Kansas Governor Signs Bill to Ban Local 'Sanctuaries' for Immigrants
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has signed a bill pushed by state Republicans that would ban local municipalities from enacting policies that could help immigrants stay in the state illegally. In announcing Monday that she signed the bill, Kelly said immigration is a federal responsibility and Congress should provide a national solution for a broken immigration system. The bill was filed after three Kansas communities passed ordinances to provide local identification cards for immigrants and other residents and to prevent counties from helping the federal government enforce immigration laws unless public safety is threatened. Attorney General Derek Schmidt had urged lawmakers to intervene against the ``sanctuary'' ordinances.
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Attorneys for Kansas Voters Say Redistricting Law Is Gerrymandering
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Attorneys representing voters argued Monday that a newly redrawn congressional map is partisan gerrymandering designed to cost the state’s only Democrat in Congress some of her territory and drown out the voices of minority voters. The state, however, defended the law in closing arguments, arguing that a Kansas City area district now held by U.S. Representative Sharice Davids would remain competitive. Wyandotte County District Court Judge Bill Klapper said he would rule by April 25 at the latest. Regardless of what he decides, Klapper acknowledges that the case is destined for the Kansas Supreme Court.
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Shooting Leaves 1 Teen Dead, Another Injured in Mission
MISSION, Kan. (AP) — Police say a shooting in Mission has left one teen dead and another injured. The Kansas City Star reports the shooting happened just before 9 pm Sunday in the Silverwood Apartments parking lot. Officers called to the scene found the wounded teens in the parking lot. A teenage boy died at the scene, while a teenage girl was taken to a hospital. Police have not released their names. Police say they're searching for a sport utility vehicle seen speeding from the shooting scene.
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Topeka Woman Dies After Being Shot on Interstate 70
ABILENE, Kan. (AP) — A 27-year-old Topeka woman died after she was shot while driving on Interstate 70. The Dickinson County Sheriff's office said in a Facebook post that Samantha Baum was shot Sunday night near Solomon. She made it to a Dollar Store in Solomon and was taken to a Salina hospital, where she later died. The sheriff's department said 48-year-old Eric S. Wymore, of Beulah, Colorado, was booked into the Dickinson County jail on possible charges of involuntary manslaughter. The department did not indicate a motive for the shooting, and said no further information would be released at this time.
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Wichita Police Officer: Teen Didn't Need Medical Help Before His Death
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A community task force reviewing the death of a Black teenager who was restrained for more than 30 minutes at a Kansas juvenile detention center learned that a police officer changed his answers on a form that otherwise would have led police to take the teen to a hospital instead of booking him into the detention center. The Wichita Eagle reported Sunday that a Sedgwick County official who oversees admissions into the detention center told the task force that the officer initially reported there were signs that 17-year-old Cedric Lofton needed medical attention last September but he changed his answers after being told the teen would need a medical review if he said yes on the form.
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Efforts to Make Protective Medical Gear in U.S. Falling Flat
UNIVERSITY CITY, Mo. (AP) — The push to make personal protective equipment in the U.S. is running out steam after an initial surge at the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The Associated Press identified more than $125 million of governments grants to over 300 businesses in 10 states to spur production of masks, gowns, sanitizer and other pandemic supplies. But the AP found that many producers ran into troubles getting equipment, materials and reliable buyers. Many have scaled back, shut down or given up. Industry officials say they need more help from the federal government to ensure there is enough American-made protective gear for future pandemics or emergencies.
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First Commercial Case of Bird Flu Found in McPherson County
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — State and federal agriculture officials say they have identified the first case of bird flu in a commercial flock in Kansas. The state agriculture department announced Monday that avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, was identified in a commercial flock in McPherson County. Previously, bird flu was found in four backyard flocks in Kansas. The McPherson firm is under quarantine and its birds will be culled to prevent spreading the disease. Other farms and properties with poultry that are within in about 12 miles of the McPherson firm will not be allowed to move birds or poultry products on or off their property without permission state agriculture officials.
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Kansas Police Identify 3 Dead in Suspected Murder-Suicide
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Police in suburban Kansas City, Kansas, have identified three people killed in a suspected murder-suicide. Overland Park police say officers went to the home Thursday morning after a woman was unable to contact her family inside the home. Upon entering the home, officers found the three bodies, along with a dead family pet. Police have identified the three dead as 71-year-old Johnnie Hill, 64-year-old Susan Hill and 34-year-old Desiree Hill. Police have not said who they suspect the shooter was and say the investigation is still being conducted.
