Dozens Urge City Leaders to Make Lawrence a Sanctuary City for Trans People
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) — Lawrence city leaders on Tuesday heard three hours of public comment from a group of residents urging them to make Lawrence a sanctuary city for transgender, nonbinary and gender nonconforming people. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the group presented the Lawrence City Commission with an ordinance they drafted themselves that would codify protections against new state laws that ban transgender people from using bathrooms and other gender-specific areas that don't align with their designated sex at birth. This is the second time in recent weeks that a group has pushed for special protections for members of the LGBTQ+ community.
In other business, an ordinance banning single-use plastic bags failed to pass.
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Kansas Man Accused of Threatening to Bomb Nashville Pride Event
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (NBC) — A Kansas man has been indicted on charges of threatening to bomb and “commit a mass shooting” at an LGBTQ pride event in Nashville, Tennessee. NBC News reports that 25-year-old Joshua Hensley was arrested by FBI agents last Thursday and charged with transmitting an interstate threat. Prosecutors say he posted Facebook comments threatening to “make shrapnel pressure cooker bombs” for this year’s Nashville Pride celebration and “commit a mass shooting” at the event. If convicted, Hensley faces up to five years in prison. The Justice Department says Hensley is also known as Josh Echo.
The alleged threat against Nashville Pride comes amid an uptick in anti-LGBTQ demonstrations across the U.S. and a surge in state bills targeting the LGBTQ community, particularly transgender people.
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7 Hospitalized After Fiery Crash on I-670 Tuesday in Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — Seven people were hospitalized after a fiery crash along Interstate 670 Tuesday morning. Just after 5:30 am, Kansas City police responded to a multi-vehicle crash at westbound I-670 and Broadway Boulevard. WDAF TV reports that a stolen Hyundai struck a box truck and a cement truck, leading to a series of collisions. Seven people were hospitalized. The driver of the stolen Hyundai ran from the scene. The crash shutdown I-670 and multiple ramps in the downtown loop for several hours. Kansas City police have not identified any of the victims.
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Kansas Agrees to Temporary Pause in Enforcing New Law on Medication Abortions
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials have agreed not to enforce a new restriction on medication abortions for at least five weeks before a state court judge decides whether to put it on hold until he decides a lawsuit challenging it and other existing rules. Providers and their attorneys announced the agreement Tuesday. For now, providers won't have to tell patients that they can stop a medication abortion using a regimen that providers and major medical groups consider unproven and potentially dangerous. The new rule was set to take effect July 1.
The agreement, filed Friday in Johnson County District Court in the Kansas City area, does not prevent the state from enforcing other, existing restrictions the providers have challenged, including a requirement that patients wait 24 hours after seeing a doctor in person to terminate their pregnancies. District Judge K. Christopher Jayaram has set an Aug. 8 hearing to consider whether the newest restriction or others should be blocked while the lawsuit is pending.
The providers — a clinic in the Kansas City suburbs in Johnson County operated by Planned Parenthood Great Plains and another nearby clinic and its two doctors — hope to overturn all of the state's requirements for what providers must tell patients. The information must be given to patients 24 hours in advance of their abortions, in writing and in a specific size and kind of type.
The lawsuit alleges that Kansas has a “Biased Counseling Scheme” meant to discourage patients from having abortions and to stigmatize those who do. But, for providers, the urgent task was stopping the latest requirement before it took effect, said Alice Wang, an attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights.
“This buys the court and it buys us some more time to litigate that in full while the status quo remains in effect,” Wang said.
For more than a decade, abortion opponents have touted a medication “reversal” regimen developed by a veteran California doctor using the hormone progesterone, long given to prevent miscarriages.
The new Kansas law was set to take effect less than a year after a decisive August 2022 statewide vote affirming abortion rights. The Republican-controlled Legislature enacted it over Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's veto. Abortion opponents argue that the state's “Woman's Right to Know Act” requirements help patients make informed decisions and give them a source of information other than the clinics themselves. They argue that the new medication “reversal” law informs patients of an option if they're still unsure about ending their pregnancies even after taking the first dose of abortion medication.
“The new portions are only temporarily delayed during the first phase of litigation," Republican state Attorney General Kris Kobach said in a statement. "The parties have agreed that this is the most efficient way to proceed.”
