Man Fatally Shot by Police During Confrontation in KCK
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A man was fatally shot late Wednesday after a confrontation with police officers in Kansas City, Kansas — the second fatal shooting by police in the city this year.
The shooting happened around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday near a bridge that crosses the Kansas River, the Kansas City Star reported. An officer pulled over a vehicle for a traffic violation, said Officer Donna Drake of the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department, which is handling the investigation as part of an agreement between the two agencies.
Police on Thursday identified the man as Amaree’ya Henderson, of Kansas City.
Drake said a “confrontation ensued” after the traffic stop and ended when the officer shot the driver. No further details about the confrontation were immediately released. The police officer was treated for minor injuries.
The name of the involved officer has not been released.
In February, police in Kansas City, Kansas, fatally shot a man after he allegedly fled on a bicycle from a house where two people had recently overdosed on fentanyl, the Star reported. Police said the man had a gun.
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Kansas Lawmakers Override Governor's Veto of "Born Alive" Bill
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas lawmakers overrode a veto by Democratic governor Laura Kelly to enact their first anti-abortion bill of the year. The law will require doctors to provide lifesaving medical care to infants born alive after an attempted abortion. Critics say there’s little evidence that's happening in Kansas. And, they say, it could interfere with palliative care for dying infants. Representative Susan Ruiz is a Democrat from Shawnee. “I have received so many emails from couples who feel that this bill is denying them the ability to stay with their infant until the infant is no longer alive because they’re going to have to be immediately whisked away to a hospital," SHE SAID. Several Democrats joined Republicans in overriding the governor's veto of the so-called "Born Alive" bill.
(Additional coverage)
Kansas Abortion Providers Face New Rule After Veto Overriden
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP/KPR) — Kansas health care providers could face criminal charges over accusations about their care of newborns delivered during certain abortion procedures. That's because the Republican-controlled Legislature on Wednesday overrode Democratic Governor Laura Kelly's veto of new legislation. The new law takes effect July 1 and will require that heath care providers render the same care that a "reasonably diligent and conscientious" provider would with other live births. Violating the law will be a felony, punishable up to a year's probation for a first-time offender. Abortion opponents cast it as a matter of decency. But critics see the law as an attempt to sow confusion and fear about abortion.
The newborns who survive an attempted abortion will have to be transported to a hospital. And violating the law will be a felony, punishable up to a year's probation for a first-time offender. GOP lawmakers and anti-abortion groups pushed for the new rule and other anti-abortion measures even though a statewide vote in August 2022 affirmed abortion rights. Abortion opponents argued that voters still left room for reasonable restrictions, while abortion rights lawmakers said the bills broke faith with voters.
The new measure may be largely symbolic: Providers say the cases covered by the new law rarely, if ever, occur in Kansas because of how the state already regulates abortion. The Kansas law is similar to laws in at least 18 other states requiring that such newborns go to a hospital while also imposing criminal penalties for doctors who don't provide the same care other providers would other live births. Abortion opponents argued that the new law is a commonsense measure that protects newborns. "We do have a culture of death," said Republican state Rep. Ron Bryce, a southeastern Kansas physician. "The value of life is of the utmost importance." The votes on overriding Kelly's veto were 87-37 in the House and 31-9 in the Senate, with two-thirds majorities needed.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2022 that the U.S. Constitution allows states to ban abortion. But the Kansas Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that under the state constitution, access to abortion is a matter of bodily autonomy and a "fundamental" right. The statewide vote last year — the first state referendum after the U.S. Supreme Court decision — rejected stripping out protection for abortion access out of the Kansas Contitution.
But abortion opponents and Republican lawmakers have argued that Kelly's stance on abortion is too far to the left.
The new law includes a requirement for providers to file annual reports with the state health department on infants "born alive" during abortion procedures. Like most states, Kansas doesn't collect such statistics. Abortion opponents argue that there are likely hundreds of newborns delivered during abortion procedures each year in the U.S. Anti-abortion groups extrapolate from data from the handful of states requiring reports of such live births and data from most Canadian provinces.
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Kansas Legislators Impose Sweeping Anti-Trans Bathroom Law
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators in Kansas have enacted what may be the most sweeping transgender bathroom law in the U.S. on Thursday, overriding the Democratic governor's veto of the measure without having a clear idea of how their new law will be enforced.
