Kansas Religious and Political Leaders Denounce Hamas Attack on Israel
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNT) - Religious and political leaders throughout northeast Kansas and the KC metro area say they are shocked by the terrorist attacks in Israel. Rabbi Sam Stern of Temple Beth Sholom in Topeka compared them to Israel’s version of 9/11. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and Governor Laura Kelly issued a joint statement Monday condemning the attacks. U.S. Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas also released a statement pledging to help any Kansans in Israel return home. Rabbi Stern said he is grateful for the support from the elected officials. KSNT TV reports that services will be held at Temple Beth Sholom in Topeka Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. and Wednesday at noon. The Jewish community at the University of Kansas is also hosting a gathering Tuesday evening at 8:00 at the Kansas Union in response to the attacks in Israel. In Overland Park, the Temple, Congregation B'Nai Jehudah held a large gathering Monday evening in solidarity with Israel. The group of 600 people in person and more than 850 online, prayed, sang and mourned the lives lost.
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Kobach Seeks to Prohibit Use of Preferred Pronouns in Federal Courtrooms
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – Attorney General Kris Kobach is asking federal judges with jurisdiction over Kansas to stop requiring the use of people’s preferred pronouns in the courtroom. The Kansas News Service reports that Kobach says several district court judges within the 10th Circuit require parties to use the preferred pronouns of attorneys, litigants and witnesses. He says some lawyers in his office have religious beliefs that prevent them from using pronouns that differ from a person’s sex assigned at birth, and requiring them to do so is a potential First Amendment violation. Kobach recently helped bar transgender and nonbinary Kansans from changing the gender on their birth certificates. He’s also involved in an ongoing legal battle over drivers license changes.
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Small Town Kansas Hospital Shutting Down
HERINGTON, Kan. (WIBW) — Another small Kansas town is losing its hospital. WIBW TV reports that employees of Herington Hospital were informed Monday that the facility is shutting down. All services ended Monday though the building will remain open through the end of the week for people to retrieve their medical records. In a statement released Monday afternoon, Herington Hospital cited “lengthy financial struggles and consistently low patient volumes” prompting the decision to close. The hospital has been serving the community since 1919. Herington is about 30 miles south of Junction City and hospital administrators say other facilities in the region, including in Junction City, Marion, and Abilene, can provide care for residents. Stormont Vail Health in Topeka says its Flint Hills Campus in Junction City offers a full range of clinic and hospital services, including a 24/7 Emergency Department.
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Kansas Governor Announces Juneteenth Will Be Observed as a State Holiday
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas will designate Juneteenth as a state holiday, joining 28 other states and the District of Columbia, Gov. Laura Kelly said Tuesday.
Kelly, a Democrat, said in a news release that establishing the state holiday “provides Kansans an opportunity to celebrate our state's diversity and honor the ongoing struggles for racial equality.”
Juneteenth marks the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people in the United States learned they were free. For generations, Black Americans have recognized the end of one of the darkest chapters in U.S. history with joy, in the form of parades, street festivals, musical performances or cookouts.
In 2021, President Joe Biden signed a bill passed by Congress to set aside Juneteenth, or June 19th, as a federal holiday.
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Student State Test Scores Rebound
UNDATED (KNS) – State test scores for Kansas students are on the rebound for the first time since the start of the COVID pandemic. Scores released Tuesday by the state Department of Education show that last spring, every grade level showed progress on the math assessment. The Kansas News Service reports that six of seven grade levels scored higher overall in English Language Arts. Kansas Education Commissioner Randy Watson says the scores are encouraging. New data also shows more Kansas students are graduating from high school and fewer need remedial classes in college. When it comes to attendance, more than 21 percent of Kansas students were chronically absent last school year. That’s a decrease from the year before, but still way up since the start of the pandemic.
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Kansas Schools Want More Money for Special Education Services
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS/KMUW) — Kansas school district leaders want lawmakers to increase funding for special education. But some legislators say the funding formula itself is the problem, not the amount of money. Republican Representative Kristey Williams says public schools in Kansas get more money for special education than their budgets reflect. She says the current funding formula doesn’t count weightings for at-risk or bilingual special-ed students. And she hinted that lawmakers could look at changing the law when they head back to Topeka in January. “Why was this written the way that it was? Because it doesn’t seem to gel with other funding statutes," she said. Lawmakers are currently not funding special education at the level set in state law.
