Delta Variant Appears to Plateau but Kansas Hospitals Overwhelmed
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — A rapid surge in the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Kansas has plateaued in recent weeks, but it’s still at a level that’s overwhelming hospitals. With the delta variant spreading this summer, the daily count of COVID inpatients quickly shot up from fewer than 200 to more than 800 people. Since mid-August, daily inpatient numbers have stayed in the mid-700s to low-800s. Hospitals are struggling to take in all those patients. Marci Nielsen, Governor's Laura Kelly's chief advisor on the pandemic, said, "the fact that we still have so many ICUs full is very concerning.” Health care workers are exhausted and burned out.” The number of newly identified COVID cases in Kansas has fallen for two weeks in a row, but fewer people are getting tested, so it’s not clear if the delta surge is slowing.
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Lenient Johnson County School District Sees High COVID-19 Rates
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — Johnson County health officials say they are concerned about a high COVID-19 infection rate in the Spring Hill district, which is the only school district in the county that doesn't require masks for all grade levels. Health department data shows Johnson County schools are averaging an incidence rate of about 3 cases per 1,000 students since August 15. Spring Hill's rate was more than 15 per 1,000 students this month. Spring Hill requires masks only for younger students but also allows parents to sign exemption forms. The district says it is monitoring the situation but doesn't currently plan to change its protocols.
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Parents, Student in Blue Valley School District Agree to Dismiss Their Lawsuit Challenging Mask Mandate
JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan. (KCUR) - A Blue Valley parent and middle school student have agreed to dismiss their lawsuit challenging the Johnson County Board of Commissioners’ mask mandate in some schools, even as a separate legal challenge is still pending. The lawsuit, filed two weeks ago, alleged the board’s order, which lasts through the end of the school year, is too long. Ryan A. Kriegshauser, the lawyer who filed it, said he dropped the suit because of the risk of the minor child being "subjected to vitriol, rumors, and innuendo from bad actors." The board of commissioners issued its health order in August. It mandates face masks in public and private schools up to the sixth grade. Still pending is another lawsuit filed earlier this month that also challenges the school mask order as an “unconstitutional exercise of governmental power.”
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Kansas Passed on Plan to Upgrade Unemployment System; Decision May Have Led to $700 Million in Fraudulent Claims
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Five years ago, a software company urged Kansas to upgrade its computer system for handling claims for unemployment benefits, but the state didn’t heed that advice. Then, a flood of fraudulent claims came in during the coronavirus pandemic. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Oracle proposed in 2015 that the Kansas Department of Labor do the upgrade to prevent fraud. Department leaders in then-Republican Governor Sam Brownback's administration concluded much of an upgrade could be handled in-house. An IT architect who worked on a Department of Labor modernization project , which was canceled in 2011, said accepting Oracle’s proposal would have minimized fraud. A recent audit suggests the state may have paid $700 million to fraudsters during the pandemic.
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Injured Ex-Cop Now Attorney Running for Kansas Attorney General
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — An attorney who was forced to give up a career as a police officer after a drunken driver struck him is running for Kansas attorney general next year as a Democrat. Chris Mann of Lawrence launched his campaign Tuesday with a short video. He promised to focus on public safety issues and to remove partisan politics from the attorney general’s office. Mann has never held public office and is the first Democrat to announce a bid for attorney general. He was a police officer in Lawrence but was injured during a 2002 traffic stop. He later earned a law degree and became a Wyandotte County prosecutor and state securities regulator.
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3 Students Injured in Shooting Outside Wichita School
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police say three students suffered gunshot wounds during a lunchtime shooting outside a Wichita high school. Officers responded Tuesday to 911 calls of a disturbance on a sidewalk outside East High School. Police say two male students, ages 15 and 16, were taken to a local hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening, and a another 15-year-old male student later reported a graze wound to the school nurse. Authorities were able to track the vehicle and take three other teenagers into custody. Police say the shooting appears to stem from an ongoing dispute.
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Evergy Hopes to Boost Electric Vehicles Market in Kansas by Expanding Charging Network
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) - Evergy wants to spend about $30 million to spur electric vehicle adoption by expanding the charging network in Kansas. But the Kansas News Service reports state regulators aren’t on board with all of the plan. Evergy’s plan calls for spending $19 million to offer rebates to Kansas homeowners and businesses to install electric vehicle chargers. The company is also asking state regulators to approve spending $13.5 million on expanding the company’s public charging network to underserved areas outside of the Kansas City metro. Regulators at the Kansas Corporation Commission say they can get behind the rebate program, but don’t think it’s in the best interest of customers to have them pay to expand a charging network when private companies are willing to take the risk. If regulators vote to deny the request, it would be the second time regulators have prevented Evergy from passing the costs of building a charging network along to its customers.
