Legalized Sports Betting in Kansas Remains in Limbo
TOPEKA, Kan (KNS) - The future of legal sports gambling in Kansas is now uncertain and will hinge on the final days of the legislative session. The Kansas Legislature failed to finalize a plan just hours after lawmakers struck a deal on a bill. It would allow sports betting at casinos or through online apps. House lawmakers narrowly approved it, while the Senate chose not to take up the plan before adjourning for most of April. On the House floor, supporters said Kansas was falling behind dozens of other states that legalized sports gambling in recent years. But critics questioned how much revenue the bill would generate for the state. Republican Representative Paul Waggoner says the plan doesn’t tax enough of the projected profits of casinos. “We should make a good deal for the voters, for the citizens of Kansas, for the taxpayers of Kansas," he said. "We’re not here for the lobbyists.” The Kansas Senate could take up the plan when lawmakers return at the end of the month. Democratic Governor Laura Kelly signaled she would likely sign a sports betting bill.
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Ban on Transgender Athletes Competing in Women's Sports Unlikely to Survive Expected Veto
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas lawmakers have approved a ban on transgender girls and women competing in female school sports. The House passed the bill Friday night. It passed the Senate early Saturday morning, sending the measure to Governor Laura Kelly. She's expected to veto the measure and supporters of the ban fell short in both chambers of a veto-proof majority. The measure was part of a broader agenda for conservatives. It also includes responding to concerns about what's taught in public schools by making it easier for parents to try to remove materials from classrooms and libraries.
(Additional reporting...)
Kansas Unlikely to Ban Transgender Athletes from Competing in Girls' and Women's School Sports
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas appears unlikely to join other states this year in banning transgender athletes from competing in girls' and women's school sports. That's partly because conservative state lawmakers want the ban to apply to elementary school students. The Republican-controlled Legislature approved a proposed ban early Saturday with solid majorities in both chambers. But they don't have the two-thirds majority needed to override an almost-certain veto from Democratic Governor Laura Kelly. She rejected a similar bill last year. Enough GOP lawmakers in Kansas keep breaking with Republican colleagues that LGBTQ-rights advocates will probably prevail. Several dissident Republicans said having a ban apply as early as kindergarten is a problem.
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Kansas Ethics Head Survives Attempt to Oust Him
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - The head of the Kansas Ethics Commission has survived an attempt by state lawmakers to take away his job. The attempt came amid reports that the agency was issuing subpoenas to lawmakers as part of an investigation into possible campaign finance violations. Republican senators tried to force out Mark Skoglund by passing a requirement that the executive director of the agency be a licensed lawyer. Skoglund is a lawyer but let his license lapse in 2017. The Republican lawmakers withdrew their proposal when Democratic Representative Vic Miller and others objected, saying it appeared to be a response to the rumored investigation. "I don’t know if you all have, but I’ve been hearing rumors now for the better part of probably a month that there are some 30 subpoenas issued to elected members," Miller said. Skoglund says he can’t comment on whether an investigation is underway.
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Kansas GOP Lawmakers Abandon Plan to End 3-Day Grace Period on Mail-In Ballots
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Republican state legislators in Kansas have abandoned a proposal to end the three-day grace period the state gives voters who use mail ballots. Republican lawmakers are still pursuing efforts to restrict the use of ballot drop boxes in elections. The GOP's latest plans emerged Friday from negotiations between the House and Senate over proposals to tighten state election laws. The Senate approved the proposal on ballot drop boxes, but the House did not take it up before lawmakers adjourned early Saturday for their annual, three-week spring break. The vote in the Senate on the ballot drop box measure was 21-17. Some Republicans representing rural areas joined Democrats in voting against it.
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KBI: Toddler Fatally Shot by Officer in Kansas Standoff
BAXTER SPRINGS, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says a toddler found dead inside a southeast Kansas home after a standoff between her father and law enforcement officers was fatally shot by a police officer. The KBI reported preliminary findings Monday from the deadly March 26 shootings in Baxter Springs. Thirty-seven-year-old Eli Crawford fired at officers for more than three hours in what the KBI called a hostage situation. Crawford died along with 2-year-old Clesslyn Crawford and her mother, 27-year-old Taylor Dawn Shutte. The KBI said Crawford shot Shutte as she exited their home when officers responded to a call for help. The KBI said Crawford is believed to have shot himself.
