I-670 Reopens Following Deadly Shooting
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — Kansas City police say all roads have reopened following a deadly shooting on I-670 this (WED) morning. Around 5:40 am, police were called to an injury crash in the westbound lanes of I-670 near Broadway Boulevard. When officers arrived, they discovered a woman with gunshot wounds inside the vehicle. WDAF TV reports that emergency crews took the woman to an area hospital where she was later pronounced dead. The shooting caused emergency crews to shut down several portions of I-670 for roughly three hours, leading to several sections of traffic backup along the interstate. Police have not yet identified the victim. No additional information has been released on a potential suspect or what led up to the shooting.
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Lawrence Police Chief: Every Home Should Have Narcan
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW/KPR) — Lawrence police responded to three suspected fentanyl overdoses Monday night, one of them fatal, prompting the department to hold a news conference Tuesday to raise awareness about the deadliness of the drug. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the first overdose call Monday night involved a 39-year-old man who was pronounced dead at the scene. Another call involved a 19-year-old who was hospitalized. The third call involved a 39-year-old woman who received seven doses of Narcan, an overdose reversal drug, before officers arrived. She was also taken to the hospital. In each case, police found evidence to believe fentanyl was the cause of the overdose.
At the news conference, Lawrence Police Chief Rich Lockhart emphasized that residents should be vigilant whether they are taking illegal drugs or not. “We’re warning people to be careful about using drugs. It (fentanyl) doesn’t care how old you are. It doesn’t care what your economic status is. It doesn’t care what race or gender you are. It only knows that it’s deadly, and a tiny amount of fentanyl is enough to kill,” Lockhart said. He attributed a dip in fentanyl deaths from 2021 to 2022 to the availability of Narcan, an overdose reversal drug, to the public. “Every home should have Narcan, and it’s widely available here in Lawrence,” Lockhart said.
Lawrence police have been warning about the dangers of fentanyl for years now and have recently partnered with the Lawrence school district and other agencies to raise awareness about the synthetic opioid, which can be lethal in very small amounts. Fentanyl is often mixed in with or substituted for other drugs such as Xanax or OxyContin, and users may not even be aware that they are consuming it. According to statistics shared during a recent Lawrence forum, there were 94 suspected overdoses in Lawrence and 13 deaths in 2022.
Of the overdoses reported Monday night, police believe the 19-year-old woman, who is on life-support, was found with pills containing fentanyl, while the 39-year-old woman at the city support site is believed to have injected the drug. Lockhart said he did not have information about how the 39-year-old man who died ingested the drug.
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Missouri Executes 42-Year-Old Man for 2000 Double Murder
BONNE TERRE, Mo. (AP/KPR) — A Missouri man has been executed for fatally shooting two jailers nearly 23 years ago during a failed attempt to free a friend from a country jail. Authorities say 42 year-old Michael Tisius was executed for his crimes Tuesday night. Tisius received a lethal injection at the state prison in Bonne Terre, Missouri, and was pronounced dead at 6:10 pm. He was convicted of the June, 2000, killings of two men at the small Randolph County Jail. His lawyers had urged the U.S. Supreme Court to block the execution, alleging that a juror at a sentencing hearing was illiterate and, separately, because he was just 19 at the time of the killings. The court rejected those motions. The execution was the 12th in the U.S. this year, and the third in Missouri.
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Former Kansas City Fed Chief: Inflation ‘Sticky’ and Interest Rates Will Remain High
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (MarketWatch) — The recently retired president of the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank says the U.S. is likely to “have higher inflation and higher interest rates for some time.” According to MarketWatch, Esther George says it won’t be easy to get inflation back down to the Fed’s 2% target. George retired in January and a permanent replacement for her has not yet been named. “If you look back over the last six months, inflation seems pretty sticky,” she said. The Fed is widely expected to pause or “skip” an interest-rate increase at its June 13-14 meeting for the first time after almost a year and a half of rate hikes.
The Fed has raised a key short-term rate to a 16-year high of more than 5% from near zero in early 2022. Senior officials worry they could tip the economy into recession if they continue to raise rates aggressively. George says she’s in favor of a pause to give the Fed time to assess its next step. She also said she’s not sure if the U.S. will fall into a recession but cautioned that the Fed could trigger one if it’s too aggressive.
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Abortion Providers Sue Kansas over Abortion Restrictions
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Abortion providers sued Kansas on Tuesday, challenging a new law requiring them to tell patients that an abortion medication can be stopped but also existing restrictions that include a decades-old requirement that patients wait 24 hours to terminate their pregnancies. The lawsuit, filed in state district court in Johnson County in the Kansas City area, argues that Kansas has created a “Biased Counseling Scheme” designed to discourage patients from getting abortions and to stigmatize patients who terminate their pregnancies. The lawsuit contends that the requirements have become “increasingly absurd and invasive” over time and spread medical misinformation.
