Severe Storms in Kansas Knock Out Power to Tens of Thousands
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - Kansas residents are still cleaning up from a series of weekend storms that knocked out power to tens of thousands of people from Salina to Kansas City and down into southeast Kansas.
Evergy reports that power has been restored to more than 93% of the homes that lost power. Residents started losing power Friday afternoon and in some parts of Kansas City, some residents remain without electricity. In all, more than 186,000 Evergy customers lost power as the storm and high winds moved across Kansas and Missouri.
Chad Omitt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Topeka, says no tornadoes touched down, but strong, straight-line winds still caused plenty of damage, mainly to trees. Omitt says strong winds north of Lawrence were clocked at 85 miles-per-hour on Friday. He says there's still a chance for severe weather in northeast Kansas today (MON), tonight and Tuesday.
More than 3,000 personnel from Evergy, contractors and neighboring utilities are working on power restoration. Crews from Nebraska, Indiana and Illinois are helping Kansas crews repair the nearly 500 power poles that were damaged or destroyed as a result of Friday night’s storms.
On Sunday, residents in central Kansas were hit by high winds and large hail. Power was knocked out to most of Great Bend, which also suffered from numerous broken windows, uprooted trees and downed power lines.
Check the latest weather from the National Weather Service.
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Friday Storm Caused Partial Power-Down at Wolf Creek Power Plant
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — High winds during Friday afternoon’s storms knocked out parts of a transmission line for the Wolf Creek nuclear power plant. Evergy reports that the lines stretch from Wichita to the Wolf Creek plant, near Burlington. KSHB TV reports that plant officials initiated a controlled power down to 60% of the facility’s capacity early Saturday. Evergy officials say the plant remains stable and presents no danger to the public.
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Central Kansas Parents Upset over Rural School Closing
BARTON COUNTY, Kan. (KNS) - Some parents in central Kansas are upset over the closing of their rural high school and are now pushing to disband their school district and start over. It's a move that could be repeated in other shrinking rural districts. Voters in the Central Plains district near Great Bend will decide August 1st whether to dissolve the district. If the measure passes, the state school board will divide up the territory into neighboring districts. Claflin resident Denise Schmidt opposes the move. She says it would displace hundreds of students and eliminate local control. “It has complex and far-reaching effects that will last not just for our students and our community, but for small districts around the state," she said. Supporters of the measure want to save Wilson High School from closing. If not, they say they'd rather send their children to schools in other districts.
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Topeka Police Search for Suspect in Fatal Shooting
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Topeka police are searching for a 29-year-old man in connection with the city's most recent homicide. WIBW TV reports that investigators are attempting to locate 29-year-old Alfred Smith, a suspect in a shooting that killed a juvenile on Friday. Police say Smith was last seen in a turquoise Jeep SUV. Officers were called to a local hospital Friday where they found a juvenile shooting victim. The juvenile later died. Police have not released the victim's identity.
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KCK Man Dies After Drowning in Elk River
MCDONALD COUNTY, Mo. (WDAF) — A Kansas City, Kansas, man has drowned in the Elk River of southwest Missouri. Authorities say the body of 23-year-old Victor Lopez was recovered Saturday after an extensive search. WDAF TV reports that Lopez entered the Elk River and tried to swim across it.
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2-Year-Old Drowns in Kansas State Park
OSAGE COUNTY, Kan. (KSNT) – The Osage County Sheriff’s Department says a girl drowned last week at Melvern Lake. Deputies arrived at Eisenhower State Park swimming beach Thursday to find life-saving measures were already being performed. But attempts to revive the 2-year-old girl were not successful. She was pronounced dead at the scene. KSNT reports that the Osage County Sheriff’s Office and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks are investigating the incident.
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Union Pacific Railroad to Renew Push for 1-Person Crews by Testing Conductors in Trucks
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Union Pacific will renew its push for one-person train crews later this summer when the railroad tests out the idea of having a conductor in a truck respond to problems on trains in Nebraska and Colorado.
The railroad will continue using two crew members on its trains during the test, but officials say this could bolster their case in future negotiations for cutting crew size if it is successful.
UP's Jason Pinder confirmed the pilot program Monday when he testified against a proposed Kansas rule that would require two-person crews. The Omaha, Nebraska-based railroad has long been a leading proponent in the industry's push to go down to one-person crews.
