Winter Storm Moving into Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - A winter storm is expected to bring snow and high winds to north-central and northeast Kansas, making travel difficult in some areas. Heavier snowfall amounts are expected Wednesday night in Manhattan, Junction City, Abilene, Holton and Atchison. Lower snowfall totals are expected in Topeka, Lawrence and Emporia. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for portions of north-central and northeast Kansas and a Winter Weather Advisory for portions of northeast and east-central Kansas.
Get the latest weather for eastern Kansas here.
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'Our Own Dynasty': Kansas City Fetes Latest Super Bowl Win
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs stars Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce vowed to thousands of fans celebrating their Super Bowl championship that the team will be back for more in the future. During a victory rally Wednesday following a parade through downtown, Mahomes and Kelce joked about “experts” who played down the Chiefs' chances to make the Super Bowl in what some said would be a rebuilding year. Mahomes said he “didn't know what rebuilding means,” and then said this season was just the beginning. Coach Andy Reid praised what he called the greatest team, the greatest organization and the greatest fans in the world.
(–Earlier reporting–)
Super Bowl Victory Parade Celebrates the Kansas City Chiefs
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR/LJW) - Kansas City fans are taking to the streets to celebrate the team’s second Super Bowl victory in four years. A parade is set for noon Wednesday and will culminate in a victory rally at Union Station at approximately 1:45 pm. The National WWI Museum is hosting viewing opportunities on its north lawn. The parade route runs from the City Market and continues down Grand Boulevard before turning on Pershing Road to finish in front of Union Station. As a result of the Super Bowl celebration, many Kansas City areas schools have canceled classes.
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TikTok Ban on State-Owned Devices Could Affect Kansas Students
TOPEKA, Kan. (KAKE) - A move to permanently ban TikTok on state-owned devices is underway at the Kansas Statehouse and could end up affecting Kansas students. KAKE TV reports that the proposal includes state-owned and operated Internet networks. In less than a decade, TikTok's grown from nothing to more than a billion users. Fear of what TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, could be learning from all those phones is what's spurring action this week at the Kansas Statehouse.
Republican Rep. Blake Carpenter, of Derby, told a Kansas House committee this week that he's concerned about user privacy and that data being given to the Chinese Communist Party. Most members of the House Legislative Modernization Committee want to ban the TikTok app on all state-owned phones, notebook computers and laptops.
Under consideration is a bill to expand a ban already implemented by Governor Laura Kelly. Her Executive Order last December banned the use of TikTok in all Executive Branch offices. The proposed ban wouldn't include privately owned devices but it could keep a person from using state-owned wifi networks to access the app on those devices. That includes wifi like the open system at the Statehouse, or the wifi provided at many state universities.
Under the proposal, Kansas would join at least 11 other states with similar partial or complete bans at state-funded schools. Lawmakers are moving quickly on this issue. They voted the bill out of committee Monday, the same day as the hearing. It now moves on to the full Kansas House for debate.
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Rare Video of 1986 Dive in Titanic Wreckage Released
FALMOUTH, Mass. (AP/KPR) - Some rare underwater video of the Titanic wreck is being released. Kansas native Robert Ballard, perhaps the world's greatest deep sea explorer, discovered the Titanic in 1986. The video, much of it never seen before in public, is being released by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on its YouTube channel. More than 80 minutes of footage is being released. It chronicles some of the remarkable achievements of the expedition led by Ballard, who was born in Wichita. His 1986 expedition marked the first time human eyes had seen the giant ocean liner since it struck an iceberg in April 1912. The luxury liner sank in the frigid North Atlantic on its maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City. About 1,500 people died.
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Kansas Lawmakers Consider a "Flat Tax"
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas lawmakers are holding hearings this week on a controversial proposal to flatten the state’s individual and corporate income tax rates. Currently the state has three rates for individuals. This bill would reduce that to one 5% rate. The Kansas Chamber, the state’s most influential business group, is pushing the proposal. But lawmakers in both parties are worried about its $1 billion-a-year cost. Republican Adam Smith chairs the House Tax Committee. He says lawmakers need to be cautious when acting on several competing tax-cut proposals. “You know, everything we do has a cost," he said. "So, we just have to decide what’s our priority.”
Opponents of the flat tax contend the change would cost the state too much in revenue and jeopardize funding for state programs. But Dave Trabert, of the conservative Kansas Policy Institute, says a flat rate is the fairest way to tax income. “This is not, in any way, going to make something unfair," he said. "Certainly (not) if your definition of fair is ‘we all pay at least our share of the tax.’” Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s priority is speeding up the elimination of the state sales tax on food and reducing taxes on Social Security benefits.
