Fifth Suspect Arrested in Killing of 78-Year-Old Man in Greenwood County
EUREKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says a 15-year-old boy is the fifth suspect to be arrested in the killing of a 78-year-old man at his home in the southeast Kansas town of Eureka. Officials say the teen was arrested Monday afternoon on suspicion of felony murder, aggravated burglary, felony theft and conspiracy to commit felony theft. Four others were earlier charged with the same counts in the killing of Danny Shue. Those charged are 34-year-old Leon Lindsay and 25-year-old Joseph Warden, both of El Dorado; 30-year-old Noah Farr, of Dighton; and a 17-year-old. Greenwood County deputies found Shue's body on August 19 during a welfare check at his home. The KBI has not released details about Shue's death.
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Suspect in Winfield Homicide Arrested After Returning to Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (KPR) - The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) says a suspect in a Winfield homicide investigation has returned to Kansas to face charges. In a news release, the KBI said 21-year-old Deuntae M. Markham, of Wichita, has been arrested in connection with the December 2019 death of 32-year-old Gabriel Luna, of Winfield. The KBI says Markham returned to Kansas to face charges on Sunday. Gabriel Luna was shot on December 18, 2019, while he was in his apartment on the Southwestern College campus in Winfield. Authorities say he died from his injuries two days later at a Wichita hospital. Markham is charged with suspected second-degree murder for the unintentional, but reckless, killing of Luna. Charges are accusations, and all individuals are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The Winfield Police Department asked the KBI for assistance in this investigation. According to the KBI, Markham was arrested by the San Francisco Police Department in downtown San Francisco, California on August 3. When extradition proceedings were finished, Markham was returned to Kansas and booked in the Cowley County Jail.
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Overland Park Massage Parlor Owner Pleads Guilty to Prostitution Charge
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A woman who owned three massage parlors in the Kansas City suburbs pleaded guilty to a federal prostitution charge. The U.S. Attorney's office said Monday employees at massage parlors owned by 62-year-old Chunqui Wu, of Overland Park, performed sexual services for tips. Wu was arrested after confidential informants confirmed sex acts were being performed at the massage parlors. Wu ran the Alpha Massage and A Plus Massage in Olathe and the King Spa in Leawood. She faces 10 years in federal prison when she is sentenced November 16.
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Kansas Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Oklahoma Cold Case
VINITA, Okla. (AP) — A Kansas man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in connection with the deaths of two people and the disappearance of two teenage girls more than 20 years ago. The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation says 69-year-old Ronnie Busick was sentenced Monday in Craig County on one count of accessory to murder. OBI pokeswoman Brook Arbeitman says Busick, who has been jailed since April 2018, was given credit for time served. Busick, who pleaded guilty in July, could have earned a reduction in his sentence by showing authorities where the bodies of Lauria Bible and Ashley Freeman were located. But so far, several searches have failed to recover the remains of the two teenagers. Bible and Freeman, who were both 16, haven’t been seen since December 30. 1999, after Freeman’s parents, Danny and Kathy Freeman, were found slain in their burned mobile home in Welch about 70 miles northeast of Tulsa.
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More than 42,600 COVID-19 Cases, Including 446 Deaths Reported in Kansas
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP/KPR) - The number of COVID-19 cases in Kansas continues to climb. The state has recorded 42,612 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. The Department of Health and Environment reported the new data Monday, which included 446 deaths. The three counties that have recorded the most coronavirus cases to date are Johnson (8240), Sedgwick (7306) and Wyandotte (6108). Another update on Kansas coronavirus caseswill be released Wednesday.
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COVID-19 Hits Fraternities, Sororities Hard in Kansas
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The coronavirus is hitting fraternities and sororities in Kansas particularly hard, with 10% testing positive at the University of Kansas and outbreaks linked to four sororities at Kansas State University. The University of Kansas said Friday in a news release that it has conducted 21,719 tests and 474 have been positive, for a positive rate of 2.18%. But among sororities and fraternities, there have been 270 positives among 2,698 members tested. At Kansas State, health officials announced six cases at Alpha Delta Pi, six at Alpha Xi Delta, five at Chi Omega and five at Kappa Delta, The Kansas City Star reports. The cases have resulted in quarantines.
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Missouri Schools Report More COVID Cases as Classes Resume
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — Officials at schools ranging from a kindergarten to universities report a continued climb in COVID-19 cases as classes resume across Missouri. The University of Missouri reported 415 active cases on Monday, while Missouri State University said it had 383 new COVID-19 cases the second week of classes, more than double the 141 reported the first week. Meanwhile, officials closed a kindergarten center in Webb City when 10 of its 24 staff members — but no students — tested positive for COVID-19. The increase in cases comes as the state reported a total of 84,697 confirmed cases on Monday, with 1,530 deaths.
