Judge: Kansas Must Count Disputed Votes
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A county judge has ruled that Kansas must count potentially thousands of votes in state and local races from people who've registered without providing citizenship documents. Shawnee County District Judge Larry Hendricks issued a temporary order Friday to block a rule from Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. The order came four days before Tuesday's primary election. The rule applies to people registering to vote at state motor vehicle offices without documenting their U.S. citizenship as required by a 2013 state law. A federal judge ruled in May that federal law allowed them to vote in federal races, but Kobach's rule said their votes in state and local contests would not be counted.
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ACLU Says Kansas Decision Sets 'Important Tone'
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union says a Kansas judge's ruling on its proof-of-citizenship requirement has national implications. Shawnee County District Judge Larry Hendricks ruled Friday that the state must count potentially thousands of votes in state and local races in Tuesday's primary from people who registered to vote without providing documentation of their U.S. citizenship. Hendricks blocked a rule that would have applied to about 17,600 people who registered at motor vehicle offices without presenting citizenship papers. The rule directed election officials to count only their votes for federal races. ACLU attorney Sophia Lakin said the Kansas ruling "sets a very important tone going forward." The Kansas decision came the same day as a federal appeals court decision blocked a tough North Caroline voter ID law.
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Ruling Upends Kansas Primary Election Preparations
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas judge's ruling on the state's proof-of-citizenship requirement is causing confusion among some election officials just four days before the state's primary election. Shawnee County District Judge Larry Hendricks ruled Friday the state must count potentially thousands of votes in state and local races in Tuesday's primary from people who registered without providing documentation of their U.S. citizenship. Saline County Clerk Don Merriman says he is glad for the ruling, but it is too bad it came this late in the election cycle. His county has already printed their election poll books, and those people are not in it. But Douglas County Clerk Jameson Shew says he has had plans and systems in place anticipating every scenario and will implement the one that fits the ruling.
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Kansas Voters Will Decide Fate of Congressional Incumbents
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Republican primary voters head to the polls Tuesday to decide whether to back their party's congressional incumbents, including two who are running unopposed for their U.S. House seats. The state's Democrats have slightly more choices on their primary ballot as they decide who they want as challengers for the November elections. U.S. Senator Jerry Moran faces a primary race with Della Jean "D.J." Smith, a former Osawatomie city council member. Democrats Patrick Wiesner of Lawrence and Monique Singh-Bey of Kansas City are vying for the chance to face Moran in November's general election. On the Republican ballot, the most competitive congressional primary is in the state's Big First District, which covers most of central, western and part of eastern Kansas. In this district, Congressman Tim Huelskamp, of Fowler, is facing a strong challenge from political newcomer and physician Roger Marshall, of Great Bend. U.S. Representatives Lynn Jenkins and Mike Pompeo are running unopposed in their GOP primaries.
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Kansas Firefighter Killed in Truck on Way to Parade
MAYETTA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a northeast Kansas firefighter has died after a fire truck overturned while it was headed to a parade. The Kansas Highway Patrol says the crash happened Wednesday east of the Prairie Band of Potawatomi Nation Reservation. The patrol says Hoyt firefighter Michael Schultz, of Hoyt, was driving northbound on U.S. 75 when the truck blew a tire near Mayetta. The truck veered off the highway to the left, crossed the median that divides the northbound lanes from the southbound lanes, crossed over the southbound lanes, struck an embankment and overturned. The patrol says the 47-year-old Schultz was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The patrol says a second firefighter was injured.
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Kansas Supreme Court: Brownback Can Wait to Appoint Judge
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has ruled that state law allows Governor Sam Brownback to decide when he will fill a vacant district magistrate position. Three 26th District judges asked the court in July to require Brownback to appoint a judge in that district within 90 days of learning of the vacancy. They argued state law requires five magistrate judges to serve the six-county district. Brownback wants to wait until after the August election to appoint a replacement for Judge Tommy Webb of Haskell County, who retired in February. The justices ruled unanimously Friday that wording of state law gives the governor discretion to exceed the 90-day deadline. Justices Dan Biles and Caleb Stegall were not part of the decision. They were replaced by Senior Judges Michael Malone and David Stutzman.
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Parole Denied for Man Convicted in Kansas Officer's Death
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Officials have denied parole for a man convicted in the 1989 death of a Kansas City, Kansas, police officer. The Kansas Prisoner Review Board has ruled that 47-year-old Darryl L. Lewis will have to wait three years before he can seek parole again. Lewis was found guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Officer Jeff Young, and was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. Lewis was driving a stolen car and trying to elude arrest when he struck and critically injured Young in November 1988. Young was in coma until he died on August 1, 1989. The Kansas City Star reports that the parole board said in its decision that Lewis needs to avoid any disciplinary reports.
