MANHATTAN – Law enforcement authorities at Kansas State University are investigating after a noose was found hanging from a tree on campus.
The University’s Office of Institutional Equity received notification of the noose hanging from a tree on the Manhattan campus Friday morning and it was removed. according to a media release.
The reason for the noose is unknown. The university issued a reminder about the Principles of Community and they stand united against all forms of discrimination.
The university also admitted that it is a stressful time of year and anyone who has concerns should contact
Counseling Services at 785-532-6977, counsel@k-state.edu; the Office of Student Life, 785-532-6432, stulife@k-state.edu; the Office of Institutional Equity at 785-532-6220, equity@k-state.edu; or the Office of Diversity, 785-532-6276, ksudiversity@k-state.edu.
FINNEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities and officials with USD 457 are investigating alleged threats at Garden City High School.
Just after 7p.m. Thursday, officers of the Garden City Police Department were made aware of reports of threats of violence towards students of the Garden City High School through social media, according to Police Captain Randy Ralston.
Based on information received during the investigation, police have placed a 16-year-old boy into protective custody.
No arrests or charges have been made or requested at this time.
Police presence was increased Friday at Garden City High School.
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FINNEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities and officials with USD 457 are investigating alleged threats at Garden City High School.
The school’s administration and Garden City Police Department were contacted late Thursday evening with information about a potential threat made through social media towards the High School, according to a memo from principal Steve Nordby.
The Garden City Police Department interviewed numerous people of interest in the alleged threat.
Garden City High School will hold classes on its regular schedule on Friday.
The school district is working with police and other community agencies to ensure the safety of students and staff.
There will be an increased law enforcement presence on Friday.
Anyone who has specific information related to this threat should contact the Garden City Police Department.
LYON COUNTY -Law enforcement authorities in Lyon County are investigating two teenagers in the case of abandoning an animal.
On April 26, a resident told deputies she found a guinea pig in her mailbox in the 1600 Block of G Road, according to media release from the sheriff’s department.
During the investigation, it was determined that 2 more guinea pigs were released into the wooded area around South Avenue and Prairie Street.
Efforts to locate those guinea pigs were unsuccessful.
A 17-year-old girl has been charged with 3 counts of animal cruelty. The other, an 18-year-old girl will have charges referred to the Lyon County Attorney’s Office.
The guinea pig, affectionately named Rosita by the Emporia Animal Shelter staff, is still at the animal shelter as per Kansas Law.
After 21 days, Rosita could be adopted out but we are told that the Friends of the Emporia Animal Shelter want to sponsor Rosita and take care of it there at the shelter.
Two homes hit on Thursday afternoon-photo courtesy KCTV
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — The Olathe Police Department is investigating after a man allegedly lost control of his vehicle and crashed into two homes.
Police say that the driver drove through one house before crashing into a second home on Thursday evening.
Witnesses say they saw a light blue Ford Taurus driving erratically before the crash. The driver allegedly drove through two other yards before striking the houses.
Officers are investigating the cause of the accident. Police say no injuries were reported.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Legal challenges to a Kansas law requiring documentary proof of citizenship remain on track for trial after rulings in two separate federal cases.
U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson on Thursday mostly denied motions seeking summary judgment in mixed rulings that nonetheless keeps both cases alive in the courts.
The judge denied a motion for partial summary judgment sought by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of the League of Women Voters and voters. Robinson rejected the claim that the proof of citizenship law discriminates against people born outside Kansas.
But the ACLU’s lawsuit’s key argument that the Kansas law violates a federal law requiring minimal information to register remains for now.
Robinson also ruled Thursday that a separate but similar case could go to trial on a right-to-vote claim.
HARPER COUNTY– Another earthquake rattled portions of Kansas on Thursday,
The 3.5 magnitude quake hit just after 6:30p.m. Thursday and was centered approximately 13 miles southeast of Harper according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City International Airport has been asked to stop a recently added screening procedure that required passengers to remove all paper products from their carry-ons while going through security checkpoints.
The Kansas City Star reports the Transportation Security Administration asked the airport’s security agency Akal Security Inc. to stop the policy Tuesday because it was affecting operations.
The procedure required passengers to remove all paper items including books, loose-leaf paper, Post-It notes and files so they could be screened to make sure no dangerous items were hidden inside.
The TSA says random and unpredicted screening measures may be implemented at airports if they follow TSA guidelines.
The agency says it has no plans to adopt the paper screening policy on a larger scale.
Bob Page, left, of the University of Kansas Health System and David Vandewater of Ardent Health Services on Thursday announced a joint venture to take over operations of St. Francis Health, a 378-bed hospital in Topeka. JIM MCLEAN / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
The University of Kansas Health System and a Tennessee-based for-profit hospital chain have agreed to rescue a troubled Topeka hospital despite possible changes in federal health policy that could hurt Kansas providers.
Officials from the KU Health System and Ardent Health Services, the nation’s second-largest privately owned for-profit hospital chain, announced Thursday that they had signed a letter of intent to acquire St. Francis Health.
Kansas Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, who along with Topeka officials helped convene discussions that led to the agreement, also participated in the announcement.
