BEIJING (AP) — The United States Navy and Marine Corps are holding joint exercises in the South China Sea at a time of heightened tensions with Beijing over the shooting down of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-montana-north-carolina-302134762e8aeae53314ebd9fdb327e4">suspected Chinese spy balloon.</a>

The 7th Fleet based in Japan said Sunday that the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit have been conducting “integrated expeditionary strike force operations” in the South China Sea.

It said exercises involving ships, ground forces and aircraft took place Saturday but gave no details on when the began or whether they had ended.

China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and strongly objects to military activity by other nations in the contested waterway through which $5 trillion in goods are shipped every year.

The U.S. takes no official position on sovereignty in the South China Sea, but maintains that freedom of navigation and overflight must be preserved. Several times a year, it sends ships sailing past fortified Chinese outposts in the Spratly Islands, prompting protests from Beijing.

The U.S. has also been strengthening its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-politics-united-states-government-philippines-manila-7889867cb056cf365c5a8fd49d16b52d">defense alliance with the Philippines,</a>&nbsp;which has faced encroachment on islands and fisheries by the Chinese coast guard and nominally civilian but government-backed fleets.

The U.S. military exercises were planned in advance. They come as already tense relations between Washington and Beijing have been exacerbated by a diplomatic row sparked by the balloon, which was shot down last weekend in U.S. airspace off the coast of South Carolina.

The U.S. said the unmanned balloon was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals, but Beijing insists it was a weather research airship that had accidently blown off course.

The balloon prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to abruptly cancel a high-stakes trip to Beijing aimed at easing tensions.

After first issuing a highly rare expression of regret over the balloon, China has toughened its rhetoric, calling the U.S. shootdown an overreaction and a violation of international norms.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-lloyd-austin-china-9d1b7c9aa40b22d0bda497ba29be8d9b">China's defense minister refused to take a phone call</a>&nbsp;from U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to discuss the matter.

The United States has since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-china-beijing-business-cdf319c71f097f7f8ef176b6d7b9526c">blacklisted six Chinese entities</a>&nbsp;it said were linked to Beijing’s aerospace programs as part of its response to the incident. The House of Representatives also voted unanimously to condemn China for a “brazen violation” of U.S. sovereignty and efforts to “deceive the international community through false claims about its intelligence collection campaigns.”

The balloon was part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for several years, the Pentagon said. The U.S. says Chinese balloons have flown over dozens of countries across five continents in recent years, and it learned more about the balloon program after closely monitoring the one shot down near South Carolina.

In its news release, the 7th Fleet said the joint operation had “established a powerful presence in the region, which supports peace and stability."

“As a ready response force, we underpin a broad spectrum of missions including landing Marines ashore, humanitarian disaster relief, and deterring potential adversaries through visible and present combat power," the release said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676220729193.png" alt="The 7th Fleet said the joint operation had “established a powerful presence in the region, which supports peace and stability.”photo courtesy Nimitz Carrier Strike Group U.S. 7th Fleet" />
 <figcaption>The 7th Fleet said the joint operation had “established a powerful presence in the region, which supports peace and stability.”photo courtesy Nimitz Carrier Strike Group U.S. 7th Fleet</figcaption>
 </figure>BEIJING (AP) — The United States Navy and Marine Corps are holding joint exercises in the South China Sea at a time of heightened tensions with Beijing over the shooting down of a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-montana-north-carolina-302134762e8aeae53314ebd9fdb327e4">suspected Chinese spy balloon.</a>The 7th Fleet based in Japan said Sunday that the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier strike group and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit have been conducting “integrated expeditionary strike force operations” in the South China Sea.It said exercises involving ships, ground forces and aircraft took place Saturday but gave no details on when the began or whether they had ended.China claims virtually the entire South China Sea and strongly objects to military activity by other nations in the contested waterway through which $5 trillion in goods are shipped every year.The U.S. takes no official position on sovereignty in the South China Sea, but maintains that freedom of navigation and overflight must be preserved. Several times a year, it sends ships sailing past fortified Chinese outposts in the Spratly Islands, prompting protests from Beijing.The U.S. has also been strengthening its&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/taiwan-politics-united-states-government-philippines-manila-7889867cb056cf365c5a8fd49d16b52d">defense alliance with the Philippines,</a>&nbsp;which has faced encroachment on islands and fisheries by the Chinese coast guard and nominally civilian but government-backed fleets.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675373155059.png" alt="Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin in the Philippines last month -photo courtesy Defense Department" />
 <figcaption>Defense Sec. Lloyd Austin in the Philippines last month -photo courtesy Defense Department</figcaption>
 </figure>The U.S. military exercises were planned in advance. They come as already tense relations between Washington and Beijing have been exacerbated by a diplomatic row sparked by the balloon, which was shot down last weekend in U.S. airspace off the coast of South Carolina.The U.S. said the unmanned balloon was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals, but Beijing insists it was a weather research airship that had accidently blown off course.The balloon prompted Secretary of State Antony Blinken to abruptly cancel a high-stakes trip to Beijing aimed at easing tensions.After first issuing a highly rare expression of regret over the balloon, China has toughened its rhetoric, calling the U.S. shootdown an overreaction and a violation of international norms.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-lloyd-austin-china-9d1b7c9aa40b22d0bda497ba29be8d9b">China's defense minister refused to take a phone call</a>&nbsp;from U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to discuss the matter.The United States has since&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/politics-united-states-government-china-beijing-business-cdf319c71f097f7f8ef176b6d7b9526c">blacklisted six Chinese entities</a>&nbsp;it said were linked to Beijing’s aerospace programs as part of its response to the incident. The House of Representatives also voted unanimously to condemn China for a “brazen violation” of U.S. sovereignty and efforts to “deceive the international community through false claims about its intelligence collection campaigns.”The balloon was part of a large surveillance program that China has been conducting for several years, the Pentagon said. The U.S. says Chinese balloons have flown over dozens of countries across five continents in recent years, and it learned more about the balloon program after closely monitoring the one shot down near South Carolina.In its news release, the 7th Fleet said the joint operation had “established a powerful presence in the region, which supports peace and stability."“As a ready response force, we underpin a broad spectrum of missions including landing Marines ashore, humanitarian disaster relief, and deterring potential adversaries through visible and present combat power," the release said.------------

US holds drills in South China Sea amid tensions with China

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A Kansas City police officer was hit by gunfire and wounded at the department's headquarters shortly after the Chiefs won the Super Bowl, authorities said early Monday.

The Kansas City Police Department said the officer's injuries are not life-threatening. The source and motive of the gunfire are unknown.

The officer was shot just before 9:30 p.m. Sunday at the police department in downtown Kansas City, just blocks from a large Super Bowl viewing party and about 15 minutes after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-2023-kansas-city-chiefs-philadelphia-eagles-43a1fb387f63438c1eea23b6a4244d95">Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35.</a>

The officer was immediately taken to a hospital and was stable Monday morning.

Detectives are investigating. No further information was immediately released.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A Kansas City police officer was hit by gunfire and wounded at the department's headquarters shortly after the Chiefs won the Super Bowl, authorities said early Monday.The Kansas City Police Department said the officer's injuries are not life-threatening. The source and motive of the gunfire are unknown.The officer was shot just before 9:30 p.m. Sunday at the police department in downtown Kansas City, just blocks from a large Super Bowl viewing party and about 15 minutes after the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/super-bowl-2023-kansas-city-chiefs-philadelphia-eagles-43a1fb387f63438c1eea23b6a4244d95">Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35.</a>The officer was immediately taken to a hospital and was stable Monday morning.Detectives are investigating. No further information was immediately released.

Kansas City officer shot, hurt after Chiefs' Super Bowl win

GLENDALE, Ariz.—The Kansas City Chiefs are the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/43a1fb387f63438c1eea23b6a4244d95">winners of Super Bowl 57.</a>&nbsp;Elected officials from Kansas and Missouri celebrated the victory.

GLENDALE, Ariz.—The Kansas City Chiefs are the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/43a1fb387f63438c1eea23b6a4244d95">winners of Super Bowl 57.</a>&nbsp;Elected officials from Kansas and Missouri celebrated the victory.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">For the second time since I became governor, the Kansas City <a href="https://twitter.com/Chiefs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Chiefs</a> are SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS. Congrats to the whole team and all of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChiefsKingdom?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ChiefsKingdom</a>. To <a href="https://twitter.com/GovernorShapiro?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GovernorShapiro</a> and the <a href="https://twitter.com/Eagles?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Eagles</a>, great game. Looking forward to those cheesesteaks and pretzels! <a href="https://t.co/btijFAvuty">https://t.co/btijFAvuty</a>&mdash; Governor Laura Kelly (@GovLauraKelly) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovLauraKelly/status/1624970730940284929?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">I see a lot of red in Arizona today, and I&#39;m feeling extra lucky to be cheering on the <a href="https://twitter.com/Chiefs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Chiefs</a> at the <a href="https://twitter.com/SuperBowl?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SuperBowl</a> with others from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChiefsKingdom?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ChiefsKingdom</a> <a href="https://t.co/K57EzKkexL">pic.twitter.com/K57EzKkexL</a>&mdash; Governor Laura Kelly (@GovLauraKelly) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovLauraKelly/status/1624891973306818562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">As lifelong Chiefs fans and as the 57th Governor and First Lady of Missouri, Teresa and I could not be more proud of our <a href="https://twitter.com/Chiefs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Chiefs</a> for the win at Super Bowl 57!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SuperBowlLVII?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SuperBowlLVII</a> <a href="https://t.co/MBMEcbyU5r">pic.twitter.com/MBMEcbyU5r</a>&mdash; Governor Mike Parson (@GovParsonMO) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovParsonMO/status/1624975598492823552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Congrats to the Chiefs’ offensive line, Coach Big Red, and Chief Nation. I salute the Eagles and a great season, a great game.&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1624974958962135041?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Congratulations to the Super Bowl LVII Champions — our Kansas City Chiefs! <a href="https://t.co/A4BxAcpk8R">https://t.co/A4BxAcpk8R</a>&mdash; Senator Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) <a href="https://twitter.com/JerryMoran/status/1624972235151646721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Never a doubt, not for a second! The <a href="https://twitter.com/Chiefs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Chiefs</a> are Super Bowl Champs! <a href="https://t.co/82OktHnNt2">https://t.co/82OktHnNt2</a>&mdash; Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (@repcleaver) <a href="https://twitter.com/repcleaver/status/1624973083671945221?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">LET&#39;S GO!!!!! ❤️💛 <a href="https://t.co/Rl6Df5ONUp">https://t.co/Rl6Df5ONUp</a>&mdash; Sharice Davids (@sharicedavids) <a href="https://twitter.com/sharicedavids/status/1624971155982393345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Congratulations to Andy Reid, Patrick Mahomes, and the entire Chiefs organization on a fantastic season and incredible Super Bowl victory! There&#39;s no better fan base in the world to be a part of than <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChiefsKingdom?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ChiefsKingdom</a>. Let&#39;s go Chiefs! <a href="https://t.co/Ekl40yO1lv">https://t.co/Ekl40yO1lv</a>&mdash; Rep. Jake LaTurner (@RepLaTurner) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepLaTurner/status/1624977893154488323?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>

Elected officials celebrate Chiefs on Super Bowl 57 victory

KANSAS CITY—Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas announced the Chiefs Champions parade is scheduled for Wednesday, February 15.

<a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bda12e63c3a534dbded3a5f/t/63ea74466ea80378442293ee/1676309578689/SBMAP_2023.pdf">The parade kicks off </a>at at noon at Sixth Street and Grand Boulevard, working its way down Grand until finally heading west at Union Station. The rally at Union Station&nbsp;and the National <a href="https://www.theworldwar.org/">WWI Museum and Memorial north lawn </a>will begin at approximately 1:45p.m and last approximately 1 hour.