The defendants in the lawsuit include Kobach; the Johnson County district attorney, and the district attorney in Sedgwick County, in the Wichita area, who could prosecute violations of the new law. Five of the state's six abortion clinics are in one of those two counties. Also sued were the chairman and top staffer of the state's medical board, which can suspend or revoke doctors' licenses for breaking state law.
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Suspicious Letters Containing Mysterious Substance Extend Beyond Borders of Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) – Public officials outside of Kansas are now reporting receiving suspicious letters. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says an investigation into the 100 suspicious letters Kansas public officials received is now being handed over to the FBI. At this time, laboratory testing has not indicated any risk to public safety. Law enforcement and public safety officials are still working to see how many letters were sent, find the individual or individuals responsible for sending the letters and the motive for doing so. KSNT reports that the KBI had more than 60 special agents, forensic scientists and employees working to safely collect or screen evidence or manage and track responses to the incidents. So far, only Republican members of the Legislature and Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach have received the letters.
While the inquiry has now expanded beyond Kansas, the KBI will continue to work with all its law enforcement partners in the case. People are asked to report any letters containing an unknown white powder to the KBI at 1-800-KSCRIME or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov.
(–Additional Reporting–)
Mystery Powder Sent to Kansas Republicans, Trump, Supreme Court Justice Thomas
WASHINGTON (ABC) — A series of threatening letters containing a mysterious white powder is raising concerns that Republican lawmakers in Kansas and across the nation who received them are being targeted by someone cryptically calling themselves "your secret despirer," according to authorities and recipients of the letters. Since Friday, about 100 letters have been received by Kansas GOP lawmakers and Republican Attorney General Kris Kobach.
ABC News reports that the list of intended recipients of white powder letters is growing and expanding beyond Kansas. Similar letters containing a cryptic note and a “suspicious powdery substance” were addressed to former President Donald Trump, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and other high-profile individuals, though the U.S. Postal Inspection Service intercepted them before they were delivered. Postal inspectors have possession of the letters and have deemed them harmless.
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Kansas Officials May Decide to Limit Foreign Land Ownership
TOPEKA, Kan. (TCJ/KPR) — Conservatives in many states are alarmed at the growing number of Chinese-owned companies purchasing land in the U.S. And many conservatives have pushed to limit who can own farmland or, in some cases, any property. They point to national security concerns, like foreign influence over the nation's food supply or foreign groups that buy land next to U.S. military installations.
In Kansas, efforts to restrict foreign nationals from acquiring Kansas land stalled at the Statehouse, despite backing from a slate of Republican lawmakers and Attorney General Kris Kobach. But as the Topeka Capital-Journal reports, the debate is unlikely to go away anytime soon. A panel of lawmakers will review the issue this summer and fall, with an eye towards possible action in 2024. And there are rumblings that the matter may be addressed at the federal level as well.
Nationally, nearly two dozen states have some restrictions on foreign land ownership. And Kansas officials say national security concerns point to a strong need for action on the issue. One proposal under consideration in Kansas would restrict all foreign land ownership outside of Johnson, Wyandotte, Sedgwick and Shawnee counties. Another would target only nationals of countries deemed to be a foreign adversary of the United States, which the federal government currently lists as China, Russia, North Korea, Iran, Cuba and Venezuela.
Attorney General Kris Kobach has favored the first plan, arguing the state needs to do more in the face of rising foreign land ownership across the U.S. He pointed to the Chinese spy balloon spotted over a number of U.S. states earlier this year and said he was only half-joking when he said they were "shopping for real estate in Kansas."
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Kansas Gets New Secretary of Transportation
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) – Kansas is getting a new transportation secretary. Governor Laura Kelly has appointed Calvin Reed as Secretary of KDOT. Reed has been serving as acting secretary since the departure of former Secretary Julie Lorenz in December. Reed has spent more than 15 years of his career with KDOT. He's a graduate of Kansas State University with degrees in civil engineering. Reed's appointment must still be approved by the Kansas Senate.
