TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and Republican hopeful Marco Rubio are following GOP rival Ted Cruz to Kansas in the final days before the state’s presidential caucuses.
Hundreds of people attended a Sanders rally Thursday evening in Lawrence. The Vermont senator’s supporters hope to overcome the backing former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton enjoys among establishment Kansas Democratic Party figures such as former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.
Rubio expanded his planned campaign swing Friday to three events. The Florida senator’s visit comes after Cruz, the Texas senator, visited a barbecue restaurant Wednesday in Olathe, and had a rally in Overland Park.
The state’s caucuses are Saturday. Here are some details.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas House committee has approved a bill addressing concerns about refugees settling in the state.
The bill approved Thursday would allow local governments to seek a one-year moratorium of refugee resettlements if the community doesn’t have the capacity to handle the influx. It also would create a state office for refugees and authorize Gov. Sam Brownback to name a state refugee coordinator.
The Wichita Eagle reports opponents say the bill is unconstitutional, discriminatory and un-Christian.
Supports say the bill would coordinate local and state governments work with federal authorities to resettle refugees, while giving the state a way to oversee the process.
Under the Refugee Act of 1980, only the federal government has authority to manage refugee resettlement.
The Hays High Lady Indians headed out to Ulysses on Thursday night to open post-season play against Buhler. Just one notch in the win column separated the second seeded Lady Crusaders (8-12) and three seed Hays (7-13).
It was a rough first half for the two teams as they combined for 28 points. Buhler scored the first points of the game after 4:10 of play and took a 6-4 lead. The first points for Hays came with 1:55 left in the first quarter. Hays made just 2 of their 14 first quarter shots, but made the 14th to get within a basket at 6-4 at the end of the first quarter.
Highlights
Buhler used the games biggest first half run of 5-0 to build 16-8 lead. Hays scored the final four points of the quarter off baskets from Audra Schmeidler and Savannah Schneider and trailed 16-12 at half time.
Hays pulled within a single point at 20-19 on their first three pointer of the game from Mattie Hutchison. Buhler though responded with back-to-back threes to establish a seven point advantage. Trailing 27-22 entering the fourth quarter, Hays got within two points twice and three once. The last opportunity coming down 32-30 with 4:20 remaining following the second of three Talyn Kleweno fourth quarter three pointers. Buhler then went on their best run of the game, 13-0 over the next three minutes to put the game out of reach.
The Lady Indian’s season comes to a close with the 48-38 loss to Buhler. Hays ends the year at 7-14. Buhler moves into the championship game of sub-state on Saturday and improves to 9-12.
Coach Kirk Maska
Hays was led by the eleven points of Talyn Kleweno. The Indians graduate three seniors from the team, all who played a significant amount of games for coach Kirk Maska. Haley George played in 62 games, Nicole Dinkel 58 and Audra Schmeidler 69.
HARVEY COUNTY- A Kansas man was injured in an accident just before 6 p.m. on Thursday in Harvey County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Ford passenger vehicle driven by Kurt Eugene Walters, 46, Erie, was eastbound on U.S. 50 just west of Meridian Road in the construction zone.
The Ford turned through the intersection at Cow Palace Road to cross the westbound lanes.
A 1983 Toyota passenger vehicle driven by Justin Wade Becker, 36, Sedgwick, that was westbound on U.S. 50 collided with the Ford.
Becker was transported to St. Francis Medical Center. Walters was not injured.
Both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The embattled dean of the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare is resigning to return to the faculty.
Paul Smokowski says he is resigning because of declining finances for the program and his desire to do more research.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports student protesters have demanded Somokowski’s resignation, citing inequities within the school effecting students of color. He said the school is working hard on social equality issues and he hopes his resignation will make that process easier.
His resignation will take effect July 1 but until then he will relinquish his duties as dean to focus on special research initiatives. Stephen Kapp, social welfare professor and associate dean of academic programs, will be acting dean for the remainder of the academic year.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A former tribal casino employee has pleaded guilty to embezzlement in a scheme involving fake “players cards” at a northeast Kansas casino.
The U.S. attorney’s office says 32-year-old Donald M. Collins, of Wetmore, entered the guilty plea Wednesday.
