Man Who Fired at Johnson County Deputy Arrested
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A man suspected of firing a shot at a Johnson County sheriff's deputy has been arrested several miles from where the confrontation took place early Monday. The deputy was investigating reports of a break-in at a construction site when the shot was fired but he wasn't hurt.
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3 Injured in Kansas City Shootings
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - Kansas City, Kansas, police say three people have been injured in two separate shootings. Police say the shootings happened within about 20 minutes of each other on Sunday evening. They say one person was found shot at the first scene and two were shot at the second. Police say their injuries were not life-threatening. Their identities haven't been released. Police say they don't believe the shootings are related but are investigating.
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Pitt State to Offer Doctoral Program in Nursing
PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) - Pittsburg State University has won approval to start offering a doctorate degree in nursing. The Joplin Globe reports that Irene Ransom Bradley School of Nursing asked the Kansas Board of Regents to transition the current master's level advanced practice nursing program into the doctoral program. The Regents agreed last week. The school hopes to admit its first students into the program in the spring for a summer 2015 start date. University officials say the demand for doctoral level advanced practice nurses is expected to increase both in the region and across the nation. They cited a recommendation from the Institute of Medicine that the field of nursing provide twice as many doctoral graduates by 2020 in order to build a primary care work force in the U.S.
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Santa Fe United Won't Pursue 'Innovative' Status
CARBONDALE, Kan. (AP) - A rural Osage County school district is dropping its efforts to become part of the state's new innovative district program. Santa Fe Trail Unified School District says it will continue using new initiatives described in the district's application for the program, which allows districts to waive some state laws and regulations. The district, which has about 1,050 students, was one of eight school districts that applied to become part of the Coalition of Innovative Districts, created by the Legislature in the spring of 2013 to give districts more flexibility. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Santa Fe's application was not forwarded to the Kansas Board of Education for consideration and school officials say they will not reapply.
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Plans Cancelled for NW Missouri Wind Farm
MOUND CITY, Mo. (AP) - An Oregon-based company says it no longer plans to build what would have been one of the region's largest wind farms in northwest Missouri. The proposed Mill Creek Wind Energy Project was to be built near Squaw Creek National Wildlife Refuge in Holt County. Environmentalists, state conservation officials and birding groups had said the 84 to 118 wind turbines would endanger the millions birds and bats that migrate through the area. Element Power officials recently notified Holt County commissioners that the company was canceling the project because measures that would be required to protect wildlife meant it was not financially feasible. Element said it was considering other areas of Missouri for the project but did not specify where it was looking.
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Lawrence Llibrary Reveals New Banned Books Cards
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - The Lawrence Public Library has unveiled its third edition of trading cards that feature artwork inspired by censured books. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that 47 artists submitted works. The seven winners were chosen by a panel of judges and announced Thursday. All submissions will be available in the library during national Banned Books Week, which starts Sunday and ends Saturday. During those days, the library will release one trading card a day to the public for free. The books represented on the cards include Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea," Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird," and Ken Kesey's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." Following Banned Books Week, the library will have the 2014 deck available for purchase online.
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Report: Cost to Shut Down Wolf Creek Nuke Could Top $1B
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A new report estimates that the Wolf Creek nuclear power plant could cost as much $1 billion to shut down when it reaches the end of its useful life about 30 years from now. The cost is recalculated every three years. That allows the Kansas Corporation Commission to ensure enough money is collected from customers to fund a trust to pay for the future expense. The report offers two options. Dismantling the plant as soon as it's shut down would cost around $765 million in current-value dollars, although the cost could grow if spent nuclear fuel disposal issues aren't resolved. Mothballing the plant near Burlington for several decades before beginning to tear it down would be safer but cost more than $1 billion.
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Stranded Kansas Driver Steals Police Car
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A Kansas sheriff says a deputy pulled over to help a stranded motorist, who stole the officer's vehicle and led officers on a chase. The chase happened Sunday night in Geary County. The sheriff says an officer stopped to help a woman along the side of the road who appeared to be suffering from asthma. He says the officer took her to his patrol car to wait for EMS before she jumped in the front seat and took off, leaving the officer behind. Spike strips left by Grandview Plaza officers eventually disabled the stolen vehicle and the woman was arrested. It's unclear if she's been charged. The sheriff says two deputies accidentally ran over the spike strips.
