Wintry Mix Leads to Traffic Snarls and School Closures as New Winter Storm Approaches
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A wintry mixing has been causing 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 Monday. Parts of eastern Kansas and western Missouri are bracing for a winter storm expected to roll in tonight (WED) and Thursday.
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the greater Kansas City area and much of eastern Kansas from tonight (WED) through Thursday night.
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Authorities Identify Man Killed in Kansas Wildfire
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Authorities in south-central Kansas have identified a man who was killed in a wildfire over the weekend that also destroyed 35 homes. The Reno County Sheriff’s Office tells station KAKE that the body of 45-year-old Chadwick Penner was found in a wooded area that had burned on Sunday. The fire began Saturday in eastern Reno County. Besides the homes burned, it also destroyed 92 outbuildings and 110 vehicles as it spread across 12,000 acres. Officials say investigators determined the cause of the blaze was a brush pile fire that was left unattended. The Hutchinson Fire Department said Wednesday morning that the fire was 85% contained, and firefighters expected it to be fully contained sometime between Thursday and Saturday.
(–Earlier Reporting–)
Kansas Fire Kills 1, Destroys 35 Homes Across 12,000 Acres
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Reno County fire officials say a wildfire that burned in south-central Kansas over the weekend killed one man and destroyed 35 homes. The fire that began Saturday in eastern Reno County also destroyed 92 outbuildings and 110 vehicles as it spread across 12,000 acres. Officials did not yet have an estimate on financial damage, or a count of livestock and pet losses. A man was found dead in the fire Sunday. Sheriff Darrian Campbell said authorities won't release his identity until a forensic center in Johnson County makes a positive identification. The Hutchinson News reports Fire Chief Steve Beer says investigators are trying to determine the fire's cause but arson is not suspected.
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GOP Lawmakers in Kansas Pushing for Ban on All Mask Mandates
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators in Kansas are trying to prohibit state and local mask mandates during disease outbreaks. They advanced such a ban Wednesday along with proposals aimed at discouraging local restrictions on businesses and public gatherings. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a measure that would limit the power of state and local health officials during pandemics and strip them of their power to mandate wearing masks. The committee approved a separate measure to require cities and counties to cut businesses’ property taxes for each day they are forced to close or limit their operations. Both measures go next to the full Senate for debate.
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GOP Pushes Changes in How Top Kansas Court Spots Are Filled
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Conservatives have revived their longstanding efforts to change how Kansas Supreme Court justices are selected. The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday approved two rival proposals to amend the Kansas Constitution to change how Supreme Court justices are selected. The measures go to the full Senate for debate. One proposal would have the governor nominate new justices and require their confirmation by the Senate. The other would have prospective justices run in partisan statewide elections. The current selection process has a lawyer-led commission nominate three finalists for each vacancy and the governor make the appointment, with no role for lawmakers. Conservatives see the current selection process as insufficiently transparent.
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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 Governor 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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Kansas AG Asking Judge to Dismiss Redistricting Lawsuits
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Attorney General Derek Schmidt is asking a Wyandotte County judge to dismiss two lawsuits filed against Kansas officials over new congressional district lines enacted by Republican lawmakers. Schmidt's request Monday came three days after the Kansas Supreme Court refused to dismiss the lawsuits and another in Douglas County at the Republican attorney general's request. Democrats and the voting-rights group Loud Light argue that the congressional redistricting law represents partisan and racial gerrymandering and violates the Kansas Constitution. Schmidt and fellow Republicans argue that the new map isn't gerrymandering and even if it were, state courts have no power under the Kansas Constitution to rule on congressional districts.
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Kansas Teacher Sues District over Preferred Pronouns Policy
UNDATED (AP) - A Kansas middle school teacher is suing the district where she works after she was disciplined for refusing to use a student's preferred first name and gender pronouns. Fort Riley Middle School math teacher Pamela Ricard was suspended for three days last year. Ricard's federal lawsuit was filed Monday. She cited her constitutional rights and religious beliefs for her decision. She said the district refused to accommodate her Christian beliefs. The school district did not immediately return requests for comment on the lawsuit. Ricard was reprimanded in April 2021 for addressing a student as "miss'' to avoid using the student's preferred first name after being told the student used he/him pronouns.
