Child Dies in Fall from Apartment Building in Downtown Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police in Missouri are investigating the circumstances that led to a child's death in a fall from a downtown Kansas City apartment building. Police have not confirmed the child's name but say it was a boy under age 12. Captain Corey Carlisle said Tuesday that police are still working to determine how far he fell. Officers responded just after 11 am Monday to the 1000 block of Grand Boulevard and found the child with "bodily trauma" in an alley. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said the fall was captured on surveillance footage. The death is being investigated as "suspicious," but police say it may be several weeks before a report is completed by the medical examiner's office and for police to follow up on leads in the investigation.
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Additional Protest Planned at Shawnee Mission East High School After Fight Captured on Tape
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCUR) – A second protest is planned at Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, after a racially charged altercation between students began circulating nationally on social media. KCUR reports that the Black Student Solidarity Network is planning a protest at Shawnee Mission East High School this week after a video published by the KC Defender showed a white male student hurling racial slurs and punching a Black student in the face. The Kansas City Star reported that students said the girl suffered a broken nose and was sent to the hospital. The Kansas City Star reports the white male student has been charged with felony aggravated battery for his actions.
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Meteorologists Say Recent Snowfall Unusual for November
UNDATED (KNS) – Last weekend’s heavy snowfall in Kansas was very unusual for November, according to the assistant state climatologist. Matthew Sittel is based at Kansas State University, and says snow this time of year can help the soil because the ground isn’t frozen yet and can soak up the moisture.
“Early season snow – great thing for the state. Once it falls and accumulates, and that snowpack is sitting there, it’s gradually melting from below because it's sitting on ground that’s above freezing,” Sittel told the Kansas News Service.
Eastern and Central Kansas suffered very dry growing seasons this year. Last weekend’s storm brought more than a foot of snow to some parts of central Kansas – the equivalent of about one inch of rain. Wichita received about 8 inches of snow, Dodge City recorded about 5 inches, and Hays and Colby logged between 2 and 3 inches.
Parts of northeastern Kansas got more than half a foot of snow, with Topeka officially recording 7.2 inches. Lawrence reported 5.4 inches.
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Former KCMO Mayor Dick Berkley Dies
UNDATED (KC Star) – Former Kansas City Mayor Richard L. "Dick" Berkley has died at the age of 92. The Kansas City Star reports that Berkley led the city during the 1980s as its first Jewish mayor, and was the city's longest-serving mayor. He oversaw the city's response to the fatal Hyatt Regency walkway collapse disaster in 1981. Berkley served as mayor from 1979 to 1991. Current Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas called Berkley "a real statesman." U.S. Representative Emanuel Cleaver, who succeeded Berkley as mayor, called him an iconic leader. Berkley Riverfront Park was named in his honor, and he helped create the Kansas City Jazz Commission. A cousin, Bill Berkley, told the Star that the former mayor had been in declining health, but the timing of his death was unexpected.
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Former Johnson County Pediatrician Facing Additional Child Porn Charges
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — A former Johnson County pediatrician is now facing another charge in an ongoing child pornography investigation. WDAF TV reports that a federal grand jury indicted Brian Aalbers, of Kansas City, on a new charge of possessing child porn as well as his original charge of attempting to produce child pornography. Aalbers is a former pediatric neurologist at Overland Park Regional Medical Center. Police initially received a report in October from an unidentified person who said they had discovered hidden cameras in the doctor's office. After obtaining a search warrant, police recovered more than 20,000 images from one of Aalbers' computers.
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Kansas School Districts Updating High School Graduation Requirements
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – Kansas students will need a few different classes to earn their high school diploma, starting with this year’s eighth-graders. The Kansas News service reports that school districts across the state are updating their graduation requirements to match changes approved last fall by the state Board of Education. Starting with the class of 2028, graduates will need a half-credit each of health and financial literacy, and two credits earned outside the classroom, such as work experience or volunteer hours.
They’ll also need a communications class such as speech, debate or journalism, according to Holly Ingram with Wichita schools.
“I think we all know it’s more than just writing papers and reading literature, which is a skill we all need, but also having those communication skills both in the workplace and in college,” Ingram said.
The changes to Kansas graduation requirements are the first in about 20 years.
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Men from Mexico Indicted on Drug Trafficking Charges in Kansas
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) — Two men from Mexico face charges of drug trafficking in Kansas. On Tuesday, a federal grand jury in Wichita returned an indictment against 42-year-old Omar Cebreros and 32-year-old Mario Ahumada-Adame, from the northwest Mexican state of Baja California. KWCH TV reports that the two men face charges that include possession of cocaine, fentanyl and methamphetamine with the intent to distribute those drugs. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Kansas Highway Patrol are investigating the case.
