K-State Closed, KU Opening Delayed, K-12 Schools Closed in Anticipation of Winter Storm
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - Dozens of public schools canceled classes for today (THUR) in anticipation of a winter storm that has so far turned out to be less severe than expected. K-State campuses in Manhattan and Salina are closed today (THUR). The University of Kansas delayed opening its Lawrence, Edwards and Leavenworth campuses until 10 am. And state office buildings in Topeka were shuttered until 10am. (More details here.)
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Winter Storm Fizzles Out in Eastern Kansas
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - The brunt of a predicted winter storm has missed much of eastern Kansas. While roads and other surfaces are slick in many areas, little has developed in the way of snow and ice accumulation for Lawrence, Topeka, Emporia, Kansas City and points further south. The northern tier of counties in Kansas have received some snowfall, but not as much as anticipated. However, snow and freezing rain is still possible Thursday across most of eastern Kansas.
Get the latest weather information here. We do.
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Flags Lowered Across Kansas in Honor of 10,000 Who Have Died from COVID-19
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNW) — Flags across Kansas have been lowered to honor the 10,000 people in Kansas who have now died as a result of COVID-19. Governor Laura Kelly has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff until sundown Friday to honor COVID victims and the families they left behind. “It is with great sadness that I share we have lost the 10,000th Kansan to the battle against COVID-19,” Kelly said. “This milestone serves as a reminder of the terrible toll this virus has taken on this state and the world." (Read more from KSNW.)
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Kansas City Celebrates Super Bowl Victory with Parade
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.
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Kansas Hospitals Lagging in Transparency Compliance
WICHITA, Kan. (KMUW/KNS) - A new report finds that hospitals across the country are not entirely complying with price transparency rules. The Kansas News Service reports that only three of the 20 largest hospitals in Kansas were fully obeying requirements. The report from Patient Rights Advocate argues that when hospitals provide detailed price lists, consumers are able to shop around and save money. Founder Cynthia Fisher says making hospitals reveal prices is the first step in addressing high health care costs. "The only way we can get there is to be able to see the wide variety of prices that there are now and to comparatively see what's happening across the State of Kansas on pricing," she said. The report called out Western Kansas hospital operator Centura by name. The organization said in a statement that they are following federal guidelines and offer a price estimate tool for patients. Fisher says the tools don’t provide enough information and are only estimates.
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Nebraska Landfill Agrees to Take Kansas Oil Spill Waste
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Kan. (KNS) - A Nebraska landfill has agreed to take oil-drenched soil and other waste from the Keystone pipeline spill in north-central Kansas. The December 7 oil spill contaminated several acres of prairie, cropland and creek. Trucks are hauling contaminated soil from the site to a landfill near Omaha. Contaminated creek water goes into huge tanks for treatment. Some will go into a five-acre pond being built for that purpose, too. Workers separate the oil from the water and send the oil to a refinery. Then they have to filter and treat the water - potentially repeatedly - until state environment officials say it is clean enough to go back into Mill Creek.
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Northwest Kansas County Says Donations Can Be Used in Diversion Agreements
THOMAS COUNTY, Kan. (KNS) - Diversion can keep criminal charges off someone’s record, and can even keep people out of jail. But diversion in one northwest Kansas county, Thomas, requires a donation, a rarity among programs. The average required donation to the Colby Public Schools after-school program is around $200. The school district in the northwest part of the state received almost $6,000 last year. Requiring a donation like that is not how the program typically works.
Representative Stephen Owens is the top Republican on a Statehouse criminal justice committee. “I just don't think that was how diversion was intended," he said. "Now, there is nothing explicitly prohibiting it.” Groups advocating for justice reform don’t like the system. They say monetary punishments favor those who can afford it. Lower-income Kansans may miss out on the program if they don’t have the extra cash. Owens says he is looking into the issue. The county attorney decline a request for an interview on the subject.
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Unionized Nurses Begin Contract Negotiations
WICHITA, Kan. (KMUW/KNS) - Unionized nurses at St. Francis Hospital in Wichita have begun negotiating a new contract with Ascension Via Christi. Several nurses rallied outside of the hospital to show support for the union and lay out some of the workplace issues they face - like short staffing and violence from patients. Sara Wilson has been a nurse at St. Francis Hospital for four years. She says she and her colleagues want a contract that ensures safe working conditions. “That’s why people are leaving the bedside," she said. "They can’t and don’t want to do it anymore. I mean it makes you feel like a bad nurse when you can’t give your patients the care they deserve.” More than 650 nurses at St. Francis are being represented by National Nurses United. Nurses at St. Joseph Hospital also filed for a union election earlier this month and are awaiting their vote.
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Amid U.S. TikTok Bans, a Few Balk at Writing Its Name in Law
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Banning TikTok from government devices enjoys bipartisan support across the U.S. But a few Democratic legislators in Kansas object to expanding a ban imposed by Democratic Governor Laura Kelly because they don’t want a state law to target a company by name. The Republican-controlled Kansas House voted 109-12 on Thursday to pass a bill to prohibit any electronic device owned or issued to a state employee from accessing TikTok. A new law would apply a ban to more agencies than Kelly's order, and it also would apply to any app or website from TikTok's Chinese parent company. Congress and more than half of U.S. states have imposed bans. TikTok says the bans don't improve security.
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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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Former Wichita Teacher Guilty of Child Sex Crimes
WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - A former Wichita teacher has been found guilty of child sex crimes. Christin Covel has pleaded no contest to two counts of aggravated indecent solicitation of a child. KAKE TV reports that Covel had been employed as a teacher at Mead Middle School until she left the district in 2020. The case against her involved a 13-year-old student. She was teaching math at Edison Preparatory School in Tulsa when she was arrested last year. Covel will be sentenced in May.
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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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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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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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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.