Kansas Collected $81 Million More in Taxes than Expected in April
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is reporting that it collected $81 million more in taxes in April than anticipated even after officials issued a more optimistic fiscal forecast during the month. The state Department of Revenue's report Wednesday came as Republican legislators attempted to revive a tax relief bill. Democratic Governor Laura Kelly in March vetoed a GOP bill aimed at preventing individuals and businesses from paying more in state income taxes because of changes in federal tax laws at the end of 2017. Kelly described it as fiscally irresponsible. The Department of Revenue said Kansas collected nearly $1.2 billion in taxes during April when it expected a little more than $1.1 billion. The surplus was 7.3 percent. The new forecast issued in mid-April increased projections for tax collections through June 2021.
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GOP Lawmakers in Kansas Try to Revive Tax Relief Legislation
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican legislators in Kansas are trying to revive tax relief legislation aimed at helping individuals and businesses who are paying more in state income taxes because of changes in federal tax laws. The plan drafted Thursday by GOP negotiators for the House and Senate is smaller than a tax relief bill that Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed in March. It would save taxpayers roughly $90 million during the budget year beginning in July. Kelly said the state should study its entire tax system rather than rush a bill through. But Republican leaders made tax relief a top priority and contend the state is receiving a "windfall" it doesn't deserve because of the federal tax changes at the end of 2017. The Senate hoped to vote on the plan Thursday night.
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Kansas Senate GOP Blocks Move to Debate Medicaid Expansion
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans have blocked a move in the Kansas Senate to expedite a debate on Medicaid expansion. The vote Wednesday was 23-13 to pull an expansion bill from committee, one vote short of the 24 needed. The House passed the bill in March but the Republican-controlled Senate has not acted on it. Medicaid expansion is one of new Democratic Governor Laura Kelly's priorities. Her plan for expanding Medicaid health coverage to up to 150,000 additional Kansas residents is based on a bill that passed in 2017 with bipartisan support, only to be vetoed by then-Governor Sam Brownback, a Republican. GOP leaders say they want to wait until next year to vote on an expansion plan and that Kelly is trying to rush the debate.
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Kansas Senate OKs Bill Saying Child Can't be the "Aggressor" in Child Sex Abuse Cases
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Senate has approved a bill that would prevent judges from lowering sentences for child sex offenders if they think the victims were willing participants in the crime. The bill approved Wednesday comes after a Leavenworth County judge in February reduced the sentence for 67-year-old Raymond Soden because he thought the 13- and 14-year-old girls involved in the case were "aggressors." The Kansas City Star reports current state law allows judges discretion in sentencing for "substantial or compelling" reasons. The new bill prohibits judges from reducing sentences if a victim is a participant or aggressor in a sexually violent crime or electronic solicitation when the victim is under 14 and the offender is 18 or older. The House approved the bill earlier and it now goes to Governor Laura Kelly.
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Kansas Governor Seeking More Money for Prisons
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is seeking $35 million to improve corrections officer salaries and inmate health care and to transfer inmates out of overcrowded state prisons. Kelly on Tuesday submitted an amended budget proposal for the spending year that begins July 1 for lawmakers to consider as they returned Wednesday to the Statehouse for a brief wrap-up session. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Kelly wants to purchase contract bed space for male inmates to free state correctional officers for redeployment in the crowded prison system. In February, the governor declared an emergency at the state's most crowded prison because of serious staffing shortages. Kelly also wants to move 120 women at Topeka Correctional Facility to a state juvenile corrections complex and to broaden medical treatment for inmates with Hepatitis C.
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Kansas House Votes Again to Sustain Veto of Abortion Bill
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas House has voted again to uphold Governor Laura Kelly's veto of a bill requiring abortion providers to tell patients that a medication abortion can be stopped once it has been started. The vote Thursday in the Republican-controlled House was 83-41 to reconsider a vote Wednesday against overriding the Democratic governor's veto, one short of the two-thirds majority that the bill's supporters needed. It means the 82-43 vote Wednesday sustaining the veto stands. Legislative rules allow members to reconsider actions within 24 hours, giving abortion opponents a chance to save the bill. Kelly called the bill an unwarranted intrusion into patient-doctor relationships. Supporters said it ensures that women who have misgivings about ending their pregnancies know they can stop a medication abortion after taking the first of two pills.
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Kansas House Sustains Governor's Veto of Abortion "Reversal" Bill
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republicans in the Kansas Legislature have narrowly failed to override Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's veto of a bill to require doctors to tell patients that medication abortions can be stopped after the first of two pills. The Senate voted 27-13 Wednesday with no votes to spare to override the veto. But the vote in the House was 82-43, two short of the two-thirds majority needed for an override. Kelly said the bill is an unwarranted intrusion between patients and their doctors. Abortion opponents say such measures ensure that women harboring doubts about ending their pregnancies will learn that they can stop a medication abortion after the first of two pills. Abortion-rights supporters say such mandates force doctors to present patients with dubious information.
