New Year's Eve Earthquakes Rattle Parts of Central Kansas
OTTAWA/MARION COUNTY, Kan. (KAKE) - Two earthquakes rattled parts of central and north-central Kansas on New Year's Eve. According to the Kansas Geological Survey, a magnitude 4.0 quake struck Ottawa County just after 10:30 am Sunday. KAKE TV reports a magnitude 2.0 quake hit Marion County later in the afternoon, just before 5:30 pm Sunday. There have been no reports of injury or serious damage.
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New Year Means New Laws Take Effect in Kansas
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) - New laws are taking effect in Kansas in this new year. The state sales tax on groceries drops from 4% to 2% today (MON). Collectively, Kansans will save more than $150 million on grocery bills this year.
2024 also marks the start of school choice in Kansas, which allows students to enroll in any public school district in the state. While this new law doesn’t take effect until June, parents can start looking now to see if they want to switch their children to a different district, maybe to one with better graduation rates or higher ACT scores. Districts can deny students entry if they don’t have the space.
Learn more about school open enrollment in Kansas.
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Study: Climate Change Fuels Risk of Kansas Wildfires
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) - A new study shows that climate change could bring 30 more days per year of extreme wildfire risk to Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. This increase - which is expected by the end of the century - could mean more wildfires even at unusual times of the year. Guo Yu, an assistant research professor at the Desert Research Institute, says right now, people aren’t used to winter wildfires. “But in the future, when we have a drier and warmer winter, there’s like very high probability a wildfire could occur," he said. In 2021, the Four-County Fire burned more than 120,000 acres in the Smoky Hills of Kansas just two weeks before Christmas. December isn’t usually a month when Kansas firefighters face such large blazes.
The central U.S. has already seen more major wildfires in recent decades. In March 2017, a series of blazes burned more than 2 million acres in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Changes to the landscape are one reason. For example, junipers are invading prairies and making it harder to control fires. But the new analysis from the Desert Research Institute shows that climate change will exacerbate the problem.
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KHP: Pedestrian Killed by Semi-Truck on Kansas Highway
LYON COUNTY, Kan. (KAKE) - A man has been killed after being struck by a semi-truck while crossing a Kansas highway in Lyon County. The Highway Patrol says a semi-truck was southbound on I-35 Saturday morning near Emporia's Burlingame Road exit when it struck a pedestrian. KAKE TV reports that the victim has been identified as 29-year-old Dylan Moellenberndt of Admire. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The semi-truck driver suffered no apparent injuries.
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Plane Makes Emergency Landing in Western Kansas
WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) - An aircraft was forced to land in a field in western Kansas after losing both of its engines over the weekend. The Lane County Sheriff’s Office says officers and emergency response crews were dispatched just after 2:30 Saturday afternoon to an aircraft emergency west of Dighton. Authorities determined that a twin-engine Piper aircraft had lost both of its engines and was forced to land in a field. KWCH TV reports that the pilot and two passengers were uninjured.
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Four Elephants Expecting Babies at Sedgwick County Zoo
WICHITA, Kan. (KPR/KAKE) - Some "trunktastic" news is coming from the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita. Zoo officials say four of their elephants are pregnant. The pregnant pachyderms are in various stages of gestation, but it seems clear the zoo's elephant family will be growing over the next year or so. One elephant is seven months pregnant. Another is six months along, a third animal is five months pregnant and the last is four months along. Elephants typically carry their babies between 18 and 22 months. According to KWCH TV, it may take up to a year before the first baby elephant is born. This is the first time the Sedgwick County Zoo has had elephant pregnancies.
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Two from Colorado Sent to Kansas Hospitals After Police Chase Near Cheyenne Bottoms
BARTON CO., Kan. (WIBW) - Two people from Colorado were sent to Kansas hospitals after a police chase in Barton County. The Kansas Highway Patrol says a chase between law enforcement officials and a car driven by 19-year-old Terrick S. Wilkins, of Greeley, Colorado, came to an end following a collision near Cheyenne Bottoms. WIBW TV reports that Wilkins had been fleeing law enforcement when he failed to navigate a curve on the highway. His vehicle veered off the road and rolled over.
First responders said Wilkins was taken to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita with suspected serious injuries. Meanwhile, his passenger, 20-year-old Reanna R. Llamas, of Greeley, was taken to Clara Barton Hospital in Hoisington also with suspected serious injuries. Neither Wilkins nor Llamas were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash. The crash happened Thursday but no information about what started the chase has been released.
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K-State Scientists Discover Nitrogen Pollution in Private Wells in Central Kansas
BARTON COUNTY, Kan. (KNS) - Scientists are alerting some south-central Kansans that their drinking water contains too much nitrogen pollution. Kansas State University, Barton County Community College and Dodge City Community College teamed up to test private wells that rely on the Great Bend Prairie Aquifer. So far, half the wells they’ve tested contain too much nitrate. Farm fertilizer and feedlots are typical sources of this kind of pollution. Thoroughly treating water at home can cost thousands of dollars. But overexposure to nitrates is dangerous for babies. Scientists are also investigating possible links to cancer and other serious illnesses.
The study, spearheaded by K-State, is helping families in central Kansas learn what’s in their water. Matthew Kirk, a geology professor at K-State, says half the wells tested so far contain too much nitrogen pollution. “Most of the well owners that I've talked to... this isn't something that's really on their radar," he said. "They're kind of left on their own to some extent to deal with this and figure out what to do.”