During a legislative committee meeting Monday, Williams said districts get money from state and local taxpayers that isn’t counted as part of their special-ed funding. And she hinted that lawmakers could look at tweaking the law. “Our formula for special education is perhaps not precise or consistent with the entire formula, and the state does not receive that credit," she said. Last session, lawmakers rejected Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s plan for an additional $72 million in special education funding. They approved $7.5 million. Last session, the Legislature created a special task force to study the issue, but that group has not met.
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Kansas Silver Haired Legislature Lays Out Priorities
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — A group advocating for older Kansans is encouraging state lawmakers to legalize medical cannabis and approve Medicaid expansion. The Silver Haired Legislature is a non-partisan group comprised of Kansans over the age of 60. The group met at the Statehouse to approve their priorities. Randall Hardy, Speaker of the House for the group, says the 650,000 seniors in the state represent a significant voting bloc.
The Silver Haired Legislature says the number of uninsured Kansans in rural areas are a risk to hospital viability and therefore, the state should expand Medicaid. The group also advocated for medical marijuana, saying that cannabis is vital to seniors suffering from conditions like Alzheimer’s and chronic pain.
Some members of the group voiced their concerns about marijuana legalization leading to more crime. But George Hanna, the Executive Director of Kansas NORML, told the group that legalization in other states has helped curtail illegal marijuana distribution. “We’ve had a giant shift socially in the acceptance of this plan in most of the country thereby reducing the demand in the market, in the black market," he said. Other resolutions advanced by the body include protecting voting rights for seniors and lowering taxes on social security.
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Oskaloosa Man Arrested in September Murder
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - An Oskaloosa man has been arrested on a charge of first degree murder in connection with a shooting on September 25. Topeka Police say a shooting in South Topeka, near Washburn University, left 39-year-old Durant R. Redmond dead from a gunshot wound. WIBW TV reports that 39-year-old David Jackson of Oskaloosa has been arrested in connection with Redmond's death and is being held in the Shawnee County Jail.
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Geary County Law Enforcement Holds Training Exercise Near Konza Prairie
GEARY COUNTY, Kan. (KSNT) — More than a dozen law enforcement agencies are taking part in a practice manhunt in Geary County today (TUE). KSNT reports that the training exercise, taking place near the Konza Prairie Biological Station, involves the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Highway Patrol, Geary County Sheriff's Office, Junction City Police and Fire Departments and K-9 units. Members of the public are asked to avoid the area during the exercise.
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As Water Levels Drop in the Ogallala Aquifer, Some Welcome More Regulation
UNDATED (HPM) — About a quarter of the United States’s irrigated cropland sits on top of the Ogallala Aquifer in the Great Plains. But water levels in the aquifer continue to drop. Some states, like Oklahoma, don't require farmers to meter groundwater use. But Mike Shannon, the interim city manager for Guymon in the Oklahoma panhandle, says as wells start to dry up, people have gotten more on board for groundwater conservation and even regulation. "If I would’ve said that I wish the farmers would have put meters on ten years ago, I would have probably been asked to leave Oklahoma. I'm saying it more now, and farmers are going, “Yeah, you're right." he said.
The Ogallala has seen less depletion in Nebraska than in Oklahoma or Kansas. That’s in part because many of the state’s local water districts require irrigators to measure how much they use. Water levels in the Ogallala have dropped dozens of feet over much of the Oklahoma panhandle. Shannon says the lack of water is a hurdle for his panhandle community. “If I had a corporation that wanted to bring in a thousand people and make, uh, widgets. You know what I would have to tell them? You can't come. We do not have enough water," he said. Shannon says he believes the solution is to meter irrigation wells.
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Judge's Order Cancels Event that Would Have Blocked Sole Entrance to Kansas Abortion Clinic
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A demonstration planned by a Roman Catholic diocese in Kansas that would have blocked the only entrance to a Wichita abortion clinic was canceled after a judge put a hold on the city permit that would have allowed it. Earlier this year, the Catholic Diocese of Wichita was granted a permit through the city's Parks and Recreation and police departments to close the street in front of the Trust Women clinic, the Wichita Eagle reported.