Kansas voters in August 2022 affirmed abortion rights, refusing to overturn a state Supreme Court decision three years earlier that declared access to abortion a matter of bodily autonomy and a fundamental right under the state constitution. The providers hope the state courts will invalidate the entire state law that spells out what they must tell patients — in writing — and when, with a single, specific style of type mandate for the forms.
Emily Wales, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, one of the providers filing the lawsuit, said the Republican-controlled Legislature's approval of the new abortion medication law caused providers to look at the broader law and restrictions they have always found problematic. Under the new law, set to take effect July 1, providers would be required to tell patients about a regime for stopping medication abortions that major medical groups consider ineffective and potentially dangerous. “We thought about the fact that the voters were very clear in the fact that they want providers able to speak directly and honestly to their patients,” Wales said in an interview. “This addition would really harm patients potentially, so we felt compelled to do something.”
Last year's vote and the 2019 state Supreme Court decision mean that Kansas lawmakers cannot greatly restrict or ban abortion, in sharp contrast to other states with Republican-controlled Legislatures following the U.S. Supreme Court's Dobbs decision against abortion rights in June 2022. The new Kansas law was enacted over the veto of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, an abortion rights supporter. “In this post-Dobbs landscape, providers in Kansas are inundated with a surge of patients traveling from out of state, from states as far as Texas and Mississippi, in search of desperately needed essential health care,” said Alice Wang, an attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, which is representing some of the providers. Wang added that Kansas' restrictions hinder care for those patients.
The medication abortion-reversal regime, touted for more than a decade by abortion opponents, uses doses of a hormone, progesterone, commonly used in attempts to prevent miscarriages. Supporters of the new law — and Kansas' entire Right to Know Act — argue that they are making sure that patients have the information they need to make informed decisions about ending their pregnancies. “With today’s lawsuit, the profit-driven abortion industry has launched an unprecedented attack on a woman’s right to informed consent before an abortion is performed on her,” Danielle Underwood, spokesperson for Kansans for Life, the state’s most influential anti-abortion group, said in a statement.
Anti-abortion groups and lawmakers also are likely to be upset about the lawsuit because of the campaign leading up to the August 2022 vote. The measure on the ballot was a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would have declared that it does not grant a right to abortion. Abortion opponents pitched it as a way to preserve reasonable restrictions. But as written, the Legislature would have gained the power to ban abortion — and that point was emphasized by abortion rights supporters.
Even with the August vote, Underwood said, “Kansans never agreed to give up their basic rights to information, safeguards from a profit-driven industry, and the space and time to change their mind about an abortion they have yet to complete.” Abortion foes warned repeatedly during last year's campaign that without a change in the state constitution, the state risked having even longstanding restrictions reversed. Parts of the law being challenged — including the 24-hour waiting period — were enacted in 1997.
The lawsuit was filed by the Planned Parenthood affiliate, which operates two clinics in the Kansas City area and one in Wichita; another center offering abortion services in the Kansas City area; its owner and another doctor working there. The defendants are state Attorney General Kris Kobach, a Republican who has vowed to defend state abortion laws; district attorneys in the Kansas City and Wichita areas who would enforce the restrictions; and the top staffer and chairman of the state medical board.
However a district court judge rules, the case is likely eventually to go to the Kansas Supreme Court. The seven justices already are reviewing a ban enacted in 2015 on the most common second-trimester abortion procedure and a 2011 law setting special health and safety regulations for abortion providers. Neither has been enforced.
This story has been corrected to show that the lawsuit was filed in Johnson County in the Kansas City area, not Shawnee County, home to Topeka.
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Another Day, Another Air Quality Alert for Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KSHB) — For the third consecutive day, Kansas Citians sensitive to poor air quality should stay indoors or limit outdoor activities. The Mid-America Regional Council predicted Kansas City’s air quality index would again reach unhealthy levels Wednesday. Kansas City was placed in the orange ozone alert category, with ozone pollution being the primary threat. KSHB TV reports that there are ways to reduce air pollution. They include using public transit, avoiding the use of a gas-powered push mower and limiting refueling until after 7 pm.
More information about air quality is available on MARC’s website.