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Jay-Z's Organization Seeks Kansas City, Kansas Police Agency's Documents
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A philanthropic organization led by rapper and media mogul Jay-Z is seeking police files and other records related to officer misconduct in the Kansas City, Kansas, police department. Team Roc is the criminal justice division of Jay-Z's Roc Nation. It filed a legal request Monday in Wyandotte County District Court seeking investigative files, personnel records and information on officer misconduct allegations. The department says it has released hundreds of pages of documents to the group but state law does not require the release of personnel records and criminal investigation files. Roc Nation is asking the court to override the state law and make the documents public.
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Remains of Revered Kansas Priest Returned to Family
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The remains of a Kansas priest who is being considered for sainthood were returned to his family, 70 years after he died in a North Korean prisoner of war camp. During a ceremony Tuesday in Hawaii, U.S. Defense officials gave the remains of Reverend Emil Kapaun to his family and officials with the Catholic Diocese of Wichita. The remains will be flown back to Kansas, where they will be taken first to Pilsen — Kapaun's hometown — before being taken to Wichita, where a funeral is scheduled for September 29. He died in a prisoner of war camp during the Korean War.
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Man Pleads Guilty in Wichita Doctor's 2017 Stabbing Death
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 25-year-old man has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the 2017 death of a Wichita doctor who was stabbed more than 160 times. Television station KAKE reports that Umar Dutt entered the plea Tuesday, admitting to killing 57-year-old Dr. Achutha Reddy on September 13, 2017, behind Reddy's psychiatrics office. Prosecutors say police were called to the Holistic Psychiatric Services clinic that night and found Reddy's body in an alley outside the business. Investigators say Dutt entered the clinic with Reddy and assaulted the doctor inside an office before being interrupted by an office manager. Police say Reddy then fled the building, but Dutt caught up with him in the alley. Dutt is scheduled to be sentenced on November 9.
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10 Injured in Three-Vehicle Accident in Greenwood County
EUREKA, Kan. (AP) — An investigation continues into a southeastern Kansas accident that left 10 people injured. The Kansas Highway Patrol said the accident happened Sunday evening in Greenwood County when a Dodge Caravan crossed the center line on Highway 400 and struck a semi, then a Hyundai. The driver of the Caravan was hospitalized with serious injuries. Another adult in the van and five children suffered minor injuries. Minor injuries were also reported for the 19-year-old driver of the Hyundai and two 18-year-old passengers. The semi driver was unhurt.
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Woman Struck and Killed by Truck in Wichita
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 19-year-old woman from a Wichita center that provides services for young people with special needs and developmental disabilities has died after being struck by a truck. KSNW-TV reports that the accident happened Saturday. Wichita police say the woman ran from a ditch in front of the truck, and the driver was unable to stop. A statement from Heartspring School says the student left an off-campus home shortly before she was struck. The statement says it was believed that staff at the home were “intently following current protocols set by Heartspring and outside governing bodies.” The woman’s name has not been released.
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Federal Appeals Court Considers Missouri Abortion Law Case
UNDATED, (AP) - A federal appeals court is considering whether Missouri can implement a sweeping law aimed at limiting abortions. The law adopted in 2019 would ban abortions at or around the eighth week of pregnancy. It also would prohibit abortions based on a Down syndrome diagnosis. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis isn’t expected to rule for several weeks. In June, a three-judge 8th Circuit panel upheld an injunction from U.S. District Judge Howard Sachs prohibiting Missouri from enforcing the provisions. But the full court then decided to hear the case. The Missouri attorney general’s office is defending the law.
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Group Honors Officer Who Was Killed by Suspect Last Week
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) — A group of about two dozen people gathered Saturday to pay their respects to the 22-year-old Independence, Missouri, police officer killed in a shooting earlier in the week. The small crowd gathered outside Centerpoint Medical Center as a motorcade escorted Officer Blaize Madrid-Evans’s body from the hospital to the Jackson County Medical Examiner’s office. Madrid-Evans died Wednesday after a confrontation with a man who was being sought for violating parole. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the suspect fired a handgun at Madrid-Evans and his partner, who returned fire. The suspect, 33-year-old Cody L. Harrison, died at the scene and Madrid-Evans died at a hospital later.
