Kansas Republican Legislators Propose Near-Total Abortion Ban
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – Seven Republican lawmakers have proposed a near-total abortion ban in Kansas. The Kansas News Service reports that this effort comes despite an overwhelming popular vote last year rejecting an anti-abortion ballot measure. The bill would ban abortion in Kansas beginning at conception and would not include exceptions for rape, incest, or to save the life or health of the mother. It would also restrict the use of fetal tissue in medical research, and could effectively outlaw in-vitro fertilization. Teresa Woody is a Kansas City attorney who’s represented abortion providers. She said the bill would face almost certain demise in Kansas courts. “It’s an unconstitutional bill, on its face,” she said. Cosponsors said the bill provides equal protection under the law for the unborn.
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Kansas Lawmakers Move to Reduce Taxes on Social Security Income
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – Some Kansas lawmakers want to reduce taxes on Social Security income as an incentive to keep retirees from leaving the state. The Kansas News Service reports that this change could cost the state up to $58 million in revenue a year. One of the bills up for consideration in the Kansas Legislature would eliminate the state income tax on Social Security for individuals who make up to $100,000. And it cuts a portion of the tax for income between $100,000 to $120,000. Kansas is one of only a handful of states that tax Social Security income. Republican Representative Ken Corbet says that may lead older Kansans to leave when they retire. “If we do nothing to try to keep people here, you can see that people follow their wallets.” Lowering the tax on Social Security income has bipartisan support.
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Kansas Lawmakers Hear Testimony on Tightening Rules for Mail-In Ballots
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – Supporters of a bill that would tighten rules around mail-in ballots say it would boost public confidence in elections. The bill would only allow mail ballots in Kansas to be counted if they arrive by 7 pm on Election Day. Currently, ballots returned through the mail are counted if they are postmarked by Election Day and received within three days after polls close. Madeline Malisa, of Opportunity Solutions Project, told lawmakers that the three-day grace period delays results and causes controversy. “Mail-in ballots that arrive three days after an election can undermine voter confidence in the outcome, especially in cases where a close race suddenly flips after Election Day,” she said. Democrats oppose the bill, calling it a voter suppression effort. They argued the change will lead to some votes being thrown out because of mail delivery delays.
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Kansas Bill Would Change Status for Uber Drivers
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – Lawmakers in Topeka are discussing a bill that would classify Uber and Lyft drivers as independent contractors and not employees. The Kansas News Service reports that a bill was introduced this session on behalf of Uber. A spokesperson for the ride-share company says it already views its drivers as independent contractors, and that the bill would simply clarify that. The spokesperson says Uber drivers furnish their own vehicles, and provide their own gas. They also don’t work set hours and are free to drive for other companies. A spokesperson for the Teamsters union spoke against the legislation. He says the bill would give Uber and Lyft a legal advantage over competitors, like cab companies. States like Florida and Michigan have recently passed laws with similar language. Some other states, like California, have seen movements to reclassify Uber and Lyft drivers as regular employees.
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Kansas Attorney General Pushes Tougher Penalties for Fentanyl Distribution
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) – Attorney General Kris Kobach wants to crack down on fentanyl in Kansas by creating new, harsher sentencing laws for people who sell drugs laced with fentanyl. Over 500 Kansans have died from fentanyl overdoses since 2015. It is often combined with other drugs to give a more powerful high but is also deadly. Attorney General Kris Kobach says he will ask for a new set of sentencing guidelines for distributing fentanyl and have the Kansas Bureau of Investigation focus more heavily on the crimes. Fentanyl is not easy to detect, but it can be found with a test strip. Those strips are currently illegal, despite legislative attempts last year to allow them. Kobach says he needs more data to see whether he supports legalization.
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KCK Police Confiscate Thousands of Fentanyl-Laced Pills
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KSHB)– The Kansas City, Kansas, Police Department has seized more than 10,000 fentanyl-laced pills during the past week. KSHB TV reports that the counterfeit prescription pills are worth more than $100,000. A KCK police narcotics unit makes routine sweeps at a variety of facilities, including package processing locations. Last year, the department seized 150,000 pills and department officials say they expect to seize even more pills this year. Last year, KCK recorded more than 174 drug overdoses. Forty of them were fatal.
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California Couple Charged with Trying to Sell Meth in Kansas
WICHITA, Kan. (WIBW) – A pair from California has been federally charged with attempting to sell meth they brought with them to Kansas. WIBW TV reports that a federal grand jury in Wichita indicted 39-year-old Orlando Payan-Parra and 43-year-old Erika Cardona-Carrizales, both of Coachella, California, with transportation of methamphetamine across state lines. Court documents indicate that Payan-Parra and Cardona-Carrizales have also been charged with possession of meth.
