Wintry Mix Led to Traffic Snarls, School Closures in KC Area
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A wintry mix of precipitation caused big problems in the Kansas City area, resulting in numerous accidents and forcing schools to call off classes. KCTV-TV reports that an icy sheen on Monday morning caused slick conditions, especially on bridges and overpasses. Several crashes were reported north of the Missouri River, especially on Interstate 29 and Interstate 635. Southbound I-635 was closed at Horizons Parkway after a crash involving multiple vehicles. Around three dozen school districts in the Kansas City area, in both Missouri and Kansas, called off or delayed classes.
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GOP Looks to Limit Governor's Power on Kansas Election Laws
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Kansas are advancing a measure to prevent the governor from entering into legal agreements that change state election practices without getting prior approval from the GOP-controlled Legislature or its top leaders. A Senate committee approved a bill Monday in response to an agreement Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly reached in October with voting-rights groups to head off a lawsuit. It allows Kansas residents to register to vote at state agencies that provide social services benefits. The measure goes next to the full Senate. If the full Legislature were in session, it would have to approve a settlement. Otherwise, the Legislature's top eight leaders would have to approve.
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Former Kansas Attorney General to Represent Teen in Shooting
MISSION, Kan. (AP) — A judge has named a former Kansas attorney general to represent an 18-year-old high school football player who is charged in a shooting that wounded an administrator and school resource officer at a suburban Kansas City high school. Jaylon Desean Elmore was charged Saturday with attempted capital murder in Friday’s shooting at Olathe East High School. The charge carries a sentence of life in prison, with no possibility of parole for 25 years. Johnson County Judge Dan Vokins said during a Zoom hearing Monday that his attorney will be Paul Morrison, also the former district attorney for the county. Elmore, who was wounded when the school resource officer returned fire, was unable to attend the hearing because he remains hospitalized.
(-Earlier reporting-)
Student Charged in Olathe School Shooting
MISSION, Kan. (AP/KPR) — An 18-year-old student has been charged in a shooting that wounded an administrator and a school resource officer at a suburban Kansas City high school. The Johnson County prosecutor’s office announced Saturday that Jaylon Desean Elmore is charged with attempted capital murder in the shooting Friday at Olathe East High School. His bond is set at $1 million and no first appearance has been set. The Kansas City Star reports that Elmore is listed as a senior on the school's varsity football team. The prosecutor’s office didn’t immediately respond to questions about whether he has an attorney and none is listed for him in online court records. Online records show he has a previous conviction for aggravated robbery.
Olathe Police: Suspect Shoots, Wounds 2 at Kansas High School
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) - Authorities say a suspect shot and wounded a school administrator and a school resource officer Friday at a suburban Kansas City high school. The student was also shot when the officer returned fire. All three are expected to survive. Olathe police spokesman Sgt. Joe Yeldell said the shooting occurred in the office area of Olathe East High School. No other students were injured. Yeldell did not immediately have any information on the sequence of the shootings. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene.
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Governor Kelly Renews Call to Eliminate State Sales Tax on Groceries
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) -Kansas lawmakers are ready to start making decisions on competing proposals to cut the state sales tax on groceries. A House committee is expected to take them up this week. Democratic Governor Laura Kelly wants to eliminate the state’s 6.5 % sales tax on groceries and, she says, this is the time to do it because the state has billions of dollars in surplus cash to offset the roughly $500 million a year it would lose in revenue. But representative Adam Smith, the Republican chair of the House Tax Committee, wants to be more cautious. His counter proposal would cut the grocery tax by about half now, then ratchet it down to zero over four years if the state can afford it. If it comes down to a party-line-vote on the competing bills, Republicans have a more than two to one majority on the committee. The committee is expected to vote on the bills this week.
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Kansas Supreme Court Refuses to Dismiss Suits Alleging Gerrymandering
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday refused to dismiss three lawsuits that challenge new Republican-drawn congressional redistricting maps. Attorney General Derek Schmidt made the request, arguing that the state court system does not have jurisdiction to decide disputes over redistricting for federal offices. All three of the suits allege that the new maps impermissibly gerrymandered in violation of the Kansas Constitution. Republican lawmakers dismissed allegations of gerrymandering.
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Kansas GOP Moving to End 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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Two Dead, One in Serious Condition After Lyon County Wreck
EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) — Two people are dead following an accident in eastern Kansas. KSNT-TV reports that the accident happened Sunday afternoon at the intersection of Highway 50 and Road C, west of Emporia in Lyon County. Sheriff Jeff Cope says a third person is hospitalized with serious injuries. Few details have been released, including names of the victims. Authorities have not said if the wintry weather was a factor in the wreck.
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Man Accused of Stealing Several Topeka Parking Meters
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Topeka man is accused of stealing more than two dozen parking meters from the downtown area. Police say the 32-year-old suspect was arrested Monday and faces several charges. Officers had been investigating the theft last week of 26 coin-operated parking meters. Around midnight Monday, a caller told police they saw someone walking with a shopping cart in an area of downtown and possibly stealing meters. Officers arrived and arrested the suspect. They say he was in possession of several recently-stolen meters. The man is jailed without bond.
