AP Kansas

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A Democrat who has announced that he’s stepping down from the Kansas House will serve as state policy director for a national group that defends the rights of atheists and fights to keep religion out of government. American Atheists on Monday announced the appointment of Democratic state Rep. Brett Parker,

ROLLA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a southwest Kansas firefighter died after being shocked by power lines while working at the scene of a traffic crash. Morton County Emergency Management officials said the firefighter and a sheriff’s deputy were the first to arrive at the accident site Sunday afternoon just south of Rolla. The responders

ATCHISON, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas State Patrol says an Atchison man is dead after the utility vehicle he was driving crashed into a car. Television station KSNT reports that the crash happened Saturday afternoon, killing 26-year-old Eli Whittaker. Investigators say Whittaker was driving a UTV on Kansas Highway 7 when he swerved to try

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police in Wichita say a shooting has killed a man in his 20s, injured another and led to the arrest of a person suspected in the killing. Police say the shooting happened around 9 p.m. Sunday on a south Wichita street when a fight led to gunfire. Investigators say one man

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — John and Brittany Force completed the first father-daughter nitro sweep in NHRA history Sunday in the Menards NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park. The 72-year-old John Force won for the third time this year and 154th overall. He beat J.R. Todd in the final round with a 4.019-second pass at 321.04

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A small airplane had to make an emergency landing on a highway in northeastern Kansas Saturday night. Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse said a 1961 Bonanza V-35 airplane made an emergency landing on U.S. Highway 75 near 142nd Road Saturday after it lost engine power after taking off in Topeka. No

By AVERY OSEN Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Nolan Arenado homered for the third straight game, Tyler O’Neill hit one right after him and the St. Louis Cardinals completed an in-state sweep of the Kansas City Royals 7-2. In the second inning, Arenado and O’Neill hit back-to-back homers for the second time in

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Topeka attorney who was convicted in a fatal hit-and-run crash has been disbarred. The Kansas Supreme Court revoked Roy Artman’s law license because of his role in the fatal 2016 crash that killed 29-year-old Anthony Espinoza. He was found guilty in 2019 of leaving the scene of a fatal crash.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities are investigating a fatal shooting at a park in Kansas City, Kansas. Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Capt. Kyle Harvey said the shooting was reported in Matney Park shortly before 5:30 a.m. Sunday. First responders who went to the park found a man inside a car who had been shot several

By GRANT SCHULTE and DAVID PITT Associated Press OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Rural America lost more population in the latest census, highlighting an already severe worker shortage in the nation’s farming and ranching regions and drawing calls from those industries for immigration reform to help ease the problem. The census data released last week showed

By DAVID KLEPPER and HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Public forums before local school boards and city councils are the latest source of misinformation about COVID-19. Videos of people criticizing masks or vaccines as ineffective have been seen by millions of people, and are creating new challenges for local governments and

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Alan Pulido scored his third goal in his last three starts, Dániel Sallói added his 11th goal of the season and Sporting Kansas City beat FC Dallas 2-0. Dallas had its three-game unbeaten streak — which started with a 2-1 win at Sporting KC on July 31 —- snapped. Kansas City

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Brittany Force took the No. 1 spot in Top Fuel qualifying for the fourth consecutive event and sixth time this year Saturday at the Menards NHRA Nationals. Winless this season, Force had a 3.716-second run at 329.42 mph at Heartland Motorsports Park. J.R. Todd took the top spot in Funny Car

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — An ex-teacher and former Wichita City Council candidate has been sentenced to three years of probation for having a sexual relationship with a teenage student. Rodney Wren also was ordered Friday to undergo mental-health treatment, medication management, substance-abuse treatment and treatment for being a sex offender. Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — The most populous county in Kansas is requiring its employees to submit to weekly COVID-19 testing if they aren’t vaccinated. Johnson County Manager Penny Postoak Ferguson said that only 46% of county employees had reported being fully vaccinated as of Wednesday. Countywide, nearly 58% of eligible residents are fully vaccinated. Beginning

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — J.R. Todd led Funny Car qualifying Friday night in the Menards NHRA Nationals at Heartland Motorsports Park. Coming off a runner-up finish two weeks ago in Pomona, Todd had a 3.884-second pass at 332.67 mph in a Toyota Camry. Billy Torrence was the fastest in Top Fuel, running a 3.717 at

By JOHN HANNA and ANDY TSUBASA FIELD Associated Press TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Ten years of population shifts will boost the clout of the Kansas City and Wichita areas in Kansas politics and fuel a fight over redrawing the district of the only Democrat representing the state in Congress. The Republican-controlled Legislature must use U.S.

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — The CoreCivic Leavenworth Detention Center is on lockdown after an inmate died there. The Leavenworth police Maj. Dan Nicodemus said 39-year-old Scott Wilson died two days after he was attacked at the center on Aug. 2. Nicodemus said a 28-year-old man has been identified as a suspect but no charges were

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer U.S. weather officials say Earth in July was the hottest month ever recorded. Friday’s announcement by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the global average temperature of nearly 62.1 degrees in July edged records set in 2016 and tied in 2019 and 2020. Records go back 142 years.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Court of Appeals has ordered a new trial for a Eudora woman who was convicted of murder after a baby died at her day care center. The appeals court said Carrody Buchhorn received ineffective counsel before she was convicted in 2018 of second-degree murder in the death of 9-month-old