves allegations that Walgreens repeatedly dispensed more insulin than had been prescribed to patients. The company was accused of submitting false claims for reimbursement to Medicare and Medicaid. Schmidt said Walgreens agreed to pay the U.S. and states $209.2 million, with $89.1 million going to state Medicaid programs. Kansas will receive $922,126, which will be used to reimburse federal and state funds spent by the Kansas Medicaid program, and to recover the cost of the investigation that led to the settlement.
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Remains Identified as Chanute Woman Missing Since 2017
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas authorities say remains found last summer in Neosho County are those of a 39-year-old woman who has been missing since 2017. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said Wednesday that the remains were identified as Marissa Craft, who disappeared from her home in Chanute in December 2017. The remains were found in August in a Neosho County field. The KBI says Craft was last seen on December 15, 2017, when she left her mobile home with three men in a white Dodge pickup. The investigation of Craft's death is continuing.
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Lawrence Moves One Step Closer to Allowing Feral Cat Colonies
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Lawrence city leaders are moving closer to allowing feral cat colonies in the city. The City Commission on Tuesday approved a first reading of an ordinance change that would allow for a trap-neuter-release program for feral cats . The proposal from the Lawrence Humane Society would allow people to catch feral cats, which would then be neutered, vaccinated and returned to where they were first captured. The Lawrence Journal-World reports Assistant City Attorney Maria Garcia said the program would rely heavily on Lawrence volunteers. They would trap the cats, take them to a veterinarian to be neutered and vaccinated and then return them. The cats would have an ear clipped so they can be identified. The commission will vote on a second reading of the ordinance at a future meeting.
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Kansas Lawmakers Hear Testimony on Lowering Food Sales Tax
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers have begun hearing testimony on the possibility of lowering the state tax on food sales. During a hearing Monday before the House Taxation committee, food growers, small-town grocers and advocates for low-income families supported reducing the 6.5 percent state food sales tax rate by 1 percent. The reduction would lower state revenues by $60 million. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Rep. Tim Hodge, a North Newton Democrat, says the reduction would provide a little more money in families. And Oberlin city administrator Halley Roberson said her town is losing money because residents can buy food in nearby Nebraska , which doesn't tax food. John Donley, of the Kansas Farm Bureau, said the organization was concerned that lowering the sales tax on food would lead to efforts to lowering other taxes.
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Man Arrested in Drug-Related Shooting at Wichita Motel
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a man has been arrested in a deadly drug-related shooting outside a south Wichita motel. The Wichita Eagle reports that 34-year-old Justin Gaston was identified Tuesday as the victim. Thirty-one-year-old Christopher Daniel Kemmerly was booked into jail Monday on suspicion of first-degree murder in Gaston's Sunday night killing in the parking lot behind the Citi Host Motel. Kemmerly also was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence. Wichita police Capt. Brent Allred said Tuesday that Kemmerly, Gaston and a 34-year-old woman were all in a car that pulled into the motel parking lot on Sunday evening. An argument broke out over meth, and Gaston was shot. Kemmerly had past convictions for crimes that included aggravated arson, criminal use of explosives, criminal damage to property and a weapons violation.
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Ex-Convict Arrested in Connection with Wichita Killing
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — An ex-convict has been arrested in connection with a fatal shooting outside a Wichita motel. The Wichita Eagle reports that the 31-year-old suspect was arrested Monday night. It wasn't immediately clear if he was formally charged. The shooting happened Sunday night when a man in his 30s was shot behind the Citi Host Motel. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His name has not been released. Police at the scene said the victim and shooter were acquainted. The suspect was under state supervision for multiple crimes committed in Butler County, including aggravated arson, aggravated intimidation of a witness or victim, criminal use of explosives, criminal damage to property and a weapons violation. His sentence ended in November.
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Kansas City Zoo Polar Bear with Liver Cancer Euthanized
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Zoo officials say a polar bear at the zoo has been euthanized because she was suffering from liver cancer. The officials said in a written statement that the bear, Bam Bam, was euthanized Tuesday night after tests showed she had untreatable liver cancer. Zoo officials said Bam Bam, who was 31, was healthy until recently. Preliminary tests done this week showed her liver was failing and further tests confirmed the illness. The bear came to Kansas City last spring from Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, where she was born in November 1987. She joined Berlin, a 29-year-old female, in Kansas City.
