Rain, Rain and More Rain - Dark Clouds on Horizon for Flood-Weary Midwest
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The flood-ravaged Midwest doesn't need more rain, but it may get it anyway. The National Weather Service predicts several days of wet weather this week in the central U.S. Hydrologist Mark Fuchs says parts of eastern Kansas could get up to 5 inches of rain by Friday, and 3 inches or more are possible in parts of Iowa and Missouri. The Mississippi and Missouri rivers and their tributaries are already flooding, causing levee breaches and evacuations. Four deaths last week were blamed on floods. Fuchs says he is especially concerned about the potential for a new rise in the Missouri River, including in areas of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and northwestern Missouri that were flooded in late March. The new rain also will keep the Mississippi River at major flood stage even longer in many places, putting more pressure on already-stressed levees.
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Kansas Water Park Where Boy Died Appears Unlikely to Open
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ A Kansas water park where a 10-year-old boy was decapitated isn't hiring lifeguards, advertising or selling tickets with less than a month left before its typical Memorial Day weekend opening date. Schlitterbahn remains mum on its plans but has largely removed reference from its website about the Kansas City, Kansas, park where Caleb Schwab was killed in 2016 on the 17-story Verruckt slide. Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas, spokesman Mike Taylor says officials are assuming the park won't open this summer. They are hopeful it will come under new ownership and open next year. Speculation about a potential sale was fueled by mortgage lender, EPR Properties, announcing last week that Schlitterbahn is expected to pay off its approximately $190 million loan on the property soon.
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Kansas Senator Jerry Moran Seeks Commitment from Amtrak on Train Route
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Senator Jerry Moran is putting pressure on Amtrak to commit to continue running the Southwest Chief passenger rail service that connects Chicago to Los Angeles with several stops in Kansas. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Moran recently delayed confirming three nominees to Amtrak's board of directors in an effort to push the national rail carrier to offer assurances that the line will operate for at least another year. Amtrak's president, Richard Anderson, agreed to meet with Moran and other lawmakers about the rail service's future this month. Amtrak officials have considered suspending rail service from Dodge City to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and transitioning to buses. The Republican senator helped secure $50 million in the federal budget for the Southwest Chief through September. Discussions in Congress about extending the grant are ongoing.
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Kansas Lawmaker Arrested for DUI, Vehicle Found in Ditch
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas legislator has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after his vehicle was found in a ditch in east Topeka. Police said officers found Democratic state Sen. Vic Miller of Topeka uninjured inside his vehicle late Monday night after receiving a report of a vehicle crashed in the ditch. Officers took Miller to the Shawnee County jail, where he was booked early Tuesday on suspicion of driving under the influence and inattentive driving. The county Department of Corrections said Miller was released after posting a $1,000 bond. Miller declined comment Tuesday afternoon. Miller held several local offices and served in the Kansas House before Democrats picked him in November to fill the Senate seat that Gov. Laura Kelly held before her election last year.
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Fleeing Driver Causes Wichita Crash that Kills Woman, Girl
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a man and woman in a stolen SUV involved in a crash that killed two people are both convicted felons. Police say 24-year-old Mia Collins led police on a chase Sunday in a stolen BMW sport utility vehicle. After about 1 mile, the car collided with a car and another SUV at an intersection. The crash killed 70-year-old Maria Wood and 12-year-old Rosemary McElroy and critically injured 36-year-old Jenny Wood, a popular Wichita musician known for performing with children. She is Maria Wood's daughter and McElroy's aunt. The Wichita Eagle reports Collins is on probation. A passenger in her car, 38-year-old Christopher English, is on parole. The driver of the SUV that was hit, 65-year-old Alfred Angle, was seriously injured. Collins and English also were taken to a hospital.
