Walmart to Build $257 Million Beef Facility in Olathe
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — Walmart officials say they will build their first-ever beef facility in Olathe. The retailer plans to invest $257 million in the plant and create 667 new permanent jobs. Construction of the facility will also create 1,000 design, fabrication, and construction jobs. Kansas Governor Laura Kelly praised the news. “Walmart’s innovative new facility will support a more prosperous future for Olathe, for the Kansas City metro, and for our state as a whole," she said. Walmart says the opening of the facility will further the company's effort to create an end-to-end supply chain for high-quality Angus beef. The new facility is set to break ground later this year. The facility will be designed and built by McCownGordon Construction of Kansas City. Once opened in 2025, the facility will process Angus cuts, supplied by Sustainable Beef LLC, into case-ready beef products such as steaks and roasts to be sold in Walmart stores across the Midwest. Walmart operates 83 retail stores and employs 22,178 associates in the state of Kansas.
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New Report: Public Health System in U.S. Unprepared for Future Emergencies
UNDATED (KPR) - A new report claims the U.S. is unprepared for current and future health emergencies. On Wednesday, Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) will release "The Impact of Chronic Underfunding on America’s Public Health System: Trends, Risks, and Recommendations, 2023." The report is expected to reveal how the U.S. is unprepared for current and future health emergencies. The report will also provide policy recommendations for federal, state and local leaders. In addition to the risks associated with health emergencies, the U.S. is facing a growing number of people living with chronic diseases and the associated healthcare costs. Today, 60% of the population has at least one chronic disease like obesity, diabetes or heart disease. Treating chronic illness accounts for most of U.S. healthcare spending.
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Topeka Woman Charged in Crash That Killed 3 Girl Scouts
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) — A Topeka woman has been charged with reckless involuntary manslaughter in a crash on the Kansas Turnpike last October that left three Girl Scouts dead. KSNT TV reports that prosecutors have charged 33-year-old Amber Peery in the deaths of 9-year-old Laila El Azari and 9-year-old Kylie Lund, both of Topeka. Peery’s 8-year-old daughter, Brooklyn, was also killed in the crash. Two other children in the van were injured. The group, from Topeka's Troop 5567, had been headed to a Scouting event in Tonganoxie. The Kansas Highway Patrol says Peery apparently made a U-turn on the interstate in an attempt to turn around after taking the wrong exit when the 2018 Dodge van was struck by a semi-truck. The girls were students at Jay Shideler and Farley elementary schools.
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Former Jayhawk Christian Braun Joins Elite Club, Winning NCAA and NBA Championships
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KSHB) — Former KU basketball star and Kansas native Christian Braun joined an elite club Monday night when the Denver Nuggets won the NBA championship. Braun, who plays for the Nuggets, became the fifth player in history to win an NCAA championship and an NBA title in back-to-back years. The 22-year-old is a native of Burlington, in Coffey County and a graduate of Blue Valley Northwest High School in Overland Park. KSHB TV reports that Braun now joins Magic Johnson, Bill Russell, Henry Bibby and Billy Thompson on the list of players to accomplish the feat. In 2022, Braun was a member of the University of Kansas men's basketball team when it beat North Carolina to win the the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. Braun is now the 15th former Jayhawk to win an NBA title. His parents and KU basketball coach Bill Self made the trip to Denver to watch as Braun and the Nuggets beat the Miami Heat 94-89 to win the Denver franchise's first NBA title.
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Kansas Teachers Explore New Method of Teaching Kids How to Read
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS/KMUW) — For generations, Kansas schools have taught reading in ways that don’t work for many kids. That’s starting to change. The Kansas News Service reports that some lawmakers want to ban old methods and fast-track the new science of reading in Kansas classrooms. Kansas wants schools to dump the old method in favor of what’s known as “the science of reading.” It’s a body of research that calls for schools to focus on the building blocks of words. At the Fundamental Learning Center in Wichita, a nonprofit private school for children with reading disabilities, teachers use an approach called Alphabetic Phonics, which is supported by decades of brain research. (Read more.)
