One in Six Kansas Teachers May Leave Professions Early, Fueling Staffing Fears
TOPEKA, Kan. (Topeka Capital-Journal) - About one in six Kansas teachers feel they're likely to leave public education before retiring. That's according to the Topeka Capital-Journal, which cites the Kansas Educator Engagement and Retention Study, which surveyed 20,000 teachers. The study was conducted by Emporia State University Teachers College professor Bret Church and independent organizational psychologist Luke Simmering. The study also found that one in seven teachers feel likely to retire in the next three years. The survey's report adds a layer to other Kansas data that shows the state's schools are facing a staffing shortage. Teacher vacancies, including jobs filled with teachers not fully licensed for those positions, rose 62% to 1,253 vacancies in fall 2021, per a report from the Kansas State Department of Education. The study's response rate represents about half of the state's teaching work force, with teachers from 169 out of 286 Kansas school districts responding. ( Read more.)
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Three Iowa Children Killed in Southwestern Kansas Accident
BUCKLIN, Kan. (AP) — An accident in southwestern Kansas has claimed the lives of three children from Iowa. The Kansas Highway Patrol says the accident happened Saturday afternoon on U.S. Highway 54 near the town of Bucklin. The patrol says a 2008 Mercury was westbound when it crossed the center line and struck a tractor-trailer. The driver of the Mercury, 43-year-old David Clements of West Des Moines, Iowa, sustained serious injuries. Three children in the Mercury died. The patrol identified them as 12-year-old Juno Clements, 10-year-old Arabella Clements, and 7-year-old Harper Clements. The children were from Johnston, Iowa. The patrol report did not state the relationship between the driver and the children. The driver of the tractor-trailer was unhurt.
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Boy, 9, Dies After Being Ejected in Accident in Wichita
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 9-year-old boy has died died after being ejected from a car following an accident in Wichita. The accident happened around 10:15 pm Saturday. Police responded to the scene of an accident involving three vehicles and pronounced the child dead at the scene. His name has not been released. Police say the child was a passenger in a Ford Focus that side-swiped two pickup trucks, causing the 27-year-old driver of the Focus to lose control and strike a bridge abutment. The drivers of the pickup trucks were not injured.
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One Person Dead Following Fire that Destroyed Home in Southeast Kansas
EUREKA, Kan. (AP) — One person has died after fire destroyed a home in the small southeastern Kansas town of Eureka. KSNW-TV reports that the fire was reported early Saturday morning. The fire department says crews arrived to find the home fully engulfed in flames, spreading to a second structure. Details about the victim, including which building that person was in, have not been released. An investigation into the cause continues.
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Trial Begins in Shooting that Killed College Football Player
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Trial is underway for a man accused in a 2019 shooting in Kansas that killed a college football player and wounded a teammate of the victim, a man who now plays in the NFL. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Francisco Mendez is the only person arrested and charged in the case even though a prosecutor said at least three guns were used to fire 18 or more shots in the April 28, 2019, shooting. Washburn University football player Dwane Simmons was killed in the shooting in Topeka. Corey Ballentine was shot and survived. Ballentine is a cornerback and kick returner for the Atlanta Falcons.
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Relatives ID Worker Killed at Wichita Construction Site
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Relatives have identified the man killed on the job at the site where a new water plant is under construction in Wichita. The Wichita Eagle reports that the victim was 55-year-old Manuel Esparza of Wichita, a superintendent for UCI Industrial Construction Services. The company is a subcontractor on the Wichita Water Partners team hired by the city. The accident happened Thursday morning at the construction site of the Wichita Northwest Water Facility. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating Esparza's death.
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Missouri Highway Patrol Investigates Fatal Shooting by Independence Police
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri State Highway Patrol is investigating the fatal shooting of a man by Independence police. Patrol spokesman Sgt. Bill Lowe says the man, whose name was not released, was shot Friday evening after a police chase and crash. The incident began when officers responded to a disturbance call and pursued a white vehicle that was fleeing from the scene. The car crashed and Lowe says when officers approached it, they saw a rifle inside the vehicle and fired, killing the man. Two women who were also inside the car were taken to the hospital. The investigation is continuing.
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Kansas City Officer Charged for Not Working Off-Duty Shifts
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City police officer has been charged with felony stealing by deceit after he allegedly was paid for off-duty security shifts that he didn't work. Jackson County prosecutors announced Friday that 38-year-old Brandon Dean Sherman was paid more than $5,000 to work security at an east Kansas City business in January and February. Prosecutors say video surveillance showed Sherman was not at the business at the times he was supposed to be working. The police department initiated the investigation after receiving a tip. The department said Friday that Sherman has been relieved of his duties. He was issued a summons to appear in court on March 23.
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Derby Man Convicted in Woman's Killing Dies in Prison
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Kansas corrections officials say a Derby man who was convicted of killing his girlfriend and stabbing her son has died in prison. The department says 48-year-old Charles Beck died Friday at a Hutchinson hospital. The cause of his death is being investigated but officials said it is not believed to be related to COVID-19. Beck was serving a hard-25 sentence plus nearly 14 more years for convictions in Russell and Sedgwick counties. Beck was convicted of stabbing and killing 43-year-old Lonnie Staggs in Derby in September 2013. He also stabbed and tried to kill Staggs' teenage son. His crimes in Russell County included battery against a correctional officer.