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Kansas Lawmakers Consider Gender Transition Bill Penalizing Doctors
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas doctors could soon face court battles or a loss of their license if they perform gender-affirming care on minors. A bill in the Kansas Statehouse opens up legal jeopardy for doctors who give hormone blockers or surgeries to anyone under the age of 18. Chloe Cole had a double mastectomy and puberty blockers but she regrets her decisions. She was told of the risks but says she was too young to understand. She worries she can’t get pregnant now. “I wasn't thinking about having a kid," she said. "I had no idea what that might look like for me... I was still a minor.” Opponents of the bill say Cole’s case is uncommon. They say providing access to gender-affirming care will save lives by lowering the suicide rate.
If Kansas lawmakers decide to crack down on gender-affirming care, it could make it nearly impossible for trans individuals to get hormone therapy or surgeries in the state. The proposed bill would say doctors can either lose their license or get sued if they perform such care on those under age 18. D.C. Hiegert, with the ACLU of Kansas, said the bill is dangerous. "People will die. Families will suffer," he said. But the bill has plenty of support from those who say the surgeries are too permanent. They worry children don’t realize the long-term effects and could later regret their decision. No vote was taken on the bill, but further action is possible.
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States' Push to Define Sex Decried as Erasing Trans People
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A bill in Kansas and similar legislation in at least seven other states have LGBTQ-rights advocates worrying about a sweeping Republican-led effort to erase the legal existence of transgender men and women. A Kansas Senate committee could vote next week on a measure that would define what it means to be male and female in state law, basing people’s legal gender identities on their anatomy at birth. Critics say such measures could prevent transgender people from changing their driver's licenses and birth certificates so that they match their gender identities. Those behind the bills say they’re responding to parents and others who are uncomfortable with “biological men” or “biological boys” sharing spaces meant for women and girls.
Kansas Bill Would Ban Trans Athletes from Girls' Sports
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas Republicans are again trying to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls' and women’s sports at public schools. The new effort, launched Monday, is the third try in three years. The bill would allow only student athletes who were born biologically female to play in girls’ and women’s sports at public schools. Supporters of the bill say allowing transgender athletes to play girls’ sports is unfair. But Democratic Representative Heather Meyer, a parent of a transgender child, says the bill would hurt the mental health of transgender students. “We’re just tired of having to come back here and have the same conversations about their validity and their worth," she said. Opponents of the proposal argue the bill would be harmful to transgender young people and amounts to bullying.
But Brittany Jones, of Kansas Family Voice, says transgender girls can still participate in boys’ and co-ed sports. “The only thing this bill does is keep biological boys from taking athletic opportunities meant for biological females," she said. The fate of the bill will likely depend on whether the Republican super-majority can override a veto. Democratic Governor Laura Kelly has twice vetoed similar trans bills in recent years and efforts to override her vetoes have failed.
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Kansas Lawmakers Question Effectiveness of Extra Money for High-Poverty Schools
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Some Kansas lawmakers say the extra money provided to high-poverty school districts isn’t working, and they may not support making the extra funding permanent. Republican Representative Kristey Williams says the state’s largest school district in Wichita is reporting poor test scores among low-income kids, and teachers have complained about behavior problems. She says that means schools aren’t using about $50 million in extra funding to help students. “If there are results and our kids are benefiting, I think that’s fantastic," she said. "But when we’re not getting results and the kids aren’t benefiting, then I think everybody on this committee should be asking, ‘Why are we doing this?’” Additional funds for high-poverty districts are set to expire by the end of this school year. Governor Laura Kelly has proposed making the funds a permanent part of the state’s funding formula for schools.
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Could Tax Credits Lure Hollywood to Kansas?
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - Could tax credits lure more Hollywood producers to Kansas to make their movies and TV shows? Representatives from the film industry are urging Kansas lawmakers to do just that. They’re seeking $10 million a year in tax breaks and money to train residents to work in the industry. Representatives from the film industry have been telling lawmakers that Kansas is missing out on making money from movie and TV show opportunities. Justin Begnaud, a Kansas native who left the state to pursue a film career, has produced hundreds of movies and documentaries and says virtually all of them were filmed in states or countries that offer tax credits to producers. Showing a map to lawmakers, Begnaud said most states offer such incentives, including nearly all those that surround Kansas. "There's a big hole right in the middle of America and that’s where Kansas is. And I think we should fill that in," he said. Begnaud, who now lives in the Kansas City suburbs, says the tax credits under consideration would be enough to put Kansas on the map for TV producers and movie makers.
Kristen Busch grew up in Sterling and majored in theater at the University of Kansas. But she had to move to New York and later Los Angeles to find steady work as an actor. She’s now back in Kansas and says the tax breaks being considered by lawmakers would create more opportunities for her and others to work closer to home. “If there were productions in Kansas, I’d have so much more to choose from and I’d get to stay home maybe sometimes," she said. Thirty-seven states already offer similar incentives, including Colorado, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Missouri may soon join their ranks. A committee in the Kansas Senate is expected to vote soon on whether to give tax credits to producers who make their films in Kansas.
