Kansas House Gives Final Approval to Medicaid Expansion Plan
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A modified version of Democratic Governor Laura Kelly's plan for expanding Medicaid in Kansas has cleared the House with bipartisan support. The House's 69-54 vote Thursday sends an expansion bill to the Senate. Its future there is uncertain. Republican legislative leaders oppose Medicaid expansion. They argue that it will be expensive for the state despite the federal government's promise to cover 90 percent of the cost of Medicaid health coverage for up to 150,000 additional Kansas residents. But 28 of the House's 84 Republicans broke with their leaders and joined the chamber's 41 Democrats in voting yes. Supporters believe the bill will help struggling families and financially strapped rural hospitals. They added a provision ending the expansion within a year if the federal government breaks its funding promise.
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2 More Kansas Counties Added to Disaster Declaration
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Division of Emergency Management says it has been notified that two more counties have been added to a federal disaster declaration for Kansas. The agency says in a news release that the new counties added to the Feb. 25 declaration are Barber and Ottawa. Counties named in the original declaration are Anderson, Barton, Cowley, Doniphan, Greenwood, Harvey, Kingman, Neosho, Pratt, Reno, Rice and Sumner counties. These counties are eligible to apply for public assistance to pay for the restoration of public infrastructure and associated costs caused by severe storms, winds and flooding caused during the period of Oct. 4-15.
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Another Missouri Levee Breaches Amid Flooding
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Another levee has breached as high water levels make their way down the flooding Missouri River. Buchanan County, Missouri, Emergency Director Management Bill Brinton says an agriculture levee breached around 11 a.m. Thursday just across the river from Atchison, Kansas, where the river is expected to crest at record levels. The Missouri towns of Winthrop and Lewis and Clark Village are at risk of taking on water as the size of the breach grows. But Brinton says most of the 200 people who live in the area already left. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the levee is one of about 20 that have breached in Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska. Crests in St. Joseph, Missouri, are expected to be the third-highest on record, although only about half a dozen homes in the city aren't protected by a federal levee.
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Kansas Businesses Want More Money for Higher Education
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas businesses are asking state lawmakers for big increases in higher education funding. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that a group of more than 30 business representatives and advocates asked lawmakers to provide the $50 million increase to state universities that the Kansas Board of Regents requested. Regents say the lawmakers allocated $588 million to state universities this year. The vice president for human resources at the tech company Garmin in Olathe said businesses need skilled workers to be competitive. Laurie Minard said employers struggle to find enough qualified workers and they rely on the state's higher education system to train future employees. So far the budget-building committees in the House and Senate have approved bills that would increase higher education spending between $13 million and $18 million.
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ACLU: Black Man Detained While Moving into His Own Home
TONGANOXIE, Kan. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties of Kansas has asked for a state investigation after a black man was detained by local police while moving into his own home. The ACLU said Thursday that Karle Robinson was held at gunpoint and handcuffed as he moved into a home he had purchased in Tonganoxie, about 30 miles west of Kansas City. Robinson says police harassed him and that Tonganoxie's police chief stopped him from filing a racial bias complaint. Police Chief Greg Lawson says he had not seen the ACLU's allegations and would comment later. ACLU alleges a pervasive culture of racial bias exists in the Tonganoxie Police Department. The organization asked Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt to investigate or refer the group's complaint to the Kansas Commission on Officers Standards and Training.
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Family of Slain Kansas Deputy to Receive $300,000 in Settlement
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The family of a Kansas sheriff's deputy who was killed in the line of duty will get $300,000 in a worker's compensation settlement over his death in September. The Wichita Eagle reports that the Sedgwick County Commission approved settlement payouts to Deputy Robert Kunze's widow and young daughter on Wednesday. Kunze was fatally shot on Sept. 16 when attempting to handcuff a man on suspicion of vehicle theft about 20 miles west of downtown Wichita. The sheriff's department says Kunze killed his attacker , 29-year-old Robert Greeson, and likely saved the lives of two witnesses before he died from a gunshot wound. Greeson had a history of drug convictions. The commission's chairman, David Dennis, called Kunze a hero who "touched the lives of all the folks here in Sedgwick County."
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Kansas Man Pleads Guilty to Sex Crime Involving Child
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man could face up to 30 years in federal prison after admitting that he drove to Missouri to meet what he believed was a woman willing to sell her 10-year-old daughter for sex. Federal prosecutors say 64-year-old Michael David Mitchell of Ottawa pleaded guilty Tuesday to interstate travel to engage in unlawful sexual conduct. Sentencing is April 24. Investigators received information that Mitchell was seeking a woman with a minor child that he could make his sex slave. Prosecutors say Mitchell communicated with an undercover investigator posing as a broker who could connect Mitchell to a mother willing to sell her child. Mitchell admitted in his plea that in June 2017 he drove to Independence, Missouri, to meet a woman and brought $5,000 to pay her.
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2 Homes Damaged After Explosive Device Detonates in Topeka
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Topeka authorities are investigating after an explosive device detonated early Wednesday near a duplex, damaging that home and a house next to it. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the blast was reported at 12:18 am on the west edge of downtown. No one was hurt. Police Lt. Manny Munoz says the duplex's front porch was badly damaged, and a second-floor window of the neighboring home was shattered. Munoz says the type of device used was "definitely not a consumer-type of fireworks," but the Topeka Fire Department and the police bomb squad are still investigating the source of the explosion.