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Kansas Man Helped Save Bison from Extinction
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) — The American bison was adopted as the official state animal of Kansas in 1955. It's often called the American buffalo, but bison is the preferred scientific term. A recent PBS documentary tells the story of the bison, which once numbered in the millions across the Great Plains. The animal was nearly killed off by government decree, but KPR Commentator Rex Buchanan says a Kansas man helped save the animal from extinction. "Charles 'Buffalo' Jones was, in the 1870s, a buffalo hunter. But he moved to Finney County in southwestern Kansas, gave up hunting, and began collecting bison," Buchanan said. Jones eventually sold his Kansas herd but continued his interest in bison, buying and breeding the animals in New Mexico and eventually in Yellowstone. "He’s at least part of the reason bison are still around today," Buchanan said. (Hear the whole story and learn where you can see buffalo herds in Kansas.)
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Topeka Council Plans to Extend Contract for Interim City Manager
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) — Topeka city officials have announced plans to extend the contract of Interim City Manager Richard Nienstedt. WIBW TV reports that the council plans to discuss the extension of Nienstedt’s contract at their meeting next Tuesday. The extension will give the city time to search for a permanent city manager. Nienstedt was appointed acting city manager in June and was named to the interim position in July. The city has contracted with a recruiting firm from Dallas to help with a nationwide search.
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Ransomware Attack Affects Emergency Room at St. Francis Hospital in Topeka
TOPEKA, Kan. (Topeka Capital-Journal) — The emergency room at Topeka's University of Kansas Health System-St. Francis has been affected by a recent ransomware attack upon one of its owners, Ardent Health Services. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that St. Francis was among an unspecified number of hospitals where emergency rooms were placed on "divert status" Friday as a precaution. When a hospital invokes divert status, it directs incoming ambulances to other facilities, in this case, Topeka's other major hospital, Stormont-Vail. Ardent, which owns St. Francis in partnership with the University of Kansas Health System, has suspended all user access to its information technology applications. (Read more.)
(– Additional Reporting – )
Ransomware Attack Prompts Multistate Hospital Chain to Divert Some Emergency Room Patients Elsewhere
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A ransomware attack has prompted a health care chain that operates 30 hospitals in six states to divert patients from some of its emergency rooms to other hospitals while postponing certain elective procedures.
Ardent Health Services said it took its network offline after the Nov. 23 cyberattack, adding in a statement that it suspended user access to information technology applications such as software used to document patient care.
By Tuesday afternoon, more than half of Ardent's 25 emergency rooms had resumed accepting some patients by ambulance or by fully lifting their “divert" status, Ardent spokesperson Will Roberts said. Divert status means hospitals have asked ambulances to take people needing emergency care to other nearby facilities. Roberts said hospitals nationwide have at times used divert status during flu season, COVID-19 surges, natural disasters and large trauma events.
The company said it could not yet confirm the extent of any compromised patient health or financial information. It reported the issue to law enforcement and retained third-party forensic and threat intelligence advisers, while working with cybersecurity specialists to restore IT functions as quickly as possible. There was no immediate timeline for resolving the problems.
Based in the Nashville, Tennessee, suburb of Brentwood, Ardent owns and operates 30 hospitals and more than 200 care sites with upwards of 1,400 aligned providers in Oklahoma, Texas, New Jersey, New Mexico, Idaho and Kansas.
Ardent said each hospital is still providing medical screenings and stabilizing care to patients arriving at emergency rooms.
In Amarillo, Texas, William Spell said he and his mother have had flu-like symptoms for days but couldn't make a doctor's appointment through an online patient portal because of the cyberattack.
“We are trying to figure out other options as to what to do next,” said Spell, 34.
BSA Health System – the Ardent umbrella provider for Spell’s clinic and other facilities in the city – said it was working to restore its patient portal and system for video doctors’ visits. Spell said his doctor’s office could not tell him how long the outage might last and recommended trying an urgent care clinic.
“That’s just something we cannot do because urgent cares charge a lot of money just to walk through the door and be seen by a doctor,” Spell said. “There’s no way we can afford that.”
Ardent says it is still seeing patients in its clinics and is contacting them if rescheduling is necessary.
Several hospitals in Albuquerque, New Mexico, within Ardent's Lovelace Health System have continued to divert some patients needing emergency care to other hospitals, Lovelace spokesperson Whitney Marquez said. They also rescheduled elective and other non-urgent surgeries.
In Topeka, Kansas, a hospital spokesperson confirmed the attack put the University of Kansas Health System-St. Francis on divert status. Meanwhile, the city’s other hospital, Stormont Vail, said it increased weekend staffing after patient volume began growing Friday.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Ransomware criminals do not usually admit to an attack unless the victim refuses to pay.
