Ex-Kansas Lawmaker Mark Hutton Joins GOP Gubernatorial Race
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ Former state lawmaker Mark Hutton has officially entered the race for the Republican nomination for Kansas governor. Hutton, who founded Hutton Construction in Wichita, said during an announcement Monday that state government under Governor Sam Brownback is "broken.'' He was expected to enter the race and has been raising money since August. Hutton was elected to the Kansas House in 2012 and 2014 but didn't seek a third term. Hutton was one of the first Republicans to publicly oppose Brownback's zero tax rate for owners of limited liability companies. Other GOP candidates include Lieutenant Governor Jeff Colyer, Insurance Commissioner Ken Selzer, Secretary of State Kris Kobach, Wichita businessman Wink Hartman, former state Senator Jim Barnett, former state Representative Ed O'Malley and Prairie Village high school student Tyler Ruzich.
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Report: University of Kansas Women Faculty Still Minority
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A recent report says women faculty are still in the minority at the University of Kansas, where they're also twice as likely to resign from their posts as male colleagues. The Lawrence Journal-World reports university economics professor Donna Ginther headed the committee tasked with investigating and identifying potential gender inequities among students, staff and faculty. The committee's report found that just 35 percent of the university's tenured or tenure-track faculty are women. The report says female faculty members at the university are more than twice as likely to leave their job as are their male colleagues. Ginther says retention remains a key goal. She says the findings back up her older research that found mathematics-heavy fields are still overrepresented by men, and women are still overrepresented in social science fields.
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Report: Wheat Planting, Fall Harvest Make Progress in Kansas
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ The latest government update on Kansas crops shows progress on winter wheat seeding is lagging behind usual for this time of year. The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Monday that 14 percent of the next year's crop has now been planted. Normally by this time, Kansas growers have seeded 20 percent of their crop. The agency says about 3 percent of the wheat has now emerged. Corn harvest is also going slower than usual for this late in the season. The agency reports that 29 percent has been cut. That is behind the average of 35 percent. About 6 percent of both the sorghum and soybean crops in Kansas have also been harvested.
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Topeka Student Arrested After Threat Against School
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Topeka high school student was arrested after reportedly making social media threats against the school. The student at Seaman High School was arrested Monday night. The student was taken to juvenile intake for making a criminal threat but it wasn't clear if the person was detained or released to his parents. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the threat was sent via Snapchat and contained a reference to Columbine, the infamous 1999 high school shooting in Colorado that left 15 people dead and more than 20 injured. Shawnee County sheriff's Sergeant Todd Stallbaumer said the threat did not target specific people at the school. An email sent to parents Tuesday said the school contacted law enforcement immediately after learning of the threat and the student was arrested at his home.
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Kansas Organic Product Sales and Operations Growing
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A government survey shows certified organic operations in Kansas sold a total of $50 million in organic products last year. The National Agricultural Statistics Service said Monday that the results of its 2016 Certified Organic Survey shows those sales are up 181 percent compared to the previous year. Kansas has 86 certified organic operations in the state, up 8 percent. The survey collects acreage, production and sales data from farmers and ranchers with certified organic production.
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Man Sentenced for Sex Crimes Used Facebook to Recruit Girls
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A man who used Facebook to try and lure girls into prostitution has been sentenced to nearly eight years in prison. Sedgwick County authorities say Jesse Duckens was arrested after a 16-year-old girl's mother went to police when she found Facebook messages from Duckens telling her daughter how she could make money through prostitution and asking the girl for nude photos. A detective with the Exploited and Missing Child Unit pretended to be the girl and set up a meeting with Duckens, who was arrested when he arrived at the meeting spot. Court records show the detectives found posts advertising the girl as an escort on Daddyslist.com and Backpage.com. Duckens pleaded guilty in July to commercial sexual exploitation of a child. He was sentenced on Friday.
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Former Doctor, Boy Scout Leader Admits Assaulting Boy
BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. (AP) — A former Blue Springs doctor and Boy Scout leader is being held without bond after admitting that he sexually assaulted a boy for years. The Kansas City Star reports 45-year-old Joseph Mackey, of Lee's Summit, pleaded guilty in Jackson County Circuit Court to statutory sodomy. He is scheduled to be sentenced November 3. Court records indicate the victim met Mackey through a scouting activity and was also a patient of the doctors. He was abused dozens of times between age 14 and adulthood. Investigators found other victims who said they were abused by Mackey. He told some victims he was coordinating a sexual activities study for the University of Kansas. University officials told investigators the study didn't exist. Mackey surrendered his license in 2013.