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Lawrence Man in Prison for ID Theft Now Charged with Raping 7-Year-Old
LAWRENCE, Kan. (LJW) — A Lawrence man serving prison time for identity theft has now been charged in Douglas County District Court with raping a 7-year-old child. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that 44-year-old George Joseph Burgess Jr. is facing one count of rape and three counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child. The charges are all off-grid felonies and each could come with a life prison sentence if Burgess is convicted. The crimes are alleged to have occurred between October 2017 and October 2018. Burgess was convicted in Douglas County of two felonies in 2022 for identity theft and removing an electronic monitoring device. He's serving 22 months in prison.
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Lawrence Police Identify Weekend Homicide Victim
LAWRENCE, Kan. (KPR) — Lawrence police have identified the victim of a weekend homicide. Police say 20-year-old Cameron Renner, of Topeka, was killed Saturday. Investigators say they still need the public's help in making an arrest. Several calls were placed to police early Saturday morning to report the sound of gunshots in the area of 24th and Cedarwood. Officers arrived on scene and began speaking to witnesses but found no victim. Officers determined that the victim had been dropped off at the hospital and later died.
With the identity of the victim now known and the family notified, investigators hope those with more information will come forward. Anonymous tips may be made by calling the Crime Stoppers hotline at (785) 843-TIPS.
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Black Bear Sighting Confirmed Near KC
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) -- A trail camera near Pleasant Hill, Missouri, snapped a photo of an unusual creature roaming Cass County. The Missouri Department of Conservation confirmed that a photo circulating on social media showing a black bear was legitimate. KCTV reports that the Kansas City area has only had a handful of bear sightings in the past few years, but wildlife officials say the state’s bear population is growing and spreading. Missouri is now home to around 900 bears despite the population nearly dying out a few decades ago. And experts say that in the next decade, the population could double.
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K-State Salina Campus Getting Millions to Address Pilot Shortage
SALINA, Kan. (KNS) — Kansas State University's Aerospace and Technology Campus in Salina is receiving almost $5 million in federal funding to help address the national shortage of pilots. The money from Congress will go toward building a flight simulation center at the K-State Aerospace and Technology Campus. The federal government estimates there will be about 18,000 openings for commercial pilots this decade. Only about half of those vacancies are being filled. The shortage has led to flight delays and cancellations. Last October, K-State received $10 million from California-based company General Atomics Aeronautical Systems to expand its aerospace research campus.
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Kansas Senator Moran Delivers D-Day Memorial Speech in Normandy
NORMANDY, France (KPR) — Kansas Senator Jerry Moran spoke at a ceremony in Normandy, Franch, Tuesday commemorating the 79th Anniversary of the D-Day invasion in World War II. The annual ceremony honors the 9,386 American soldiers who died in the invasion and are buried in Normandy and the more than 1,500 Americans listed on the Wall of the Missing. Moran said the ceremony is intended to pay tribute to the largest and most ambitious military operation in modern history. “This Great Crusade marked the beginning of the end of Nazi domination in Europe, the return of freedom to French soil, and the tide turning in a war to save the world from tyranny and keep alight the flame of liberty," Moran said. The operation was planned and executed by general and future President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who grew up in Abilene, Kansas. Moran joined was joined in Normandy by U.S. General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
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KU Health System Urges Parents to Vaccinate Kids
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KNS) — University of Kansas Health System experts are encouraging parents to get their children vaccinated as a new analysis finds COVID-19 caused kids to miss millions of school days across the country. A recent study by the Journal of the American Medical Association estimated that kids missed more than five million days of school that could have been prevented by COVID vaccine boosters. KU Health System infectious disease specialist Dr. Dana Hawkinson says he hopes the study proves the importance to parents of COVID-19 and other childhood vaccines. “We need to increase that uptake. It’s not just the COVID vaccines we need to be promoting, it’s those other childhood vaccines as well.” Kansas and Missouri both have low rates of children taking some of the recommended inoculations, including those for the HPV vaccine.
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Politicians Say They Can Stop Rural Kansas Population Loss but the Decline Continues
HUMBOLDT, Kan. (KNS) — Kansas politicians and local resident booster groups are looking for ways to halt the exodus of young people from rural communities across the state. Paul Cloutier is part of a local group promoting his town of Humboldt, in southeast Kansas. Cloutier says the town has tried to create a hip enclave with a new craft brewery, a new coffee shop and a new campground. But he says those efforts can only go so far to reverse the trend of younger people moving away. He says the town has seen some growth, but it faces a shortage of affordable housing. “It has this vibrant, kind of creative, bright, urban energy and you never expect to see something like this here in a small town. So, we have people who want to move here, but there’s just not enough of a demand yet to justify building new houses," he said. (Read more.)
