WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The former Kansas budget director will discuss the effect of the budget deficit at a series of presentations hosted by farm groups.

Kansas Farmers Union, a group of county Farmers Union chapters and the Kansas Beginning Farmers Coalition are hosting events this month featuring former budget director Duane Goossen.

Goosen served as the state’s budget director for 12 years under the administrations of Republican governor Bill Graves and Democratic governors Kathleen Sebelius and Mark Parkinson.

Farmers Union President Donn Teske says the goal is to educate residents on the impact of the state budget deficit on rural property taxes, services and the future of the state and its rural schools.

Presentations are scheduled Sept. 18 in McPherson, Sept. 22 in Lawrence, Sept. 24 in Seneca and Sept. 25 in Belleville.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a Topeka police officer has been shot and killed while making a car stop.

Shawnee County Sheriff Herman Jones said at a news conference Sunday night that the officer had stopped a car in east Topeka, and in the middle of the stop the officer was shot. Authorities said the car then drove away.

The sheriff’s department said authorities got the call about 4:45 p.m. and responders found the critically wounded officer, who was taken to a hospital. Jones said the officer was pronounced dead there.

Jones identified the officer as Corporal Jason Harwood, a decorated 15-year veteran who leaves behind a wife and two children.

The sheriff’s office said a suspect Preston Lane Ross had been taken into custody.

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TOPEKA- Law enforcement authorities in Shawnee County are searching for a suspect involved in police shooting.

The City of Topeka shared on their Twitter and Facebook page, “With heavy hearts, we report that an on-duty, fully uniformed Topeka Police officer was critically injured while conducting a car stop late this afternoon.”

Officials say the officer has died of gunshot wounds. His name has not been released.

The suspect wanted in connection with the shooting, Ross Preston Lane, 30, is described as a white male, 5’11”, 185 lbs, with hazel eyes and blonde hair. He was believed to driving a silver suburban or Honda truck.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — A Hutchinson man has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for sexually abusing a pair of 13-year-old girls.

The Hutchinson News reports that a Reno County judge on Friday also sentenced 25-year-old Michael Stahl to lifetime post-release supervision. Stahl was convicted of multiple charges, including four counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child.

The judge followed a plea agreement in the case in granting a departure from Jessica’s law on the indecent liberty convictions, which mandated a life sentence. Court documents say Stahl was diagnosed with mild mental disabilities, but an examination ruled he was mentally competent to stand trial.

Stahl first made contact with his victims online. He was arrested in October 2013 in a sting set up by police posing as another teen

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A lawyer indicted six years ago on charges that he bilked the Kansas City, Kansas, Board of Public Utilities out of $400,000 has won another legal battle.

The Kansas City Star reports that the Kansas Supreme Court ruled Friday to throw out charges against 74-year-old Rodney L. Turner.

In the ruling, the high court affirmed a 2009 lower court decision that found the case was tainted by a detective’s inappropriate testimony to the grand jury that indicted Turner. Court documents show the detective suggested Turner and former BPU chief administrative officer Marc Conklin were connected to an unsolved 1987 killing.

Conklin also was indicted in the BPU case. He committed suicide in 2009.

The decision also raised questions about the strength of the evidence used to support Turner’s indictment.

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Hutchinson police have announced that three officers were terminated last December.

The Hutchinson News reports that police said in a news release that the action was the result of an internal investigation. The release said the investigation led to the discovery of department policy violations, including acts of dishonesty.

There were no allegations of criminal activity, and no criminal activity was discovered in the investigation.

The release says no additional details will be released because the terminations were confidential personnel matters.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A task force appointed by Gov. Sam Brownback to find out why the number of earthquakes in the state has been rising says there isn’t enough data to make a determination.

The Wichita Eagle reports there were 49 earthquakes between the start of the year and late August, mainly in the south-central part of the state where a practice known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has contributed to a steady rise in gas and oil production.

Many have pointed fingers at fracking, which uses a mixture of sand, water and chemicals under high pressure to release oil and gas from rock, as the cause for the increase in earthquakes.

But task force chairman Rex Buchanan says there’s no baseline against which the recent number of quakes can be compared.

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A bust has been added to a Buffalo Soldier monument at Fort Leavenworth honoring former secretary of state and military leader Colin Powell.

The Kansas City Star reports that about 1,000 people gathered Friday for a dedication event. Powell told the crowd that there were no statues honoring the legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers when he was stationed at the fort during the 1980s.

Buffalo Soldiers were all-black units that served in the U.S. Army after the Civil War. They included the 10th Cavalry, formed at Fort Leavenworth in 1866.

Powell says he hopes the monument, now more than two decades old, will “inspire future generations of young men and young women of all the colors of the American rainbow to serve as these cavalry men did.”

RIVERTON, Kan. (AP) — A group of residents in southeast Kansas is seeking a grand jury to investigate a proposal for a landfill near their town.

A petition filed by a group in Riverton sought a grand jury to investigate actions by the Galena City Council.

A judge denied the request in late August, but the opposition group says it is seeking legal help and will work to get the petition approved.

The Joplin Globe reports  opposition started after Galena City Council members in early July approved steps to acquire a 160-acre tract of land and turn about 40 acres into a landfill. The land is near Riverton.

The group wants a grand jury to investigate how the land was acquired and how the contract for the proposed landfill was formed.