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Topeka Man Wearing GPS Monitor Sentenced in Armed Robbery
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Topeka man who wore a GPS ankle bracelet while serving as a getaway driver for an armed robbery has been sentenced to three years in federal prison. The Kansas City Star reports that 26-year-old Christopher Bush was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court after pleading guilty in June to aiding and abetting a commercial robbery. Court records say Bush picked up a co-defendant in February after the other man robbed a store in Topeka. Police found them at another location in the city shortly after the robbery. Records show Bush was previously convicted in Douglas County on charges of aggravated battery, conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery and attempted aggravated robbery. He was required to wear the GPS monitor as a condition of his prison release.
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Maize Police Still Looking for Woman Missing for 4 Months
MAIZE, Kan. (AP) — Maize police are asking for the public's help as they continue to try and find a woman who's been missing for more than four months. Police say 30-year-old Kendra Leigh Nystrom was last seen around on the morning of May 4 when she left her parents' house with her dog, a black and white Chihuahua. The Wichita Eagle reports she left on foot and left all her personal belongings behind, including her cellphone. The house was near Cowskin Creek, which was running high that day. She is 5-feet-4-inches tall and weighs between 100 and 120 pounds. She is white, has reddish-brown hair and the initials "R.J." tattooed on her left ring finger.
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Topeka Police ID 2 Fatal Stabbing Victims; Suspect in Jail
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Topeka police have identified the two people killed Sunday night at an apartment complex near the Statehouse. Police say the victims were 61-year-old Thomas P. O'Conner and 22-year-old Chance C. Crank, both of Topeka. Police say the two men were stabbed to death. A man who lives at the apartment where the killings occurred, 62-year-old Maximo Campillo-Echevarria, was booked into the Shawnee County Jail on two counts of first-degree murder. WIBW reports that Kansas Corrections records show Campillo-Echevarria was convicted of first-degree murder for a 1981 Shawnee County death and was paroled in 2000. He returned to prison for 2004 convictions including aggravated assault and domestic battery but was paroled in January 2015.
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Former Chapman Basketball Coach Sentenced for Sex Crimes
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A former Chapman basketball coach has been sentenced to more than five years in prison on two counts of sexual exploitation of a child. Mark Snider of Abilene, who was sentenced Friday, will be on lifetime supervision after release from prison. Snider was the basketball and track coach for the Chapman School District. He was arrested last year on five counts of electronic solicitation and five counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a child under 16. KMAN reported Snider was arrested after a three-week investigation. He resigned April 2016.
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Pedestrian Dies After Being Hit on Topeka Highway
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - The Kansas Highway Patrol says a man who died after being hit by a car in Topeka was trying to cross two lanes of traffic on a highway to collect cans. The patrol says 85-year-old Jack Streeter, of Grantville, was struck Monday morning on U.S. 24. Streeter was trying to get a median in the four-lane highway to collect cans when he was hit. Streeter was taken to Stormont-Vail Hospital, where he was declared dead. The driver of the vehicle was not injured.
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2 Dead After Topeka Apartment Fire
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Two people have died and a third person has been arrested after police responded to a stabbing and a fire at a Topeka apartment. Topeka police Captain Scott Gilchrist said in a news release that one person was pronounced dead Sunday night at the scene. A second victim was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival. The victims' names weren't immediately released. The release didn't say how they died. Gilchrist says a 62-year-old suspect was found walking in the area and was interviewed. He has been booked into jail on suspicion of two counts of first-degree murder. The investigation is ongoing.
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Kansas Woman Given Probation for Embezzling from Newspaper
CHENEY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas woman was sentenced to five years of probation for embezzling more than $48,000 from a local newspaper where she worked. Sixty-year-old Diane Neises, of Cheney, pleaded guilty in July to felony theft and computer crime. The crimes occurred while Neises was an office manager from 2009 to December 2013 at the Times-Sentinel Newspapers in Cheney. Neises paid bills, reconciled bank statements and processed payroll for the business. District Attorney Marc Bennett says in a news release that she wrote herself 168 unauthorized checks. Neises also was ordered to pay $390 a month restitution.
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Aaron Judge Breaks Mark McGwire's HR Rookie Record as Yankees top Royals
NEW YORK (AP) — Aaron Judge broke Mark McGwire's major league record for home runs by a rookie, hitting a pair for the second straight day to raise his total to 50 and lead the New York Yankees over the Kansas City Royals 11-3 Monday. Judge tied the mark with a two-run drive to right-center off Jakob Junis (8-3) in the third inning that put New York ahead 3-0. His solo shot over the visitors' bullpen in left against Trevor Cahill in the seventh made it 7-3 and earned him a rare curtain call. CC Sabathia (13-5) took a 6-0 lead into the seventh, when Salvador Perez hit a two-run homer and Mike Moustakas chased him by going deep four pitches later. Mixing sharp cutters and sliders, Sabathia allowed six hits in six-plus innings. Junis gave up six runs and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings.
