Kansas Foster Kids Still Housed in State Offices, Despite Lawsuit
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas foster children are still sleeping in office buildings years after the problem first surfaced. Even though the state was ordered to end the practice four years ago, 79 foster children slept in office buildings from January 2021 through May of this year. A lawsuit filed four years ago alleged Kansas foster children were being placed in so many homes or offices that they were essentially homeless. Teresa Woody is with Kansas Appleseed, one of the groups that sued the state. “One of the primary things in the settlement agreement was to stop kids from sleeping in offices," she said. Children can sleep in offices, but only for extraordinary reasons. The state said children slept in offices due to COVID infections and not having the right homes to take them. Woody says only COVID counts as extraordinary. “One child stayed for over a month in an office. And that's totally unacceptable.” The state says children are still sleeping in offices because some caught COVID and others did not have a foster home that could meet their needs.
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Former FHSU President Files to Run for Kansas House
TOPEKA, Kan. (Kansas Reflector) – Edward Hammond, the former president of Fort Hays State University, has filed to run for a seat in the Kansas House. The Kansas Reflector reports that Hammond filed the paperwork Friday, hoping to take on incumbent Republican Barb Wasinger in the contest to represent the state's 111th District. Hammond said he had not intended to enter politics, but found himself in opposition to Wasinger's voting record on education, health, and transportation issues. He told the Reflector that he disagreed with Wasinger's opposition to expanding eligibility for Medicaid programs, saying that GOP decisions to block that expansion were costing Hays Medical Center millions of dollars annually. No other Democrat has filed for the race; the filing deadline is June 10th. ( Read more.)
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Topeka Jury Sides with Police Officer in Lawsuit over 2018 Arrest
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – A jury in Topeka has found that a white police officer did not use excessive force when he arrested a Black man in 2018. Timothy Harris sued police officer Christopher Janes after his arrest during a traffic stop. Harris said the officer violated his civil rights by taking him to the ground, hitting him and using pepper spray while his hands were handcuffed behind his back. But on Thursday, a federal jury ruled in the officer's favor. During closing arguments, the officer's defense attorney argued that Harris was resisting arrest during the confrontation and the officer's conduct was reasonable.
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Ford to Hire More Workers at Claycomo Plant
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR) - Ford Motor Company is hiring more than 1,000 new, full-time workers in Kansas City. Company officials say the move is part of a massive investment that will help Ford produce more electric vehicles. Ford announced that it’s launching a major expansion at its Claycomo plant just northeast of Kansas City. Ford executive Kumar Galhotra says it’s not just here. “We’re going to create 6,200 new UAW (United Auto Workers) jobs and invest $3.7 billion in Ford plants across the Midwest," he said. The Claycomo plant will add a third shift producing the popular Transit and E-Transit delivery vans, requiring 1,100 new workers and a $95 million investment. Ford is also adding jobs at plants in Michigan and Ohio. Most of them involve the Ford F-150 Lightning electric pickups and a new battery powered commercial vehicle.
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Ford Motor Company Embarks on Hiring Spree in Kansas City, Cleveland and Detroit to Build More Electric Vehicles
AVON LAKE, Ohio (AP) - Ford will add 6,200 factory jobs in Michigan, Missouri and Ohio as it prepares to build more electric vehicles and roll out two redesigned combustion-engine models. The company says it will invest $3.7 billion in the three states, and it will convert about 3,000 temporary workers to full-time status with benefits. A factory near Cleveland will be expanded so it can build an unidentified new electric commercial vehicle, with 1,800 new jobs. A plant in Claycomo, Missouri, near Kansas City, that makes big electric and combustion-engine vans will get a third shift of 1,100 workers. And in Michigan, the company will add 2,000 jobs at three assembly plants as well as another 1,200 at other facilities.