The embezzlement occurred while Collins worked as players club manager at the Sac and Fox Casino, which is owned by the Sac and Fox Nation of Kansas and Nebraska.
Collins is accused of making counterfeit cards valued at about $13,326. The cards allow bearers to play various casino games.
Prosecutors allege that about $17,443 was fraudulently won by people using them.
Sentencing is set for July 7. He faces up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A 23-year-old man has been charged with fatally shooting a 26-year-old man in Wichita.
The Wichita Eagle reports that Travis Montez Johnson was charged Wednesday with second-degree murder in the killing of JaRon V. Sanders.
Sanders was shot once in the head last month when an argument broke out as he stood in the street in front of his house after a party. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Other charges against Johnson include criminal possession of a firearm and a probation violation.
While appearing Wednesday in Sedgwick County District Court via a video link from the jail, he answered “yes, sir” and “no, sir” in response to questions from the judge. Bond was set at $400,000.
ELLSWORTH COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Ellsworth County are wrapping up their investigation on the reported sexual assault on a Great Bend Activities bus.
The alleged incident occurred in Ellsworth County and Sheriff Tracy Ploutz has been handling the case.
Ploutz said Thursday afternoon that his investigation is not complete but he had enough finished to hand over to the Ellsworth County Attorney.
While criminal charges are a result of the investigation, Ploutz found no reason to believe sexual assault occurred.
“In my opinion I could see there was anything of a sexual nature,” he said. “That met the requirements under state statute.”
Ploutz said he found four victims of battery, five suspects committing the battery, two victims of criminal restraint, and three suspects for the criminal restraint.
Ellsworth County’s investigation involved the incident that took place on February 6 while the Kansas Bureau of Investigation is handling a separate report of sexual assault on a Great Bend High School bus on February 3.
As to what exactly happened on the bus that has five suspects for battery, Ploutz said he could not reveal that information.
The Ellsworth County District Attorney Joe Shepack will have final say on determining the charges.
USD 428 recently stated they are in the process of changing bus policies to prevent similar behavior.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A bill before a Kansas Senate committee sets out several impeachable offenses for Kansas Supreme Court justices.
The Senate Judiciary Committee heard from supporters and opponents of the bill Thursday.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the state constitution currently uses high crimes and misdemeanors as grounds for removal from office. The new proposal would allow impeachment of Supreme Court justices if they usurp the authority of the Legislature, or for reckless judicial conduct, personal misconduct and failure to properly supervise judicial personnel.
The bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Mitch Holmes, says the court has made several decisions recently that overstepped its authority, such as school funding rulings.
Opponents say the proposal attacks fair and impartial courts and singles out Supreme Court justices for treatment not applied to executive and legislative branches.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State scored the first 11 points of the third quarter, it was part of a 25-6 run going back to the midway point of the second quarter, and it carried them to a 79-65 win over Missouri Southern in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Tournament at Municipal Auditorium.
FHSU Postgame Press Conference
Game Highlights
The Tigers (25-4) opened the game with an 8-0 run only to see the Lions answer with a 13-2 run to go up three. MSSU (18-12) led 23-22 with 5:34 to play in the second quarter when the Tigers put together an 11-2 run to take the lead back for good.
Jill Faxon led five Tigers in double-figures with 18 points and a game-high 19 rebounds. Beth Bohuslavsky added 14 points, Chelsea Mason and Nikola Kacperska both added 12. Taylor Chandler scored the Tigers first six points of the third quarter and finished with 11, all in the second half.
FHSU shot 43-percent for the game including 6-of-14 from 3-point range and outrebounded the Lions by five.
The Tigers will play in the semifinals at noon Saturday against either Pittsburg State or Central Missouri.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas Senate committee has considered legislation to make permanent a provision that would create a tiered system for family planning funds.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the bill would prioritize federal funds for family planning services, sending them to state, county and local health departments before abortion providers such as Planned Parenthood.
The legislation was introduced by 27 Republican senators, a majority of the Senate. All Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee have signed on as bill sponsors.
The tiered system in the bill has been in place for several years. Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri has blamed it for the closure of Ellis and Ford County clinics.
