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Johnson County officers kill a stabbing suspect at Panasonic plant. Here’s what we know
The Panasonic plant in De Soto shut down after officers shot a person suspected of stabbing another. The suspect is dead, and the stabbing victim was transported to the hospital in critical condition.
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TOP TAGS
Civil rights • Voter rights • Anti-trans legislation • Abortion • Immigration • Municipalities’ local control • Kansas State Board of Education
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Nomin Ujiyediin / Kansas News Service
How Kansas prisons dodged a delta COVID surge after getting hit hard early in the pandemic
Kansas prisons were hotbeds of coronavirus infections early in the pandemic, but vaccinations appear to have protected those inmates living in close quarters.
Meg Kumin of KU/Kansas Reflector
KU researchers optimistic about bringing in-home COVID-19 test to market
Researchers at the University of Kansas are aiming to place on the commercial market in early 2022 an in-home, saliva-based testing unit for COVID-19.
The big ask: Higher education seeks $161 million budget increase from lawmakers
The board responsible for oversight of the state’s public universities and colleges adopted a $161.6 million budget request to be submitted to Gov. Laura Kelly in advance of the 2022 legislative session.
Protests at University of Kansas show culture shift on campus sexual violence
For two nights this week, hundreds of outraged students showed up at a University of Kansas fraternity house, demanding answers. The scene, filled with palpable anger and frustration, demonstrated a shift in how students think about and respond to sexual violence that organizers say was a long time in the making.
Kansas judge won’t block new state voting law
A Shawnee County judge Thursday allowed Kansas to continue enforcing a controversial election law, rejecting arguments it will inhibit voter registration and education efforts.
Kansas Board of Regents takes step toward evaluation of campus health clinics
The Kansas Board of Regents tentatively endorsed Thursday formation of a task force to independently examine options for limiting legal risks of operating campus student health centers and for increasing collection of payments from insurance companies for treatment services.
Kansas cold case task force lays groundwork for sharing DNA database hits
Members of a task force developing protocol for newly discovered DNA evidence in closed cases is backing a recommendation laying out a process to ensure defense counsel is made aware when a match is found in DNA registries.
Four Kansas school districts temporarily close as COVID-19 outbreaks hit 31 schools
Kansas education commissioner Randy Watson says at least 31 Kansas schools are reporting outbreaks of COVID-19, forcing more school districts to close temporarily.
Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector
Voting rights attorneys argue whether new Kansas law blocks registration drives
Voting rights attorneys battled Tuesday in Shawnee County District Court over the merits of a new law that threatens felony prosecution for any activities that could be mistaken as the work of an election official.
School safety panel aims to keep kids in school while reducing COVID-19 outbreaks
Gov. Laura Kelly is urging a new COVID-19 school safety workgroup to focus on policies that will not only keep Kansas children and staff healthy but in the classroom, after hundreds of infections were reported in school districts across the state.
Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector
Kansas House member takes plea deal in Wellsville school case
State Rep. Mark Samsel negotiated a deal with Franklin County prosecutors resulting in probation for guilty pleas to three counts of misdemeanor disorderly conduct emerging from strange physical and verbal encounters with students at Wellsville High School.
Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector
Homeless advocate: COVID-19 relief insufficient, eviction surge puts families in peril
Joe Reitz, who helped start Family Promise of Lawrence, said the organization was providing emergency shelter and services to nearly two dozen families prior to the coronavirus outbreak. More recently, he said, the nonprofit was struggling to care for more than 85 families.
Kansas agrees to $1.9M settlement for defending Kobach’s baseless voter fraud claims
The Kansas Attorney General’s Office has agreed to pay the American Civil Liberties Union and other attorneys $1.9 million in fees and expenses for a five-year legal battle over an unconstitutional restriction on voter registrations.
Inside Mission Control: Hospital capacity in Kansas at its worst with latest COVID-19 surge
Richard Watson says the latest surge in COVID-19 infections has stressed Kansas hospital capacity to new extremes, nearing the point where doctors have “brutal conversations” about which patients they take care of.
Brian Grimmett / Kansas News Service
Groups worry Kansas criminalized voter drives, but Republicans say they’ll prove otherwise
Voter registration drives in Kansas have slowed to a trickle while a new election law is challenged in court, but Republicans are undeterred.
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