KC Chiefs Assistant Coach Reid Under Investigation after Crash Injures 2 Kids
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs assistant coach Britt Reid, the son of head coach Andy Reid, was involved in a multi-vehicle crash late Thursday that injured two young children on an entrance ramp onto Interstate 435 near Arrowhead Stadium. The team confirmed in a statement yesterday (FRI) that Britt Reid was involved in the accident but declined additional comment. Local television station KSHB reported that Reid told an officer on the scene that he had “two or three drinks,” according to a search warrant filed just before midnight. Reid then complained of stomach pain and also was taken to an area hospital. ESPN is reporting that Reid is not expected to travel to Tampa for tomorrow’s (SUN) Super Bowl game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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Kansas to Start Giving COVID-19 Shots to Inmates Despite GOP Protest
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Governor Laura Kelly’s administration plans to begin giving COVID-19 vaccinations to state prison inmates next week. The move would ignore a call from the Republican-controlled Legislature to postpone the inoculations so that others can get them first. Spokesperson Carol Pitts said in an email that the state Department of Corrections has not yet vaccinated any inmates but would start giving them throughout its nine facilities. Her email came Thursday as the Kansas Senate was debating a resolution condemning a decision by Kelly to make inmates eligible for shots during the second phase of the state’s vaccine rollout that launched last month. The resolution passed on a 28-8 vote.
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Kansas Senator Marshall Assigned Seat on Agriculture Committee
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican Senator Roger Marshall has received the Senate Agriculture Committee seat that he told Kansas voters he would get if they elected him. The freshman senator also received seats on the Senate’s energy, small business and health and education committees. The Agriculture Committee has long been a key assignment for Kansas senators. Marshall was a two-term western Kansas congressman when he ran for the Senate last year, and he played up his service on the House Agriculture Committee as a reason voters could expect him to be named to its Senate counterpart. Senior Kansas Senator Jerry Moran will be the ranking Republican on the Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
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Governor Kelly, Husband are Victims of Bogus Unemployment Claims
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Governor Laura Kelly says both she and her husband had fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits filed in their names with the state. The Democratic governor told reporters Friday that she and first gentleman Ted Daughety received Department of Labor notices “months ago” about obtaining unemployment benefits. The governor’s office said the notices came in early fall and that Kelly quickly went to the department’s website and reported the fraud. The Republican-controlled Legislature has been scrutinizing bogus unemployment claims and ongoing criticism of the state Department of Labor’s operations.
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KU Faculty Group Decries Proposed Dismissal Policy
A group of University of Kansas faculty met via Zoom to decry a new Board of Regents policy that makes it easier for university CEOs to fire, dismiss or suspend employees, including tenured faculty. The meeting Thursday night was organized by a group called OneKU and attracted about 200 participants. Speakers at the meeting said the policy would hurt the university’s stature and employee morale by damaging or ending tenure and shared governance. The University of Kansas is the only one of six public universities that plans to consider using the policy, although Provost Barbara Bichelmeyer said last week she hopes that it is never used.