Armed Militia at Peaceful KC Protests Raise Concerns
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Unarmed protesters are raising concerns that armed militia members are attending rallies at an upscale shopping and dining district in Kansas City. The Kansas City Star reports that the militia has shown up several times this summer at the J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain on the Country Club Plaza. The militia is part of the Three Percenters movement, which gets its name from the belief that just three percent of the colonists rose up to fight the British. Some protesters say they consider the militia presence a hostile intimidation tactic. The militia members say they're there to help provide security. Protesters have called for police to provide a buffer between the groups at protests. Chief Rick Smith says the department uses a number of practices to maintain peace at such events.
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Kansas Lawman Worked for Years Despite Conviction
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A former police officer who worked for two decades in law enforcement in Kansas did so despite a 1995 conviction for domestic violence that should have disqualified him from wearing a badge. State law prohibits a person with a domestic violence conviction from working in law enforcement. But questions linger as to how Michael A. Stone managed to remain employed for so long. The Kansas Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training on Tuesday revoked Stone's law enforcement certification. His last day on the job as an officer with the Marion Police Department was August 5th. Stone had previously worked as a corrections officer at the El Dorado Correctional Facility, as a Butler County Sheriff's Office deputy and as police chief in Florence.
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Kansas Teen Leads Trooper on Chase, Then Tries Uber
VALLEY CENTER, Kan. (AP) — A 15-year-old Kansas boy who led a Highway Patrol trooper on a chase north of Wichita tried to use Uber to elude arrest after crashing his car. Wichita-area media reported that the chase began when the trooper attempted to stop the teenager Saturday morning for speeding and a license tag violation south of Newton. Authorities said the boy did not stop his Dodge Challenger and the trooper gave chase onto Interstate 135. The boy left the interstate outside of Valley Falls, about 10 miles to the south. He later hit several mail boxes and a pole, stopping his car. He fled on foot. Authorities said a Valley Center police officer later spotted the teenager riding with an Uber driver, pulled that car over and arrested the boy.
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Airlines Weigh in on KCI Airport Plan
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Commercial airlines using Kansas City International Airport favor a team led by the company that first approached the city about a new, $1 billion terminal for the project. The Kansas City Star reported that the consortium of airlines issued a statement late Friday saying it would prefer the team headed by locally based engineering firm Burns & McDonnell. The airlines said they want to "stay local." But the consortium said it would work with any of the four bidders. The new terminal would replace the airport's three existing terminals. Burns & McDonnell presented a proposal to the city earlier this year. A selection committee is expected to announce its pick Thursday. The City Council would have to sign off, and voters would have to approve the project in November.
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Former Kansas Commerce Secretary Considers Congress Run
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Former Kansas Commerce Secretary Antonio Soave is considering running for Congress next year. The Kansas City Star reports that Soave e-mailed supporters Saturday and is looking at seeking the Republican nomination in the 2nd Congressional District of eastern Kansas. Incumbent Republican Lynn Jenkins is not seeking re-election. Soave served as GOP Governor Sam Brownback's commerce secretary from December 2015 until June. He is now executive director of a nonprofit youth mentoring initiative. State Senators Steve Fitzgerald of Leavenworth and Caryn Tyson of Parker and Basehor City Council member Vernon Fields already have filed to run for the GOP nomination. Soave lives in Olathe in the 3rd District but said his family is considering moving to his wife's family home in Fort Scott or to the Lawrence or Topeka areas.
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Holton Man Sentenced in Case That Divided Hometown
HOLTON, Kan. (AP) — A 22-year-old northeast Kansas man whose case divided his hometown has been sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for raping two women. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Jacob Ewing of Holton was also sentenced Friday to pay more than $100,000 in restitution, and must register as a sex offender for the rest of his life. Ewing was convicted in June of raping and sodomizing one woman in 2016 and raping another in 2014. He was also convicted of battery, possession of drug paraphernalia and charges related to furnishing alcohol to minors. Ewing earlier was acquitted of sexual assaulting a 13-year-old girl. He's awaiting trial on charges that include attempted rape and sexual exploitation of a child. The allegations divided Holton, where he was an athlete from a well-known family.
