Vote on Kansas Health Chief Allows GOP to Air COVID Beefs
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Conservative Republicans' frustrations over how Kansas handled the coronavirus pandemic are complicating Democratic Governor Laura Kelly's efforts to keep her top public health administrator in place. The state Senate health committee made no recommendation today (THUR) on whether former hospital system executive Janet Stanek should be confirmed as head of the state health department. The full, GOP-controlled Senate still will vote on her appointment, but the committee's move signals that some conservatives are opposing her confirmation to show displeasure with Kelly's administration. It wasn't yet clear how much trouble Stanek's confirmation faces in the full Senate. She would have to step down if the Senate rejected her appointment. Stanek declined comment.
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KDHE: More than 900 New COVID-19 Cases Identified in Kansas Since Monday
TOPEKA, Kan.(KPR) - Kansas health officials have recorded more than 900 new coronavirus cases across the state since Monday. In its latest figures released today (WED), the Kansas Department of Health and Environment reported 924 new COVID cases and 29 new, virus-related deaths since Monday. ( Get more details.)
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Ex-Kansas AG Phill Kline Subpoenaed in Probe of U.S. Capitol Riot
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The congressional committee investigating last year's riot at the U.S. Capitol has subpoenaed a former Kansas attorney general who promoted claims of election fraud that helped fuel the rioting. The U.S. House committee on the January 6 attack issued its subpoena Tuesday to Phill Kline. It directs him to produce documents by March 15 and submit to in-person questioning by lawyers on March 25. A letter to Kline said he convened a call for then-President Donald Trump and 300 state legislators and encouraged participants to push for delaying the certification of Democrat Joe Biden's victory over Trump. Kline did not immediately respond to a Twitter message seeking comment.
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GOP Moving to End Kansas Grace Period for Mail-In Ballots
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican lawmakers are moving ahead with trying to end a three-day grace period for Kansas voters to mail in their ballots. A GOP-dominated state Senate committee advanced a measure Thursday that one voting-rights activist called “madness.” It would require all mail-in ballots to arrive by 7 p.m. on Election Day, limit the use of ballot drop boxes, and give people three fewer days before an election to register to vote. The measure goes next to the full Senate. Supporters say they're trying to make elections more secure, but voting-rights advocates say the changes would make it harder to vote. GOP state legislators nationwide are tightening election laws.
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Kansas Senate Confirms Appointees to Higher Education Board
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Republican-controlled Kansas Senate has confirmed three members appointed by Democratic Governor Laura Kelly to the state board overseeing higher education. Former state Senator Wint Winter Jr., of Lawrence; former Kansas City, Kansas, school Superintendent Cynthia Lane, and former BNSF Railway CEO Carl Ice, of Manhattan, won confirmation to the Board of Regents on Wednesday despite opposition from some conservatives to Winter and Lane. The three have been serving on the board since June and would have had to leave if their appointments had been rejected. Winter is a Republican known for criticizing conservatives. Lane was superintendent while her district was suing the state over education funding.
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Kansas Water Agency Idea Evaporates in the Legislature
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Kansas lawmakers have effectively killed a plan to create a new state agency focused on water policy. Powerful farm lobbying groups opposed the plan. They said it called for too much change, too quickly. Prompted by those concerns, a Kansas House committee, led by Republican Representative Joe Newland, gutted a bill that would have created a new agency to oversee water policy. “It allows us to move forward and not have to deal with the reconstruction of the water entity," he said. "We can do that later on.” Supporters say there is no time to waste, the state’s water problems are urgent. Especially, the continuing depletion of a vital aquifer in western Kansas. Under the current structure, they say, more than $80 million earmarked for water projects has been diverted to other uses over the last 15 years.
(AP version)
Farm Groups Stymie Reorganization of Kansas Water Programs
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Powerful Kansas agriculture groups have blocked a bipartisan proposal to tie a big increase in funding for water conservation programs to a reorganization of state and local agencies that regulate water use. Tuesday, the Kansas House Water Committee reviewed a 283-page measure that consolidated water programs under a new state water department and boosted funding for water programs. But the committee approved a narrower bill to boost funding by $49 million a year without the reorganization. Groups like the Kansas Farm Bureau and Kansas Livestock Association opposed the reorganization, questioning whether it would improve conservation efforts. The narrower measure goes next to the full House for debate.
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Two Adults, 1 Child Found Dead After Fire in Greeley
GREELEY, Kan. (AP) — Fire officials are investigating after two adults and a child were found dead in a house fire in eastern Kansas. Anderson County Sheriff Veron Valentine said the fire was reported early Wednesday in Greeley. Valentine said the home was engulfed in flames when volunteer firefighters arrived. When firefighters were able to enter the home, they found the bodies of two adults and a child. Greeley is a town of about 300 people about 60 miles south of Kansas City.
