KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A federal appeals court says a judge went too far by dismissing a Kansas drug indictment after finding that a prosecutor violated the defendant’s right to a fair trial.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that U.S. District Court Judge Julie Robinson should retry Gregory Orozco.

Robinson dismissed Orozco’s two drug charges in December 2017 after finding that federal prosecutor Terra Morehead intimidated a witness into not testifying and belatedly disclosed evidence.

Morehead was also accused of misconduct in her handling of a case in the 1990s that caused a man to be imprisoned for nearly 23 years for a crime he didn’t commit.

The appeals court says Robinson never addressed why dismissing Orozco’s case was necessary to deter misconduct.

SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting and on Friday asked the public again for help with the investigation.

Just before 9p.m. March 16, police responded to the report of a shooting in the 1100 block of SW Hillsdale Street in Topeka, according to Lt. John Trimble.

Officers found a victim identified as 25-year-old Robert McKinsey James, unresponsive in the yard suffering what appeared to be several gunshot wounds.

Officers were able to secure the scene and first responders performed first aid on McKinsey. He was transported to an area hospital where he died, according to Trimble.

The suspect vehicle is described as an older, boxy, dark colored SUV that was seen fleeing from the area shortly after the shooting. The SUV had several occupants, according to Trimble.

Anyone with information regarding this crime is encouraged to contact the Topeka Police.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A Kansas City area hospital has passed a follow-up inspection after state inspectors found that its staff failed to properly respond to an 83-year-old woman who died one day after undergoing a routine colonoscopy.

Cass Regional Medical Center in Harrisonville came under scrutiny after Martha Wright of Pleasant Hill died in August of internal bleeding. In November, inspectors found that the hospital hadn’t recognized the seriousness of the incident or done a proper review to determine how it happened.

Hospital officials said in an email that the designation was lifted after a follow-up inspection in February but also acknowledged new infractions for cleanliness that the hospital had to address.

SALINE COUNTY —Rolling Hills Zoo is mourning the loss of one of the zoo’s iconic and beloved species, Motomba, an African lion, who had to be humanely euthanized on Friday due to complications from a long-term illness., according to a media release.

“He was a marvelous ambassador for his kind and helped stimulate the conservation of this endangered species,” said Bob Jenkins, Executive Director of Rolling Hills Zoo.

Born in captivity in 1997, Motomba and his brother Simba arrived at Rolling Hills Zoo in 1998. As cubs they were introduce to Torrey, a female lion and original resident of the zoo’s main barn. Motomba, Simba and Torrey moved into the new Lion Exhibit at Rolling Hills Zoo in July 2000. Motomba outlived his brother Simba who died in June 2016.

Just shy of his 22nd birthday on March 30, Motomba lived well passed the expected lifetime of a wild African lion, who seldom live longer than 15 years, and the median age for male lions in captivity is 20 -25 years old. Neither Motomba nor Simba produced any offspring.

Motomba, a beloved member of the Rolling Hills Zoo family, could be heard by visitors throughout the park chuffing along with an occasion roar as a way to express a greeting or excitement with his keepers. As a non-threatening vocalization, staff members always enjoyed hearing Motomba’s chuffing throughout the day.

Powerful and majestic, lions once roamed most of African and parts of Asia and Europe. Today they are found only in parts of sub-Saharan African, except for one very small population of lions in India’s Gir Forest. Lions have no natural predators, but due habitat loss, conflicts with people and poaching, African lion numbers have plummeted by more than 40 percent in the last three generations, and with only about 20,000 in the wild they are now listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Redlist (International Union for Conservation of Nature).

The staff at Rolling Hills Zoo will be working with the SSP (Species Survival Plan) of the AZA (Association of Zoo and Aquariums) to secure a new lion(s) for Rolling Hills Zoo in the future

OMAHA (AP) — Even as floodwaters receded in hard-hit places in in the Midwest, experts warned Saturday that with plenty of snow still left to melt in northern states, the relief may only be temporary.

KHP pilots continue to help monitor the MO River flooding. This morning we surveyed the river levee near Elwood, KS, and took pics of the flooding after the levee breach east of Atchison yesterday. pic.twitter.com/fyzUOZinAk

— KHP Air Support Unit (@KHPAircraft) March 22, 2019

Rainfall and some snowmelt spurred flooding in recent weeks that’s blamed in three deaths so far, with two men in Nebraska missing for more than a week. Thousands were forced from their homes in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri, as water broke through or poured over levees in the region. The damage is estimated at $3 billion, and that figure is expected to rise.

As temperatures start to warm, snowmelt in the Dakotas and Minnesota will escalate, sending more water down the Missouri and Mississippi rivers and their tributaries.

None of this is supposed to be under water.

Here’s what the Missouri River looks like just across from Nebraska City into Iowa. If you ever drive to Kansas City, you’re probably familiar with this interchange of I-29 and Highway 2. The Missouri looks like an ocean.#NSP575 pic.twitter.com/kwkkAs5fha

— NEStatePatrol (@NEStatePatrol) March 21, 2019

Lt. Col. James Startzell, deputy commander of the Corps of Engineers’ Omaha, Nebraska, district, said even warmer temperatures are possible into next week. He urged those living near rivers to keep a wary eye on them.

Bill Brinton, emergency management director for hard-hit Buchanan County, Missouri, which includes St. Joseph’s 76,000 residents, said he expects more flooding this spring. Buchanan and its neighboring counties have been ravaged by this round of flooding.

“There’s a sense from the National Weather Service that we should expect it to continue to happen into May,” Brinton said. “With our levee breaches in Atchison and Holt and Buchanan counties, it’s kind of scary really.”

A precautionary evacuation involving hundreds of homes in the St. Joseph area was lifted as the Missouri River began a swift decline after coming just inches short of the 1993 record. St. Joseph was largely spared, but Brinton said 250 homes were flooded in the southern part of Buchanan County. It wasn’t clear when residents would be able to get back.

When they do, officials say they need to be careful. Contaminants that escaped from flooded farm fields, industrial operations and sewage plants are part of the murky water now saturating homes.

In Fremont County, Iowa, homes remain underwater, so it will be some time before residents can return, said county Supervisor Randy Hickey.

“We don’t want them in that water, anyway,” Hickey said.

The water itself isn’t the only concern. Experts warn that sharp objects — broken glass, pieces of metal, pointy sticks and rocks — could lurk in muddy debris. Downed or broken power lines also may pose electrocution hazards.

Another risk is posed by river wildlife. Brinton said two people in Buchanan County were bitten by snakes after returning home following flooding in 2011.

The Missouri River had yet to crest further downstream in Missouri, but flooding impact in those areas was expected to be far less severe.

Concern was rising on the Mississippi River, too. Major flooding was reported at several spots north of the Iowa-Missouri line. St. Louis and other Missouri cities were seeing mostly moderate flooding.

Even the lower Mississippi River was impacted. The U.S. Coast Guard on Friday rescued two boaters from a disabled vessel near New Orleans. Coast Guard officials said the flooding means more debris in the river, and the currents can pull a boat into danger.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Friday night shooting in Wichita.

Just after 11 p.m. police were dispatched to the 7900 block of E. Indianapolis in Wichita for a shooting call, according to officer Kevin Wheeler.

Upon arrival, officers located a 29-year-old male victim inside of the residence, who had been shot multiple times. He was transported to a local hospital and remains hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries, according to Wheeler.

The preliminary investigation shows that there was a disturbance that took place at the residence just before the shooting. This does not appear to be a random incident and there were no additional injuries and no one is in custody early Saturday, according to Wheeler.