Kansas Lawmakers Mull Governor’s Power, Closing Businesses
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Conservative Republican lawmakers argue that Kansas shouldn’t be able to shut down businesses during an emergency like the coronavirus pandemic. Their comments Wednesday came as the GOP-controlled Legislature considered how far to go in restricting a governor’s power in future emergencies. The Kansas House gave first-round approval on a voice vote to a bill that would require governors to confer with the state’s attorney general and get legislative leaders’ approval before issuing executive orders during a state of emergency. Some conservative Republicans wanted to go farther and ban business closures or even restrictions but acknowledged Governor Laura Kelly would never sign such legislation.
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Kansas Senate Approves Bill Requiring In-Person K-12 Classes
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Senate has approved a proposal from its top Republican to require all of the state’s public school districts to offer in-person classes to all students by March 26. Senate President Ty Masterson is pushing the measure with the number of new COVID-19 cases lower than they have been in months. Masterson and other Republicans argue that many students don’t fare well academically or emotionally with online learning and need to get back into classrooms. The Senate’s 26-12 vote Wednesday sends the measure to the House. Some Democrats argued that the bill was an attack on local control of public K-12 schools.
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Kansas House Gives Initial Approval to Civics Test for Graduation
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A bill that would require high school students to pass a civics test to graduate has won first-round approval in the Kansas House. Lawmakers voted Wednesday to advance the bill despite opposition from the Kansas State Board of Education, which has said the bill encroaches on its constitutional authority to set graduation requirements. The legislation would require students to pass one or more tests consisting of 60 questions from the U.S. citizenship test. Supporters say the move would give students basic civics knowledge to become engaged citizens. The bill faces a final House vote before going to the Senate.
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Kansas Lawmakers Approve Plan to Help Cities with Huge Energy Costs
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators have quickly created a low-interest loan program for cities to help them cover a spike in costs associated with providing heat and electricity to residents during last month’s intense cold snap. The state Senate approved the program by a vote of 37-1 on Wednesday to allow the state to loan out $100 million of its idle funds immediately to cities that have community owned electric and natural gas utilities. Its vote came hours after the House passed the measure, 124-0. Subzero temperatures led to a big spike in demand for natural gas, and other problems, such as freezing equipment, made gas hard to obtain, cause prices to jump.
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Kansas Lawmakers Move to Protect Businesses
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers moved Tuesday to extend protections for businesses from lawsuits over COVID-19, while a prominent critic of Democratic Governor Laura Kelly said the state’s vaccine distribution has improved in recent weeks. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would give businesses an extra year of protection, until March 31, 2022, from lawsuits from customers or employees who contract COVID-19 if those businesses were “in substantial compliance” with public health orders. The measure goes next to the Senate. Meanwhile, Senate President Ty Masterson said lawmakers are getting fewer complaints about access to vaccines now than a few weeks ago, but, “You can only go up from the bottom.”
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Lawmakers in Dozens of States Can’t Cite Local Examples of Trans Girls in Sports
UNDATED (AP) — Legislators in more than 20 states have introduced bills this year that would ban transgender girls from competing on girls’ sports teams in public high schools. Yet in almost every case, sponsors are unable to cite an instance in their own state or region where such participation has caused problems. Asked about actual cases with consequences warranting sweeping bans, the bills’ supporters focus on events in Connecticut between 2017 and 2019. During that span, two transgender sprinters combined to win 15 championship races. Supporters of transgender rights say the Connecticut case gets so much attention from conservatives because it’s the only example of its kind. They say the wave of bills addresses a threat that doesn’t exist.
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Mayor Asks FEMA for Mass Vaccination Sites in Kansas City
O’FALLON, Mo. (AP) — The mayor of Missouri’s largest city has asked the federal government to make sure the state’s urban residents get better access to coronavirus vaccines. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas on Tuesday tweeted a copy of his two-page letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. In it, he wrote that the federal government has plans to set up 18 mass vaccination sites around the country, but none of them are in Missouri. He asked that Kansas City be added to the list. The letter comes as some officials in the Kansas City and St. Louis areas contend the state is favoring rural areas in vaccine distribution, which Republican Gov. Mike Parson and other state officials vehemently deny.
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Abortion Concerns Prompt Archdiocese Warning on Vaccine
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Catholic leaders in New Orleans and St. Louis are advising Catholics that the COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson is “morally compromised” because it’s produced using cell lines developed from aborted fetuses. Archdiocese statements in each city say Catholics should choose coronavirus vaccines made by Moderna or Pfizer — if they are available. Johnson & Johnson stressed in a statement Tuesday that no fetal tissue is used in the vaccine itself.