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Nebraska Woman Pleads Guilty in Crash that Killed 3 Kansans
HOLTON, Kan. (AP) — A Nebraska woman involved in a crash that killed three Kansans will be sentenced in June after accepting a plea agreement. Jackson County Attorney Shawna Miller confirmed to the Topeka Capital-Journal that 49-year-old Maria Perez Marquez, of Omaha, pleaded guilty in April to three misdemeanor counts of vehicular homicide and one felony count of aggravated battery. She had originally been charged with three felony counts of involuntary manslaughter. The November 2017 crash on U.S. 75 killed three family members of two Sabetha High School football players shortly after their team won a state title. The Kansas Highway Patrol said Perez-Marquez was trying to pass another vehicle about 12 miles north of Holton when her vehicle hit a minivan driven by 42-year-old Carmen Ukele, of Sabetha. The crash killed Ukele, her daughter and her brother-in-law.
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Authorities Investigate Possible Carbon Monoxide Release at Lawrence School
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The Lawrence school district says it investigated a report that two staff members at an elementary school apparently were exposed to carbon monoxide. The district said in a news release Monday that two employees from Kennedy Elementary School reported they had tested positive for elevated carbon monoxide levels. The Lawrence Journal-World reports district spokeswoman Julie Boyle said in a news release that workers discovered a natural gas water heater had not been venting properly because a vent was covered. Boyle said the district was trying to determine how long the vent had been covered. The problem was fixed and the district tested the area during the weekend. She said Lawrence Douglas County Fire Medical and Black Hills Energy completed an inspection at Kennedy Monday and found no carbon monoxide.
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California Trucker Pleads Guilty to Stealing Load of Meat
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A 37-year-old California trucker working for a Kansas freight brokerage pleaded guilty to stealing a load of meat valued at more than $160,000. Federal prosecutors said Gegham Avetisyan, of Valley Village, California, pleaded guilty Monday to wire fraud. Prosecutors say Avetisyan contracted with a business in Olathe, Kansas, to deliver the meat to three places in California. He faxed documents to the company using the name Robert Ivanov. Avetisyan picked up the meat at a packing plant in Omaha but didn't deliver it. He faces a sentence of up to 20 years and a fine up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for August 12.
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Police: Shooting Suspect Lied About Being a Bail Bondsman
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a man who shot and wounded another man outside a Topeka motel falsely claimed that he was a bail bondsman who was attempting to take a suspect into custody. Topeka police say 36-year-old Durante Dewayne Jones was booked into jail on suspicion of aggravated false impersonation and being in possession of a firearm despite past felony drug and obstruction convictions. Police initially said that the bondsman fired Monday when the suspect attempted to strike him with a large metal object at the Travelers Inn. Police described the wounded man's injuries as non-life threatening. No one else was hurt. Police spokeswoman Gretchen Koenen says it was later confirmed that Jones was not a bondsman. She said she didn't have information about a motive, noting that the investigation is ongoing.
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Bail Bondsman Shoots Man Monday Morning at Topeka Motel
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a bail bondsman has shot and wounded a man while attempting to serve a felony warrant at a Topeka motel. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the man was transported Monday to a hospital with injuries that weren't believed to be life-threatening. Police spokesman Lt. Andrew Beightel says that when the bail bondsman attempted to make an arrest at the Travelers Inn motel, the suspect attacked him with a large metal object. Beightel says the bondsman then fired in self-defense, striking the suspect once. No information was provided about why the suspect was the subject of a felony warrant. The investigation is ongoing and no charges have been filed against the bondsman. Beightel says bail bondsmen "do have legal right to apprehend the suspects they go after."
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Man Jailed After 8-Year-Old Girl Escapes Attempted Abduction
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police say a man trying to kidnap an 8-year-old girl ran away when she started screaming. Police Captain Brent Allred said the girl was playing outside a Wichita motel Sunday with her 8-year-old cousin when a man identified as 39-year-old Daniel Withrow grabbed her and forced her into a storage shed. He says Withrow ran when the girl screamed. She was not physically hurt. Police say Withrow is a lawn maintenance subcontractor. Allred said the girl didn't know him. The Wichita Eagle reports Kansas prison records show he was convicted of aggravated indecent liberties with a child in a 1999 Reno County case. He also has prior criminal gun possession and drug convictions. Withrow remained in the Sedgwick County Jail Tuesday on suspicion of kidnapping. His bond is $100,000.
