Governor Orders Kansans to Stay Home
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has issued a statewide order for people to stay at home as part the effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Kelly issued the stay-at-home order for the state's roughly 2.9 million residents after local officials in Kansas' most populous counties issued their own versions within the past week. More than 2.1 million residents were already under or facing stay-at-home orders. Kansas has had 261 cases of the virus, including five people who died. Kansas is now one of nearly two dozen states to issue stay-at-home orders. The Kansas order is starting Monday. It lasts through April 19th.
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Kansas Firefighters Battling Wildfires in Barber County
MEDICINE LODGE, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas National Guard has sent two helicopters to help local firefighters battle wildfires burning about 20 miles southwest of Medicine Lodge in Barber County. The agency says in a news release that the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from the Kansas National Guard's 1st Battalion, 108th Aviation out of Salina are equipped with collapsible 660-gallon water buckets. The Kansas Forest Service has also deployed an air tanker to make water drops. Governor Laura Kelly has issued a disaster declaration for the fires.
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Man Found Dead in Sedgwick County Ditch
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A homicide investigation is under way in Sedgwick County after a man in his 20s was found in a ditch. The Wichita Eagle reports that the victim was found Friday morning near Valley Center after authorities received a call about a vehicle parked in the road. Deputies found an unoccupied Dodge pickup and the man unresponsive in a nearby ditch. The Sedgwick County Fire Department pronounced the man dead at the scene. The victim's name has not been released.
