Authorities Arrest Olathe Suspect After Daylong Search
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) - Police say a manhunt that caused some Olathe schools and daycare centers to be locked down has ended. Olathe police spokesman Sgt. Logan Bonney says a suspect who eluded police for about five hours Monday was arrested about 4 o'clock this (MON) afternoon without incident in a wooded area. He says at least one weapon was recovered. Officers stopped a vehicle earlier today (MON) as part of an investigation. One man inside the vehicle was arrested but the other man fled. Bonney says shots were fired but no officers were hurt. Olathe police said four convenience stores in the city were robbed early this (MON) morning -- and the suspect who fled matched the description of one of the robbery suspects.
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Suspect Arrested in 3 Kansas City-Area Fatal Shootings
RAYTOWN, Mo. (AP) - Authorities have arrested a suspect in a series of shootings that left three people dead and two wounded in the Kansas City area. Police say 35-year-old Issac Fisher was taken into custody Sunday night after a manhunt. No charges are listed for him in online court records. Police say the victims were shot during little more than an hour in three locations. Police discovered 34-year-old Angenette Hollins dead around 9:15 a.m. Sunday in a Kansas City house. A little later, police in nearby Raytown found a man dead in a home. A child who is around the age of 4 and an adult also were wounded. Police then found a man dead on the porch of a Kansas City home. Police haven't released the identities of any victims besides Hollins.
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Flood Watch Through Wednesday for Parts of KPR Listening Area
MANHATTAN, KS (KPR) – The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for portions of east central, north central, and northeast Kansas. Numerous rounds of showers and thunderstorms are expected to occur through Tuesday night. Heavy rainfall is expected in many areas, increasing the threat of flooding.
The Flood Watch affects portions of central, east central, north central and northeast Kansas, including the following counties: Dickinson, Geary, Lyon, Morris, Wabaunsee, Clay, Cloud, Ottawa, Republic, Washington, Marshall, Pottawatomie and Riley through Wednesday morning. The heaviest rainfall is expected mainly along and west of a line from Hiawatha through Emporia. Rainfall amounts of 3 to 5 inches should be common, with locally heavier amounts possible. With saturated ground conditions from recent rainfall, flash flooding could develop. Flooding of rivers and creeks is also possible by late Monday into Tuesday morning. A Flood Watch means there is a potential for flooding based on current forecasts.
Visit the National Weather Service in Topeka for more detailed information.
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Authorities: Death of Man, Woman in Derby was Murder-Suicide
DERBY, Kan. (AP) - Sedgwick County authorities say a man shot and killed his wife before fatally shooting himself in Derby. Lt. Tim Myers said Monday officers found Randy Gile II and Kristen Leigh Ghile, both 33, dead in Derby on Saturday evening. Kristen Gile's father, 55-year-old Richard Floria, suffered minor injuries. KAKE-TV reports a witness said a silver car and black SUV were speeding when shots were fired and the car sideswiped the SUV. The witness said a man got out of the silver car, shot the woman in the SUV and then shot himself. Sedgwick County Jail records show Randy Gile was booked last month for seven counts of aggravated assault and one count of criminal threat. The couple had six children.
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About 6 Percent of Kansas Faculty in Lawrence Take Buyout
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - More than 60 of the University of Kansas' tenured or tenure-track faculty on the Lawrence campus are taking an early retirement buyout. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that's about 6 percent of the 1,000 faculty members in Lawrence. They will leave between May 31, 2019, and May 31, 2020. Interim provost and executive vice chancellor Carl Lejuez says the buyout program is designed to help the university with $20 million in budget cuts. The deadline to sign up was October 5. The faculty members will receive their annual base salary for a year. Lejuez estimated those retiring were earning an average of about $100,000. They will not receive their standard benefits package. Lejuez says some of those retiring are associate professors, but some faculty in leadership positions are also taking the buyout.
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President Trump Celebrates Kavanaugh's Confirmation to Supreme Court at Political Rally in Topeka
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is celebrating the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh at a political rally in Kansas and condemning Democrats for what he calls a "shameless campaign of political and personal destruction" against Kavanaugh. To cheers of supporters Saturday night in Topeka, Trump says he called Kavanaugh to congratulate him upon his ascendency to the high court. Kavanaugh was sworn in as a justice Saturday evening in Washington. His nomination was marked by allegations of sexual misconduct when he was a high school and college student. He denied the allegations, but nearly all Senate Democrats voted against his confirmation. Trump says "radical Democrats" have become "an angry, left-wing mob" and "too dangerous and extreme to govern." And he urged Kansas voters to send Republicans to Congress.
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Missouri Senator Says She Would Never Consider Impeaching Kavanaugh
ST. LOUIS (AP) _ Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill opposed Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court, but she says she would "never consider'' impeaching him. Some liberal groups and some Democratic members of Congress have floated the idea of impeaching Kavanaugh, who was confirmed after a bitter partisan fight over accusations of sexual misconduct three decades ago. The Kansas City Star reports McCaskill said she would oppose any such efforts and no one in the Senate is discussing it. Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley, the Republican running against McCaskill and a Kavanaugh supporter, seized on the impeachment talk in a fundraising email and in a teleconference with reporters Monday. Hawley said any politician who stood up to an impeachment move would be threatened with removal and McCaskill would go along with the effort.