The vote in the House was 84-40, giving supporters exactly the two-thirds majority they needed to override Gov. Laura Kelly's action. The vote in the Senate on Wednesday was 28-12, and the new law will take effect July 1.
At least eight other states have enacted laws preventing transgender people from using the restrooms associated with their gender identities, but most of them apply to schools. The Kansas law applies also to locker rooms, prisons, domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers.
“When I go out in public, like I’m at a restaurant or up on campus or whatever, and I need to go to the bathroom, there’s definitely going to be a voice in my head that says, '"Am I going to get harassed for that?’” said Jenna Bellemere, a 20-year-old transgender University of Kansas student. “It just makes it so much more complicated and risky and unnecessarily difficult.”
Republican legislators argued that they’re responding to people’s concerns about transgender women sharing bathrooms, locker rooms and other spaces with cisgender women and girls. They repeatedly promised that the bill would prevent that.
“We want to have safety,” said state Rep. Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican and the chair of the House health committee.
The Kansas law is different than most other states' laws in that it legally defines male and female based on the sex assigned at birth and declares that “distinctions between the sexes” in bathrooms and other spaces serves “the important governmental objectives" of protecting "health, safety and privacy.” Earlier this week, North Dakota enacted a law that prohibits transgender children and adults from having access to bathrooms, locker rooms or showers in dormitories of state-run colleges and correctional facilities.
Kansas' law doesn't create a new crime, impose criminal penalties or fines for violations or even say specifically that a person has a right to sue over a transgender person using a facility aligned with their gender identity. Many supporters acknowledged before it passed that they hadn't considered how it will be administered.
The bill is written broadly enough to apply to any separate spaces for men and women and, Kelly’s office said, could prevent transgender women from participating in state programs for women, including for female hunters and farmers. As written, it also prevents transgender people from changing the gender markers on their driver’s licenses — though it wasn’t clear whether that change would occur without a lawsuit.
Critics of the new law believe it is an attempt to legally erase transgender people while also refusing to recognize gender fluid, gender non-conforming and non-binary people. They argued that the bill’s vagueness will prompt harassment of transgender people.
“The lack of clarity is by design because it allows them to disclaim the worst possible interpretation while also allowing for the worst possible outcome to happen," said Micah Kubic, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas, which opposed the law.
When she vetoed the bill, Kelly suggested it was discriminatory and said it would hurt the state's ability to attract businesses.
The new law is part of a larger push by Republicans across the U.S. to roll back LGBTQ+ rights, particularly transgender rights. At least 21 states, including Kansas, restrict or ban female transgender athletes’ participation in female sports. At least 14 states — but not Kansas — have restricted or banned gender-affirming care for minors.
The new Kansas bathroom law borrows language — and a title — from three national groups' anti-trans “Women's Bill of Rights.”
One of those groups, Independent Women's Voice, said the new law will “prevent judges, unelected bureaucrats, and administrators in Kansas from unilaterally redefining the word ‘woman’ to mean anyone who ‘identifies as a woman.’”
Under the new law in Kansas, legally “sex” means “biological” sex, “either male or female, at birth," though it allows accommodations for intersex people if their conditions are considered disabilities under U.S. law. Intersex people can have ambiguous external genitalia at birth or conditions involving external genitals that don’t match a person’s sex chromosomes.
The new law declares that females have a reproductive system at birth “developed to produce ova,” while males have one “developed to fertilize the ova.”
Supporters said they expect that most school districts, cities and counties already are in line with the new law in how they handle sex-separated spaces. They also don't expect local officials to actively police who uses which restrooms.
Kansas Senate President Ty Masterson, a Wichita-area Republican, said he expects police to intervene if there's “any kind of harassing behavior" but transgender people still will use facilities associated with their gender identities “if they’re discreet about it.”
He compared the new law to existing “decency laws,” but in Sedgwick County, home to Wichita, District Attorney Marc Bennett, an elected Republican, said that in general, if a law doesn't list "explicit elements” for a “defined” crime, the elected prosecutor "would not have enforcement authority.
Both supporters and critics suggest the new law will prompt court cases if someone has a complaint about how local officials or even businesses handle the use of facilities by transgender people.
Brittany Jones, policy director for the conservative Kansas Family Voice, which backed the law, said the law will come into play as officials and courts deal with conflicts.
“It would be as the cases arise,” Jones said.
Yet critics believe that the new law will prompt harassment not only of transgender people but nonbinary, gender-fluid and gender-nonconforming people.