A news release issued by the acquiring partners announced they had formed a joint venture to “purchase” St. Francis and provide $50 million in operating capital in the first year. Other terms of the agreement, to be finalized over the next 60 days, were not disclosed.
Bob Page, president and CEO of the KU Health System, said the partnership with Ardent, which operates 20 hospitals in six states, ensures that St. Francis, a 378-bed hospital that has operated in Topeka since 1909, will remain open.
“By marrying our resources as an academic medical center and Ardent’s operational expertise, we secure the long-term sustainability of St. Francis Health,” Page said.
Both Page and David Vandewater, president and CEO of Ardent Health Services, thanked Brownback and Topeka Mayor Larry Wolgast for helping to broker the deal, which was negotiated in a matter of weeks.
“This transaction has happened at light speed, so there are a lot of things that we and our new partner have to sit down and figure out,” Vandewater said.
Though many operational details are yet to be finalized, the partners have agreed to “preserve jobs for virtually all of St. Francis Health’s 1,600 employees,” according to the release. In addition, while the partners will control the joint venture’s board of directors, they will establish a local board of trustees for the for-profit hospital, which the release said “will continue to be led by local management.”
Federal Health Bill A Concern
In recent weeks, St. Francis’ financial troubles became a focal point in the ongoing debate in the Kansas Legislature about Medicaid expansion. Supporters said the billions of additional federal Medicaid dollars that expansion would provide in Kansas could help prevent the closure of several struggling hospitals across the state.
Asked whether the state’s rejection of expansion and Brownback’s recent veto of an expansion bill were a concern for Ardent, Vandewater said they weren’t a factor in the discussions. But he made it clear that the company would like to see KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program, expanded to cover an additional 180,000 Kansans, many of whom are uninsured.
“I’ll talk to the governor about that. Probably not make a lot of progress,” Vandewater said, glancing at Brownback and drawing laughter from many who attended the announcement.
Thursday’s vote in the U.S. House to pass a replacement for the Affordable Care Actis a concern, Vandewater said, noting the Republican replacement bill could significantly reduce the number of Americans with health insurance.
“There are individuals that need care that do not have the ability to access it,” he said. “The United States has got to figure this out. This is not a Kansas issue, this is a national issue.”
‘Unfair’ To Kansas
Tom Bell, president and CEO of the Kansas Hospital Association, applauded the effort to rescue St. Francis but said the GOP health bill could jeopardize other hospitals in the state because it treats non-expansion states unfairly.
The difference in federal funding that expansion states would continue to receive compared to non-expansion states “is tremendous,” Bell said, noting that an amendment aimed at Kansas prohibits states that haven’t yet expanded their Medicaid programs from doing so.
“So, from our perspective it’s sort of a double whammy,” Bell said. “Number one, tens of millions of people will lose coverage. Number two, it’s unfair to non-expansion states.”
Kansas 1st District Republican Congressman Roger Marshall voted for the bill, which, he said includes funding to help providers cover the cost of caring for the uninsured.
“This new legislation is going to provide more access to quality health care,” Marshall said. “It’s going to start driving prices down and it’s going to literally save Kansas hospitals.”
The bill allocates about $200 million to Kansas providers over two budget years to help offset the cost of uncompensated care, Bell said. But, he said, that pales in comparison to the nearly $1 billion expansion would provide.
Though he expects the U.S. Senate will make substantial changes to the bill, Bell said its passage by the House further reduces the chances that Kansas lawmakers will make another run at passing an expansion bill in the final weeks of their legislative session.
“That’s another thing that we find really problematic with the bill,” he said. “It tells states that might be thinking about it (expansion), ‘Sorry, you didn’t do it by March 1 so you’re out of luck.’”
Jim McLean is managing director of the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of kcur.org, Kansas Public Radio and KMUW covering health, education and politics. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks.
NEMAHA COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Nemaha County are investigating three teen suspects after a break-in at a Kansas High School.
charges were filed in district court against
Marcus Andrew Jackman, 18, Grant Alan Meyer, 19, and a 17-year-old boy were charged with Burglary, Felony Criminal Damage to Property, Theft and Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor in Nemaha County District Court, according to a media release from County Attorney Brad Lippert.
These charges result from the April 15, break-in at the Sabetha High School during which property was both damaged and stolen, according to the Sabetha Police Department.
All three were released on $10,800 bond, according to Lippert.
PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — A Chanute man who he struck and killed a Washburn University professor has been arrested for reckless driving.
Crawford County Sheriff Dan Peak says 39-year-old Todd Kidwell was arrested Thursday after a sheriff’s detective reported seeing him fail to stop at an intersection on Kansas 7. He is free on $500 bond.
Peak told The Pittsburg Morning Sun Kidwell made little, if any, attempt to stop at the intersection.
Kidwell served 60 days and was on three years’ probation for the June 2015 death of Washburn art teacher Glenda Taylor as she rode her bicycle near Walnut. He pleaded guilty last year to involuntary manslaughter.
Crawford County Attorney Michael Gayoso and Kidwell’s probation officer could request revocation of his probation, which would need to be determined by a judge.