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Inmate Dies at Larned State Correctional Facility
LARNED, Kan. (KPR) – An inmate at Larned State Correctional Facility has died. Authorities say 33-year-old Cortez Timley died this (WED) morning. The cause of death is pending further investigation and results of an independent autopsy. Per protocol, the death will be reviewed by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI). Timley was serving a sentence for murder, drug possession and interfering with the duties of a law enforcement officer from Shawnee County.
The Larned State Correctional Facility is an all-male facility housing all custody levels with a current population of 525 residents. The name of the facility was officially changed in April from Larned Correctional Mental Health Facility to the Larned State Correctional Facility.
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Former Kansas Sheriff's Deputy Loses Law Enforcement Certification
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former southern Kansas sheriff's deputy who shot and killed a man with a defective beanbag has been stripped of his peace officer certification. Virgil Brewer, a former Barber County deputy, was found not guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the 2017 death of 42-year-old Steven Myers. Myers died after Brewer shot him with the beanbag during a confrontation at Myers's home in Sun City.
The Kansas Commission on Peace Officers' Standards and Training reviewed the shooting last month and revoked Brewer's license. The commission's report noted that body camera video of the confrontation showed Myers complying with conflicting commands from Brewer and another deputy when he exited a shed on his property. He was not informed he was under arrest or that the beanbag would be used before Brewer fired the shot.
The peace officers commission described Brewer's conduct as "unprofessional" and lacking "good moral character." Brewer shot Myers with his own shotgun with a beanbag that he received at a previous job in Texas and had not been trained to use it before the shooting, according to testimony at the trial. The ammunition had been discontinued for several years because it could cause penetrating injuries.
Prosecutor Melissa Gay Johnson with the Kansas attorney general's office charged Brewer in October 2018. A Wyandotte County jury acquitted him in November 2022. Myers's widow filed a federal lawsuit over his death and Kansas officials agreed to a $3.5 million settlement in 2020.
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Kansas Highway Patrol: Extra Caution Needed on Roads During Harvest Season
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — It's nearly harvest season and the Kansas Highway Patrol is reminding motorists to use extra caution when traveling near farm trucks, tractors, combines and other implements. State troopers are also asking motorists to be patient when encountering heavy farm implements and trucks moving in and out of wheat fields and on to roadways. Most farm equipment is not designed to travel at highway speeds and may only travel 15-25 mph. Farm equipment is often wider than the lane of traffic, so extra room should be allowed when sharing the road. Caution should be practiced on all roads, but especially on busy rural roads with unmarked intersections. The Highway Patrol also advises motorists not to pass farm vehicles unless they can see clearly ahead of their own vehicle and the vehicle they are passing. (Read more.)
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KC Voters Elect New City Council Members, Keep Mayor Lucas
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KSHB) — Voters in Kansas City went to the polls Tuesday and elected seven new members to the city council. KSHB TV reports that six of the new council members won seats that were vacated due to term limits. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas was re-elected to a second term, receiving 81% of the vote. The new City Council members will be sworn into office in August.
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Topeka Police Identify Father's Day Murder Victim
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) — Topeka police say the victim of a fatal shooting on Father's Day was a father himself. Police say 30-year-old Anthony L. Marshall III, a father of two, became the city's 18th homicide of the year. WIBW TV reports that the Topeka man was shot Sunday night on SW Twilight Drive. Marshall was pronounced dead at the scene. No arrests have been made.
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Should Lawrence Airport Be Expanded to Handle Big Commercial Jets? A Study Is Underway
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) — A study is underway to determine if the Lawrence airport should be expanded to accommodate 737 jets are other large commercial aircraft. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the city has agreed to hire a consultant to conduct a feasibility study. Big aircraft are common sights at places like Kansas City International Airport, but the Lawrence airport runways and infrastructure are too small to accommodate the larger planes. City officials haven’t released an estimate of what the total costs may be to expand the airport. Creating a cost estimate is one of the purposes of the feasibility study.
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Douglas County Commission Resumes Solar Talks as NextEra Seeks Temporary Business Permits
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) — Discussion is set to resume at tonight's (WED) Douglas County Commission meeting on a proposed solar project stretching from southeastern Douglas County into Johnson County. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that NextEra Energy Resources is seeking temporary business permits for its proposed 3,000-acre solar project. In order for NextEra to proceed, county commissioners will need to green-light the Florida-based company’s request for the temporary permits.