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Kansas Researcher to Mount Defense over China Ties at Trial
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The trial of a researcher accused of illegally keeping secret work he was doing for China while employed at the University of Kansas has resumed with defense attorneys trying to cast doubt on the government’s handling of his prosecution. Feng “Franklin” Tao faces charges of wire and program fraud for allegedly not disclosing on conflict-of-interest forms the work he was doing for China. The FBI agent who oversaw the investigation testified Monday that he didn’t learn until after the professor’s arrest that Tao was keeping up with his grant work and actually had been honored for his high output.
(–Earlier Reporting–)
Defense Expected to Present Case in Trial of KU Professor Charged with Fraud
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCUR) - The defense is expected to begin putting on its case today (MON) in the trial of a University of Kansas professor accused of wire fraud. An FBI agent is expected to take the witness stand in the trial of Franklin Tao, a tenured chemistry professor accused of concealing his ties to a university in China. The agent took part in the investigation of Tao. Tao was the first academic charged under a now defunct Trump-era program called the China Initiative. In January, the government dismissed similar charges against an M-I-T professor. The trial, which has been closely watched by civil rights advocates, is expected to go to the jury this week.
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18-Year-Old Charged in Topeka with Killing His Infant Daughter
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - An 18-year-old has been charged in the death of his 6-month-old daughter. The Shawnee County District Attorney's Office says Tray'vonne Da'Mont Jones-McNeal has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Brielle Jones. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that he also faces an alternative count of reckless but unintentional second-degree murder. Rescue workers were called early Thursday to an apartment and found Brielle suffering from blunt-force trauma injuries. She was taken to a Topeka hospital, where she died an hour later. Topeka police say the girl's mother was also taken to the hospital, where she was treated and released.
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Kansas City Fire Displaces 12 People
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A fire at a three story apartment building in Kansas City early this (MON) morning has displaced a dozen people. Television station KCTV reports the blaze caused significant damage to the apartment building on East 28th Street, east of Benton Boulevard. No one was hurt. The cause of the blaze is under investigation.
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Court Records: Olathe Man Shot, Killed After Offering Man a Ride
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) - Court records say a Kansas City, Missouri, man fatally shot an Olathe man who offered to give him a ride because it was raining. Twenty-eight-year-old Aaron Simmons Jr. was charged Friday with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of 32-year-old David Rowe. The Olathe man was shot four times Tuesday night outside a closed Independence gas station. The probable cause statement said Rowe's girlfriend told police that Simmons became angry when they drove near him, alleging that they "almost hit him." She said Rowe rolled down the window and said they just wanted to give him a ride, and Simmons threatened to shoot him. She said Rowe then got out of the SUV and was shot.
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Former NW Missouri Teacher Charged with Multiple Sex Crimes
KINGSTON, Mo. (AP) - A former northwest Missouri teacher and coach has been charged with multiple sex crimes. Twenty-nine-year-old Zachary Douglas, of Utica, is jailed without bond pending an April 7 hearing on 11 felony and seven misdemeanor counts. The charges were filed in two batches over the past two weeks. They include sexual contact with a student, statutory sodomy and furnishing pornographic material. Zach Douglas taught science at Braymer High School and coached football and baseball.
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Two Lawrence Men Arrested After Gun Scare on KU Campus
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - Two Lawrence men have been arrested following a foot chase through the University of Kansas campus on Friday. KU issued an alert Friday afternoon warning of a possible armed suspect near Memorial Stadium, but the only firearm located was a BB gun in a backpack dropped by one of the suspects. 29-year-old Clinton Dubray and 29-year-old Roger Helm were arrested on outstanding warrants. The university sent out an all-clear shortly after the two men were apprehended.
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Applebee's Fires Employee Who Sent Embarrassing Email
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) - Applebee's has confirmed that an employee of a Missouri-based franchisee has been fired after sending an email speculating that high gas prices and the end of pandemic stimulus money would force employees to work longer hours for lower pay. Kevin Carrol, Applebee's chief operations officer, said in a statement, that the opinion was not shared by the company. The email got into the hands of a Lawrence, Kansas, restaurant manager last month, who made copies of it. The manager told the Springfield News-Leader that he also shared it with a friend, who posted it on Reddit.
