KANSAS CITY (AP) — Four people were shot and injured Sunday at a night club in Kansas City where a mass shooting occurred in January, police said.

Kansas City Police spokesman Sgt. Jake Becchina said the latest shooting at the 9ine Ultra Lounge was reported around 2:30 a.m. Sunday.

One victim found at the scene with several gunshot wounds was taken to a hospital. Three others arrived separately at hospitals but information about their conditions wasn't immediately available.

<a href="https://apnews.com/d2f19c481503aff9f98b1aba324a894c">On Jan. 19</a>, a man opened fire on a line of people waiting to get inside 9ine, killing a 25-year-old woman and wounding 15 other people before security guards working at the club shot and killed the gunman.

The shooting Sunday was the first reported at the nightclub since the January shooting.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598814744716.png" alt="Scene of the Sunday shooting -photo courtesy KSHB" />
 <figcaption>Scene of the Sunday shooting -photo courtesy KSHB</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY (AP) — Four people were shot and injured Sunday at a night club in Kansas City where a mass shooting occurred in January, police said.Kansas City Police spokesman Sgt. Jake Becchina said the latest shooting at the 9ine Ultra Lounge was reported around 2:30 a.m. Sunday.One victim found at the scene with several gunshot wounds was taken to a hospital. Three others arrived separately at hospitals but information about their conditions wasn't immediately available.<a href="https://apnews.com/d2f19c481503aff9f98b1aba324a894c">On Jan. 19</a>, a man opened fire on a line of people waiting to get inside 9ine, killing a 25-year-old woman and wounding 15 other people before security guards working at the club shot and killed the gunman.The shooting Sunday was the first reported at the nightclub since the January shooting.

4 shot at Kansas City nightclub where past shooting occurred

SALINE COUNTY –&nbsp;The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is investigating an officer involved shooting that occurred early Sunday morning in Saline County and have two suspects in custody.

At approximately 2:30 a.m., an officer from the Salina Police Department observed a silver 2006 Lincoln Town Car that failed to stop at multiple stop signs. When the officer initiated a traffic stop on North Ninth St. in Thomas Park in Salina, the driver of the vehicle did not stop, and a pursuit began. An occupant of the Town Car fired multiple shots at the officer’s vehicle, and the officer was struck once in his foot.

The officer continued pursuing the Town Car north on Ninth St., then West on Pleasant Hill Rd., and South on Halstead Rd. The Saline County Sheriff’s Office and the Salina Police Department set up stop sticks near Halstead Rd. and I-70 in an effort to deflate the approaching vehicle’s tires. As they attempted to deploy the devices, an occupant of the vehicle fired at them. One police officer and one deputy returned fire. The vehicle’s tires were not deflated, and the chase continued.

The driver lost control of the Town Car near West Crawford St. and Halstead Rd., and it crashed into a ditch. The subjects fled on foot. A 37-year-old male from Wichita was located in a nearby field. He was taken into custody.

A search for the second suspect continued into Sunday afternoon. Based on information that the KBI developed, KHP troopers were able to locate the vehicle the 36-year-old man was traveling after a Capitol police officer spotted the silver vehicle&nbsp; near the I-70 East Topeka Turnpike Interchange, according to office Jose Saucedo.

 KHP troopers made a felony stop on the Turnpike and took the man into custody without incident, according to the KBI.

EMS transported the Salina Police officer to the Salina Regional Hospital for treatment. He is expected to fully recover.

Authorities released no additional details.

SALINA —A Salina police officer was shot Sunday during a chase that began in north Salina and one of two suspects remains at large.

Just after 2:30 a.m. Sunday, a Salina police officer observed a vehicle failing to stop for multiple stops signs in north Salina, according to a media release. When the officer activated his emergency lights and siren to conduct a traffic stop, the vehicle fled.

At the beginning of the pursuit, an occupant of the vehicle fired multiple gun shots at the pursuing police vehicle on North Ninth Street near Thomas Park. One of these rounds fired by the suspect struck the pursuing officer in his foot.

The vehicle pursuit left the Salina city limits on North Ninth Street and West Pleasant Hill Road with two Salina police officers pursuing the vehicle, according to police.

During the pursuit in Saline County, officers and Saline County Sheriff's deputies attempted to set up vehicle tire deflating devices in front of the fleeing vehicle. They, too, were fired upon by occupants of the fleeing vehicle while attempting to place these tire deflating devices on North Halstead Road near Interstate 70. Both the deputy and the officer returned fire.

A 2:40 a.m., the fleeing vehicle left the roadway and crashed in the area of West Crawford and South Halstead Road.

 The occupants of the vehicle fled from the vehicle. One occupant, a 37-year-old man from Wichita, was located hiding in a nearby field and taken into custody and a second suspect is still at large, according to information from SPD.

The SPD, the Saline County Sheriff’s Office, Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), and the Kansas Highway Patrol have multiple personnel at the scene and are actively looking for the additional suspect who is believed to be armed and extremely dangerous.

The Salina police officer who was shot was transported to the Salina Regional Health Center by a Salina Fire Department EMS unit. He is presently in stable condition and it is anticipated he will make a full recovery, SPD reported.

The KBI has been called in to take over the investigation regarding this officer involved shooting.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598869138130.png" alt="Investigators from the KBI on the scene of Sunday's investigation in Salina -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>Investigators from the KBI on the scene of Sunday's investigation in Salina -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>SALINE COUNTY –&nbsp;The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is investigating an officer involved shooting that occurred early Sunday morning in Saline County and have two suspects in custody.At approximately 2:30 a.m., an officer from the Salina Police Department observed a silver 2006 Lincoln Town Car that failed to stop at multiple stop signs. When the officer initiated a traffic stop on North Ninth St. in Thomas Park in Salina, the driver of the vehicle did not stop, and a pursuit began. An occupant of the Town Car fired multiple shots at the officer’s vehicle, and the officer was struck once in his foot.The officer continued pursuing the Town Car north on Ninth St., then West on Pleasant Hill Rd., and South on Halstead Rd. The Saline County Sheriff’s Office and the Salina Police Department set up stop sticks near Halstead Rd. and I-70 in an effort to deflate the approaching vehicle’s tires. As they attempted to deploy the devices, an occupant of the vehicle fired at them. One police officer and one deputy returned fire. The vehicle’s tires were not deflated, and the chase continued.The driver lost control of the Town Car near West Crawford St. and Halstead Rd., and it crashed into a ditch. The subjects fled on foot. A 37-year-old male from Wichita was located in a nearby field. He was taken into custody.A search for the second suspect continued into Sunday afternoon. Based on information that the KBI developed, KHP troopers were able to locate the vehicle the 36-year-old man was traveling after a Capitol police officer spotted the silver vehicle&nbsp; near the I-70 East Topeka Turnpike Interchange, according to office Jose Saucedo. KHP troopers made a felony stop on the Turnpike and took the man into custody without incident, according to the KBI.EMS transported the Salina Police officer to the Salina Regional Hospital for treatment. He is expected to fully recover.Authorities released no additional details.---------SALINA —A Salina police officer was shot Sunday during a chase that began in north Salina and one of two suspects remains at large.Just after 2:30 a.m. Sunday, a Salina police officer observed a vehicle failing to stop for multiple stops signs in north Salina, according to a media release. When the officer activated his emergency lights and siren to conduct a traffic stop, the vehicle fled.At the beginning of the pursuit, an occupant of the vehicle fired multiple gun shots at the pursuing police vehicle on North Ninth Street near Thomas Park. One of these rounds fired by the suspect struck the pursuing officer in his foot.The vehicle pursuit left the Salina city limits on North Ninth Street and West Pleasant Hill Road with two Salina police officers pursuing the vehicle, according to police.During the pursuit in Saline County, officers and Saline County Sheriff's deputies attempted to set up vehicle tire deflating devices in front of the fleeing vehicle. They, too, were fired upon by occupants of the fleeing vehicle while attempting to place these tire deflating devices on North Halstead Road near Interstate 70. Both the deputy and the officer returned fire.A 2:40 a.m., the fleeing vehicle left the roadway and crashed in the area of West Crawford and South Halstead Road. The occupants of the vehicle fled from the vehicle. One occupant, a 37-year-old man from Wichita, was located hiding in a nearby field and taken into custody and a second suspect is still at large, according to information from SPD.The SPD, the Saline County Sheriff’s Office, Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI), and the Kansas Highway Patrol have multiple personnel at the scene and are actively looking for the additional suspect who is believed to be armed and extremely dangerous.The Salina police officer who was shot was transported to the Salina Regional Health Center by a Salina Fire Department EMS unit. He is presently in stable condition and it is anticipated he will make a full recovery, SPD reported.The KBI has been called in to take over the investigation regarding this officer involved shooting.

