Governor Kelly Meeting Resistance to School Funding Plan
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is meeting unexpected resistance to her plan for boosting public education funding. It's coming from local school districts that dropped their support for her proposal after concluding it would not pony up enough new money. The new Democratic governor argues her proposed increase of roughly $90 million a year would satisfy a Kansas Supreme Court mandate. But a coalition of 48 local school districts disagrees.
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Kobach Grand Jury Disbands Without Bringing an Indictment
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A grand jury that was impaneled to investigate former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has adjourned without bringing an indictment. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that documents it obtained Wednesday said that the grand jury found "no cognizable crime under the laws of the State of Kansas." No other information was released. The grand jury was called after a successful citizen petition drive. Steven Davis, who initiated the petition drive, alleged that Kobach's office failed to properly register several voters in 2016 who applied for registration while renewing their driver's licenses or filling out an online form. Kobach's office previously called Davis' allegations "patently false." The office said the allegations concern a brief period in 2016 when online registration systems were malfunctioning. They said election officials quickly made sure the affected residents were able to vote.
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KBI Investigating Kansas City, Kansas, Police Chief
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is investigating the Kansas City, Kansas, police chief's use of a county-owned lake house. The Kansas City Star reports the investigation centers on whether Chief Terry Ziegler "double dipped" when he took paid time off work while also charging the county government for work he did on the lake house. The Unified Government allowed Ziegler to pay little rent on the house on Wyandotte Lake Park if he made repairs on the property. Officials put the lease in writing after a citizen inquired about it. Ziegler sent an email to police department employees on Monday confirming the investigation. He will continue working during the investigation. In December, Mayor David Alvey said he thought the arrangement with Zeigler was in the county's best interests.
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Study: Medicaid Expand Would Cost $47.4 Million in First Year
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A new study says expanding Medicaid in Kansas would have a net cost of $47.4 million in the first year. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the nonprofit Kansas Health Institute estimated in the study released Tuesday that an additional 130,000 low-income adults and children would sign up if the program was expanded. That accounts for adults who already are eligible but may not know it, as well as those who already have insurance but would switch if state assistance were available. The number is lower than previous estimates that 150,000 would sign up for the coverage. KHI policy executive and lead author Kari Bruffett says that's because economic improvements have left fewer people uninsured. Democratic Governor Laura Kelly has made expansion a top priority, although Republican leaders are opposed.
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Kansas Ordered to Pay $48 Million to Ex-Pizza Magnate Gene Bicknell
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A judge has ordered Kansas to pay $48 million to settle a long-running legal fight with former pizza magnate Gene Bicknell. Bicknell once owned the most Pizza Hut franchises in the nation. His legal fight with Kansas centered on whether the Pittsburg native lived in Kansas or in Florida when he sold his company, NPC International, in 2006. Kansas's revenue department issued a $42.5 million income tax assessment against him, saying he lived in the state. Bicknell paid the assessment, but he argued his official home was in Florida and sued the state of Kansas. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that on Tuesday, District Court Senior Judge Richard Smith ordered Kansas to return $48 million to Bicknell. A spokeswoman for Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly says her administration is reviewing the decision.
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2 Kansas Companies Indicted over Noxious Chemical Cloud
ATCHISON, Kan. (AP) — Two companies have been indicted on federal charges after a 2016 mistake at a northeast Kansas distilling plant released a noxious cloud of fumes that prosecutors allege caused more than 140 people to seek medical treatment. The U.S. attorney's office announced Wednesday that Midwest Grain Products Inc., of Atchison, Kansas, and Harcros Chemicals Inc., of Kansas City, Kansas, are charged with Clean Air Act violations that put the public in danger. The indictment alleges that the cloud formed after a driver for Harcros pulled a truck into Midwest Grain's facility in Atchison to deliver sulfuric acid. An operator for Midwest Grain helped the driver access the transfer equipment. When the driver mistakenly connected the sulfuric acid line to the sodium hypochlorite line, toxic gas began to form. Company officials didn't immediately return phone messages from The Associated Press.