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Push to Overturn Kansas Constitutional Ruling to Wait
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ Abortion opponents are waiting until next year to try to overturn a Kansas Supreme Court decision widely interpreted as protecting abortion rights. Their plans signal that they may not have enough support yet to push the necessary state constitutional amendment through the Republican-controlled Legislature. GOP legislative leaders were outraged by last week's ruling but said they plan to take their time in responding to the ruling, despite the threat of state courts overturning existing abortion restrictions. Kansans for Life, the state's most influential anti-abortion group, says it needs time to organize the push to get a proposition on the ballot. Abortion opponents also fell just short this week of overriding Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's veto of an anti-abortion bill. They would need the same two-thirds majorities to pass a constitutional change.
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Douglas County DA Seeks to Erase Old Arrest Warrants
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The Douglas County District Attorney's Office wants to purge thousands of old arrest warrants in a special sweep. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that District Attorney Charles Branson announced Wednesday that he filed a motion for a court order to erase roughly 2,430 warrants in criminal and traffic cases that are more than a decade old. Branson says most of the offenses were misdemeanors or failure to appear cases. He says the warrants also involve individuals who haven't been in the criminal justice system for quite some time. Branson says the warrants might be creating barriers to employment and housing opportunities. He says the cases "clog the criminal justice system and require valuable time and expense to maintain." Branson says these resources can go toward more pressing investigations.
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Kansas Military School Moves to Keep Property from Founder
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — An embattled Kansas military school amended its incorporation document to remove the Episcopalian church that founded it from getting the property once the school shuts down.The amendment that came nearly seven months before the school announced its plans to close was revealed when the document recently became public. It was brought up in an alumni group's social media posting. The document raises questions at a time when supporters are working to keep St. John's Military School open in Salina. The Episcopalian boarding school announced in February it planned to shut down after its May 11 commencement. The 131-year-old school said education has changed dramatically, resulting in lower enrollment and unsustainable higher costs. Military schools nationwide have been closing their doors amid declining revenues and falling enrollments.
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Kansas Authorities Find Drugs Valued at $9 Million in Car
MAPLE HILL, Kan. (AP) — Northeast Kansas officials say they found drugs worth about $9 million after a police dog alerted them to the presence of narcotics. The Wabaunsee County Sheriff's Office said in a news release that a driver with a suspended license was stopped Wednesday in Maple Hill. After the K-9, named Karma, alerted to the vehicle, the driver was arrested and the vehicle was impounded. The sheriff's office says a search found two bags containing several hundred pills and 10 wrapped bundles. The pills are believed to be fentanyl and the bundles apparently are heroin or methamphetamine mixed with fentanyl. The suspect's name has not been released.
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Forecast: Kansas Growers May Harvest More Winter Wheat
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Participants in the annual winter wheat tour are forecasting that Kansas farmers will harvest 306.5 million bushels this season. The Wheat Quality Council said in a news release that the three-day tour wrapped up Thursday after participants gathered information from 469 fields across Kansas. The group calculated average yields of 47.2 bushels an acre. Kansas growers planted about 7 million acres of wheat last fall. Tour scouts report that wheat planted before the October rains generally looks good now. Wheat planted when farmers could get back in fields after the rains is not faring as well. They say the wheat is behind schedule, with most areas a week to 10 days behind normal development. Kansas farmers harvested 277 million bushels last season with average yields of 38 bushels an acre.
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Infant Found in Wichita Home with Dead Brother Recovering
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 4-month-old boy who was found injured in a Wichita home where his brother died is recovering from his injuries. The boy, named Tai, was severely underweight and had broken bones when officers found him last month along with the body of his 2-year-old brother, Zaiden. Zaiden's parents, Brandi Marchant and Zaiden's dad Patrick Javonovich, are charged with felony murder and child abuse. Tai's father, Julius Casura, told KAKE-TV that his son is reacting to lights and people talking to him. He says Tai is expected to make a full recovery. Casura said he recently found out he was Tai's dad and he's trying to get full custody of the boy. He says he was unaware of the alleged abuse his son endured.
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Woman in Wrecked Car Killed by Passing Vehicle in Overland Park
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a woman was killed after she got out of a wrecked car and was struck by a passing vehicle in suburban Kansas City. The Kansas City Star reports that it happened around 12:30 am Thursday on U.S. 69 in Overland Park. Police say the woman was a passenger in a car whose driver lost control and crashed into a median. The woman then got of the vehicle and was hit. She died later at a hospital. The crash is under investigation.