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ACLU: Army Investigating Manning After Suicide Attempt
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) _ The American Civil Liberties Union says the transgender soldier imprisoned in Kansas for sending classified information to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks now faces possible punishment for offenses stemming from a suicide attempt. The ACLU said in a statement that Chelsea Manning, a 28-year-old transgender soldier, received a document from Army officials Thursday saying she's being investigated for "administrative offenses,'' including ``conduct which threatens,'' related to her July 5 suicide attempt. The ACLU says if Manning's convicted of the offenses she could be placed in indefinite solitary confinement. An Army spokesman didn't immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Manning, arrested as Bradley Manning, was convicted in 2013 in military court for leaking more than 700,000 secret military and federal documents when she was an intelligence analyst in Iraq.
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Kansas Judge Orders Man to Stand Trial in Student's Death
PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — A man has been ordered to stand trial in the 2014 shooting death of a Pittsburg State University student. The Pittsburg Morning Sun reports that Bryan Bridges was ordered Thursday to stand trial for the murder of Taylor Thomas, a 20-year-old junior when he was killed in October 2014. Authorities say he was killed during a robbery. District Court Judge Kurtis I. Loy bound Bridges over for trial on several charges, including first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping. The trial has been scheduled to begin November 28. Three other men have entered pleas in the case.
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Man Killed, Another Found Wounded Nearby in Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City police have found a man dead and another victim critically wounded nearby. Police said in a news release that officers found the first victim in a driveway Thursday night while responding to a report of gunfire. The man was declared dead at the scene. Officers learned that another person was wounded a short time later on another block in the area. Police said it wasn't immediately known if there was a connection between the crime scenes. The names of the victims weren't immediately released. Authorities are urging anyone with information to come forward.
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Kansas Teens Address DNC on Equal Pay
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - Two teens whose firing from a Kansas pizza restaurant touched off a discussion about pay inequality addressed the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia Thursday. The issue arose this month after Jensen Walcott and Jake Reed found summer jobs at a Pizza Studio restaurant in Kansas City, Kansas. When Jensen asked why she was going to earn $8 an hour while Reed would earn $8.25 for the same job with the same amount of work experience, a female manager fired the two 17-year-olds. The friends from suburban Bonner Springs were told it was against company policy to discuss wages. The California-based pizza chain has apologized, saying the manager wrong about the policy. Walcott and Reed addressed the DNC yesterday (THUR) about equal pay.
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Crowd Steals from Kansas City Convenience Store
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A crowd of about 50 people converged on a Kansas City convenience store, with some in the crowd stealing items from the store. The Kansas City Star reports that the crowd entered the convenience store before dawn last Sunday. Some in the crowd paid for their goods and distracted the cashiers while others ran out carrying items without paying. No one was reportedly hurt. Police released a video of the incident and asked the public's help in identifying the individuals suspected of shoplifting.
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Woman Who Took Kids to Oregon Standoff Loses Custody
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Children who fled from their mother several months after they were taken to Oregon sing for occupiers during the armed takeover of a federal wildlife refuge will remain in the custody of Kansas child welfare officials. The Kansas City Star reports that a judge cited abuse in ruling that Odalis Sharp couldn't get her children back. Sharp has 10 children, but several are over 18. The younger children were ordered to remain in state custody. Several of the children testified that their mother hit them with rods while screaming Bible verses. Sharp, of Auburn, said she was a woman of God and loved her children. Sharp has 30 days to appeal but said she hasn't decided if she will do so.
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Body Found in River Near Wichita Park
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A body has been found in the Arkansas River in Wichita. The Wichita Eagle reports that kayakers found the body near Herman Hill Park on Thursday afternoon. Authorities responded to the scene where the body was hung up on a sandbar in the middle of the river. Wichita police Sergeant Nikki Woodrow says the body hasn't been identified. She says the body will be taken to the coroner's office, where a medical examination will be performed.
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Kansas Agency Bans Guided Hunting on Agency Property
GREAT BEND, Kan. (AP) _ The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission has voted to ban commercial guided hunting on property and water managed by the department. Department spokesman Mike Miller says the proposal to end guided hunting came from local hunters. Miller says that local hunters expressed concern that commercial guiding was interfering with their hunts. The Great Bend Tribune reports that the commission's action revokes a rule allowing guides to obtain free permits. The ban goes into effect August 1.
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Repair Work Underway at Historic Central Kansas Site
LINDSBORG, Kan. (AP) _ Work is underway to repair a national historic site that marks a spot where Spanish explorers stopped centuries ago in central Kansas. Project manager Bill Shipley says a new concrete deck and wood timbers, columns and beams have been put in at the castle at Coronado Heights near Lindsborg. It was built more than 80 years ago by Depression-era Works Progress Administration crews. The Topeka Capital Journal reports that the $150,000 project is funded by more than 200 individuals, businesses and foundations and a grant from the Kansas State Historical Preservation Trust Fund. Coronado Heights has remained open throughout the renovations. Shipley says he anticipates that the project will be completed by mid- to late-August.