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Auburn Man Dies After Brush Fire Gets Out of Control
AUBURN, Kan. (AP) — Fire officials in Auburn say a 90-year-old man died after a brush fire he started got out of control. Auburn Assistant Fire Chief Erik Wood said crews responded to the fire Tuesday in southwest Shawnee County, where a woman said she couldn't find her husband. Wood said firefighters found the man dead after extinguishing the blaze. It wasn't clear if the man died from the fire or a medical problem. Fire officials are warning Kansans to reconsider burning in the current warm and extremely dry conditions. The National Weather Service had issued an advisory for a very high fire danger on Tuesday because of the conditions.
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Pipe Bombs, Tracker Found at Scene of Kansas Murder-Suicide
LENEXA, Kan. (AP) — Investigators found pipe bombs and a GPS tracking device in a car outside a Lenexa home where police say a gunman killed his ex-girlfriend and a man she was dating, then himself. WDAF TV reports that investigators also found a so-called ghost gun and other weapons inside the home where 22-year-old Sara Beck and 20-year-old John Williamson were killed Sunday. Police say the gunman was 37-year-old Dustin Johnson, of Belton, Missouri, who also killed himself. Court documents say Johnson was wearing a tactical vest when his body was found and that police found an assault rifle near him that had been constructed from various parts. Lenexa police said they believe Johnson was using the tracking device to keep tabs on his ex-girlfriend.
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UPDATE: 2nd KC Worker Dies from Injuries Suffered in Trash Truck Fire
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A second Kansas City worker has died from injuries after a trash truck crashed and caught fire. The crash happened Tuesday morning on Interstate 435 in northeast Kansas City. Police say the driver of the truck lost control while trying to exit onto Front Street. The truck then overturned and hit a concrete barrier before erupting in flames. Police say a three-person crew was inside the wreckage. One was able to escape, and a passing police officer helped pull the critically injured driver from the truck. The third city worker died at the scene. Police said Wednesday that the injured driver later died at a hospital.
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Kansas Man Ordered to Repay $40 Million for Tax Fraud
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a 59-year-old Leawood man has been ordered to repay $40 million to the IRS for tax fraud. Scott Tucker, a former racecar driver, was also sentenced to three years in prison for the scheme. Tucker pleaded guilty in November to one count of filing a false or fraudulent tax return. The U.S. Attorney's office in Kansas says Tucker submitted false tax returns in 2010 for his professional auto racing business called Level 5. Tucker's sentence in Kansas will be concurrent with a sentence of more than 16 years he is serving in New York for evading taxes on a nationwide $3.5 billion internet payday lending enterprise.
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Topeka Man Sentenced in Death of Ex-Girlfriend
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Topeka man has been sentenced to 48 years and nine months in prison for killing his ex-girlfriend. Jeremy Lardner was sentenced Thursday for the 2019 death of 36-year-old Brandi Prchal, an officer for the Shawnee County Department of Corrections. Her body was found in Lardner's gas-filled home on November 1, 2019. Authorities said she suffered blunt-force trauma and was dead at the scene. Lardner was found unconscious in the home and was charged after he was released from the hospital. Lardner pleaded guilty in January to second-degree murder, aggravated robbery and kidnapping.
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Texas Man Sentenced in $1.6 Million Oil Equipment Fraud
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Houston, Texas, man has been sentenced in Missouri to five years in federal prison for defrauding two men out of $1.6 million. Federal prosecutors say 58-year-old Duc Nguyen was sentenced Monday. Nguyen pleaded guilty last year to one count of wire fraud. Prosecutors say he persuaded Phillip Hudnall of Lenexa, Kansas, and his brother, Brian Hudnall, of Kansas City, Missouri, to invest in a plan to buy, refurbish, and sale used oil equipment. The brothers transferred $1.6 million to Nguyen, who used it for trips to Las Vegas and personal expenses. The brothers pleaded guilty in 2020 to defrauding other investors and a bank out of $4.5 million as part of the scheme.
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Man Wanted in Shooting, Fatal Crash Arrested in Kansas
BONNER SPRINGS, Kan. (AP) — A 20-year-old suspect in crimes on both sides of the state line in the Kansas City metro area is in custody after a standoff in Kansas. Bonner Springs police say Yucasante Oropreza was arrested without incident Wednesday. KMBC-TV reports Oropreza was a suspect in a shooting in Kansas City, Kansas, when police began chasing his vehicle on Jan. 8. The chase was suspended when Oropreza crossed into Kansas City, Missouri. Police say he ran a red light and hit a car driven by 47-year-old Dahir Abdi, of Olathe, who died at the scene. Oropreza ran from the scene. Law enforcement tracked him to a home in Bonner Springs, where he surrendered after a standoff
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Kansas Tax Collections for February Nearly $19 Million over Estimates
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Kansas tax collections have, once again, beat expectations. The Department of Revenue reports total tax collections for the month of February were more than $502 million. That's nearly $19 million more than estimated. Last month's tax collections are 10-percent higher than tax collections in February of last year.
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Democrats File 3rd Lawsuit Against Redistricting Maps
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Democrats in Kansas have filed a third lawsuit against a congressional redistricting law enacted by the Republican-controlled Legislature. Four Democratic voters from Lawrence filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Douglas County District Court. They argue that GOP gerrymandering was designed to void Democratic votes in the liberal northeast Kansas community and violates the Kansas Constitution. The redistricting map moved Lawrence from the 2nd District of northeast Kansas into the sprawling 1st District of central and western Kansas with conservative Republican communities hours away by car. Two other lawsuits against the new lines were filed last month in Wyandotte County.
