Dispute Escalates Over Change in Kansas Food Assistance Program
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A dispute is escalating in Kansas between top Republicans and Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's administration over looser rules for people who receive food assistance. The state Department for Children and Families on Friday released an internal analysis defending the legality of a new policy that makes it easier for adults who are not working to keep receiving food assistance. DCF made the change in May. Republican leaders in the GOP-controlled Legislature contend that the policy violates a 2015 law setting stricter requirements for food and cash assistance. They have promised that a committee will review the issue later this year. GOP Attorney General Derek Schmidt sent DCF Secretary Laura Howard a letter earlier this week saying the policy appeared to violate state law. Howard released the legal analysis in response.
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Kansas Supreme Court: Topeka Can Raise Age for Buying Tobacco
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has ruled that cities have the power to raise the age for buying tobacco products even though state law sets it at 18. The unanimous decision Friday overturns a lower-court order that blocked Topeka from enforcing an ordinance increasing the age for buying tobacco to 21. A company operating Vapebar Topeka and Puffs 'n' Stuff challenged the ordinance just before it was to take effect in January 2018. It argued that the ordinance conflicted with the state law setting the age 18. But the Supreme Court said nothing in the law prevents a city from setting a higher age. More than 20 cities and counties in Kansas have set the age at 21. A company attorney said businesses will face a "patchwork quilt" of regulations.
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Man Who Dismembered Wife Sentenced for Child Endangerment
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A man who was found at a Kansas storage unit with his dismembered wife's remains and two of their children has been sentenced to nearly nine years in prison. 36-year-old Justin Rey was sentenced Friday for child endangerment, contributing to a child's misconduct and sexual exploitation of a child. The exploitation charges stem from sexually explicit photos of teenagers found on his phone. Rey hasn't been charged in the death of his wife, Jessica Monteiro Rey, who died after giving birth in October 2017 at a Kansas City, Missouri, hotel. Rey told authorities both that she killed herself and that she died of childbirth complications. The coroner couldn't determine her cause of death. Rey also is charged with abandonment of a corpse in Missouri and with a California homicide.
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Report: Kansas Farmers Planted More Corn, Fewer Soybeans
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A government report shows Kansas growers planted more corn and fewer soybean and sorghum crops in Kansas this spring. The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Friday that farmers seeded 5.9 million acres of corn, up 8% from last year. The agency said soybean acreage in Kansas is estimated at 4.7 million acres, down 1% from last year. Sorghum acreage is estimated at 2.65 million acres, down 5% from the previous year. Harvest has finally begun in Kansas for winter wheat crops that were planted last fall. The state is expected to harvest 6.6 million acres of wheat, down 10% from last year.
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Pro-Choice Advocates Celebrate as Missouri Abortions Continue
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Planned Parenthood and its supporters are celebrating an order by a Missouri commissioner to protect abortion services while a fight over the state's only clinic plays out. An administrative hearing commissioner on Friday granted a stay that will allow the St. Louis Planned Parenthood affiliate to continue abortions past Friday. A court order allowing abortions to continue at the clinic was set to expire at that time. Planned Parenthood says supporters will gather Friday in St. Louis to celebrate. A release from the organization says advocates will drop a banner that "sends a strong message" to Republican Governor Mike Parson and the health director. A spokesman for attorneys representing the state says they're reviewing the order to determine their next steps. A hearing on whether the clinic should have its abortion license renewed is set for August 1st.
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Lawrence Mental Health Project Okayed After Survey Requested by Delaware Tribe
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A proposal for a behavioral health campus in Lawrence will proceed, after a survey of the site requested by the Delaware Tribe found no archaeological or human remains. The tribe asked for the survey earlier this year to ensure no historical tribal artifacts or burial sites remained on the land where tribal members once lived. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the Kansas Historical Society completed the survey on the 1-acre site this spring. Surveyors found no significant cultural resources. Brice Obermeyer, director of the tribe's Historic Preservation Office, says if the survey didn't find any artifacts, the tribe supports the new Douglas County behavioral health campus. The project would include a 10-unit housing complex located near a mental health crisis center and a supportive group home.
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Man Convicted of Killing Corrections Director Released from Lansing Prison
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A man who has spent nearly three decades in prison for the killing of Oregon's prisons director in 1989 has been released from prison while a state appeal is pending. The Oregonian/OregonLive reports Frank Gable's release comes after U.S. Magistrate Judge John V. Acosta in April found the trial court made an error in excluding evidence of third-party guilt. He also found Gable's attorneys provided Gable with "ineffective assistance in failing to assert Gable's federal due process rights in the face of the trial court's error." Gable left the prison in in Lansing, Kansas, Friday and had to report directly to a federal probation officer in Kansas City. He'll be allowed to live with his wife in Kansas. Gable was convicted in the stabbing death in Salem of Oregon prisons chief Michael Francke and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
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Topeka Woman's Death Investigated as 'Suspicious'
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities are investigating the death of a 50-year-old Topeka woman as suspicious. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that police have identified the woman as Odessa Marie Henderon. Police Lt. Andrew Beightel says officers found her collapsed in a Topeka alley Wednesday afternoon while en route to a call for service. She was pronounced dead at a hospital. The department is waiting on the coroner's office for the official cause of death.