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Police: 3-Year-Old Boy Struck, Killed in Downtown Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A 3-year-old boy is dead after breaking away from his father's hand in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, running into traffic and being struck by a gas company truck. The Kansas City Star reports that the accident happened around 1:30 pm Wednesday. The boy was in critical condition when officers arrived, but died at a hospital. His name has not been released. A preliminary investigation showed that the child and his father came out of a store on 11th Street when the child "broke away from his father's hand" and ran between two parked vehicles into the street. He was struck by a truck belonging to Spire, a company based in St. Louis. Police say the truck driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with police. An investigation continues.
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Missouri Regulators Approve Midwest Wind Energy Power Line
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri regulators have reversed course and given the go-ahead to one of the nation's largest renewable energy projects. The Grain Belt Express power line approved Wednesday would carry wind power from Kansas on a 780-mile path across Missouri and Illinois before hooking into a power grid in Indiana that serves eastern states. The Missouri Public Service Commission had rejected the project twice previously, but it reconsidered following a ruling last year by the state Supreme Court. In November, Chicago-based Invenergy announced it was buying the project from Houston-based Clean Line Energy Partners. That deal should bolster the financing, but the sale still needs regulatory approval. The transmission line also would need regulatory approval in Illinois, where a state appeals court overturned the state's previous approval.
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Kansas Man Gets Murder Trial Delayed Despite 4 Years Waiting
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Lawrence man who's been in jail awaiting his murder trial for more than four years will remain in custody longer after a judge delayed the trial because attorneys gained last-minute access to the victim's phone. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that 22-year-old Rontarus Washington Jr. was set to go to trial Monday for the 2014 slaying of 19-year-old Justina Altamirano Mosso. But a judge this week pushed the trial back until September, waiving Washington's rights to a speedy trial. Washington faces first-degree murder and aggravated burglary charges. Prosecutor C.J. Rieg says Mosso's phone has been a critical piece of evidence that's been locked for the past four years. Rieg says she learned of an FBI program to remove the phone's memory chip in February, and attorneys received the data this month.
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Kansas Man Who Survived Attack at Pearl Harbor Dies
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — The man believed to be the last Kansas City-area resident to survive the attack at Pearl Harbor has died. WDAF-TV reports that 96-year-old Dorwin Lamkin of Overland Park, Kansas, died March 17. A cause of death was not disclosed. Born in Wisconsin, Lamkin joined the Navy in 1940. He was a corpsman on the USS Nevada when the Japanese attacked at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941. Lamkin later served at several battles while on the USS San Francisco in 1943 and 1944. He was awarded several medals and citations. He was the longtime president of a chapter of the Pearl Harbor Survivors Association and helped lead the drive to create the Pearl Harbor Memorial Park in Mission, Kansas.
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Lawrence Commission Backs Plan to Cut Pot Fines to $1
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The Lawrence City Commission is backing a plan that would decrease the fine for possessing small amounts of marijuana to $1. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the commission voted 4-1 Tuesday to amend the city ordinance related to penalties for marijuana possession. The change would apply to people age 18 and older convicted of possessing 32 grams or less. Commissioner Matthew Herbert says the vote sends a message to state lawmakers, especially since surrounding states have legalized marijuana in some form. Missouri voters in November approved medical marijuana. But Commissioner Stuart Boley, who cast the lone dissenting vote, says he's concerned that people will be confused because while the fine for the first and second offenses will be $1, the third marijuana possession offense constitutes a felony under state law.
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Survey: Bankers Losing Confidence in 10-State Farm Economy
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A monthly survey of rural bankers in parts of 10 Plains and Western states shows bankers are losing confidence in the future of the region's farm economy in the wake of falling farm income and rising floodwaters. The Rural Mainstreet survey for March shows the survey's confidence index dropping to 45.7 from February's 48.5. Any score above 50 suggests a growing economy in the months ahead, while a score below 50 indicates a shrinking economy. Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey, says March floods, tariffs, trade tensions and anemic farm income "negatively influenced the economic outlook of bank CEOs." The survey shows more than half of supply managers reported negative economic impacts from flooding. The overall index expanded to 52.9 from 50.2 in February. Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.
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Oklahoma City Thunder Retires Former Jayhawk Nick Collison's No. 4 Jersey
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Nick Collison's No. 4 jersey was retired by the Oklahoma City Thunder during a ceremony before their game against the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night. It's the first number the Thunder have retired since the franchise moved to Oklahoma City in 2008. The Seattle SuperSonics drafted Collison out of the University of Kansas in 2003 and he spent his entire 15-year career with the club. Collison averaged only 5.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game for Seattle/Oklahoma City, but played a key role in developing the team's Oklahoma City culture and became known as "Mr. Thunder." Mayor David Holt declared Wednesday to be "Nick Collison Day" in Oklahoma City. "I could never have expected something like this," Collison said. "But it's really a special night for me and my family. It's been a long run. To be able to have the career I had here and then have a celebration like that, I feel very fortunate. That kind of goes without saying, but it's amazing for me. It's a good feeling coming back. I don't know how to feel for something like this. It's like nothing can prepare you for it." Among his former Thunder teammates who attended the ceremony were Kevin Durant of Golden State and Serge Ibaka of the Raptors. Neither were mentioned during Collison's pregame speech, but current Thunder star Russell Westbrook was. "I used to play with Nick," Ibaka said. "He was one of the guys who really helped me in my first year in the league, when I was 19. Playing tonight, the same day they're going to retire his jersey, it's really special."
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