2nd Try to Overturn Governor's Veto Succeeds, Saves Kansas GOP Redistricting Map
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans have revived a redistricting plan that would make it harder for the only Kansas Democrat in Congress to win reelection. GOP legislative leaders on Tuesday engineered a second-chance override of Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of the measure in the state Senate. The Senate vote Tuesday was 27-11 and gave Republican leaders exactly the two-thirds majority they needed. The bill goes next to the House. The Senate had voted 24-15 on Monday against overriding Kelly's veto, but two conservative GOP senators switched from no votes to yes Tuesday. Senate President Ty Masterson also voted no Monday, but only so he could ask senators to reconsider Tuesday.
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Controversial COVID-19 Treatment and Vaccine Exemption Measures Advance in Kansas Senate
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Fellow conservative Republicans are rallying behind a Kansas physician-legislator being investigated by the state medical board. They did so Tuesday by advancing state Sen. Mark Steffen's measures to protect doctors pursuing potentially dangerous treatments for COVID-19 and to weaken state childhood vaccination requirements. Steffen is a member of the Senate's health committee and persuaded it to approve a requirement for pharmacists to fill prescriptions of the anti-worm medication ivermectin to treat COVID-19. He also persuaded the committee to add a proposal to make it easy for parents to claim religious exemptions from childhood immunization requirements. The bill goes next to the Senate. Steffen says he's under investigation for statements about COVID-19.
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Kansas Plan for $1 Billion-Plus in Breaks for Project Nears Passage
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers are close to authorizing more than $1 billion in state incentives in hopes of attracting an undisclosed, $4 billion project from an unnamed company. The Republican-controlled House voted 80-41 on Tuesday to approve a bill that would set up a new program within the state Department of Commerce to offer such a big package of incentives to a single company this year and another again in 2023. The GOP-controlled Senate expects to vote on the measure Wednesday, and its approval would send it to Democratic Governor Laura Kelly. The governor pushed for a new incentives program, and officials say Kansas is competing with another state for the big project.
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Kansas Gas Service Customers to Pay for 2021 Deep Freeze
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Corporation Commission has approved a settlement that will require customers of Kansas Gas Service to pay an estimated $5 to $7 a month for five to 10 years because of a deep freeze last February. The added cost is the customers' share of $366 million in extra natural gas costs that spiked in February 2021. It will be several months before customers see the added costs on their bills. The costs come as Kansas Gas Service plans to issue bonds to spread the costs of last year's freeze to its 640,000 customers. The exact cost per customer will depend on terms that the utility gets for the bonds.
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Appeals Court Rules in Biden’s Favor on Abortion Referrals
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A court has allowed federally funded family planning clinics to continue to make abortion referrals for now. The decision Tuesday was a setback for a dozen Republican attorneys general who are seeking to restore a Trump-era ban on the practice. The Biden administration reversed that prohibition in new regulations implemented in October. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the new Department of Health and Human Services regulations for the Title X family planning program can remain in place during the states’ challenge. The changes returned the program to how it ran under the Obama administration. States joining the challenge are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina and West Virginia. Not all states participate in Title X.
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Police Fatally Shoot Man with Knife Outside Kansas City Home
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police investigators in Kansas City say officers called to a home for a domestic disturbance fatally shot a man who left the home wielding a knife. Officials say the shooting happened shortly before 3 am Monday in the city's Blue Hills neighborhood. Police were called to the home for a report of a domestic disturbance involving a child. KSHB-TV reports the Missouri State Highway Patrol later identified the man as 36-year-old Shawn W. Wilson of Kansas City. The patrol says Wilson was shot after he left the home holding a knife and refused commands to drop it. Patrol Sgt. Bill Lowe says the man was taken to a hospital, where he died.
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Kansas City Police: One Person Dead, One Hurt in Shooting
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City police say one man died and another was injured in an overnight shooting. Police say the two men drove to North Kansas City with gunshot wounds early Monday. One person died and the other suffered serious injuries. No other details have been released.