This plan had to be shelved earlier this year after the Transportation Division of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers union that represents conductors opposed it. But that union later agreed to let Union Pacific test out ground-based conductors as long as it maintained current crew sizes and agreed to drop ongoing negotiations over reducing crew size. Even though UP abandoned its current proposal to eliminate conductors on trains, the railroad can reintroduce the idea in the next contract negotiations that begin in 2025.
Union officials say there has been no change in SMART-TD's longstanding opposition to the idea of eliminating the second person in the cab of a locomotive because of safety concerns. In fact, the union's Ty Dragoo testified Monday that “We're huge proponents” of the proposed Kansas rule.
If that state's regulators approve, Kansas would join at least nine other states that have passed laws requiring two-man crews. The others are California, Wisconsin, Arizona, West Virginia. Minnesota, Washington, Nevada, Colorado and Ohio. Railroad safety has been a key focus nationwide this year in the wake of a fiery February derailment in eastern Ohio that forced evacuations and created lingering health concerns and several other rail crashes.
The railroads strongly oppose state laws on their operations and usually challenge them in court because they argue that the federal government should be the only one to regulate the industry to ensure there is a uniform set of rules nationwide. The Federal Railroad Administration is also currently considering a proposed rule that would require two-person crews, but it's not clear when they will act on the rule.
Members of Congress have also proposed requiring two-man crews as part of a package of rail reforms drafted after the East Palestine, Ohio, derailment. That bill garnered bipartisan support initially but hasn't yet been debated on the floor of the Senate, and it faces uncertain prospects in the Republican-controlled House where most lawmakers are reluctant to approve new regulations.
The pilot program will run in western Nebraska between North Platte and Morrill and in Colorado and Wyoming between Denver and Cheyenne starting in August and September. The railroad’s idea is to test out how quickly a conductor in a truck can respond to any problem compared to how quickly a conductor on the train will be able to walk back along the train to find an issue. UP still has to work out exactly how big of a territory a ground-based conductor might cover.
Railroads have fought any crew size requirement because they say there isn't enough data to show operating trains with one crew member would be riskier, and they argue that railroads have become safer in recent decades even as crews shrank from five to the current standard of two. The railroads have argued that modern technology — particularly the automatic braking system railroads were required to install in recent years — makes the conductor unnecessary on a train and executives believe that moving conductors off of trains would improve their quality of life by giving them more predictable schedules and keeping them from going on the road.
While all the major freight railroads continue to use two-person crews, a number of short-line railroads have already been using one-person crews for years. Chuck Baker, the president of the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association, testified at the Kansas hearing Monday that many of those smaller railroads have also found other benefits of having a conductor based in a truck such as having them adjust switches ahead of a train or go ahead to visit with customers before a train arrives.
But all the rail unions have long opposed moving conductors out of locomotives, arguing they help monitor track conditions and radio communications while ensuring that engineers remain alert and respond to any emergencies or mechanical problems on the train. In the case of a derailment or collision, conductors are the first ones to respond before any additional help can arrive.
The unions say the value of having a conductor onboard has been demonstrated time and time again including during a fiery 2013 derailment near Casselton, North Dakota, when the conductor was able to help separate undamaged tank cars filled with crude oil from the rest of the train so they could be pulled away from the fire.
Critics of the idea of moving conductors out of the locomotive cabs have also raised practical questions about whether a conductor driving a truck would even be able to reach a train in remote locations where no roads are near the tracks. Plus, a conductor in a truck could be delayed in traffic.
A major highway runs next to the tracks in Western Nebraska that UP plans to test, but it may be harder for a conductor in a truck to reach trains in the mountainous territory of Colorado.
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Backpack Drive in Lawrence Aims to Gather Survival Supplies for People Living Outdoors
LAWRENCE, Kan. (The Lawrence Times) — An effort is underway in Lawrence to collect backpacks full of survival gear for those living outdoors. The Lawrence Times reports that the summer backpack drive is aimed at helping the city's homeless population. Alex Buzicky, a former employee at the Lawrence Community Shelter, is helping to spearhead the effort to collect various supplies, including water bottles, bug spray, sunscreen, first aid supplies (like antibiotic ointment), aloe vera, batteries, hats and sunglasses. “We are asking for financial donations through Freefunder in order to purchase many of the supplies needed,” Buzicky said.
