U.S. House Investigating Voter Irregularities in Kansas and Texas
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Congressional investigations over voter irregularities have expanded with Democratic lawmakers now requesting information from state officials in Kansas and Texas. The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform sent letters Thursday seeking communications related to the decision by Ford County, Kansas, to move the only Dodge City polling site outside of city limits for the 2018 midterm elections. It is also seeking communications about efforts in January by the Texas secretary of state's office to purge voter rolls amid disputed claims that thousands of registered voters may not be U.S. citizens. The four letters were signed by Rep. Elijah Cummings, chairman of the Oversight Committee, and Rep. Jamie Raskin, chairman of the Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. The letters ask that the communications be produced by April 11.
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2 Top Kansas Highway Patrol Leaders Resign
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Two top leaders of the Kansas Highway Patrol are leaving the agency. Governor Laura Kelly announced Thursday in a news release that Col. Mark Bruce, the patrol's superintendent, and Lt. Col. Randy Moon, an assistant superintendent, have resigned. Kelly said Shawnee County Sheriff Herman Jones will take over the agency on Wednesday. Maj. Jason De Vore will be acting superintendent until Wednesday. The Kansas City Star reports the governor's spokeswoman, Ashley All, said she couldn't comment on the departures because they were personnel matters. Kelly said in December that she would retain Bruce because he was an effective leader and a strong advocate for law enforcement officers. Jones led the Shawnee County Sheriff's Department since 2012 and was a highway patrol employee for more than 20 years.
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Man Convicted of Triple Murder in Topeka Deaths
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Topeka man has been convicted of participating in the stabbing or strangulation deaths of three others at a Topeka house. A Shawnee County jury on Wednesday convicted 32-year-old Joseph Lowry of three counts of first-degree murder and several other charges in the killings in March 2017. Lowry was one of five people charged in the deaths of 19-year-old Matthew Leavitt, 20-year-old Luke Patrick Davis and 38-year-old Nicole Star Fisher. WIBW reports prosecutors said Lowry held all three victims to help others kill them. Police said another man, Joseph Aaron Krahn admitted strangling some victims but said Lowry helped him. Defense attorneys argued Lowry robbed the victims but no evidence showed that he intended to commit murder. They also contended he was too incapacitated by meth to kill anyone.
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School Funding Unresolved in Kansas as Court Deadline Looms
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers have blown several informal deadlines for boosting funding for public schools to satisfy a court mandate. Republicans who control the Legislature are at odds over how to allocate new dollars and what policy strings should be attached to the money. The state's attorneys must file a report by April 15 with the Kansas Supreme Court telling the justices how legislators responded to the court's ruling last year that spending on public schools is insufficient. The Legislature starts its annual, three weeks-plus spring break April 6. Democratic Governor Laura Kelly urged legislators to pass her plan for an education funding increase of roughly $90 million a year by the end of February. Republican Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican, said lawmakers should finish their work by March 15.
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Kansas House Approves Using CBD Oil with Small Amount of THC
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas House has approved a bill that provides legal protection for people who treat medical conditions with CBD oil containing a small amount of the chemical in marijuana that produces a high. The House approved the bill Wednesday on an 89-35 vote. The Wichita Eagle reports the bill allows people charged with possessing CBD oil with up to 5 percent THC to defend themselves in court if they can prove they are using the oil to treat a severe medical condition. Parents also could give the oil to their children with chronic conditions. Supporters say CBD oil with THC can reduce seizures and relieve pain. But law enforcement and medical groups say the bill would be difficult and expensive to enforce. The legislation now goes to the Senate.
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Kansas House Passes Bill Dropping Concealed Carry Age to 18
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — People as young as 18 would be allowed to carry concealed weapons under a bill that has won passage in the House. The Wichita Eagle reports that Wednesday's 83-41 vote sends the bill to the Senate. Opponents argued that it could endanger lives, but backers say it's about having protection when the unexpected happens. Kansas has what is called constitutional carry, or the right to carry a firearm in any capacity, for residents 21 and older. A concealed carry license, available to those who complete required training, allows the holder to carry in states that have reciprocal agreements with Kansas. Under the new law, the minimum age for concealed carry training would drop to 18. Residents who don't receive a license at 18 would still be allowed constitutional carry in the state at age 21.
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Ban on 3 Kansas State Students at Kansas Capitol Is Lifted
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Three Kansas State University students who were barred from the Kansas Statehouse for a year have had their visiting privileges reinstated. The Kansas City Star reports that Kansas Capitol officials on Thursday reversed the ban that was imposed Wednesday after the students helped hang large banners saying top Republican legislators who oppose expanding Medicaid have "blood on their hands." The four banners were up for only a few minutes before they were taken down. Capitol Police Officer Scott Whitsell said Wednesday that he banned the students because they violated a policy that requires protesters to get permission before hanging banners. They were escorted out of the building by the Kansas Highway Patrol, which operates security in the Statehouse. An explanation for the reversal was not immediately available.