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Nationwide Suicide Hotline Number Set to Launch
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KNS) - A new, three-digit, suicide hotline number is launching next month to help people who are in a mental health crisis. Governor Laura Kelly has signed a new Kansas law funding local resources for the national hotline and creating intervention teams. When dialing 9-8-8, Kansans suffering a mental health emergency will be connected to health professionals in the area and crisis teams that may be able to help. The bill sets aside $10 million a year to add the resource. After signing the bipartisan bill into law, Kelly said the hotline will help save lives. The Kansas News Service reports that the 9-8-8 line will be available 24/7 and will be part of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Centers network.
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Kansas Officer Who Fatally Shot Ex-Detective Will Not Be Charged
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - Prosecutors say a police officer in Kansas who fatally shot a former police detective during a scuffle will not be charged with a crime. Wyandotte County prosecutors say no charges will be filed against the Kansas City officer who shot Lionel Womack in November. The Kansas City Star reports that two officers confronted Womack following 911 calls about a man trying to jump in front of traffic. Investigators say that within seconds of confronting Womack, the former detective had disarmed one officer and pointed the weapon at him, leading the second officer to shoot Womack. Police have not named the officers involved.
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Cheeses Sold in Kansas, Missouri Grocery Stores Recalled Due to Health Threat
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — Many cheese products are being recalled due to the potential of Listeria contamination. WDAF TV reports that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) made the announcement Thursday. Paris Brothers Inc. in Kansas City, Missouri, has issued a voluntary limited recall of the following items:
- Cottonwood River Cheddar
- D’amir Brie Double Crème French Brie
- Milton Prairie Breeze White Cheddar Style
- Milton Tomato Garlic Cheddar
- Paris Brothers Mild Cheddar
- Paris Brothers Colby Jack
- Paris Brothers Pepper Jack
- Cervasi Pecorino Romano
Listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in those who are young, frail, elderly or have weakened immune systems. Symptoms in healthy individuals can include short-term issues like high-fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea. It can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths for those who are pregnant. These products have been sold to wholesalers for distributions in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Oklahoma, Nebraska, South Dakota, one store in Mississippi and one store in Florida.
The recalled cheeses were produced between May 4-6. Shipping cartons of the affected products will have lot codes of 05042022, 05052022 or 05062022.
The Listeria monocytogenes were found due to a routine sampling by the FDA. No illness has been reported yet. The Checkers in Lawrence sold the recalled cheese, as well as many other stores in Kansas. The list of grocery stores that sold the impacted products can be viewed by clicking here. Consumers who have purchased the impacted cheese are encouraged to return the cheese for a full refund.
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Prosecutor: Woman Shot by Kansas City Police Was Armed
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Kansas woman who was shot and wounded by Kansas City police last week has been charged with several counts. Jackson County prosecutors have charged 26-year-old Leonna Hale, of Kansas City, Kansas, with unlawful firearm possession, displaying a firearm and resisting arrest. Prosecutors say police body camera video of the shooting showed Hale was holding a gun in her right hand last Friday as police tried to arrest her in connection with a reported carjacking that took place in Kansas City, Kansas. Police say officers fired at Hale in the parking lot of a Dollar General store as she fled holding a gun. Hale was wounded and hospitalized.
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KC Man Accused of Kidnapping Woman from Ward Parkway Home, Raping and Robbing Her at Gunpoint
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KC Star) - A Kansas City man is accused of kidnapping a stranger from her Ward Parkway neighborhood home before forcing her to get money from the bank and then raping her at gunpoint. Police say 19-year-old Sean Quinn Jr. has been charged in Jackson County with sodomy, robbery, burglary, kidnapping, auto theft and three counts of armed criminal action. He was arrested the day of the alleged assault and is being held in the Jackson County Jail. (Read more in the Kansas City Star.)
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U.S. Senate Candidate Legally Running for Office in both Kansas and Oklahoma
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - A long shot Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate is running for election in both Kansas and Oklahoma because of a loophole in the federal election rules. The Kansas News Service reports that Joan Farr is eligible to run in both states because the U.S. Constitution says a candidate must be a resident at the time they are elected, but not while they are campaigning. Farr listed a P.O. box in Derby as her home address when filing to run. Clay Barker, an attorney for the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office, says that means Kansas must allow her to appear on the ballot whether or not she’s a Kansas resident right now. “And the courts have upheld that a person could have never stepped foot in a state and they do it on election day and they could be elected," he said. Farr is the only Republican filed to run against GOP Senator Jerry Moran in the August 2nd primary.