“Tomboys, people who just aren’t really that into femininity as a woman, they can’t freely express themselves without being worried that they’re going to be called out and removed from the spaces that they rightfully belong in," said Adam Kellogg, a 19-year-old transgender University of Kansas student.
Former state Rep. Stephanie Byers, the first elected transgender Kansas lawmaker who now lives in Texas, predicted that legal chaos is coming to her former home state.
While the attack on transgender people is not physical, Byers said, “They’re taking us out in every possible way.”
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GOP Fails to Override Kansas Governor's Veto of Bill Affecting Transgender Children
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - A bill that would have banned hormone treatment, puberty blockers and sex organ related surgery for minor children will not become law in Kansas after all. Republican lawmakers failed to override Democratic governor Laura Kelly’s veto of a bill affecting transgender children. The bill never won full support of Republicans in the Legislature. Democrats said it would have prevented trans kids from getting vital care that could reduce their risk of suicide. Republican state senator Mike Thompson voted for the bill. He says trans kids are too young to make such significant decisions about hormone treatments and sexual transition surgery. “The most loving thing you can do is try to protect them (children)," he said. "This is a situation where it is not reversible.” A recent Washington Post poll found that 78% of people who transitioned were satisfied with the decision. (Read more.)
(Additional coverage)
Kansas Sets Trans Athlete Rule; Gender-Affirming Care Survives
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP/KPR) — A Kansas board is telling high schools and middle schools that must see transgender athletes' first birth certificates to decide what teams they can join. The Kansas State High School Activities Association wrestled with that issue Wednesday as an effort in the Legislature to end gender-affirming care for transgender minors failed. The KSHSAA's executive board replaced a policy allowing case by case decisions about transgender athletes with one that says transgender girls will not be allowed to compete on girl's teams starting July 1 in line with a new state law. Meanwhile, the Kansas Senate narrowly failed to override Governor Laura Kelly's veto of a bill against gender-affirming care for minors.
The new policy follows a law enacted by the Republican-controlled Legislature earlier this month over a veto from Kelly. The governor vetoed five GOP bills rolling back transgender rights, and Republicans are headed toward overriding three more, including a veto of a sweeping bathroom bill. But GOP conservatives didn't have the two-thirds majorities needed to override Kelly's veto of a bill that would require the state medical board to revoke the licenses of doctors who provide puberty blocking medications, hormone treatments and surgery for transgender minors. The Senate's vote on an override Wednesday was 26-14, leaving supporters one vote shy. "This bill goes too far in our reaching out to take that place of parental responsibility of supporting their children and with the advice of their medical doctor," said Democratic state Sen. Pat Pettey, of Kansas City, who voted "no."
The bills in Kansas are part of a broader push by Republicans across the U.S. against LGBTQ+ rights. At least seven states have bathroom laws, at least 21 restrict transgender athletes, and at least 14 have enacted restrictions or bans on gender-affirming care for minor children. Supporters of the bill against gender-affirming care in Kansas argued that they were protecting children from making life-altering decisions that they might regret later. "Sometimes, unfortuntely, we as a Legislature have to be the last line of defense when parents have lost their way, when a health care system has lot its way," said Sen. Mark Steffen, a Republican from south-central Kansas. Gender-affirming care for minors has been available in the U.S. for more than a decade and is endorsed by major medical associations.
The Legislature on Wednesday did override Kelly's veto of a bill that would bar county jails from housing transgender inmates in line with their gender identities, so that transgender women would be housed with cisgender men. The votes were 31-9 in the Senate and 87-37 in the House.
The Senate voted 28-12 to override Kelly's veto of he bathroom bill, which also applies to locker rooms, prisons, domestic violence shelters and rape crisis centers. The House voted 85-39 to override Kelly's veto of a bill to prevent public schools from having transgender boys room with cisgender boys and transgender girls with cisgender girls on overnight trips. A vote in the House on the bathroom bill and one in the Senate on the bill dealing with overnight trips are expected Thursday.
As for the restrictions on transgender athletes, the new Kansas State High School Activities Association policy is tied to a requirement for an annual physical for students seeking to participate in sports in seventh through 12th grade. The KSHSAA has said three transgender girls competed in sports during the current school year. The KSHSAA's executive board also revised the form for reporting results from students' physicals to list the sex assigned to a student at birth. The new association policy anticipates that the birth certficate closest to a student's birth will govern, and if that isn't availabe, a student will be examined by a doctor. If neither method settles the issue, then a student would compete either on a boys' team or coed team.
