U.S. Census: Gap Grows Between Haves and Have-Nots in Kansas, Other Heartland States
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The gap between the haves and have-nots in the United States grew last year. The U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday that an index that measures income inequality in the U.S. increased from 2017 to 2018. The increase in income inequality comes as two Democratic presidential candidates, U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, are pitching a "wealth tax" on the nation's richest citizens as a way to reduce wealth disparities. States that had statistically significant gains in inequality last year included Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, New Mexico, Alabama, Arkansas, California, New Hampshire and Virginia. The data released Thursday comes from the bureau's American Community Survey program.
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Kansas Congresswoman Sharice Davids Backs "First Step" Toward Impeaching Donald Trump
WASHINGTON (AP) — Kansas Democratic Congresswoman Sharice Davids is supporting what she is calling a "first step" toward impeaching President Donald Trump. The freshman House member issued a statement Wednesday saying the House had "no other option" than to open an inquiry. She cited a rough transcript released by the White House of a call this summer between Trump and Ukraine's president showing that Trump prodded the Ukrainian leader to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi launched the formal impeachment inquiry Tuesday and Davids initially expressed support for an inquiry without using the word impeachment. Davids represents a GOP-leaning Kansas City-area district. Davids said the transcript of the call "clearly" shows that Trump "abused his power" for political gain. Many Republicans are rejecting that assessment.
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Kansas Congressman Roger Marshall: New Japan Trade Deal Will Help State's Farmers
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW TV) -- Kansas Congressman Roger Marshall says a trade agreement signed Wednesday could mean big things for Kansas agriculture, according to a report from WIBW TV. President Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced the deal in New York. It opens Japanese markets to $7 billion worth of U.S. products and eliminates Japanese tariffs on U.S. agricultural imports. In exchange, the U.S. will reduce or eliminate tariffs on certain Japanese goods, including bikes and musical instruments. The President invited Kansas 1st District Congressman Roger Marshall to attend the ceremony. Marshall says the agreement levels the playing field for Kansas farmers and ranchers and builds on the state's relationship with the country. Japan is America's top market for wheat, beef, and pork. The Asian country is also the No. 3 export market for Kansas and purchased more than $1 billion in Kansas goods in 2018.
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Indictment: Soldier in Bomb Plot Wanted to Set Fire to Home
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A federal grand jury in Kansas has indicted an Army soldier on charges that he distributed explosives information and threatened to set fire to a home. The indictment charged Jarrett William Smith with two counts related to the explosives and one count linked to trying to gain entry to a home and injure someone listed only as D.H. The indictment alleges he made the threat from Kansas to Michigan. The 24-year-old private first class and infantry soldier from South Carolina is stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas. He was initially charged in a criminal complaint on Monday. He remains in custody pending a detention hearing Thursday afternoon. His defense attorney, Rich Federico, declined to comment. An FBI affidavit filed in support of the initial charges alleged Smith discussed his plan to kill far-left-leaning "antifa" activists and described how to build a bomb that could be triggered by calling a cellphone. It accuses him of posting on Facebook that he was interested in traveling to Ukraine to fight with a paramilitary group known as Azov Batallion. That affidavit had also alleged Smith suggested targeting an unidentified major news network with a car bomb. Smith has been assigned to Fort Riley since June after serving at Fort Bliss, Texas, beginning in November 2017. He entered the Army from Conway, South Carolina, as an infantryman and completed training at Fort Benning, Georgia. He has not deployed. Television station WPDE reported that when Smith was a 15-year-old student, he appeared on the "hit list" of another teenager who tried in September 2010 to blow up a high school in Socastee, South Carolina. The indictment makes no reference to that incident. The station reported that Christian Helms, then 14, brought a gun and other weapons to the school, firing a shot at the school resource officer. Helms had also brought pipe bombs to the school in his backpack and had a list of 13 students who were his intended targets. Smith was among them. WPDE-TV released a video interview recorded in 2011 in which they interviewed Smith and his father after Helms was sentenced to six years. The station said that Smith said he was often bullied at school because of his cleft lip. His father, Chris Smith, told the station that the teenager who targeted his son idolized the two killers in the Columbine high school attack in 1999.