Update: Salina officer wounded, 2 suspects in custody

KANSAS CITY&nbsp; (AP) — A former 17-year-old female Boy Scout member contends in a lawsuit against a Kansas City-area chapter that she faced sexual harassment and discrimination before she was fired from a camp last summer.

The plaintiff and her mother, who are not identified, claim in the lawsuit against the Heart of America Council that she saw Boy Scout members barge in on women while they changed clothes at a camp and that staff also attended drunken parties, KCUR&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-08-27/female-boy-scout-alleges-rampant-sexual-harassment-by-kansas-city-boy-scout-group" target="_blank">reported</a>.

The lawsuit alleges the girl was punished for actions male Scouts got away while she was a staff member at H. Roe Bartle Scout Camp in Osceola, Missouri, last summer. She said she was sent home from camp after only 12 days for leaving camp with a male, despite having her mother’s permission to do so.

The Heart of America Council also routinely violated its policy requiring an adult to be present when another adult has a conversation with someone younger than 18, the lawsuit claims.

Brick Huffman, Scout Executive for the Heart of America Council, said in a statement Friday that the organization cannot comment on the lawsuit, but officials are looking into the matter “and can assure you that the conduct alleged in the complaint runs counter to everything Scouting represents.”

Huffman said Scouting members and staff are expected to treat everyone with respect, and the organization does not allow bullying or harassment. Scouting values diversity and seeks to provide a safe environment for everyone, he said.

“Prejudice, intolerance, discrimination and harassment are unacceptable in our organization,” Huffman said.

The Heart of America Council oversees scouting in 19 counties in eastern Kansas and western Missouri, including Kansas City.

Girls were allowed to join the Boy Scouts in 2017, and the plaintiff said she was one of the first female staff members at the H. Roe Bartle Scout Camp.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for sex discrimination, sexual harassment, breach of contract and retaliation.

The national Boy Scouts of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February in response to hundreds of lawsuits by Scouts alleging they were sexually abused.

KANSAS CITY&nbsp; (AP) — A former 17-year-old female Boy Scout member contends in a lawsuit against a Kansas City-area chapter that she faced sexual harassment and discrimination before she was fired from a camp last summer.The plaintiff and her mother, who are not identified, claim in the lawsuit against the Heart of America Council that she saw Boy Scout members barge in on women while they changed clothes at a camp and that staff also attended drunken parties, KCUR&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-08-27/female-boy-scout-alleges-rampant-sexual-harassment-by-kansas-city-boy-scout-group" target="_blank">reported</a>.The lawsuit alleges the girl was punished for actions male Scouts got away while she was a staff member at H. Roe Bartle Scout Camp in Osceola, Missouri, last summer. She said she was sent home from camp after only 12 days for leaving camp with a male, despite having her mother’s permission to do so.The Heart of America Council also routinely violated its policy requiring an adult to be present when another adult has a conversation with someone younger than 18, the lawsuit claims.Brick Huffman, Scout Executive for the Heart of America Council, said in a statement Friday that the organization cannot comment on the lawsuit, but officials are looking into the matter “and can assure you that the conduct alleged in the complaint runs counter to everything Scouting represents.”Huffman said Scouting members and staff are expected to treat everyone with respect, and the organization does not allow bullying or harassment. Scouting values diversity and seeks to provide a safe environment for everyone, he said.“Prejudice, intolerance, discrimination and harassment are unacceptable in our organization,” Huffman said.The Heart of America Council oversees scouting in 19 counties in eastern Kansas and western Missouri, including Kansas City.Girls were allowed to join the Boy Scouts in 2017, and the plaintiff said she was one of the first female staff members at the H. Roe Bartle Scout Camp.The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for sex discrimination, sexual harassment, breach of contract and retaliation.The national Boy Scouts of America filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February in response to hundreds of lawsuits by Scouts alleging they were sexually abused.

Suit: Ex-Female Boy Scout faced harassment, discrimination

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a violent attack that sent a man to the hospital.

Just after 10:30p.m. Saturday, police responded to the 2400 block of SE Colonial drive in Topeka reference a stabbing, according to officer Jeffrey Sloan. Upon arrival, officers located a man with life threatening stab wounds. He was transported to a local hospital. 

This is being investigated as a domestic violence incident. Police believe all parties involved in this incident are accounted for. The victim's name has not been released. Police have not reported an arrest.

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a violent attack that sent a man to the hospital.Just after 10:30p.m. Saturday, police responded to the 2400 block of SE Colonial drive in Topeka reference a stabbing, according to officer Jeffrey Sloan. Upon arrival, officers located a man with life threatening stab wounds. He was transported to a local hospital. This is being investigated as a domestic violence incident. Police believe all parties involved in this incident are accounted for. The victim's name has not been released. Police have not reported an arrest.

Police: Kan. man with life-threatening injuries from stabbing

HUTCHINSON—Authorities are investigating an early morning fire at a residence in Hutchinson.

Just after 4a.m.,fire crews&nbsp; responded to 304 East 3rd Avenue report of a fully involved vacant residential structure on fire, according to Fire Chief Steven Beer.

Crews reported a fully involved single story structure with exposure concerns on both sides of the fully involved structure. Fire crews went into a defensive strategy to save both exposures and extinguish the home. 

According to the owner, the home was used as a storage building and slowly being remodeled. No one was living at the home at the time of the incident. No injuries were reported throughout the incident.

Crews continued to work late Sunday morning on containing hot spots and removing burnt foam board insulation from a fifth wheel trailer that also caught on fire.

Beer did not release any information on damage estimates.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598786466174.jpeg" alt="Three engines and two ladder trucks were used to contain the fire on Sunday morning- photo Hutchinson Fire Dept." />
 <figcaption>Three engines and two ladder trucks were used to contain the fire on Sunday morning- photo Hutchinson Fire Dept.</figcaption>
 </figure>HUTCHINSON—Authorities are investigating an early morning fire at a residence in Hutchinson.Just after 4a.m.,fire crews&nbsp; responded to 304 East 3rd Avenue report of a fully involved vacant residential structure on fire, according to Fire Chief Steven Beer.Crews reported a fully involved single story structure with exposure concerns on both sides of the fully involved structure. Fire crews went into a defensive strategy to save both exposures and extinguish the home. According to the owner, the home was used as a storage building and slowly being remodeled. No one was living at the home at the time of the incident. No injuries were reported throughout the incident.Crews continued to work late Sunday morning on containing hot spots and removing burnt foam board insulation from a fifth wheel trailer that also caught on fire.Beer did not release any information on damage estimates.

Crews investigate cause of fire that destroyed Kan. home

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall’s audience of about 40 people packed a banquet room in a Kansas City-area bistro. No one wore a mask during his lunchtime remarks about the coronavirus. The Republican nominee for Kansas’ open Senate seat put one on later while talking to masked reporters but dropped it for a moment, saying, “I can’t breathe.”

A few days earlier, Democrat Barbara Bollier invited half a dozen local officials and activists to her first in-person event of the fall campaign. They stood in a socially distanced circle outside an elementary school empty of students in Manhattan in northeast Kansas.

In the polar opposite approaches to campaigning, awkwardness often seems the only common ground. Marshall and Bollier, however, have another shared experience: medical school.

At another time in U.S. history that might have meant the two doctors would be closely aligned on how best to prevent the spread of disease. But in this one, it only highlights how partisanship is shaping campaigns’ messages on public health.

Across the country, Democrats are largely abiding by health officials’ guidance, using the moment to model safe practices and signal respect for experts. Republicans are regularly flouting that caution, using it as a moment to celebrate what they view as personal freedom.

In accepting the GOP’s renomination Thursday, President Donald Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/624b6fb36164c8739042d9cbc2ef28d8">defied his own administration’s pandemic guidelines</a>&nbsp;to speak for more than an hour to a tightly packed, largely maskless crowd. Vice President Mike Pence spoke to an unmasked convention audience that afterward crowded together to snap photos and shake the candidate’s hand. He obliged at least once.

Similar scenes are playing out in other states. In North Carolina, the Republican candidate for governor, Dan Forest, has held so many big, indoor rallies and insisted on shaking hands so often that incumbent Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, put out a television ad featuring a doctor imploring Forest to “please stop.”

