Winter Storm Moves into Eastern Kansas, Western Missouri
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect for much of eastern Kansas until 6pm. The University of Kansas and Emporia State University are closed, along with a number of area schools and state government offices and agencies in Topeka. Snowy, windy & much colder temperatures are expected. Snow and blowing snow could be heavy at times with visibility reduced to less than one quarter mile in some areas. Snow accumulation could range from 5 to 7 inches across eastern Kansas. Get the latest weather from the National Weather Service in Topeka.
(Additional reporting...)
Winter Storm Slicks Roads in Major Kansas, Missouri Cities
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ A winter storm system sweeping across the country Thursday dropped several inches of snow in parts of Kansas and Missouri. The storm began overnight with sleet and freezing rain and fog along a swath from southern Kansas through the middle of Missouri. The National Weather Service says the snow began tapering off in the afternoon in most areas. As of mid-afternoon, Lawrence was reporting 8 inches of snow, while parts of Wichita had 7 inches. In Missouri, Kansas City International Airport reported 7 inches, breaking an official Kansas City record of 6 inches set in 1893. Law enforcement officer resopnded to hundreds of accidents, with some backing up traffic on interstate highways near Kansas City and Columbia for hours.
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Kansas Lawmakers Push "Parents Bill of Rights"
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas lawmakers have been taking testimony about a bill that would require schools to post materials online and could limit what teachers can talk about in class. Some critics say the measure could drive away educators. Supporters of a Parents’ Bill of Rights told lawmakers that families need more information about what’s happening in classrooms. They said the bill wouldn’t require more work from teachers and would help parents connect with schools. But opponents say it could hamper or even criminalize teachers for talking about provocative topics such as race, gender and sexuality. Samantha Neill is a Buhler teacher and former Kansas Teacher of the Year. She says this proposal feels like an attempt to discredit and intimidate teachers. "We're talking about arming parents," she said. "There is nothing about that phrase that makes being a teacher feel welcomed and trusted.” The bills are slated for further committee discussions this week.
(–AP reporting–)
Curriculum Struggle Has Kansas GOP Pursuing 'Transparency'
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican lawmakers who want to limit what public schools in Kansas teach about racism have settled on a proposed “parents' bill of rights.” It would give people outside the education system more power to shape what happens in classrooms and school libraries. A measure before a GOP-controlled Kansas House committee would require schools to post information online about classroom materials and allow people to push to remove materials from libraries. Conservatives acknowledge that they’ve struggled to correctly label what they’re trying to keep out of classrooms and libraries so that the rules aren’t easily flouted.
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Kansas House GOP Blocks Effort to Expand Medicaid, Legalize Weed, Repeal Ban on Gay Marriage
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR/KNS) - Republicans in the Kansas House have blocked attempts to let voters decide whether to expand Medicaid, legalize medical marijuana and overturn the state’s unenforceable ban on same-sex marriage. Democrats attempted to force votes on those proposals Wednesday during debate on a measure to give the Legislature veto-power over state rules and regulations. Democratic Representative Brandon Woodard, one of four openly LGBTQ members of the Legislature, says Republican leaders are blocking his proposal to repeal the 2005 amendment that banned same-sex marriage. “It’s frustrating because that was introduced in February, 2021 and we can’t even get a hearing. Not a single hearing on this or any other equality issue since I’ve been here," he said. After ruling the Democratic proposals out of order, Republicans tentatively approved the measure to increase the Legislature’s regulatory authority.
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Authorities: Kansas City Woman Decapitated 6-Year-Old Son
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ A Kansas City woman is in custody after authorities allege she decapitated her 6-year-old son. The Jackson County Prosecutor's office says 35-year-old Tasha Haefs is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action after her son's body was found at the family home late Tuesday. Investigators say they found the child dead and Haefs with blood on her after responding to a call of a disturbance at the home in east Kansas City. Police say Haefs admitted to decapitating her son in a bathtub. No other children were found in the home. She is being held in the Jackson County Jail on no bond.
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Shots Fired During Police Chase Through Concordia
CONCORDIA, Kan. (AP) — Concordia police say a Nebraska man and a woman from Texas were arrested after shots were fired during a police chase through the north central Kansas town. Police say when officers tried to stop a pickup truck in Concordia Wednesday afternoon, the driver fled. Police say during the chase, one of the people in the truck fired at officers, prompting a Concordia officer to return fire. No one was injured. The chase ended when the driver lost control in Concordia. The driver, Jacob Lyman of Bennet, Nebraska, was held on several traffic and drug charges. His passenger, Valerie Sanchez of Temple Bell, Texas, was booked on several drug charges.
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St. Joseph Area Drug Dealer Gets 15 Years in Prison
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Federal prosecutors say a 32-year-old St. Joseph man has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison without parole for his role in a $4 million drug-trafficking ring. Prosecutors say Christapher Dean Parton, known as "Big Baby," was sentenced Wednesday. He pleaded guilty in April to two conspiracy charges and one gun charge. Prosecutors allege the entire conspiracy distributed more than 520 kilograms of methamphetamine in northwest Missouri over three years. Parton regularly got 1 to 2 kilograms of meth in Kansas City and took it to St. Joseph. He also admitted he traded at least 50 guns he received through his drug trafficking. Parton is the first of 25 defendants sentenced in the case.
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Wichita Woman Sentenced to 16 Years for 2020 Shooting Death
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita woman who fatally shot a man accused of beating her adult son with a baseball bat has been sentenced to more than 16 years in prison. The Wichita Eagle reports that a judge on Wednesday sentenced 43-year-old Amber Ahrens for the 2020 shooting death of 53-year-old David Leddy. Ahrens had pleaded guilty in November to second-degree murder and a weapons count in Leddy's death. Police have said the shooting happened June 17, 2020, after Ahrens' 19-year-old son and Leddy had fought earlier in the day. Ahrens has said she shot Leddy in the head after she confronted him and he threatened to beat her, too.