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Prosecutor: 'Satanist' Soldier Sought Overthrow
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A prosecutor says an Army soldier charged with distributing information about making explosives online is a Satanist who wanted to overthrow the U.S. government. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Mattivi said during a federal court hearing Thursday in Kansas that 24-year-old Jarrett William Smith had a specific plan to overthrow the government and told the FBI he was distributing information on explosives "for the glory of his Satanist religion." But an attorney for Smith said he is only an internet "troll" who was "spouting off online" and sharing widely available information. Smith pleaded not guilty to two federal charges of distributing explosives information and a third alleging he threatened to set fire to the home owned by a far-left-leaning "antifa" member. A federal magistrate ordered him detained until his trial.
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Report: Kansas Youth Suicides Rose by 50% in One Year
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – A report released by the Kansas State Child Death Review Board shows that the number of suicides among children in Kansas rose by 50% from 2016 to 2017. There were 20 Kansas youth who committed suicide in 2016, and the year following, the number rose to 32. KSNT TV reports that these numbers show a continuing upward trend of youth suicides in the past decade. “I appreciate the dedicated work of the State Child Death Review Board in compiling this information to help inform policymakers on steps to help prevent deaths of Kansas children,” Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said. “The continued rise in youth suicides depicted in the report is alarming, and the Legislature showed considerable foresight earlier this year in establishing a more-comprehensive state response.” The state of Kansas has been working to reduce this number. In June of 2018, the Youth Suicide Prevention Task Force was formed to survey efforts underway in Kansas to reduce the incidence of youth suicide and provide recommendations on further steps that could be taken. The task force made a number of recommendations, some of which were adopted by the Legislature as they passed House Bill 2290. This bill created the Kansas Youth Suicide Prevention Coordinator to implement recommendations of the task force, a role currently filled by Gina Meier-Hummel. “Every time a child takes his or her own life it is heartbreaking, and this report underscores the need to collectively address the pain Kansas youth, families and communities are feeling,” Meier-Hummel said. The State Child Death Review Board’s 2019 annual report analyzes all child deaths that occurred in 2017, the most recent year for which data is available. Those included in the report are deaths of children from birth to the age of 17.
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New Commemorative Plaque Approved for Kansas Capitol
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A state committee has agreed to replace a plaque commemorating the completion of the Kansas Capitol renovation that named only former Gov. Sam Brownback with a plaque bearing the names of four governors involved in the project. The original plaque was installed during a dedication ceremony in 2014 after the $325 million project was completed. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the renovation project began in 1999 and ended in 2014, when Brownback was governor. The new privately-financed plaque approved by the Capitol Preservation Committee will include the names of Govs. Bill Graves, Kathleen Sebelius, Mark Parkinson and Brownback. It also names the contractor, architects and the former director of legislative administrative services. Senate Majority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat, said he pushed for the new plaque because the original was not inclusive.
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Topeka Man Pleads Not Guilty in Shooting of Washburn Players
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A man charged in the shooting death of a former Washburn University football player and the wounding of current New York Giants cornerback Corey Ballentine has pleaded not guilty. The pleas were entered Thursday on behalf of 18-year-old Francisco Mendez, who faces 12 charges after the April 28 shooting that killed Dwane Simmons. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Mendez is charged with first-degree murder, four counts of attempted murder and seven counts of aggravated robbery. Simmons, Ballentine and three other Washburn players were shot at as they celebrated after Ballentine was drafted by the Giants earlier in the day. The robbery charges stem from crimes prosecutors say were committed before and after the shooting. Investigators have said at least three guns were used in the shooting and the investigation is continuing.