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Shawnee County Sheriff: Man Shot in Topeka After Driving Vehicle Toward Deputy
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Shawnee County Sheriff Brian Hill says a deputy shot and killed a man in Topeka as the suspect drove his vehicle toward the deputy. The man, 38-year-old Jason D. Ickler, was killed Sunday. Hill said in a news release that deputies went to a Topeka Quality Inn to arrest Ickler on fleeing and other charges from an incident that happened Friday. Ickler jumped out of a window at the hotel and got into a car. Hill says when a deputy approached, Ickler accelerated the vehicle toward the deputy, who fired. Ickler died at the scene. The deputy's name has not been released.
(Earlier reporting...)
Man Shot and Killed During an Arrest in Topeka Sunday
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — One man was shot and killed as officers from the Shawnee County Sheriff's Department tried to make an arrest in Topeka Sunday morning. Shawnee County Sheriff Brian Hill said two deputies were making an arrest connected to a car chase that happened on Friday when the shooting happened. The man died at the scene of the shooting between two motels along Southwest Wanamaker Road in western Topeka around 7:45 am Sunday. The name and age of the victim wasn't immediately released Sunday, and Hill didn't identify the deputy who shot him. The deputies involved weren't hurt. No additional details about what led to the shooting were released Sunday.
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Police: 11-Year-Old Set Fire at Manhattan Bar and Grill
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say an 11-year-old child intentionally set a fire at a Manhattan bar and grill over the weekend. The business, RC McGraws, was occupied when the fire started Sunday morning but patrons were able to leave and no one was injured. Manhattan firefighters quickly extinguished the small fire. Manhattan fire officials and Riley County police say they later determined the 11-year-old intentionally set the fire. Officials estimated the fire caused about $12,000 damage to the business.
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KBI Investigates Jewell County Deputy's Shooting Death
MANKATO, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting death of a Jewell County Sheriff's deputy at his home in Mankato. The KBI says that officers went to the home early Monday after the sheriff's office received two calls from different people about a domestic argument occurring at the the home. The responding sheriff's deputy found 27-year-old Colton Koch dead from a gunshot wound. Deputy Koch was a Jewell County Sheriff’s deputy for about two and a half years. An investigation is continuing.
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Police Shoot Suspect After Man Killed in Manhattan
FORT RILEY, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is investigating after a man was shot and killed and the suspect was later shot and injured by a Riley County police officer. The KBI says three officers responding to gunshots at a Manhattan bar early Saturday found 21-year-old Joshua J. Wardi, of Fort Riley, suffering from a gunshot wound. He died at the scene. Two officers pursued an armed suspect seen running from a bar in Manhattan's Aggieville district. The KBI says one officer shot the suspect, 19-year-old Tremelle R. Montgomery, of Fort Riley, in the leg. Montgomery was in fair and stable condition Saturday. No officers were injured.
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Derby Police Identify 2 Killed in Apparent Murder-Suicide
DERBY, Kan. (AP) — Police have identified a man and woman who died in an apparent murder-suicide in the Wichita suburb of Derby. The Wichita Eagle reports that 19-year-old Haley Powell, of Wichita, died after being shot Friday afternoon outside the Trails at Derby Apartments. Police called to the scene found Powell with gunshot wounds and rushed her to a hospital, where she died. Police said witnesses told officers that 21-year-old Tiryn Young had shot Powell. Police later spotted Young at the Derby Golf & Country Club about a mile north of the apartments, but say he shot himself in the head as officers ran to arrest him.
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Man Charged in Death of Topeka Man Who Testified Against Him
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 34-year-old Topeka man has been charged with killing a man who had testified against him in a robbery. John Clayton Riley II was charged Friday with eight crimes, including first-degree murder and theft of 29-year-old Palmer Thompson's identity. Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay said in December 2019, Thompson reported he had been robbed while working maintenance at Topeka apartment complex. Riley was charged with robbery in that case and Thompson testified against him at a preliminary hearing. In September 2021, Thompson was found dead of a gunshot wound inside his burning house. Investigators say Riley stole Thompson's identity and used it to access his financial accounts after his death.
