Kansas Tells High Court that Broad Bipartisan Support is Reason to Approve New School Funding Law
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ Lawyers for Kansas argued that the state Supreme Court should sign off on a new public school funding law partly because it was enacted with broad, bipartisan support.
Attorney General Derek Schmidt's office filed legal arguments today (MON) defending the new law. The measure increases education funding by roughly $90 million a year. The law contained Democratic Governor Laura Kelly's plan for complying with a high court ruling last year that Kansas wasn't spending enough money on its schools. The court said a 2018 law boosting funding wasn't sufficient because it didn't account for inflation. Attorneys for four school districts suing the state have said the new law doesn't provide enough funding after the 2019-20 school year. The state's lawyers say bipartisan support for the law suggests that the school districts suing the state... are wrong.
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Kansas City Man Convicted of Killing Five People
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A man with a violent past has been convicted of killing five people in a quiet cul-de-sac in south Kansas City. Thirty-nine-year-old Brandon Howell was found guilty earlier today (MON) on five counts of first-degree murder and seven other felonies in the killings, which took place in 2014. Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty. The defense did not call any witnesses during the week-long trial.
(earlier reporting)
Deliberations Begin in Trial of Man Charged with Killing Five People in 2014 During Rampage in Quiet Kansas City Neighborhood
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) _ Deliberations are underway in the trial of a man accused of killing five people in 2014, during a rampage in a quiet Kansas City neighborhood. Jurors got the case today (MON) after closing arguments in the case against 38-year-old Brandon Howell. He's charged with five counts of first-degree murder and seven other felonies. Howell is accused of trying to steal a classic Jaguar from the home of 80-year-old George Taylor and 86-year-old Anna Taylor and, in doing so, prosecutors say Howell beat the couple so badly that they later died from their injuries. The couple's neighbor, a 69-year-old Susan Choucroun, was shot in her driveway. Two others -- 88-year-old Alice Hurst and her 63-year-old son, Darrel Hurst -- were killed as they returned from a store. Howell was arrested that night walking along a freeway carrying a shotgun in his pants. Previously, Howell was acquitted of killing two teenagers from Johnson County, Kansas.
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Advocates Frustrated with Pace of Kansas Foster Care Fixes
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Child welfare advocates in Kansas who spent more than a year examining the state's troubled foster care system are frustrated with what they see as the Legislature's lack of action on their recommendations for fixing the problems. Democratic Governor Laura Kelly says she understands their frustrations but argues that her administration and lawmakers are making progress. She also says it will take time to fix the years of problems left by her Republican predecessors. More than a dozen members of a child welfare task force and its subcommittees have signed a letter urging lawmakers to do more to address problems in the system that provides foster care for abused and neglected children.
The GOP-controlled Legislature might not have much time left this year. Lawmakers reconvene May 1 after their annual spring break and are scheduled to wrap up their business for the year by May 17. "It seems like a waste," social worker Sarah Coats, who signed the letter, told The Kansas City Star. "We have all of this information, all of the research done, people are committed to work and know what needs to be done and no one is doing anything. It's like screaming at a brick wall."
In recent years, the state faced questions about several high-profile deaths of abused children after the Department for Children and Families was alerted to problems. Until September, some children in state custody slept overnight in foster care contractors' offices, including a 13-year-old girl who was raped in an office. Lawmakers are close to funding dozens of new child welfare workers over the next two years. They also have passed a bill that would allow Kansas for the first time to use federal funds to pay for prevention services to help keep children out of foster care. ( Read more about this story.)
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Cut Melon Linked to U.S. Salmonella Outbreak Recalled
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indianapolis-based company has issued a recall for melon products sold in 16 states after being linked to a salmonella outbreak. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday that the recall includes cut watermelon, honeydew and cantaloupe produced by Caito Foods LLC. The fruit has been sold under various brands or labels at Kroger, Walmart, Trader Joe's, Target and Whole Foods. The affected states are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Health officials advise consumers to check packaging to determine if the melon was distributed by Caito Foods, and, if so, not to eat it. They advise stores to pull the products from shelves. Authorities say 93 people have been sickened, 23 of whom were hospitalized. No deaths have been reported. Salmonella Carrau is described as rare. Symptoms include diarrhea, fever and abdominal cramps.
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GOP Leader Seeks to Bar Kansas Governor from Naming Judge
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle is trying to bar Governor Laura Kelly from nominating a new state Court of Appeals judge after Kelly was forced to withdraw her first choice. The Senate's top Republican sent a letter Friday to Attorney General Derek Schmidt asking him to file a lawsuit to keep the Democratic governor from submitting another choice to the Senate for confirmation. Kelly withdrew her first choice of Labette County District Judge Jeffry Jack last month because of political posts on Jack's Twitter feed in 2017. Wagle contends that Kelly can't make another nomination under a 2013 law. Wagle says the power to make the nomination now goes to Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss. Kelly disagrees. Schmidt has urged legislative action to clarify the law.
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Kansas Teen Dies After Out-of-Control Driver Hits Her
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A suburban Kansas City teenager who was struck by an out-of-control car as she was walking home from school has died from her injuries. The Kansas City Star reports that 14-year-old Alexandra Rumple died Sunday. Overland Park, Kansas, police say she was struck Friday afternoon about a block away from Oxford Middle School, where she was an eighth-grader. Police say the driver also hit a traffic signal pole and a wooden fence. Police haven't released the driver's name. It isn't yet known what caused the car to leave the road. Hundreds gathered Sunday at a vigil to remember Alex as an athletic, art-loving, straight-A student. Students talked about how she wanted everyone to feel included. Her principal encouraged her classmates to wear flannel Monday because it was Alex's favorite material.
