Kansas Moves to Offer $1 Billion or More in Incentives for Big Project
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is moving quickly to offer $1 billion or more in tax breaks and other incentives in hopes of landing what officials promise is an investment of up to $4 billion in an undisclosed project by a still-unidentified company. But supporters of a bill that cleared the Republican-controlled state Senate on Thursday sought to undercut criticism of such a big package of incentives by also including an across-the-board cut in the state’s corporate income tax in each year that incentives go to the company doing the project and its major suppliers. The Senate’s 32-7 vote came after only 20 minutes of debate on the measure, which allows the Kansas Department of Commerce to provide the incentives. The measure had bipartisan support and even backing from Democrats who’ve often criticized the GOP for pushing tax breaks for big corporations. The only no votes came from conservative Republicans who derided it as “crony” capitalism. Officials claim the new facility will employ 4,000 people.
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Police: 2 Men Killed in Junction City Double Shooting
JUNCTION CITY, Kan. (AP) — Two men have been shot to death in Junction City. Police say the shooting happened early Wednesday afternoon on the south end of the city a couple of blocks northeast of Highland Cemetery. Officers called to the scene found two men with gunshot wounds. Police later identified the men as 26-year-old Blake McCoy, of Junction City, and 42-year-old Jeremy John Brown, of Pottawatomie County. Both died at the scene. Police did not immediately release details about how the shooting happened, but said a preliminary investigation indicated the two men knew each other.
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Kansas Lawmaker Charged with Traffic Violations, but not DUI
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A state legislator has been charged with two traffic violations over his late November arrest on Interstate 70 in northeast Kansas. But Democratic state Representative Aaron Coleman of Kansas has not been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs even though the Kansas Highway Patrol initially listed that as the potential crime for his Nov. 27 arrest near Lawrence. His attorney did not respond to a telephone message seeking comment. Coleman is scheduled to have the charges formally read to him and to present a plea April 15 in Douglas County. He also faces a misdemeanor domestic battery charge in neighboring Johnson County in the Kansas City area over an Oct. 30 fight with his younger brother.
(– Additional Reporting –)
Kansas Democratic Lawmaker Aaron Coleman Charged After November Arrest
LAWRENCE, Kan. (WDAF) — Kansas state Representative Aaron Coleman is now facing charges after his arrest in November in Douglas County. WDAF TV reports that the Democratic lawmaker from Kansas City, Kansas, has been charged with two traffic infractions: speeding and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle. A Kansas Highway Patrol trooper arrested Coleman November 27 on Interstate 70 near Lawrence. Coleman was initially arrested on suspicion of drinking under the influence, but he has not yet been charged with that. Coleman also faces a domestic battery charge in neighboring Johnson County over an arrest October 30, following a fight with his 18-year-old brother. These are just the latest accusations made against Coleman. He’s also been accused of revenge porn as a teenager, abuse of an ex-girlfriend, and a stalking case by an opponent’s staffer. Leaders in Kansas government have been trying to oust him or get him to resign since he was elected. ( Read more.)
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Judge Sides with Treasury in Tribes' Coronavirus Relief Case
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A federal judge has sided with the Treasury Department in a case that challenged the distribution of coronavirus relief aid to Native American governments. Tribal governments had received $4.8 billion from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act based on federal population data. Three tribes in Oklahoma, Florida and Kansas sued over the methodology, alleging they were shortchanged by millions of dollars. The Treasury Department ultimately revised the methodology and sent additional payments to some tribes. But two of them weren't satisfied with the amounts and continued their legal challenge. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled Friday that the Treasury's methodology was reasonable.
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Bob Dole's Burial Wednesday in Arlington National Cemetery
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The late Bob Dole will be buried with military honors Wednesday in Arlington National Cemetery. Dole is a former U.S. Senate majority leader and Republican presidential nominee who also has been celebrated as a World War II hero. He died Dec. 5 at the age of 98. The foundation named for his widow and former Cabinet secretary and North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole announced plans for a private service at the historic Washington-area cemetery. About 100 close family and former colleagues are expected to attend. Dole was a native of Russell in western Kansas who served nearly 36 years in Congress and was the 1996 Republican presidential nominee.