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Rural Nebraska Fire Chief Dies in Crash on Way to Fight Wildfire
EDISON, Neb. (AP) — A wildfire in southern Nebraska fueled by dry conditions and strong winds forced the evacuation of the small village of Edison, destroyed several homes and led to the death of a rural fire chief who was killed in a crash while he was responding to the blaze. The Nebraska State Patrol called for a mandatory evacuation Thursday night of the Furnas County community of about 130 people about 187 miles southwest of Lincoln as the fire neared the town and spread over 30,000 acres by Friday. The patrol also said that Elwood Volunteer Fire Chief Darren Krull died after the emergency SUV he was a passenger in collided with a water tanker as smoke from the fire cut visibility to zero.
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Kansas Governor Pushing to Eliminate Sales Tax on Groceries
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) _ Kansas lawmakers are working on a compromise measure to phase out the state sales tax on groceries. But Democratic Governor Laura Kelly is still pushing them to completely eliminate the tax by this summer. Republican legislators agree with Kelly that the state’s 6.5% tax on groceries should be eliminated but they want to gradually phase out the tax. The bill they’re working on would cut it to 4% in January, 2% the following year and zero it out by 2025. Many Democrats think Governor Kelly will ultimately have to settle for that compromise but with lawmakers scheduled to return at the end of the month for a one-week wrap up session, she’s not yet ready to give up on her original proposal to take it off the books completely this year. Kelly says with a current surplus of almost $3 billion, the state can afford to eliminate the tax now. Republicans say phasing out the food sales tax will allow the state to gradually adjust to the loss of about $500 million a year in revenue.
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Governor Signs Bill Requiring Prompt Testing of Kansas Sexual Assault Evidence Kits
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) _ Governor Laura Kelly has signed a bill into law that requires sexual assault kits in Kansas to be tested within 30 business days. Kelly says delays in testing are unacceptable. Before the bill was signed, there was no guarantee a sexual assault kit in Kansas would be sent to a lab for testing. Supporters of the change say tests would sometimes sit on shelves for arbitrary reasons, for example if the victim was drunk. In some cases, police said they feared they might not get a conviction so they did not bother to send the kit for testing. Kansas also struggled with a backlog for testing rape kits several years ago, but the backlog has been eliminated and supporters say the new requirement for more timely testing will not cause delays.
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Governor Likely to Veto Kansas Bill Banning Transgender Athletes from Women's Sports
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — A bill passed by the Kansas Legislature to ban transgender athletes from competing in girl’s and women’s sports is likely headed for a veto. The bill - pushed by Republicans - would prohibit transgender girls and women from participating in interscholastic female sports. Governor Laura Kelly vetoed a similar measure last year. She says she’s leaning that way again. “Do I know what I’m going to do? Most likely, it’s very reminiscent of what they put before me before," Kelly said. Supporters of the bill say it’s about fairness. Opponents say it’s about placating conservative voters. The measure got more than enough votes to pass both the House and Senate, but not enough to signal that Kelly would be overridden if she vetoes it.
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Kansas Board of Healing Arts: Physician-Legislator's COVID Directive Has No Weight
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas board that licenses health care providers is raising concerns about a letter that a physician-legislator sent to doctors suggesting that they prescribe ivermectin and other medications that aren’t yet approved to treat the virus. The Kansas Board of Healing Arts said that the “unprecedented” letter from Kansas state Senator Mark Steffen carried no legal or regulatory weight but has caused “confusion and concern” in the Kansas medical community. The Kansas City Star reports that Steffen, who is an anesthesiologist, said that health care providers will be shielded from the board’s “interference” in the letter that he sent last week on official Senate stationery. The Hutchinson Republican said previously that the state medical board is investigating him for promoting the drug ivermectin. Medical experts say the medication, often used to treat livestock, is not effective against COVID-19 and may be dangerous to humans.
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Lawrence Man Killed in Accident Off K-10
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - A Lawrence man is dead and a Mayetta man injured in a two-vehicle accident on an access ramp off K-10 west of Lawrence. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that 71-year-old John Thomas Kirby of Lawrence was killed Friday evening when his car was struck by 55-year-old Anthony Royal. The Kansas Highway Patrol report states that Royal failed to stop at a stop sign coming off the South Lawrence Trafficway. Royal was transported to Stormont Vail in Topeka for treatment of suspected serious injuries.