The National WWI Museum and Memorial <a href="https://www.theworldwar.org/">will offer reserved parking</a> and a discount admission rate for those who attend the parade.

Kansas City Public Schools canceled classes for Wednesday.

For the most updated information on transit, public safety, and other news relating to the Chiefs Kingdom Champions Parade, please sign up to receive notifications from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcmo.gov/talk-to-us/hear-from-us/alertkc" target="_blank">ALERTKC</a>&nbsp;by texting “KCPARADE” to 888-777.&nbsp;

The parade kicks off at noon and will last approximately an hour and a half, according to a statement from the city.

The city did not release specifics on the parade. However, in 2020, the parade route included traveling down Grand Boulevard in downtown Kansas City. It turned on Pershing Road and ended at Union Station

Wednesday's rally is scheduled to begin at approximately 1:45p.m. in front of Union Station and the National WWI Museum and Memorial north lawn. The rally will last approximately 1 hour.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676320844619.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas announced the Chiefs Champions parade is scheduled for Wednesday, February 15.<a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bda12e63c3a534dbded3a5f/t/63ea74466ea80378442293ee/1676309578689/SBMAP_2023.pdf">The parade kicks off </a>at at noon at Sixth Street and Grand Boulevard, working its way down Grand until finally heading west at Union Station. The rally at Union Station&nbsp;and the National <a href="https://www.theworldwar.org/">WWI Museum and Memorial north lawn </a>will begin at approximately 1:45p.m and last approximately 1 hour.The National WWI Museum and Memorial <a href="https://www.theworldwar.org/">will offer reserved parking</a> and a discount admission rate for those who attend the parade.Kansas City Public Schools canceled classes for Wednesday.For the most updated information on transit, public safety, and other news relating to the Chiefs Kingdom Champions Parade, please sign up to receive notifications from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcmo.gov/talk-to-us/hear-from-us/alertkc" target="_blank">ALERTKC</a>&nbsp;by texting “KCPARADE” to 888-777.&nbsp;KANSAS CITY—Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas announced the Chiefs Champions parade is scheduled for Wednesday, February 15.The parade kicks off at noon and will last approximately an hour and a half, according to a statement from the city.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">LET’S HAVE A PARADE WEDNESDAY!!!&mdash; Mayor Q (@QuintonLucasKC) <a href="https://twitter.com/QuintonLucasKC/status/1624970461162655744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The city did not release specifics on the parade. However, in 2020, the parade route included traveling down Grand Boulevard in downtown Kansas City. It turned on Pershing Road and ended at Union StationWednesday's rally is scheduled to begin at approximately 1:45p.m. in front of Union Station and the National WWI Museum and Memorial north lawn. The rally will last approximately 1 hour.&nbsp;Kansas City Public Schools canceled classes for Wednesday.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Congratulations to the Super Bowl Champions Kansas City <a href="https://twitter.com/Chiefs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Chiefs</a>! The entire city is overflowing with pride and excitement. REMEMBER KCPS: We will still have school tomorrow Monday, but we will have the day off on Wednesday to celebrate with the city.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChiefsKingdom?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ChiefsKingdom</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/KCPSProud?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#KCPSProud</a>🏈 <a href="https://t.co/TvjIfvZ873">pic.twitter.com/TvjIfvZ873</a>&mdash; KCPS (@kcpublicschools) <a href="https://twitter.com/kcpublicschools/status/1624990125552721920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 13, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>For the most updated information on transit, public safety, and other news relating to the Chiefs Kingdom Champions Parade, please sign up to receive notifications from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcmo.gov/talk-to-us/hear-from-us/alertkc" target="_blank">ALERTKC</a>&nbsp;by texting “KCPARADE” to 888-777.&nbsp;

Chiefs Kingdom Champions Parade set for Wednesday 

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. fighter jet shot down an “unidentified object” over Lake Huron on Sunday on orders from President Joe Biden. It was the fourth such downing in eight days and the latest military strike in an extraordinary chain of events over U.S. airspace that Pentagon officials believe has no peacetime precedent.

Part of the reason for the repeated shootdowns is a “heightened alert” following a spy balloon from China that emerged over U.S. airspace in late January, Gen. Glen VanHerck, head of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, said in a briefing with reporters.

Since then, fighter jets last week also shot down objects over Canada and Alaska. Pentagon officials said they posed no security threats, but so little was known about them that Pentagon officials were ruling nothing out — not even UFOs.

“We have been more closely scrutinizing our airspace at these altitudes, including enhancing our radar, which may at least partly explain the increase,” said Melissa Dalton, assistant defense secretary for homeland defense.

U.S. authorities have made clear that they constantly monitor for unknown radar blips, and it is not unusual to shut down airspace as a precaution to evaluate them. But the unusually assertive response was raising questions about whether such use of force was warranted, particularly as administration officials said the objects were not of great national security concern and the downings were just out of caution.

VanHerck said the U.S. adjusted its radar so it could track slower objects. “With some adjustments, we’ve been able to get a better categorization of radar tracks now," he said, "and that’s why I think you’re seeing these, plus there’s a heightened alert to look for this information."

He added: “I believe this is the first time within United States or American airspace that NORAD or United States Northern Command has taken kinetic action against an airborne object."

Asked if officials have ruled out extraterrestrials, VanHerck said, “I haven’t ruled out anything at this point.”

The Pentagon officials said they were still trying to determine what exactly the objects were and said they had considered using the jets' guns instead of missiles, but it proved to be too difficult. They drew a strong distinction between the three shot down over this weekend and the balloon from China.

The extraordinary air defense activity began in late January, when a white orb the officials said was from China appeared over the U.S. and hovered above the nation for days before fighter jets downed it off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. That event played out over livestream. Many Americans have been captivated by the drama playing out in the skies as fighter jets scramble to shoot down objects.

The latest brought down was first detected on Saturday evening over Montana, but it was initially thought to be an anomaly. Radar picked it up again Sunday hovering over the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and it was going over Lake Huron, Pentagon officials said Sunday.

U.S. and Canadian authorities had restricted some airspace over the lake earlier Sunday as planes were scrambled to intercept and try to identify the object. According to a senior administration official, the object was octagonal, with strings hanging off, but had no discernable payload. It was flying low at about 20,000 feet, said the official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.

Meanwhile, U.S. officials were still trying to precisely identify two other objects shot down by F-22 fighter jets, and were working to determine whether&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-balloon-espionage-1cca3467f32a2751b35ec1686aadc310">China was responsible</a>&nbsp;as concerns escalated about what Washington said was Beijing's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chinese-balloon-military-involvement-e45c759cb00294e83989fa35970935bc">large-scale aerial surveillance program.</a>

An&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-states-government-canada-ottawa-93071207f2bbdf93b591d6b40ce1cb5a">object shot down Saturday over Canada's Yukon</a>&nbsp;was described by U.S. officials as a balloon significantly smaller than the balloon — the size of three school buses — hit by a missile Feb. 4.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-shoots-down-unknown-flying-object-175f9078d1df36e392b2956ba771001e">A flying object brought down over the remote northern coast of Alaska on Friday</a>&nbsp;was more cylindrical and described as a type of airship.

Both were believed to have a payload, either attached or suspended from them, according to the officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation. Officials were not able to say who launched the objects and were seeking to figure out their origin.

The three objects were much smaller in size, different in appearance and flew at lower altitudes than the suspected spy balloon that fell into the Atlantic Ocean after the U.S. missile strike.

The officials said the other three objects were not consistent with the fleet of Chinese aerial surveillance balloons that targeted more than 40 countries, stretching back at least into the Trump administration.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told ABC’s “This Week” that U.S. officials were working quickly to recover debris. Using shorthand to describe the objects as balloons, he said U.S military and intelligence officials were “focused like a laser” on gathering and accumulating the information, then compiling a comprehensive analysis.

“The bottom line is until a few months ago we didn’t know about these balloons,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said of the spy program that the administration has linked to the People’s Liberation Army, China’s military. “It is wild that we didn’t know.”

Eight days ago, F-22 jets downed the large white balloon that had wafted over the U.S. for days at an altitude of about 60,000 feet. U.S. officials immediately blamed China, saying the balloon was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals and could maneuver itself. White House officials said improved surveillance capabilities helped detect it.

China's Foreign Ministry said the unmanned balloon was a civilian meteorological airship that had blown off course. Beijing said the U.S. had “overreacted” by shooting it down.

Then, on Friday, North American Aerospace Defense Command, the combined U.S.-Canada organization that provides shared defense of airspace over the two nations, detected and shot down an object near sparsely populated Deadhorse, Alaska.

Later that evening, NORAD detected a second object, flying at a high altitude over Alaska, U.S. officials said. It crossed into Canadian airspace on Saturday and was over the Yukon, a remote territory, when it was ordered shot down by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

In both of those incidents, the objects were flying at roughly 40,000 feet. The object on Sunday was flying at 20,000 feet.

The cases have increased diplomatic tensions between the United States and China, raised questions about the extent of Beijing’s American surveillance, and prompted days of criticism from Republican lawmakers about the administration’s response.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. fighter jet shot down an “unidentified object” over Lake Huron on Sunday on orders from President Joe Biden, believed to be the same one tracked over Montana and monitored by the government beginning the night before, the Pentagon said.

It was the fourth object shot out of the sky by U.S. fighter jets in eight days, along with ones over Alaska and Canada and a suspected Chinese spy balloon. Pentagon officials have said they don’t know when the last shootdown of an unknown or unauthorized object over U.S. territory occurred before this spate of incidents.

The extraordinary air defense activity began in late January, when a white orb the officials said was from China appeared over the U.S. and hovered above the nation for days before fighter jets downed it off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. That event played out over livestream. Since, then many Americans have been captivated by the drama playing out in the skies as fighter jets scramble to shoot down objects.

The latest brought down was first detected on Saturday evening over Montana, but it was initially thought to be an anomaly. Radar picked it up again Sunday hovering over the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and it was going over Lake Huron, according to U.S. officials, who had knowledge of the downings and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive operations.

U.S. and Canadian authorities had restricted some airspace over the lake earlier Sunday as planes were scrambled to intercept and try to identify the object. It was octagonal, with strings hanging off, but had no discernable payload. It was flying low at about 20,000 feet, according to one of the officials.

Rep. Mike Turner, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said the administration was looking “somewhat trigger-happy.”

“Although that is certainly preferable to the permissive environment they showed when the Chinese spy balloon was coming over some of most sensitive sites,” Turner, R-Ohio, told CNN’s “State of the Union.”

After the shootdown last weekend, Chinese officials said they reserved the right to “take further actions” and criticized the U.S. for “an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.”

Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, urged the administration to be as forthcoming as possible, saying the lack of solid information was fueling online speculation.

Himes said it was clear from briefings in recent years “that there is a lot of garbage up there” in the sky.

“The truth is that most of our sensors and most of what we were looking for didn’t look like balloons,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — An "unidentified object” was shot down Sunday for the third time in as many days, this time over Lake Huron, after earlier ones in Alaska and Canada, U.S. officials said.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., tweeted that “the object has been downed by pilots from the U.S. Air Force and National Guard." The shootdown was confirmed by two U.S. officials who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

U.S. and Canadian authorities had restricted some airspace over the lake earlier Sunday as planes were scrambled to intercept and try to identify the object.