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Former Wichita Teacher Pleads Guilty to Child Porn Charge
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A former Wichita high school teacher has been sentenced to three years' probation for sexual exploitation of a child. Television station KAKE reports that 49-year-old Shawn Wingfield was sentenced Friday after pleading guilty to in November to the charge. He was ordered to register as a sex offender and undergo sex offender treatment. Wingfield resigned in July from teaching gifted English and debate at Wichita Northwest High School after police launched an investigation into him. That investigation began after a woman Wingfield dated gave police text messages he had sent to her in which he said he was sexually attracted to 11- to 14-year-olds. Investigators said they later found images of child pornography on electronics seized from his home.
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Trial of Missouri Man Charged with Killing 2 Wisconsin Men Delayed
WARRENSBURG, Mo. (AP) — The trial of a Missouri man accused of killing two brothers from Wisconsin has been delayed until March of next year. Garland Nelson, of Braymer, is charged with capital murder in the deaths of Justin and Nicholas Diemel, of Shawano County, Wisconsin, in July 2019. On Monday, Johnson County Circuit Judge Michael Wagner granted a motion from Nelson's attorneys to delay the trial. In their motion, the attorneys said Nelson has not had time to meet with his psychiatrist. Nelson was scheduled to go to trial in June. The brothers disappeared after visiting Nelson's farm near Braymer. Their remains were later found in Missouri and Nebraska.
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Missouri Supreme Court Weighs Law Against Federal Gun Rules
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court is considering what action to take on a contested new law that bans local police from enforcing federal firearms rules. The Missouri Supreme Court heard arguments on the lawsuit Monday. St. Louis, St. Louis County and Jackson County are suing to strike down the new Missouri law. A lawyer for the urban areas says the law is an unconstitutional violation of the separation of powers. Missouri's solicitor general is defending the law. He says the debate hasn't played out in trial court yet, so taking the case to the Supreme Court was premature.
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Missouri House Panel OKs Proposed Medicaid Constitutional Amendment
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — The full Missouri House will consider a proposed constitutional amendment that would impact Medicaid funding in the state. A House budget committee on Monday approved the proposed amendment and sent it to the full House. The amendment would give the Legislature the power to make annual appropriations to the health care program. If it is put on the ballot and approved by voters, the GOP-led Legislature would have the power to defund the expanding the program. In 2020, 53% of Missouri voters approved an amendment to expand the number of state residents eligible for Medicaid, after the GOP-led Legislature refused for years to do so.
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Ex-Kansas City Officer Asks to Remain Free During Appeal
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former Kansas City police detective officer who was convicted in a man's shooting death is asking to remain free while his case is appealed. KSHB-TV reports attorneys for 43-year-old Eric DeValkenaere filed a motion Monday arguing that he should be free on bond because he is not a flight risk and the judge who convicted him did not find any malice involved in the shooting. DeValkenaere, a white man, was convicted in November of second-degree involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action in the December 2019 death of Cameron Lamb, who was Black. He is scheduled to be sentenced March 4.
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Kansas Woman Loses Fiance and Son in Five-Vehicle Crash
RENO COUNTY, Kansas (AP) — A Kansas woman lost both her fiance and her 13-year-old son in a five-vehicle crash Friday. The Wichita Eagle reports that Lacy Lomax was supposed to marry Alexander Dennis next month and her son Teagan Lomax was set to be one of the groomsmen, but now both are dead. Lomax said her son was a smart, funny and athletic eighth-grader at Reno Valley Middle School. She said Dennis was a fellow recovering addict who joined Lacy Lomax as an active advocate for other addicts. The Kansas Highway Patrol said Dennis and Teagan Lomax were the only two people killed in the crash. The other nine people in the crash were not seriously hurt.
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Missouri Governor's 'Christian Values' Statement Questioned
UNDATED (AP) - Missouri Governor Mike Parson's spokeswoman says the governor has no “litmus test for appointments,” despite a statement he issued last week indicating he would only nominate a state health director who shares his “Christian values.” The Republican governor, a Baptist, was angered after the Missouri Senate effectively ousted Donald Kauerauf as director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. Though Kauerauf opposes government mask and vaccine mandates and opposes abortion, hardline conservatives in the legislature questioned if he was conservative enough. That prompted a statement from Parson saying Missourians know he "would not have nominated someone who does not share the same Christian values.”
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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!