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Kansas City Mother Accused of Decapitating Son Found Unfit for Trial
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Kansas City woman accused of decapitating her 6-year-old son has been found mentally unfit to stand trial. The Kansas City Star reports that a judge last week placed 35-year-old Tasha Haefs in the custody of the Missouri Department of Mental Health after finding her incompetent to stand trial. Haefs had been charged with first-degree murder in the killing of Karvel Stevens. Officers in February found the boy and a family dog decapitated. Police went to the home after a woman believed to be Haefs called and said the devil was trying to attack her. Haefs' family members say she had struggled for years with drug addiction, depression, severe trauma and hallucinations. A message seeking comment was left Wednesday for Haefs' public defender.
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Missouri Man Guilty of Killing Kansas Woman He Was Accused of Stalking
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) - A Missouri man has been convicted of killing a woman he was accused of stalking and faces life in prison when he's sentenced in October. The Kansas City Star reports that a Johnson County jury found 44-year-old Clyde James Barnes Jr., of Kansas City, guilty Tuesday of first-degree murder and other counts in the July 2020 killing of 42-year-old Jessica Smith in her Olathe home. Barnes was also found guilty of aggravated burglary, unlawful tampering with electronic monitoring, criminal threat and violation of a protection order. Olathe police who were responding to a burglary call at Smith's home found her body inside and arrested Barnes hours later. At the time, Barnes was out on bond for a stalking charge involving Smith, but the charge was later dismissed.
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Kansas City Man Charged over Shooting of Frisbee Golf Player
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A 21-year-old man has been charged with two felonies after authorities said he shot at a group of frisbee golf players in a Kansas City, Missouri, park and wounded one of them. Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker's office said the Kansas City, Missouri, man faces one count of first-degree assault and a count of armed criminal action. He remained Tuesday in the Jackson County Detention Center, and it wasn't clear whether he had an attorney. The shooting occurred Saturday afternoon at Kessler Park, according to court records. A man was wounded in the back and transported to a local hospital.
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Local Governments Turn Away $73 Million of Federal Pandemic Aid
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Local governments across the U.S. have turned down a potential total of $73 million in federal pandemic relief funds. An Associated Press analysis found that 1,468 smaller cities, towns, villages and counties effectively said "no" to their share of the American Rescue Plan. Some local officials told the AP they had no need for the money. Others said they didn't want the hassle of dealing with the federal government. Some expressed political opposition to the relief package enacted last year by the Democratic-led Congress and President Joe Biden. The rejected money amounts to a small percentage of the $350 billion of government aid.
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Lawsuit over Kansas City Police Control Allowed to Proceed
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A judge has declined to dismiss a lawsuit challenging state control of the Kansas City police department. Civil rights leader Gwendolyn Grant claims in a lawsuit filed against the Kansas City Police Board of Commissioners that state control of the local police department is discriminatory and prevents Kansas City residents from having a say in how millions of tax dollars are spent in their city. The Kansas City Star reports a Jackson County judge ruled this week that the lawsuit could proceed. The lawsuit is the latest step in a long fight between state lawmakers and Kansas City over control of the police department.
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Big 12 Conference Brings in Record $426 Million; New Commish Expected Mid-July
IRVING, Texas (AP) — The Big 12 Conference is distributing a record $426 million of revenue to its 10 schools for the 2021-22 school year. That is a nearly 25 percent increase over last year and 10 percent higher than its peak before the pandemic. Texas Tech president Lawrence Schovanec, chairman of the Big 12 board of directors, says the league is in a very strong position. Schovanec also said Friday at the league's annual spring meetings that the search for a new conference commissioner is on track to be completed by mid-July.
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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.