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Kidney from Fallen Missouri Officer Goes to Another Police Officer
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Even after his death, a Missouri police officer has helped a fellow officer in a time of need. Twenty-two-year-old Independence Officer Blaize Madrid-Evans, who graduated from the police academy just two months ago, was fatally shot by a suspect on Wednesday. The suspect also died in the shootout. Madrid-Evans was an organ donor and Springfield Officer Mark Priebe needed a new kidney. Priebe was paralyzed after being intentionally struck by a vehicle in June 2020, and his kidneys began to fail in June. Priebe’s family learned on Friday that they were a match, and the transplant was performed Saturday in St. Louis.
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Missouri Man Guilty of Several Felonies for Shooting Woman
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri man was convicted of several felonies after the woman he shot in the head testified against him. The Jackson County Prosecutors Office said Saturday that Louis Watts was found guilty of first-degree domestic assault, unlawful use of a weapon, first-degree burglary, stealing and two counts of armed criminal action. According to court documents, Kansas City police officers found the woman bleeding from her face after they responded to a shooting in October 2019. The woman had been shot twice in the head and had a bullet lodged behind an eye. The woman told police that the 52-year-old Watts had shot her.
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Wichita State Students Protest over Reported Dorm Rape
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — More than 200 people have marched to the Wichita State University police station to protest the handling of a reported rape in a dormitory. The Wichita Eagle reports that students gathered Friday at Shocker Hall, where the sexual assault is alleged to have occurred September 12. They then marched to the campus police station. Some carried signs reading “We deserve a rape-free campus” and “WSU, do better.” WSU Dean of Students Andrew Austin said it would be inappropriate to comment on the case that brought the students out, but that the university supported their right to peacefully protest.
(-Related-)
University of Kansas Assault Claim Prompts Student Sit-In
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Dozens of University of Kansas students staged a sit-in in front of the chancellor’s office to protest the handling of allegations that a fraternity member sexually assaulted another student. Friday's sit-in followed earlier protests outside the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity house. The Kansas City Star reports that protesters are demanding that university officials take action against the fraternity as well as the alleged perpetrator. They changed a placard at the entrance of the office of the chancellor, renaming it “Office of the Complicit,” and taped other signs with messages to the glass windows at Chancellor Doug Girod’s office.
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Police Investigate Fatal Shooting in Kansas City, Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police in Kansas City, Kansas, are investigating a fatal shooting. The shooting was reported shortly before 4 pm Saturday. Kansas City Kansas Police spokesman Tom Tomasic said the shooting was reported near North 3rd Street and Richmond Avenue. When officers arrived, they found a Black woman dead inside a vehicle. The woman’s name and age were not immediately released.
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Government Resumes Prosecution in Deadly Wichita 'Swatting' Case
BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas gamer whose online dispute with another player sparked a deadly hoax call will have to face a jury after violating the terms of a diversion deal he made with prosecutors. On Monday, U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren granted the government’s motion to resume prosecution of Shane Gaskill, of Wichita, and set a jury trial for October 5. Gaskill is charged with conspiracy, wire fraud and other counts in connection with a series of events in 2017 that culminated in the fatal police shooting of 28-year-old Andrew Finch at his family’s home in Wichita. The death drew national attention to “swatting,” a form of retaliation in which someone reports a false emergency to get authorities to descend on an address.
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Social Media Challenge Leads to Vandalism at Kansas Schools
MAIZE, Kan. (KNS) - A viral internet trend is causing problems for some school districts in Kansas. The Kansas News Service reports that some schools are now closing bathrooms to prevent widespread vandalism. The “devious licks” challenge on TikTok is prompting young people to vandalize school bathrooms and post videos of themselves stealing soap dispensers or other items. Officials at Maize High School closed all restrooms except for two, which are monitored. If a student needs to use the restroom during class, an escort walks them there and back. Terri Moses, with Wichita public schools, says every middle and high school in that district has been hit. Principals are limiting hall passes and posting employees at bathroom doors. “Well, it’s an inconvenience. It's an inconvenience for staff. It is, again, taking away from valuable education time,” Moses said. TikTok announced last week it was banning “devious licks” videos from the platform, saying they violate the app’s community guidelines.
(AP version)
'Devious Licks' Videos of Damage, Thefts Bedevil Schools Across the U.S., Including Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kids across the U.S. are posting TikTok videos of themselves smashing bathroom mirrors or stealing soap dispensers and even turf off football fields. The “devious licks” social media challenge went viral this week and is bedeviling principals and school district administrators. Some schools have even had to shut down bathrooms, where much of the damage is occurring. Lawrence High School had to close several bathrooms after students pried soap dispensers off the walls. But schools, students, and parents across the U.S. also have reported similar incidents. A southern Alabama high school student faces criminal charges after being caught on a surveillance camera stealing a fire extinguisher.