The committee didn’t take action on the legislation Wednesday.
The money has been budgeted and Hays may soon sport two new “monument signs” along I-70.
According to City Manager Toby Dougherty, $90,000 has been budgeted for signs. City staff recently requested proposals and is recommending that from Tobin Rupe Stoneworks for $48,300.
City commissioners will review the proposal during their work session tonight.
Public Works Director Greg Sund will present the 2016 Street Maintenance bids of $1,794,575.70 to seven different contractors. The work would be accomplished at various locations and various times throughout the years.
Future street reconstruction projects will also be discussed.
The work session starts at 6:30 p.m. in Hays City Hall, 1507 Main Street.
The complete March 3, 2016, agenda can be seen here.
With the onset of the Kansas party caucuses and Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s endorsement of Donald Trump for President, the Trump phenomenon, after hovering like an apparition for months, has finally landed in the Land of Oz.
Political professionals and electoral scholars alike have been befuddled by the astonishing rise of The Donald, who seems primed to win the Republican nomination for president. There is little question that Trump has struck a chord with millions of Americans who have fallen behind economically, who completely distrust elites and the “establishment,” and who frequently blame Washington’s immigration policies for their financial woes.
Burdett Loomis
Trump’s stock-in-trade has been to make incredible, factually challenged, and often crude statements, as he gleefully takes on all comers – whether his primary opponents, journalists, or hecklers at his rallies. Moreover, the blunt and snarky nature of social media encourages the kind of rough-and-tumble exchanges that he glories in and excels at.
So, we should be surprised by Trump’s rise and his ability to brush aside other politicians’ counter-arguments, hundreds of fact checks, and dozens of reasoned analyses that poke countless holes in his broad-brush assertions and half-baked proposals? To an extent, it is surprising, but if we look a more closely at our own political conversations in Kansas, we can see lots of evidence that presaged Trump’s bluster.
Indeed, Kansas has experienced a “Trumpification” of politics over the past few years. Basically, various politicians and policy-makers have made outrageous, silly, and mean-spirited statements that have degraded discourse within the state.
While it’s impossible to locate an exact starting point on the decline discourse, I suggest that Rep. Virgil Peck’s (R- Montgomery County) 2011 statement, “It looks like to me if shooting these immigrating feral hogs works — maybe we have found a [solution] to our illegal immigration problem,” is an appropriate marker. Although this caused a flurry of outrage, Rep. Peck’s career went unaffected.
Then there was Senator Mitch Holmes’ (R- St. John’s) dress code for women testifying before his committee. “For ladies, low-cut necklines and mini-skirts are inappropriate,” although the good senator did admit that low-cut was “one of those things that’s hard to define.” To his credit, Senator Holmes did not suggest hunting down female lobbyists, but he certainly felt comfortable targeting them.
The Senate Judiciary Committee got into the act with a bill filed to limit the power of the state’s Supreme Court – you know, the body that determines whether a law is constitutional or not. Unhappy with the Court’s rulings, the committee proposed as grounds for judicial impeachment: “attempting to usurp the power of the legislative or executive branch of government.” Of course, in ruling on a law’s constitutionality that is precisely what the court does. Mercifully, this bill was withdrawn, but with nary a reasonable explanation. Very Trumpian.
The continuing babble from the Brownback Administration on the success (sic) of its tax cuts and economic programs constitute a whole other chapter of Trump-like blather in the face of reality, but who cares? In February, a $53 shortfall and there’s nothing more than a shrug of the shoulders and another delusional denial that tax policies were responsible. As Secretary of Revenue Nick Jordan put it, “This has got us a little bit baffled.”
Finally, before he endorsed Trump, Kris Kobach publicly labeled both the American Civil Liberties Union and the League of Women Voters as “communist” groups. The absurdity of these charges is matched only by Kobach’s ego-driven desire to play to the farthest right, most paranoid Republican factions.
So, before and after Trump’s rise to political prominence, Kansas has proved a fertile ground for absurd, airy, and scary remarks, issued with little thought and indicating a set of politicians who care almost nothing about what they say. Sigh.
Burdett Loomis is a professor of political science at the University of Kansas.