The news comes as U.S. officials were still trying to precisely identify the other two objects blown from the sky by F-22 fighter jets over the past two days, and were working to determine whether&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-balloon-espionage-1cca3467f32a2751b35ec1686aadc310">China was responsible</a>&nbsp;as concerns escalate about what Washington says is Beijing's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chinese-balloon-military-involvement-e45c759cb00294e83989fa35970935bc">large-scale aerial surveillance program.</a>

The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-states-government-canada-ottawa-93071207f2bbdf93b591d6b40ce1cb5a">object shot down Saturday over the Yukon</a>&nbsp;was described by U.S. officials as a balloon significantly smaller than the three school bus-size balloon hit by a missile Feb. 4 while drifting off the South Carolina coast after traversing the country.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-shoots-down-unknown-flying-object-175f9078d1df36e392b2956ba771001e">A flying object brought down over the remote northern coast of Alaska on Friday</a>&nbsp;was more cylindrical and described as a type of airship.

U.S. officials said the two more recent objects were much smaller in size, different in appearance and flew at lower altitudes than the suspected Chinese spy balloon that fell into the Atlantic Ocean after the U.S. missile strike. They said the Alaska and Canada objects were not consistent with the fleet of Chinese aerial surveillance balloons that targeted more than 40 countries, stretching back at least into the Trump administration.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chinese-surveillance-balloon-united-states-montana-47248b0ef2b085620fcd866c105054be">That large white orb first appeared over the U.S.</a>&nbsp;in late January, and since then Americans have been fixated on the sky above them. U.S. authorities made clear that they constantly monitor for unknown radar blips, and it is not unusual to shut down airspace as a precaution to evaluate them.

On Sunday, the U.S. briefly closed the airspace over Lake Michigan; on Saturday night, that was done over rural Montana. Officials Sunday said they were no longer tracking any objects over those locations.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. fighter jet shot down an “unidentified object” over Lake Huron on Sunday on orders from President Joe Biden. It was the fourth such downing in eight days and the latest military strike in an extraordinary chain of events over U.S. airspace that Pentagon officials believe has no peacetime precedent.Part of the reason for the repeated shootdowns is a “heightened alert” following a spy balloon from China that emerged over U.S. airspace in late January, Gen. Glen VanHerck, head of NORAD and U.S. Northern Command, said in a briefing with reporters.Since then, fighter jets last week also shot down objects over Canada and Alaska. Pentagon officials said they posed no security threats, but so little was known about them that Pentagon officials were ruling nothing out — not even UFOs.“We have been more closely scrutinizing our airspace at these altitudes, including enhancing our radar, which may at least partly explain the increase,” said Melissa Dalton, assistant defense secretary for homeland defense.U.S. authorities have made clear that they constantly monitor for unknown radar blips, and it is not unusual to shut down airspace as a precaution to evaluate them. But the unusually assertive response was raising questions about whether such use of force was warranted, particularly as administration officials said the objects were not of great national security concern and the downings were just out of caution.VanHerck said the U.S. adjusted its radar so it could track slower objects. “With some adjustments, we’ve been able to get a better categorization of radar tracks now," he said, "and that’s why I think you’re seeing these, plus there’s a heightened alert to look for this information."He added: “I believe this is the first time within United States or American airspace that NORAD or United States Northern Command has taken kinetic action against an airborne object."Asked if officials have ruled out extraterrestrials, VanHerck said, “I haven’t ruled out anything at this point.”The Pentagon officials said they were still trying to determine what exactly the objects were and said they had considered using the jets' guns instead of missiles, but it proved to be too difficult. They drew a strong distinction between the three shot down over this weekend and the balloon from China.The extraordinary air defense activity began in late January, when a white orb the officials said was from China appeared over the U.S. and hovered above the nation for days before fighter jets downed it off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. That event played out over livestream. Many Americans have been captivated by the drama playing out in the skies as fighter jets scramble to shoot down objects.The latest brought down was first detected on Saturday evening over Montana, but it was initially thought to be an anomaly. Radar picked it up again Sunday hovering over the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and it was going over Lake Huron, Pentagon officials said Sunday.U.S. and Canadian authorities had restricted some airspace over the lake earlier Sunday as planes were scrambled to intercept and try to identify the object. According to a senior administration official, the object was octagonal, with strings hanging off, but had no discernable payload. It was flying low at about 20,000 feet, said the official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.Meanwhile, U.S. officials were still trying to precisely identify two other objects shot down by F-22 fighter jets, and were working to determine whether&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-balloon-espionage-1cca3467f32a2751b35ec1686aadc310">China was responsible</a>&nbsp;as concerns escalated about what Washington said was Beijing's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chinese-balloon-military-involvement-e45c759cb00294e83989fa35970935bc">large-scale aerial surveillance program.</a>An&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-states-government-canada-ottawa-93071207f2bbdf93b591d6b40ce1cb5a">object shot down Saturday over Canada's Yukon</a>&nbsp;was described by U.S. officials as a balloon significantly smaller than the balloon — the size of three school buses — hit by a missile Feb. 4.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-shoots-down-unknown-flying-object-175f9078d1df36e392b2956ba771001e">A flying object brought down over the remote northern coast of Alaska on Friday</a>&nbsp;was more cylindrical and described as a type of airship.Both were believed to have a payload, either attached or suspended from them, according to the officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation. Officials were not able to say who launched the objects and were seeking to figure out their origin.The three objects were much smaller in size, different in appearance and flew at lower altitudes than the suspected spy balloon that fell into the Atlantic Ocean after the U.S. missile strike.The officials said the other three objects were not consistent with the fleet of Chinese aerial surveillance balloons that targeted more than 40 countries, stretching back at least into the Trump administration.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told ABC’s “This Week” that U.S. officials were working quickly to recover debris. Using shorthand to describe the objects as balloons, he said U.S military and intelligence officials were “focused like a laser” on gathering and accumulating the information, then compiling a comprehensive analysis.“The bottom line is until a few months ago we didn’t know about these balloons,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said of the spy program that the administration has linked to the People’s Liberation Army, China’s military. “It is wild that we didn’t know.”Eight days ago, F-22 jets downed the large white balloon that had wafted over the U.S. for days at an altitude of about 60,000 feet. U.S. officials immediately blamed China, saying the balloon was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals and could maneuver itself. White House officials said improved surveillance capabilities helped detect it.China's Foreign Ministry said the unmanned balloon was a civilian meteorological airship that had blown off course. Beijing said the U.S. had “overreacted” by shooting it down.Then, on Friday, North American Aerospace Defense Command, the combined U.S.-Canada organization that provides shared defense of airspace over the two nations, detected and shot down an object near sparsely populated Deadhorse, Alaska.Later that evening, NORAD detected a second object, flying at a high altitude over Alaska, U.S. officials said. It crossed into Canadian airspace on Saturday and was over the Yukon, a remote territory, when it was ordered shot down by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.In both of those incidents, the objects were flying at roughly 40,000 feet. The object on Sunday was flying at 20,000 feet.The cases have increased diplomatic tensions between the United States and China, raised questions about the extent of Beijing’s American surveillance, and prompted days of criticism from Republican lawmakers about the administration’s response.___WASHINGTON (AP) — A U.S. fighter jet shot down an “unidentified object” over Lake Huron on Sunday on orders from President Joe Biden, believed to be the same one tracked over Montana and monitored by the government beginning the night before, the Pentagon said.It was the fourth object shot out of the sky by U.S. fighter jets in eight days, along with ones over Alaska and Canada and a suspected Chinese spy balloon. Pentagon officials have said they don’t know when the last shootdown of an unknown or unauthorized object over U.S. territory occurred before this spate of incidents.U.S. authorities have made clear that they constantly monitor for unknown radar blips, and it is not unusual to shut down airspace as a precaution to evaluate them. But the unusually assertive response was raising questions about whether such use of force was warranted, particularly as administration officials said the objects were not of great national security concern and the downings were just out of caution.The extraordinary air defense activity began in late January, when a white orb the officials said was from China appeared over the U.S. and hovered above the nation for days before fighter jets downed it off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. That event played out over livestream. Since, then many Americans have been captivated by the drama playing out in the skies as fighter jets scramble to shoot down objects.The latest brought down was first detected on Saturday evening over Montana, but it was initially thought to be an anomaly. Radar picked it up again Sunday hovering over the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and it was going over Lake Huron, according to U.S. officials, who had knowledge of the downings and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive operations.U.S. and Canadian authorities had restricted some airspace over the lake earlier Sunday as planes were scrambled to intercept and try to identify the object. It was octagonal, with strings hanging off, but had no discernable payload. It was flying low at about 20,000 feet, according to one of the officials.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675809745976.jpeg" alt="This image provided by the U.S. Navy shows sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recovering a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Feb. 5, 2023. (U.S. Navy via AP)" />
 <figcaption>This image provided by the U.S. Navy shows sailors assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 2 recovering a high-altitude surveillance balloon off the coast of Myrtle Beach, S.C., Feb. 5, 2023. (U.S. Navy via AP)</figcaption>
 </figure>Meanwhile, U.S. officials were still trying to precisely identify two other objects shot down by F-22 fighter jets, and were working to determine whether&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-balloon-espionage-1cca3467f32a2751b35ec1686aadc310">China was responsible</a>&nbsp;as concerns escalated about what Washington said was Beijing's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chinese-balloon-military-involvement-e45c759cb00294e83989fa35970935bc">large-scale aerial surveillance program.</a>An&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-states-government-canada-ottawa-93071207f2bbdf93b591d6b40ce1cb5a">object shot down Saturday over Canada's Yukon</a>&nbsp;was described by U.S. officials as a balloon significantly smaller than the balloon — the size of three school buses — hit by a missile Feb. 4.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-shoots-down-unknown-flying-object-175f9078d1df36e392b2956ba771001e">A flying object brought down over the remote northern coast of Alaska on Friday</a>&nbsp;was more cylindrical and described as a type of airship.Both were believed to have a payload, either attached or suspended from them, according to the officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation. Officials were not able to say who launched the objects and were seeking to figure out their origin.The three objects were much smaller in size, different in appearance and flew at lower altitudes than the suspected spy balloon that fell into the Atlantic Ocean after the U.S. missile strike.The officials said the other three objects were not consistent with the fleet of Chinese aerial surveillance balloons that targeted more than 40 countries, stretching back at least into the Trump administration.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told ABC’s “This Week” that U.S. officials were working quickly to recover debris. Using shorthand to describe the objects as balloons, he said U.S military and intelligence officials were “focused like a laser” on gathering and accumulating the information, then compiling a comprehensive analysis.“The bottom line is until a few months ago we didn’t know about these balloons,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said of the spy program that the administration has linked to the People’s Liberation Army, China’s military. “It is wild that we didn’t know.”Eight days ago, F-22 jets downed the large white balloon that had wafted over the U.S. for days at an altitude of about 60,000 feet. U.S. officials immediately blamed China, saying the balloon was equipped to detect and collect intelligence signals and could maneuver itself. White House officials said improved surveillance capabilities helped detect it.China's Foreign Ministry said the unmanned balloon was a civilian meteorological airship that had blown off course. Beijing said the U.S. had “overreacted” by shooting it down.Then, on Friday, North American Aerospace Defense Command, the combined U.S.-Canada organization that provides shared defense of airspace over the two nations, detected and shot down an object near sparsely populated Deadhorse, Alaska.Later that evening, NORAD detected a second object, flying at a high altitude over Alaska, U.S. officials said. It crossed into Canadian airspace on Saturday and was over the Yukon, a remote territory, when it was ordered shot down by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.In both of those incidents, the objects were flying at roughly 40,000 feet. The object on Sunday was flying at 20,000 feet.The cases have increased diplomatic tensions between the United States and China, raised questions about the extent of Beijing’s American surveillance, and prompted days of criticism from Republican lawmakers about the administration’s response.Rep. Mike Turner, chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said the administration was looking “somewhat trigger-happy.”“Although that is certainly preferable to the permissive environment they showed when the Chinese spy balloon was coming over some of most sensitive sites,” Turner, R-Ohio, told CNN’s “State of the Union.”After the shootdown last weekend, Chinese officials said they reserved the right to “take further actions” and criticized the U.S. for “an obvious overreaction and a serious violation of international practice.”Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, urged the administration to be as forthcoming as possible, saying the lack of solid information was fueling online speculation.Himes said it was clear from briefings in recent years “that there is a lot of garbage up there” in the sky.“The truth is that most of our sensors and most of what we were looking for didn’t look like balloons,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”WASHINGTON (AP) — An "unidentified object” was shot down Sunday for the third time in as many days, this time over Lake Huron, after earlier ones in Alaska and Canada, U.S. officials said.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The object has been downed by pilots from the US Air Force and National Guard. Great work by all who carried out this mission both in the air and back at headquarters. We’re all interested in exactly what this object was and it’s purpose. 1/ <a href="https://t.co/LsjwtjntCv">https://t.co/LsjwtjntCv</a>&mdash; Rep. Elissa Slotkin (@RepSlotkin) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepSlotkin/status/1624875335643721740?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 12, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., tweeted that “the object has been downed by pilots from the U.S. Air Force and National Guard." The shootdown was confirmed by two U.S. officials who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.U.S. and Canadian authorities had restricted some airspace over the lake earlier Sunday as planes were scrambled to intercept and try to identify the object.The news comes as U.S. officials were still trying to precisely identify the other two objects blown from the sky by F-22 fighter jets over the past two days, and were working to determine whether&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/china-balloon-espionage-1cca3467f32a2751b35ec1686aadc310">China was responsible</a>&nbsp;as concerns escalate about what Washington says is Beijing's&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chinese-balloon-military-involvement-e45c759cb00294e83989fa35970935bc">large-scale aerial surveillance program.</a>The&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/united-states-government-canada-ottawa-93071207f2bbdf93b591d6b40ce1cb5a">object shot down Saturday over the Yukon</a>&nbsp;was described by U.S. officials as a balloon significantly smaller than the three school bus-size balloon hit by a missile Feb. 4 while drifting off the South Carolina coast after traversing the country.&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-shoots-down-unknown-flying-object-175f9078d1df36e392b2956ba771001e">A flying object brought down over the remote northern coast of Alaska on Friday</a>&nbsp;was more cylindrical and described as a type of airship.Both were believed to have a payload, either attached or suspended from them, according to the officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing investigation. Officials were not able to say who launched the objects and were seeking to figure out their origin.U.S. officials said the two more recent objects were much smaller in size, different in appearance and flew at lower altitudes than the suspected Chinese spy balloon that fell into the Atlantic Ocean after the U.S. missile strike. They said the Alaska and Canada objects were not consistent with the fleet of Chinese aerial surveillance balloons that targeted more than 40 countries, stretching back at least into the Trump administration.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chinese-surveillance-balloon-united-states-montana-47248b0ef2b085620fcd866c105054be">That large white orb first appeared over the U.S.</a>&nbsp;in late January, and since then Americans have been fixated on the sky above them. U.S. authorities made clear that they constantly monitor for unknown radar blips, and it is not unusual to shut down airspace as a precaution to evaluate them.On Sunday, the U.S. briefly closed the airspace over Lake Michigan; on Saturday night, that was done over rural Montana. Officials Sunday said they were no longer tracking any objects over those locations.