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Tonganoxie Closing in on $52 Million Deal for Pet Food Ingredient Plant
TONGANOXIE, Kan. (LJW) — Eastern Kansas already has a lot of pet food plants but Tonganoxie is poised to become a bigger player in the industry. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the city northeast of Lawrence is being asked to approve a package of economic development incentives for a Dutch company that wants to build an ingredient plant for the pet food industry. Company officials say the $52 million project plans to employ 28 people with an average salary of $72,000 a year. If the package of incentives are approved, the company hopes to have its Tonganoxie plant operating by the second quarter of 2025.
The Dutch company, DSM, is one of the largest ingredient companies in the world and would likely supply a number of area pet food plants. Pet food plants owned by various companies are already located in Topeka, Emporia, Lawrence, Edgerton and soon in Tonganoxie. To get the deal done, DSM is seeking a package of financial incentives that includes about $5 million in property and sales tax breaks to build the plant. Tonganoxie City Council members are now considering the request.
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Southwest Chief in Line to Receive Federal Grants for Maintenance and Upgrades
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KSHB) — Amtrak’s Southwest Chief could be among the beneficiaries of the new federal infrastructure spending plan. The Southwest Chief offers daily service between Chicago and Los Angeles with stops in Kansas City, Lawrence, Topeka and four other cities in Kansas. KSHB TV reports that Amtrak applied for more than $715 million in funding from the Federal Railroad Administration for improvement projects. The proposals include several that would help preserve long-distance passenger service on the Southwest Chief. The cross-country line would use the funds for signal modernization, maintenance work on tracks and enhanced safety features at railroad crossings.
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Federal Grants Will Help Eliminate Dozens of Dangerous Rail Crossings; Kansas Gets $27 Million
OMAHA, Neb. (AP/KWCH) — With the rail industry relying on longer and longer trains to cut costs, the Biden administration is handing out $570 million in federal grants to help eliminate dangerous railroad crossings in 32 states, including Kansas. KWCH TV reports that Kansas will receive $27.5 million to reduce train collisions and blocked crossings. The grants announced Monday will contribute to building bridges or underpasses at the sites of more than three dozen crossings that delay traffic and sometimes keep first responders from where help is desperately needed. In some places, trains routinely stretch more than 2 miles long and can block crossings for hours, cutting off access to parts of towns.
In addition to problems associated with blocked crossings, roughly 2,000 collisions are reported at railroad crossings every year. Nearly 250 deaths were recorded last year in car-train crashes. In recent years, the major freight railroads have overhauled their operations to rely on fewer, longer trains so they can use fewer crews and locomotives as part of efforts to cut costs. The railroads insist those changes haven’t made their trains riskier, but regulators and Congress are scrutinizing their operations closely after several recent high-profile derailments. And the problems at rail crossings are well documented.
These grants are part of $3 billion in funding approved in the $1 trillion infrastructure law for these rail crossing projects that will be doled out over the next five years. A number of the 63 projects that will receive grants involve only planning and design work for eliminating crossings in the future, but most of the money will go toward physical improvements at crossings and eliminating longstanding problems. In each of these grants, states and cities — sometimes with the help of the railroads — must cover at least 20% of the project cost.
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Kansas Supreme Court Won't Rule on Hog Farm Issue for Now
TOPEKA, Kan. (KNS) — The Kansas Supreme Court says it can’t weigh in on industrial hog farms that skirted a state cap on livestock numbers designed to limit water pollution. In 2017, landowners in Norton and Phillips counties split their land into multiple businesses to raise more hogs near a creek. The state said okay but then the Sierra Club sued. Mimi Moffat oversees litigation at the Kansas chapter of the Sierra Club. “We don’t believe this part of state government does a good job protecting its citizens.” The courts say the landowners engaged in “obvious gamesmanship.” But after the lawsuit, the state issued new permits. That made the legal case moot. Now, the Sierra Club is challenging the farms’ new state permits.
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More Than $11 Million Awarded for Kansas Transportation Projects
GARDNER, Kan. (KPR) — Kansas Governor Laura Kelly has announced more than $11 million will be awarded to 14 transportation construction projects across the state. The state grants are made possible through the Kansas Department of Transportation’s (KDOT) Cost Share Program. Kelly stopped in Gardner Tuesday, where she praised the South Center Trail as an example of how KDOT's Cost Share Program can benefit a community. Kelly said enhancements to the city’s trail system will support safer and improved access to schools, health care, recreational amenities and housing. The program was created as part of the Kelly administration’s 10-year Eisenhower Legacy Transportation Program, also known as IKE.