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KCK Police: Woman Found Dead in Vehicle
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KSHB) — Police in Kansas City, Kansas have launched a homicide investigation after finding a woman dead inside a car. KSHB TV reports that officers found the woman (near north 61st street and Parallel Parkway) just before 2:00 pm Thursday. The woman’s identity and other details about her death have not yet been released. The death marks the first homicide in KCK in 2023.
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Two People Killed in Crash on U.S. 69 Highway in Overland Park
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (WDAF) — Two people have been killed in a crash along U.S. Highway 69 in Overland Park. They have been identified as 26-year-old Marquan Wilson and 44-year-old Amie Wood, both of Kansas City, Missouri. WDAF TV reports that on Thursday morning, traffic crews briefly closed northbound lanes of U.S. 69 and the eastbound ramp from Interstate 435 to north U.S. 69. The highway was later reopened. Overland Park police say a car was speeding on northbound U.S. 69 Highway and made an aggressive lane change, hitting another vehicle. The driver then changed lanes again, striking the traffic barrier and flipping over multiple times. Both the driver and a passenger were ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the car that was hit was not injured in the crash.
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Student Detained After Bomb Threat at Lawrence Middle School
LAWRENCE, Kan. (WIBW) – A student at West Middle School in Lawrence was taken to the Douglas County Juvenile Detention Center Thursday after a bomb threat. WIBW TV reports that the student is suspected of making the threat. The Lawrence Police Department and agents from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms searched the building and found nothing of concern. Students were moved to another facility while authorities searched the building.
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Kansas Prisoner Who Sued over Cancer Treatment Has Died
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas prisoner who alleged in a lawsuit that he was not being treated properly for cancer has died. Family members of 56-year-old John Keith Calvin say he died Wednesday at El Dorado Correctional Facility, where he was imprisoned for a 2002 killing that his attorneys and supporters maintaine he did not commit. In a lawsuit filed last month, Calvin claimed the Kansas Department of Corrections had not provided proper treatment for his colon cancer. An emergency filing asking that he be moved to a hospital was denied. In a statement, Calvin’s lawyers said his family was “devastated” to share that he died after spending more than 19 years in prison for the December 12, 2002, shooting death of John Coates in Kansas City, Kansas. He would have been eligible for parole in May. His lawyers at the Midwest Innocence Project and the law firm Morgan Pilate said Calvin was innocent. “Everyone knew this, and a whole community fought for him,” they said. “John Calvin will have a long legacy, and his fight against injustice will continue.” Calvin’s co-defendant, Melvin Lee White Jr., was given a five-year sentence after taking a plea deal in Coates’s death. White has said repeatedly in court and interviews that he shot Coates and Calvin was innocent.
Calvin’s case had been referred to the Wyandotte County district attorney’s Conviction Integrity Unit, which investigates complaints of police misconduct and wrongful conviction. In their lawsuit, Calvin’s lawyers alleged he was “yet another victim” of police corruption in Kansas City, Kansas, “as exemplified” by former detective Roger Golubski. Golubski has been accused by federal prosecutors and civil rights groups of framing Black citizens and sexually harassing Black women and girls for years in Kansas City, Kansas. He is currently on house arrest facing two federal indictments alleging he sexually assaulted and kidnapped a woman and a teenager between 1998 and 2002, and that he was part of a sex trafficking ring involving underage girls in Kansas City, Kansas, between 1996 and 1998.
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Health Officials Caution Kansans About Eating Fish Caught in Kansas Rivers and Lakes
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – State officials have warned Kansans that not all types of fish in all bodies of water are safe to consume. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks have announced fish consumption advisories for 2023. WIBW TV reports that the advisories identify types of fish or other aquatic animals that should be eaten in limited quantities or avoided altogether due to contamination. While eating fish has many benefits, health officials say all fish contain some amount of mercury. Therefore, those who are mercury-sensitive (i.e. pregnant or nursing women and children younger than 17) should follow these guidelines when eating Kansas fish:
Eat smaller portions – a fillet about the size of your palm.Eat types of fish with less mercury – like Blue and Channel Catfish, White Bass, Striped Bass and Walleye. If you don’t know the type or size of fish you are eating, wait at least a week before eating fish again.
For more information about the safety of the consumption of Kansas fish, click here.
For more information about fishing in Kansas, click here.
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GOP Pushes Vouchers, “School Choice” in Some States
UNDATED (AP) – In more than a dozen states, Republican lawmakers are pushing legislation this year that would expand or create programs that give millions of taxpayer dollars to families that want to take their children out of public school. Displeasure with how schools handled pandemic-era closures and mask rules and simmering concerns about curriculum — including how matters of gender and race are taught — have brought newfound energy to a decades-old push for so-called “school choice” policies that shift taxpayer funding allocated to individual students away from public schools to allow parents to instead pay for options such as private schools or homeschooling.