US jets down 4 objects in 8 days, unprecedented in peacetime

WICHITA —A man was sentenced to 210 months in prison for child pornography distribution, according to the United State's Attorney.

According to court documents, in August 2022, Bradley Wiley, 29, of Chico, California, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography.

In August 2021, while Wiley was a member of U.S. Air Force stationed at McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas, he used a Whatsapp account to send another user images of prepubescent children made to engage in sexual acts.

The Department of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) investigated the case.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675962711402.png" alt="Wiley-photo Butler County" />
 <figcaption>Wiley-photo Butler County</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA —A man was sentenced to 210 months in prison for child pornography distribution, according to the United State's Attorney.According to court documents, in August 2022, Bradley Wiley, 29, of Chico, California, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography.In August 2021, while Wiley was a member of U.S. Air Force stationed at McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas, he used a Whatsapp account to send another user images of prepubescent children made to engage in sexual acts.The Department of the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) investigated the case.

Former Airman at Kan. base used Whatsapp to send child porn

SEWARD COUNTY—One person died in an accident just after 2:30a.m. Sunday in Seward County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Felipe Gutierrez, 17, Syracuse, was&nbsp;northbound on U.S. 83 four and one half miles north from the Kansas 51 negotiating a curve.

The Jeep left the roadway to the northbound shoulder and the driver overcorrected. The Jeep entered a side skid, traveling north in the southbound lanes before entering the ditch

The vehicle continued the side skid while in the ditch, tipped and rolled an unknown number of times before coming to rest upright facing southwest.

Four juveniles were passengers in the vehicle. One juvenile died from injuries in the crash.&nbsp; EMS transported Gutierrez to Southwest Medical Center.&nbsp; Only Gutierrez and one of the passengers were properly restrained, according to the KHP.&nbsp; The juvenile who died was not wearing a seat belt. The KHP released no additional details.

SEWARD COUNTY—One person died in an accident just after 2:30a.m. Sunday in Seward County.The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Felipe Gutierrez, 17, Syracuse, was&nbsp;northbound on U.S. 83 four and one half miles north from the Kansas 51 negotiating a curve.The Jeep left the roadway to the northbound shoulder and the driver overcorrected. The Jeep entered a side skid, traveling north in the southbound lanes before entering the ditchThe vehicle continued the side skid while in the ditch, tipped and rolled an unknown number of times before coming to rest upright facing southwest.Four juveniles were passengers in the vehicle. One juvenile died from injuries in the crash.&nbsp; EMS transported Gutierrez to Southwest Medical Center.&nbsp; Only Gutierrez and one of the passengers were properly restrained, according to the KHP.&nbsp; The juvenile who died was not wearing a seat belt. The KHP released no additional details.

Juvenile dies, 4 others injured in rollover crash on Kan. highway 

Review board has recommended clemency 27 times in 12 years

By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/10/kansas-woman-who-killed-her-rapist-faces-long-odds-for-clemency/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Sarah Gonzales-McLinn faces long odds in her bid for clemency based on the rarity in which the Prisoner Review Board recommends approval, the willingness of governors to wield their power, the severity of her crime and opposition from those close to Hal Sasko.

Gonzales-McLinn murdered Sasko in January 2014 after he held her 
captive in his Lawrence home and raped her repeatedly for months. A 
group of advocates filed a clemency application on her behalf in 
December.

Kansas Reflector on Jan. 30 published <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/01/30/she-killed-her-rapist-after-months-of-abuse-advocates-say-kansas-governor-should-set-her-free/">an in-depth story</a>
 detailing the abuse, which was substantiated by police documents. The 
jury wasn’t allowed to hear the evidence of abuse during her 2015 trial,
 where she was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to a 
minimum of 50 years in prison. She later accepted a plea deal that 
lowered the required prison time to at least 25 years in exchange for 
giving up the right to appeal.

Gonzales-McLinn’s supporters hope to persuade Gov. Laura Kelly to 
grant Gonzales-McLinn clemency. The governor’s office won’t comment on 
the situation before the Prisoner Review Board makes a recommendation.

“The true purpose of clemency is twofold — to provide access to mercy
 and to correct an injustice,” said Dave Ranney, a retired journalist 
and advocate for Gonzales-McLinn. “Most people, I think, would agree 
that someone who’s been through as much sexual and mental trauma as 
Sarah has deserves mercy. And the notion that an abused individual who 
kills his or her abuser is somehow forbidden from discussing that abuse 
in front of a jury is an injustice that warrants correction.”

The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.doc.ks.gov/prb">Prisoner Review Board</a>
 is tasked with evaluating the scores of clemency applications it 
receives every year and making recommendations to the governor. The 
board has recommended clemency for 25 men and two women since its 
inception in 2011, according to data provided by the Kansas Department 
of Corrections.

Kelly and her four predecessors combined have used their clemency power a total of 18 times in 20 years.

Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius issued one pardon during her six 
years in office. Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson pardoned four people as 
he filled out her term.

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback established the Prisoner Review Board through an executive order in 2011. He <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/politics/state/2017/10/10/brownback-grants-first-pardon-kansas-governor-man-convicted/16525380007/">issued a pardon</a> in 2017 for a man who received recommendation from the board.

Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/politics/state/2019/01/11/gov-jeff-colyer-issues-two-pardons-one-commutation-of-sentence/6319004007/">granted clemency to three individuals</a>, including two recommended by the board.

Kelly <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/06/24/kansas-governor-grants-clemency-to-8-embracing-political-risk-in-rare-use-of-power/">granted clemency to eight individuals</a> in 2021. Only one of them had been recommended by the board.

When governors use their power to issue a pardon or commute a 
sentence, it typically involves drug-related or financial crimes. 
Gonzales-McLinn, who is 28 and has been incarcerated for nine years, 
presents an unprecedented argument.

Her application for clemency effectively asks the governor: How much time should a woman spend in prison for killing her rapist?

The answer is complicated by the violent way Gonzales-McLinn killed 
Sasko. She spiked his drink, bound his limbs, slashed his throat and 
wrote “FREEDOM” on the wall in his blood. When police questioned her, 
she admitted her actions.

Anne Sasko, who has communicated with the Prisoner Review Board, said
 she and her daughter have to “relive this nightmare” every time the 
news media writes about her ex-husband. She believes Gonzales-McLinn 
should remain in prison.

“She chose to stay, then she chose to murder,” Anne Sasko said in an 
email to Kansas Reflector. “Aggravative, heinous and definitely 
premeditated, nearly decapitating another human being. I can only hope 
you focus on the true victims in this case and just understand we are in
 pain every single day because of what she chose to do to him.”

Gonzales-McLinn moved in with Hal Sasko when she was 17 and he was 
50. He offered to take care of her, providing access to alcohol and 
drugs. After she turned 18, he told her she would have to have sex with 
him as a condition of staying, and that she couldn’t leave until she 
paid him thousands of dollars for rent, phone bills, and unwanted 
cosmetic surgery. He threatened to sue her and wreck her credit rating 
if she left. She said she would drink herself into a nearly unconscious 
state in order to have sex with him, by her estimation, two or three 
times a week for 10 months.

“I wish I could say that I was just this ideal 17-year-old girl when I
 moved in there,” Gonzales-McLinn said in a phone interview from prison.
 “But that’s not true. If I was, I don’t think he would have picked me, 
and I don’t think the tactics would have worked as well. But for the 
year that I lived there with him, I just felt like all of the pain 
building up and building up.”

Her story was supported by a psychologist and confidential police 
reports based on interviews with Hal Sasko’s family and friends. The 
police reports showed he favored girls like Gonzales-McLinn who had been
 “abused, battered, dumped, trouble with the law, or massive complaints 
about their moms.” At the time of the murder, he was grooming twin 
16-year-old girls whose mother had inquired about obtaining a 
restraining order.

Becca Spielman, program director for the Center for Safety and 
Empowerment at YWCA Northeast Kansas, works regularly with survivors of 
domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and human trafficking. 
Spielman said there are misconceptions about why someone would stay in 
an abusive relationship, “and I think that comes from a lack of 
understanding about how complex these issues of violence are.”