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Kansas Experts, Teachers Not on Same Page over AI Use in Schools
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS/KMUW) — Some schools are banning artificial-intelligence apps because of concerns over cheating, but a University of Kansas professor says teachers should embrace the technology. James Basham teaches special education at KU. He says students with learning disabilities can use tools like ChatGPT to improve their writing. They could give the chat-bot a topic and then correct what it produces. Basham says schools should think of A-I as a teaching tool rather than banning it from classrooms. “This is one of those things that’s not going to go away, and in fact it’s going to probably get continually more disruptive if we don’t get on the front end of it," Basham said. He's urging teachers to spend the summer months learning about A-I and brainstorming ways to incorporate it into lessons.
(Additional reporting...)
KU Professor: Don't Ban Artificial Intelligence in Schools
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KNS) — Some schools are banning artificial-intelligence apps because of concerns over cheating, but a KU professor says teachers should embrace the technology. James Basham teaches special education at KU. He says students with learning disabilities can use tools like ChatGPT to improve their writing. They could give the chat-bot a topic and then correct what it produces. Basham says schools should think of A-I as a teaching tool rather than banning it from classrooms. “This is one of those things that’s not going to go away." Basham said, "And in fact, it’s going to probably get continually more disruptive if we don’t get on the front end of it.” Basham is urging teachers to spend the summer months learning about A-I and brainstorming ways to incorporate it into lessons.
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USDA Working with Tribal Nations on Climate-Friendly Ag Projects
UNDATED (HPM) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is working with tribal nations around the Midwest and Plains states to support climate-friendly agriculture. Harvest Public Media reports that one of the projects will help the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska start a Center for Excellence in Regenerative Native Agriculture. The center will teach Indigenous farming practices to producers to take care of water and soil. The center is a spotlight example of how the USDA is trying to partner with tribes as well as meet climate goals, says Josiah Griffin of the department’s office of tribal relations. “As we look at today's landscape of changing climates, we recognize Indigenous knowledge as an opportunity for us to be reflective and better meet our trust and treaty responsibilities for our tribes," he said. Other initiatives include a bison project with the Intertribal Buffalo Council and a pecan and livestock farming project with the Muscogee and the Choctaw nations in Oklahoma.
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Kansas Officials: More than 45,000 Lost Medicaid Benefits
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — About 70% of Kansas adults and children who have gone through the state’s Medicaid renewal process lost their coverage. That's one of the highest rates in the country. The state says more than 45,000 people have at least temporarily lost their KanCare coverage — mostly over filing deadlines — since the state started its post-pandemic eligibility checks in April. Joan Alker, of the Georgetown Center for Children and Families, says families need more time for the paperwork in Kansas. “There's no question that, particularly when you’re seeing this large number of red tape losses, that’s probably reflecting a problem with a 30-day process," he said. State officials say mail delays have caused part of the problem. Alker says the state could reduce the large disenrollment rates by giving recipients 60 days for the Medicaid renewal process.
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Rare Tick-Borne Disease Identified in Southeast Kansas Resident
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – State health officials have identified a rare tickborne illness in southeast Kansas. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) recently confirmed the Heartland Virus Disease in a Crawford County resident. KWCH TV reports that this is the first case of Heartland Virus in Crawford County and only the third case identified in Kansas since the virus was first discovered in northwest Missouri in 2009. The previous two cases in Kansas were identified in Miami County in 2015 and Anderson County in 2018. To date, there have been more than 50 cases of Heartland Virus diagnosed across the Midwest and Southern United States. The Crawford County resident was diagnosed in late May.
Heartland Virus is transmitted through the bite of an infected Lone Star Tick, the most common tick in Kansas, which is most active from May through August. The symptoms of Heartland Virus Disease are vague and include fever, fatigue, muscle or joint pain, headache and occasionally a rash. Healthcare providers should consider Heartland in patients with compatible clinical illness and bloodwork findings when other common tickborne illness testing is negative.