The diocese had planned to hold a "Mass for Life" demonstration Saturday morning that would have blocked the entrance to the clinic while leaving open the entrance to another clinic on the street that seeks to dissuade people from getting abortions. But a judge granted a request for a temporary restraining order until the Wichita City Council holds a hearing to address objections to the street closure from the Trust Women clinic and another nearby business. The clinic is normally closed for business on Saturdays but sometimes opens for appointments on weekends, as well as works on administrative and cleaning tasks on Saturdays, the Eagle reported.
Operators of the Trust Women clinic said they learned of the planned street closure last month and filed an objection with the city. When no hearing was called to address objections to the permit, the clinic sought the restraining order.
The legal battle comes more than a year after Kansas voters affirmed abortion rights in the conservative state.
Wichita has often served as the epicenter of conflict over abortion rights. The Trust Women Clinic was founded by George Tiller, a Wichita abortion provider who was shot to death in 2009 by an anti-abortion extremist.
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Authorities: Emporia Women Were in Denver Prior to Their Deaths
KIOWA COUNTY, Colo. (CBS / KVOE) — Investigators in Colorado and Kansas have confirmed that two women from Emporia were in Denver days prior to their bodies being discovered in Kiowa County, in eastern Colorado. CBS News reports that a five-day search concluded September 20 when authorities located 39-year-old Linda Estrada and 44-year-old Amy Ford south of Eads, Colorado. According to the Emporia Police Department, searchers used K9s, airplanes, drones, personnel on foot and in vehicles during the search for the women. Last week, Kiowa County authorities issued an arrest warrant for 36-year-old Phillip Lieurence, who was already being held in Emporia on unrelated charges.
KVOE Radio in Emporia reports that Lieurence was jailed on 13 charges including aggravated battery and driving under the influence following a police pursuit and crash near Emporia. The crash took place the day before family members reported the women's disappearance. The connection between the man and the two women remains unclear.
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KPR’s Fall Membership Drive Falls $30,000 Short
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) — Almost 1,500 people helped Kansas Public Radio raise just over $300,000 during the station's fall membership drive. However, KPR fell short of its $330,000 goal. After eight days of on-air fundraising, KPR ended its fall membership drive with $300,511 in pledges. The drive wrapped up September 29 with pledges from 1,488 listener-members. The membership drive began September 22. “We faced a few obstacles in this drive,” Feloniz Lovato-Winston, KPR Director, said. “There was beautiful weather, as well as a couple of high profile football games while we were fundraising. There was a lot more competition for listener attention. We’ll look for alternative ways rather than on-air pledging to make up the shortfall," she said. The station continues to take pledges on its website.
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Chiefs' Travis Kelce Expected to Play Against Broncos on Thursday Night Following Ankle Injury
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Travis Kelce is expected to be available when the Kansas City Chiefs play the Denver Broncos on Thursday night, despite hurting his ankle when he slipped on the turf in last weekend's win over the Minnesota Vikings.
The Chiefs did not practice Monday, but Kelce was listed as “did not practice” on the injury report, which was an estimation of what would have happened. He went through a walkthrough Tuesday and Chiefs coach Andy Reid said he would be on the field for practice with the expectation that he will also be on the field Thursday night.
“He’s got quite a little bit of treatment on it and he’s feeling better, which is good,” Reid said. “I’m just going to see, see how he moves around, see how he feels. He’s always been honest with me on things like that, and just see how he does.”
Kelce hurt his ankle late in the first half Sunday, and for a while it appeared that the injury would be significant. Kelce slammed his helmet down on the sideline in frustration, and he headed to the locker room for X-rays before the end of the half.
After receiving some treatment and stretching on the sideline, Kelce talked his way back into the game in the second half, and he came up with a couple of big plays down the stretch. His touchdown reception late in the third quarter made it a two-possession game, and he finished with 10 catches for 67 yards and the score in the 27-20 victory.
“That's a legendary-type game to be able to battle through that,” Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said. “I didn't see the injury or how bad it was, but looking back on it now and seeing how the ankle rolled, and coming back out and playing at a high level and scoring a touchdown we needed to win the game, it speaks to his toughness and ability to get back out there.”
Kelce has only missed one game because of injury since his rookie season, and that was Week 1 last month, when he hyperextended his knee in the final practice before facing Detroit.
And Kelce tried to talk his way into being active — he went through pregame warmups trying to prove he was OK — before the Chiefs declared him out for the game.