“The attack against Ardent Health is both egregious and quickly becoming the norm,” said analyst Allan Liska at the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.
While some groups won’t attack hospitals, “they are greatly outnumbered by those who will and with the number of ransomware groups growing every day, the percentage who won’t attack hospitals is constantly decreasing,” Liska said.
Even when health care providers don't pay, ransomware groups can sell patient data, Liska added.
The attacks also take a toll on hospitals around those that were targeted, said Dr. Christian Dameff, co-director of the Center for Healthcare Cybersecurity at the University of California, San Diego.
He described being in a “cyber blast radius” two years ago while working as an emergency room physician at a hospital near one that was attacked. He said patients waited longer for care and for beds if they needed to be admitted.
What is particularly problematic is when a targeted hospital provides specialized care, including for trauma and stroke patients. If they are lucky, another suitable hospital is nearby. “But in certain areas, especially rural and critical access areas, you can have a prolonged transport time because of diversions,” said Dameff, who described the issue in a paper earlier this year in JAMA.
A recent global study by the cybersecurity firm Sophos found nearly two-thirds of health care organizations were hit by ransomware attacks in the year ending in March, double the rate from two years earlier but dipping slightly from 2022.
Increasingly, ransomware gangs steal data before activating data-scrambling malware that paralyzes networks. The threat of making stolen data public is used to extort payments. That data can also be sold online. Sophos found data theft occurred in one in three ransomware attacks on health care organizations.
Analyst Brett Callow at the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft said 25 U.S. health care systems with 290 hospitals were hit last year while this year the number is 36 with 128 hospitals. Not all hospitals within the systems may have been impacted, and not all equally, he said.
"The fact that nobody appears to have yet died is partly due to luck,” Callow added.
Most ransomware syndicates are run by Russian speakers based in former Soviet states, beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement, though some “affiliates” who do the grunt work of infecting targets and negotiating ransoms live in the West.
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Kansas Courts Hope to Restore Online Systems by End of Year
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) – The Kansas judicial branch plans to restore most online court systems by the end of the year following a foreign cyberattack. The Kansas News Service reports that officials disconnected online Kansas court services more than six weeks ago after what they say was a sophisticated foreign cyberattack. That attack disrupted court operations in nearly every Kansas county. Officials now have a plan for bringing the systems back online but say it’ll take several weeks. Kansas Supreme Court justices say hackers stole court data and potentially confidential case records, threatening to post it to the dark web. They say they’re consulting with cybersecurity experts and will notify impacted Kansans.
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Kansas Unveiled a New Blue and Gold License Plate. People Hated It and Now It's Back to the Drawing Board
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas has had enough problems with some outsiders seeing it as flyover country, so perhaps it didn't need a new license plate that many people saw as ugly and drab.
Democratic Governor Laura Kelly announced Tuesday that in response to criticism of a new navy blue and deep gold plate, she had slammed the brakes on its production — only six days after her office unveiled the design. Facing a threat that the Republican-controlled Legislature would intervene, she promised an eventual public vote on several possible designs.
The now-disfavored design, mostly gold with a navy strip across the top, navy numbers and no art. It was a sharp break with the current plate, which is pale blue with navy letters and numbers and features an embossed representation of the state seal, mostly in white. Those plates have deteriorated over the years, and many are difficult for law enforcement to read, according to the state Department of Revenue, which issues them.
Starting in March, motorists would have been required to buy a new plate for 50 cents when they renewed a vehicle's annual registration. To avoid using the new plate, they would have had to opt for a specialized one and pay an additional $45.
Kelly initially praised the new design as promoting the state's optimism. The bottom featured the first half of the state motto, “To the stars,” in navy blue script.
The second half of the motto is, “through difficulties,” perhaps an apt description of the opposition she would immediately face after introducing the plate, despite her administration's professed good intentions.
Kris Kobach, the state's Republican attorney general, tweeted that the design closely resembled a New York plate known as “Empire Gold." A driver quoted by Fox4 television in Kansas City was reminded of the black and gold colors of the University of Missouri, once the arch-nemesis of the University of Kansas in a tame version of the states' border fighting before and during the Civil War.
With legislators set to reconvene in January, Republicans were prepared to mandate a pause and public comment. Lawmakers earlier this year authorized spending up to $9.8 million on producing new plates, and tapping leftover federal coronavirus pandemic relief dollars to cover much of the cost.
Even a Democratic legislator responded to the new design by tweeting, “Absolutely not.” The Kansas Reflector's opinion editor deemed it “ugly as sin” in a column under a headline calling it “slapdash and dull."
