State and Region

New COVID-19 variant spreads as Kansans travel for the holidays

TOPEKA — Health officials warn travelers to watch out for a highly contagious new COVID-19 variant when making plans this month. During a Tuesday update on COVID-19 cases, the University of Kansas Health System reported treating 24 COVID-19 patients this week. Dana Hawkinson, director of ...

Centuries-old forests in the Midwest are struggling. Fire can help save them

DOUGLAS COUNTY – In the Baldwin Woods Forest Preserve south of Lawrence, stately oaks and hickories rise 50 to 100 feet into the air. But far below their canopy, something worries scientists. Other kinds of trees are gradually elbowing out the next generations of this woodland’s iconic ...

Federal judge grants injunction banning ‘Kansas Two-Step’ Highway Patrol tactic

The Kansas Highway Patrol must stop using a tactic known as the “Kansas Two-Step” to detain drivers long enough to find a reason to search their vehicles for illegal drugs, a federal judge has ruled. U.S. District Judge Kathryn H. Vratil on Monday granted a permanent injunction. The ...