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School Officer Arrested on Suspicion of Child Sex Crimes
BONNER SPRINGS, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a school resource officer in Kansas City, Kansas, has been arrested on suspicion of child sex crimes. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says 30-year-old Mark Scheetz, of Lansing, was arrested Wednesday in Bonner Springs on suspicion of rape, aggravated criminal sodomy and aggravated indecent liberties with a child. The Kansas City Star reports that he hasn't been charged. Scheetz was living in Norton County from 2013 to 2015 when the alleged incidents happened. The KBI says it was reported that Scheetz "engaged in sex acts with a minor, sent lewd photos to minors and used electronic devices to solicit sex with minors." The Kansas City, Kansas, district has its own police department. Calls to the department weren't immediately returned. Before coming there, Scheetz worked for the Sheridan County Sheriff's Office from 2016 to 2018.
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Oklahoma Pipeline Company Wants to Cross Sedgwick County
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — An Oklahoma-based energy giant is seeking permits to allow its proposed pipeline to carry volatile gas liquids through Kansas. The Wichita Eagle reports that Williams Companies Inc. briefed Sedgwick County officials Wednesday on the 187-mile (300-kilometer) Bluestem pipeline proposed to run from McPherson County, Kansas, to Kingfisher County, Oklahoma. Officials say the line would carry pressurized gas liquids, such as propane and butane, across mostly farmland in Sedgwick County. But the plans call for the line to pass through the city of Cheney. Williams contractor Jay Vincent told county commissioners that the pressurized gas liquids are byproducts of natural gas production. Vincent says the liquids are typically safer than an oil pipeline and don't pose a threat to groundwater. The company hopes to obtain permits along the pipeline route by January.
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No Citation Issued in St. Patrick's Day Parade Accident
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — No citations have been issued in a St. Patrick's Day Parade accident in Lawrence in which a woman tripped and was run over by a float. A police report issued this week says officers don't believe alcohol or drug use played a role. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the injured 41-year-old woman was taken to the University of Kansas Hospital. Neither she nor the driver of the float showed signs of impairment. The report says the woman tripped while stepping off the curb to get beads that some people on the float were handing out. The driver told police he was looking forward and going slowly when he "felt a bump." He said he stopped the truck and heard onlookers screaming. The report provided no details on the woman's injuries.
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Missing Priest's Remains Found in Southern Kansas Pasture
PROTECTION, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say human remains found in a southern Kansas pasture are those of a priest who went missing from a nursing home almost two years ago. KWCH-TV reports that someone looking for deer antlers found the remains Wednesday in a brush area about 1 mile east of Protection. The Comanche County Sheriff's Office says the remains were taken to a hospital where they were identified as those of Father Marvin Reif. He was 53 in April 2017 when he went missing from the nursing home in Protection. More than 100 people searched for him, some on horseback and all-terrain vehicles. Reif's sister, Karen Winkelman, said at the time that her brother had a history of depression, and that their mother's death earlier that year was particularly difficult for him.
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Andy Tompkins Named Interim President at Wichita State
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Board of Regents has named former regents president and CEO Andy Tompkins as interim president of Wichita State University. The regents announced Thursday that Tompkins will serve as interim president until a full-time replacement is found. Tompkins will replace John Bardo, who died earlier this month after suffering from a chronic lung condition. Tompkins was interim president at Fort Hays State University from December 2016 to November 2017 while that university conducted a search for a new president. He was president and CEO of the regents from 2010 to 2015 and has worked in education since 1969.
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Deputy Pleads No Contest in Case over Sex with Kansas Inmate
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A former Douglas County sheriff's deputy has pleaded no contest to aggravated battery as part of a plea deal that dropped a charge of engaging in sexual activity with a female inmate. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that 47-year-old Mario Godinez entered a no contest plea to the felony charge on Wednesday. A judge ordered Godinez to immediately register as a sex offender because the crime was "sexually motivated." Godinez was charged in September with engaging in consensual sexual activity with a female inmate at the Douglas County Jail. An affidavit last year says Godinez admitted to having sex with the prisoner in his office at the jail and in his personal car. Godinez was in charge of an inmate work release program at the jail. He resigned last April. Godinez will be sentenced May 10.
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Kansas Mom Sentenced in Death of Son Found in Concrete
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas woman has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for the abuse and murder of her 3-year-old son, whose body was found encased in concrete in the family's Wichita home. Miranda Miller was sentenced Thursday in the 2017 death of Evan Brewer. She pleaded guilty in late 2018 to second-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, child abuse and aggravated endangering a child. Prosecutors allege Miller and her boyfriend, Stephen Bodine, abused Evan for months, including forcing him to stand naked in chains for hours with a belt around his neck. As part of her plea, Miller testified against Bodine, who was sentenced in December to more than 100 years in prison for Evan's death. Police believe Evan died in May 2017. His body was found that September after Miller and Bodine moved out.