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Wichita Police: 7 Injured When Car Hits Van
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police say seven people were injured after a vehicle driven by a teenager crashed into a van carrying disabled people. KSN-TV reports Sgt. Bill Stevens says the seven people in the van were taken to the hospital but their injuries were not considered life-threatening. The crash happened Tuesday afternoon in west Wichita. Police say the teenager's car ran a stop sign and hit the van. Stevens says a preliminary investigation indicates the car driver was under the influence of something. He has been taken into custody.
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Report: Kansas Winter Wheat Maturing Slowly this Season
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A new government report says the Kansas winter wheat crop is maturing more slowly than usual. The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Monday that about 14% of the wheat has now headed. That is near what it was a year ago, but well behind the 41% average for this date. The agency also rated wheat condition as 10% poor to very poor, 32% in fair shape, and 58% in good to excellent condition. Growers have also seeded about 41% of their corn acreage, behind the 51% that is normally in the ground by this time. Planting of soybean and sorghum crops in Kansas is just getting under way with progress at or near the average.
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Inmate Found Dead in Jail Cell Was Suspect in Death of Army Veteran
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Sedgwick County authorities say a man charged with killing an elderly Army veteran was found dead in his jail cell on Saturday. The sheriff's office said in a news release that preliminary reports indicate 36-year-old Austin Lee Stewart of Wichita died of self-inflicted asphyxiation from a bed sheet but an official cause of death has not been determined. The Wichita Eagle reports Stewart was found unresponsive in his cell Saturday night and efforts to revive him failed. Stewart was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated robbery and theft in the Nov. 29 beating and asphyxiation death of 88-year-old Floyd Gilbert. Court records say Gilbert died during an attempted robbery. Stewart and another man apparently targeted Gilbert because they thought he kept cash and guns in a safe in his home.
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Letter from Prince Charles Marks Anniversary of Missouri Museum
FULTON, Mo. (AP) — A letter from the Prince of Wales highlights the 50th anniversary of a mid-Missouri museum honoring Winston Churchill. Members of the families of Churchill and President Harry Truman were among the hundreds of people attending weekend activities at America's National Churchill Museum on the campus of Westminster College in Fulton. The museum honors the place where Churchill delivered his famous "Iron Curtain" speech in 1946. The museum opened May 7, 1969, after the London church St. Mary the Virgin Aldermanbury was moved stone-by-stone to Fulton. The phrase "Iron Curtain" described the separation of Eastern Europe that was under Soviet Union rule. Prince Charles, in a letter read at a gala on Saturday, noted the museum as the "remarkable and highly appropriate memorial" for the famous speech.
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Massachusetts Couple Gives $20 Million to Kansas State University
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A Massachusetts couple is donating $20 million to Kansas State University's College of Business Administration. The college said in a news release that the gift from Paul and Sandra Edgerley of Brookline, Massachusetts, will fund a new Digital Learning Repository and a new Center for Financial Analysis. It also is expected to help the business college's goals of improving the four-year graduation rate and increasing enrollment by 500 students, including more multicultural students. Other goals include increasing contact between students and businesses, providing more internships, and improving job offers and average starting salaries of its graduates. The Edgeleys' gift brings the business college nearly halfway to its goal of doubling its endowment from $50 million to $100 million by 2021. Paul Edgerley earned an accounting degree from Kansas State in 1978.
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Police Identify Driver Who Died After Iowa Chase
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Authorities have identified a driver who died following a three-vehicle chase and shooting in Council Bluffs. Police say 18-year-old Ethan Edgar, of Hutchinson, Kansas, was killed. Police say the incident began when a man and several of his friends went looking for the man's stolen car Monday afternoon. When the group spotted the car at a gas station, they used the two cars they were in to box in the stolen car. Police say Edgar, who was driving the stolen car, rammed the other cars in an attempt to flee. That's when a passenger in one of the rammed cars began shooting at Edgar, and a chase ensued before Edgar crashed. Edgar was taken to a hospital in neighboring Omaha, Nebraska, where he died. Police say his injuries included two gunshot wounds. Police questioned but didn't arrest the Omaha shooter or other men. The Pottawattamie County Attorney is expected to present evidence to a grand jury to determine if criminal charges will be filed.
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