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August Kansas Tax Collections $8.2 Million Over Expectations
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas says it collected $8.2 million more in taxes than anticipated in August. The state Department of Revenue reported Friday that Kansas took in more than $460 million in tax revenues when its official projection was $452 million. The surplus was 1.8 percent. It's similar to what happened in July. Since the state's current budget year began July 1st, its total tax collections of $914 million were about $16 million ahead of expectations. That's also a 1.8 percent surplus over two months. Tax collections are running more than 7 percent ahead of the previous fiscal year's collections. Lawmakers enacted an income tax increase over Republican Governor Sam Brownback's veto to help balance the budget. Revenue Secretary Sam Williams said it's too early to tell whether economic growth is boosting revenues.
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Former Manhattan City Attorney Disbarred after Child Porn Charges
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A former city attorney has surrendered his license to practice law in Kansas and has been disbarred after pleading guilty in a child pornography case. The Manhattan Mercury reports that 55-year-old Bill Raymond sent a letter to the Clerk of the Appellate Courts on August 21st surrendering his license. He was the city attorney for Manhattan, Kansas, from 2012 to 2015. Raymond pleaded guilty in federal court August 17th to three counts of transporting and one count of possessing child pornography. He confessed to emailing child pornography to himself using a cell phone and a computer. He also admitted to possessing child pornography. Raymond was in Riley and Butler counties when he committed the crimes. Sentencing is scheduled for November 6th.
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Kansas Patrol Seeks Truck Involved in Fatal Hit-and-Run
SEVERY, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Highway Patrol says a 45-year-old Chanute man died when he was hit by a truck as he was changing a tire. The patrol says Mark Makovec died early Friday on U.S. 400 one mile west of Severy. The truck that hit Makovec did not stop. The patrol says it might not be severely damaged but green fabric from Makovec's clothing might be found on the truck. The patrol is asking anyone with information on the hit-and-run vehicle to call Troop H at 620-431-2100.
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KCK Homicide Victim Identified
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have identified the victim of a deadly shooting in a Kansas City, Kansas, neighborhood. Police say in a news release that the victim was 29-year-old Kevin Fowler. Police say he was shot in the chest Wednesday in a house. Neighbors heard gunshots and then watched men race away. Police didn't immediately release suspect information. Anyone with information is asked to call a tips hotline.
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Kansas Secretary of State Writing Regular Breitbart Columns
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is writing regular columns for the conservative Breitbart News website. The Kansas City Star reports that Kobach wrote his first column for the website in June and it tied refugees to terrorism. Kobach is a conservative Republican serving as vice chairman of President Donald Trump's commission on election fraud. He is nationally known for advocating tough policies against illegal immigration. Kobach also is a candidate for governor next year. Breitbart's executive chairman is former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon. Kobach has said he had regular contact with Bannon at the White House. Kobach said Breitbart approached him and said the site appeals to a broad spectrum of conservatives. He disputed claims that the site caters to white nationalists.
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Northern Kansas Deputy Shoots, Wounds Man
OBERLIN, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a northwest Kansas sheriff's deputy has shot and wounded a man who pointed a handgun at another deputy. The Wichita Eagle reports that the Decatur County Sheriff's Office says the shooting happened Thursday night when the deputies responded to a domestic situation at a rural home. A Decatur County dispatcher reading from a news release said Friday morning that the deputies encountered a man holding a gun when they arrived. The release says the man pointed the gun at one of the deputies, and the other deputy fired his weapon. The wounded man was taken a hospital, and his condition isn't known. The man's name wasn't immediately released. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation will handle the investigation.
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Kansas Secretary of State Files Two New Election Fraud Cases
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach's office has filed two new criminal election fraud cases, including one alleging an attempt to vote by a non-citizen. The three felony counts filed August 17th in Johnson County against Sergio Salgado-Juarez mark the second time Kobach's office has filed charges alleging that a non-citizen voted since being given the power to prosecute election fraud allegations in 2015. Most of the other ten cases involved voting in two states. Such double voting is the focus of four felony charges filed the same day in Franklin County against David Haddock. Kobach's office alleges he voted in Kansas and Colorado in the November election. Telephone listings for Salgado-Juarez in Olathe and Haddock in Wellsville were disconnected. It wasn't clear from court records whether they had attorneys.
