TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators in Kansas are joining a broader effort to shield doctors, hospitals and businesses from lawsuits stemming from the coronavirus, with business and medical groups pushing them to act quickly. The effort faces strong opposition from labor unions, trial lawyers and some Democrats. They fear that such measures could be too broad and keep patients, consumers and employees from using the court system to hold businesses and medical providers accountable for negligence or misconduct. Similar efforts are underway in Congress, with Derek Schmidt of Kansas joining other GOP state attorneys general in calling for legislation…
Author: KMAN Staff
Update 5 p.m. By Nick McNamara Riley County has no plans to implement stricter health and safety restrictions than that state when Kansas progresses into phase 2 of re-opening businesses. Health Officer Julie Gibbs provided no new additional details on Wednesday’s new positive COVID-19 test during the county’s online pandemic update. Gibbs says Gov. Laura Kelly will announce Thursday or Friday whether the state will remain in phase 1 for another period of time. The earliest Kansas can enter phase 2 is May 18, according to the governor’s plan. Once the call is made, local officials will have a clearer…
Manhattan-Ogden USD 383’s summer STEM program is set to begin soon, and will be completely online. Due to both K-State and USD 383 campuses being closed, the summer program is taking place online for the first time. Woodrow Wilson Principal Deb Nauerth (North) says this is a new year and new challenge for them as they go online. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering , and Math. These programs allow students to concentrate on certain areas they are interested, that may not get covered throughout the school year. Marlatt Elementary Principal Sheila Stevens says for example they have a first…
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Kansas farmers are expected to bring in a smaller winter wheat crop this year even though they will harvest about the same number of acres. The National Agricultural Statistics Service said Tuesday this year’s Kansas winter wheat crop is forecast at 306 million bushels, down 10% from a year ago. Average yield is forecast at 47 bushels per acre, down 5 bushels from last year. The agency said Kansas growers will cut wheat off 6.5 million acres, which is about 96% of the acres that they planted with wheat last fall.
TOPEKA, Kan. — Topeka police say a high school student set to graduate this year has been shot to death. Station WIBW reports that 18-year-old Joheem Meredith was taken to a hospital around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday with critical injuries. He later died from those injuries. Police say he had been shot in the parking lot of White Lakes Plaza Apartments. No arrests had been reported by late Wednesday morning, and police said detectives were still developing leads on a suspect. Meredith was a senior at Topeka West High School. His death was Topeka’s ninth homicide this year.
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence has hired a new president. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Ronald Graham assumed the post Monday. Graham is the former division dean of instruction at Victor Valley College in Victorville, California, and is a member of the Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma. The school has operated under interim presidents for more than a year after former Haskell University President Venida Chenault left the office to work on a special assignment just days after a federal report detailed allegations of misconduct at the university. Several months later, the school announced that Chenault…
TOPEKA Kan. — A Kansas plant that makes sausage has shut down after five employees tested positive for the coronavirus amid continued problems at meatpacking plants in the state and across the country. The shutdown at the Johnsonville plant in Holton, which employees about 230 workers, took effect Wednesday. Johnsonville didn’t announce when it plans to reopen the plant. Johnsonville said all employees will continue to get paid, and downtime will be used to implement even more aggressive safety protocols before reopening. Some new safety protocols include placing additional barriers between workstations where social distancing isn’t possible. The plant already…
Kansas State University is encouraging local landlords to implement flexibility into housing contracts for student tenants this fall. In a letter from K-State President Richard Myers, landlords are being asked to consider allowing students to end their leases early if the ongoing pandemic causes in-person classes to be canceled for the Fall semester. K-State Off-Campus Housing Support is offering a sample addendum as a suggestion for what could be included in a lease allowing such flexibility. It states that if in-person classes are canceled, students would be able to terminate the lease by vacating the property and notifying their landlord…
Wednesday’s program featured Wamego USD 320 Superintendent Tim Winter and Rock Creek USD 323 Superintendent Kevin Logan. Former Kansas Lt. Governor Tracey Mann joined the program. Mann is running for the open 1st Congressional District Seat being vacated by Roger Marshall. Mann is a Republican candidate who recently was endorsed by Kansas Farm Bureau. We also spoke with Manhattan Public Library Director Linda Knupp and Public Relations Director Maddy Ogle about the library’s phased reopening plan.