Kansas Governor Vetoes Redistricting Plan
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Governor Laura Kelly has vetoed a Republican redistricting plan that would make it harder for the lone Kansas Democrat in Congress to win reelection this year. GOP lawmakers are expected to try to override the veto Kelly issued Thursday. However, if they do, the new lines are likely to face court challenges. The measure would split the Kansas City area into two congressional districts and cost Democratic U.S. Representative Sharice Davids some of the territory in her 3rd District where she performs best. The map also would move the liberal northeast Kansas community of Lawrence into in the more conservative 1st District of central and western Kansas.
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Winter Storm Moves Out of Eastern Kansas; Leaves Frigid Temps Behind
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - A winter storm that dumped several inches of snow across Kansas has moved out, leaving behind frigid temperatures and dangerous wind chills. The National Weather Service in Topeka reports wind chill values of negative 8 to negative 17 are possible in many areas. Wind chill advisories remain in effect for much of the state.
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Heavy Snow, Storm Warning for Second Day in Much of Missouri
ST. LOUIS (AP) — For a second straight day, much of Missouri is under a winter storm warning as heavy snow continued to fall from Springfield to St. Louis on Thursday, and Kansas residents woke to dangerous wind chills of around 15 below zero. The National Weather Service said the storm was expected to drop up to another 3 inches Thursday in southwestern Missouri, including around Springfield, and up to 5 inches more in eastern Missouri, including around St. Louis. Officials warned that the snow coupled with another day of high winds made for treacherous travel conditions and warned motorists to stay off highways and streets.
As Winter Storm Moves Across U.S., Ice Becomes Bigger Concern
CHICAGO (AP) — A major winter storm with millions of Americans in its path is spreading rain, freezing rain and heavy snow further across the country. More than 100,000 homes and businesses are without power and flights are disrupted at the busy Dallas Fort Worth International Airport. A long stretch of states from New Mexico to Maine remain under winter storm warnings and watches. The storm's path has now stretched further from the central U.S. into more of the South and Northeast. Forecasters say more heavy snow is expected, while heavy ice buildup was likely from Texas to Pennsylvania.
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Kansas Plan to Lure Big Project Snags on Corporate Tax Cuts
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas could phase out its corporate income tax under a measure that also would expand its incentives for attracting new businesses. The provision is a problem as lawmakers rush to help the state attract an undisclosed project said to be worth $4 billion. A House committee's leader called the measure “messed up” and delayed a vote until Monday. It would allow the Department of Commerce to authorize $1 billion or more in incentives to lure an unnamed company to Kansas and to make such deals in the future. Republicans also want to cut corporate income taxes but some are wary of being too aggressive. The Senate approved the measure last week.
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Kansas City Man Charged with Amtrak Shooting Following Police Standoff
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City man has been charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of another man on an Amtrak train near Lee's Summit last month. The Kansas City Star reports that 21-year-old Marquise Webb was arrested Monday following an armed standoff with police at a Kansas City apartment complex. Webb was charged Tuesday with the murder count, vehicle hijacking, two counts of armed criminal action and a weapons count. He's accused of fatally shooting 30-year-old Richie Aaron, of Independence, the night of January 14. Aaron was on an Amtrak train and was shot as it pulled into a station at Lee's Summit. The train continued on to Independence before Aaron was discovered injured. Medics pronounced him dead on the train.
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Kansas Woman Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Fatal Hit-and-Run
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas woman has been sentenced to nearly 10 years in prison for the hit-and-run death of a teenager in Leavenworth. Radio station KAIR reports that 28-year-old Amber Alexander was sentenced Wednesday in Leavenworth County District Court for the August 2021 death of 16-year-old Miranda Lynch. Alexander was convicted in December of second-degree murder, leaving the scene of a fatal accident and evidence tampering in the girl's death. Prosecutors presented evidence in her trial that Alexander had several drinks before leaving a bar in Lansing and driving to Leavenworth, where she ran over Lynch around 2 am on August 7, 2021. Prosecutors say Alexander fled the crash and crossed a bridge into Missouri.
