KANSAS CITY (AP) — A former Lee’s Summit police officer has been sentenced to eight years in federal prison without parole for robbing a bank.

Richard Hagerty, of Independence, was sentenced Wednesday for armed bank robbery and brandishing a firearm during a violent crime.

Prosecutors say Hagerty robbed the Central Bank of Missouri in Lee’s Summit in August 2018. He pointed a gun at two tellers and stole about $7,000 before fleeing the bank on foot. Officers spotted him in a vehicle shortly after the robbery. A police pursuit that wound from Lee’s Summit to Grandview reached 100 mph as Hagerty drove on busy streets, through school zones and into oncoming traffic.

He was arrested without incident after the chase ended.

Hagerty was a police officer in Lee’s Summit from 2007 to 2016.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said Friday that he has “absolutely zero regrets” about moving the headquarters of two research agencies from Washington, D.C., to Kansas City, despite continuing criticism that the move would harm agricultural research and make it less available to federal lawmakers.

Perdue joined political leaders from Missouri and Kansas in touring the new headquarters for the Economic Research Service and National Institute of Food in Kansas City, Missouri, and to celebrate a move that he said would improve researchers work by placing them closer to farmers, colleges with agriculture experts and hundreds of private agribusinesses.

He said he was surprised by the opposition that erupted in Washington when the plan to move about 550 employees to Kansas City was announced in June, but he still believes it was the right decision.

“I thought we were doing the right thing and I am convinced today even more so having been here and seeing where we will be on the ground that we did the right thing,” Perdue said. “I applaud this decision, I celebrate this decision and I have absolutely zero regrets of beginning this process and finishing this process right here in Kansas City.”

Perdue praised the congressional delegations, governors and other leaders in Kansas and Missouri for working together to win a competition for the headquarters that originally drew 136 expressions of interest from around the country. He and others said the agencies will benefit from being closer to people with agricultural knowledge.

“There’s a certain culture here, and that influences your on-the-ground ability there, rather than sitting somewhere that doesn’t have any agriculture,” he said. “You’re going to find more people in this region that know about agriculture, have the challenges and stress of the year-in and year-out agriculture and be able to make decisions and policies that help inform better research and policy from the USDA.”

USDA economist Laura Dodson, acting vice president of the union that represents ERS employees, called the idea that moving to Kansas City would help the agencies’ agricultural research “patently ridiculous.”

“We do a national level of research,” she said. “Suggesting we could be better researchers seeing a single cornfield in one state is wrong. We are in service of national agriculture, we service all, not just one region or a specific few.”

The Economic Research Service examines issues including the rural economy, international trade, food safety and programs that provide food assistance to poor Americans. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture provides grants for agricultural research.

Dodson also said the move had devastated morale at the two agencies, where those who made the move are expected to do the same amount of work with far fewer employees. She used to work with 12 researchers, but her unit consists of her and one other worker.

Many agency employees refused to move to Missouri, raising concerns about finding qualified researchers to replace them. Perdue said a recent job fair for 107 vacant positions at the agency drew 6,000 applications, and he expects the agencies to be fully staffed during the first quarter of 2020. He rejected concerns about a loss of institutional memory after hundreds of employees chose not to move, saying those who moved to Kansas City would quickly train new hires.

Dodson predicted that the agency would have a difficult time filling highly specialized research jobs requiring difficult academic training. Even before the agencies moved from the nation’s capital, every job opening required a national search because “not many people can do what we do” and the pool of economists who could work at the agency is not deep, she said.

The USDA said Friday that as of the pay period ending Oct. 26, ERS has 30 employees in Kansas City, with 69 employees permanently remaining in Washington, D.C., while NIFA has 66 employees in Kansas City, with 18 employees remaining in Washington. ERS has 16 employees and NIFA has 15 employees in Kansas City-based positions whose relocation dates have been extended to Dec. 9 and March 30, 2020 respectively. In total, ERS has 122 positions occupied and NIFA has 92 positions occupied.