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Douglas County DA Says She Won't Enforce New Kansas Transgender Laws
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KNS) — Douglas County District Attorney Suzanne Valdez says she will not prosecute anyone under a new Kansas law that bars transgender women from women’s bathrooms, locker rooms and other spaces. In a news release Friday, Valdez called the law “vague, cruel and hate-fueled.” She says her office will not use resources enforcing the law and will instead focus on crimes against kids, violent crimes and sexual assault. Supporters of the law have argued it’s needed to preserve spaces for women.
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Kansas Receives More than $3.6 Million for Youth Suicide Prevention
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) – The state of Kansas is receiving more than $3.6 million as part of a federal grant to implement youth suicide prevention and early intervention strategies. Governor Laura Kelly says the funding is aimed at reducing suicides and suicidal ideation among young Kansans, especially those between the ages of 10 and 24. The program, funded for five years, will try to reach young Kansans through schools, juvenile justice systems, substance use programs, mental health programs and the foster care system. Much of the suicide prevention work will focus on young Kansans living in Wyandotte County as well as in 12 counties in southeast Kansas (Allen, Bourbon, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Crawford, Elk, Greenwood, Labette, Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson, and Woodson).
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USDA Announces $50 Million to Bring High Speed Internet to Southeast Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (KZRG) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced a nearly $50 million loan to connect thousands of rural Kansans to affordable high-speed internet. The project will improve service for hundreds of businesses and farms and more than 40,000 people in Bourbon, Cherokee, Crawford, Labette and Neosho counties. KZRG reports that this is the fourth round of funding from the USDA's ReConnect Program. The latest announcement is part of a larger national announcement totaling $714 million in USDA investments in Kansas and 18 other states. To learn more about investment resources for rural areas, visit www.rd.usda.gov.
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2 Dead, Another Injured, in Shooting Involving Kansas City Officer
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP/KPR) — Two people are dead and a third is injured after a shooting involving a Kansas City police officer Friday night. The shooting happened after an officer called for help shortly before 9 pm near a McDonald's restaurant in eastern Kansas City. Few details were immediately available. The Missouri Highway Patrol says officers who responded found five people and the officer near a white van, and three of the van's occupants had been shot: 42-year-old Marcell T. Nelson, of Kansas City, and 42-year-old Kristen Fairchild, of Gardner, both died. The third victim suffered minor injuries. Two others were detained. The officer was not hurt. Investigators are working to determine what happened before the officer radioed for help and whether anyone else besides the officer fired a gun. A handgun was found at the scene.
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Police Investigate Homicide at Kansas City Apartment Complex
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KMBC) — Police are investigating a homicide at a Kansas City apartment complex. Officers were called to the Eastwood Crossings apartment complex (near the corner of I-435 and Eastwood Trafficway) early Monday morning. KMBC TV reports that one person was found shot to death inside an apartment. This marks the 81st homicide of the year in Kansas City, Missouri. That's more homicides than this date in any of the past five years. Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call detectives at (816) 234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline at (816) 474-TIPS.
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Kansas Men Among Those Indicted for Operating Gun Trafficking Ring
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - Federal charges have been filed against two Kansas men for their alleged role in a gun trafficking organization in Connecticut. Authorities say residents from Connecticut and California were also charged. A federal grand jury in Hartford returned a 19-count indictment charging 46-year old Brian Baker, of Scott City, and 33-year-old Ramon Pichardo, of Elkhart, with engaging in a firearms trafficking conspiracy. Authorities say Luis Perez, of Waterbury, Connecticut, was acquiring firearms that were purchased by co-conspirators in Kansas and shipped through the U.S. Mail to a stash location that Diaz maintained in Hartford. KWCH TV reports that Perez allegedly coordinated the purchase of the firearms through Baker in Kansas and another defendant in California. Baker allegedly used straw purchasers to acquire firearms from licensed gun dealers in Kansas.
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Kansas Man Drowns at Kanopolis Lake
ELLSWORTH COUNTY, Kan. (JC Post) — Authorities are investigating a weekend drowning at Kanopolis State Lake. Just before 6:30 pm Saturday, Ellsworth County sheriff's deputies and other first responders arrived at the lake following a report of a potential kayak-related drowning. The JC Post reports that the body of 47-year-old Brannon Curiel, of Hutchinson, was recovered. Sheriff Murray Marston says released no additional details on Sunday.