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Father Charged with Murder After Infant Found Dead in Fire
SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) — The father of an infant killed in a house fire in suburban Kansas City, Kansas, has been charged with first-degree murder and other crimes in the case. The fire was reported early Sunday morning in Shawnee. Firefighters battling the flames found the body of the infant inside home. WDAF TV reports that police later arrested 28-year-old Nicholas Adam Ecker. On Monday, Ecker was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated arson in Johnson County. Ecker is also charged with felony stalking, domestic aggravated assault and illegal possession of a firearm. He is being held on $1 million bond.
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Casino Magnate Pushing to Reopen Wichita's Greyhound Park
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) - Casino magnate Phil Ruffin is pushing a bill in Topeka that would enable him to reopen his defunct Wichita Greyhound Park. The legislation would let Sedgwick County residents vote on whether the former racetrack should be allowed to have electronic slot machines and wagering on video replays of horse races. Ruffin closed the park in 2007 after a similar vote failed. Scott Beeler is a lawyer with Lathrop GPM. He spoke at a recent hearing on behalf of Ruffin’s company. Beeler says the bill would enable the facility to be profitable, create jobs and bring in revenue to the state. “We also know that none of the three racetrack facilities are operating. Why? Because they are not economically feasible under the current legislation," he said. Critics say the bill would likely lead to lawsuits from state-run casinos in Kansas.
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Kansas Legislature Seeks Constitutional Change to Regulate, Override State Agencies
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Some Kansas lawmakers want to change the state constitution to make it easier for them to block rules and regulations issued by state agencies. But, they’ll need the approval of Kansas voters to do it. The Kansas House is poised to vote a resolution to put the proposed constitutional change on the November ballot. House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, says the amendment is needed to check the rule making power of state agencies controlled by the governor to ensure... "That the Legislature is the body that makes the law and not bureaucrats," he said. Wichita Democrat John Carmichael says changing the balance of power to give lawmakers veto-power over rules and regulations that protect everything from the environment to injured workers isn’t a good idea: “This proposed constitutional amendment turns that balance on its head," he said. Both chambers of the Legislature need to pass the resolution with two-thirds majorities to put it on the general election ballot.
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Coffeyville Man Sentenced for Fatal Shooting of Woman
INDEPENDENCE, Kan. (AP) - A 20-year-old Coffeyville man has been sentenced in the shooting death of a woman in southeast Kansas. The Kansas Attorney General's office said Benjamin Mason was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison with the possibility of parole in 25 years. He pleaded no contest in December to first-degree murder in the shooting death of 19-year-old Kimberly Meeks. Investigators say Meeks was killed on December 14, 2019, while walking with another man along Main Street in Independence.
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Wichita Police Arrest Suspect in Double Fatal Shooting
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Police have arrested a man suspected of shooting two people to death in Wichita earlier this week. Television station KAKE reports that 20-year-old Brandon Prouse Jr. was arrested on suspicion of two counts of first-degree murder in the Sunday afternoon shooting deaths of 38-year-old Bonnie Galloway and 30-year-old Connor O'Callaghan. Both victims were unresponsive and had been shot when they were found by police, who had been called to the Wichita home for reports of a shooting. Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene.
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Man Pleads Guilty in Fatal Shooting at Wichita Party
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A 28-year-old man who killed one person and injured three others when he fired into a party in Wichita has pleaded guilty to murder. Markeithen "Red" McClaine pleaded guilty Monday to second-degree murder and three counts of attempted second-degree murder. Prosecutors said the July 27, 2019, shooting at an apartment complex killed 20-year-old Airman 1st Class Chancelor Williams, of Spartanburg, South Carolina, who was stationed at McConnell Air Force Base. Prosecutors said McClaine was picking someone up from a party when an argument broke out. Investigators said the car he was in began to drive away, but McClaine got out and fired into the crowd.
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Police Investigate Fatal Shooting at KCK Apartment Complex
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - Detectives are investigating after a man was found shot to death Wednesday morning inside an apartment in Kansas City, Kansas. Television station WDAF reports that police were called to the apartment around 3:30 am for reports of a shooting. Arriving officers found the body of a man who had been shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Police have not released the man's name and have not announced any suspects or arrests in the case.
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U.S. Justice Department Sues Missouri over Gun Law
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Department of Justice is suing Missouri over a new law banning local police from enforcing federal gun laws. The Justice Department sued Wednesday in federal court. The Justice Department wants to block the law from being enforced. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland says the law is impeding criminal law enforcement in the state. The federal government contends states can't declare federal laws invalid. Missouri's attorney general says the Justice Department pulled out of a crime-fighting partnership because of the law. Republican Attorney General Eric Schmitt says the law is on Missouri's side.
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Former Prison Officers Admit to Smuggling Contraband at Leavenworth Detention Center
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Two former officers at the Leavenworth Detention Center admitted to smuggling contraband into the prison. Federal prosecutors announced that the former officers pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to accept bribes and provide contraband to inmates of a federal prison. Prosecutors said 26-year-old Jacqueline Sifuentes, of Laredo, Texas, smuggled methamphetamine, marijuana and tobacco into the prison in exchange for bribes from a federal inmate. And 29-year-old Cheyonte Harris, of Raytown, Missouri, pleaded guilty to smuggling contraband into the prison in exchange for bribes from inmates and their associates. They worked at the Leavenworth Detention Center, a privately-run maximum-security federal prison in Leavenworth. They are scheduled to be sentenced May 17.
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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!