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2 Arrested in Kidnapping of 8-year-old Topeka Girl
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Two people have been arrested in the weekend kidnapping of an 8-year-old Topeka girl. The girl was missing for nearly six hours before she was found Saturday afternoon more than two miles away from her home. Major Jerry Stanley says the preliminary investigation showed she had been assaulted. A man and woman were arrested Saturday night on charges that included aggravated kidnapping, aggravated child endangerment and aggravated burglary. About 50 people had participated in the search for the missing girl. Some took 4-wheelers to nearby woods, while others printed off dozens of flyers.
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Juvenile Lock-up Improves Behavior by Boosting Portion Size
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Shawnee County is feeding its juvenile inmates more after finding behavior improves when portion sizes increase. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that in July the corrections department tried out doubling the portion size of the meals it serves youth detained at the Shawnee County Juvenile Detention Center. As part of the experiment, the sugary snack provided each evening was replaced with fresh fruit. County corrections department spokesman Tim Phelps says staff members saw a noticeable improvement in the behavior and educational program performance of the youths. A state grant is covering the $3,000 cost of providing more food in August and September. Corrections officials say they'll ask county commissioners next month to continue the arrangement for a full year, with a grant available to cover the $16,000 cost.
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Wichita State Unveils High-Tech Trading Center
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A new high-tech trading center at Wichita State University is designed to prepare students for careers in the financial, commodities and energy trading markets. The Wichita Eagle reports that about 75 people attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday for the business school's Koch Global Trading Center. Located in a renovated 800-square-foot room, the center features a 60-foot-long digital financial ticker that runs along the ceiling. There also are five flat screen monitors on the walls that display live market data and television channels. WSU President John Bardo says the center fits with the strategy of preparing graduates to be prepared to immediately enter the workforce. Koch Industries was the initial donor on the project. Other corporate donors include Allegro Development, a Dallas-based software firm, Cargill Meat Solutions and Murfin Inc.
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Judge: Man in KCI Bomb Hoax Should be Freed
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A federal judge is recommending that a Pennsylvania man accused of trying to carry fake bombs through security at Kansas City International Airport on the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks be released without going to trial. U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Hays on Tuesday issued a report that says 50-year-old Anthony Falco Jr., who has been found incompetent to stand trial, is not a risk to others or their property and should be set free. He has been in custody since September 11, 2011, when airport security detected suspicious items in his bags. Falco's mother said he had stopped taking medications for schizophrenia at the time of the incident, which shut down the airport's Terminal B on a busy Sunday and forced the cancellation of at least two flights.
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Deer-Archery Season Underway in Kansas
SOUTH HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — The archery season for deer is underway in Kansas, and hunters are heading out in ever higher numbers. The Hutchinson News reports the state has already issued more than 14,000 archery-alone permits for the season that opened September 15th and ends December 31st. That compares with about 19,000 permits issued for the entire season last year. At Heartland Outdoor in South Hutchinson, head archery technician Evan Theis says advances in equipment and TV hunting shows partly account for the rising popularity of bow-hunting. But he also credits movies like "The Hunger Games" and "The Avengers," both of which feature archers as main characters. Kansas residents with any-season deer permits may also hunt with bows during deer-archery season. About 27,000 of those permits have also been issued.
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New Journal Focuses on Midwest History
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — When a group of historians gathered last spring in Omaha to discuss the revival of teaching Middle America's history, among their plans had been to start an online Midwest history journal. Instead, this week they saw the University of Nebraska Press send out the inaugural print editions of the Middle West Review, an academic journal devoted to the history of the Midwest and Plains. The 180-page issue features eight peer-reviewed articles, 18 book reviews and an interview with a 94-year-old former University of Wisconsin-Madison history professor it deemed "the last prairie historian." University of Iowa graduate student Paul Mokrzycki, the journal's editor-in-chief, says it will help preserve the region's history and provide a place for historians to publish their work.
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Royals Finish Home Season with Win Before Sellout Crowd
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Royals held on to their AL wild-card spot by beating the Detroit Tigers 5-2 Sunday. The Royals avoided a three-game sweep and moved within 1 1/2 games of the AL Central-leading Tigers. The Royals played their final home game of the regular season before a crowd of more than 21,000, boosting the season attendance figures close to the 2-million mark for the first time since 1991.
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Alex Smith Leads Chiefs Past Dolphins 34-15
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Alex Smith shook off five sacks to throw three touchdown passes and help the Kansas City Chiefs earn their first victory of the season by beating the Miami Dolphins 34-15 on Sunday. The Chiefs improved to 1-2 and won for only the third time in their past 11 games, including postseason. The Dolphins fell to 1-2, another wobbly start for a team that hasn't won a postseason game since 2000. Smith, who ranked last in the NFL in passing after two weeks, went 19 for 25 for 186 yards.