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Kansas Man Dies While Rafting on the Arkansas River
FREMONT COUNTY, Colo. (Denver Post) — A Kansas man died after the raft he was in reportedly flipped over in the Arkansas River in Colorado. Fremont County Coroner Randy Keller said 47-year-old Dustin Harker, of Hutchinson, died on scene. The Denver Post reports that the raft flipped in the area of Sunshine Falls around 2 pm Friday. The commercial raft was carrying Harker and additional occupants. An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday to determine whether Harker died from drowning, a cardiac event or something else.
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2 Hospitalized After Helicopter Crash in Kansas Wheat Field
PRATT COUNTY, Kan. (JC Post) — Two people were injured when their helicopter ran out of fuel and crashed into a Kansas wheat field. The Kansas Highway Patrol says the accident happened Sunday afternoon in Pratt County. Authorities say the 1972 Bell Helicopter was piloted by 38-year-old Nathaniel Taylor Brown, of Georgetown, Kansas. The JC Post reports that the pilot was starting to land when the aircraft ran out of fuel and the engine shut off. The helicopter came to rest in a wheat field about five miles southwest of Pratt. Brown and a passenger (36-year-old Andrei Cherushnikov, of Renton, Washington) were transported to Pratt Regional Medical Center.
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United Airlines Flight Makes Unscheduled Landing at KCI Due to Fumes in Cockpit
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - A United Airlines flight made an emergency landing at the Kansas City International Airport Sunday night. The United Airlines flight #464 departed from St. Louis and was heading to Denver. KCTV reports that fumes in the cockpit were the cause of the impromptu landing. There were 37 passengers aboard, including the flight crew. No injuries were reported. The KC Fire Department Aircraft Rescue responded to the scene. The incident remains under investigation.
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Tulsa Not Included in Proposed Oklahoma City-to-Kansas Passenger Rail Expansion
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. (Tulsa World) — A proposed passenger rail expansion that could connect Oklahoma City to Newton, Kansas, leaves Tulsa out of the mix. Oklahoma and Kansas officials are seeking federal approval to extend Heartland Flyer passenger rail service north from Oklahoma City through Wichita and up to Newton, where there is an Amtrak station. The Tulsa World reports that Oklahoma transportation officials still have no immediate plans to connect Oklahoma City and Tulsa via passenger rail service.
Oklahoma officials say extending Heartland Flyer service to Newton would allow for more connectivity to the national passenger rail network because the Amtrak train would connect to major east-west trains on both ends of its route. The Heartland Flyer currently runs from Oklahoma City to Fort Worth, Texas, making stops in Norman, Pauls Valley, Ardmore and Gainesville along the route. The proposed rail expansion to Newton could include stops in Edmond, Guthrie, Perry and Ponca City.
Fort Worth is one of the many stops for the Texas Eagle, an Amtrak train that runs from Chicago to Los Angeles. Amtrak’s Southwest Chief train also runs from Chicago to Los Angeles, with a stop in Newton.
Members of the Northern Flyer Alliance have advocated for the Oklahoma City-to-Newton expansion for more than a decade. That route used to be traversed by Amtrak’s Lone Star, which ran between Chicago and Houston until 1979.
Oklahoma and Kansas officials are asking the Federal Railroad Administration to add the Heartland Flyer expansion to its Corridor Identification and Development Program, which would allow the states to unlock federal funds to expand passenger rail service.
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Chiefs' All-Pro DT Chris Jones Absent for Start of Mandatory Minicamp
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — All-Pro defensive tackle Chris Jones was absent from the start of the Kansas City Chiefs' mandatory three-day minicamp Tuesday. Jones is entering the final year of his contract with the Super Bowl champions. Chiefs coach Andy Reid is not expected to speak until Thursday, and the Chiefs did not make anyone else available to discuss Jones’ absence. If it is unexcused, Jones could be fined as much as $98,753 under terms of the collective bargaining agreement. He is coming off perhaps his best season with 15 1/2 sacks to match a career high before getting two more in the playoffs. Jones signed an $80 million, four-year deal in 2020.
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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.