The proposals have kindled fury and resistance from teachers unions and their Democratic Party allies, who argue the dollars would be better spent bolstering public schools. They worry the programs are a stepping stone toward privatizing public education. From Utah to Kansas, legions of students, parents and teachers have trekked to the marble floors of their state Capitols to demonstrate in favor of – or against – voucher-style “education savings account” proposals.
Funneling public funds toward private schools is a decades-old idea that first gained traction in the 1990s. Today, so-called school choice policies include vouchers, scholarships, education savings accounts and tax credits. There is significant overlap between the policies, and the way they’re labeled is frequently politicized.
Arizona and West Virginia are the only states with voucher-style programs open to any student who wants to apply. Many states have scholarship and voucher programs that are limited to specific student populations, such as students with disabilities in schools that may lack the resources to educate them.
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Some Rural Counties Grew in First Year of COVID Pandemic
UNDATED (HPM) – New research suggests over a third of rural counties in the U.S. grew during the first year of the pandemic. Harvest Public Media reports that COVID-19 accelerated an existing trend in rural areas, as deaths outpaced births. But because more people moved into some rural counties, the population grewslightly. Rural counties grew by 77,000 residents from April 2020 to July 2021. That’s according to a recent study by Kenneth Johnson, a demographer and sociologist at the University of New Hampshire.
Despite a spike in deaths from COVID-19 and fewer births, Johnson suggests remote work opportunities contributed to more people moving to rural places.But he says those rural counties were especially attractive. “Most of the recreational retirement counties have natural amenities in them, they have lakes, or they have mountains or they have beautiful vistas, the Ozarks, for example, and are a recreational destination,” he said.
Tom Mueller is a rural sociologist and demographer at the University of Oklahoma. He says it’s not likely this population trend continues. “People live near cities generally because they like what comes with the city. And during the pandemic, there was a very unique point where everything that’s good about a city suddenly wasn’t. But I don’t think that’s a long-term thing by any means,” he said. Mueller says that recreational and retirement counties near cities were more likely to see population growth than remote farming counties.
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Another Fishy Tale About the Kansas River
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW/KPR) – Biologists with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks say they encountered a catfish that weighed nearly 80 pounds on the Kansas River. And they’ve dubbed it a River Monster. WIBW TV reports that biologists had recently been at the Kansas River to sample and remove invasive carp. While out on the water this week, the biologists encountered a Blue Catfish that weighed almost 80 pounds. Wildlife officials say that the massive fish was put back in the river. It may sound fishy, but they did snap a few photos before releasing the fish.
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Agency Delays Protections for Imperiled Bat, Prairie Chicken
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The Biden administration is temporarily delaying stepped-up legal protections for two imperiled species following efforts by congressional Republicans to derail the actions. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday it was postponing reclassification of the northern long-eared bat from “threatened” to the more severe “endangered” category until March 31. The change had been scheduled to take effect January 30. This week, the service announced that new designations for the lesser prairie chicken scheduled to take effect then had been bumped to March 27. The agency is granting endangered status to the grassland bird’s southern population segment while listing the northern segment as threatened. The administration said the delays were intended to give regulators and those affected by the changes — such as landowners, loggers, ranchers and wind turbine operators — timeto adjust.
The listings, both announced in November, drew pushback from GOP lawmakers who complained that stronger protections would disrupt infrastructure projects and other economic activity.
Environmentalists consider the species severely at risk due to oil and gas development, livestock grazing, farming and construction of roads and power lines.
The lesser prairie chicken’s range covers a portion of the oil-rich Permian Basin along the New Mexico-Texas state line and extends into parts of Colorado, Oklahoma and Kansas. The habitat of the bird, a type of grouse, has diminished across about 90% of its historical range, officials say. The crow-size, terrestrial birds are known for spring courtship rituals that include flamboyant dances by the males as they make a cacophony of clucking, cackling and booming sounds.
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Bengals Return to Kansas City for Another AFC Title Game
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Bengals are headed back to Kansas City for the second straight year for the AFC championship game, hoping to replicate the success they’ve had over the past 13 months against the Chiefs. Cincinnati has won the past three matchups between the burgeoning rivals, including last year’s AFC title game. In that one, the Bengals rallied from an early 21-3 deficit for an overtime victory and a spot inthe Super Bowl. The Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, who is 0-3 against Bengals counterpart Joe Burrow, expects to play after sustaining a high ankle sprain in last week’s divisional win over the Jacksonville Jaguars.
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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 headlinesare generally posted by 10 am weekdays. These ad-free headlinesare made possible by KPR members. Become one today. And follow KPR News on Twitter.
Some Kansas Republican lawmakers push for a complete ban on abortion… the attorney general wants to stiffen penalties for fentanyl distribution… and two people are dead following a high speed crash in Overland Park. Those headlines and more. Here.