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Douglas County Sheriff’s Office Works to ID Human Remains Found Near Lawrence
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) - The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is working to identify human remains found Monday southeast of Lawrence. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the remains were discovered by people who were walking Monday afternoon in the 1700 block of North 1250 Road. Responding deputies and detectives confirmed the remains were human, and they searched the area and located additional bones. A forensic anthropologist is assisting in the investigation. No additional information was available Wednesday afternoon.
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Kansas Man Accused of Autopsy Fraud Expected to Plead Guilty
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man accused of duping hundreds of people into paying for autopsies that his company did not perform is expected to plead guilty to fraud charges next month. The Kansas City Star reports that Shawn Parcells on Tuesday filed a notice of intent to change his plea to 10 federal charges of wire fraud. A change of plea hearing is scheduled for March 3. Prosecutors say he used his business, National Autopsy Services in Topeka, to charge clients $3,000 for autopsies on their loved ones but never performed the procedures. He reportedly made more than $1 million from the alleged scheme.
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Parents of Missouri Student Sue Fraternity over Hazing
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The parents of a University of Missouri student from Minnesota are suing a fraternity after their son suffered serious brain injuries during a pledge party. Authorities say Daniel Santulli's blood alcohol content was more than six times the legal limit for driving on October 20 when he was found unresponsive in a car parked at University Hospital. The parents' lawsuit says Santulli, who is from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, remains unresponsive with a significant brain injury. The lawsuit alleges pledges at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity were expected to drink an entire bottle of alcohol as part of a fraternity tradition. Ron Caudill, the fraternity’s national executive director, said in a statement that the fraternity is reviewing the lawsuit.
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Kansas Revenues Exceed Expectations for 18th Month in a Row
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Tax collections in Kansas exceeded the state’s expectations in January for the 18th month in a row and created a 14.5% surplus for the month. The state Department of Revenue reports this week that Kansas collected nearly $945 million in taxes last month when the official forecast had predicted $825 million. The difference was almost $120 million. Since the current 2022 budget year began July 1, the state’s tax collections have been 4% above expectations with a surplus of $203 million. The state has collected more than $5.2 billion over the past seven months when it anticipated taking in about $5 billion.
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Missouri Health Director Out Following Conservative Blowback
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri will soon be without a state health director following conservative outcry. State senators on Tuesday adjourned for the week without taking up Director Don Kauerauf's nomination. The deadline to confirm him is Friday, and he'll be barred from serving after then. Kauerauf opposes government mask and COVID-19 vaccine mandates. He also says he's anti-abortion. But some senators and protesters still were upset that he's encouraging vaccines and questioned how strong his personal anti-abortion beliefs are. Kauerauf took over as the state’s health director in September. Parson said Tuesday that he accepted Kauerauf’s resignation, and has temporarily appointed Richard Moore, who serves as general counsel for the department, as acting director.
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Wichita Police: Woman Hit by Car in Parking Lot Has Died
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police in Wichita say a woman who was hit by a car in a parking lot over the weekend has died of her injuries. Television station KSNW reports that the accident happened Saturday afternoon, when a 15-year-old girl backed out of a parking stall in a shopping center parking lot and hit 75-year-old Luella Beemer as Beemer was getting into her own car. Beemer was rushed to an area hospital, where she later died of her injuries. Police have not announced any charges in Beemer's death and say an investigation into the accident is being conducted.
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Report: Loss of Manufacturing Jobs Leads to Index Drop
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new monthly report shows that a loss of manufacturing jobs combined with other factors to slow growth in the regional economy of nine Midwest and Plains states. The overall index in January for Creighton University's Mid-America Business Conditions survey released Tuesday fell to 56.2 from December’s 64.6. Any score above 50 on the survey’s indexes suggests growth. Creighton economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the monthly survey of business leaders, pointed to a loss of manufacturing jobs. The survey’s business confidence index, which looks ahead six months, plummeted to 36.2 — the lowest reading since the beginning of the pandemic. The monthly survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
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Report: Missouri River Power Output Below Average in 2021
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Electric power generation from the Missouri River’s six upstream dams fell below average in 2021, forcing the federal agency that sells the power to buy electricity on the open market. The $18 million in additional costs ultimately may be passed on to ratepayers in a half-dozen states. Energy production from the dams in the Dakotas, Montana and Nebraska was below average because of drought. The Western Area Power Administration sells power to rural electric cooperatives and other customers in the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. The agency says the added costs would likely be minimal for individual ratepayers.