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Kobach Legacy on Voter ID Laws at Issue in Other Kansas Race
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - The Democrat running to replace Kris Kobach as Kansas secretary of state is trying to get voters to repudiate Kobach's political legacy of tough voter identification laws as Kobach runs for governor. Brian McClendon is a former Google and Uber executive who would break with Kobach's policies if elected secretary of state. And some change is in store. GOP nominee and state Representative Scott Schwab is another conservative who backed the voter ID policies championed by Kobach but is promising to be less in the spotlight than Kobach if he is elected. Kobach expanded his national profile in the secretary of state's office and served as vice chairman of President Trump's now-disbanded commission on election fraud. Yet as high-profile as Kobach is, the race to replace him remains low-key.
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Debate in Kansas' 4th House District Race Turns Heated
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Republican incumbent and his Democratic challenger for Kansas' 4th Congressional House District exchanged barbs and attacked the character of the other in their first debate of the general election. The Wichita Eagle , which sponsored the debate with television station KPTS, reports that Congressman Ron Estes started Friday by pointing to a 2001 incident in which challenger James Thompson pleaded no contest to disorderly conduct for punching a bar patron while working as a bouncer. Thompson said the man hit him first. Thompson fired back, criticizing Estes for accepting donations from political action committees. Thompson said he doesn't accept PAC money. Thompson painted Estes as part of a "do-nothing Congress." Estes said Thompson wants a "big government with higher taxes."
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Man, Woman Killed in Derby Shooting Believed to be Related
DERBY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a man and woman have been found shot to death in southern Kansas. The Wichita Eagle reports that the shooting happened around 5:20 pm Saturday in Derby. Sedgwick County Sheriff's Cpt. Brad Hoch says authorities think the man and woman are related. He didn't say what led to the shooting. The man and woman were in separate vehicles before the shooting. They are believed to have driven to where the shooting happened after an altercation. Hoch says the man and woman seem to be the only two people involved and that there are no suspects.
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Driver Sought in Double Fatal Crash in Kansas City Suburb
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) - Authorities are searching for a vehicle whose driver left the scene of a double fatal crash in suburban Kansas City. The Kansas City Star reports that the crash happened Saturday afternoon in Overland Park. Police are seeking a dark blue or dark gray Honda that may have struck the side of a car that then veered across the center line. The car then crashed into another vehicle, killing both drivers. Rockhurst High School identified one of the victims as senior Matthew Bloskey, saying in a statement that the school's community is "devastated." And family identified the other victim as 20-year-old Samuel Siebuhr, of Kansas City, Kansas.
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1 Man Killed, Woman Injured in Kansas City Shooting
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police in Kansas City are looking for a suspect in the shooting that left one man dead and a woman injured. Police say the shooting happened just after 3 am Saturday outside an apartment complex in the Hyde Park neighborhood. Investigators say an argument led to the shooting. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, and the injured woman was taken to a hospital with injuries not believed to be life-threatening. The names of those shot have not been released. Police say they suspect a 19-year-old woman of shooting the two and were searching for her Saturday.
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Kansas City Fire Captain Charged with Selling Guns to Felons
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Federal officials say a 52-year-old Kansas City fire captain has been charged with illegally selling several firearms to people he allegedly knew were felons. Prosecutors say James Samuels sold guns to people who told him they were going to use them to shoot people. The Kansas City Star reports Samuels allegedly bought 77 firearms in the last several years and gave some of them to a co-conspirator, who then reported them stolen. The charges were filed under seal Monday and made public Friday after Samuels was arrested and appeared in court. Court records indicate the charges stem from the September 5 sale of an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle to a confidential informant for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Samuels is in custody pending an October 11 court appearance.
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Fort Scott Hospital Closing Revives Debate over Medicaid
FORT SCOTT, Kan. (AP) — The closing of a hospital in Fort Scott is reviving the controversy over whether to expand Medicaid in Kansas. Officials announced Monday that Fort Scott Mercy Hospital will close by the end of the year. That announcement follows the closing of Mercy's hospital in Independence in 2015. The Kansas City Star reports the decision in Fort Scott, a town of about 8,000 people in southeast Kansas, has medical experts and politicians arguing again about Kansas' refusal to expand Medicaid. Officials with the Fort Scott hospital said reduced reimbursement from federal programs was one of several factors in the decision to close the hospital. The upcoming election could determine if Kansas expands Medicaid. Democrat Senator Laura Kelly and independent Greg Orman favor expansion. Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach opposes it.
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Suit Blames Kansas Foster Agency in Killing of Girl by Dogs
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - The mother of a 2-year-old girl who was fatally mauled by dogs at her father's home is suing Kansas welfare workers. The Wichita Eagle reports that the lawsuit filed last month says the Kansas Department for Children and Families and foster care contractors put the girl back into the same unsafe Topeka home from which she had been removed. The suit says officials should have known that two vicious pit bulls with a history of attacks also lived there. The girl - identified in the lawsuit as P.N.D. - was killed in September 2016 when she was "repeatedly attacked" by one or two of the dogs while her father was sleeping. Spokeswomen for DCF and the contractor said Friday that they can't comment because of the pending lawsuit.