Douglas County’s portion of the project accounts for roughly 1,000 acres. NextEra is currently zeroed in on seven properties across four sections of Palmyra Township. The Douglas County Heritage Conservation Council previously cited Palmyra Township as one of the least surveyed areas for archaeological sites in Douglas County. The conservation council thinks the likelihood of encountering Native American sites and artifacts is high, especially because the Santa Fe Trail is relatively close to the Palmyra Township properties.
NextEra has filed a plan with the county outlining the procedures it plans to follow in the event of “unanticipated discoveries” of cultural resources. The plan says that a trained archaeologist will be on site to provide monitoring and inspection.
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Water Conservation Urged as Midwest Drought Persists
LINCOLN, Neb. (HPM) — Sprinklers and hoses are in overdrive across parts of the Midwest as the drought rages on and people try to keep their lawns looking green. Some cities are putting conservation measures in place to keep their water supplies from running out. Dry weather, high temperatures and a lack of rainfall across parts of Nebraska have caused a spike in water demand from city residents. Steve Owen is the superintendent of water production for the City of Lincoln, Nebraska. He says the city has recently asked residents to cut back on watering their lawns. “When there’s less water in the river, there’s less water in the aquifer for us to draw from," he said. If weather conditions don’t improve, Owen says the city will have to put mandatory water restrictions in place. Storm Lake, Iowa and Wentzville, Missouri, have also declared voluntary water measures.
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Kansas Wants Public's Help in Restricting Invasive Pear Trees
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — Kansas may restrict the planting of ornamental pear trees that experts say wreak havoc on the environment. The Kansas Department of Agriculture put out a public call for ideas to stop the trees that are banned in some states but remain for sale in Kansas. Biologists like Matt Garrett, with Johnson County Park and Recreation , would welcome restrictions. “I was just out in the field this morning in a large prairie that was burned late last year. And many of the pear trees that we had burned to the ground are already knee to thigh high," he said. That means workers have to go back and poison every tree individually to kill them, which is time-consuming.
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Supreme Court Turns Away Veterans Seeking Disability Benefits over 1966 Hydrogen Bomb Accident
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an appeal on behalf of some U.S. veterans who want disability benefits because they were exposed to radiation while responding to a Cold War-era hydrogen bomb accident in Spain. The justices not did comment in turning away an appeal from Victor Skaar, an Air Force veteran in his mid-80s. Skaar, of Nixa, Missouri, filed class-action claims seeking benefits for him and others who say they became ill from exposure to radiation during the recovery and cleanup of the undetonated bombs at the accident site in Palomares, a village in southern Spain, in 1966.
A federal appeals court rejected the class-action claims. The Supreme Court's action leaves that ruling in place.
The Justice Department, arguing against high-court review, noted that Congress last year enacted legislation that expands eligibility for benefits for many Palomares veterans. But the department also acknowledged that Skaar is not covered by the legislation.
Skaar's lawyers told the Supreme Court that he suffers from leukopenia, described as a condition that can be caused by exposure to radiation. Skaar also has had skin cancer, now in remission, the lawyers wrote in a court filing. He was among 1,400 U.S. service members who were sent to Palomares to help clean up what has been called the worst radiation accident in U.S. history.
On January 17, 1966, a U.S. B-52 bomber and a refueling plane crashed into each other during a refueling operation in the skies above Palomares, killing seven of 11 crew members but no one on the ground. At the time, the U.S. was keeping nuclear-armed warplanes in the air near the border with the Soviet Union. The midair collision resulted in the release of four U.S. hydrogen bombs. None of the bombs exploded, but the plutonium-filled detonators on two went off, scattering 7 pounds of highly radioactive plutonium 239 across the landscape.
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Kansas Gets Grant for High-Speed Internet Expansion
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — Kansas has won a $43 million federal grant to expand internet speeds in remote and underserved communities. The money will build an almost 700-mile-long fiber optic cable, which will connect Liberal, Garden City, Pittsburg and Overland Park, among other cities. The cable could connect 27,000 more homes to high-speed internet. The $43 million grant comes just days after Kansas got a $50 million loan to also expand broadband access in the southeast part of the state. A study from the University of Kansas found that only 44% of the state has adequate broadband coverage.
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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.