Both agencies also are using re-employed workers, short-term contractors and employees from other agencies “to help ensure mission continuity through the transition” and the USDA has well over 150 active recruitments in process between both agencies, the agency said.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Prosecutors have dropped felony drug charges against the owners of a Kansas CBD store for selling hemp flower, which looks and smells like marijuana but contains only trace amounts of THC, the compound that gives pot its high.

Douglas County District Attorney Charles Branson’s office said in a brief statement Thursday that charges against Annie Martin, her fiancé, Sean Lefler, and an employee of their Free State Collective store in Lawrence were dropped without prejudice — meaning they can be revived — “pending further review.” It offered no explanation.

Prosecutors had been scheduled to present their case against the couple on Friday.

Just weeks earlier, Branson announced his office would stop filing criminal cases for simple marijuana possession offenses.

Martin, a former elementary school teacher who could have faced more than 17 years in prison if convicted, says she’s “relieved,” and that she believes the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, which twice raided the store, misunderstood the distinction between marijuana and hemp, which is a legal crop in the United States.

Martin said the case has cost her family upward of $100,000 in legal fees and that law enforcement seized equipment, inventory and cash.

“It’s been a complete and total nightmare,” she said. “I never in my wildest imagination would have thought this could turn into what it did.”

The store had lab reports from manufacturers showing their products contained only tiny amounts of THC. KBI documents showed some of the store’s products contained none at all. Other products were shown to contain some THC, but no testing was done to determine the actual percentage of THC, said Sarah Swain, the couple’s defense attorney.

Branson’s office declined to answer The Star’s questions in August about whether it distinguishes between marijuana and hemp in prosecuting cases. A representative said only that charging documents “reflect our position that marijuana was being sold at a CBD product store.” Those charging documents allege the pair possessed products containing more than a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of THC.

Lefler said the couple plans to close the Lawrence store this month and open a business in Kansas City, Missouri.

DOUGLAS COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a drowning in Lawrence.

Just before 8:30 a.m., police responded to 4706 Overland Drive, the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center, regarding a medical emergency involving a possible drowning of an adult, according to Sergeant Amy Rhoads.

Upon their arrival, officers discovered an unconscious, 76 year-old man and immediately began lifesaving efforts. Despite the efforts of the officers and LDCFM personal, the man could not be revived. This death appears natural, and there is no indication of drowning or foul play. Authorities have not release the victim’s name.

—————

DOUGLAS COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a drowning in Lawrence.

Just before 8:30 a.m., police responded to 4706 Overland Drive, the Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center, regarding a medical emergency involving a possible drowning of an adult, according to Sergeant Amy Rhoads.

Officers and LDCFM arrived on scene and despite first responders’ lifesaving efforts, the patient could not be revived.

There does not appear to be any foul play suspected and the victim was not a student, according to Rhoads.

BARTON COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas felon on new charges after a Thursday arrest.

Just after 2:30 PM, a Great Bend Police Detective stopped a vehicle in the 5500 block of 10th Street for a traffic violation.

The Great Bend Police Department K-9, Menta, was called to perform an exterior sniff on the vehicle. Menta indicated to the odor of narcotics. A search of the vehicle was conducted and Methamphetamine, Marijuana and Drug paraphernalia were found in the vehicle.

Police arrested 38-year-old  Christopher Whiting and transported him to the Barton County Detention Center where he was booked in lieu of bond.

Whitting has four previous drug convictions and one for driving while suspended.

By TALI ARBEL
AP Technology Writer

Hulu is again raising prices for its online TV bundle, as other streaming-TV providers do the same.
Hulu’s service, like AT&T TV Now, Dish’s Sling and YouTube TV, are a replica of traditional TV but on the internet. They were once vaunted as a successor to traditional cable. But the market has lost steam as prices rise. One early entrant, Sony’s PlayStation Vue, is shutting down, and analysts expect others to follow.

The entertainment industry’s attention has shifted to new and upcoming streaming services like Apple TV Plus, Disney Plus, AT&T’s HBO Max and Comcast’s Peacock.

Hulu with Live TV’s price will rise $10, to $55 a month, in December. Prices had risen $5 in February.

The Disney-owned streaming provider’s traditional video-on-demand service will remain at $6 a month.