Typically, she said, there isn’t violence at the onset of a 
relationship. There is usually some level of commitment. A survivor may 
feel tied to her abuser because of housing needs, job security or 
substance abuse. Financial abuse, Spielman said, is evident in 98% of 
the YWCA’s clients.

“We see financial abuse being a huge part of the violence that has 
occurred,” Spielman said. “That level of dependency, it becomes 
impossible to leave or to get some level of independence.”

Gonzales-McLinn felt like her only way to escape was to kill herself or kill Hal Sasko.

“I never had this mentality of, ‘I’m just going to get out scot-free,
 that’s what I’m fighting for, that’s what I want.’ But I did always 
want what was fair,” Gonzales-McLinn said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/1/1675096337419.jpeg" alt="Sarah Gonzales-McLinn holds a Lab she is training to be a service dog at the women’s prison in Topeka. (Submitted to Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Sarah Gonzales-McLinn holds a Lab she is training to be a service dog at the women’s prison in Topeka. (Submitted to Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Review board has recommended clemency 27 times in 12 years</h2>By SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/10/kansas-woman-who-killed-her-rapist-faces-long-odds-for-clemency/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Sarah Gonzales-McLinn faces long odds in her bid for clemency based on the rarity in which the Prisoner Review Board recommends approval, the willingness of governors to wield their power, the severity of her crime and opposition from those close to Hal Sasko.Gonzales-McLinn murdered Sasko in January 2014 after he held her 
captive in his Lawrence home and raped her repeatedly for months. A 
group of advocates filed a clemency application on her behalf in 
December.Kansas Reflector on Jan. 30 published <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/01/30/she-killed-her-rapist-after-months-of-abuse-advocates-say-kansas-governor-should-set-her-free/">an in-depth story</a>
 detailing the abuse, which was substantiated by police documents. The 
jury wasn’t allowed to hear the evidence of abuse during her 2015 trial,
 where she was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to a 
minimum of 50 years in prison. She later accepted a plea deal that 
lowered the required prison time to at least 25 years in exchange for 
giving up the right to appeal.Gonzales-McLinn’s supporters hope to persuade Gov. Laura Kelly to 
grant Gonzales-McLinn clemency. The governor’s office won’t comment on 
the situation before the Prisoner Review Board makes a recommendation.“The true purpose of clemency is twofold — to provide access to mercy
 and to correct an injustice,” said Dave Ranney, a retired journalist 
and advocate for Gonzales-McLinn. “Most people, I think, would agree 
that someone who’s been through as much sexual and mental trauma as 
Sarah has deserves mercy. And the notion that an abused individual who 
kills his or her abuser is somehow forbidden from discussing that abuse 
in front of a jury is an injustice that warrants correction.”The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.doc.ks.gov/prb">Prisoner Review Board</a>
 is tasked with evaluating the scores of clemency applications it 
receives every year and making recommendations to the governor. The 
board has recommended clemency for 25 men and two women since its 
inception in 2011, according to data provided by the Kansas Department 
of Corrections.Kelly and her four predecessors combined have used their clemency power a total of 18 times in 20 years.Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius issued one pardon during her six 
years in office. Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson pardoned four people as 
he filled out her term.Republican Gov. Sam Brownback established the Prisoner Review Board through an executive order in 2011. He <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/politics/state/2017/10/10/brownback-grants-first-pardon-kansas-governor-man-convicted/16525380007/">issued a pardon</a> in 2017 for a man who received recommendation from the board.Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cjonline.com/story/news/politics/state/2019/01/11/gov-jeff-colyer-issues-two-pardons-one-commutation-of-sentence/6319004007/">granted clemency to three individuals</a>, including two recommended by the board.Kelly <a target="_blank" href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/06/24/kansas-governor-grants-clemency-to-8-embracing-political-risk-in-rare-use-of-power/">granted clemency to eight individuals</a> in 2021. Only one of them had been recommended by the board.When governors use their power to issue a pardon or commute a 
sentence, it typically involves drug-related or financial crimes. 
Gonzales-McLinn, who is 28 and has been incarcerated for nine years, 
presents an unprecedented argument.Her application for clemency effectively asks the governor: How much time should a woman spend in prison for killing her rapist?The answer is complicated by the violent way Gonzales-McLinn killed 
Sasko. She spiked his drink, bound his limbs, slashed his throat and 
wrote “FREEDOM” on the wall in his blood. When police questioned her, 
she admitted her actions.Anne Sasko, who has communicated with the Prisoner Review Board, said
 she and her daughter have to “relive this nightmare” every time the 
news media writes about her ex-husband. She believes Gonzales-McLinn 
should remain in prison.“She chose to stay, then she chose to murder,” Anne Sasko said in an 
email to Kansas Reflector. “Aggravative, heinous and definitely 
premeditated, nearly decapitating another human being. I can only hope 
you focus on the true victims in this case and just understand we are in
 pain every single day because of what she chose to do to him.”Gonzales-McLinn moved in with Hal Sasko when she was 17 and he was 
50. He offered to take care of her, providing access to alcohol and 
drugs. After she turned 18, he told her she would have to have sex with 
him as a condition of staying, and that she couldn’t leave until she 
paid him thousands of dollars for rent, phone bills, and unwanted 
cosmetic surgery. He threatened to sue her and wreck her credit rating 
if she left. She said she would drink herself into a nearly unconscious 
state in order to have sex with him, by her estimation, two or three 
times a week for 10 months.“I wish I could say that I was just this ideal 17-year-old girl when I
 moved in there,” Gonzales-McLinn said in a phone interview from prison.
 “But that’s not true. If I was, I don’t think he would have picked me, 
and I don’t think the tactics would have worked as well. But for the 
year that I lived there with him, I just felt like all of the pain 
building up and building up.”Her story was supported by a psychologist and confidential police 
reports based on interviews with Hal Sasko’s family and friends. The 
police reports showed he favored girls like Gonzales-McLinn who had been
 “abused, battered, dumped, trouble with the law, or massive complaints 
about their moms.” At the time of the murder, he was grooming twin 
16-year-old girls whose mother had inquired about obtaining a 
restraining order.<div><iframe width="100%" height="300" scrolling="no" frameborder="no" allow="autoplay" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/1430750524&color=%23ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&show_teaser=true&visual=true"></iframe><div style="font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;"><a href="https://soundcloud.com/kansas-reflector-podcast" title="Reflector Podcast" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Reflector Podcast</a> · <a href="https://soundcloud.com/kansas-reflector-podcast/2023-01-30-podcast" title="Sarah Gonzales-McLinn on killing Sasko and her request for clemency" target="_blank" style="color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;">Sarah Gonzales-McLinn on killing Sasko and her request for clemency</a></div></div>Becca Spielman, program director for the Center for Safety and 
Empowerment at YWCA Northeast Kansas, works regularly with survivors of 
domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and human trafficking. 
Spielman said there are misconceptions about why someone would stay in 
an abusive relationship, “and I think that comes from a lack of 
understanding about how complex these issues of violence are.”Typically, she said, there isn’t violence at the onset of a 
relationship. There is usually some level of commitment. A survivor may 
feel tied to her abuser because of housing needs, job security or 
substance abuse. Financial abuse, Spielman said, is evident in 98% of 
the YWCA’s clients.“We see financial abuse being a huge part of the violence that has 
occurred,” Spielman said. “That level of dependency, it becomes 
impossible to leave or to get some level of independence.”Gonzales-McLinn felt like her only way to escape was to kill herself or kill Hal Sasko.“I never had this mentality of, ‘I’m just going to get out scot-free,
 that’s what I’m fighting for, that’s what I want.’ But I did always 
want what was fair,” Gonzales-McLinn said.

🎙 Kansas woman who killed her rapist faces long odds for clemency

By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/10/house-committee-tackles-bill-designed-to-inhibit-resident-dumping-by-kansas-adult-care-facilities/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — The Kansas adult assisted-living industry pushed back 
against legislation creating in state law requirements for informing 
residents in advance of involuntary discharge or transfer orders and 
establishing in statute the right of residents to appeal those 
decisions.

The House bill was developed with assistance from the Kansas Judicial
 Council amid evidence elderly people were subjected to gut-wrenching 
involuntary discharges without warning or justificiation. In some 
instances, facilities had residents admitted to a hospital and refused 
to take them back. Dumping vulnerable residents — people with dimentia, 
behavioral challenges or viewed as difficult to be around — could have 
life-or-death consequences.

State long-term care ombudsman Camille Russell, who advocates for 
rights of Kansans in nursing facilities, long-term care units of 
hospitals, assisted living centers and other residential models, said 
Thursday during a House Judiciary Committee hearing it was important 
Kansans had appeal rights etched in state law so involuntary discharges 
from adult care homes could be independently reviewed.

She said discharges in violation of administrative regulations 
continued to be one of the most frequent complaints to the ombudsman’s 
office.

“There are many homes that rarely find reason to issue a notice of 
involuntary discharge. There are also facilities that are ‘serial 
offenders,’ some that fail to provide the required written notice at 
all, while others do not provide an appropriate reason or rationale,” 
Russell said.

LeadingAge Kansas president Rachel Monger said the association of not-for-profit and faith-based aging services believed <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/fisc_note_hb2246_00_0000.pdf">House Bill 2246</a>
 would improperly require residential facilities to care for clients 
while discharge appeals were pending. Administrative appeals could delay
 movement of residents to facilities properly equipped and staffed to 
meet their needs, she said.

“Forcing an assisted living facility to retain a resident whose needs
 it cannot meet has wide-ranging and seriously negative effects on the 
health and safety of residents and the continued affordability and 
operations of residential care settings,” Monger said.

Linda MowBray, president of the Kansas Health Care Association and 
Kansas Center for Assisted Living, said it would be a mistake to 
implement a law forcing state-licensed homes to retain or readmit a 
resident no longer viewed by administrators as a good fit for that 
facility.

“The amount of time given in HB 2246 for an appeal to happen is just 
the tip of the iceberg. Appeal after appeal could drag on for months. It
 would be irresponsible with the potential for grave consequences for a 
community to attempt to care for someone whose needs are clearly outside
 of the services they can provide,” MowBray said.

Shelley Gromer, vice president of Guest Home Estates with 99 
residents scattered among six facilities in Caney, Chanute, Erie, 
Pittsburg and Garnett, said she operated facilities with capacities 
ranging from 11 to 25 residents. She said it would be unfair for the 
state to remove from operators the authority to determine who was an 
appropriate match in each of those locations.

“This could put our small homes out of business and cause problems for our staff and residents,” Gromer said.

Under the proposed House bill, administrators at assisted living, 
residential healthcare, home plus or boarding care home facilities in 
Kansas would be required to provide residents written notice for an 
involuntary transfer or discharge at least 30 days before the scheduled 
move unless the resident had an urgent medical need or was a danger to 
others. The notice would have to be forwarded to the resident in person,
 placed in the individual’s record, sent to the resident’s 
representative and provided to the state’s long-term care ombudsman.

Discharging facilities would be required to fill out a form outlining
 reasons and supporting evidence for the involuntary removal. The 
document would include names and contact information, effective date of 
the transfer or discharge and a copy of the notice of appeal.

The administrator of the care facility would be obligated under the 
House bill to develop a discharge plan before taking that step.

An appeal would have to be filed on behalf of a resident within 15 
days of receiving an ouster notice. That appeal could be sought by a 
representative of the resident, including the state’s long-term care 
ombudsman. A state administrative hearing would have to take place 
within 15 days of the appeal filing. The hearing officer would issue a 
decision within 10 days.

During the appellate process, the bill said, the resident would be 
allowed to remain in the facility or be permitted to resume residence at
 the facility.