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Military Families Angry About Damage, Thefts During Moves
Military families are complaining that this year's base transfers are the worst in memory as movers are destroying, damaging, losing and stealing their household goods. Numerous service families told The Associated Press stories of theft, carelessness and frustration during 2018 transfers, which are done by private companies hired by the military. Nearly 100,000 military members and supporters have signed an online petition demanding improvement to a system that costs taxpayers $2.2 billion annually. The military has no exact statistics on problem moves but says surveys show a slight drop in service members' satisfaction this year. Pentagon spokeswoman Major Carla Gleason said the problems are caused by a nationwide shortage of truck drivers and a low unemployment rate that has "made it very difficult for providers to find quality labor."
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Wednesday is Voter Registration Deadline in Missouri
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missourians wanting to vote in the Nov. 6 election must be registered by Wednesday. Residents must submit a completed voter registration application to local election authorities by 5 pm on October 10. The applications may be submitted in person or by mail. Registration also may be done online through the Missouri Secretary of State's website. Other places to register include at a driver's license office when applying for or renewing a driver's license, a library or any state agency where an applicant is obtaining a service. Applicants are required to present a form of personal identification, such as a driver's license.
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Museum Volunteer Sentenced for Stealing War Artifacts
SEDALIA, Mo. (AP) - A former volunteer at a small Missouri museum has been sentenced to five years of probation for stealing Civil War and World War I artifacts and then rearranging display cases to conceal the thefts. The Sedalia Democrat reports that 39-year-old Terry Cockrell was a 2010 Sedalia mayoral candidate who volunteered at the Pettis County Museum for years before moving to Coffeyville, Kansas. He pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of felony stealing $750 or more. Prosecutors agreed to drop a second charge of stealing as part of a plea agreement. He is required to pay almost $3,000 in restitution and court costs. He confessed in April to stealing and selling six artifacts, mostly firearms. The whereabouts of three artifacts, including a Civil War era surgical kit, remain unknown.
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Kansas State Ending Merit-Based Putnam Scholarships
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State will stop offering the Putnam Scholarship to students. The Putnam was a $9,000 per year scholarship, which a student could have for four years. Pat Bosco, dean of student life, says the university is shifting its scholarships from totally merit-based to need plus merit-based. He says the change is meant to reallocate money to a broader group of students. Bosco said 301 students receive the Putnam Scholarship, worth more than $2.7 million. Students who currently receive the scholarship will continue to receive it. The Manhattan Mercury reports the university has created two new scholarships to replace the Putnam for incoming students next year. The University Scholar Award is worth $20,000 over four years. The Foundation Plus Scholarship is worth a maximum $14,500 over four years.
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Missouri-Kansas City Drops Sponsorship of Charter Schools
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The University of Missouri-Kansas City says it is ending its sponsorship of eight Kansas City charter schools. Justin Perry, dean of the university's school of education, says the university will shift from oversight and accountability of charter schools to focus on education research. The Kansas City Star reports the university will continue to work with charter schools and Kansas City public schools, by providing professional development, dual credit programs for high schools, and better preparing students for jobs and college. Missouri-Kansas City began sponsoring charter schools in 1999. Doug Thaman, executive director of the Missouri Charter Public School Association, says the transition won't affect the charter schools' parents and students. University officials said the change has nothing to do with the academic standing of the schools.
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Kansas State Fair Attendance Increases in 2018
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Attendance at Kansas State Fair increased this year, thanks to sunny weather, popular concerts and new activities. Preliminary tallies for the 2018 fair show 327,965 people attended this year's fair, a 1.76 percent increase over the 2017 fair, when 322,278 fairgoers were counted. The Hutchinson News reports the fair began using a scanning e-ticket system in 2017. Previous tickets were weighed, which means there is no way to know if totals before 2017 are accurate. The increase in sales means more sales tax, which goes toward building maintenance on the fairgrounds. Fairgoers purchased nearly 24,000 concert tickets for the eight concerts this year. The Beach Boys was the top seller, with about 5,600 tickets purchased, followed by Dan + Shay with 5,000 tickets.
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Wichita Zoo Unveils Ambitious 25-Year Plan
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Zoo officials are proposing a 25-year master plan for the Sedgwick County Zoo to attract more visitors to Wichita from across the U.S. The Wichita Eagle reports that the zoo is Kansas' top attraction with an estimated $43 million annual impact on the Wichita economy. But 94 percent of the zoo's 600,000 annual visitors come from within 100 miles of the zoo. Zoo Executive Director Jeff Ettling says the plan's eight phases of upgrades and new features aim to draw beyond the zoo's current reach. Ettling says the first phase to achieve by the zoo's 50th birthday in 2021 will be a new entry with eight ticket booths. He says more ambitious ideas include a new aquarium, hotel, water park, event center and destination restaurant overlooking the savanna exhibit.
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