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Raise Your Hand: Schools Nationwide Seek Volunteers in Staffing Crunch
UNDATED (AP) – Parents may be wondering who’s teaching the kids as teacher absences mount and substitutes remain in short supply. The answer around the U.S. could be nearly anyone willing to help keep school doors open through the omicron-driven staffing crunch. It could be a local police officer, National Guard soldier, state budget analyst, parent or even a recent high school graduate. States have been loosening teaching requirements to give schools more flexibility on hiring as virus exposures, illness and quarantines add to strains on schools. Institutions have also been tapping librarians, custodians and support staff to help cover classrooms.
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Amid Scrambles for Teachers, Some Fear Worse Shortages Ahead
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — U.S. school administrators dealing with pandemic-driven teacher shortages are getting creative to keep their classrooms staffed. But some experts are warning there are longer-term problems with the teacher pipeline that cannot be solved with emergency substitutes, bonuses and loosened qualifications. Shortages are being felt much more widely due to absences during a pandemic that is testing educators like no other stretch of their careers, raising fears of many more leaving the profession. To address the problem, states are raising salaries, seeking more teachers outside formal training programs, and pursuing other strategies to develop more educators.
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Leavenworth Man Acquitted in Half-Brother's Shooting Death
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A jury has acquitted a 25-year-old man in the shooting death of his half-brother. Cody Huninghake, of rural Leavenworth, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of 17-year-old Robert Nelson. A Leavenworth County jury found him not guilty on Tuesday. Nelson was shot in the head July 3 at the family's home. Huninghake testified that he shot Smith accidentally when a shotgun went off as he lost his balance and fell against a wall. Huninghake was released from the Leavenworth County Jail after the verdict was announced.
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GOP Kansas Lawmaker Arrested on Suspicion of Drunken Driving
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A north-central Kansas lawmaker has been arrested in Topeka on suspicion of drunken driving. Topeka police said Tuesday that officers stopped Republican state Representative Suzi Carlson of Clay Center Monday night a few blocks south and west of the Statehouse. They said testing showed that Carlson was operating her vehicle under the influence of alcohol. An online log shows that the 69-year-old Carlson spent about three hours in the Shawnee County jail before being released on $1,000 bond at 2:15 a.m. Tuesday. She has an appearance scheduled for March 1 in Shawnee County District Court. She has served in the House since 2019.
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Missouri Hospitals Ask Office Workers to Help Nurses
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Hospitals across Missouri are asking staff members and administrators to take on additional duties to help deal with the current surge in COVID-19 patients. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that hospital employees are being asked to pick up shifts helping nurses by doing things like grabbing supplies or answering phones, or by filling absences in areas such housekeeping and patient transport. Mercy's incoming president Steve Mackin said hospital administrators are doing whatever it takes to help the nurses and doctors who provide patient care. COVID-19 cases have been declining in the St. Louis area over the past couple weeks but the number of patients in hospitals remain near the highest levels of the pandemic.
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Iowa Man Convicted of Lottery Rigging Scheme Granted Parole
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former lottery computer technician serving a 25-year prison sentence for ongoing criminal conduct by rigging computers to win lottery jackpots for himself, friends and family will be released from an Iowa prison on parole after serving nearly five years. Eddie Tipton was granted release by the Iowa Board of Parole on Jan. 20 and will be allowed to live in Texas, a board document said. Iowa offers time off of a prison sentence for good behavior. Tipton pleaded guilty in 2017 and was ordered to repay restitution to Colorado, Wisconsin, Kansas and Oklahoma. He could be ordered taken to prison in Wisconsin if he fails to complete payment of the more than $400,000 he owes by September 2026.
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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!