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Kansas Crosses 295,000 COVID-19 Case Mark, Including 4,816 Deaths
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment(link is external) (KDHE) reported Wednesday that there have been 295,109 cases of COVID-19, including 4,816 deaths, since the start of the pandemic. That’s an increase of 807 cases and 73 deaths since Monday. Johnson County has the highest number of recorded cases, with more than 54,500. KDHE will provide another update Friday.
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COVID Helpline Launched for Douglas County Residents
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) – A new COVID helpline is now available for Douglas County residents. The phone number – (785) 864-9000 – will be answered by trained staff who can help answer questions about vaccinations, testing, symptoms, local public health orders and other questions related to the coronavirus. The helpline will be available from 8 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday, and from 8 am to noon on Saturday. The University of Kansas has been using this phone number to help answer COVID-related questions since before the fall 2020 semester. Now, it has expanded the number of phone lines and employees available to answer calls with the help of various Douglas County agencies. Those agencies include: Senior Resource Center for Douglas County, LMH Health and Lawrence-Douglas County Public Health.
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Wichita Police Seeking Suspect in Overnight Shooting Death
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police say a man died in an overnight shooting, and homicide detectives are searching for a suspect. Television station KAKE reports that the shooting happened shortly before 1 am Wednesday. Officers called to the home where the shooting was reported found a man in his 20s suffering from a gunshot wound. Police say the man died from his injuries on the way to the hospital. Police say several witnesses in the home told investigators the shooting happened during an argument. Police are still searching for a suspect and no arrests have been reported.
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Kansas City Police Investigating After Human Remains Discovered Near Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police are investigating after human skeletal remains were found in a wooded area in the heart of Kansas City. The Kansas City Star reports that the remains were found by a woman Tuesday afternoon near West 34th Street and Roanoke Road. Homicide police and the medical examiner’s office quickly determined the bones were human. Police say a death investigation has been launched and the medical examiner will try to determine how the person died.
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2 Bodies Found in Burning Car in Kansas City Neighborhood
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Homicide detectives in Kansas City are investigating after police found two people dead inside a burning car in a northeastern residential neighborhood. Police say officers responded to 911 calls around 5 pm Monday reporting gunshots and a car crash in the area. Arriving officers and firefighters found a car engulfed in flames and the two bodies inside. Police say the victims had been shot, leading to the fiery crash. Police say they have been unable to identify the victims and will rely on the medical examiner to confirm their identities. Police say they have no suspects yet in the case.
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Man Gets 20 Years for Death of Kansas City Woman
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for the 2015 killing a woman whose body was found in a trash bag in 2016. The Kansas City Star reports that a Jackson County judge on Monday handed down the sentence to 62-year-old Kevin Hurley for the death of 42-year-old Brandy Helbock-Castaneda. Hurley had been on parole after serving time in prison for robbery and murder when Helbock-Casteneda was killed. Her sister reported her missing in December 2015, and her body was found in January 2016. Prosecutors say DNA taken from Helbock-Castenda’s ankle and from a rope around her waist matched Hurley’s DNA.
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Wichita Man Accused of Injuring Woman with Sword
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police say they arrested a man who attacked his girlfriend with a sword and stabbed her dog. Officer Charley Davidson said Wednesday that 41-year-old James Brown was arrested. Police began looking for Brown early Tuesday after officers found a 41-year-old woman suffering from severe cuts on her hand and back. She was hospitalized in serious condition. Davidson said in a news release that Brown and the woman began arguing. He allegedly hit the woman with the sword several times and stabbed the dog before leaving the scene. Investigators also discovered the woman was strangled in another incident.
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Man Who Injured Officer, Rammed Gate at Koch Estate Given Probation
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A man who prosecutors say injured a 42-year-old Wichita officer after intentionally ramming into a private security gate at a Koch family home has been sentenced to three years of probation. Aron James White was sentenced last week for injuring the officer in January 2019. The Kochs did not press charges for damage to the gate and surrounding property. Prosecutors say White drove into the gate after a security guard wouldn’t let him through. He then crashed into a patrol car driven by officer Atlee Vogt, who suffered bruises and minor burns. White was arrested after running into a tree on the Kochs’ property.
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KPR’s daily headlines are generally posted by 10 am weekdays and updated throughout the day. KPR’s weekend summary is usually published by 1 pm Saturdays and Sundays.