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High Winds, Dust Storm Lead to Crashes on U.S. Highway 54
LIBERAL, Kan. (KSNW/KPR) – High winds and blowing dust forced the closure of U.S. Highway 54 this week. On Tuesday, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation closed all lanes of U.S. Highway 54 in the panhandle, due to numerous crashes caused by blowing dirt and high winds. The same highway runs east and west through southern Kansas. High wind warnings were issued for several counties in southwest Kansas Tuesday. KSNW TV reported 81 mile-per-hour wind gusts in Seward County, Kansas. In neighboring Stevens County, winds were clocked at 70 miles-per-hour.
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Shawnee Man Sentenced for Child Porn
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KPR) - A Kansas man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for possessing child pornography. Federal prosecutors say 34-year-old Justin Packham, of Shawnee, pleaded guilty to the charges in September. Based on a cybertip, the Shawnee Police Department launched an investigation that revealed dozens of child pornography images had been uploaded into Google Drive using an email account in Packham’s name. Following a search of his residence, investigators found more than 1,000 photos and videos of child pornography on various electronic devices and thumb drives. The U.S. Secret Service and the Shawnee Police Department investigated the case.
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U.S. Marshals Capture Hundreds of Fugitives, Including Dozens in Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A month-long operation by the U.S. Marshals Service has resulted in hundreds of arrests nationwide, including dozens in the Kansas City area. Operation North Star II led to the apprehension of 833 fugitives, violent criminals, sex offenders and self-identified gang members in 10 U.S. cities. KCTV reports the operation focused on fugitives wanted for the most serious and violent offenses. Investigators in Kansas City arrested more than 51 people wanted for crimes including homicide, rape, robbery and assault.
“A small number of people commit the most crime in the community,” said U.S. Marshal Scott Seeling. “If we can locate and arrest those individuals it takes them off the street and we know that saves lives.”
In addition to Kansas City, arrests were made in Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. The operation was also carried out in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Buffalo, New York; Jackson, Mississippi; Oakland, California, and Puerto Rico.
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Man Posing as Farmer Passing Fake Checks Across Central Kansas
BARTON COUNTY, Kan. (KAKE) - Authorities are searching for a man who been passing fraudulent checks at stores across the state. The Barton County Sheriff's Office say a man has been posing as a farmer or rancher and writing fraudulent checks at farm stores, implement dealers and other stores. KAKE TV reports the man visited at least one business in Barton County and authorities believe he's been to many others. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is working with multiple law enforcement agencies to investigate.
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Wichita Family Advocates for Lailah's Law in Kansas
WICHITA, Kan. (KWUW/KNS) - A Wichita family is advocating for Lailah’s Law after their daughter was sexually assaulted at a west Wichita apartment in 2017. The law is named after the victim of the assault, which occurred when she was seven years old. As a teenager, she’s now speaking out in the legislature in favor of Lailah’s law. The bill would require people who are living with parolees to report to authorities when offenders are not at home during required hours. Lailah says the bill could have prevented a situation like hers from happening. “If the person caring for Corbin would’ve just called him in for not being home or wherever he was supposed to be, then maybe none of this would’ve happened," she said. Corbin Breitenbach is currently serving life in prison without the possibility of parole for the assault.
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KU Gets $50 Million State Grant to Fund Football Stadium Renovations, KUEA Adds $150 Million
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) - A plan to renovate the football stadium at the University of Kansas has won a $50 million grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that KU also received a commitment of $150 million in funding from the KU Endowment Association. School officials project it will cost more than $300 million to completely renovate the football stadium and convert the surrounding area into a type of entertainment district. The project will be one of the more expensive in recent KU memory but school officials say the university will not use tuition funds or state general funds for the project.
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Bill Would Force Water Conservation in Western Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - A bill in the Kansas House Water Committee would force people in parts of western Kansas to do more to conserve the Ogallala Aquifer. It would require local water districts to send the state their plans for reducing water use in the areas most "at-risk" for depletion. But that’s sure to spark backlash from some of the farmers who use that water to irrigate crops.
Southwest Kansas groundwater district director Mark Rude spoke in opposition to the bill at a committee hearing. He says that in a dry year like this one, his area relies on pumping a lot of water from the aquifer. “The amount we use, and the economy it supports is huge to the state of Kansas. And we certainly know that. We've been grappling with that for years and years," he said.
Leaders from other groundwater districts in northwest and west-central Kansas testified in support of the bill. Republican Representative Jim Minnix, of Scott City, is the committee chairperson. He summed up the stakes for the region. “We're here today, so that we don't become what the Colorado River Valley or Central California looks like. And we here in Kansas have an opportunity to improve our own future right here. And it starts now." he said. Several western Kansas counties have already used up more than half of their underground water with most of it going to irrigate crops. The committee will continue working on the bill this week.
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This summary of area news is curated by KPR news staffers, including J. Schafer, Laura Lorson, Tom Parkinson and Kaye McIntyre. Our headlines are generally posted by 10 am weekdays. These ad-free headlines are made possible by KPR members. Become one today. And follow KPR News on Twitter.