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Judge Puts Missouri Rule Limiting Transgender Care on Hold
CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri judge has temporarily halted a first-of-its-kind rule restricting access to gender-affirming health care just hours before it was set to take effect. A judge on Wednesday put the Republican attorney general's emergency rule on transgender health care on hold until at least Monday. Lawyers representing transgender Missourians and health care providers sued to block the rule from taking effect. The rule would require documentation of gender dysphoria for three years and therapy over at least 18 months before patients could access gender-affirming medical treatments such as puberty blockers, hormones or surgery.
Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey says the rule places requirements on both minors and adults before they would be allowed to receive gender-affirming treatments, such as puberty blockers or hormones. It was set to take effect Thursday, but transgender Missourians and health care providers sued to stop it from being enforced. St. Louis County Circuit Judge Ellen Ribaudo said Wednesday that she would like more time to review the matter before deciding whether to issue a temporary restraining order. She delayed implementation of the rule until 5 pm Monday, saying she anticipates she will issue a ruling before then. Bailey has touted the rule as a way to shield minors from what he describes as experimental medical treatments, though puberty blockers and sex hormones have been prescribed for decades.
The lawsuit claims Bailey sidestepped the GOP-led Legislature and acted beyond his authority in attempting to regulate gender-affirming health care under the state's consumer-protection laws. Bailey issued the restrictions following an investigation he launched in February into the Washington University Transgender Center at St. Louis Children's Hospital. The investigation was prompted by a former employee who alleged the center was providing children with gender-affirming care without informed consent, not enough individualized case review and wraparound mental health services. An internal review by the university found no misconduct and determined that the former employee's claims were unsubstantiated.
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Kansas Lawmakers Fail to Override Veto on Flat Tax Plan
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas Republicans fell short on a veto override in their attempt to enact a flat tax on income. The plan would have set the income tax rate for all Kansans at 5.15%. The override attempt failed by just one vote. Democrat state Senator Jeff Pittman voted against the bill saying it could wreck the budget. “The underlying flat tax being proposed proportionally favors the wealthy in our state while our working class struggles with things like property tax," he said. The failure of the flat tax bill likely means no tax relief will be passed in Kansas this year, despite a budget surplus of $2 billion.
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GOP Fails to Override Kansas Governor's Veto of Advance Voting Bill
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - The Kansas Senate has failed to override Governor Laura Kelly's veto of a bill that would have made changes to mail-in ballots. Republicans wanted to require mail-in ballots to reach election offices before polls close. Wichita Democratic state Senator Oletha Faust-Goudeau voted to keep the current system in place. “I think we should do all we can to make sure that everyone’s vote counts," she said. So, for now, the current law stands. That means mail-in ballots will count if they are postmarked before Election Day and reach the county election office no more than three days after the election.
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Governor, other Statewide Kansas Officials Will Get Significant Pay Raises in 2025
TOPEKA, Kan. (TCJ) - The Kansas governor, attorney general and top judicial officials are among those in line for a significant pay raise under legislation signed by Governor Laura Kelly. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the bill signed last Friday would also tie future compensation to the rate of pay for members of Congress and also give state lawmakers a path to making more money by creating a commission to evaluate legislative compensation.
Currently, the governor makes $110,707 a year. The lieutenant governor makes $31,313. The attorney general is paid $98,901 and other statewide officials make a little over $86,000. Under the new law, the governor would make 100% of what a Congressman earns, which currently is $174,000. The attorney general would make $169,650, and the secretary of state, state treasurer and commissioner of insurance would make $160,950. Judges would also see a raise and their pay would be tied into what federal judges make moving forward.
Changes won't take effect until 2025.
Kansas legislators believe low pay has limited the number of candidates seeking public office. Some legislators have worried that the traditional pay rate of $88.66 per day, plus an additional $157 per day for meals and lodging, blocked younger individuals, the middle class and people of color from serving in Topeka. Others say the pay raises for state officials are too rich and came at a time when legislators were delaying consideration of whether to give state workers a pay increase.