A comparable system for emergency movement orders would be carved out
 with administrators required to notify the resident 48 hours prior to a
 transfer or discharge, with the secretary of the Kansas Department for 
Aging and Disability Services responsible for defining what constituted 
an emergency. An emergency eviction could be appealed within seven days 
of receiving notice. The hearing would be within 14 days of the appeal 
and hearing officers would have five days to rule.

The Kansas Judicial Council recommended a provision in the bill 
provide some amount of liability protection to facilities from lawsuits 
alleging negligence if the care facility didn’t deliver services to an 
appealing resident “outside the scope of the negotiated service 
agreement.”

Alexandra English, director of Kansas Legal Services’ Elder Rights 
Project, participated on the Judicial Council’s advisory committee that 
explored the involuntary discharge issue. The recommendation on 
structure of an appeal process was drawn from concepts adopted in other 
states, she said.

The Kansas model drew from Alaska’s requirement assisted living 
facilities meet informally with a resident to discuss appropriateness of
 involuntary discharges before filing of an appeal, she said.

“Ultimately, a majority of the committee determined that House Bill 
2246 was the best, most comprehensive plan that balanced the rights of 
residents to appeal involuntary discharges while also giving assisted 
living facilities the ability to keep residents safe and preserve their 
business interests,” English said.

<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/committees/ctte_h_jud_1/misc_documents/download_testimony/ctte_h_jud_1_20230209_19_testimony.html">English said Kansas was in need of a system better able to protect vulnerable residents</a>
 in assisted living facilities. Existing regulations for assisted living
 businesses fell short of matching rights held by people in nursing 
homes or tenants of rental units. Homeowners facing foreclosure have 
broader rights than residents of assisted living units, she said.

“Kansas’ regulations require that the resident receive notice, but do
 not provide any sort of appeal process for residents of assisted living
 facilities,” she said. “Why should this one segment, of one of the most
 vulnerable populations, be excluded? Are their rights not as important 
as others?”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676052747219.png" alt="Linda MowBray, president of the Kansas Health Care Association and Kansas Center for Assisted Living, offered a House committee financial, medical and legal objections to a bill creating a state law —a supplement to state regulations — requiring an appeals process for residents of assisted living facilities facing involuntarily discharge. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Kansas Legislature YouTube channel)" />
 <figcaption>Linda MowBray, president of the Kansas Health Care Association and Kansas Center for Assisted Living, offered a House committee financial, medical and legal objections to a bill creating a state law —a supplement to state regulations — requiring an appeals process for residents of assisted living facilities facing involuntarily discharge. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Kansas Legislature YouTube channel)</figcaption>
 </figure>By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/10/house-committee-tackles-bill-designed-to-inhibit-resident-dumping-by-kansas-adult-care-facilities/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — The Kansas adult assisted-living industry pushed back 
against legislation creating in state law requirements for informing 
residents in advance of involuntary discharge or transfer orders and 
establishing in statute the right of residents to appeal those 
decisions.The House bill was developed with assistance from the Kansas Judicial
 Council amid evidence elderly people were subjected to gut-wrenching 
involuntary discharges without warning or justificiation. In some 
instances, facilities had residents admitted to a hospital and refused 
to take them back. Dumping vulnerable residents — people with dimentia, 
behavioral challenges or viewed as difficult to be around — could have 
life-or-death consequences.State long-term care ombudsman Camille Russell, who advocates for 
rights of Kansans in nursing facilities, long-term care units of 
hospitals, assisted living centers and other residential models, said 
Thursday during a House Judiciary Committee hearing it was important 
Kansans had appeal rights etched in state law so involuntary discharges 
from adult care homes could be independently reviewed.She said discharges in violation of administrative regulations 
continued to be one of the most frequent complaints to the ombudsman’s 
office.“There are many homes that rarely find reason to issue a notice of 
involuntary discharge. There are also facilities that are ‘serial 
offenders,’ some that fail to provide the required written notice at 
all, while others do not provide an appropriate reason or rationale,” 
Russell said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676052827583.png" alt=" Camille Russell, state long-term care ombudsman, requested passage of a state law requiring residents of assisted living facilities get 30-day advance notice of involuntary dismissal and have a chance to appeal the decision. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Kansas Legislature YouTube channel)" />
 <figcaption> Camille Russell, state long-term care ombudsman, requested passage of a state law requiring residents of assisted living facilities get 30-day advance notice of involuntary dismissal and have a chance to appeal the decision. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Kansas Legislature YouTube channel)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>‘Tip of the iceberg’</h2>LeadingAge Kansas president Rachel Monger said the association of not-for-profit and faith-based aging services believed <a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/measures/documents/fisc_note_hb2246_00_0000.pdf">House Bill 2246</a>
 would improperly require residential facilities to care for clients 
while discharge appeals were pending. Administrative appeals could delay
 movement of residents to facilities properly equipped and staffed to 
meet their needs, she said.“Forcing an assisted living facility to retain a resident whose needs
 it cannot meet has wide-ranging and seriously negative effects on the 
health and safety of residents and the continued affordability and 
operations of residential care settings,” Monger said.Linda MowBray, president of the Kansas Health Care Association and 
Kansas Center for Assisted Living, said it would be a mistake to 
implement a law forcing state-licensed homes to retain or readmit a 
resident no longer viewed by administrators as a good fit for that 
facility.“The amount of time given in HB 2246 for an appeal to happen is just 
the tip of the iceberg. Appeal after appeal could drag on for months. It
 would be irresponsible with the potential for grave consequences for a 
community to attempt to care for someone whose needs are clearly outside
 of the services they can provide,” MowBray said.Shelley Gromer, vice president of Guest Home Estates with 99 
residents scattered among six facilities in Caney, Chanute, Erie, 
Pittsburg and Garnett, said she operated facilities with capacities 
ranging from 11 to 25 residents. She said it would be unfair for the 
state to remove from operators the authority to determine who was an 
appropriate match in each of those locations.“This could put our small homes out of business and cause problems for our staff and residents,” Gromer said.<h2>The fine print</h2>Under the proposed House bill, administrators at assisted living, 
residential healthcare, home plus or boarding care home facilities in 
Kansas would be required to provide residents written notice for an 
involuntary transfer or discharge at least 30 days before the scheduled 
move unless the resident had an urgent medical need or was a danger to 
others. The notice would have to be forwarded to the resident in person,
 placed in the individual’s record, sent to the resident’s 
representative and provided to the state’s long-term care ombudsman.Discharging facilities would be required to fill out a form outlining
 reasons and supporting evidence for the involuntary removal. The 
document would include names and contact information, effective date of 
the transfer or discharge and a copy of the notice of appeal.The administrator of the care facility would be obligated under the 
House bill to develop a discharge plan before taking that step.An appeal would have to be filed on behalf of a resident within 15 
days of receiving an ouster notice. That appeal could be sought by a 
representative of the resident, including the state’s long-term care 
ombudsman. A state administrative hearing would have to take place 
within 15 days of the appeal filing. The hearing officer would issue a 
decision within 10 days.During the appellate process, the bill said, the resident would be 
allowed to remain in the facility or be permitted to resume residence at
 the facility.A comparable system for emergency movement orders would be carved out
 with administrators required to notify the resident 48 hours prior to a
 transfer or discharge, with the secretary of the Kansas Department for 
Aging and Disability Services responsible for defining what constituted 
an emergency. An emergency eviction could be appealed within seven days 
of receiving notice. The hearing would be within 14 days of the appeal 
and hearing officers would have five days to rule.The Kansas Judicial Council recommended a provision in the bill 
provide some amount of liability protection to facilities from lawsuits 
alleging negligence if the care facility didn’t deliver services to an 
appealing resident “outside the scope of the negotiated service 
agreement.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676052892134.png" alt="Alexandra English of Kansas Legal Services said Kansans facing involuntary discharge from an assisted living facility could benefit from enactment of a Kansas House bill setting out notice and appeal rights of residents. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Kansas Legislature YouTube channel)" />
 <figcaption>Alexandra English of Kansas Legal Services said Kansans facing involuntary discharge from an assisted living facility could benefit from enactment of a Kansas House bill setting out notice and appeal rights of residents. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Kansas Legislature YouTube channel)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Selective denial of rights</h2>Alexandra English, director of Kansas Legal Services’ Elder Rights 
Project, participated on the Judicial Council’s advisory committee that 
explored the involuntary discharge issue. The recommendation on 
structure of an appeal process was drawn from concepts adopted in other 
states, she said.The Kansas model drew from Alaska’s requirement assisted living 
facilities meet informally with a resident to discuss appropriateness of
 involuntary discharges before filing of an appeal, she said.“Ultimately, a majority of the committee determined that House Bill 
2246 was the best, most comprehensive plan that balanced the rights of 
residents to appeal involuntary discharges while also giving assisted 
living facilities the ability to keep residents safe and preserve their 
business interests,” English said.<a target="_blank" href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2023_24/committees/ctte_h_jud_1/misc_documents/download_testimony/ctte_h_jud_1_20230209_19_testimony.html">English said Kansas was in need of a system better able to protect vulnerable residents</a>
 in assisted living facilities. Existing regulations for assisted living
 businesses fell short of matching rights held by people in nursing 
homes or tenants of rental units. Homeowners facing foreclosure have 
broader rights than residents of assisted living units, she said.“Kansas’ regulations require that the resident receive notice, but do
 not provide any sort of appeal process for residents of assisted living
 facilities,” she said. “Why should this one segment, of one of the most
 vulnerable populations, be excluded? Are their rights not as important 
as others?”

Kan. House tackles bill to inhibit adult care 'resident dumping'

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A man whose 2-year-old son drowned in a swimming pool in Wichita has been convicted of first-degree murder.

William Kabutu was convicted Thursday in the July 7, 2020, death of Omari Garcia in a pool at a mobile home park.

Prosecutors said Kabutu was drunk when he allowed Amari and his 4-year-old brother to squeeze through a fence around the closed pool. Amari went into the water and drowned.

Kabutu was unable to get into the pool because of the fence and locked gate, prosecutors said.

He was convicted of first-degree murder, an alternative count of second-degree murder, and two counts of aggravated child endangerment. He will be sentenced on April 18.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1594241055278.png" alt="First responders on the scene of the drowning in July of 2020 -photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>First responders on the scene of the drowning in July of 2020 -photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A man whose 2-year-old son drowned in a swimming pool in Wichita has been convicted of first-degree murder.William Kabutu was convicted Thursday in the July 7, 2020, death of Omari Garcia in a pool at a mobile home park.Prosecutors said Kabutu was drunk when he allowed Amari and his 4-year-old brother to squeeze through a fence around the closed pool. Amari went into the water and drowned.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1594423107291.png" alt="Kabutu-photo Sedgwick Co." />
 <figcaption>Kabutu-photo Sedgwick Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Kabutu was unable to get into the pool because of the fence and locked gate, prosecutors said.He was convicted of first-degree murder, an alternative count of second-degree murder, and two counts of aggravated child endangerment. He will be sentenced on April 18.

Kan. man convicted of murder after 2-year-old son drowns 

By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/09/kansas-gun-rights-advocates-renew-call-for-firearm-safety-programs-in-all-k-12-public-schools/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Advocates for implementing a statewide gun-safety program in
 Kansas public schools urged the Senate to get behind a bill requiring 
the Kansas State Board of Education to establish curriculum guidelines 
for instruction of students from kindergarten through high school.