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Kansas Trooper Drew Gun on Kansas Lawmaker After Stop for Speeding
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas Highway Patrol trooper says in a statement that he drew his pistol on a Kansas legislator stopped for speeding when the lawmaker abruptly got out of his car holding his cellphone. The trooper's affidavit was released Wednesday and provides details about the November 27 arrest in Lawrence of Democratic state Rep. Aaron Coleman, of Kansas City. Coleman is charged in Douglas County District Court with speeding and failing to yield to an emergency vehicle and has a hearing set for April 15. Master Trooper Michael Hamilton said in his affidavit that Coleman was speeding west on Interstate 70, left the highway and stopped in a parking area.
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Wichita Police Find Baby Unharmed in Car Stolen from Walmart Parking Lot
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Two off-duty police officers in Wichita found a baby unharmed in the back seat of a car that had been stolen from a Walmart parking lot. Television station KAKE reports the theft happened Tuesday afternoon. The officers were off-duty and working at a business on Pawnee Street when they learned of the car theft with the 11-month-old baby still in the car's back seat. The pair began patrolling the area looking for the car and found it abandoned a short distance away with the baby still in the back seat. No arrests have been reported in the case, but police have a description of a man suspected of stealing the car.
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Suspect in NC Bus Driver's Shooting Death Arrested in Kansas
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Authorities say a suspect in the fatal shooting of a North Carolina bus driver has been arrested in Kansas. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police announced Tuesday that detectives found 21-year-old Darian Dru Thavychith through a collaboration with federal and state authorities. Police in Kansas say Thavychith was arrested without incident at a Shawnee gas station. Thavychith is charged with murder and shooting into occupied property in the death of Charlotte Area Transit System bus driver Ethan Rivera on February 11. At a court hearing Tuesday, Thavychith agreed to be extradited to Charlotte.
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Ukraine War, Inflation Hurt Business Outlook in Nine States
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) _ A new monthly survey suggests that worries about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, soaring inflation and rising interest rates combined to undermine the confidence of business leaders in nine Midwest and Plains states. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss said businesses also fear the war may worsen the ongoing supply chain problems and push commodity prices higher. The report's confidence index fell to its lowest point ever in February when it hit 19.5, falling from January's already low 36.2. Any score below 50 suggests a negative outlook. The monthly survey covers Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota.
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Salina High Schools to Keep Book Challenged by Parents
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — Salina Public Schools will not remove a book that was challenged by some parents. Three parents objected at a Feb. 8 school board meeting to the book "All Boys Aren't Blue," which was acquired by Salina's South and Central high schools. The book is a series of essays by a Black and gay man. A review committee acknowledged the book contains sexual scenes that some might find disturbing but said it had merit as a literary work. The committee also found that the district's policies were followed when the book was chosen for the high schools.
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Visitation Resumes this Weekend at Kansas Prisons
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - The Kansas Department of Corrections is resuming in-person visits at state prisons starting this weekend. Visitations were first suspended due to statewide staffing shortages and COVID-19. But infection rates have improved and more staff have been hired. Some prisoners have not seen their families in months. Inmates and their loved ones argue that visitation makes people happier and leads to fewer repeat offenders. Families can schedule visits but will need to wear masks to enter the facilities. Inmates will now be allowed to have three visitors instead of two. The state prison system still struggles with staffing shortages but corrections secretary Jeff Zmuda says it is improving.
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Missouri Joins States Targeting Russia over War in Ukraine
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri officials are joining a growing contingent of states targeting Russia over its war against Ukraine. Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe on Wednesday called upon Missouri retailers to pull Russian-made products from their shelves. House Majority Leader Dean Plocher said the chamber could consider a pro-Ukrainian resolution as soon as Thursday. Plocher also has filed legislation that would bar public entities or contractors from doing business with Russian entities. A retirement board for Missouri's public employees is to meet Thursday to consider divesting its investments in Russian securities.
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Missouri Bill Would Allow Hospital Visitors During Pandemics
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri hospitals and nursing homes would have to allow visitors under a bill proposed in response to limits enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Republican-led House advanced the measure Wednesday. The bill would require hospitals and other in-patient facilities to allow a patient's spouse, parent or guardian plus another person to visit at any time. Under the bill, hospitals and nursing homes could deny a visitor for health or safety reasons. That includes showing signs of coronavirus or another contagious illness. The bill also would ensure that patients who refuse to get vaccinated could still get organ transplants.
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Missouri Mulls Ban on Transgender Athletes in Female Sports
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri lawmakers have taken up a bill that would ban transgender girls and women from competing in female only sports. A Senate committee on Tuesday debated the proposal. The measure would put limits on transgender girls and women but not transgender boys and men. It would apply to middle school, high school and college sports. Supporters of the bill argue boys and men are naturally better at sports. They say transgender girls and women would have an unfair advantage. Critics say the bill sends a message that the small number of transgender athletes don't belong in sports.
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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!