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Kansas Sheriff Intimidated Witness in DUI Arrest, KBI Says
INDEPENDENCE, Kan. (AP) — A southeast Kansas sheriff has been charged with two misdemeanors in a driving under the influence arrest. Montgomery County Sheriff Robert Dierks was charged Friday with interference with a law enforcement officer and witness intimidation. His first appearance is Wednesday. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said in a news release that the summons says the alleged crimes occurred on Jan. 27, 2018, in Montgomery County. The release didn't say what role Dierks played in the DUI arrest. The Montgomery County Chronicle wrote that Dierks urged his deputies and staff in an email Saturday to "continue to conduct business as usual, and let me take care of the politics." Dierks and his attorney, Edward Battitori, didn't immediately return phone messages with The Associated Press.
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Catholic School Rejects Same-Sex Couple's Kindergartner
PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. (AP) — About 1,000 people have signed a petition after a Catholic grade school in suburban Kansas City denied admission to a same-sex couple's child. The Kansas City Star reports that the Rev. Craig Maxim told families in a letter last month that he sought guidance from the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas when the same-sex couple asked to enroll their child in kindergarten at St. Ann Catholic School in Prairie Village, Kansas. He said the archdiocese advised against accepting the child because the parents could not "model behaviors and attitudes consistent with the Church's teachings." About half of the people who signed the petition to Archbishop Joseph Naumann and the archdiocesan schools superintendent are St. Ann members. Catholic schools nationwide are divided over whether to admit same-sex couples' children.
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Reassigned Haskell President Won't Return to Job
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The president of Haskell Indian Nations University who was reassigned shortly after a scathing federal report won't be returning to the job. Venida Chenault, who served for five years as the leader of the federally operated tribal college in Lawrence, will work in the Office of Research, Policy and Post-Secondary Education with the Bureau of Indian Education, the Lawrence Journal-World reported. She will remain in Lawrence and have an office on the Haskell campus, said Nedra Darling, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Chenault was placed on special assignment in November after a report by the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Interior. Darling said Chenault's stepping down had nothing to do with the investigation, which found that administrators at the university had underreported crime statistics for a two-year period and failed to follow internal policy when handling misconduct complaints. Other issues dealt with the handling of sexual assault allegations. The federal report said Chenault "admitted she treated an allegation of sexual assault differently because the victim was male" and confirmed Haskell mishandled allegations about an instructor sexually assaulting a student, and in the process "likely re-victimized the student." Daniel Wildcat, who has been serving as acting president since November, said in a campus-wide letter that "the BIE had completed its internal review of Haskell and was addressing all substantiated allegations through corrective action." The letter, which made no mention of Chenault, said the internal review also had "identified several areas for improvement." Wildcat did not respond to requests for further information Wednesday. Darling said efforts are underway to find a permanent leader for the Lawrence school, which enrolls about 1,000 students representing about 140 tribal nations and native communities.
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2 Arrested on Counterfeiting Charges in Northeast Oklahoma
MIAMI, Okla. (AP) — Police in Miami, Oklahoma, have arrested two people on suspicion of counterfeiting thousands of dollars. The Miami News-Record first reported the arrests of 44-year-old Scott Lowe and 39-year-old Joan Smith in a hotel room in Miami. Jail records show both remain in custody but do not list an attorney for them. A police news release says $3,000 in counterfeit $50 bills was found in the hotel room with printing equipment when the two were arrested Monday. The release says it appears the two printed and spent about $30,000 during the past month in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Missouri and Kansas, including more than $4,000 in bogus money during the weekend in Springfield, Missouri.
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3 Get Prison in College Basketball Recruiting Scandal
NEW YORK (AP) — Three men have received prison sentences in the widespread college basketball recruiting scandal that has tainted two dozen schools. Former Adidas executive James Gatto, business manager Christian Dawkins and amateur league director Merl Code were convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in October for funneling illegal payments to families of recruits to Louisville, Kansas and North Carolina State. On Tuesday, Gatto got nine months in prison. Dawkins and Code got six months each. Prosecutors say coaches teamed up with the Adidas executive and others to trade hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to influence star athletes' choice of schools, shoe sponsors, agents and even tailors. NCAA President Mark Emmert has said an independent enforcement body to adjudicate major infractions cases could be in place by August.