A comparable bill approved by the 2021 Legislature and vetoed by Gov.
 Laura Kelly also drew upon the “Eddie Eagle” initiative offered through
 the National Rifle Association for children in kindergarten to eighth 
grade. Students in eighth through the 12th grades would be eligible for 
the firearm training program coordinated by the Kansas Department of 
Wildlife and Parks.

The Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee on Wednesday took up 
Senate Bill 116, which offered a blueprint for exposing Kansas students 
to as many as 13 years of firearm training in public schools. It emerged
 at the Capitol at the same time Kansas legislators weighed proposals to
 forbid K-12 educators from delving into so-called “woke” subjects such 
as diversity and equity. Other bills in the Legislature would place in 
state law broader authority for parents to challenge classroom or 
library LGBTQ materials considered offensive to them.

Moriah Day, executive director of the Kansas State Rifle Association,
 said the state affiliate of the NRA requested reintroduction of the 
bill because establishing a unified curriculum for firearm education in 
public schools was “the only way to counteract the dangerous perspective
 many young people have from learning about firearms only through 
violent and careless examples on display across pop culture.”

He said the NRA approach was pragmatic because it acknowledged 
firearms were part of preparation for dangers of everyday life in the 
way advice was shared about the being safe while swimming, using 
electrical outlets or around fire hazards.

Johnson County resident Ephren Taylor III also addressed the Senate 
committee, but pointed to research indicating the Eddie Eagle program 
was “absolutely ineffective.” He said lobbying for firearm training in 
Kansas public schools was part of a campaign to build support for the 
NRA.

“Let’s be honest,” Taylor said. “We know why we’re choosing the NRA’s
 program. It’s not about gun safety. It’s about promoting the NRA to 
young kids so when they grow up they say, ‘Oh, Eddie Eagle. I remember 
him.’ You want to indoctrinate young kids into loyal NRA supporters.”

Olathe North High School student Aarushi Pore said the Senate bill 
would do nothing to impede school shootings. There were at least 50 in 
the United States during 2022, she said, the highest figure in five 
years.

“Every single day in America, students like me live in fear,” she 
said. “Fear of our present day at school being our last. We have been 
living in fear like it is normal to do so, hoping that our government 
can step up and provide effective change for the generation-long issues 
that we have been facing. ”

Under the Senate bill, the state Board of Education would be 
compelled to establish curriculum guidelines for firearm safety training
 conforming to programs offered by the NRA and Department of Wildlife 
and Parks. A local school board would make the final decision about 
whether to offer students instruction in gun safety.

If adopted in the 2023 legislative session, the statute would take 
effect July 1 and the new firearm programs could begin this fall. The 
Senate bill would require nearly 500,000 students in Kansas schools be 
afforded an opportunity to study how to responsibly deal with a gun. The
 anticipated annual cost of the program to the state would be $70,000.

Under the bill, students in kindergarten through grade five would 
exclusively have access to the NRA’s trademarked Eddie Eagle program. 
Students in grades six through eight would be in either the Eddie Eagle 
curriculum or the hunter safety program of the Department of Wildlife 
and Parks. The state parks department’s Hunter Education In Our Schools 
Program would be exclusive in grades nine through 12.

Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, a Wichita Democrat, said she was mildly 
supportive of the bill in the past because it was to honor the memory of
 Roy’Ale Spencer, a 9-year-old accidently killed by a shotgun blast in 
2019. An 11-year-old friend had been handling the weapon when it fired. 
Faust-Goudeau said she withdrew support because Republicans refused to 
include a mandate Kansans store weapons in locked boxes.

There is merit to adding firearm safety training to schools just as 
the state proactively dealt with risks of inclement weather and fire 
emergencies, said Meade Republican Sen. Ron Ryckman Sr. He joked about 
his childhood when school officials had students practice huddling under
 classroom desks as if that might be useful during a nuclear attack.

“We’ve done this forever — trying to teach safety,” Ryckman said. “This would be a good one.”

Sen. Rick Kloos, the Berryton Republican, asked whether relying on 
NRA instructional materials the teach children as young as 5 years old 
about firearms might be significant in terms of vocal opposition to the 
bill.

“There may be a little hesitation, right, that comes around three 
letters,” said Rep. Patrick Penn, R-Wichita. “I didn’t think three 
letters should stop a child from being safe. I would say, let’s take the
 partisanship out of this. Let’s focus on the kids. We could have a good
 Kansas win for a change.”

Travis Couture-Lovelady, state director of the Kansas NRA’s political
 division, said the organization recruited hunting-focused organizations
 to support the bill in Kansas. During the Senate hearing, the Safari 
Club International and Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation touted it.

Darren LaSorte, of the firearms trade association known as the 
National Shooting Sports Foundation, said the bill ought to receive 
unanimous support from all 125 representatives, 40 senators and the 
governor.

“History and experience show that education must be encouraged, not 
suppressed. The anti-firearm zealots have weaponized firearm safety 
education and it is tragic. They cannot be suppressed and discouraged 
due to the political agendas of the most radical elements in our 
society,” LaSorte said.

State Board of Education member Ann Mah, who serves as a board 
liaison with the Legislature, said they were pleased the current version
 of the Senate bill left to local school districts the option of 
adopting the firearm education curriculum. She said the bill was 
unnecessary because Kansas districts already had authority to adopt 
firearm training programs.

“While the KSBOE understands the importance of firearm safety 
training, it rejects the notion that the Kansas Legislature has 
authority to set curricular standards in Kansas public schools. It is 
the purview of the KSBOE to set curricular standards. It is the purview 
of local boards of education to determine the curriculum to be used to 
meet those standards,” Mah said.

She said there was no evidence any Kansas school district had 
requested the state board develop a standardized curriculum on firearm 
education and training.

Lauren Tice Miller, a representative of the Kansas National Education
 Association, said the decision to place children in a gun safety 
program should be left to parents. Those programs ought to be operated 
outside the school day and outside school buildings, she said.

“A gun safety curriculum is far beyond the core reading, writing and 
arithmetic slogan that many Kansans would like to see emphasized,” said 
Pat Gouger of Overland Park. “Using the NRA as a supplier of such 
education is problematic at best. It’s aiding a corrupt, criminally 
negligent or complicit organization at worst.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675966767643.png" alt="Rep. Patrick Penn, R-Wichita, said the Kansas Legislature should put politics aside and pass a bill requiring the Kansas State Board of Education to approve curriculum on gun safety incorporating the National Rifle Association’s trademarked Eddie Eagle program to broaden gun safety efforts in K-12 public schools. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Rep. Patrick Penn, R-Wichita, said the Kansas Legislature should put politics aside and pass a bill requiring the Kansas State Board of Education to approve curriculum on gun safety incorporating the National Rifle Association’s trademarked Eddie Eagle program to broaden gun safety efforts in K-12 public schools. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2023/02/09/kansas-gun-rights-advocates-renew-call-for-firearm-safety-programs-in-all-k-12-public-schools/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Advocates for implementing a statewide gun-safety program in
 Kansas public schools urged the Senate to get behind a bill requiring 
the Kansas State Board of Education to establish curriculum guidelines 
for instruction of students from kindergarten through high school.A comparable bill approved by the 2021 Legislature and vetoed by Gov.
 Laura Kelly also drew upon the “Eddie Eagle” initiative offered through
 the National Rifle Association for children in kindergarten to eighth 
grade. Students in eighth through the 12th grades would be eligible for 
the firearm training program coordinated by the Kansas Department of 
Wildlife and Parks.The Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee on Wednesday took up 
Senate Bill 116, which offered a blueprint for exposing Kansas students 
to as many as 13 years of firearm training in public schools. It emerged
 at the Capitol at the same time Kansas legislators weighed proposals to
 forbid K-12 educators from delving into so-called “woke” subjects such 
as diversity and equity. Other bills in the Legislature would place in 
state law broader authority for parents to challenge classroom or 
library LGBTQ materials considered offensive to them.Moriah Day, executive director of the Kansas State Rifle Association,
 said the state affiliate of the NRA requested reintroduction of the 
bill because establishing a unified curriculum for firearm education in 
public schools was “the only way to counteract the dangerous perspective
 many young people have from learning about firearms only through 
violent and careless examples on display across pop culture.”He said the NRA approach was pragmatic because it acknowledged 
firearms were part of preparation for dangers of everyday life in the 
way advice was shared about the being safe while swimming, using 
electrical outlets or around fire hazards.Johnson County resident Ephren Taylor III also addressed the Senate 
committee, but pointed to research indicating the Eddie Eagle program 
was “absolutely ineffective.” He said lobbying for firearm training in 
Kansas public schools was part of a campaign to build support for the 
NRA.“Let’s be honest,” Taylor said. “We know why we’re choosing the NRA’s
 program. It’s not about gun safety. It’s about promoting the NRA to 
young kids so when they grow up they say, ‘Oh, Eddie Eagle. I remember 
him.’ You want to indoctrinate young kids into loyal NRA supporters.”Olathe North High School student Aarushi Pore said the Senate bill 
would do nothing to impede school shootings. There were at least 50 in 
the United States during 2022, she said, the highest figure in five 
years.“Every single day in America, students like me live in fear,” she 
said. “Fear of our present day at school being our last. We have been 
living in fear like it is normal to do so, hoping that our government 
can step up and provide effective change for the generation-long issues 
that we have been facing. ”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675966828405.png" alt=" Kansas State Board of Education member Ann Mah said the Legislature didn’t have authority to order the constitutionally elected state board to develop a firearm training program for K-12 public school districts. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Kansas Legislature YouTube channel)" />
 <figcaption> Kansas State Board of Education member Ann Mah said the Legislature didn’t have authority to order the constitutionally elected state board to develop a firearm training program for K-12 public school districts. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Kansas Legislature YouTube channel)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>July 1 launch?</h2>Under the Senate bill, the state Board of Education would be 
compelled to establish curriculum guidelines for firearm safety training
 conforming to programs offered by the NRA and Department of Wildlife 
and Parks. A local school board would make the final decision about 
whether to offer students instruction in gun safety.If adopted in the 2023 legislative session, the statute would take 
effect July 1 and the new firearm programs could begin this fall. The 
Senate bill would require nearly 500,000 students in Kansas schools be 
afforded an opportunity to study how to responsibly deal with a gun. The
 anticipated annual cost of the program to the state would be $70,000.Under the bill, students in kindergarten through grade five would 
exclusively have access to the NRA’s trademarked Eddie Eagle program. 
Students in grades six through eight would be in either the Eddie Eagle 
curriculum or the hunter safety program of the Department of Wildlife 
and Parks. The state parks department’s Hunter Education In Our Schools 
Program would be exclusive in grades nine through 12.Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, a Wichita Democrat, said she was mildly 
supportive of the bill in the past because it was to honor the memory of
 Roy’Ale Spencer, a 9-year-old accidently killed by a shotgun blast in 
2019. An 11-year-old friend had been handling the weapon when it fired. 
Faust-Goudeau said she withdrew support because Republicans refused to 
include a mandate Kansans store weapons in locked boxes.There is merit to adding firearm safety training to schools just as 
the state proactively dealt with risks of inclement weather and fire 
emergencies, said Meade Republican Sen. Ron Ryckman Sr. He joked about 
his childhood when school officials had students practice huddling under
 classroom desks as if that might be useful during a nuclear attack.“We’ve done this forever — trying to teach safety,” Ryckman said. “This would be a good one.”Sen. Rick Kloos, the Berryton Republican, asked whether relying on 
NRA instructional materials the teach children as young as 5 years old 
about firearms might be significant in terms of vocal opposition to the 
bill.“There may be a little hesitation, right, that comes around three 
letters,” said Rep. Patrick Penn, R-Wichita. “I didn’t think three 
letters should stop a child from being safe. I would say, let’s take the
 partisanship out of this. Let’s focus on the kids. We could have a good
 Kansas win for a change.”Travis Couture-Lovelady, state director of the Kansas NRA’s political
 division, said the organization recruited hunting-focused organizations
 to support the bill in Kansas. During the Senate hearing, the Safari 
Club International and Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation touted it.Darren LaSorte, of the firearms trade association known as the 
National Shooting Sports Foundation, said the bill ought to receive 
unanimous support from all 125 representatives, 40 senators and the 
governor.“History and experience show that education must be encouraged, not 
suppressed. The anti-firearm zealots have weaponized firearm safety 
education and it is tragic. They cannot be suppressed and discouraged 
due to the political agendas of the most radical elements in our 
society,” LaSorte said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675966870458.png" alt=" Ephren Taylor III opposed a bill creating firearm safety curriculum for K-12 public schools because it featured a National Rifle Association program designed to “indoctrinate young kids into loyal NRA supporters.” (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Kansas Legislature YouTube channel)" />
 <figcaption> Ephren Taylor III opposed a bill creating firearm safety curriculum for K-12 public schools because it featured a National Rifle Association program designed to “indoctrinate young kids into loyal NRA supporters.” (Kansas Reflector screen capture from Kansas Legislature YouTube channel)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>‘Unabashed greed’</h2>State Board of Education member Ann Mah, who serves as a board 
liaison with the Legislature, said they were pleased the current version
 of the Senate bill left to local school districts the option of 
adopting the firearm education curriculum. She said the bill was 
unnecessary because Kansas districts already had authority to adopt 
firearm training programs.“While the KSBOE understands the importance of firearm safety 
training, it rejects the notion that the Kansas Legislature has 
authority to set curricular standards in Kansas public schools. It is 
the purview of the KSBOE to set curricular standards. It is the purview 
of local boards of education to determine the curriculum to be used to 
meet those standards,” Mah said.She said there was no evidence any Kansas school district had 
requested the state board develop a standardized curriculum on firearm 
education and training.Lauren Tice Miller, a representative of the Kansas National Education
 Association, said the decision to place children in a gun safety 
program should be left to parents. Those programs ought to be operated 
outside the school day and outside school buildings, she said.“A gun safety curriculum is far beyond the core reading, writing and 
arithmetic slogan that many Kansans would like to see emphasized,” said 
Pat Gouger of Overland Park. “Using the NRA as a supplier of such 
education is problematic at best. It’s aiding a corrupt, criminally 
negligent or complicit organization at worst.”