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Dick Kelsey, Beloved AP Broadcast Editor, Dies at Age 76
PHOENIX (AP) — Dick Kelsey, a retired Associated Press broadcast editor who was revered as much for his humor as his hardworking nature, has died after a seven-year battle with cancer. He was 76. Kelsey died Thursday at his Phoenix home. Raised in Lockport, New York, he overcame a childhood stutter and established a career in radio. After more than 20 years, he went into print journalism. He joined the AP in 2005 in Kansas City, Missouri, writing broadcast copy for some of the biggest news stories, like the BTK Killer's arrest. He later joined AP's West Regional Desk in Phoenix. He is survived by his wife, daughter, son-in-law, grandson and sister.
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Kansas Ready to Rumble with North Carolina for National Basketball Title
NEW ORLEANS (KNS/KPR) - The Kansas Jayhawks have reached their third NCAA national championship game in four appearances at the Final Four under head coach Bill Self. Self is hoping for a better result than 10 years ago in New Orleans. This is KU’s first title game appearance since 2012 when the Jayhawks lost to Kentucky in the championship game. While he has the 2008 championship under his belt, Self says he thinks about his teams that fell short of winning a title. KU teams coached by Self have faced North Carolina three times in the NCAA tournament. And the Jayhawks have won all three, most recently at a regional eight years ago in Kansas City.
Two years ago the pandemic wiped out a chance for the Kansas Jayhawks to prove that they were the best men’s basketball team in the nation. Some players from that team who are still around haven’t forgotten about that lost opportunity. One of them is David McCormack, who led KU with 25 points in the semifinal win over Villanova. McCormack says he thinks about his teammates from that team who are no longer around. "I know what we would have done that year," he said. "We were on a positive slope. Everything was going right for us. Everybody was jelling, connecting." KU is hoping to win its first NCAA championship since 2008 when they take on the North Carolina Tar Heels, who eliminated Duke in Saturday's other semifinal.
Tip-off between KU and UNC is set for 8:20 tonight (MON).
(-Related-)
Jayhawks, Tar Heels Enter NCAA Title Match-Up with Common Roots
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — There are strong connections between North Carolina and Kansas. The storied programs heading into Monday night's NCAA men's championship game in New Orleans share stories and ties to some of the giants of the sport. The connections include late North Carolina Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith being a Kansas alumnus. Smith played for the Jayhawks under Phog Allen, who had learned the game from basketball inventor Dr. James Naismith. There is also Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams, who spent 33 years between the two schools as head coach. Tar Heels first-year coach Hubert Davis says he still remembers the pain of losing to Williams' Kansas team in the 1991 Final Four as a guard on that North Carolina squad.
(-Related-)
Kansas Coach Bill Self Seeks Second Basketball Title, Place in History
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Kansas coach Bill Self finds himself in the same spot that longtime North Carolina coach Dean Smith once did. Both had won national championships at the respective schools, and piled more Final Four appearances on top of them. And both had been inducted into the Hall of Fame, which should be the crowning achievement of a coach's career. Yet it took Smith more than a decade to win a validating second national championship. Now, Self has a chance to win his second, too, and coincidentally it would come against the Tar Heels on Monday night.
Along the way, each coach slipped into a coveted gold jacket from the Hall of Fame, something meant to represent the crowning achievement for a college coach.
Yet it took Smith, who grew up in southeast Kansas and played for the Jayhawks, more than a decade to win a validating second national championship with the Tar Heels. And it has likewise been 14 years and counting since Self captured his first with the Jayhawks.
Perhaps fittingly, Self will get another crack at his second against the Tar Heels on Monday night at the Superdome.
"Coach doesn't need to do anything to be one of the greats," said the Jayhawks' Mitch Lightfoot, "but I think we would all like to win another, as any coach in America would like to win another.
"We want to go out there and fight for him," Lightfoot said. "He means the world to us and we want to go fight for him."