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Federal Judge: Election Official Violated Law in Voting Case Affecting Kansas, Georgia and Alabama
BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge has ruled that a former high-ranking election official violated federal law in 2016 when he granted requests by Kansas, Georgia, and Alabama to modify the national voter registration form to require documentary proof of citizenship in those states. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon threw out the contested decisions made by Brian Newby, who was then executive director of the Election Assistance Commission. The judge found that Newby failed to determine whether the proposed requirement was necessary in order to register to vote. The long-delayed ruling has little practical effect since a federal appeals court earlier granted a preliminary injunction in the case.
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Kansas Supreme Court Upholds Tracking of Convicted Criminals
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — The Kansas Supreme Court has once again upheld the state’s vast system for tracking people convicted of certain crimes. Kansas tracks the home and work lives of people who have committed a wide range of crimes involving drugs, sex or violence. They have to report everything from dying their hair to getting an Instagram account or buying a car. Someone who commits a misdemeanor can face the same 15 years of regularly reporting to law enforcement as someone who commits murder. A 2018 Kansas News Service investigation found that the Kansas system is the most extensive in the country. Defense attorneys have repeatedly argued that the system violates constitutional rights but the state’s highest court disagrees and stood its ground again in two sex offender cases.
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Jailed Murder Suspect Dies of Apparent Heart Attack
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A man jailed in a deadly Topeka shooting has died of what officials are describing as an apparent heart attack. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Marshall Stewart IV was 38. He pronounced dead at 5:35 pm Thursday after he was taken from the Shawnee County Jail to a Topeka Hospital. Major Tim Phelps, of the Shawnee County Department of Corrections, said the county corrections department and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation are investigating. Stewart was arrested in June on charges of second-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a gun in connection with the killing of 51-year-old Bradley Bellinder.
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Hearing on Kevin Strickland's Future to Be Held in Jackson County, Missouri
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A hearing that will determine the future of longtime inmate Missouri Kevin Strickland will be heard by a Jackson County Circuit Court judge. On Friday, Judge Kevin Harrell rejected a motion by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt to recuse himself and remove all Jackson County judges from Strickland's case. Harrell said an evidentiary hearing where prosecutors will argue that Strickland was wrongfully convicted of a triple murder more than 40 years ago will be scheduled the first week of October. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker has said her office believes Strickland should be exonerated and released from prison. Schmitt's office has argued that Strickland is guilty.
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Open Container Law Diverts Millions from Missouri Roads
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - An investigation by KCUR Radio in Kansas City finds that Missouri's decision to allow open containers of alcohol in vehicles is diverting millions of dollars from road construction to safety programs. The investigation found that Missouri has given up roughly $370 million in highway construction funds since 2001 for failing to comply with federal safety policies. Missouri allows passengers to drink in moving vehicles, which violates federal safety laws and forces the state to divert a percentage of road construction funds from federal programs to fund safety initiatives. The diverted money goes to infrastructure improvements like guard rail cables and behavioral campaigns to discourage driving while intoxicated.
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Arson Suspected in Fire at Historic Kansas City Church
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ Arson is suspected in a fire that damaged the historic Harlem Baptist Church in Kansas City, Missouri. John Ham of the Kansas City office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told the Kansas City Star that authorities have determined that the blaze was intentionally set, making it a federal crime. The church serves as a gathering place for the United Christian Fellowship and the congregation is made up mostly of people from the South Sudan. The fire was discovered Saturday morning. Arriving firefighters discovered that the front of the building and an area of stairs going to the basement were fully engulfed in flames.
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KU Starting RB Velton Gardner Enters Transfer Portal
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — University of Kansas running back Velton Gardner, who led the Jayhawks in rushing last season, has entered the transfer portal. The junior saw his playing time decrease over the first three games under new coach Lance Leipold. Gardner started each game. He got 19 carries against South Dakota and eight against Coastal Carolina, then appeared in just four plays and carried twice for four yards in Saturday’s blowout loss to Baylor. By transferring now, Gardner could potentially redshirt this season and still have two years of eligibility remaining.
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K-State Back in National Poll at No. 25 as Oklahoma State Trip Looms
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State University returned to the national poll at No. 25 this week, and the unbeaten Wildcats have a chance to prove they belong right away. First up is a trip to Oklahoma State, which is also off to a 3-0 start, and then comes a game against No. 4 Oklahoma. The Wildcats have already racked up wins against Stanford, which recently upended USC, along with Southern Illinois and Nevada. And the last couple have come without quarterback Skylar Thompson, who is out indefinitely with a knee injury. The question now: Can young QB Will Howard keep the unbeaten season going Saturday?
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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!