The split extended to voting in Kansas’ primary earlier in August. Roughly two-thirds of Republicans voted in-person, while roughly two-thirds of Democrats used mail-in ballots.

Bollier has Democrats hoping they can win a Kansas Senate seat for the first time since 1932. The retired anesthesiologist is a state legislator and former Republican, who left the party in 2018, saying it no longer represented her values and that’s partly because of Trump.

She’s run a largely virtual campaign, a caution she says is guided by both her background and personal experience. A retired minister-friend was infected this spring and nearly died, she says.

“I cannot understand why a virus is being politicized,” she said during a recent interview. “It is public health, period.”

But Marshall, an obstetrician who gave up his medical practice for Congress and has aligned himself closely with Trump, doesn’t see the issue as so settled. He says he’s taking an anti-malaria drug promoted by Trump to prevent infection, even as regulators warn the risks outweigh the benefits.

While his campaign tries to hold events outdoors and follow social distancing rules, the congressman has gone to at least a few events where guidance on masks and distancing isn’t followed.

Marshall doesn’t argue against the effectiveness of masks and says he “respects” the virus. But he acknowledges sometimes his decisions are a response to cultural and political factors.

“I tell you what, if I walk into rural Kansas with a mask on, people look at me like I’ve got three eyes or something, right?” Marshall said after his recent indoor Kansas City-area speech.

Experts don’t have much sympathy for this explanation. Dr. Dana Hawkinson, director of infection control for the University of Kansas Health System, said public health experts’ advice is so well known by now that not following it is “a conscious choice.”

Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman Stewart Boss said while Republicans are flouting public health rules, Democrats are “staying focused first and foremost on health and safety, not politics.”

But mocking the caution as cowardice, the Senate Republican campaign committee sent new face masks to several leading Democratic Senate candidates in Arizona, Maine, Colorado and Montana.

GOP spokesman Jesse Hunt said Democratic candidates like Bollier are simply following orders of Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer to “dodge” voters and hard questions about their views.

As in many states, the coronavirus hit Kansas’ urban and suburban areas — the hubs of Democratic and swing voters — first and hardest, as rural areas largely just felt the economic repercussions.

Schools in Kansas City and Wichita, the state’s largest city,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/dc59f7abcd2021e28951b049738bdc10">have suspended fall sports&nbsp;</a>and moved classes for many students online. Masks are common in urban and suburban strip malls.

In campaigning in a mask and at a distance, Bollier is largely following the same precautions as the voters she needs to win.

“I’m looking for someone who follows the science,” said Karla Hagemeister, a 45-year-old Democrat and president of the Manhattan, Kansas, school board, who attended Bollier’s recent event.

Marshall’s sprawling western and central Kansas district covers a handful of counties that haven’t reported a new coronavirus case in two weeks. Local mask mandates are few, and some rural schools restarted classes on normal mid-August schedules.

“When I meet people for the first time, they want to shake my hand,” Marshall said. “They want to look me in the eye. They want to see my facial expression.”

Kansas has no statewide mask mandate or restrictions on businesses and gatherings.

The rural-urban divide on the virus may be closing. Coronavirus cases in Kansas have almost doubled in the past six weeks. And Marshall’s congressional district isn’t insulated. Its 60-plus counties have more confirmed and probable cases per 100,000 residents than the rest of the state, largely because of outbreaks in meatpacking plants this spring.

Bollier has started to make Marshall’s virus response part of her appeal to moderates. She’s hit him for his decision to take hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug touted by Trump.

“When you go, essentially, rogue, taking medications, that’s not leadership,” Bollier said.

But Marshall says he’s familiar with the drug, having used and prescribed it for Christian mission trips. Asked whether he prescribed it for himself, he said, “I’ll take the Fifth on that one.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598724501047.png" alt="Rep. Roger Marshall meeting with supporters in Overland Park Aug. 25- photo Marshall for Kansas" />
 <figcaption>Rep. Roger Marshall meeting with supporters in Overland Park Aug. 25- photo Marshall for Kansas</figcaption>
 </figure>By JOHN HANNAOVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Roger Marshall’s audience of about 40 people packed a banquet room in a Kansas City-area bistro. No one wore a mask during his lunchtime remarks about the coronavirus. The Republican nominee for Kansas’ open Senate seat put one on later while talking to masked reporters but dropped it for a moment, saying, “I can’t breathe.”A few days earlier, Democrat Barbara Bollier invited half a dozen local officials and activists to her first in-person event of the fall campaign. They stood in a socially distanced circle outside an elementary school empty of students in Manhattan in northeast Kansas.In the polar opposite approaches to campaigning, awkwardness often seems the only common ground. Marshall and Bollier, however, have another shared experience: medical school.At another time in U.S. history that might have meant the two doctors would be closely aligned on how best to prevent the spread of disease. But in this one, it only highlights how partisanship is shaping campaigns’ messages on public health.Across the country, Democrats are largely abiding by health officials’ guidance, using the moment to model safe practices and signal respect for experts. Republicans are regularly flouting that caution, using it as a moment to celebrate what they view as personal freedom.In accepting the GOP’s renomination Thursday, President Donald Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/624b6fb36164c8739042d9cbc2ef28d8">defied his own administration’s pandemic guidelines</a>&nbsp;to speak for more than an hour to a tightly packed, largely maskless crowd. Vice President Mike Pence spoke to an unmasked convention audience that afterward crowded together to snap photos and shake the candidate’s hand. He obliged at least once.Similar scenes are playing out in other states. In North Carolina, the Republican candidate for governor, Dan Forest, has held so many big, indoor rallies and insisted on shaking hands so often that incumbent Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, put out a television ad featuring a doctor imploring Forest to “please stop.”The split extended to voting in Kansas’ primary earlier in August. Roughly two-thirds of Republicans voted in-person, while roughly two-thirds of Democrats used mail-in ballots.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598724348483.png" alt="Dr. Barbara Bollier met with nurses at St. Catherine Hospital in Garden City Friday-photo Bollier for Kansas" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Barbara Bollier met with nurses at St. Catherine Hospital in Garden City Friday-photo Bollier for Kansas</figcaption>
 </figure>Bollier has Democrats hoping they can win a Kansas Senate seat for the first time since 1932. The retired anesthesiologist is a state legislator and former Republican, who left the party in 2018, saying it no longer represented her values and that’s partly because of Trump.She’s run a largely virtual campaign, a caution she says is guided by both her background and personal experience. A retired minister-friend was infected this spring and nearly died, she says.“I cannot understand why a virus is being politicized,” she said during a recent interview. “It is public health, period.”But Marshall, an obstetrician who gave up his medical practice for Congress and has aligned himself closely with Trump, doesn’t see the issue as so settled. He says he’s taking an anti-malaria drug promoted by Trump to prevent infection, even as regulators warn the risks outweigh the benefits.While his campaign tries to hold events outdoors and follow social distancing rules, the congressman has gone to at least a few events where guidance on masks and distancing isn’t followed.Marshall doesn’t argue against the effectiveness of masks and says he “respects” the virus. But he acknowledges sometimes his decisions are a response to cultural and political factors.“I tell you what, if I walk into rural Kansas with a mask on, people look at me like I’ve got three eyes or something, right?” Marshall said after his recent indoor Kansas City-area speech.Experts don’t have much sympathy for this explanation. Dr. Dana Hawkinson, director of infection control for the University of Kansas Health System, said public health experts’ advice is so well known by now that not following it is “a conscious choice.”Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spokesman Stewart Boss said while Republicans are flouting public health rules, Democrats are “staying focused first and foremost on health and safety, not politics.”But mocking the caution as cowardice, the Senate Republican campaign committee sent new face masks to several leading Democratic Senate candidates in Arizona, Maine, Colorado and Montana.GOP spokesman Jesse Hunt said Democratic candidates like Bollier are simply following orders of Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer to “dodge” voters and hard questions about their views.As in many states, the coronavirus hit Kansas’ urban and suburban areas — the hubs of Democratic and swing voters — first and hardest, as rural areas largely just felt the economic repercussions.Schools in Kansas City and Wichita, the state’s largest city,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/dc59f7abcd2021e28951b049738bdc10">have suspended fall sports&nbsp;</a>and moved classes for many students online. Masks are common in urban and suburban strip malls.In campaigning in a mask and at a distance, Bollier is largely following the same precautions as the voters she needs to win.“I’m looking for someone who follows the science,” said Karla Hagemeister, a 45-year-old Democrat and president of the Manhattan, Kansas, school board, who attended Bollier’s recent event.Marshall’s sprawling western and central Kansas district covers a handful of counties that haven’t reported a new coronavirus case in two weeks. Local mask mandates are few, and some rural schools restarted classes on normal mid-August schedules.“When I meet people for the first time, they want to shake my hand,” Marshall said. “They want to look me in the eye. They want to see my facial expression.”Kansas has no statewide mask mandate or restrictions on businesses and gatherings.The rural-urban divide on the virus may be closing. Coronavirus cases in Kansas have almost doubled in the past six weeks. And Marshall’s congressional district isn’t insulated. Its 60-plus counties have more confirmed and probable cases per 100,000 residents than the rest of the state, largely because of outbreaks in meatpacking plants this spring.Bollier has started to make Marshall’s virus response part of her appeal to moderates. She’s hit him for his decision to take hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malaria drug touted by Trump.“When you go, essentially, rogue, taking medications, that’s not leadership,” Bollier said.But Marshall says he’s familiar with the drug, having used and prescribed it for Christian mission trips. Asked whether he prescribed it for himself, he said, “I’ll take the Fifth on that one.”