And dull isn't good for a state long associated in the popular mind with the drab-looking, black and white parts of the classic movie, “The Wizard of Oz,” its sometimes spectacular prairie vistas notwithstanding.
“I’ve heard you loud and clear," Kelly said in a statement issued Tuesday by her office. “Elected officials should be responsive to their constituents.”
(Read more from the Kansas News Service.)
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Kansas Public Radio Is Hiring
Kansas Statehouse Reporter
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) — Kansas Public Radio is seeking a new Statehouse Bureau Chief to manage all aspects of the station's capital news bureau. This position works primarily at the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka and is responsible for reporting on state government. This position is part of a regional reporting collaboration called the Kansas News Service. Candidates must apply online at https://employment.ku.edu/jobs/staff/kansas-statehouse-bureau-chief/26495br. Application review continues until a pool of qualified applicants is identified. KU is an EO/AAE. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), age, national origin, disability, genetic information or protected veteran status.
KPR Membership Director
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) — Kansas Public Radio is seeking a new Membership Director to serve on its Development team. This position oversees various campaigns to raise funds that support KPR operations. To be considered, one must apply online at https://employment.ku.edu/jobs/staff/membership-director/26505br. Application review continues until a pool of qualified applicants is identified. KU is an EO/AAE. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), age, national origin, disability, genetic information or protected veteran status.
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Salina Police: Teen Girl Suspected of Trying to Kill Parents
SALINA, Kan. (KSNW) — Police in Salina say a bedroom surveillance camera recorded a 13-year-old girl attempting to kill her sleeping parents early Saturday. KSNW TV reports that police were called to the home just before 2:30 am. The parents told police they were asleep when their daughter entered their bedroom with a pillow and a large butcher knife. Police say the daughter allegedly put the pillow over the father’s head, trying to smother him. However, he woke up, so the girl hid in a closet and the father fell back to sleep. Police allege that the daughter then tried to smother the father again but this time, he woke up, realized what was happening and checked the surveillance footage. Investigators say the camera showed what happened and the girl allegedly admitted that she went into the room intending to kill her parents. She was arrested her on suspicion of attempted first-degree murder and is being held in the juvenile detention facility in Junction City.
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Kansas Medicaid Provider Agrees to Cover Doula Services
UNDATED (KNS) — The number of severe complications occurring during labor and delivery has increased for Kansas moms. Now, one of the state’s Medicaid contractors is covering doula services as a way to help. Jancie Ingram is a doula in Blue Springs, Missouri. She says a doula can be very helpful for women who are having problems with labor and delivery. Generally, doulas are present before and after a person gives birth. “So, you're kind of like a counselor," she said. "You're a therapist, sometimes you may need to be their mother if they're young.” The Medicaid provider United Healthcare has agreed to cover doula services in Kansas. (Read more.)
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Former Benedictine College QB Gets Head Coaching Job with Carolina Panthers
UNDATED (KPR) – Former Benedictine College quarterback Chris Tabor is now a head coach in the NFL. Chris Tabor led the Benedictine Ravens to the NAIA national semifinals in 1992. Afterwards, he began a winding road as a football coach. This week, Tabor was named the Carolina Panthers interim coach, where he’ll take over from Frank Reich, who was fired. The Panthers have lost ten out of their 11 games this season. Tabor was in his second year with the Panthers as a special teams coach before this week’s promotion. He went to Benton High School in St. Joseph, Missouri, before he and his three brothers played football at Benedictine College in Atchison.
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No. 5 Kansas Hangs On to Defeat Eastern Illinois, 71-63
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Hunter Dickinson had 25 points and 13 rebounds, Kevin McCullar Jr. scored 18 points and fifth-ranked Kansas had to hold on at the end to beat Eastern Illinois 71-63 on Tuesday night. It was a rough tuneup for the Jayhawks before they welcome defending national champion and fourth-ranked UConn to Allen Fieldhouse on Friday night. Tiger Booker led Eastern Illinois with 20 points while Naykel Shelton and Kooper Jacobi scored 14 apiece. The Panthers were within 59-58 with about five minutes left, but they got no closer as the Jayhawks eventually put them away.
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Kansas State Uses Overtime to Pull Away from Upset-Minded Oral Roberts, 88-78
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Tylor Perry and reserve Arthur Kaluma each scored 20 points and Cam Carter recorded his first double-double and Kansas State pulled away in overtime to beat Oral Roberts 88-78. Jailen Bedford’s 3-pointer with 3:10 left in overtime marked the Golden Eagles last lead — and final points — at 78-76. The Wildcats closed the game on a 12-0 run shooting 8 for 9 from the foul line, one of which off a three-point play by Kaluma. McBride scored 25 points.
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