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Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Assault in Kansas Welfare Office
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A man has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a 13-year-old old while the two were staying overnight at a Kansas child welfare office. Twenty-year-old Michael Hamer accepted a plea deal Thursday to two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. The second charge of indecent liberties with a child was added in exchange for prosecutors dropping a rape charge. Prosecutors said Hamer assaulted the girl in May 2018 while they were both in the foster system and spending the night at a KVC Health Systems office in Olathe. The Kansas City Star reports the girl was sleeping in the conference room when Hamer assaulted her. The social worker who was supervising them is no longer working for KVC. Hamer's sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 22.
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New Use Found for Closed St. John Military School Campus
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A Salina-based nonprofit that provides child welfare and adult services plans to merge with the former St. John's Military School, which closed in May after years of litigation over its supervision of cadets. Saint Francis Ministries, an Episcopalian organization, announced Thursday that it will lead a collaboration to establish future uses for the nearly 40-acre campus in north Salina. The Salina Journal reports the campus name has been changed to St. John's Ministries and School. The Rev. Bobby Smith, dean and CEO of Saint Francis Ministries, says initial plans include working with the business and educational leaders to possibly develop a career-technical program for young people. St. John's Military School cited the litigation, as well as declining enrollment, when it announced it would close the school after 131 years.
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Riley County Man's Trial in Child's Death Ends in Hung Jury
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — The trial of a Kansas man charged in an infant's death ended in a hung jury. The jury on Tuesday could not reach a unanimous verdict in the first-degree murder and child abuse trial of D'Khari Lyons of Manhattan. Lyons was charged after 2½-month-old Michael Calver Jr. died in November 2018 while Lyons was watching him. The Manhattan Mercury reports when Michael's mother returned home, the boy was having trouble breathing and was bruised. He died three days later at a Kansas City hospital. Officials ruled Michael died from head trauma after sustaining severe internal injuries. Prosecutors alleged Lyons hurt the child to stop him from crying. Lyons testified he wouldn't hurt a child and didn't know what caused Michael's injuries. Judge Meryl Wilson set a hearing for October 7 to determine how to proceed.
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U.S. Soldiers from Texas Replacing Fort Riley Troops in Lithuania
VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Lithuania's defense minister says more than 500 U.S. soldiers are set to arrive in the Baltic nation next month to help strengthen NATO's position against Russia's military presence in the region. Raimundas Karoblis said the battalion-sized unit equipped with tanks and other military vehicles is being deployed as part of a U.S. initiative that keeps 6,000 troops on 9-month rotations in Europe. Karoblis called the deployment in Lithuania "good and awaited news" and U.S. troops "a vital factor of deterrence." The unit from the U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry Division, based at Fort Hood, Texas, will replace one from the 1st Infantry Division based at Fort Riley, Kansas. Soldiers assigned to the Defense Department's operation Atlantic Resolve conduct training exercises across 17 nations.
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Western Missouri Man Charged with Setting Grass Fires in California
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say a Jackson County, Missouri, man is suspected of flying to California and lighting multiple fires by throwing flaming pieces paper from his rental car onto grassy foothills in the San Francisco Bay Area. The East Bay Times reports Wednesday that Freddie Graham allegedly ignited more than a dozen fires in a 24-hour span last weekend near Milpitas. Santa Clara County prosecutors say the 68-year-old was arrested while returning the car at San Jose airport thanks to a witness who wrote down the license plate. It wasn't immediately known if he has an attorney. Graham, of Lone Jack, Missouri, has been arraigned on 15 arson-related charges. He's held on $500,000 bail. Graham has no connection to California and it's not known why he started the fires or why he targeted the Bay Area.