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Kansas Supreme Court Takes No Action Against Former Judge
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court said Friday it would take no further action against a former county judge who shared nude photos of himself on an online dating site for swingers. The court accepted a disciplinary panel's ruling that Russell County Magistrate Judge Marty Clark violated standards of judicial conduct. But the justices said they would take no further action because Clark resigned from the bench in May. An investigator with the Kansas Commission on Judicial Conduct said in March that Clark sent photos to the Club Foreplay site, and also sent “salacious” texts to a woman discussing a possible sexual encounter in the judge’s chamber.
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Green Energy Firms Face New Push for Restrictions in Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Green energy companies and environmentalists are fighting renewed efforts in the Republican-controlled Kansas Legislature to impose stricter limits on wind turbines and solar farms. It's happening in a state where renewable resources account for nearly half the state’s capacity for generating electricity. The state Senate Utilities Committee and another panel had hearings on bills backed by Utilities Committee Chair Mike Thompson and some property owners upset with wind turbines going up near their homes. Thompson is a conservative Shawnee Republican who is skeptical of renewable energy.
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Sedgwick County Sued for Racial Discrimination
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A former Sedgwick County employee says in a lawsuit against the county that he was racially discriminated against by coworkers who called him “boy” or the “colored guy.” David Partridge, who is biracial, alleges in his lawsuit that he faced a racially hostile environment while working as a bridge crewman from December 2019 to August 2021. The Wichita Eagle reports that after he complained, a county investigation verified the racial discrimination. The lawsuit says he was offered another position at lower pay and was fired when he refused. Sedgwick County officials declined to comment on the lawsuit.
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Kansas Man Pleads No Contest in Shawnee Stabbing Death
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A 52-year-old Paola man has pleaded no contest in the stabbing death of his girlfriend's ex-husband. Vincenzo Anecio Lucasta pleaded on Wednesday to second-degree intentional murder in the death of 57-year-old David Paterno of Shawnee. The Kansas City Star reports that officers found Paterno in his home on August 8, 2018, after a neighbor heard a loud fight inside the home. Lucasta was charged with first-degree murder but accepted the plea deal this week. He faces a sentence up to 21.5 years when he is sentenced April 14.
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Officials ID Woman Killed in El Dorado House Fire
EL DORADO, Kan. (AP) — Officials in south-central Kansas have identified a woman killed in a house fire earlier this week. Television station KSNW reports that 71-year-old Rebecca Switzer, of El Dorado, died in the Tuesday fire. Officials say the fire was reported around 11:20 am Tuesday on the south end of El Dorado, and arriving firefighters found Switzer already dead inside the burning home. An investigation found the cause of the fire to be accidental.
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KCK Police Start Cold Case Unit
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas City, Kansas, police department plans to open a new unit to investigate unsolved cases. Chief Karl Oakman announced that the city has about 285 unsolved homicides spanning five decades. He says the cases could benefit from a fresh review, new DNA techniques and other forensic testing. The unit will be staffed by three full-time detectives who will determine which cases to review based on their solvability. The unit will also review missing person cases that possibly involve foul play. The unit will be lead by Captain Angela Garrison, who has been with the department for 27 years.
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Records: KC Police Used Force More Often on Black People
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police data obtained by the Kansas City Star shows that Black people are far more likely to be subjected to use of force by police in Kansas City, Missouri. The Star reported Wednesday that more than 57% of use of force incidents from 2019 to July 2021 were against Black people, who make up just 28% of Kansas City’s population. Police Capt. Leslie Foreman says use of force is “based on the actions of another person, not on the race of that person,” and that Kansas City officers were focused on relationship building in the community. Mayor Quinton Lucas says the data deserves further examination.
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Kansas to Pay About $900,000 to Man Wrongfully Convicted
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A judge has said Kansas should pay about $900,000 to a man who spent more than 13 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of sex crimes against a child. Merardo J. Garza, Jr., was convicted in 2008 of sex crimes against an 8-year-old girl in Wichita. His sentence was vacated in 2020 after the girl withdrew her accusation. A Sedgwick County District judge last week approved a resolution of the case, which awards Garza $887,455 and a certificate of innocence. He will also have the arrest and conviction expunged from his records. The agreement still must be approved by the State Finance Council.