Kan. gun-rights advocates renew call for K-12 firearm safety programs

By DYLAN LYSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-02-09/dont-bet-on-kansas-making-much-money-from-all-that-super-bowl-gambling">Kansas News Service</a>

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s gambling choices could cost the state money
 if the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl. But don’t sweat it — the 
stakes are low.

Sports bookies like the state make money off 
losing bets. They try to set odds so the amount bet for or against a 
team winning (or a point total or even the coin toss) roughly equals 
out. That’s harder to do on a big game with a local team involved.

Bettors
 in Kansas, putting their money where their hearts are, are counting on 
the Chiefs to win. If they’re right, the game could be one of those rare
 times when the casinos and the state actually pay out more winnings 
than the losing bets they pocket on newly legal sports betting.

But legal sports gambling in Kansas makes so little revenue for the 
state that Kansans can root for Kansas City to win on Sunday and happily
 watch Kelly and so many other Chiefs fans cash in on a win by the local
 team.

During her kickoff of the state’s <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-08-18/kansas-kicks-off-sports-betting-sept-1-a-week-before-the-nfl-season" target="_blank">legal sports gambling operation in September</a>,
 Kelly placed a $15 bet to win $150 of what could have been the state’s 
money if the hometown team went all the way to an NFL championship.

Many
 Kansans are making that same kind of bet heading into what is already 
the biggest sports gambling day of the year. Cory Thone, a spokesperson 
for the Kansas Lottery, said the state doesn’t have an estimate for how 
much money will be wagered in Kansas for this year’s big game, but it 
will likely be millions or even tens of millions.

“We’re eager to 
see what it looks like,” Thone said, “because it’s our first time having
 sports betting in the state during the Super Bowl. And wouldn’t you 
know it, the Chiefs are in there.”

However, the vast majority of 
the money generated from sports gambling in Kansas goes to the private 
companies that manage the state-sponsored casinos. The state, on the 
other hand, takes in just 10% of the profits off sports bets. If one of 
the casinos takes in $1 million off losing bets, the state gets only 
$100,000.

So Kelly — who placed her bet while wearing a jacket emblazoned with a
 logo of one of those private companies — could see a payout 10 times 
what she wagered. The state, in contrast, would only get a one-tenth of 
what the casinos win on the same betting event. And with lopsided local 
betting on the Chiefs, a Kansas City win might actually make a rare 
loser out of the casinos — and the state.

The state’s portion is also less than half of what it takes from 
traditional gambling, like slot machines and blackjack. The casinos fork
 over 27% of that revenue. But Thone said more operational costs go into
 sports betting, which offers the additional option of placing bets 
online.

Regardless, those funds aren’t much more than a rounding 
error in the state’s budget. Officials estimate sports gambling will 
generate up to $10 million a year. That’s barely 0.1% of the state’s 
$9.5 billion general fund budget.

Daniel Wallach, a Florida-based 
attorney specializing in regulating sports betting, said the revenue 
Kansas takes home from its operation is in line with most of the other 
states with legal sports betting. He said the average is between 10 and 
15%.

“So they are on the low side of the average,” Wallach said.

The
 American Gaming Association estimates $16 billion in legal wagers will 
be placed on the Super Bowl nationally. The revenue generated from that 
number will be much smaller. In 2022, Kansas casinos oversaw $718 
million in sports wagers. <a href="https://www.kslottery.com/media/3803/sports-wagering-monthly-detail-2022-12.pdf" target="_blank">That only netted taxpayers $2 million</a>.

Other
 factors may lead to a spike in bets placed in Kansas. Some neighboring 
states still don’t have legal sports betting, including <a href="https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2023-02-09/sports-betting-super-bowl-kansas-city-chiefs-missouri-gambling-laws" target="_blank">the Chiefs’ home in Missouri</a>. The Missouri Independent reports more than 220,000 people in Missouri tried to place 8.7 million bets during the NFL season.

Wallach said Kansas will likely see many Missouri and Oklahoma residents cross the border to gamble.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675975152877.png" alt="Kansas expects to see a spike in sports wagers on Super Bowl Sunday. But the vast majority of the money generated from sports gambling in Kansas goes to the managers of the state-sponsored casinos, which are private companies. Dylan Lysen / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Kansas expects to see a spike in sports wagers on Super Bowl Sunday. But the vast majority of the money generated from sports gambling in Kansas goes to the managers of the state-sponsored casinos, which are private companies. Dylan Lysen / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By DYLAN LYSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2023-02-09/dont-bet-on-kansas-making-much-money-from-all-that-super-bowl-gambling">Kansas News Service</a>Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s gambling choices could cost the state money
 if the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl. But don’t sweat it — the 
stakes are low.Sports bookies like the state make money off 
losing bets. They try to set odds so the amount bet for or against a 
team winning (or a point total or even the coin toss) roughly equals 
out. That’s harder to do on a big game with a local team involved.Bettors
 in Kansas, putting their money where their hearts are, are counting on 
the Chiefs to win. If they’re right, the game could be one of those rare
 times when the casinos and the state actually pay out more winnings 
than the losing bets they pocket on newly legal sports betting.But legal sports gambling in Kansas makes so little revenue for the 
state that Kansans can root for Kansas City to win on Sunday and happily
 watch Kelly and so many other Chiefs fans cash in on a win by the local
 team.During her kickoff of the state’s <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2022-08-18/kansas-kicks-off-sports-betting-sept-1-a-week-before-the-nfl-season" target="_blank">legal sports gambling operation in September</a>,
 Kelly placed a $15 bet to win $150 of what could have been the state’s 
money if the hometown team went all the way to an NFL championship.Many
 Kansans are making that same kind of bet heading into what is already 
the biggest sports gambling day of the year. Cory Thone, a spokesperson 
for the Kansas Lottery, said the state doesn’t have an estimate for how 
much money will be wagered in Kansas for this year’s big game, but it 
will likely be millions or even tens of millions.“We’re eager to 
see what it looks like,” Thone said, “because it’s our first time having
 sports betting in the state during the Super Bowl. And wouldn’t you 
know it, the Chiefs are in there.”However, the vast majority of 
the money generated from sports gambling in Kansas goes to the private 
companies that manage the state-sponsored casinos. The state, on the 
other hand, takes in just 10% of the profits off sports bets. If one of 
the casinos takes in $1 million off losing bets, the state gets only 
$100,000.So Kelly — who placed her bet while wearing a jacket emblazoned with a
 logo of one of those private companies — could see a payout 10 times 
what she wagered. The state, in contrast, would only get a one-tenth of 
what the casinos win on the same betting event. And with lopsided local 
betting on the Chiefs, a Kansas City win might actually make a rare 
loser out of the casinos — and the state.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1675975225163.png" alt="Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly placed the first legal sports bet in Kansas. She put $15 down to win $150 if the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl. Dylan Lysen / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly placed the first legal sports bet in Kansas. She put $15 down to win $150 if the Kansas City Chiefs win the Super Bowl. Dylan Lysen / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>The state’s portion is also less than half of what it takes from 
traditional gambling, like slot machines and blackjack. The casinos fork
 over 27% of that revenue. But Thone said more operational costs go into
 sports betting, which offers the additional option of placing bets 
online.Regardless, those funds aren’t much more than a rounding 
error in the state’s budget. Officials estimate sports gambling will 
generate up to $10 million a year. That’s barely 0.1% of the state’s 
$9.5 billion general fund budget.Daniel Wallach, a Florida-based 
attorney specializing in regulating sports betting, said the revenue 
Kansas takes home from its operation is in line with most of the other 
states with legal sports betting. He said the average is between 10 and 
15%.“So they are on the low side of the average,” Wallach said.The
 American Gaming Association estimates $16 billion in legal wagers will 
be placed on the Super Bowl nationally. The revenue generated from that 
number will be much smaller. In 2022, Kansas casinos oversaw $718 
million in sports wagers. <a href="https://www.kslottery.com/media/3803/sports-wagering-monthly-detail-2022-12.pdf" target="_blank">That only netted taxpayers $2 million</a>.Other
 factors may lead to a spike in bets placed in Kansas. Some neighboring 
states still don’t have legal sports betting, including <a href="https://www.kcur.org/politics-elections-and-government/2023-02-09/sports-betting-super-bowl-kansas-city-chiefs-missouri-gambling-laws" target="_blank">the Chiefs’ home in Missouri</a>. The Missouri Independent reports more than 220,000 people in Missouri tried to place 8.7 million bets during the NFL season.Wallach said Kansas will likely see many Missouri and Oklahoma residents cross the border to gamble.But
 how much the state makes off the Super Bowl will also depend on the 
results of the game. Thone said 80% of the Super Bowl bets in Kansas 
favor the local team. That’s a massive amount of bets on one side and it
 leads to casinos adjusting lines and odds to minimize their risk.Still,
 Wallach said a Chiefs victory could mean the casinos take a hit, and 
the state won’t get much of anything. Something like that happened a few
 years ago in Rhode Island when the New England Patriots were in the big
 game. The state lottery saw an inordinate amount of money on the local 
team that ultimately won.“The lottery lost money on the Super 
Bowl,” Wallach said. “Maybe the Kansas Lottery is going to be rooting 
for the Philadelphia Eagles.”