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Topeka Man Convicted in Shooting Death of Another Man
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Shawnee County jury has convicted a man of second-degree murder in the July shooting death of another man. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that 33-year-old Tony Lee Foster was convicted Friday of second-degree murder and a weapons count in the July 9 fatal shooting of 36-year-old David Payne, of Topeka. Officers responding to report of a shooting at a home in the northern part of the city found Payne with a gunshot wound to his torso. He was rushed to a hospital, where he later died. Foster will be sentenced at a later date.
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Police: Arrest Man in Shooting Death of Wichita Man
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Police in Wichita say a 21-year-old man has been killed and another man has been arrested in his death. Police say officers were called to a home around 8:30 am Friday for a report of a shooting and found 21-year-old Justin Lane, of Grain Valley, Missouri, dead with a single gunshot wound to the head. Detectives say an initial investigation revealed that Lane and an acquaintance, 22-year-old Brandon Craig, of Independence, Missouri, were visiting a friend at the home when a fight between the two broke out. Police say Craig fired one shot from a handgun, hitting Lane. Craig was arrested on suspicion of first-degree murder.
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Man Who Fled to Oklahoma During Trial Sentenced to 71 years
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 31-year-old Wichita gang member who fled to Oklahoma during a trial in 2018 has been sentenced to 71 years in prison. Tremain Shears was sentenced Friday for nine felonies, including attempted first-degree murder. District Attorney Marc Bennett said in a news release that Shears shot at Marcqual Hightower three times in 2016. Hightower was wounded three times but survived. A motive was not disclosed in court. While Shears was on trial, he had his GPS monitoring bracelet removed and fled to Oklahoma. The jury found him guilty the day after he fled. Shears was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Oklahoma City a few days after he fled.
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Russian Embassy Demands Release of Woman in Kidnapping Case
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - The Russian Embassy is demanding the release of a citizen convicted of taking her children from the U.S. to Russia amid a divorce. Thirty-eight-year-old Bogdana Alexandrovna Osipova was convicted last month of one count of international parental kidnapping and two counts of attempting to extort money. She is referred to by her married name of Mobley in court documents. The Russian Embassy said Friday in a tweet that Osipova should be returned to her children and described the behavior of U.S. authorities as "lawless." Prosecutors said she left Wichita, Kansas, in April 2014 with one child from her first marriage and another child from a second marriage to Brian Mobley. She gave birth to a third child soon after returning to Russia. The children are thought to still be in Russia.
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WSU Holds Event to Celebrate Life of Late Leader
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Wichita State University is planning a public event to celebrate the life of its late president, John Bardo. The event will take place from 3 to 4 pm on May 9 at Wichita State (in the university's Shirley Beggs Ballroom of the Rhatigan Student Center). The school says the program will include speakers and video presentations about Bardo's impact on Wichita State. Bardo, who was president since 2012, died March 12 after battling a chronic lung condition.
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Joplin Asks Residents to Stop Planting Bradford Pear Trees
JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — The city of Joplin is discouraging homeowners from planting Bradford pear trees as the invasive variety begins to blossom downtown this spring. The move comes two years after the Missouri Department of Conservation started asking homeowners and landscapers to stop planting the trees, which are resistant to diseases and pests. Jon Skinner is a community forester with the state conservation agency. Skinner tells the Joplin Globe that flowery Bradford pears, also known as Callery pear, gained popularity for decades because of their beautiful blooms, appealing shape and color. Skinner says the invasive trees spread quickly and at the expense of other native plants and animals. The Arkansas city of Fayetteville recently encouraged residents to chop down Bradford pear trees on their properties and offered native trees to replace them.
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Judge Orders Australian Animal Health Firm to Repay $33,000
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — An Australian animal health company that abandoned its Kansas offices has been ordered to repay some incentives it received from the city of Lawrence and Douglas County. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that a Douglas County judge recently ruled that Integrated Animal Health breached its incentives contract with the local governments and must pay back more than $33,300. But Lawrence officials say it's unlikely they'll recoup the money because the company appears to be defunct. Integrated Animal Health moved its global headquarters to Lawrence in 2015. The city and county had approved incentives for the company, such as subsidized rent and a $100,000 forgivable loan. The company is believed to have abandoned its Kansas lab and offices in 2017. The court has been unable to contact the company.
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Stronger Beer in Kansas Likely Won't Mean Bigger Buzz
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Kansas finally abandoned a Prohibition-era rule that restricted certain stores to only sell beer with up to 3.2% alcohol content, but the stronger beer that's now allowed doesn't contain much more alcohol. Kansas this month began allowing groceries and convenience stores to stock beer with up to 6% alcohol by volume. The Kansas City Star reports that beer drinkers are unlikely to notice a big difference because the outdated law measured alcohol by weight but alcohol is now measured by volume. The stronger beers now allowed could contain just a few drops of alcohol more than the 3.2% varieties. The Beer Institute's chief economist, Michael Uhrich, says the change still helps brewers because it's easier to produce the same products for sale in every state.
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Former Kansas City Chiefs Tight End Walter White Has Died
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs say former tight end Walter White has died. White was 67. The team said White's family said he died Wednesday of complications from pancreatic cancer. He played his entire five-season pro career with the Chiefs, retiring after the 1979 season. In his second season, White finished among the top 10 in the NFL in receiving yards and touchdowns. White also played at Mesa Junior College in Colorado and at Maryland. In 1989, White became a founding member of the Kansas City Ambassadors, former players and team executives who represent the Chiefs in outreach and charity events. White was the group's inaugural president. White was employed at Commerce Bank in Kansas City for 22 years and most recently served as vice president of the bank's investment group.
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