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Case Dismissed Against Ex-Lawrence Officer Who Shot Man
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A judge has dismissed criminal charges against a former Lawrence police officer who shot a man last year as he attacked another officer. Douglas County District Court Judge Peggy Kittel on Wednesday ruled that evidence did not show probable cause that 36-year-old Brindley Blood acted recklessly during the May 2018 confrontation. The case was dismissed without prejudice, meaning it could be refiled. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Blood was charged with aggravated battery for shooting 35-year-old Lawrence resident Akira Lewis. She told investigators that she meant to use her Taser but mistakenly drew her gun and shot Lewis. Kittel said after reviewing the evidence and watching a video of the confrontation, she believed Blood mean to use her Taser. Blood, a rookie officer, resigned from the police department in January.
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Man Involved in Michael Brown Autopsy Blocked in Kansas
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A man involved in an autopsy done of Michael Brown after the black teenager was fatally shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, has been temporarily banned from conducting autopsies in Kansas. A judge ruled Monday that Shawn Parcells can't resume his work until a lawsuit filed by the Kansas attorney general last week is resolved. The Kansas City Star reports the lawsuit alleges Parcells is a self-taught pathology assistant who conducted coroner-ordered autopsies for Wabaunsee County without a qualified pathologist, as required by state law. The suit also alleges Parcells billed for 14 autopsies that weren't performed. Parcells assisted a privately hired pathologist in an autopsy of Brown in 2014. Brown was 18 and unarmed when he was killed. The shooting sparked nationwide protests and helped fuel the Black Lives Matter movement.
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Students Banned from Kansas Capitol over Protest
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Capitol Police have banned three Kansas State University students from the Statehouse for a year for participating in the hanging of huge banners favoring Medicaid expansion inside. Four banners hung briefly from the fifth floor rotunda. They criticized Republican legislative leaders who oppose Medicaid expansion by name and said they have "blood on their hands." A legislative policy requires protesters to obtain permission in advance to bring banners into the Statehouse. Legislative Administrative Services Director Tom Day removed them within minutes. Officer Scott Whitsell said he imposed the yearlong ban because of the policy violation. The banned students are Jonathan Cole, Nate Faflick and Katie Sullivan. Sullivan questioned whether the ban is legal. But Whitsell if the students return within a year, they face being cited for criminal trespassing.
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2 Banks Robbed in Kansas City Area in Less than an Hour
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say two banks have been robbed in the Kansas City area. The FBI says the first robbery happened around 2:10 pm Wednesday at the Platte Valley Bank in Kansas City, Missouri. The second robbery was around 2:30 pm at a Commerce Bank branch about 20 miles away in the suburb of Roeland Park, Kansas. No additional details were immediately released.
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EPA: No Toxic Releases at Superfund Sites in Flooded Midwest
MEAD, Neb. (AP) — Federal regulators say flooding in the Midwest temporarily cut off a Superfund site in Nebraska that stores radioactive waste and explosives. It inundated another one storing toxic chemical waste in Missouri, and limited access to others. The Environmental Protection Agency reported Wednesday that there were no releases of hazardous contaminants at any of eight toxic waste sites in flooded parts of Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa. The EPA identified the Nebraska Ordnance Plant in Mead, Nebraska, and the Conservation Chemical Corporation site in Kansas City, Missouri, as heavily flooded Superfund sites that required the agency to take immediate action to prevent the spread of contaminated groundwater. Two Iowa sites had some minor flooding but did not require the agency to immediately do anything. It plans to reassess once the floodwaters recede.
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Kansas School District to Apologize to Settle Free Speech Lawsuit
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — A suburban Kansas City school district has agreed to apologize to three students who alleged their free speech rights were violated during a national classroom walkout for gun control. The Kansas City Star reports that the apologies are part of a settlement that the Shawnee Mission School District reached earlier this month with the American Civil Liberties Union. Training also is part of the settlement, whose terms became public Tuesday. Issue arose last April when students across the country gathered to protest on the 19th anniversary of the Columbine shooting in Colorado. In the Shawnee Mission district, administrators confiscated a high school journalist's camera. The lawsuit said they also forced an eighth-grader from a speaking platform and sent her home after she said that "The real issue is gun violence."
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$768 Million Powerball Winner Bought Ticket in Wisconsin; $2 Million Ticket Sold in Kansas
NEW BERLIN, Wis. (AP) — A single ticket that matched all six Powerball numbers to win the estimated $768.4 million jackpot — the third-largest jackpot in U.S. lottery history — was sold in a Milwaukee suburb, Wisconsin Lottery officials said Thursday. The ticket, worth a cash option of $477 million, was sold at a Speedway gas station in New Berlin, a city of about 40,000 people roughly 14 miles southwest of Milwaukee, lottery officials told reporters at a news conference. The winner has not come forward yet, Wisconsin Lottery Director Cindy Polzin said. Nationwide, seven tickets matched all five white balls, but missed matching the red Powerball in Wednesday's drawing to win a $1 million prize. Those tickets were sold in Arizona, two in California, Indiana, Missouri, New Jersey and New York. Two other tickets, sold in Kansas and Minnesota, matched all five white balls and doubled the prize to $2 million, because the tickets included the Power Play option for an additional $1.
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