2 Kansas doctors but differing COVID-19 takes in Senate race

BROWN COUNTY —One person died in an accident just before 11p.m. Saturday in Brown County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Ford F150 driven by Lana M. Bachman, 46, Centralia, was southbound on U.S. 75 just south of 190th Road.

The pickup crossed the center line and struck&nbsp; a 2002 Chrysler Town and Country driven by&nbsp;Aston, Glenn D. Aston, 66, Humbolt, Nebraska, head-on.

Aston was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to&nbsp;Chapel Oaks Funeral Home. EMS transported Bachman to Stormont Vail in Topeka. Aston was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

BROWN COUNTY —One person died in an accident just before 11p.m. Saturday in Brown County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Ford F150 driven by Lana M. Bachman, 46, Centralia, was southbound on U.S. 75 just south of 190th Road.The pickup crossed the center line and struck&nbsp; a 2002 Chrysler Town and Country driven by&nbsp;Aston, Glenn D. Aston, 66, Humbolt, Nebraska, head-on.Aston was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to&nbsp;Chapel Oaks Funeral Home. EMS transported Bachman to Stormont Vail in Topeka. Aston was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

One dead, one hospitalized after Kansas head-on crash

KANSAS CITY– A Kansas City man was charged in federal court Friday with the arson fire at Beyond Thee Four Walls Ministries this week, according to the United State's Attorney.

Christopher A. Durant, 38, was charged with arson in a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City.&nbsp;

Today’s complaint alleges that Durant set fire to the building at 5910-5916 East U.S. Highway 40 in Kansas City, which housed Beyond Thee Four Walls Ministries, on Wednesday, Aug. 26.

The Kansas City, Mo., Fire Department was dispatched to that location at approximately 3:25 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 26. Upon arrival, firefighters encountered heavy fire inside the one-story commercial structure.

According to an affidavit filed in support of Friday's federal criminal complaint, investigators reviewed video surveillance footage that depicted an unknown man – later identified as Durant – throwing chunks of asphalt at the front windows of the building at about 12:54 a.m. A few minutes later, the affidavit says, Durant returns and lights an unknown object and places it in through what appears to be the mail slot in the front door. He then lights what appears to be a piece of paper and places it in through the mail slot. He then lights another unidentified object and places it in through the front window previously broken out by the chunks of asphalt. Duran then leaves at approximately 1 a.m.

At about 1:30 a.m., the affidavit says, video surveillance footage depicts Durant returning to the church, lighting what appears to be a piece of paper, and placing it through the front window. Approximately two minutes later, Durant walks up to the front window with an object in his hand and leans in through the broken window, which is then followed by a large flash consistent with the introduction and subsequent ignition of an ignitable liquid.

During the fire scene examination, an accelerant detection canine was used to process the scene to determine if an ignitable liquid was present. The canine indicated an area on the floor inside the church, under the same window Durant allegedly had broken and appeared to introduce an ignitable liquid. This area was also later determined to be the area of the fire origin.

On Thursday, Aug. 27, ATF agents noticed Durant, who matched the description of the unknown suspect depicted in the church video surveillance footage, walking on Van Brunt Boulevard and arrested him. At the time of his arrest, Durant was in possession of marijuana.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598704000473.png" alt="Security camera image just after the fire started- KCMO police" />
 <figcaption>Security camera image just after the fire started- KCMO police</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY– A Kansas City man was charged in federal court Friday with the arson fire at Beyond Thee Four Walls Ministries this week, according to the United State's Attorney.Christopher A. Durant, 38, was charged with arson in a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City.&nbsp;Today’s complaint alleges that Durant set fire to the building at 5910-5916 East U.S. Highway 40 in Kansas City, which housed Beyond Thee Four Walls Ministries, on Wednesday, Aug. 26.The Kansas City, Mo., Fire Department was dispatched to that location at approximately 3:25 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 26. Upon arrival, firefighters encountered heavy fire inside the one-story commercial structure.According to an affidavit filed in support of Friday's federal criminal complaint, investigators reviewed video surveillance footage that depicted an unknown man – later identified as Durant – throwing chunks of asphalt at the front windows of the building at about 12:54 a.m. A few minutes later, the affidavit says, Durant returns and lights an unknown object and places it in through what appears to be the mail slot in the front door. He then lights what appears to be a piece of paper and places it in through the mail slot. He then lights another unidentified object and places it in through the front window previously broken out by the chunks of asphalt. Duran then leaves at approximately 1 a.m.At about 1:30 a.m., the affidavit says, video surveillance footage depicts Durant returning to the church, lighting what appears to be a piece of paper, and placing it through the front window. Approximately two minutes later, Durant walks up to the front window with an object in his hand and leans in through the broken window, which is then followed by a large flash consistent with the introduction and subsequent ignition of an ignitable liquid.During the fire scene examination, an accelerant detection canine was used to process the scene to determine if an ignitable liquid was present. The canine indicated an area on the floor inside the church, under the same window Durant allegedly had broken and appeared to introduce an ignitable liquid. This area was also later determined to be the area of the fire origin.On Thursday, Aug. 27, ATF agents noticed Durant, who matched the description of the unknown suspect depicted in the church video surveillance footage, walking on Van Brunt Boulevard and arrested him. At the time of his arrest, Durant was in possession of marijuana.

Kansas City man charged in church arson

LAWRENCE (AP) — As waves of schools and businesses around the country are cleared to reopen, college towns are moving toward renewed shutdowns because of too many parties and too many COVID-19 infections among students.

With more than 300 students at the University of Missouri testing positive for the coronavirus and an alarming 44% positivity rate for the surrounding county, the local health director Friday ordered bars to stop serving alcohol at 9 p.m. and close by 10 p.m.

Iowa’s governor has ordered all bars shut down around The University of Iowa and Iowa State, while the mayor of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, did the same in the hometown of the state’s flagship university

“What we’re seeing in our violations is they’re coming late at night,” said Stephanie Browning, head of the health department for Columbia, Missouri. “Big groups gathering. They’re not wearing their masks, they’re not social distancing.”

In Utah, the city council in Provo overrode a mayoral veto to pass a mask mandate, which includes a $500 fine for organizing large mask-less gatherings, days before students return to Brigham Young University from around the country.

But the council was nevertheless worried that college students sharing dorms, bathrooms and showers could become “super-spreaders” and bring the virus off campus, council chair George Handley said.

“We’re already seeing what’s happened across the country at other universities,” he said.

But a recent warehouse party organized by a BYU student’s promotional company called Young/Dumb also raised concern when pictures of hundreds of revelers without masks surfaced online.

BYU, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has its own rules requiring masks on campus. Requirements for indoor public spaces in town will help people stay healthy and businesses stay open, Handley said.

“This is actually about preserving our way of life, it’s not about destroying it — contrary to what some people say,” Handley said.

The outbreaks since students began returning to campus in the past few weeks have heightened tensions between colleges and their towns and led to recriminations between local politicians and university officials.

Meanwhile, California announced a four-tiered, color-coded plan Friday for gradually reopening businesses after abandoning a reopening attempt earlier this summer. It requires counties to meet certain benchmarks showing progress in controlling the virus.

In Arizona, another deadly hot spot this summer, a drop in transmission numbers allowed the Phoenix and Tucson areas to reopen gyms and some bars.

The U.S. has recorded over 180,000 deaths from the coronavirus and 5.9 million confirmed infections. Worldwide, the death toll is put at more than 830,000, with at least 24.5 million cases.

