Impacts of Voting Case Extend Past Kansas, Arizona
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and other top lawmakers are urging a federal appeals court to overturn a decision by a judge in Kansas that they say would limit the authority of Congress to regulate federal elections. The lawmakers contend the ruling could limit Congress' ability to pass legislation protecting the right to vote. Their recent friend-of-the-court filing last week at the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals comes in the lawsuit filed by Kansas and Arizona. The states want to force federal election officials to help them impose their proof-of-citizenship requirements on federal voter registration forms. Both states argue the requirements prevent voter fraud by thwarting voting by noncitizens. Critics of such laws view them as suppressing voter turnout.
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Topeka Man Fatally Shot After Confrontation
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Topeka police are looking for someone in a silver Dodge Magnum station wagon who is accused of fatally shooting a man in front of a local residence after an apparent confrontation. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the victim, who hasn't been named, was pronounced dead at 3:40 p.m. Friday after being shot multiple times an hour earlier. Witnesses told police a man driving a station wagon with tinted windows stopped in front of a home and began talking with a person in the front yard. The man then fired several shots at the victim and drove away. A witness heard between eight and 10 shots fired in a rapid manner. It's the third homicide in Topeka in the past 19 days after going the first six months of the year without any.
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Kansas College Weighs Sale of Farm
IOLA, Kan. (AP) — Officials of Allen Community College are considering selling the school's 240-acre farm, citing low enrollment in agriculture courses. The Iola Register reports the farm's fate has drawn high interest among the eight students who live on the property, located five miles from the main campus in southeast Kansas. The college purchased the farm and built a classroom and animal building there in the early 1980s. In 1999, Richard Zahn established a scholarship program in honor of his late father, a former agriculture instructor. Zahn also donated funds to build a farmhouse for the scholarship recipients. One recipient, Dakota Ferguson, told the board of trustees at a recent meeting he was drawn to the college because of the farm. The trustees have requested more information before taking any action.
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93-year-old Kansas Woman Killed in Crash
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A 93-year-old Kansas woman is dead after the pickup truck she was driving crossed the center line and struck a trailer being pulled by a second pickup. Beloit resident Lola Hillman was westbound on U.S. 24 northwest of Salina at 12:55 p.m. Friday when her car struck the trailer being pulled by a 47-year-old Kensington man. The Kansas Highway Patrol reports Hillman was taken to Salina Regional Health Center, where she died. The driver of the second pickup was not injured.