Unlike so many coaches who seek the spotlight, Self would rather do just about anything than talk about himself. He has an uncanny ability to take any question about him, or his legacy, and deflect it entirely or spin the answer in the context of his program, for which he routinely calls himself nothing more than "a caretaker."
But he's also the first to admit that hanging one national title banner since 1988 in the rafters of Allen Fieldhouse is not enough. Nor are three NCAA titles in the history of the program. And the long period since Self's own in 2008 doesn't cut it for the school that produced Wilt Chamberlain whose first coach, James Naismith, invented the game.
"At most places winning one national championship would be quite an accomplishment," Self said Sunday, one day after Kansas beat Villanova in the Final Four. "I think as many good teams as we've had, one's not enough. And so I don't think that I personally feel pressure that we have to win, but I do know that when you have a chance to coach at a place where you have an opportunity to be in the game most years, you need to take advantage of that more than we have."
Indeed, Self has won 762 games during his career, including his time at Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois, and given another year he is certain to pass Lou Henson, Lute Olson and Lefty Driesell and approach the top 10 on the career list.
As it stands, nine of the 15 ahead of him have won multiple titles. That includes Roy Williams, who led Kansas to four Final Fours but did not win a championship until returning to North Carolina, where he won three before retiring last year.
The coaches who have won multiple championships, who took the leap from being a great coach to one of the all-time greats: John Wooden at UCLA and Mike Krzyzewski at Duke, Adolph Rupp at Kentucky and Bob Knight at Indiana. And yes, Smith, whose two titles with the Tar Heels matches such luminaries as Henry Iba and Denny Crum.
That is the the rarified company that Self is still trying to join.
"He's a part of that group. He just is," Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis said. "The job that he's done throughout his entire career, not just on the court, but in the classroom, in the community, the way that he loves his players, how hard his players play for him, the impact that he's made for his players, not only in basketball but in life, that's the determining factor to me on a really good coach. That it's not just about basketball. It's about people. It's about relationships."
Self is in many ways a complex person.
He's intensely competitive yet knows when to put the game into proper perspective. He's a natural charmer with an "aw shucks" attitude that serves him well in the kitchen's of recruits, yet he can also cuss like a sailor when there is a missed call — or at least one he thinks was missed — during a critical juncture of a game.
He's also a family man who loved nothing more than coaching his son, Tyler Self, and still catches himself seeking advice from his father, a longtime coach and educator, even though Bill Self Sr. passed away in January.
"I actually probably have talked to him more in the last couple of months than I probably did when he was still living," Self said. "I don't know there's any specific things. I know when we get in a bind, 'All right, what do you think? What do we need to do here.' Stuff like that. But everybody goes through stuff. And certainly my stuff isn't bigger than anybody else's."
There is some stuff that looms quite large over Self and his program.
The past few years, the Jayhawks have played amid the shadow of an NCAA investigation that found five Level I infractions within the program, including a charge leveled directly at the head coach. It was part of a larger FBI probe into college basketball corruption that ensnared several big-time programs, and that has left Kansas awaiting its fate from independent arbitrators that were empaneled in part because of the legal complexity of the case.
The potential for serious and lasting NCAA penalties has not made it any easier for Self to win another championship.
"We've been dealing with some stuff off the court for a while," he admitted, "but there was never a doubt that we didn't have the potential to get back here because two out of the last three years we've been arguably as good as anybody."
Three years ago, the Jayhawks had a team built to win in March, featuring imposing Udoka Azubuike, the dynamic Devon Dotson and a cast of characters that seemed destined to cut down the nets. They were unbeatable from January on, winning all but one game in the Big 12 and positioning themselves for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
It finally took COVID-19 to stop them. The pandemic abruptly ended the season and their championship hopes.
Now, with several of the same players on the team, the Jayhawks are within one win of finishing the job. If they can beat North Carolina on Monday night, Lightfoot and Christian Braun and Ochai Agbaji will finally get to cut down those nets, and Self will finally have the second national championship that has so long eluded him. "It's time. We got here. This was the goal all along," Braun said. "We always say, 'We come to Kansas to play in big games,' but we come to Kansas to play in national championship games. Everybody is feeling good right now. We are all confident. It's time to put another national championship banner up."
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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!