Drugmaker Gilead Sciences said Friday that U.S. regulators are now allowing use of experimental antiviral drug remdesivir for all patients hospitalized with COVID-19.

It said the Food and Drug Administration has expanded its emergency use authorization, which lets doctors administer the IV drug during the pandemic. Until now, that was limited to patients with severe COVID-19.

Remdesivir previously was shown to shorten treatment by about four days for hospitalized patients with severe disease, compared with those getting standard supportive care.

Surging infection numbers around the U.S. have been blamed in part on young people ignoring mask and social distancing requirements.

In Iowa’s Story County, home to Iowa State, 74% of new cases over the past seven days were among people ages 19 to 24, Gov. Kim Reynolds said Thursday. In the same time period, 69% of new cases in Johnson County, the home of the University of Iowa, were in that age group.

“It is increasing the virus activity in the community, and it’s spilling over to other segments of the population,” Reynolds said.

Fueled in part by clusters where college students are returning to classes, Kansas has had its highest seven-day increase in coronavirus cases.

Gov. Laura Kelly said outbreaks on college campuses and fraternities and sororities are at least a factor in the surge.

“We cannot continue to go down this path,” she told reporters Friday.

The number of positive coronavirus cases continues to climb at the University of Kansas, with 10% of fraternity and sorority members infected. The school said Friday in a news release that it has conducted 21,719 tests and 474 have been positive, for a positive rate of 2.18%. But among sororities and fraternities, there have been 270 positives among 2,698 members tested. Earlier this week, the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department issued an order placing nine chapter houses under quarantine.&nbsp;

At Kansas State University, four new outbreaks are associated with sororities on campus, <a href="https://www.rileycountyks.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1184">according to the </a>Riley County Health Department. All residents of any Greek house at K-State where an outbreak has been declared should quarantine for 14 days.

The University of Alabama has recorded over 1,000 cases on campus since the fall semester began last week. In closing the town’s bars Monday for the next two weeks, Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox said that an unchecked spread of the virus threatens both the health care system and the local economy if students have to be sent home for the semester for remote learning.

Three of North Carolina’s largest public universities have abruptly halted in-person undergraduate instruction and directed students to move out of the dorms after hundreds tested positive following their return to campus. More than 800 have been infected at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and over 670 at North Carolina State.

Leaders at UNC-Chapel Hill, which has shifted to online classes, wrote an open letter Thursday to the mayor outlining steps the university is taking to curb off-campus parties.

“We recognize the very real problems with the behaviors of some of our fraternities and sororities,” the letter said.

Oyeronke Popoola, a 17-year-old freshman at UNC-Chapel Hill who moved out of her dorm, said that administrators, not students, deserve most of the blame for the virus-related problems after they ushered students back to campus.

“They should’ve put everything online from the beginning, but they wanted the money,” she said. And she said fraternities and sororities weren’t the only ones at fault among the students: “I feel like Greek life gets a lot of blame, which is understandable, but there are other students who were meeting without masks.”

The problems did not change the thinking of other schools around the country.

The University of Virginia announced Friday that it is moving ahead with plans to offer in-person instruction for the fall semester, after delaying the start of classes for two weeks to assess the spread of COVID-19.

“We know some will be delighted to hear this news and others will be disappointed,” a university statement said. “To be frank, it was a very difficult decision, made in the face of much uncertainty, and with full awareness that future events may force us to change course.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1597942736026.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>LAWRENCE (AP) — As waves of schools and businesses around the country are cleared to reopen, college towns are moving toward renewed shutdowns because of too many parties and too many COVID-19 infections among students.With more than 300 students at the University of Missouri testing positive for the coronavirus and an alarming 44% positivity rate for the surrounding county, the local health director Friday ordered bars to stop serving alcohol at 9 p.m. and close by 10 p.m.Iowa’s governor has ordered all bars shut down around The University of Iowa and Iowa State, while the mayor of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, did the same in the hometown of the state’s flagship university“What we’re seeing in our violations is they’re coming late at night,” said Stephanie Browning, head of the health department for Columbia, Missouri. “Big groups gathering. They’re not wearing their masks, they’re not social distancing.”In Utah, the city council in Provo overrode a mayoral veto to pass a mask mandate, which includes a $500 fine for organizing large mask-less gatherings, days before students return to Brigham Young University from around the country.But the council was nevertheless worried that college students sharing dorms, bathrooms and showers could become “super-spreaders” and bring the virus off campus, council chair George Handley said.“We’re already seeing what’s happened across the country at other universities,” he said.But a recent warehouse party organized by a BYU student’s promotional company called Young/Dumb also raised concern when pictures of hundreds of revelers without masks surfaced online.BYU, owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, has its own rules requiring masks on campus. Requirements for indoor public spaces in town will help people stay healthy and businesses stay open, Handley said.“This is actually about preserving our way of life, it’s not about destroying it — contrary to what some people say,” Handley said.The outbreaks since students began returning to campus in the past few weeks have heightened tensions between colleges and their towns and led to recriminations between local politicians and university officials.Meanwhile, California announced a four-tiered, color-coded plan Friday for gradually reopening businesses after abandoning a reopening attempt earlier this summer. It requires counties to meet certain benchmarks showing progress in controlling the virus.In Arizona, another deadly hot spot this summer, a drop in transmission numbers allowed the Phoenix and Tucson areas to reopen gyms and some bars.The U.S. has recorded over 180,000 deaths from the coronavirus and 5.9 million confirmed infections. Worldwide, the death toll is put at more than 830,000, with at least 24.5 million cases.Drugmaker Gilead Sciences said Friday that U.S. regulators are now allowing use of experimental antiviral drug remdesivir for all patients hospitalized with COVID-19.It said the Food and Drug Administration has expanded its emergency use authorization, which lets doctors administer the IV drug during the pandemic. Until now, that was limited to patients with severe COVID-19.Remdesivir previously was shown to shorten treatment by about four days for hospitalized patients with severe disease, compared with those getting standard supportive care.Surging infection numbers around the U.S. have been blamed in part on young people ignoring mask and social distancing requirements.In Iowa’s Story County, home to Iowa State, 74% of new cases over the past seven days were among people ages 19 to 24, Gov. Kim Reynolds said Thursday. In the same time period, 69% of new cases in Johnson County, the home of the University of Iowa, were in that age group.“It is increasing the virus activity in the community, and it’s spilling over to other segments of the population,” Reynolds said.Fueled in part by clusters where college students are returning to classes, Kansas has had its highest seven-day increase in coronavirus cases.Gov. Laura Kelly said outbreaks on college campuses and fraternities and sororities are at least a factor in the surge.“We cannot continue to go down this path,” she told reporters Friday.The number of positive coronavirus cases continues to climb at the University of Kansas, with 10% of fraternity and sorority members infected. The school said Friday in a news release that it has conducted 21,719 tests and 474 have been positive, for a positive rate of 2.18%. But among sororities and fraternities, there have been 270 positives among 2,698 members tested. Earlier this week, the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department issued an order placing nine chapter houses under quarantine.&nbsp;At Kansas State University, four new outbreaks are associated with sororities on campus, <a href="https://www.rileycountyks.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1184">according to the </a>Riley County Health Department. All residents of any Greek house at K-State where an outbreak has been declared should quarantine for 14 days.The University of Alabama has recorded over 1,000 cases on campus since the fall semester began last week. In closing the town’s bars Monday for the next two weeks, Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox said that an unchecked spread of the virus threatens both the health care system and the local economy if students have to be sent home for the semester for remote learning.Three of North Carolina’s largest public universities have abruptly halted in-person undergraduate instruction and directed students to move out of the dorms after hundreds tested positive following their return to campus. More than 800 have been infected at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and over 670 at North Carolina State.Leaders at UNC-Chapel Hill, which has shifted to online classes, wrote an open letter Thursday to the mayor outlining steps the university is taking to curb off-campus parties.“We recognize the very real problems with the behaviors of some of our fraternities and sororities,” the letter said.Oyeronke Popoola, a 17-year-old freshman at UNC-Chapel Hill who moved out of her dorm, said that administrators, not students, deserve most of the blame for the virus-related problems after they ushered students back to campus.“They should’ve put everything online from the beginning, but they wanted the money,” she said. And she said fraternities and sororities weren’t the only ones at fault among the students: “I feel like Greek life gets a lot of blame, which is understandable, but there are other students who were meeting without masks.”The problems did not change the thinking of other schools around the country.The University of Virginia announced Friday that it is moving ahead with plans to offer in-person instruction for the fall semester, after delaying the start of classes for two weeks to assess the spread of COVID-19.“We know some will be delighted to hear this news and others will be disappointed,” a university statement said. “To be frank, it was a very difficult decision, made in the face of much uncertainty, and with full awareness that future events may force us to change course.”