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Kansas Governor Urges Locals to Add Ballot Drop-Off Boxes
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Governor Laura Kelly is urging local officials to consider using part of their federal coronavirus assistance to pay for more drop-off boxes for mail-in ballots. Kelly said during a Monday press conference that adding drop-off boxes would help keep Kansans safe from COVID-19 and relieve pressure on the postal service. The Kansas secretary of state's office has offered each county up to two drop-off boxes where people can deposit their absentee ballots. Kelly said she instructed her staff last week to send a letter to local government officials telling them that they can use part of federal coronavirus relief to add drop boxes.
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4 Shot and Wounded at Kansas City Nightclub Where Previous, Fatal Shooting Occurred
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police say four people were shot and wounded at a night club in Kansas City, Missouri, where a mass shooting occurred in January. Kansas City Police spokesman Sgt. Jake Becchina says the latest shooting at the 9ine Ultra Lounge was reported around 2:30 am Sunday. One victim found at the scene with several gunshot wounds was taken to a hospital. Three others arrived separately at hospitals. All four remained in critical condition Sunday. On January 19, a man opened fire on people waiting to get inside 9ine. He killed a 25-year-old woman and wounded 15 other people before security guards shot and killed him.
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Authorities: 2 Killed Near Mount Hope in Wreck Caused by Wrong-Way Driver
MOUNT HOPE, Kan. (AP) — The Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office says two people where killed in a fiery traffic crash after one of the drivers apparently drove the wrong way on a highway. Deputy Lt. Tim Myers said the collision happened late Friday on Kansas 96 just east of Mount Hope. He says the two cars burst into flames after the crash. Law officers who arrived on the scene tried to rescue the drivers but both people died in the wreck. Myers says investigators believe one vehicle was driving west in the eastbound lanes of Kansas 96. The accident is still under investigation.
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Former Kansas City Fire Captain Pleads Guilty in Gun Case
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say a former Kansas City fire department captain pleaded guilty to illegally buying and selling dozens of firearms over five years. Fifty-four-year-old James Samuels admitted in court Monday that he bought 77 firearms between November 2013 and August 2018. Samuels was not a licensed firearms dealer. He transferred 47 of the guns to third parties, some of them to convicted felons. Samuels has been in federal custody without bond since his arrest in October 2018. His sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.
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Judges Redo Summary of Redistricting Measure on Missouri Ballot
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri appeals court has rewritten a voter summary of a Nov. 3 ballot measure to revamp the state's unique redistricting model. Appeals court judges on Monday said the summary written by Republican lawmakers doesn't mention the main point of the measure, which is to repeal parts of a redistricting initiative that voters approved just two years ago. The appeals court rewrote the summary of the measure given to voters to highlight that it would repeal redistricting rules approved by voters in 2018 and replace them with rules written by the Legislature.
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$330 Million Development Planned on KCK's Schlitterbahn Water Park Site
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Two former soccer club executives are hoping to help fund a planned $330 million redevelopment of the shuttered Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kansas, with sales tax funds. Robb Heineman, Sporting KC's former CEO, and Greg Cotton, its former chief operating officer and chief counsel, have proposed building a multisport complex on the site, which was sold in June last year. Unified Government of Wyandotte County-Kansas City officials say the redevelopment would "remove (the) blight and political stigma" that has tainted the park since 2016 when a 10-year-old boy was decapitated while on a ride billed as the world's tallest waterslide.
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Kansas Supreme Court Reverses Criminal Threat Conviction
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has reversed a Topeka real estate developer's conviction for threatening another man, saying a law used to convict him criminalizes free speech. The court based its decision on its October ruling that struck down a law that made it a crime to speak with reckless disregard for whether one's comments would cause fear. The court at the time found that the law could make some protesters' comments illegal, violating the free speech protections. The Shawnee County district attorney's office will have the option to try developer Kent Lindemuth again or dismiss charges.
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KSHSAA Board: School Districts Can Move Fall Sports to the Spring
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas high schools can move their fall sports seasons to the spring under a newly approved plan. The Wichita Eagle reports that the Kansas State High School Activities Association Board of Directors voted 53-21 Friday to approve a proposal establishing an "Alternative fall" schedule. The vote followed a unanimous Monday vote in favor of the option by KSHSAA's executive board. Kansas high schools have been split into two "bands," or groups: Class 6/5A and Class 4/3/2/1A. If at least half of the schools in each of those bands cancel fall activities, that majority would trigger the switch to a spring sports schedule.
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Kansas Candidate Admitting Abuse Had Liberal Message, Base
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A 19-year-old Kansas House candidate narrowly won his primary race with an appeal to young, liberal voters in a safe Democratic district after running for local office just the year before. Aaron Coleman has put the Kansas Democratic Party in an unwanted spotlight because he admitted before the Aug. 4 primary to circulating revenge porn and abusing young girls online. But his 14-vote victory over seven-term state Rep. Stan Frownfelter in a Kansas City district shows how social media and door-to-door campaigning can rouse voters when a district hasn't seen a contested primary in years. It also demonstrates how a liberal platform resonates with many Democratic voters.
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KPR's daily headlines are generally posted by 10 am weekdays and updated throughout the day. KPR's weekend summary is usually published by 1 pm Saturdays and Sundays.