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Man Sentenced for Shooting Death of Kansas City Boy
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A 26-year-old Leavenworth man has been sentenced to nearly 17 years in prison for the shooting death of a 12-year-old boy. Darvon Thomas was sentenced Wednesday for second-degree murder in the April 2021 death of Brian Henderson Jr., of Kansas City, Missouri. Police say the shooting happened in the parking lot of a Leavenworth pharmacy during a gun purchase. Evidence showed the firing occurred when the buyers determined the gun was a BB gun. Henderson was sitting in a car that was shot during the argument. Another man, Jaylen L. Johnson, is scheduled to go to trial May 9 on a first-degree murder charge in Henderson's death.
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Wichita Police: 21-Year-Old Man Fatally Shot During Altercation
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police say a 21-year-old man has been shot to death outside an apartment complex near downtown Wichita during an altercation with another man. Police say the shooting was reported around 5 pm Monday along north Broadway Street. Arriving officers found Gabriel Njoroge, of Wichita, with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators say the shooting stemmed from an altercation between Njoroge and a 70-year-old man outside the apartments. Police say that during the disturbance, Njoroge threatened the older man and advanced on him holding a box knife. The older man said he feared for his safety when he shot Njoroge.
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Police Find Man Shot to Death Inside Lee's Summit Home
LEE'S SUMMIT, Mo. (AP) — Police in Missouri say arrests have been made in the shooting death of a man inside a Lee's Summit home overnight. Police officers were called to the home around 1 am Tuesday for a disturbance. Arriving officers found a man dead inside the home who had been shot. Police have not released the man's name. Police said everyone at the scene involved in the shooting was taken into custody, and investigators are not looking for other suspects in the case.
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Lyon County Officials: Mother, Young Son Killed in Crash
EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) — Investigators have identified a mother and her 11-year-old son as the two people killed in a two-vehicle crash in eastern Kansas. The Lyon County Sheriff's Office says 31-year-old Nichole Gibbons, of Wichita, and her 11-year-old son Terrell Gibbons, of Topeka, died in the Sunday afternoon crash on U.S. Highway 50 west of Emporia. Investigators determined that Gibbons' eastbound car crossed the center line and collided with a westbound sport utility vehicle. Gibbons' car was then hit by a second vehicle — a westbound minivan. Gibbons and her son were pronounced dead at the scene. The 49-year-old man driving the minivan was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.
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Prosecutor: Kansas High School Shooter Used "Ghost Gun"
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A prosecutor says a student used a "ghost gun" during a shooting at a Kansas high school that left two adults and the student wounded. Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe says the gun 18-year-old Jaylon Elmore allegedly used in the shooting at Olathe East High School on Friday was an illegal firearm made from a kit or individual parts that can be purchased online. The Kansas City Star reports that Howe says such guns have no serial number and are untraceable. Elmore is charged with attempted capital murder after the shooting wounded a school administrator and a school resource officer. Elmore also was shot. He remained in critical condition Tuesday at a Kansas hospital.
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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.
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Mother: 4 of 7 Killed in Iowa Tornadoes from Same Family
UNDATED (AP) - Authorities say four of the seven people killed in devastating storms that tore through central Iowa were members of the same family who were huddled together in the pantry of a home that was razed by a powerful tornado. Family members said two children, their father and their grandmother all died when a tornado hit the grandparents' home Saturday near rural Winterset. Four other family members were hurt but survived. The children and their parents, from Blue Springs, Missouri, were visiting their grandmother, 63-year-old Melissa Bazley, when the tornado hit. Two others killed in the tornado lived just down the street.
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25% of Missouri Public School Districts Headed to Four-Day School Week
MARSHFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A southwestern Missouri school district that struggles to fill teacher vacancies plans to go to a four-day week starting next fall. The Springfield News-Leader reports that the Marshfield district is among at least nine in Missouri planning to switch to the shorter week in the fall, pushing the total number of districts in Missouri using the truncated schedule to a record 128 — 25% of the state’s school districts. Marshfield Superintendent Mike Henry says the change will mean hourly pay rates will rise substantially. Marshfield has enrollment of 3,100 students, making it the second-largest district in the state to go to a four-day week.
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Court Date Reset for 2 NFL Players, 2 Others in Vegas Case
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A judge in Las Vegas postponed until next month a hearing in an assault case involving two NFL players and two other men accused of severely beating a man at a Las Vegas Strip nightclub the weekend of the Pro Bowl. New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara, Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Chris Lammons and two other defendants — Darrin Young and Percy Harris — didn't have to appear in person in court on Tuesday. A prosecutor acknowledged that video evidence and witness statements are still being provided to their attorneys. The four each face felony charges of battery causing substantial bodily harm and conspiracy to commit battery.