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Boy Wounded in Apparent Accidental Shooting in Kansas Home
ATCHISON, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a 3-year-old boy has been flown to a hospital with an abdominal wound after an apparent accidental shooting in a northeast Kansas home. The Atchison Globe reports that the authorities responded Tuesday after the boy's mother reported that her son picked up a loose gun, which went off as he was handling it. Atchison Police Chief Mike Wilson said further details on how the boy came to find the gun and who it belongs to can't be discussed at this time pending an investigation. Wilson says the cause of the discharge appears to be accidental. The boy initially was taken to Atchison Hospital and flown from there to Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri.
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1 Suspect in Lawrence Triple Murder Pleads to Misdemeanor
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — One of three Topeka men charged in a triple homicide in Lawrence is free after pleading to a misdemeanor. Defense attorney J.C. Gilroy said 20-year-old Dominque McMillon pleaded no contest Tuesday to misdemeanor battery. He was freed from jail because he was sentenced to less time than he's already served in the case. A felony charge of aggravated assault was dropped as part of the plea deal. The Lawrence Journal-World reports McMillon started a fistfight that escalated into gunfire in downtown Lawrence in October 2017, killing three and injuring two. Douglas County District Attorney said in a news release that resolving Gilroy's case allows the state to concentrate on the two remaining and more serious cases. The two other suspects are jailed on $1 million bond each while awaiting trial.
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1 Suspect Pleads Guilty in Kansas Carnival Vendors' Deaths
GREAT BEND, Kan. (AP) — One of several people charged in the deaths of a couple who disappeared from a Kansas county fair has pleaded guilty. The Great Bend Tribune reports that 54-year-old Michael Fowler Jr., of Sarasota, Florida, pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of first-degree murder and one count of theft. A capital murder charge was dropped. The bodies of Alfred "Sonny" Carpenter and Pauline Carpenter of Wichita were discovered in July in shallow graves near Van Buren, Arkansas. Prosecutors say the Carpenters were killed at the Barton County Fair, where they were vendors. The suspects worked for the carnival company at the fair. Investigators say one suspect posed as a carnival mafia boss and ordered the other suspects to kill the couple. Police have said the "carnival mafia" does not exist.
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1 Killed, 3 Hurt in Early Morning Fire in Central Kansas
PRETTY PRARIE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a woman was killed and three relatives were hurt in an early morning fire in central Kansas. Reno County Sheriff's Department says in a Facebook post that fire and law enforcement rushed to the double-wide mobile home around 2:40 am Tuesday. A woman was able to get out of the home with her 1-year-old and 2-year-old children. Sheriff Randy Henderson says she went to a neighbor and called 911 to report that her 70-year-old grandmother, Judy Kay Alley, was still inside the home. Firefighters went into the home and found Alley dead. The 2-year-old was flown to a hospital, while the child's mother and younger sibling were transported by ambulance.
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Kansas LGBTQ Activist Stephanie Mott Dies
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Well-known Kansas LGBTQ rights activist Stephanie Mott has died. Pastor Sarah Oglesby-Dunegan of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Topeka says Mott was hospitalized Sunday after apparently suffering a heart attack. She died Monday at the age of 61. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Mott, a transgender woman, filed suit in 2016 seeking to change her Kansas birth certificate to identify her as female, but that case was dismissed in 2017. The New York City-based Lambda Legal Defense Education Fund then filed a lawsuit last October, which remains pending, challenging the refusal by Kansas government officials to correct gender identification on birth certificates for transgender individuals. Mott also was a mental health clinician who led the Kansas Democratic Party's LGBT caucus and managed the Topeka chapter of Equality Kansas.
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Lawrence Man Who Bit Off Part of Roommate's Ear Sentenced
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A 39-year-old Lawrence man accused of biting off part of his roommate's ear during a drug-infused attack has been sentenced to just over three years in prison. Wynn Anderson was sentenced Tuesday to 37 months in prison followed by two years of supervision. The Lawrence Journal-World reports Anderson was originally charged with attempted second-degree murder after the November 2016 attack at his home. He pleaded no contest to attempted aggravated battery. The victim, 52-year-old James Conlon, testified at a preliminary hearing that people were smoking methamphetamine at the home when Anderson called him out to the front porch and stabbed him. Conlon said Anderson also bit off part of his ear, growled and spit it out. Conlon spent about two months in the hospital and underwent several surgeries.
