Latest Kansas Headlines
All the headlines from our Kansas Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Missouri Proposal Would Limit Local Tax Breaks for Flood Zone Development
Apr 7 2019 // With floodwaters again inundating parts of Missouri, the state Senate has backed legislation that could limit local tax breaks offered for new developments in flood plains. A bill given initial approval would prohibit new...
Midwest States Want More Control Over Missouri River After Floods
Apr 5 2019 // Three Midwestern Republican governors of states ravaged by recent flooding are demanding more authority over management of the Missouri River system. Following a meeting with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Iowa Gov. Kim...
Missouri, Kansas Residents Rush to Fill Sandbags as Floodwaters Move Downstream
Mar 22 2019 // Floodwaters that devastated swaths of Nebraska and Iowa rolled downstream on Thursday, swamping more Midwestern farmland as waterfront communities in Missouri and Kansas hurried to shore up strained levees. Flooding of the...
Amid Shortage, Kansas Considering Relaxing Rules on Rural Ambulance Drivers
Mar 11 2019 // A statewide shortage of trained medical personnel has left many rural county ambulance services having to delay hospital transfers to ensure they have enough staff for emergencies. For example, in Norton County in...
2 Kansas Firms Indicted Over Noxious Chemical Release at Distilling Plant
Mar 8 2019 // Two companies have been indicted on federal charges after a mistake at a northeast Kansas distilling plant in 2016 released a noxious cloud of fumes that prosecutors say caused more than 140 people to seek medical...
Judge Drops Criminal Charges in Kansas Boy’s Water Slide Death
Feb 25 2019 // A judge on Feb. 22 dismissed criminal charges against a Kansas water park owner and the designer of a 17-story slide on which a 10-year-old boy was decapitated in 2016. Wyandotte County Judge Robert Burns cited improper...
Farm Bureau Health Coverage Plan Favored by Rural Kansas Lawmakers
Feb 24 2019 // Rural state lawmakers are pushing a plan to allow the Kansas Farm Bureau to offer health insurance coverage to members without having to comply with federal Affordable Care Act mandates in hopes that the influential...
I.I.I. Adds Ruiz, NAIC’s Holeman to Communications Team
Jan 29 2019 // The New York-based Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) has appointed two new full-time employees with experience in consumer education, media relations, public affairs and strategic communications to the...
Jones Named Anti-Fraud Director at Kansas Insurance Department
Jan 25 2019 // Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt has appointed Dennis Jones as director of Anti-Fraud at the Kansas Insurance Department (KID). Jones brings over 30 years of legal experience having previously served as a city...
Researchers Looking into How Drones Can Predict Wildfire Spread
Jan 21 2019 // A University of Missouri researcher is teaming up with scholars in Kansas and Georgia to develop drone technology to monitor and potentially predict the spread of wildfires. The $1.2 million research project that began...
At Least 5 Dead in Crashes During Midwest Snowstorm
Jan 14 2019 // A massive winter snowstorm that blanketed several Midwest states was a factor in at least five road deaths on Saturday and forced the grounds crew to scramble to clear snow from Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City ahead of...
Kansas Insurance Department Issues Alert on Potential Auto Insurance Scam
Jan 11 2019 // Kansas Commissioner of Insurance Ken Selzer has issued a warning about a potential auto insurance telephone scam. According to information from insurance officials, the caller uses the following introduction: “Hi...
Midwest Legislative Priorities Include No-Fault Auto, Distracted Driving, Contractor Fraud, Tort Reform
Jan 7 2019 // With some of the highest auto insurance rates in the nation, Michigan’s no-fault insurance laws — much maligned by the insurance industry and business interests — are sure to be a target for legislative...
New Kansas Insurance Chief to Name Rankin as Assistant Commissioner
Jan 4 2019 // Kansas Insurance Commissioner-Elect Vicki Schmidt has picked a high-ranking Kansas Department of Transportation official to serve as her top deputy. Schmidt announced that upon taking office, she will appoint Barbara...
Kansas School District to Settle with Student Who Broke Leg in Slip and Fall
Jan 3 2019 // The Wichita, Kansas, school district plans to pay up to $25,000 to settle a lawsuit with a student who fell on a wet floor at a middle school on a rainy day and broke his leg. The Wichita Eagle reports that a court hearing...
Massive Fire Destroys 28K Square-Foot Kansas Warehouse; Loss Tagged at $1.6M
Dec 17 2018 // Authorities say a massive fire has destroyed a 28,000 square-foot warehouse in a Wichita, Kansas, suburb. Television station KSNW reports that the fire at the Park City warehouse was reported around 9 p.m. on Dec. 14....
Suit Filed in Kansas Says Cessna Crash Caused by Drill Bit Left During Repair
Dec 5 2018 // A drill bit left during repair of a single-engine Cessna aircraft is responsible for a 2015 crash in Arkansas that caused minor injuries to the pilot and destroyed the new $712,290 aircraft, a federal lawsuit filed in...
Kansas Company: Feed Truck Caused Amtrak Derailment
Nov 28 2018 // The upcoming trial over the Kansas derailment of an Amtrak passenger train has been cancelled after Cimarron Crossing Feeders admitted its runaway feed truck damaged the railroad track. Trial had been scheduled to start...
A.M. Best Upgrades Credit Ratings of Kansas’ Upland Mutual Insurance
Nov 21 2018 // A.M. Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) to B++ (Good) from B+ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “bbb” from “bbb-” of Upland Mutual Insurance Inc. in...
Kansans Elect Schmidt to Insurance Commissioner Post
Nov 19 2018 // Kansas voters on Nov. 6 favored Republican Vicki Schmidt in the race to become the state’s next insurance commissioner. Schmidt won 63 percent of the vote, with all 3556 precincts counted, according to the Kansas...