College towns growing alarmed over outbreaks among students

TOPEKA, KAN.&nbsp;– A Kansas man was sentenced this week to 94 months in federal prison for dealing drugs, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

Anthony Lee Hunter, 51, Topeka, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. 

In his plea, he admitted that when investigators searched his residence in the 700 block of northeast Emmett Street they turned up more than 30 grams of methamphetamine and more than 11 grams of heroin. Hunter told investigators that earlier that week he spent more than $30,000 buying drugs in Kansas City and the drugs they seized were all he had left.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598390876537.png" alt="Hunter-photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Hunter-photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, KAN.&nbsp;– A Kansas man was sentenced this week to 94 months in federal prison for dealing drugs, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.Anthony Lee Hunter, 51, Topeka, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. In his plea, he admitted that when investigators searched his residence in the 700 block of northeast Emmett Street they turned up more than 30 grams of methamphetamine and more than 11 grams of heroin. Hunter told investigators that earlier that week he spent more than $30,000 buying drugs in Kansas City and the drugs they seized were all he had left.

Kan. man admits spending $30K buying drugs to sell

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Nearly 1,000 University of Kansas athletes, students and faculty have participated in a march to end racial injustice and protest the police shooting of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/29c7f7a558778e132a0f09c1c4d2b8b4">Jacob Blake&nbsp;</a>in Wisconsin.

The students joined&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/481417a78e373721455af1d0e48b5976">other college athletes</a>&nbsp;from across the country in demonstrations Friday to honor of the 57-year anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Kansas junior women’s basketball player Emma Merriweather and her teammates kicked off the 2-mile march through campus, with people stretching behind for blocks. Among the marchers was Kansas football coach Les Miles, athletic director Jeff Long and chancellor Douglas Girod.

The hour-long route ended inside Booth Memorial Stadium, where Merriweather addressed the group with a megaphone. She said she was proud, in that moment, to be a Jayhawk.

“It’s not just us,” Merriweather said. “There’s plenty of people on the campus who obviously that it affects, and they feel strongly about. There were people who were just walking to class that joined us.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598742283651.png" alt="Photo University of Kansas Athletics" />
 <figcaption>Photo University of Kansas Athletics</figcaption>
 </figure>LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Nearly 1,000 University of Kansas athletes, students and faculty have participated in a march to end racial injustice and protest the police shooting of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/29c7f7a558778e132a0f09c1c4d2b8b4">Jacob Blake&nbsp;</a>in Wisconsin.The students joined&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/481417a78e373721455af1d0e48b5976">other college athletes</a>&nbsp;from across the country in demonstrations Friday to honor of the 57-year anniversary of the March on Washington and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.Kansas junior women’s basketball player Emma Merriweather and her teammates kicked off the 2-mile march through campus, with people stretching behind for blocks. Among the marchers was Kansas football coach Les Miles, athletic director Jeff Long and chancellor Douglas Girod.The hour-long route ended inside Booth Memorial Stadium, where Merriweather addressed the group with a megaphone. She said she was proud, in that moment, to be a Jayhawk.“It’s not just us,” Merriweather said. “There’s plenty of people on the campus who obviously that it affects, and they feel strongly about. There were people who were just walking to class that joined us.”

KU athletes march on campus in support of Black Lives Matter

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas high school can move their fall sports seasons to the spring under a newly approved plan.

The Kansas State High School Activities Association Board of Directors voted 53-21 Friday to approve a proposal establishing an “Alternative fall” schedule, The Wichita Eagle&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansas.com/sports/varsity-kansas/article245278570.html" target="_blank">reports.&nbsp;</a>The vote followed a unanimous&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/f3d1e56478f6e0d9fec69ffabe7369f0">Monday&nbsp;</a>vote in favor of the option by KSHSAA’s executive board.

Kansas high schools have been split into two “bands,” or groups: Class 6/5A and Class 4/3/2/1A. If at least half of the schools in each of those bands cancel fall activities, that majority would trigger the switch to a spring sports schedule.

According to the approved proposal, if fall activities are moved to the spring, there will be no state championship events. Teams would instead be encouraged to schedule league-title games or rivalry games for their final events of the season. The move also would create an overlap between fall and spring sports, which could force some athletes to have to pick a favorite.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598723708371.png" alt="Friday KSHSAA board of directors meeting-photo by Marleah Campbell courtesy&nbsp; WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Friday KSHSAA board of directors meeting-photo by Marleah Campbell courtesy&nbsp; WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas high school can move their fall sports seasons to the spring under a newly approved plan.The Kansas State High School Activities Association Board of Directors voted 53-21 Friday to approve a proposal establishing an “Alternative fall” schedule, The Wichita Eagle&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kansas.com/sports/varsity-kansas/article245278570.html" target="_blank">reports.&nbsp;</a>The vote followed a unanimous&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/f3d1e56478f6e0d9fec69ffabe7369f0">Monday&nbsp;</a>vote in favor of the option by KSHSAA’s executive board.Kansas high schools have been split into two “bands,” or groups: Class 6/5A and Class 4/3/2/1A. If at least half of the schools in each of those bands cancel fall activities, that majority would trigger the switch to a spring sports schedule.According to the approved proposal, if fall activities are moved to the spring, there will be no state championship events. Teams would instead be encouraged to schedule league-title games or rivalry games for their final events of the season. The move also would create an overlap between fall and spring sports, which could force some athletes to have to pick a favorite.

Board: Kansas schools can move fall sports to the spring

TOPEKA&nbsp;– Governor Laura Kelly visited Thermo Fisher Scientific in Lenexa to celebrate the opening of the company’s new Viral Transport Media manufacturing site, which will play a critical role in Kansas’ comprehensive COVID-19 testing strategy and create more than 300 full-time jobs.

“I want to thank the Thermo Fisher team for its work in protecting our health and safety and helping Kansas tackle the many challenges brought on by COVID-19,”&nbsp;Governor Kelly said. “By significantly increasing the manufacturing capacity of this facility, Thermo Fisher will not only have a positive impact on public health, but will help my administration as we work to rebuild our state’s fiscal foundation and make our economy stronger than it has ever been – not just returning to pre-pandemic conditions.”

Thermo Fisher has been producing COVID-19 testing products since the onset of the pandemic.

Built in just six weeks, this $40 million facility has created more than 300 new full-time jobs and added 120,000 square feet of manufacturing capacity in Lenexa. The company estimates that more than 150 million testing products will be produced by the end of the year.

Secretary of Commerce David Toland joined Governor Kelly at today’s ribbon cutting and groundbreaking ceremony.

“The need for research and development of pharmaceuticals to test for and combat COVID-19 is essential to our economic recovery, and Thermo Fisher is stepping up to help take on this huge task,”&nbsp;Secretary Toland said.&nbsp;“Thermo Fisher is doing extremely important work for COVID-19 research, and I’m proud that such important, critically needed products will be produced in Kansas.”

Today’s ribbon cutting and groundbreaking ceremony not only established the new Lenexa facility, but it also signified the beginning of Phase 2 of the project, which will focus on new research and development in the fight against COVID-19.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598705101762.png" alt="Governor Laura Kelly during Friday's visit -courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Governor Laura Kelly during Friday's visit -courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA&nbsp;– Governor Laura Kelly visited Thermo Fisher Scientific in Lenexa to celebrate the opening of the company’s new Viral Transport Media manufacturing site, which will play a critical role in Kansas’ comprehensive COVID-19 testing strategy and create more than 300 full-time jobs.“I want to thank the Thermo Fisher team for its work in protecting our health and safety and helping Kansas tackle the many challenges brought on by COVID-19,”&nbsp;Governor Kelly said. “By significantly increasing the manufacturing capacity of this facility, Thermo Fisher will not only have a positive impact on public health, but will help my administration as we work to rebuild our state’s fiscal foundation and make our economy stronger than it has ever been – not just returning to pre-pandemic conditions.”Thermo Fisher has been producing COVID-19 testing products since the onset of the pandemic.Built in just six weeks, this $40 million facility has created more than 300 new full-time jobs and added 120,000 square feet of manufacturing capacity in Lenexa. The company estimates that more than 150 million testing products will be produced by the end of the year.Secretary of Commerce David Toland joined Governor Kelly at today’s ribbon cutting and groundbreaking ceremony.“The need for research and development of pharmaceuticals to test for and combat COVID-19 is essential to our economic recovery, and Thermo Fisher is stepping up to help take on this huge task,”&nbsp;Secretary Toland said.&nbsp;“Thermo Fisher is doing extremely important work for COVID-19 research, and I’m proud that such important, critically needed products will be produced in Kansas.”Today’s ribbon cutting and groundbreaking ceremony not only established the new Lenexa facility, but it also signified the beginning of Phase 2 of the project, which will focus on new research and development in the fight against COVID-19.