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Feds Accuse Sprint of Taking Millions in Subsidies but Failing to Provide Services
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — The federal government has accused Sprint Corporation of failing to provide service to low-income subscribers after accepting millions of dollars in subsidies to do so. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai said Tuesday he's asked the agency's enforcement bureau to investigate. KCUR Radio reports Sprint said it had used government funds to provide monthly subsidies for about 885,000 subscribers to the program, called Lifeline. Under the program, low-income consumers are given a $9.25 monthly subsidy toward phone and broadband service. FCC spokesman Mark Wigfield said it's unclear how much money Sprint received for the program. But Sprint collected at least $8.2 million a month for some period of time. Sprint said in a statement that it made an error in July 2017 while implementing changes to the Lifeline program that the FCC had approved. Sprint said it would reimburse federal and state governments for subsidy payments collected because of the error.
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Emporia Couple Gives $1 Million to KU School of Medicine in Wichita
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — An Emporia couple has committed $1 million to the internal medicine program at the University of Kansas School of Medicine in Wichita. The university on Wednesday announced the gift from Scott and Julie Smiley. The money will be divided into three funds. One will benefit the Department of Internal Medicine, another will support residents in the internal medicine program, and the third will fund student scholarships, with preference given to students interested in internal medicine. Scott Smiley, a native of Newton who graduated from the school of medicine in Wichita, is a physician in Emporia. Julie Smiley is a veterinarian who also practices in Emporia.
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Couple to Reopen Kansas Cafe Closed by Flash Flooding
DURHAM, Kan. (AP) — A couple has decided to reopen a tiny central Kansas cafe that closed after suffering extensive damage in Fourth of July flash flooding. The Wichita Eagle reports that the restaurant, called Main Street Cafe, was among one of many businesses and homes inundated in the Marion County town of Durham after a thunderstorm. The owners said at the time that they hoped someone younger will step in and reopen the cafe. Enter Mark and Kris Wiebe, who had been setting up a booth they called Homemade Anytime at farmers markets around the area for about 17 years. Mark Wiebe says a small town loses its "social meeting place when a cafe like that closes." Durham has around 110 residents and is located about 55 miles north of Wichita.
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Hutchinson Bicyclist Sues City and Police Officer Who Stopped Him
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — A Hutchinson man is suing the city and a police officer after he was stopped while riding a bicycle and subsequently spent time in jail for a drug conviction that was later overturned. The Wichita Eagle reports Jon Heter was stopped in November 2016 for not having a headlight on his bike. When Heter gave a false name to the officer and refused to give his birthday, officer Josh Long arrested him. Long later discovered Heter had an outstanding warrant and also found methamphetamine in a container on the bike. Heter was convicted of drug charges and spent three months in prison before the conviction was overturned. In a lawsuit filed Monday, Heter argues his constitutional rights were violated and the arrest was unlawful. Heter is seeking more than $75,000 in damages.
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Kansas Wesleyan Nursing Center Campaign Closer to Goal
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A new $250,000 grant brought Kansas Wesleyan's efforts to establish a new Nursing Education Center less than $1 million from its goal. The Dane G. Hansen Foundation announced the grant Tuesday to the fundraising effort. So far, the project has attracted $3.75 million. The Salina Journal reports the center will be built in a renovated 13,400-square-foot building donated by the Salina Regional Health Center. The Dane G. Hansen Foundation, based in Logan, was established in 1965 through an estate donation from Dane Hansen. It awards grants and scholarships every year to qualified recipients in northwest Kansas who demonstrate a strong desire for community improvement.
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Longtime Shelter Dog Finds Home After Man Rooms with Her
MERRIAM, Kan. (AP) — A dog that spent more than 400 days at a suburban Kansas City animal shelter has found a home after a man moved into a kennel with the terrier mix and posted videos of the experience on Facebook. Staff with the Great Plains SPCA shelter in Merriam cheered as the 3-year-old dog, named Queen, left the shelter with her new owner, Tony Puluso. He told KMBC-TV that Queen is a "perfectly sweet dog." He said he didn't even know she was at the center of a viral campaign to find her a home. The man behind the campaign was Scott Poore, of Mission Driven Goods, which creates fundraisers for shelters. He moved in with Queen on September 18, bringing with him a laptop, desk and a small twin mattress.
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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.