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Missouri House Tries Again for Photo Voter ID Requirement
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Republican Missouri lawmakers are trying again to require photo identification to vote. The GOP-led House on Tuesday advanced a photo identification requirement for voters. The bill needs another vote of approval to go to the Senate. Missouri voters in 2016 amended the state constitution to require photo IDs. But the Missouri Supreme Court later gutted the rule. Republican supporters say photo identification makes voting more secure. Democrats argue photo IDs only prevent voter impersonation, which they say is not an issue. Another measure approved Tuesday would amend the Constitution again to try to require photo identification.
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Kansas Again No. 1 Seed for Wide-Open Big 12 Tournament
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Big 12 Tournament was the place where Kansas validated its regular-season conference championship each year, and usually confirmed its status as one of the top seeds and heavy favorites for the NCAA Tournament. That's changed a bit over the years. Five different schools have played in the last three Big 12 title games, and three different schools have walked away with a trophy: Texas last season, Iowa State three years ago and the Jayhawks the year before that. And no school has won back-to-back titles since the Cyclones won the 2014 and '15 editions before their typical raucous crowds. This year's tournament figures to be just as wide open.
The sixth-ranked Jayhawks are back as the top seed and will play the winner of an opening-round game Wednesday night between Kansas State and West Virginia. But third-ranked Baylor, the defending national champion, lurks as the No. 2 seed as it tries to win its first Big 12 tourney title, No. 14 Texas Tech is seeded third under coach of the year Mark Adams, and the No. 21 Longhorns are plenty capable of defending their title as the tournament's fourth seed. The Longhorns begin the quarterfinal round Thursday against TCU, which went 19-11 in the regular-season and split a pair of regular-season games with Kansas last week. The Jayhawks follow with their game while Baylor plays No. 7 seed Oklahoma and the Red Raiders wrap up a quadruple header of ranked games against the sixth-seeded Cyclones.
As for the Jayhawks, they've been riding a rollercoaster all season. They lost consecutive games to Baylor and TCU in the last couple weeks, then rebounded to beat the Horned Frogs and clinch the No. 1 seed with a win over Texas.
If the Jayhawks are healthy — and that's been a big question all season — they could still be the team to beat. "These last couple weeks we had a chance to seal it and kind of take it away from everyone, but having two losses in a row shocked us a little bit," Kansas forward Jalen Wilson said. "We're just now showing what we can do."
Meanwhile, Kansas guard Ochai Agbaji was the only unanimous first-team All-Big 12 pick this week along with earning The Associated Press Big 12 player of the year award. He was joined on the first time by Akinjo, Iowa State guard Izaiah Brockington, Nijel Pack of Kansas State and Texas Tech forward Bryson Williams.
There will be just one first-round game Wednesday night because Oklahoma State is banned from postseason play, part of a package of punishments handed down by the NCAA for rules infractions. The Cowboys lost a bid to secure an exemption to play in the league tournament.
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Kansas Jayhawks Guard Ochai Agbaji Unanimous Pick for AP Big 12 Top Player
UNDATED (AP) - Kansas senior guard Ochai Agbaji is the unanimous pick as The Associated Press Big 12 player of the year. His is the league's leading scorer at 19.8 points a game and shoots nearly 48% from the field. Agbaji is joined on the first team by Baylor guard James Akinjo, Iowa State guard Izaiah Brockington, Kansas State sophomore guard Nijel Pack and Texas Tech forward Bryson Williams. First-year Texas Tech head coach Mark Adams was picked as the league's top coach in a close vote. Adams got eight votes, one more than Baylor coach Scott Drew.
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KU Signs Big 12 Women's Basketball Coach of the Year Schneider to 4-Year Deal
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Brandon Schneider signed a new four-year contract with the University of Kansas that will pay the Big 12 women's basketball coach of the year $400,000 annually. It also comes with numerous benefits and incentives through the 2025-26 season. Schneider led the Jayhawks to a fifth-place finish in the Big 12 this season after they were voted last in the league’s preseason poll. They won seven straight games earlier this season for the program’s longest streak since 1997. Their 20 wins in the regular season were their most since the 1999-2000 season. KU opens the Big 12 Women's Tournament against fourth-seeded Oklahoma on Friday in Kansas City, Missouri.
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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!