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One Person Found Dead After Wildfire Near Hutchinson
RENO COUNTY, Kan. (AP) - One person was found dead Sunday as firefighters worked to contain a wildfire that burned 12,000 acres in south-central Kansas. Reno County Emergency Management officials said one person who had been reported missing during the fire was found dead Sunday morning. The fire began Saturday and burned land east of Hutchinson in Reno and Harvey counties. Several injuries were also reported. Several homes were destroyed in the fire that prompted some evacuations Saturday, but Hutchinson Fire Chief Steven Beer said he won't have a complete damage report ready until later this week. Firefighters were continuing to monitor hot spots and work to ensure the fire was contained Sunday.
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Teens Accused of Shooting at Car That Crashed, Killing 2
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Two Wichita teenagers are jailed for allegedly shooting at a car that crashed, killing two people inside the vehicle. KSNW-TV reports that the 18- and 19-year-old suspects were each booked on suspicion of two counts of first-degree murder, aggravated assault, and gun and marijuana crimes. It wasn’t immediately clear if they have been charged. The incident happened Feb. 21. Officers called to the scene found a car that had crashed at Lincoln and George Washington Boulevard. Two of the people in the car, 21-year-old Amill Williams and 20-year-old Alonzo Montgomery, died. A 22-year-old woman was ejected and survived.
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Ex-Kansas City Detective Sentenced to 6 Years in Man's Death
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A former Kansas City police detective has been sentenced to six years in prison for fatally shooting a Black man who was backing a pickup truck into a garage in 2019. Eric DeValkenaere, who is white, was sentenced Friday afternoon to three years for second-degree involuntary manslaughter and six years for armed criminal action, with the sentences to run at the same time. He was convicted in November of killing 26-year-old Cameron Lamb. DeValkenaere will not go to prison immediately after his sentencing, however. Judge J. Dale Youngs ruled in February that the former detective will be allowed to remain free while he appeals his conviction. DeValkenaere's attorneys had argued he was not a threat to flee.
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75-Year-Old Accused of Being Fake Police Officer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ A 75-year-old Jackson County man faces charges for allegedly pretending to be a police officer and pulling over a driver. KCTV-TV reports that the Missouri State Highway Patrol launched an investigation in January after a driver became suspicious after being pulled over. The driver told the patrol that after he passed another vehicle, that driver began following him closely, flashed his headlights and activated emergency lights. The alleged victim said the man took his driver's license and pretended to run a computer check. The alleged victim noted the license plate identifiers of the vehicle that pulled him over, which led to the arrest.
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Ex-Lawrence Police Officer Charged with On-Duty Rape
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A former Lawrence police officer has been arrested on suspicion of rape and other counts after a woman said he sexually assaulted her while he was on-duty five years ago. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says in a news release that 41-year-old Jonathan Gardner of Tonganoxie was arrested Friday morning at an intersection in Tonganoxie by KBI agents and Kansas Highway Patrol troopers. Gardner's employment with the Lawrence Police Department recently ended after a woman reported in November that he had raped her on January 1st, 2017. In addition to the rape count, Gardner faces 24 other counts for reportedly conducting illegal and unauthorized searches of police computer records using the Kansas Criminal Justice Information System (KCJIS), as well as internal police department public safety systems between 2017 and 2020. After his arrest, Gardner was booked into the Leavenworth County Jail. He was issued a $50,000 bond. The investigation is ongoing. The Douglas County Attorney is expected to prosecute the case.
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Johnson County School Board Faces Resignations, Discord
GARDNER, Kan. (AP) — A member of an Johnson County school board says she resigned after two years of insults and threats that culminated in harassment while she ate dinner at a restaurant. The Kansas City Star reports that the resignation of Kristen Schultz makes her the fourth member of the Gardner Edgerton school board to leave amid increasing tension in the southwest Johnson County town. Four new conservative members were elected in November after campaigning to remove the district's superintendent over her leadership during the pandemic. New board members acknowledge they have had problems getting started but say the board is headed in the right direction.
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Kansas College Remembers 2 Football Players Killed in Crash
HILLSBORO, Kan. (AP) — Officials at a private Christian college in Kansas are vowing not to forget two football players from California who were killed in a crash that also left a third player badly injured. The Wichita Eagle reports that Tabor College’s head football coach, Mike Gardner, described Johnethon Aviles and Christopher Castillo as “two of the most unselfish players that I’ve had ever.” The two players were found dead at the scene of an early-morning crash on February 27 on a rural road south of Hillsboro, where Tabor is located.