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Wichita Announces Deputy Chief Named as Interim Police Chief
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The city of Wichita has announced that Deputy Chief Lemuel Moore has been named the police department's interim police chief starting in March. Moore is a 30-year veteran of the department, having begun his career as a beat officer before becoming the department's DARE and school liaison officer and moving up the ranks to chief deputy. Moore will step in to fill the vacancy left by Chief Gordon Ramsay, who announced in December that he would resign effective March 1 to move back to Minnesota.
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Kansas Governor Requests a Federal Disaster Declaration for December Storms
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Governor Laura Kelly is asking President Joe Biden to declare a major disaster for the state of Kansas because of damage resulting from severe storms with extreme high winds on December 15, 2021. In her request, Kelly said the storm system generated wind gusts ranging from 60 to 100 mph, causing widespread damage. The high winds and dry conditions also led to wildfires that burned more than 160,000 acres and resulted in the deaths of two people. Kelly’s letter said the weather event was of an extremely rare nature, citing information from the Topeka office of the National Weather Service that registered 90 mph winds at 4,000 feet, which was stronger that any winds recorded at that level since 1955. Preliminary estimates placed the total damage for all involved counties in excess of $15 million. Kelly’s request is for federal funding to help restore damaged public utilities, roads and bridges. “Severe storm damages can be bad enough,” Kelly said, “but to add to that the losses caused by wildfires creates a heavy financial burden on our Kansas counties. I am requesting this disaster declaration to help our counties repair the damages caused by these storms and wildfires and get things back to normal for our citizens.”
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Wichita State University Releases Updated 2022 Kansas Employment Forecast
WICHITA, Kan. (KPR) - The Kansas unemployment rate has fallen, as job growth in the service sector rebounds. Those are some of the findings from Wichita State University's Center for Economic Development and Business Research, which has released its updated Kansas Employment Forecast. In 2021, overall state-level unemployment was estimated to have fallen dramatically from 6.2% to 4%. Indicative of continuing labor market adaptation and recovery from the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, these trends are expected to continue throughout 2022 and 2023, halving the number of Kansans left unemployed in 2020. The most significant component of job growth in the service sector comes from leisure and hospitality occupations, which have rebounded dramatically in 2021 (6.4% growth from 2020) alongside increasing vaccine availability and an ever-adapting labor force and job market. ( Read the full 2022 Kansas Employment Forecast from WSU.)
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Britt Reid's DUI Trial Date Postponed Until September
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Former Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid's trial on a felony driving while intoxicated charge has been postponed until at least September. Reid's trial was scheduled for April but was rescheduled on Friday to Sept. 26. Reid, the son of Chiefs Coach Andy Reid, was charged after a Feb. 4, 2021, crash near Arrowhead Stadium that critically injured a 5-year-old girl. Reid pleaded not guilty in June. The trial was rescheduled after discussion during a brief hearing Friday concerning the availability of toxicology reports and some expert witnesses.
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AFC Matchup: Newbie Bengals Visit Perennial Contender Chiefs
UNDATED (AP) – Talk about newcomers versus the tried and true. Here come the Cincinnati Bengals, who had lost eight straight playoff games since their last victory 31 years ago. Awaiting them at loud, sometimes intimidating Arrowhead Stadium will be the Kansas City Chiefs, in their fourth consecutive AFC championship game and seeking their third trip in a row to the Super Bowl. This is hardly the matchup most NFL observers expected. Sure, the Chiefs made sense, but the often-mocked Bengals — Bungles no more — were a surprise last to first winner of the AFC North. Now, here they are, one step from their first Super Bowl appearance since 1989.
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Winning Ways: Are the Chiefs Suddenly the NFL's New Dynasty?
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Chiefs have won a record six straight AFC West titles and will be hosting their record fourth straight AFC title game when Cincinnati visits Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday. Already, the talk is beginning of a blossoming dynasty in Kansas City. But if the Chiefs are not yet there, what exactly will it take for Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes to take the franchise into such a wholly subjective place? Perhaps a third straight Super Bowl trip with a win over the Bengals this weekend, or following up last year's loss to Tampa Bay with a second title in three years would do it.
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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, 11 am weekends. This news summary is made possible by KPR listener-members. Become one today!