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Uninsured Kansans with Certain Types of Cancer May Go Without Care
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - About 17,000 people in Kansas will be diagnosed with cancer this year, but many of those who are uninsured will not be eligible for a federal program that helps cancer patients. Some say Medicaid expansion could help reduce the disparity. Doctors in Salina told Stephanie Barr she had breast cancer in 2010. That made her eligible for Medicaid through a federal program called Early Detection Works. It’s only for breast and cervical cancer. Barr’s mom was later diagnosed with lung cancer and didn’t get the same care. “She didn’t have the right kind of cancer and she couldn’t get on Medicaid," Barr said. Her mom passed away about 6 months later. Barr is asking lawmakers to expand Medicaid so more uninsured people could get coverage for cancer screenings and treatment. Expansion proposals have failed in recent years because of concerns about the cost.
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Wichita Police Officer Won't Face Charges in Fatal Shooting
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Sedgwick County district attorney says a Wichita police officer will not be charged for shooting and killing a man who had shot another officer. District Attorney Marc Bennett said Tuesday the officer, whose name was not released, was acting in self defense when he shot 28-year-old Tyler Hodge in June 2021. Police say Hodge shot about a dozen rounds at officers who responded to a domestic disturbance call. Bennett said Hodge was a former U.S. Marine who had struggled with mental health issues and made comments in the past about "suicide by cop." Eventually, one officer, who has been on the force for five years, saw Hodge pointing a rifle at him and other officers and shot Hodge once in the torso, killing him. Officer Kyle Mellard was shot in both legs and the face. He has recovered and returned to the police force.
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With the Kansas Legislative Session Winding Down, Action on Medical Marijuana Remains Unlikely
TOPEKA, Kan. (Kansas Reflector/KPR) - Kansas lawmakers are unlikely to take up marijuana-related legislation as the 2023 session draws to a close. This is upsetting to many Democratic lawmakers who say the state is losing business to neighboring states, like Missouri, Colorado and Oklahoma, where marijuana has been legalized to one extent or another. The Kansas House approved medical marijuana legalization in 2021. But a similar bill in the Senate died in committee during the last legislative session. Marijuana legislation seems likely to meet a similar fate this year. Kansas is one of three states where possession of cannabis for any purpose remains illegal. The other two states are Nebraska and Idaho.
The Kansas Reflector reports that House Minority Leader Vic Miller, a Topeka Democrat, has renewed his push for a cannabis amnesty bill. The measure would release those convicted for marijuana-related offenses from their sentences and allow expungement of their records — essentially decriminalizing marijuana statewide. Miller says Kansans shouldn’t be punished for marijuana use. “We’re stuck in the dark ages, still spending taxpayer money to imprison people for eating pot brownies and smoking a joint,” Miller said.
“Given the negative consequences other states are experiencing and the resounding rejection of recreational marijuana by Oklahoma voters, the momentum for legalized marijuana appears to be losing steam," said Senate President Ty Masterson, a Republican from Andover. “While the discussions about legitimate medical marijuana will continue in future sessions, Kansas is wise to learn from the mistakes of other states and instead proceed with caution on this understandably emotional topic.”
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Nearly 5-Hour Consecration Ceremony Set for New $40 Million Church in Northeast Kansas
ST. MARYS, Kan. (KSNT/KPR) – After waiting for several years, celebrants of the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) will host a consecration ceremony for their new Immaculata church in St. Marys. KSNT reports that the consecration is set for May 3, 2023, for what will be one of the largest churches in Kansas. With a seating capacity for more than 1,500 people, this church will be the largest SSPX church in the world. The four-and-a-half-hour-long ceremony will conclude with an open house.
The new Immaculata replaces the original building destroyed by fire. The new church began in 2020 thanks to millions of dollars in funding from donors. The Immaculata will conduct traditional Latin mass and other sacraments according to the traditional rites of the Catholic Church.
The Society of Saint Pius X is an international fraternity of traditionalist Catholic priests founded in 1970. The society is named after Pope Pius X, whose anti-Modernist stance is embraced by the society. Tensions remain between the society and the pope in Rome. In the 1980s, Pope John Paul II excommunicated some of the society's bishops. While the excommunications were lifted, the society's relationship with the Vatican remains unresolved.
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80+ Years After Death at Pearl Harbor, Kansas Sailor's Remains Return Home
Douglass, Kan. (WIBW) - More than 80 years after his death aboard the U.S.S. Oklahoma during the attack on Pearl Harbor, one Kansas sailor will finally be returned and buried in his home state. WIBW TV reports that 20-year-old Seaman 2nd Class Floyd Clifford, of Mulvane, died December 7, 1941 during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Now, his remains have been returned to his home state. Clifford will be laid to rest May 2nd in the town of Douglass, where full military graveside honors will be given. (Burial is scheduled for at 2 pm, May 2, in Richmond Cemetery, in rural Douglass.)
