DICKINSON COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on drug and weapons charges.

In February of 2018 the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Department Drug Enforcement Unit (DEU) opened an investigation into the manufacturing of controlled substances at 701 E. 15t Street in Abilene, Kansas.

As a result of the investigation, Agents of the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Department Drug Enforcement Unit and Deputies with the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Department conducted a search warrant and arrested David Millner, 43, and Krystal Millner, 27, both of Abilene.

During the search warrant three firearms, one-quarter pound of marijuana packaged for distribution, one ounce of psilocybin mushrooms, 27 psilocybin mushroom grows, four marijuana plants and drug paraphernalia were recovered from the residence.

David and Krystal Millner were arrested for two counts of Manufacturing a Controlled Substance, two counts of Possession with Intent to Distribute, Felony Possession of Drug
Paraphernalia, No Drug Tax Stamp, Child Endangerment, Misdemeanor Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Criminal Use of Weapons.

David and Krystal Millner were incarcerated in the Dickinson County Jail.

RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on child sex allegations.

Just after 9:30a.m. Sunday, police arrested Samuel Nelms, 35, of Ogden, Kansas in the 200 block of Seventh Street in Ogden, according to the Riley County Police Department arrest report.

Nelms is being held on a $100,000 Bond for rape, aggravated criminal sodomy, and sexual exploitation of a child.

Police released no additional details.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on the Kansas Legislature’s debate on the state budget, school funding and tax issues (all times local):

4 p.m.

Kansas legislators have approved a bill that is designed to fix a flaw in a new education funding law that would have cost public schools $80 million.

The Senate’s 30-8 vote Monday sends the measure to Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer, and he has promised to sign it. The House approved the bill Saturday.

The new school funding law was supposed to phase in a $534 million increase in education funding in hopes of meeting a Kansas Supreme Court mandate to boost spending on public schools.

The law set a minimum for local property tax revenues to be raised by local school boards and counted those dollars toward the state’s total aid. Instead of adding local dollars to state dollars, the technical calculation inadvertently replaced state dollars with local dollars.

By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN

Kansas senators will return Monday to find a school finance fix waiting on their desks, hammered out in the House over the weekend.

The bill undoes an $80 million error inserted last-minute into this year’s school funding bill.

“The overwhelming majority of our body wanted to make sure those funds were allowed to be given to the districts,” House Speaker Ron Ryckman said after the measure passed 92 to 27.  “It’s in the Senate’s hands now.”

Lawmakers passed the school funding bill earlier this month to meet a Kansas Supreme Court order that found current school spending insufficient and unfair to poorer school districts.

Lawmakers thought their bill would gradually add in more than $530 million to annual school spending over the next several years. Only when the dust of a dramatic weekend of political wrangling had settled did they discover that the true effect was less than that.

Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer signed the bill but urged lawmakers to fix it, and many legislators were on board with that message. They face a May 7 deadline to show the court their work — and to possibly put an end to seven years of litigation.

Democrats repeated their attempt from earlier this month to go beyond $530 million, which they say isn’t enough. (The plaintiffs in the court case agree.)

Rep. Jerry Stogsdill proposed adding around $300 million, an amendment that the body shot down. If it seems like a lot, Stogsdill said afterward, it’s only because the state has neglected school finance for seven years.

“Somebody has to be the adults in the room and make up for that neglect,” he said. “We wouldn’t be in this position if those Republican conservative legislators and the Republican conservative governor had done their constitutional duty and supported our public schools.”

Some conservative Republicans voted against the $80 million fix, and 20 signed a statement calling the legislation passed Saturday a reversal of important policy.

“This is not a good way to legislate,” they said.

The $80 million error arose when lawmakers voted earlier this month to count as state aid certain money that school districts raise by taxing local property owners.

The House’s fix walks that back, thereby upsetting some conservatives. It still asserts the money should be considered state funding and the Supreme Court should count it that way. But it doesn’t fold the amount into the state’s basic per-pupil aid.

The latter was a change in math from previous practice that led to the $80 million funding decrease by inadvertently displacing state dollars that lawmakers intended schools to receive.

Getting the Senate to sign off on the plan won’t necessarily be easy. Some conservative Republicans don’t like the change. The original school finance bill passed with the bare minimum number of votes amid a filibuster by conservative Republicans there.

Sen. Ty Masterson decried the bill in a statement Saturday, accusing the House of “shell game tactics” and of using a procedural move that will prevent senators from proposing amendments to its work.

That’s “the exact same tactic used to ram the flawed bill through the process earlier this month,” Masteron said.

Mark Tallman, a lobbyist for the Kansas Association of School Boards, said the House’s proposal does seem to resolve the $80 million error, but it remains unclear what the Kansas Supreme Court will make of the $530 million infusion.

“It’s still a very open question as to whether this will be enough,” he said. “It’s certainly a substantial improvement over last year.”

Last year the Legislature approved a two-year phase-in of about $300 million for schools.

Celia Llopis-Jepsen is a reporter for the Kansas News Service. You can reach her on Twitter @Celia_LJ.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Amtrak ticket agents in Topeka and Garden City will lose their jobs in May, as part of the company’s move toward online ticket sales.

Amtrak regional spokesman Marc Magliari says the Topeka ticket window will close May 20 and the Garden City window will close May 15.

Onsite staff will remain at Amtrak stations in Newton and Kansas City. The rail line is laying off 22 people nationwide.

Magliari says fewer than one in 10 Amtrak tickets are currently bought at ticket counters.

Magliari says the company hasn’t determined if passengers will be able to check baggage in Topeka after the agent is gone. At some stations, Amtrak allows train-side checked baggage.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police say a 37-year-old man who was shot to death pulled a gun on someone at a convenience store shortly before the fatal shooting.

Police Lt. Todd Ojile says the man died from gunshot wounds Sunday night near a north Wichita home.

Lt. Ojile says after the man aimed a gun at someone at the store he and another person were standing nearby when a Chevy Suburban involved in the earlier disturbance pulled up.

Ojile said investigators believe the victim opened fire, striking the vehicle, and someone inside the Suburban fire back, striking the victim.

The driver of the Suburban, a 38-year-old man, was arrested for possession of a firearm by a felon.

Ojile says the investigation is continuing.