Kan. firm's expansion to help increase COVID-19 testing

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An autopsy says a Topeka man died accidentally in March when the dumpster he was in was dumped into a recycling truck. An autopsy made public this week says 62-year-old Paul Vigil died from multiple injuries in a cardboard recycler. 

Vigil's body was found March 9 by landfill employees among recycling materials. The autopsy by county coroner John Ralston said Vigil suffered gaping cuts to his left back and left upper chest and fractures to his skull, bones, and multiple ribs. Foul play is not suspected. 

He died on a day when Topeka received almost an inch of precipitation and had a morning low of 36 degrees.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598653520847.png" alt="Vigil's body was found at this recycling center on March 9 -photo courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Vigil's body was found at this recycling center on March 9 -photo courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An autopsy says a Topeka man died accidentally in March when the dumpster he was in was dumped into a recycling truck. An autopsy made public this week says 62-year-old Paul Vigil died from multiple injuries in a cardboard recycler. Vigil's body was found March 9 by landfill employees among recycling materials. The autopsy by county coroner John Ralston said Vigil suffered gaping cuts to his left back and left upper chest and fractures to his skull, bones, and multiple ribs. Foul play is not suspected. He died on a day when Topeka received almost an inch of precipitation and had a morning low of 36 degrees.

Autopsy: Kan. man died when caught in recycling truck

By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-08-28/saliva-is-making-it-possible-to-quickly-test-tens-of-thousands-of-kansans-for-coronavirus">Kansas News Service</a>

LENEXA — One lab has helped seven Kansas universities 
test tens of thousands of students, faculty and staff for COVID-19 for 
the fall semester. And all anyone needed to do was spit.

Saliva 
lab work has the potential to dramatically increase testing of 
asymptomatic Kansans with no known COVID-19 exposure, state health 
officials say. That’s a critical ingredient for stopping the pandemic.

Last
 week, Kansas health secretary Lee Norman suggested the state partner 
with labs such as Lenexa-based Clinical Reference Laboratory and a 
second Lenexa company that does saliva and other COVID-19 testing for 
major hospitals, MAWD Pathology Group.

“Anybody can spit into a 
tube. That would be a game changer,” Norman told a state task force. 
“That would really open up the floodgates.”

He suggested tapping 
the labs to help the state’s nursing homes and schools, and to regularly
 test large numbers of Kansans without symptoms, not just patients who 
turn up at doctor’s offices feeling sick.

Collecting saliva holds a few advantages over swabs that <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmvcm2010260" target="_blank">dip deep</a>
 into one’s nasal passages. Most people can spit into a tube without 
help from a nurse or other medical professional decked out in protective
 gear.

Already, Kansas has surpassed <a href="https://www.kansas.com/news/coronavirus/article243463271.html" target="_blank">its target</a>
 of testing more than 60,000 people per month three months in a row, but
 Norman said “it’s not enough.” The state has focused largely on people 
with symptoms or exposure to known COVID-19 outbreaks — a triage level 
of testing that epidemiologists widely agree falls short of what’s 
needed.

To dramatically slow viral transmission, the <a href="https://globalepidemics.org/july-6-2020-state-testing-targets/" target="_blank">Harvard Global Health Institute</a>
 said last month that Kansas must more than triple the number of people 
tested daily to nearly 13,000, while keeping up social distancing and 
mask-wearing. Only five states are testing enough people to suppress the
 virus.

The state may already have the capacity to top that, MAWD 
president Samuel Caughron said. His lab can handle 10,000 to 15,000 
tests daily, but doesn’t use its full capacity.

“We've been 
seeing, as other labs have, our volumes declining,” he said. “There is 
something of a disconnect between what could be, and what's happening.”

The
 challenge for Kansas, he said, is creating a process that links 
organizations in need of mass testing to labs that can return results 
within a day or two.

Harvard experts have warned saliva testing could face supply shortages, too, just like tests that use nasal or throat swabs.

While
 waiting months for the U.S. Food And Drug Administration to authorize 
its tests, Lenexa’s Clinical Reference Laboratory used the time to 
install hard-to-get liquid-handling robots and squirrel away as many 
supplies as it could. <a href="https://www.fda.gov/media/140664/download" target="_blank">Authorization</a> came through July 30.

“Honestly,
 we’ve just been building inventory since the day this started,” CEO Bob
 Thompson said. “So we’re feeling really good about our supply chain.”

The company currently provides test results within 1-2 days.

Saliva
 tests (and saliva-sputum tests that require the person to cough before 
spitting) detect genetic material — RNA — from the coronavirus. That’s 
the same science used with deep nasal swabs, but collecting saliva is 
quicker in large populations like prisons, schools and colleges. It 
saves precious masks and gloves, and it’s a less unpleasant option for 
people who have to take the test repeatedly, such as nursing home 
residents, athletes and health care workers.

At the University of 
Kansas, saliva tests have detected more than 200 cases of COVID-19 so 
far, and revealed higher rates of the virus among fraternities and 
sororities. This week Douglas County health officials ordered residents 
of nine <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-08-26/health-officials-put-several-ku-fraternity-and-sorority-houses-under-14-day-quarantine" target="_blank">fraternity and sorority houses</a> into two-week quarantine.

CRL
 in Lenexa has already processed 30,000 tests for seven Kansas schools, 
including KU, Emporia State University, Wichita State University, Fort 
Hays State University and Benedictine College — as well as 4,000 tests 
for four in Missouri.

The lab said it could handle several more 
thousand tests per day for Kansas. The company currently processes about
 10,000 a day, with a focus on the Kansas and Missouri markets, and 
expects to reach 20,000 a day by mid-September.

It’s in talks with Kansas school districts, too, and recently inked <a href="https://achieve.lausd.net/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&amp;DomainID=4&amp;ModuleInstanceID=4466&amp;ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&amp;RenderLoc=0&amp;FlexDataID=95211&amp;PageID=1" target="_blank">a deal</a>
 with Los Angeles Unified School District to join a bevy of labs 
assisting its 600,000-student school system. Minnesota is providing 
saliva tests (which aren’t from CRL) to all its <a href="https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/schools/salivatestfaq.pdf" target="_blank">schools</a>, and announced this week it will <a href="https://www.startribune.com/minn-planning-14-6m-contract-for-covid-19-saliva-tests/572217132/" target="_blank">spend nearly $15 million</a> on a new lab for saliva samples.

The
 state lab in Topeka also plans to start processing saliva samples 
in-house, a Kansas Department of Health and Environment spokeswoman said
 Friday. It has the right equipment, but must first complete legwork to 
ensure its results would be valid.

For mass testing of largely 
asymptomatic people at places like colleges, CRL pools material from 
five people at a time to speed up the process. When a combined sample 
contains the virus, CRL then retrieves the five vials to retest each 
person’s saliva individually and pinpoint the source.

While CRL received FDA authorization, not all COVID-19 tests — saliva or otherwise — have that.

The backlogged agency allowed many tests onto market while awaiting review, and last week the Trump administration <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/08/20/trump-fda-tests-coronavirus/" target="_blank">axed the requirement</a> for federally regulated labs with advanced capabilities to undergo FDA scrutiny.

MAWD’s
 test, a variation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
method, does not have FDA authorization yet but the company may still 
pursue it.

Pittsburg State University uses Cytocheck, a lab in 
Parsons, but didn’t answer questions about whether the FDA has 
greenlighted its tests. Cytocheck wouldn’t speak to the Kansas News 
Service about its product.