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Kansas Woman Wins Annual Trans-Atlantic Pancake Race
LIBERAL, Kan. (AP) — A pancake-flipping Kansas teacher has bested her trans-Atlantic competitors to win an annual Shrove Tuesday tradition. The High Plains Daily Leader reports that Maggie Lapinski ran the 415-yard (380 meter) Liberal, Kansas, leg of the race with a time of 62.98 seconds. That was almost 7 seconds faster than Amy Butler, who ran a similar race in Olney, England, with a time of 70 seconds. Contestants must carry a pancake in a frying pan and flip it at the beginning and end of the race. The race began in Olney in the 15th century. In 1950, Liberal challenged Olney to an international competition. Lapinski, who coaches cross country, also won the Liberal leg of the race in 2017, but a winner couldn't be determined because of a technical glitch in Olney.
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ACLU: Deal Reached in Students Free Speech Case in Kansas
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A civil rights group says it has struck a settlement deal with the Shawnee Mission School District in a federal lawsuit alleging violations of the free speech and press rights of students. The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas announced Tuesday in a news release that the school district will adopt new policies to ensure future students will not have their free speech rights violated at school. It says the parties have agreed not to release settlement details until after the court approves it. The legal dispute stems from a nationwide walkout last year protesting gun violence. The lawsuit accuses the school district of suppressing students' political speech. It alleged administrators ended student anti-gun violence rallies, confiscated the cameras of student journalists covering it, and punished some participating students.
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3 Killed in Fiery Collision in Northeast Wichita
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say three people have been killed in a fiery wreck in northeast Wichita. The crash happened around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday on Kansas 254. Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Chad Crittenden says a northbound box truck collided with a westbound car while crossing Kansas 254. Both vehicles went into a ditch and caught fire. Crittenden said the three people in the car died at the scene. The patrol is working to identify them. The truck driver was hospitalized with what are believed to be minor injuries. Crittenden says it appears that the driver didn't yield before crossing the highway.
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AP Clarification: Defendant Set to Change Plea in Deadly Wichita Hoax / Fatal Swatting Case
In a story dated March 4, The Associated Press reported that that an Ohio man whose online video game dispute allegedly led to a deadly hoax call has told a court he plans to change his plea. The story should have made clear that he initially pleaded not guilty to the charges, including conspiracy to obstruct justice, wire fraud and other counts.
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Oklahoma Tops Kansas to End KU's Run of Big 12 Regular Season Titles
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — It took more than half an hour for Kansas coach Bill Self to address the media after the Jayhawks' loss to Oklahoma. He had plenty to address with his team first. Kristian Doolittle had 24 points and 11 rebounds to help the Sooners roll past No. 13 Kansas 81-68 on Tuesday night and end the Jayhawks' run of Big 12 regular-season titles at 14 years. Kansas never led. "We obviously got it handed to us right from the get-go and everything," Self said. "For this team to perform well, we've got to have some things go right and be turned up. When it started going bad, we couldn't change it." The last time Kansas didn't at least tie for the conference crown, Oklahoma State won it outright in 2003-04. Now, Kansas State and Texas Tech remain in contention for the championship. The fans knew — they chanted "streak is over" in the closing minutes. Oklahoma coach Lon Kruger said it was one of his team's best games. "Probably for 40 minutes, at least the first 35, I thought it was pretty solid," he said. "Pretty sharp on both ends of the floor."
BIG PICTURE
Kansas: Sure, the Jayhawks lost a road game to a team that has caught fire late in the season and likely will reach the NCAA Tournament. But the way they lost should be a concern, as should the close call in a win over struggling Oklahoma State last Saturday. Kansas doesn't look like Kansas right now. Oklahoma: The Sooners finally got that marquee win they have been looking for during conference play. The Sooners had lost five straight at one point, but now have won four of five. They head toward the postseason with momentum.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Kansas will likely drop for this one because the game was more lopsided than the final score indicates. Kansas trailed by 19 with 1:53 to go before a late flurry.
UP NEXT
Kansas: Hosts Baylor on Saturday.
Oklahoma: At No. 18 Kansas State on Saturday.
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