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Old Brown County Jailhouse Sells for $10K
HIAWATHA, Kan. (AP) — A former jailhouse in northeast Kansas has sold at auction for $10,000 to a developer who hopes to turn it into a hotel. The St. Joseph News-Press reports that the former Brown County jailhouse in Hiawatha was auctioned off Friday. Michael Wuttke, of Orangevale, California, bought the building and its contents for $10,000. No one else bid on the property. Wuttke also owns a former nursing home in the area and says he hopes to repurpose both buildings. He says he plans to make the nursing home a home for veterans and turn the jail into a themed hotel where visitors can spend the night in jail, going through the whole process of booking, fingerprinting and dressing in jail jumpsuits.
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Kansas Man Charged in Death of Woman in Missouri Apartment
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas man has been charged with killing a woman in a Missouri apartment where officers found three children hiding under a blanket. Thirty-one-year-old Derrick Williams, of Kansas City, Kansas, is charged in Jackson County Circuit Court with second-degree murder in the death of 32-year-old Denise Gayle. He's also charged with three counts each of armed criminal action and endangering the welfare of a child. No attorney is listed for him in online court records. Court records say officers responding to a report of gunfire and screams found a naked Williams outside the apartment. The records say that Williams told police they would find a dead woman inside the building and that he killed her. One of the children found hiding in the apartment told police, "He killed my mom."
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2 Treated for Smoke Inhalation After Inmate Set Small Fire
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say two inmates were treated for minor smoke inhalation after a fire was started inside of a cell at the Sedgwick County Jail. The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that an inmate started the fire early Thursday. The release says deputies extinguished the fire, and the other inmates in the pod were moved because of the smoke. Authorities are investigating and plan to present the case to prosecutors for charges.
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Fall River Boy, 11, Killed in ATV Crash
EUREKA, Kan. (AP) — An 11-year-old Fall River boy has died in an ATV crash in southeast Kansas. The Hutchinson News reports (http://j.mp/2aCIQqY ) Blake D. Stapleford died in the crash Thursday. The Kansas Highway Patrol says the crash occurred when the boy was driving the ATV in a field and made a hard right turn. The vehicle went up on two wheels, rolled and landed on the child. The boy was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Eisenhower Library Sponsors Vintage Baseball Game
ABILENE, Kan. (AP) — Baseball players will wear uniforms from the 1860s and use equipment from the era during a game next week in Abilene. The Eisenhower Presidential Library, Museum and Boyhood Home is sponsoring the August 6th game. It will be played at Eisenhower Park, during the Central Kansas Free Fair, with rules from the Victorian era. The rules are different from today's game. For example, outfielders can catch the ball on one bounce for an out and base stealing and sliding are prohibited. On the field will be the "Abilene Iron Cutters" and the "Wichita Bull Stockings" of the Cowtown Vintage Base Ball Club.
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Weekend Powerball Jackpot Climbs to $478 Million
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Powerball players will have a shot at the nation's eighth-largest lottery jackpot this weekend, but they'll face long odds that have resulted in nearly three months without a winner. Anyone who matches all five balls and red Powerball on Saturday night could win a $478 million annuity paid over 29 years or opt for a $330.6 million cash prize. No one has matched all the numbers since the May 7 drawing. This jackpot is less than a third of the record $1.6 billion Powerball won in January, but is the fifth-largest in the game's history.
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Chiefs' Eric Berry Skips Report Day for Training Camp
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry was not among the players who reported to training camp at Missouri Western on Friday, a decision largely expected after negotiations on a long-term contract with Kansas City broke down. Berry was designated the Chiefs' franchise player but has not yet signed his contract, which means he cannot be disciplined for skipping camp. But considering the one-year deal promises to pay him more than $10.8 million, Berry is expected to sign at some point before the season. The Chiefs and Berry's representatives were never close to reaching a long-term agreement by the July 15 deadline. Those talks must now be shelved until after the season.
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Texas Rangers Rally in Eighth to Beat Royals, 3-2
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — The Rangers' Mitch Moreland hit his second home run of the game in the eighth inning to break a tie and Cole Hamels earned his 12th win of the season as the Texas Rangers beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2 on Thursday night. Hamels (12-2) allowed two runs and six hits in eight innings, matching his longest start of the season. Both homers by the left-handed hitter Moreland were to the opposite field and came off Yordano Ventura (6-9). It was Moreland's 10th career multi-homer game and second of the season. He has five home runs in his last 11 hits.