Celia Llopis-Jepsen reports on consumer health and education for the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/Celia_LJ" target="_blank">@celia_LJ</a> or email her at celia@kcur.org.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598639401459.png" alt="KU employees and students use kits like this one to provide their saliva samples for COVID-19 testing. J. Schafer / Kansas Public Radio" />
 <figcaption>KU employees and students use kits like this one to provide their saliva samples for COVID-19 testing. J. Schafer / Kansas Public Radio</figcaption>
 </figure>By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-08-28/saliva-is-making-it-possible-to-quickly-test-tens-of-thousands-of-kansans-for-coronavirus">Kansas News Service</a>LENEXA — One lab has helped seven Kansas universities 
test tens of thousands of students, faculty and staff for COVID-19 for 
the fall semester. And all anyone needed to do was spit.Saliva 
lab work has the potential to dramatically increase testing of 
asymptomatic Kansans with no known COVID-19 exposure, state health 
officials say. That’s a critical ingredient for stopping the pandemic.Last
 week, Kansas health secretary Lee Norman suggested the state partner 
with labs such as Lenexa-based Clinical Reference Laboratory and a 
second Lenexa company that does saliva and other COVID-19 testing for 
major hospitals, MAWD Pathology Group.“Anybody can spit into a 
tube. That would be a game changer,” Norman told a state task force. 
“That would really open up the floodgates.”He suggested tapping 
the labs to help the state’s nursing homes and schools, and to regularly
 test large numbers of Kansans without symptoms, not just patients who 
turn up at doctor’s offices feeling sick.Collecting saliva holds a few advantages over swabs that <a href="https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmvcm2010260" target="_blank">dip deep</a>
 into one’s nasal passages. Most people can spit into a tube without 
help from a nurse or other medical professional decked out in protective
 gear.Already, Kansas has surpassed <a href="https://www.kansas.com/news/coronavirus/article243463271.html" target="_blank">its target</a>
 of testing more than 60,000 people per month three months in a row, but
 Norman said “it’s not enough.” The state has focused largely on people 
with symptoms or exposure to known COVID-19 outbreaks — a triage level 
of testing that epidemiologists widely agree falls short of what’s 
needed.To dramatically slow viral transmission, the <a href="https://globalepidemics.org/july-6-2020-state-testing-targets/" target="_blank">Harvard Global Health Institute</a>
 said last month that Kansas must more than triple the number of people 
tested daily to nearly 13,000, while keeping up social distancing and 
mask-wearing. Only five states are testing enough people to suppress the
 virus.The state may already have the capacity to top that, MAWD 
president Samuel Caughron said. His lab can handle 10,000 to 15,000 
tests daily, but doesn’t use its full capacity.“We've been 
seeing, as other labs have, our volumes declining,” he said. “There is 
something of a disconnect between what could be, and what's happening.”The
 challenge for Kansas, he said, is creating a process that links 
organizations in need of mass testing to labs that can return results 
within a day or two.<h2>Stocking up</h2>Harvard experts have warned saliva testing could face supply shortages, too, just like tests that use nasal or throat swabs.While
 waiting months for the U.S. Food And Drug Administration to authorize 
its tests, Lenexa’s Clinical Reference Laboratory used the time to 
install hard-to-get liquid-handling robots and squirrel away as many 
supplies as it could. <a href="https://www.fda.gov/media/140664/download" target="_blank">Authorization</a> came through July 30.“Honestly,
 we’ve just been building inventory since the day this started,” CEO Bob
 Thompson said. “So we’re feeling really good about our supply chain.”The company currently provides test results within 1-2 days.Saliva
 tests (and saliva-sputum tests that require the person to cough before 
spitting) detect genetic material — RNA — from the coronavirus. That’s 
the same science used with deep nasal swabs, but collecting saliva is 
quicker in large populations like prisons, schools and colleges. It 
saves precious masks and gloves, and it’s a less unpleasant option for 
people who have to take the test repeatedly, such as nursing home 
residents, athletes and health care workers.At the University of 
Kansas, saliva tests have detected more than 200 cases of COVID-19 so 
far, and revealed higher rates of the virus among fraternities and 
sororities. This week Douglas County health officials ordered residents 
of nine <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-08-26/health-officials-put-several-ku-fraternity-and-sorority-houses-under-14-day-quarantine" target="_blank">fraternity and sorority houses</a> into two-week quarantine.CRL
 in Lenexa has already processed 30,000 tests for seven Kansas schools, 
including KU, Emporia State University, Wichita State University, Fort 
Hays State University and Benedictine College — as well as 4,000 tests 
for four in Missouri.The lab said it could handle several more 
thousand tests per day for Kansas. The company currently processes about
 10,000 a day, with a focus on the Kansas and Missouri markets, and 
expects to reach 20,000 a day by mid-September.It’s in talks with Kansas school districts, too, and recently inked <a href="https://achieve.lausd.net/site/default.aspx?PageType=3&amp;DomainID=4&amp;ModuleInstanceID=4466&amp;ViewID=6446EE88-D30C-497E-9316-3F8874B3E108&amp;RenderLoc=0&amp;FlexDataID=95211&amp;PageID=1" target="_blank">a deal</a>
 with Los Angeles Unified School District to join a bevy of labs 
assisting its 600,000-student school system. Minnesota is providing 
saliva tests (which aren’t from CRL) to all its <a href="https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/schools/salivatestfaq.pdf" target="_blank">schools</a>, and announced this week it will <a href="https://www.startribune.com/minn-planning-14-6m-contract-for-covid-19-saliva-tests/572217132/" target="_blank">spend nearly $15 million</a> on a new lab for saliva samples.The
 state lab in Topeka also plans to start processing saliva samples 
in-house, a Kansas Department of Health and Environment spokeswoman said
 Friday. It has the right equipment, but must first complete legwork to 
ensure its results would be valid.For mass testing of largely 
asymptomatic people at places like colleges, CRL pools material from 
five people at a time to speed up the process. When a combined sample 
contains the virus, CRL then retrieves the five vials to retest each 
person’s saliva individually and pinpoint the source.<figure>
 <iframe width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/y0KSmeKjX6Q"></iframe>
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>While CRL received FDA authorization, not all COVID-19 tests — saliva or otherwise — have that.The backlogged agency allowed many tests onto market while awaiting review, and last week the Trump administration <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/08/20/trump-fda-tests-coronavirus/" target="_blank">axed the requirement</a> for federally regulated labs with advanced capabilities to undergo FDA scrutiny.MAWD’s
 test, a variation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
method, does not have FDA authorization yet but the company may still 
pursue it.Pittsburg State University uses Cytocheck, a lab in 
Parsons, but didn’t answer questions about whether the FDA has 
greenlighted its tests. Cytocheck wouldn’t speak to the Kansas News 
Service about its product.Celia Llopis-Jepsen reports on consumer health and education for the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/Celia_LJ" target="_blank">@celia_LJ</a> or email her at celia@kcur.org.

Saliva making it possible to quickly test tens of thousands of Kansans

SALINE COUNTY —The staff at Rolling Hills Zoo is grieving the loss of one of their Amur tiger triplets.

Luka, the male of the three, died while undergoing an exam to address some dental issues he was experiencing which affected his ability to consume his diet. Luka’s body has been transported to K-State for a necropsy to determine his cause of death, according to a media release from the zoo.

SALINE COUNTY —The staff at Rolling Hills Zoo is grieving the loss of one of their Amur tiger triplets.Luka, the male of the three, died while undergoing an exam to address some dental issues he was experiencing which affected his ability to consume his diet. Luka’s body has been transported to K-State for a necropsy to determine his cause of death, according to a media release from the zoo.“A loss like Luca’s is simply gut wrenching,” shared Bob Jenkins, Rolling Hills Zoo’s Executive Director. “While all losses are devastating, ones like this hits the Zoo hard and deep. Investigations are underway to determine the cause of death through a variety of mechanisms as we want to ensure that we don’t have a systemic problem. We will be sharing the results with everyone when they are available.”Luka was one of three cubs born on August 14, 2019 at Rolling Hills Zoo. The other two are females, Sasha and Nadya. Their mother Andrea, 12 years old, and father, Dhenuka - 10 years old, had arrived at Rolling Hills Zoo on a breeding recommendation by the SSP (Species Survival Plan) a collaborative effort among Association of Zoos &amp; Aquariums (AZA) – of which RHZ is an accredited institution.Following a successful birth, the three cubs had been fan favorites at the Zoo as guests watched them grow up and celebrate their first birthday this past month.Weighing in at 250 pounds, Luka was known by his keepers as being the bravest and most curious of the three cubs, and always the first to check things out. Sasha, weighing 200 lbs. like her sister, was always right behind Luka as she tried to keep up with her brother, while Nadya would hang back and be the more cautious of the three.