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Kansas Expected to Make More than $100 Million from NFL Draft
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) - The NFL Draft kicks off Thursday in Kansas City, Missouri, but the Kansas side of the metro area could also see a major economic benefit. In an exclusive interview with KSNT, Governor Laura Kelly said the state is expecting "well over $100 million economic impact... (and) those are probably low-ball estimates,” Kelly said. At least 300,000 people are expected to come to the Kansas City metro area. Hotels, restaurants and local businesses are preparing for the big event. While fans can’t bet on the Draft in Missouri, anyone staying on the Kansas side of the metro can bet legally.
The governor said Kansas City has been a hot spot for other big events, drawing thousands of fans to a Super Bowl parade for the Chiefs this year. Kelly said the area is also drawing the attention of other organizations.
Another major sporting event coming to the metro area in 2026 is the World Cup, which is expected to make a splash with thousands of soccer fans. State officials in Kansas and Missouri have been working together to draw in major events and boost cash flow for both states.
(–Related–)
NFL Draft a Boon for Cities, Teams Since It Hit the Road
UNDATED (AP/KPR) - The Kansas City Chiefs recently celebrated another Super Bowl victory with a parade in downtown Kansas City. And now... the city will welcome even more football fans to town for the NFL Draft, which gets underway Thursday at Union Station. There will be plenty of Kansas City barbecue available from food trucks for people who come to the NFL draft. A number of events for NFL fans are being held at Union Station and the National WWI Museum and Memorial. Thousands of people are expected to attend the three-day extravaganza.
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Kansas Governor Wants to Upgrade Sporting KC Stadium
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is proposing $10 million for upgrades to the Sporting KC soccer stadium ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The World Cup matches will be played at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, but Children’s Mercy Park in Wyandotte County will be a practice site. The governor's office says the upgrades to the stadium and surrounding area would help promote economic activity long after the World Cup is over. But some lawmakers, including Republican Representative Ken Rahjes, say the money could be better spent elsewhere. The money is part of a new slate of funding proposals lawmakers are considering when they return to the Statehouse this week.
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Ex-Arkansas Lawmaker Gets 4 Years in Missouri Bribery Case
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a former Arkansas state senator has been sentenced to four years and two months in prison for accepting multiple bribes in Missouri. The U.S. Department of Justice says 48-year-old Jeremy Hutchinson, of Little Rock, was sentenced Tuesday on a charge of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery. The federal government says that sentence will run consecutive to previous sentences of three years and 10 months for similar convictions in the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas, bringing a total of eight years in prison. Hutchinson admitted he was hired as outside counsel for Preferred Family Healthcare Inc. and in exchange took action in the Legislature to help the Springfield, Missouri-based nonprofit. Hutchinson admitted to holding up agency budgets, initiating legislative audits, and sponsoring and voting for legislation that would help Preferred Family, according to his plea agreement. Hutchinson was paid more than $350,000 in charity funds between May 2014 and 2017 and also received hotel rooms and Major League Baseball tickets paid for by the nonprofit.
In 2022, Preferred Family Healthcare agreed to pay more than $8 million in forfeiture and restitution to the federal government and the state of Arkansas under the terms of a non-prosecution agreement, in which the company admitted to criminal conduct by former officers and employees. Hutchinson is the son of former U.S. Senator Tim Hutchinson of Arkansas and is former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson's nephew.
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Kansas City's Fermin Knocks Cover off Baseball vs. D-Backs
PHOENIX (AP) — Kansas City's Freddy Fermin knocked the cover off the ball during Wednesday's game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Royals catcher was facing Zac Gallen in the second inning when he swung early on an off-speed pitch. Fermin's bat just knicked the baseball, sending it bouncing softly into foul ground close to the on-deck circle. As it came to a stop, it was clear that the cover had been partially torn from the ball. The Diamondbacks beat the Royals 2-0 on Wednesday. Fermin wasn't the only Royals hitter fooled by one of Gallen's pitches. The Arizona right-hander struck out 12, running his scoreless streak to 28 innings.
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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 and updated throughout the day. These ad-free headlines are made possible by KPR members. Become one today. And follow KPR News on Twitter.