Lawrence Soldier Among Those Killed in Jordan Friday
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Defense Department has identified three soldiers killed in a shooting this week outside a military base in Jordan.The department said in a release Sunday that 27-year-old Staff Sergeant Matthew C. Lewellen, of Lawrence; 30-year-old Staff Sergeant. Kevin J. McEnroe of Tucson, Arizona; and 27-year-old Staff Sargeant. James F. Moriarty of Kerrville, Texas, died Friday after the convoy they were in came under fire as it entered a Jordanian military base.The Defense Department said it's investigating. Moriarty's death previously was announced by family members.The department says the soldiers were assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and were supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.The public affairs office for U.S. Army Special Operations Command didn't immediately return a call seeking additional comment Sunday.
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Kansas Militia Group Rejected Accused Domestic Terrorists
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas militia group says it rejected two men who are accused of plotting to kill immigrants.Those two men, Patrick Stein and Gavin Wright, face federal charges accusing them of conspiring with another man, Curtis Allen, in what federal prosecutors said was a domestic terrorism plot targeting immigrants in Garden City. They've pleaded not guilty to conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction.Miles Evans of the Kansas Flatlanders Militia told The Kansas City Star that Stein and Wright contacted his group. But Evans says their views were too extreme for his group, which he says seeks to serve their communities in times of natural and man-made disasters.
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Maize School District Recovers Portion of Embezzled Funds
MAIZE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas school district has recovered nearly half a million dollars from the estate of a former technology director who's believed to have embezzled district money before killing himself.The Wichita Eagle reports a federal judge has awarded the Maize school district roughly $490,000 from Ramon Mosate's estate. Mosate worked for the district from 1997 until he was fired in February 2015, three months after the FBI executed a search warrant at district headquarters. An FBI affidavit chronicled years of money transfers and cash payments between Mosate and vendors who were paid more than $4 million for technology-related services. Maize superintendent Chad Higgins told school employees the award didn't cover all of what the district lost, but it was positive news at a time of uncertainty on school funding.
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Brownback Allies May Face Voter Backlash Tuesday
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A backlash against Republican Governor Sam Brownback over the state's budget problems could oust more of his allies from the Kansas Legislature in Tuesday's election. It also could save state Supreme Court justices. GOP nominee Donald Trump is expected to carry Kansas in the presidential race, and Republican U.S. Senator Jerry Moran is all but certain to cruise to a second, six-year term. The only congressional race looking competitive is in the 3rd District in the Kansas City area, where a national Democratic committee targeted GOP incumbent Kevin Yoder. Legislative races are hotter as Democrats seek to cut into Republican majorities and loosen the grip of Brownback's allies on both chambers. Meanwhile, conservatives, abortion opponents and other critics are seeking to oust four of the Kansas Supreme Court's justices.
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Kansas Supreme Court Ouster Effort a Hot Topic
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An aggressive push to unseat a majority of the Kansas Supreme Court in Tuesday's election has increased scrutiny of the commission that would screen applicants bidding to replace ousted justices.Supporters of the four targeted justices say it's an attempt by conservatives to give Republican Governor Sam Brownback control of the seven-member court.The ouster effort's leaders have countered by pointing to the Supreme Court Nominating Commission's role in replacing any justice. The nine-member commission would screen applicants and name three finalists for each vacancy for the governor to consider. Five commission members are lawyers elected by other lawyers. The debate over removing the four targeted justices comes amid a backlash against the term-limited governor and his allies over the state's ongoing budget problems.
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Kansas City's St. Luke's Hospital to Introduce "Micro Hospitals" on Kansas Side
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — St. Luke's Health System in Kansas City is joining a national trend of providing so-called micro hospitals, which provide eight to 10 beds for overnight stays along with 24-hour emergency room services.St. Luke's says it is planning micro hospitals in Roland Park, Overland Park, Leawood and Kansas City, Kansas. The overnight beds make the hospitals different from free-standing emergency rooms that were introduced in the area years ago.The Kansas City Star reports the hospital system currently is adding micro hospitals only in Kansas, which has less stringent requirements for adding overnight hospital beds than Missouri.In Missouri, hospitals must go through a Certificate of Need process that is expensive and lengthy. Kansas does not require a certificate of need.