Spring 2023 Cost Share recipients are:
City of Gardner - South Center Trail
City of Goodland - Caldwell Avenue improvements
City of Hazelton - Main Street renovation
City of Leoti - Earl Street improvements
City of Oakley - Freeman Avenue improvements
City of Sedgwick - Sidewalk improvements
City of Washington - East 2nd Street rehabilitation
City of Williamsburg - City Park sidewalk
City of Winfield - Pike Road improvements
Franklin County - Old 50 Highway widening project – Phase One
Kingman County - Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) overlay on RS 363
Leavenworth County - 235th Street roadway improvement project
Meade County - Hot Mix Asphalt (HMA) overlay on routes near Fowler
Shawnee County - SW Auburn Road and SW 29th Street improvements
More information about KDOT’s Cost Share Program can be found here.
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Kansas Doctors Warn of Cancer Drug Shortage
WICHITA, Kan. (KNS) — A national shortage of cancer drugs is forcing some Kansas doctors to ration medication. The Kansas News Service reports that supply chain issues have squeezed supplies of more than a dozen chemotherapy drugs. The shortage is hurting treatment for breast, bladder and gynecological cancers. Kyla Bidne, an oncology pharmacist at AdventHealth Shawnee Mission Cancer Center, says its drug shipments are sporadic, and doctors are cutting patients’ chemo doses by up to 10% to stretch supplies. “I lose sleep over this," she said. "These drugs are part of so many different cancer treatments, so it’s a very dire shortage.” She says doctors could need to delay some treatments if the problem continues.
Bidne says the shortage is the worst she’s seen in her 20 years as an oncology pharmacist. “One of the biggest issues is we really don’t know from day to day when we’re going to receive a drug or if we’re going to receive drug, so we have to plan for the worst and hope for the best," she said. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering temporarily importing drugs from unauthorized overseas manufacturers to help mitigate the shortage. (Read more.)
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Agents Arrest 3 KC Men, Seize Machine Guns, Other Firearms
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WDAF) — Federal agents seized dozens of firearms, including machine guns, during the arrest of three Kansas City-area men last week. Authorities say the three men are now charged with conspiracy to traffic firearms and drugs. Prosecutors say an informant told investigators that the men operated several stash houses in the metro where they stored weapons and illegal drugs. Court documents show firearms were sold to an undercover officer or a confidential informant. The weapons included machine guns and automatic pistols, some with missing serial numbers. WDAF TV reports that 23-year-old Alejandro Zavala and 30-year-old Cody Bonhomme, both of Kansas City, and 22-year-old Kaleb Acuna, of Independence, Missouri are all charged with conspiracy to traffic firearms and drugs. The three men are currently held in federal custody after making initial court appearances last week.
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Kansas Woman Removed from Flight at Louisiana Airport
JEFFERSON PARISH, La. (WGNO) — A Kansas woman was removed from a flight at an airport in Louisiana after she allegedly caused a disturbance. The sheriff's office in Jefferson Parish says 25-year-old Kamaryn Gibson, of Olathe, caused the disturbance at Louis Armstrong International Airport after the plane left the gate. The plane returned to the airport so she could be removed.
When officers tried to remove Gibson from the flight, she allegedly kicked two deputies and bit another in the leg. She was restrained in a wheelchair and later taken to the local jail. WGNO TV reports that the woman is charged with disturbing the peace, resisting arrest and battery on a police officer. The incident happened on May 29.
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Chiefs Superfan Placed on KC's Most Wanted List After Alleged Bank Robbery, Ankle Monitor Removal
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Fox News) — A Chiefs superfan is listed as the Kansas City area's fifth-most wanted fugitive. Fox News reports that Xavier "ChiefsAholic" Babudar, better known to Chiefs fans as the guy who wears a KC Wolf costume to home games, is accused of robbing an Oklahoma bank in December. Babudar is allegedly on the run after removing his ankle monitor ahead of a court appearance in March. If Babudar is found, he will be held on $1 million bail because he's accused of removing his ankle monitor.
The KC Crime Stoppers' website says Babudar is on the list for "failure to appear in court, warrant for bank robbery." Babudar was scheduled to make a court appearance in Bixby, Oklahoma, to be arraigned on charges from the robbery but failed to appear in court. The superfan was arrested for allegedly robbing a bank in Bixby but pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on bond in February. According to ESPN, Babudar wasn’t at the Tulsa hotel where he was staying, and his monitoring device was found in the woods nearby.
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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 and updated throughout the day. These ad-free headlines are made possible by KPR members. Become one today. And follow KPR News on Twitter.