Kansas Governor has Plan to End KC Business Raiding
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Governor Sam Brownback has a new proposal designed to end Kansas' ongoing battle with Missouri to lure businesses across the border in the Kansas City area. But the proposal Brownback outlined yesterday (FRI) would require Missouri to weaken a 2014 law that it enacted in hopes of ending the border war. And Missouri lawmakers are scheduled to end their annual session in mid-May. Brownback's plan was outlined in a directive to his commerce secretary. It would stop using a Kansas tax incentive program to lure existing jobs from the Missouri side of the metro area unless a company plans to invest at least $10 million in a new building. The program still could be used to lure new jobs. But it wouldn't take effect until Missouri changes its law.
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KBI: Man Fatally Shot During Fight with Deputies
MCPHERSON, Kan. (AP) — One man is dead after being shot during a physical altercation with two Kansas sheriff's deputies who were trying to serve an arrest warrant. Kansas Bureau of Investigation spokesman Mark Malik says the man, whose name was not released, physically resisted being arrested Thursday afternoon before being shot with a Taser without success. Malik says the man repeatedly struck one of the deputies, attacked a second deputy who ordered him to stop, and then resumed striking the first deputy. The second deputy shot the man, who was pronounced dead at McPherson Memorial Hospital. Malik says the incident was captured on video and is being reviewed by KBI investigators. He says no additional information will be available until the investigation is complete.
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Kansas Wesleyan Optimistic about Nursing Accreditation
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Wesleyan University President Matt Thompson says he is optimistic the school's nursing program will regain accreditation this fall. Wesleyan withdrew its accreditation from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing in March 2015, days before the organization was likely to vote not to continue the nursing program's accreditation. The Salina Journal reports that Wesleyan had applied for accreditation to the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, which most nursing programs in Kansas use. Thompson says representatives of the CCNE and the Kansas State Board of Nursing visited the school in February. He says a preliminary report was positive, with only a few lingering issues. CCNE is scheduled to vote on Wesleyan's accreditation in November. Thompson says if it's approved, the accreditation will apply for this May's graduates.
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Justice's Fundraising Arm: 'Politicized' Bid to Purge Kansas Court
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas Supreme Court justice's fundraising arm is pursuing donations by arguing an "unprecedented politicized effort" is underway to deny justices retention over school finance rulings. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Justice Carol A. Beier 2016 Inc. says the state's high court has been fair and impartial in directing the governor and legislature to fund schools as required under Kansas' constitution. Beier told the newspaper she didn't write the fundraising letter, and that she has recused herself from hearing the school finance case. The high court early next month is to review the Legislature's response to its February ruling that school funding is inequitable between districts. Five justices are up for retention in the November election.
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Lawsuit Alleges Sexual Assault at Kansas Military School
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Tennessee father has sued a Kansas military school alleging its failure to adequately supervise cadets led to the sexual assault of his 12-year-old son by another student. The lawsuit, filed yesterday (FRI) in U.S. District Court in Kansas against St. John's Military School, is the latest in a string of litigation that has dogged the Episcopalian boarding school in Salina. The lawsuit stems from an accusation that in spring 2014 a grade-school boy sexually assaulted a fellow student in a dorm room. The school says it did not learn of the accusation until a month ago, when child welfare officials, who are investigating, contacted them. The plaintiff's attorney says the boy did not tell anyone about the alleged assault until months later. No criminal charges have been filed.
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KC Law Firm Announces Grissom as Newest Addition
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City, Missouri, law firm says Kansas' U.S. attorney will join its national team specializing in government investigations and compliance. Polsinelli announced its addition of Barry Grissom yesterday (FRI), Grissom's last day as Kansas' top federal prosecutor. Grissom announced his resignation from the federal post Monday. Sixty-two-year-old Grissom says in a statement that he's "particularly excited by Polsinelli's national footprint, which will enable me to deploy my skillset nationwide." First Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Beall will serve as acting U.S. attorney for Kansas. Grissom was nominated by President Barack Obama in 2010 and made civil rights enforcement and community outreach top priorities during his tenure.
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Fort Riley Identifies Dead Chaplain
FORT RILEY, Kan. (AP) — Officials at Kansas' Fort Riley are publicly identifying a soldier chaplain they say died suddenly last week in Manhattan. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the cause of 45-year-old Captain Yohan Lee's death April 9 remains undetermined. Lee was a chaplain assigned to the Third Assault Helicopter Battalion, First Aviation Regiment, First Combat Aviation Brigade, First Infantry Division. He arrived at Fort Riley in January 2014 from Virginia. Col. John Cyrulik says Lee "gave so much of himself to the Soldiers and families of this brigade," and that "our hearts are heavy" because of his death.
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Kansas-Based Career College Files for Bankruptcy
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Kansas-based Wright Career College has filed for bankruptcy and abruptly closed its campuses in five cities in three states. The Overland Park-based company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy yesterday (FRI) in Kansas City, Kansas. The petition to liquidate assets estimated liabilities of $1 million to $10 million. The closures affect campuses in the Kansas cities of Overland Park and Wichita, as well as Omaha, Nebraska, and Tulsa and Oklahoma City in Oklahoma. The college had roughly 3,000 students enrolled during the 2014-2015 fiscal year and in recent weeks stopped accepting new students. The college said in an email to students Thursday night that "with our deepest regret" it no longer is able to continue operations. The school largely trains students for jobs as medical assistants, accountants and other business occupations.
