Kansas

Kansas K-9 set to return to duty following injury sustained in snowy crash

Published

2 years ago

January 26, 2024

Kansas K-9 set to return to duty following injury sustained in snowy crash

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – A Kansas Highway Patrol K-9 who was hit by a distracted driver in early January and spent the next few weeks in the ICU is set to soon return to work.

Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Tod Hileman, based in Hays, took to Facebook on Friday, Jan. 26, to thank the community for the prayers, comments, calls and care packages sent to K-9 Igor over the past few weeks.

On Jan. 12, first responders were called to I-70 in Ellis Co. with reports of a collision that involved a KHP patrol vehicle. Dash camera footage that may be graphic for some viewers shows Trooper Travis Budke and Trooper Douglas Schulte attempting to stop a semi-truck with a distracted driver.

KHP indicated the Troopers had shut down I-70 due to a semi-truck that had flipped over just ahead. Both attempted to flag the distracted driver down to no avail before he failed to exit the highway and collided with Trooper Budke’s vehicle with K-9 Igor still inside. The Troopers narrowly avoided being hit.

The graphic footage was recorded from Trooper Schulte’s dash camera:

A Kansas Highway Patrol K-9 who was hit by a distracted driver in early January and spent the next few weeks in the ICU is set to soon return to work.

“We show this video as a graphic reminder of the dangers and consequences of distracted driving,” a KHP spokesperson said. “It is so important to always focus on the roadway when driving and put distractions away.”

Kansas Highway Patrol Troopers rush to rescue K-9 Igor from the back of a patrol vehicle that had been in a collision and get him to a veterinarian.(Kansas Highway Patrol)

Igor spent the next few days in the ICU and was able to return home to make a full recovery. He is expected to return to work in the next few weeks.

Trooper Budke said he would also like to thank Hillside Veterinary Clinic and the Veterinary Health Center at Kansas State University for the excellent care they provided.

KHP noted that the investigation into the collision continues.

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Kansas

Kansas man sentenced to 4 years in connection with 13-year-old Linn County boy’s death

Published

3 hours ago

May 29, 2026

Press Room

Kansas man sentenced to 4 years in connection with 13-year-old Linn County boy’s death

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Bates County Circuit Court judge Friday sentenced a Linn County, Kansas, man in connection with the December 2025 death of Airen Andula, 13.

Damon Leonard, 47, was sentenced to four years in prison for abandonment of a corpse, according to court records.

He pleaded guilty to the charge of abandoning a corpse on May 22.

Andula disappeared from his Pleasanton, Kansas, home on Dec. 21, 2025. A day later, law enforcement found the boy’s body in a ravine in Bates County, Missouri. He had died from multiple dog bite injuries.

Police were led to the boy’s body after a phone call from Leonard.

Court documents said Leonard “admitted that he transported the deceased child from Kansas to Missouri and left the body in the bottom of the creek” before he returned home.

KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva spoke with Andula’s family earlier this week — after the guilty plea and ahead of Friday’s sentencing.

His family shared that the guilty plea brought a small sense of justice, but it didn’t do much to ease the pain of their loss.

READ MORE | Family of Airen Andula speaks out ahead of sentencing

“We’re missing our kid every day of our lives,” the boy’s father Charles Andula told Silva.

Leonard received credit for time served of 158 days in his sentence, per court records.

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Kansas

Gas, diesel fuel prices down over past week across nation, Kansas

Published

15 hours ago

May 29, 2026

Press Room

Gas, diesel fuel prices down over past week across nation, Kansas

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – It may not seem like a lot of relief, but gas and diesel prices have declined over the past week.

Friday morning’s national average for a gallon of unleaded gas was $4.39, according to the Automobile Association of America.

That’s down three cents from $4.42 on Thursday; down 16 cents from a week ago; but was up 17 cents from $4.22 a month ago and up $.23 from $3.16 a year ago.

Gas and diesel fuel prices are down this week in Kansas and across the nation, according to the American Automobile Association.(KALB)

In Kansas, AAA says, unleaded gas on Friday was averaging $3.96 a gallon — down four cents from $4.00 on Thursday; down 13 cents from $3.96 a week ago; but up 26 cents from $3.70 a month ago; and up $1.07 over $2.89 a year ago.

Diesel fuel also was dropping in price. AAA says Friday’s national average for a gallon of diesel was $5.52 a gallon — down three cents from $5.55 on Thursday; down 12 cents from $5.64 a week a go; but up six cents from $5.46 a month ago and up $1.98 from $3.54 a year ago.

Kansas diesel fuel prices, according to AAA, checked in at an average of $4.98 on Friday. That’s five cents below $5.03 on Thursday; down 16 cents from $5.14 a week ago; but up 24 cents over $4.74 a month ago; and up $1.72 from $3.26 a year ago.

In Topeka, GasBuddy.com on Friday morning showed unleaded gas prices ranging between $3.77 and $4.09 in Topeka, with diesel fuel going for between $4.94 and $5.29 a gallon.

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