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2nd Joplin Officer Shot by Suspect Dies; Organs Donated
JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — The body of a Missouri police officer who was shot along with two other officers earlier this week has been taken to a funeral home after his organs were donated. The Joplin Police Department said in a statement Saturday that 27-year-old patrol Officer Jake Reed's vital organs were taken to an airport and flown across the country Friday evening and his body was escorted to a funeral home. Police say Reed and Cpl. Benjamin Cooper were shot on Tuesday by 40-year-old Anthony Felix. Cooper died that day at a hospital. Authorities say a third officer was shot and wounded by Felix, who was then fatally shot by another officer.
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Alabama-to-Colorado Flight Diverted to Wichita Due to Unruly Passenger
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — A commercial flight from Huntsville, Alabama, to Denver was diverted to Wichita after a passenger became unruly. News outlets report the problem occurred Sunday morning on a United Airlines flight operated by SkyWest Airlines. A passenger tells WAFF-TV a woman who appeared to be in her 30s was asking for more alcohol, refusing to wear a face mask and cursing. The flight landed in Wichita and officers came on board to remove the woman. A manager at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport says federal authorities were notified and the woman left the airport. The flight continued on to Denver.
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Fort Riley Deploys Additional Troops to Europe
FORT RILEY, Kan. (KPR) - An additional 300 troops from Fort Riley will soon be deployed to Europe. They'll join other soldiers from the First Infantry Division already stationed in Europe. These soldiers are part of the 7,000 additional troops that the Pentagon said last month would be sent to support America's allies, especially on the eastern flank of NATO countries, to ensure deterrence and defense.
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Court Upholds Sentence in 2018 Junction City Deaths
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has affirmed a sentence given to a man who was pleaded guilty to killing a Junction City woman and her unborn child on Christmas Day in 2018. The court on Friday upheld the sentence of Dion Jamal Green. He pleaded guilty to two counts of felony first-degree murder in the deaths of 31-year-old Jenna Schafer, of Junction City, and her unborn child. He was sentenced to consecutive life sentences with no chance of parole for 25 years. Green challenged the procedures the Geary County District Court used to sentence him. But the state's highest court unanimously affirmed the sentences.
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Kansas Hopes to Use Numerous Assets, Including Geographic Location, to Attract More Business
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - Positioned right in the middle of the country, Kansas may be perfectly placed to grab more business from all ends of the nation. That's the assessment of Business Facilities magazine, which writes that "the state offers a plethora of benefits, including an educated workforce, low taxes and a low cost of living. With Topeka, the capital, and Wichita, its largest city, making a lot of positive news — plus Kansas City just across the border — Kansas is a magnet for many across the Midwest." ( Read more.)
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Fishermen Find Child's Body in Southwestern Missouri Creek
KISSEE MILLS, Mo. (AP) — A child’s body has been found in a southwestern Missouri waterway, and authorities are working to determine if it is a boy who went missing last month. Fishermen found the body around 8:30 p.m. Saturday in Beaver Creek, which is part of Bull Shoals Lake in Taney County. Trooper Sam Carpenter says the body was found in the area where a 6-year-old boy went into the water on February 18. The child’s name has not been released. The child’s family lives about a mile from the site where the boy was last seen. Authorities have said he and his two older sisters walked more than a mile from the home to the water.
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St. Louis County Man Awarded $20 Million in Asbestos Suit
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A jury awarded a St. Louis County man $20 million in a lawsuit against Ford Motor Company over his exposure to asbestos. William Trokey alleged in his lawsuit that he developed mesothelioma in 2020 because he was exposed to asbestos while fixing Ford brakes in the 1960s. A St. Louis jury found Ford liable on Thursday after a two-week trial. The company was ordered to pay $10 million to Trokey and $10 million to his wife. As required by state law, $5 million of the punitive damages will go to the state Tort Victims’ Compensation Fund. A Ford Motor Co. spokesman said the company plans to appeal.
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Officials Arrest 26 People in Kansas City-Area Drug Ring
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Law enforcement officers have arrested 26 people for their alleged roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy in Jackson County, Missouri. Federal prosecutors say that more than 200 officers from federal and Kansas City-area police departments arrested the defendants last week. Officers seized 27 firearms, more than 1,800 rounds of ammunition, drugs and $35,000 in cash. The federal indictment alleges the 26 defendants conspired since January 28, 2019, to distribute crack cocaine, fentanyl, cocaine, and marijuana in the Kansas City area. All but one of the defendants are from Kansas City and they operated mostly in east Kansas City.
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Kansas Earns No. 1 Seed in Midwest Region; Auburn Gets No. 2
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas earned a No. 1 seed for the 15th time on Sunday, second only to North Carolina for most in college hoops history, and will open the NCAA Tournament in the Midwest Region against the play-in winner between Texas Southern and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Fort Worth, Texas. The regional finals will occur in Chicago. Auburn earned the No. 2 seed after a late-year slide, while LSU earned the No. 6 seed one day after the firing of coach Will Wade amid allegations of NCAA misconduct that stems from a wide-ranging FBI investigation into college basketball corruption.