Such chemicals can make babies seriously ill. Scientists are also investigating possible links to cancer and other conditions in children and adults. (Read more.)
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Harrison Butker Hits 6 Field Goals as Chiefs Beat Bengals to Capture AFC West Title
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Harrison Butker was a career-best 6 for 6 on field-goal attempts, and Kansas City held the Bengals without a point over their final seven possessions in a 25-17 victory that clinched the Chiefs' eighth straight AFC West title. Patrick Mahomes had 245 yards passing and a touchdown for Kansas City, which also secured at least the No. 3 seed and one home playoff game. The Bengals had one last chance, and Jake Browning hit Tyler Boyd to convert a long fourth down and get into Kansas City territory in the closing minutes. But back-to-back sacks by George Karlaftis and Chris Jones ended their comeback hopes.
The Chiefs have grown accustomed to wrapping up the AFC West by the middle of December. Turns out they're perfectly fine with clinching it on New Year's Eve. Amid an up-and-down season in which the Chiefs have been forced to rely on their defense while their high-profile offense sputtered, Patrick Mahomes and Co. still managed to clinch their eighth consecutive division championship Sunday with a come-from-behind 25-17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals — their opponent in each of the past two AFC title games.
Harrison Butker was a career-best 6 for 6 on field-goal attempts, Mahomes had 245 yards passing and a touchdown, and Isiah Pacheco ran for a career-best 130 yards to help Kansas City (10-6) secure the No. 3 seed for the playoffs. "Obviously, we're not winning this in Week 12 or Week 13 like before. We had to battle through adversity and find a way to win," said Mahomes, who went over 4,000 yards passing for his sixth consecutive year as the starter. "Now you're in the playoffs, it's one game, single elimination, and I think we can play with anybody."
The Bengals (8-8), fighting to avoid postseason elimination, led by 10 early but found themselves trailing 25-17 when Butker hit the last of his field goals — a 46-yarder through blustery wind — with 2:59 remaining in the game.
Four of Butker's six field goals were from at least 43 yards, including his 54-yarder in the first half. With one last chance, Bengals quarterback Jake Browning hit Tyler Boyd over the middle to convert a long fourth down and get them into Kansas City territory. But back-to-back sacks by George Karlaftis and Chris Jones ultimately dashed their hopes.
Browning finished with 197 yards passing and a touchdown. Joe Mixon ran for 65 yards and had the TD reception. "Every guy left it all on the field," Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor said. "It was an emotional game. Physical game. All the things we knew would happen, happened. You have to give Kansas City credit. They got it done down the stretch."
The Bengals and Chiefs are accustomed to playing high-stakes games when the weather turns frigid, meeting for down-to-the-wire nail-biters in each of the past two AFC championship games. And they are usually accompanied by plenty of trash talk, be it from fans, elected officials or — in the case this past week — players such as Bengals wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase. The animosity usually spills onto the field, too. Midway through the second quarter, Chase and Chiefs cornerback L'Jarius Sneed got into a heated argument, and eventually a team-wide scrum resulted in offsetting personal foul penalties. "I just be under people's skin sometimes, I guess," Chase said afterward. "Just trash talking. (He) can't handle it."
The Bengals jumped ahead 10-7 when an 8 1/2-minute drive resulted in a field goal and a 6 1/2-minute march ended in Mixon's touchdown catch. Cincinnati then got the ball back when Trey Hendrickson ran right around rookie right tackle Wanya Morris, stripped Mahomes from behind and Sam Hubbard was there to pounce on the loose ball.
Pass interference on Sneed in the end zone set up Browning's 1-yard TD run. "It wasn't the smoothest early," Chiefs coach Andy Reid said.
Butker's first field goal got the Chiefs within 17-10, though, and they had a chance to take the lead when Mahomes saw Marquez Valdes-Scantling wide open on their next possession. But yet another dropped pass — the NFL-leading 40th by Kansas City this season — forced the Chiefs to settle for another field goal to trail 17-13 at the break. But as the Chiefs' defense stiffened in the second half, their offense began showing signs of life.
They stuffed the Bengals on fourth-and-1 at the Kansas City 6, then drove 82 yards for Butker's third field goal. And when the Bengals had to punt again, Mahomes hit Rashee Rice for 67 yards to set up Butker's chip shot and give the Chiefs the lead. Two more field goals gave them some breathing room in the closing minutes. "Everybody contributed in this, which I think was great. Nobody gave up hope," said Reid, whose ninth consecutive 10-win season moved him past the 49ers' George Seifert for the second-longest such streak in NFL history. "The guys executed well, and that is the most important thing right now, at this time of year."
INJURIES
Kansas City WR Justin Watson hurt his chest in the third quarter but returned to the game. The Chiefs are thin at wide receiver with Skyy Moore on injured reserve and Kadarius Toney inactive due to a hip injury.
UP NEXT
Chiefs: At the Los Angeles Chargers next weekend.
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Purdue Remains No. 1 in AP Top 25, KU at No. 2
UNDATED (AP) – Purdue remained atop the AP Top 25 men’s college basketball poll for the third straight week while Gonzaga dropped to No. 24 after a loss to San Diego State but managed to keep alive its streak of 142 consecutive weeks in the poll. The Boilermakers picked up three first-place votes and had 49 of 63 from the national panel of voters. Kansas was second with five first-place votes and Houston remained third with the other nine first-place votes. UConn and Tennessee each moved up one spot to round out the top five following Arizona’s loss to Stanford on Sunday. The Wildcats fell from fourth to 10th.
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