It remains the only game that Kansas City (4-1) has lost this season.
While Kelce has made as many headlines the past four weeks for his relationship with Taylor Swift as for his play on the field, the 34-year-old tight end still has caught 27 passes for 222 yards and three scores. Those are all tops on the team.
“He's a guy that wants to play. He's a competitor at the end of the day,” Mahomes said. "He goes out and battles week in and week out, and sometimes people don't even know that he's not feeling great. He just goes out and plays at a high level.”
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KC Keeps Watchful Eye on Travis Kelce
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Travis Kelce has been in the spotlight the past few weeks thanks largely to his new relationship with Taylor Swift. He'll be in the spotlight this coming week because of his ankle. The All-Pro tight end hurt it during the first half of the Kansas City Chiefs' win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. Kelce managed to return in the second half and had a couple of big catches down the stretch in the 27-20 victory, but the Chiefs now have a short week to get him healthy before they face the Denver Broncos on Thursday night. "When you have any type of injury you have to go through and say, 'OK, this is what we think is going to happen based off of Travis,' or whoever the player is," Chiefs offensive coordinator Matt Nagy said Monday. "We listen to where we think things are, we have to put together what we think is going to happen and then have that contingency plan." The Chiefs (4-1) should have an idea of what that looks like.
Kelce had not missed a game to injury since his rookie season before the opener against Detroit, when a hyperextended knee sustained a couple of days earlier kept him out. The Chiefs' offense wasn't the same, either, with Patrick Mahomes and the rest of the crew struggling much of the way in a 21-20 loss — their only one this season.
If Kelce is limited at all, Noah Gray and Blake Bell would get additional time at tight end. But the Chiefs also would look to their young wide receivers, including Rashee Rice, who started to shine during the win over the Vikings. "We have guys that where it might have been a three-tight end set, we throw a receiver in there and stuff like that. We have guys that are able to learn that, know the offense," Mahomes said. "So we prepare for that stuff. You can't always prepare for everything, but we try to prepare for if someone goes down or if something happens how we can still run our plays."
Kelce has proven to be one of the most durable players in the league, though, and that he was able to return in the second half gives Kansas City hope that he will be on the field again Thursday night. "He finds a new way to surprise me every week," wide receiver Justin Watson said. "That looked like a gnarly injury, and I was surprised he even made it off the sideline. Then for him to come back and have the second half he did, that guy is tough as nails. I love playing with Trav. He fired us all back up coming in here."
WHAT'S WORKING
The defensive backfield has largely shut down some of the best wide receivers in the game in recent weeks, and everybody has been in on the success. Trent McDuffie had three passes defended, and the defensive backs had seven in all, in the win over Minnesota.
WHAT NEEDS HELP
Special teams are becoming problematic for Kansas City. They gave up a fake punt in the opener against the Lions, then had another pulled against them by the Vikings, even though special teams coach Dave Toub knew it was coming. "Sooner or later we have to start stopping these things," Toub said Monday, "or we're going to keep getting them."
STOCK UP
L'Jarius Sneed is entering the last year of his rookie contract, and whether Kansas City signs him to an extension or he hits free agency and finds a home elsewhere, the cornerback will be making a whole lot more money next season. Sneed helped keep Vikings star Justin Jefferson — who later left with a hamstring injury — in check in his latest superlative performance.
STOCK DOWN
Marquez Valdes-Scantling is carrying a salary cap hit of $11 million this season. The other seven wide receivers combined have a cap hit of $7.279 million. So Valdes-Scantling having one catch for 12 yards against Minnesota, failing to catch more than two in any game and having seven catches total for 116 yards this season has become a big problem.
INJURIES
The Chiefs largely came out of the Minnesota game healthy. Running back Isiah Pacheco banged up his ribs on the final series of the game, and linebacker Drue Tranquill hurt his knee but managed to finish it out.
KEY NUMBER
4 — Chris Jones has played four games after missing the opener because of a holdout, and the All-Pro defensive tackle has at least one sack in each of them. That ties Hall of Fame pass rusher Derrick Thomas (1996) for the longest streak to start a season in Chiefs history.
NEXT STEPS
The Chiefs play the Broncos on Thursday night. Denver lost to the New York Jets on Sunday.
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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.