KU fought its way through arguably the toughest league in college basketball this season, ultimately sharing the Big 12 regular-season title with Baylor before romping past Texas Tech to win the conference tournament. Maybe it's karma that the Jayhawks could have the easiest path of a No. 1 seed to the Final Four. They earned the top seed line for the 15th time on Sunday, second only to North Carolina for most in college hoops history, and Big 12 player of the year Ochai Agbaji and company will open the NCAA Tournament in the Midwest Region against the play-in winner between Texas Southern and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in Fort Worth, Texas. "I mean, being a 1-seed shows you've gone through the whole year, put in all the work, the grind it takes to be a 1-seed," Kansas forward Jalen Wilson said, "and now it's time to show it. It comes with the good and bad. Now you have everyone gunning for you. We're used to getting everyone's best shot anyway. Just have to represent it well."
Jayhawks coach Bill Self has a No. 1 seed for the 10th time, third-most in history, trailing only retiring Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski with 14 and former Kansas and North Carolina coach Roy Williams with 13. "I never love our draw and I probably don't this year, either," Self said, "but I certainly don't hate it." While the Jayhawks never reached the top spot in the Top 25 this season, their biggest roadblock to reaching New Orleans spent three weeks there. That would be second-seeded Auburn, the regular-season SEC champs, who will begin their quest for a second Final Four appearance four years against Jacksonville State in Greenville, South Carolina. The Tigers were in line for a No. 1 seed for most of the season, but they took their lumps down the stretch, losing five of their last nine games to slip a line on the bracket.
Kansas could be the biggest favorite of the four No. 1 seeds to reach New Orleans, but much like the rest of the bracket, even the Midwest Region is wide open. Wisconsin and Iowa fought to high seeds out of a brutally tough Big Ten, while the Tigers of coach Bruce Pearl showed earlier this season that they're capable of being the nation's No. 1. What could make the road to New Orleans easier for Kansas, though, is that their first four games would be played in the Dallas metro and Chicago, which are both easy drives from their campus and locations with large alumni bases.
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Gonzaga Lands at No. 1, Top Seeds Are 1-4 in Final AP Poll
UNDATED (AP) - Gonzaga will head into the NCAA Tournament exactly where it ended up in the final AP Top 25 — right on top. The Bulldogs received 54 of 61 first-place votes from a national media panel after romping through the West Coast Conference Tournament to land at No. 1 in the final AP Top 25 for the second straight year. The next three teams also landed No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament, with Arizona earning the other seven first-place votes to finish at No. 2. Kansas was third and Big 12 rival Baylor was fourth. Tennessee was the biggest departure between the poll and bracket, finishing fifth among voters but only earning a 3-seed. Now, it's a matter of finishing things off. The Bulldogs, who earned the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year, lost to Baylor in last year's national championship game.
The top four teams in the final AP Top 25 landed on the top four seed lines of the NCAA Tournament. Arizona, which got the other seven first-place votes to finish second, will open against the play-in winner between Wright State and Bryant in the South Region. The Wildcats were followed by at No. 3 by Kansas, the top team in the Midwest, and Big 12 rival Baylor, which landed on the top seed line in the East Region. The Jayhawks play the Texas Southern-Texas A&M Corpus Christi winner while the Bears open against Norfolk State.
No team has been No. 1 in the final Top 25 and gone on to win the national championship since Kentucky in 2012, but that doesn't mean it isn't a good barometer for who to watch in the NCAA Tournament. Each of the last six national champions finished among the top six in the final poll, including Baylor, which was third last season.
The Big 12, Big Ten and Pac-12 tied for the most teams in the final Top 25 with four apiece, while the Pac 12 and Big East each had three. The West Coast and Mountain West conferences each had two teams while the once-mighty ACC had only Duke — the same number of teams as the Ohio Valley (Murray State) and American (Houston) conferences.
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Royals Hope Youth Yields Edge Through Condensed Spring Training Camp
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals open their long-awaited spring camp in Arizona with a somewhat unexpected edge over just about every other team in baseball: youth. For one thing, they return almost their entire roster intact, making an abbreviated spring training easier to deal with. For another, all those players are full of youthful energy, and might not quite need the two months of work to get limbered up for the season. The Royals are coming off a 74-88 season but were coming on strong at the end, giving them a lot of optimism about the upcoming year.
Dayton Moore has spent more than three decades in baseball, first with the juggernaut Atlanta Braves of the 1990s and the last 16 in charge of the Kansas City Royals, leading them to two World Series and a long-awaited championship. He still sounds like a giddy schoolboy when spring training begins. Which is altogether appropriate: The Royals begin camp today (MON) at their base in Surprise, Arizona, with one of the youngest rosters in baseball, led by a bunch of 20-something arms and with even more youth coming up through the system. "There's nothing like that first day, those first couple days, when players come together," said Moore, who's now president of baseball operations after passing along the general manager title late last season to longtime understudy J.J. Piccolo.
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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!