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Man Whose Murder Conviction Was Reversed Is Resentenced
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 65-year-old Wichita man whose first-degree murder conviction was reversed last year has been resentenced after he pleaded guilty to a lesser crime. Casimoro Nunez was sentenced to life in prison when he was convicted in 2019 for the killing of Antonio Guzman in 2016. Nunez claimed he shot Guzman in self defense. The Kansas Supreme Court tossed out that conviction last year and sent it back to Sedgwick County. Nunez pleaded guilty in January to second-degree reckless murder. He was resentenced last month to a total of 13 years for that crime and for possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.
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Parole Revoked for Iowa Man Convicted of Lottery Rigging in Kansas, Other States
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A man serving a 25-year prison sentence for rigging computers to win lottery jackpots has had his parole revoked after he got into trouble in prison just before his scheduled release. The Iowa Board of Parole approved Eddie Tipton for release in January for good behavior, after he had served nearly five years of his 25-year sentence. The board reversed its decision and rescinded his parole in March after a major disciplinary incident occurred and prison officials recommended revocation of his parole. Tipton pleaded guilty in 2017 to ongoing criminal conduct and was ordered to repay $2.2 million in ill-gotten winnings from lotteries in Colorado, Wisconsin, Kansas and Oklahoma.
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Chinese Man Sentenced in Missouri for Stealing Monsanto Trade Secret
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Chinese national who pleaded guilty earlier this year to stealing a trade secret from Monsanto while he worked in Missouri has been sentenced to more than two years in prison. Haitao Xiang, formerly of Chesterfield, Missouri, was sentenced last week in federal court in St. Louis to 29 months in prison and fined $150,000. Xiang also will undergo three years of supervision upon his release from prison. In January, Xiang pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit economic espionage. Federal prosecutors say Xiang transferred a trade secret to a memory card for the benefit of the Chinese government while he was an imaging scientist for Monsanto and its subsidiary, The Climate Corporation, from 2008 to 2017.
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Missouri Court Throws Out Man's Convictions in 2003 Slaying
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri Supreme Court has thrown out the convictions of a Kansas City man who has spent 16 years in prison for a slaying that he and others contend he did not commit. In a two-paragraph order Tuesday setting aside Keith Carnes' convictions, the state's high court also ordered that Keith Carnes be released from prison within 30 days unless prosecutors move to retry him. Carnes has been in prison since 2006 after being convicted of killing a Kansas City man in 2003, but some witnesses have since recanted their testimony used to convict him. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt had argued to keep Carnes behind bars.
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Lawrence Celebrates KU Basketball Team with Parade
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - KU basketball fans congratulated the team for its national title win with a parade in downtown Lawrence. Thousands of Jayhawks fans cheered the NCAA champions during a parade on Massachusetts Street through Lawrence on Sunday afternoon. The celebration will continue as some of the Jayhawks begin a statewide tour. Members of the team will visit Wichita later this month. Other sites will be added and found at www. barnstormingtour.com.
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Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Has Book Out this Fall
NEW YORK (AP) — Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has a book coming out this fall that covers his years in the Trump administration and, according to his publisher, offers "unvarnished appraisals of the deals made and characters encountered along the way." Broadside Books, a conservative imprint at HarperCollins Publishers, announced last week that Pompeo's book was scheduled for November and is currently untitled. Financial terms were not disclosed. Pompeo is a 58-year-old Republican from Kansas whom President Donald Trump appointed director of the Central Intelligence Agency in 2017. A year later, Trump appointed him secretary of state. Political insiders have speculated that Pompeo might launch a presidential run for the 2024 election cycle.
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Remarkable Rookie Kwan Delivers Again as Guardians Beat Royals
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Steven Kwan kept up an historic start to his big league career with a bases-loaded triple, Oscar Mercado added a two-run homer and the Cleveland Guardians beat Kansas City 10-7 to split their season-opening series. Kwan became the first player in big league history to begin his career by reaching base at least three times in each of his first four games. He was 9 of 13 for the series, reaching base in 15 of 19 plate appearances. Logan Allen earned the win for with two scoreless innings of relief in his first appearance of the season. Jake Brentz took the loss for the Royals.
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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!