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Great Bend Couple Arrested in Killing of Rush County Man
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP/KPR) — Authorities say two Great Bend residents have been arrested in the killing of a rural Kansas man and his missing vehicle has been located. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said 48-year-old Jennifer Page Stipe was charged with first-degree murder in the January killing of 61-year-old Leslie Randa of LaCrosse, Kansas. 58-year-old Darin Lee McBee was arrested for multiple felonies related to the murder. The couple were taken into custody Friday evening at a Lowe’s store parking lot in Hutchinson. A relative found Randa dead in January and called 911. His GMC Envoy also was missing.
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First Female Named Deputy Commander of 'Big Red One'
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - For the first time in its history, "The Big Red One" has a female deputy commander. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the U.S. Army announced the appointment of Brigadier General Niave Knell to Fort Riley's First Infantry Division. Knell's previous assignment was commandant of the U.S. Army Military Police School at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
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Inmate Advocacy Groups Push for New Way to Count Prisoners in the U.S. Census
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) -The U.S. Census counts a prisoner’s home address as the prison they’re housed in and not the place they lived before being incarcerated. Inmate advocacy groups complain that is another form of gerrymandering. Kansas has already completed its redistricting process, but Wanda Bertram, of the Prison Policy Initiative, says the state is misrepresenting the location of inmates. She says current law unfairly changes the shape of legislative districts because most Kansas prisons are in rural towns. The town’s population grows because they have a prison, even though inmates move away after release. “Incarcerated people, even though they're locked up, they still have a political stake in their hometowns," she said. "They're still constituents to the places that they're from.” Kansas prisoners cannot vote. Bertram says having people counted in a district where they can’t vote is not democratic. Most states count inmates the same way Kansas does, but there is a growing trend to rethink this practice.
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Experts: Central U.S. Needs To Be Ready for Next Earthquake
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Experts have warned for decades that a large swath of the central U.S. is at high risk for a devastating earthquake. They know that overcoming complacency is among their biggest hurdles. Hundreds of experts devoted to earthquake preparedness gathered Thursday in St. Louis to discuss risks, preparedness strategies and recovery planning. Though U.S. quakes are most commonly associated with the West Coast, the New Madrid Fault Line centered in southeast Missouri produced three large earthquakes 200 years ago. People in the region have heard so many warnings about the next "Big One" that, for many, it goes in one ear and out the other. But experts warn there's a 7-10% chance of a magnitude 7.0 or greater earthquake in the next 50 years in the New Madrid zone.
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Branson Performer Sentenced to Probation in Foster Kid Charity Scam
BRANSON, Mo. (AP) - A performer in the Missouri tourist town of Branson who convinced his audiences to donate thousands of dollars to a fake charity for foster children has been sentenced to five years of probation. The Springfield News-Leader reports that James Patrick Garrett also was ordered to pay $82,000 in restitution when he was sentenced Friday for wire fraud. The 65-year-old, who is best known for his John Denver tribute, entered a guilty plea last year. The sentencing originally was scheduled for January but was delayed so arrangements could be made to donate $52,000 of the restitution to a real charity benefiting foster children.
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KU Guard Agbaji Unanimous Pick by Big 12 Coaches as Top Player
IRVING, Texas (AP) — Kansas junior guard Ochai Agbaji is the unanimous pick by the Big 12 coaches as the league’s player of the year. Baylor’s Scott Drew was selected by his peers as the Big 12′s top coach for the third season in a row. The reigning national champion Bears shared the Big 12 regular-season title with Kansas. Agbaji is the league’s top scorer at 19.8 points per game. Agbaji and Texas Tech forward Bryson Williams were unanimous picks on the All-Big 12 first team. The other first-teamers are guards Izaiah Brockington from Iowa State, James Akinjo from Baylor and Nijel Pack from Kansas State.
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Baylor's NaLyssa Smith Repeats as Top Big 12 Women's Player; KU Women's Coach Nabs Top Coach Honors
IRVING, Texas (AP) — Baylor standout NaLyssa Smith is the Big 12 women’s basketball player of the year for the second season in a row. Smith is averaging 22.3 points and 11.7 rebounds for fourth-ranked Baylor, which won its 12th consecutive regular-season Big 12 title. Smith is the league’s top rebounder and second-leading scorer. Brandon Schneider was named coach of the year after the University of Kansas won 20 games for the first time since 2013. The Big 12 awards announced Monday were determined by a vote of the league's 10 coaches.
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Washburn Ichabods Head to NCAA Tournament
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) -In NCAA Division 2 basketball, the Washburn Ichabods lost the championship game of their conference tournament, but are still bound for the NCAA tournament. With an eight-game winning streak entering the MIAA title game, the Ichabods played their way into the NCAA tournament. for the fourth time in five years. The top eight are picked for eight regions around the country and Washburn is a No. 7 seed. The Ichabods lost to Northwest Missouri State, 84-76, in the title game and they may meet up again if both teams win in the first round of the Central Regional. The Washburn team will make their fourth NCAA tournament appearance in the last five years and their 16th NCAA postseason appearance overall.
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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!