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Kansas City Stores: Taylor Swift Concert Brought in More Business than the NFL Draft
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR) - According to many Kansas City area businesses, the recent Taylor Swift concert at Arrowhead Stadium brought more business into town than this year's NFL Draft. KCUR Radio reports that a number of KC area restaurants and retail stores reported seeing big increases in out-of-town customers. Visit KC estimated that Taylor Swift’s Friday-Saturday concerts July 7-8 would result in a direct economic impact of more than $46 million for the Kansas City metro, said Kathy Nelson, president and CEO of Visit KC. “This widespread impact encompasses in-destination spending by attendees across various sectors, including but not limited to: lodging, dining, transportation, retail and recreation,” Nelson said.
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FBI Seeks Two Suspects Who Robbed Victim at Bank's ATM
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The FBI is looking for two suspects who robbed an ATM machine in Kansas City over the weekend. Witnesses told police that two unknown men approached a person at an ATM late Saturday morning. KCTV reports that the men threatened the victim and then fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of money.
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Man Remains Unidentified After Burned Body Found in 2019
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KWCH) - Years after a man’s body was found in northeast Kansas, his identity remains a mystery. Back on December 11, 2019, the body of a man was found on the side of the road in a container in Kansas City, Kansas. KWCH TV reports that the white or Latino man’s body was charred and burned. While some parts of him were not recognizable, he did have several tattoos, including: “Love Karina” on his right chest; a heart with “15-8-1977” and lettering in the middle, located on his left chest; and a partial tattoo, along with the word “Dios” above other lettering on his left forearm.
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Monday Night's Powerball Jackpot Expected to Hit $900 Million
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - Tonight's (MON) Powerball Jackpot is expected to hit $900 million after no one captured the top prize Saturday night. There have been 37 consecutive drawings without a jackpot. The $900 million jackpot trails only two previous Powerball drawings. The odds of winning it all are still a longshot: 1 in 292.2 million. Good luck but don't quit your job just yet.
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Contaminated Northeast Kansas River Attributed to Animal Feeding Facility
NEMAHA (KSNT) – State health officials say residents and wildlife should avoid the water in the Nemaha River. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued the warning after contaminants were found. KSNT reports that the stream warning was issued for the South Fork of the Nemaha River, north of Seneca. The contamination was attributed to an animal feeding facility. Officials say at least one fish was killed in association with the contamination.
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Gaming Commission Approves Wichita Casino Plan
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS/KMUW) - The Kansas Racing and Gaming Commission has approved a proposal for a new casino to be built north of Wichita by casino magnate Phil Ruffin. The Golden Circle casino will be built at the former Wichita Greyhound Park near Park City. The facility will include 1,000 historical horse racing machines, which resemble slot machines and allow people to bet on replays of past horse races. Ruffin was the only remaining applicant after one dropped out and another was disqualified. The $84 million-dollar facility is set to open in about 14 months. It will include a dance hall, a hotel, and an entertainment amphitheater. The new casino is permitted under last year’s sports betting bill. (Read more.)
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Wichita State Opens Heartland Environmental Justice Center
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS/KMUW) - The new Heartland Environmental Justice Center at Wichita State University has opened. It will assist Kansas nonprofits in applying for federal grant money. The center is one of 17 in the U.S. that will receive $10 million dollars from the EPA. The centers are a part of a federal effort to focus on environmental issues that disproportionately impact marginalized communities. The money will help Midwestern communities apply for federal grants. Millions of dollars from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act are available. Meg McColister is the Region 7 EPA administrator. She says the center also will help smaller cities vie for federal funding. "These communities can be competitive with those bigger universities or bigger cities who maybe historically would have been able to get more of the funding," she said. The center plans to hire up to six community engagement coordinators to gather feedback on environmental justice issues residents are facing.
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Public Invited to Dole Institute’s Celebration July 22
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) — The public is invited to attend a celebration this month honoring the 100th birthday of the late Kansas Senator Bob Dole and the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas. The celebration will be held July 22 with free events and activities. Beginning at 10 am, the events will include tributes to Dole and the Dole Institute, with appearances by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, former U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole and Dole's daughter, Robin Dole.
The ceremony will close with the dedication of a commemorative earthwork created by renowned artist Stan Herd, which will incorporate over 1,000 works of art from students across Kansas. A Dole Institute open house and full slate of events for all ages will follow. (Read more.)
The Robert J. Dole Institute of Politics at KU is dedicated to promoting political and civic participation, as well as civil discourse, in a bipartisan
manner.
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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. You can also follow KPR News on Twitter.