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Woman with 5 Pounds of Fentanyl Pleads Guilty in Kansas City
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A 33-year-old woman who was stopped at a Kansas City bus station last year carrying more than 5 pounds of fentanyl in her suitcase has pleaded guilty to drug charges. Evelyn Sanchez pleaded guilty Wednesday to possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute. Prosecutors say Sanchez was traveling from Los Angeles to New York in August 2018 when the bus stopped in Kansas City. The prosecutors say a K-9 alerted to Sanchez's suitcase under her seat on the bus. Kansas City police and federal agents found more than 5 pounds of the drug packaged in two bundles in the suitcase. She also had cocaine in a false bottom of her purse. Federal authorities said the fentanyl they found was enough to make 1.5 million lethal doses.
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Kansas Undersheriff Shot by Suspect is Expected to Recover
STERLING, Kan. (AP) — An undersheriff who was shot when he tried to stop a man on a federal firearm charge is expected to recover. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Rice County Sheriff's office said Wednesday 48-year-old Rice County Undersheriff Chad Murphy's condition has improved from critical to serious. Murphy was shot Monday by 37-year-old David Madden near Sterling. Authorities say Madden then shot and wounded Sheriff Bryant Evans and killed his father before killing himself during a standoff. Madden was under investigation in the disappearance of 22-year-old Megan Renee Foglesong, of Oneida, Illinois, who was last seen in Rice County in 2015. The KBI said in a news release Wednesday that investigation continues but no new leads or information have emerged from this week's shooting.
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Officer Ruled Justified in Shooting, Wounding of 18-Year-Old
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A prosecutor has determined that a suburban Kansas City police officer was justified in shooting and wounding an 18-year-old homicide suspect. The Johnson County, Kansas, district attorney said Tuesday in the ruling that Matthew Bibee Jr. made comments that indicated his intent to kill the officer. KMBC-TV reports that Bibee began shooting on March 31 after an officer confronted him because he matched the description of a suspect in an attempted carjacking. Bibee sustained shrapnel wound to his wrist. Investigators said that as Bibee was being led to a police car, he shouted that he was trying to take the officer's "life first." Bibee is jailed on $1 million bond on charges that include battery on a law enforcement officer and first-degree murder in the March 29 killing of 17-year-old Rowan Padgett.
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Coach: Football Field was "Piece of Heaven"' for Slain Player
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Hundreds gathered in Kansas to remember a Washburn University football player who was killed in a shooting that also wounded a friend who had been drafted hours earlier by the New York Giants. The Kansas City Star reports that coach Craig Schurig said at Tuesday's vigil for 23-year-old Dwane Simmons that the football field was his "piece of heaven." The coach compared Simmons, a junior from Lee's Summit, Missouri, to the candles carried by mourners, saying he "shined the light on everybody." The university plans to create a scholarship named for Simmons. The shooting early Sunday outside an off-campus party also injured cornerback Corey Ballentine, whom the Giants drafted Saturday in the sixth round. The university says Ballentine is expected to make a full recovery. No one has been arrested.
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NY Giants Have Advised Corey Ballentine to Skip Rookie Camp
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — The Giants have told Corey Ballentine to skip the team's upcoming rookie minicamp to mourn the death of a Washburn University teammate who was killed in a shooting that also wounded New York's sixth-round pick just hours after being taken in the NFL draft. The Giants draft choices and rookie free agents were to report on Thursday. Practices are scheduled on Friday and Saturday. In a statement released by the Giants on Wednesday, the team said it has been in contact with Ballentine since Sunday. "We have encouraged Corey to stay in Kansas this week to be with his family and friends as they mourn the loss and celebrate the life of his good friend and teammate Dwane Simmons," the statement said. Simmons, a fellow defensive back, was killed early Sunday outside an off-campus party. Ballentine was wounded. He was treated and released from a hospital on Sunday. The university said Ballentine is expected to make a full recovery. No one has been arrested. "Corey will be with us when it's appropriate," the Giants said. Services for Simmons of Lee's Summit, Missouri, are scheduled for Saturday.
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U.S. Proposes Downlisting Endangered Beetle
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Biologists say the government's decision to change the classification of an endangered scavenging beetle is not supported by scientific data. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday it is proposing to downlist the American burying beetle from endangered to threatened. Native to 35 states and three Canadian provinces, the beetle was listed as endangered in 1989 when it was found only in eastern Oklahoma and Block Island off the cost of Rhode Island. Thanks to conservation efforts, federal officials say there are now confirmed populations of the American burying beetle in nine states. Noah Greenwald is endangered species director for the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity. He says scientific data indicates that the beetle is even more endangered now, but that President Donald Trump's administration is severely reducing its habitat protections.
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