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Overland Park Woman Sentenced for Theft; Must Pay Restitution to Jewish Group
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former treasurer has been sentenced for stealing from the Jewish Federation of Lincoln. Federal prosecutors say Jennifer Rosenblatt, of Overland Park, was sentenced Tuesday in Lincoln to six months in a residential re-entry center and six months of home confinement. She also was ordered to pay nearly $107,000 in restitution. Prosecutors say Rosenblatt, formerly of Lincoln, was treasurer of the federation from 2009 through June 2016. They say Rosenblatt made payments to her personal credit card accounts from funds in the federation's bank accounts.
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Washburn Professor Alleges School Retaliated Against Her
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Washburn professor says in a lawsuit that the university retaliated against her after she filed a sex discrimination complaint. Leslie Reynard, who teaches in the communication department, said in her lawsuit the retaliation began after she told her department chair in April 2018 that she intended to file a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Reynard said the university tried to place her on a performance improvement plan in September. She refused because she said the plan was used to find small mistakes that would allow the school to fire Reynard. In November, she filed a claim of retaliation. The lawsuit seeks back pay and damages. School spokesman Patrick Early said Tuesday the university's counsel wasn't aware of the lawsuit and wouldn't comment.
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Fouled Waters Reveal Lasting Legacy of U.S. Mining Industry
RIMINI, Mont. (AP) — Every day many millions of gallons of water loaded with toxic metals flow from some of the most contaminated mining sites in the U.S. and into surrounding lakes and streams without being treated. The Associated Press has found the torrent is poisoning aquatic life and tainting drinking water sources in Montana, California, Colorado, Oklahoma and at least five other states. The AP examined 43 mining sites under federal oversight using data from public records requests and independent researchers. The records show that at average flows, more than 50 million gallons of contaminated wastewater streams daily from the sites. In many cases, it runs untreated into nearby groundwater, rivers and ponds, a roughly 20-million-gallon daily dose of pollution that could fill more than 2,000 tanker trucks.
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University of Missouri Reports Tuberculosis Case on Campus
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The University of Missouri says a student has been diagnosed with active tuberculosis and left campus voluntarily. The school said in a news release that campus and local health officials are working to track down other people who might need testing. The school described the student as cooperative but declined to release the student's condition or other details, citing student privacy laws. Tuberculosis is a serious disease that usually affects the lungs and can be deadly if not treated. In developed countries, it has largely been brought under control. But it's a major scourge in less affluent places. Symptoms include persistent coughing, weight loss and fatigue.
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Failing Payless to Honor Gift Cards, Store Credit into March
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The failing Payless ShoeSource chain will honor gift cards and store credit until March 11 as the company liquidates all operations. The Topeka, Kansas, company, which filed for bankruptcy protection this week, will allow returns and exchanges of non-final sale items through the end of this month for goods bought before February 17. Payless said Wednesday that it received court approval to support the orderly closing of about 2,500 stores in the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada, as well as its e-commerce business. It also received authorization to pay employee wages and benefits, as well as claims from critical vendors. Retail operations outside of North America, including company-owned stores in Latin America, are separate entities and are not included in the bankruptcy filing.
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Q&A: What Payless Shoppers Need to Know
NEW YORK (AP) — Payless ShoeSource, the shoe store chain famous for its buy-one-get-one half-off sales, is going out of business. The company filed for bankruptcy protection this week, and said it will close all its 2,500 North American stores. That gives customers a limited time to use gift cards, or make a return. Here's what shoppers need to know:
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WHEN WILL STORES CLOSE?
Payless says it will start closing up stores at the end of March, but that most stores in North America will stay open until the end of May. Its 420 stores in Latin America, as well as 370 stores in the Middle East, India and other international locations, will remain open and continue to operate as usual.
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IS PAYLESS HAVING A GOING-OUT-OF-BUSINESS SALE?
Yes, Payless is currently advertising 20 percent to 40 percent off its products.
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CAN I STILL SHOP ON PAYLESS.COM?
No, the company stopped taking online orders last week. But it says some products are available on Amazon.com.
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CAN I USE MY PAYLESS GIFT CARD OR STORE CREDIT?
Yes, but only until March 11.
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CAN I RETURN PURCHASES?
For purchases that were made 60 days before February 19, the company says it will allow returns until March 1. Anything bought after February 19 can't be returned.
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I HAVE A PAYLESS COUPON, CAN I STILL USE IT?
No, the stores are no longer accepting coupons and its rewards program has ended.
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