ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Four months after the federal government gave up a court fight to keep the lesser prairie chicken on the endangered species list, environmentalists say there’s new evidence that warrants listing the bird again.

A coalition of environmental groups has filed a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, arguing that key populations are in danger of extinction as climate change exacerbates problems caused by energy development, farming and other infrastructure such as roads and power lines.

The groups say emergency protections are needed for isolated populations along the Texas-New Mexico border, in Colorado and western Kansas.

Following court rulings in Texas that stripped the bird of protection, federal officials moved in July to formally remove it from the list. The agency has said the bird’s status would be re-evaluated.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A 38-year-old man has been charged in the death of a Johnson County Sheriff’s deputy who died when a pickup truck plowed into his stopped patrol car.

The Kansas City Star reports that Adrian Espinosa-Flores of Kansas City, Kansas, was charged Monday with involuntary manslaughter in the death Sunday of Master Deputy Brandon Collins. Collins was 45.

Authorities say Espinosa-Flores is accused of driving under the influence when the pickup truck he was driving crashed into the deputy’s patrol car. Collins was making a traffic stop at the time of the crash.

Authorities said Espinosa-Flores fled the scene but was found by police dogs and taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries.

He’s in custody on $2 million bond. It’s unclear if Espinosa-Flores has a lawyer.

SALINE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a suspect for alleged assault.

Seth Vanbruggen, 21, is accused of pointing a BB gun at another car just before 11:30p.m. on the northbound side of Interstate 135 just south of the Kansas 4 Assaria Road exit, according to Saline County Undersheriff Roger Soldan.

Two vehicles had been driving side by side on the interstate near the rest area in McPherson County.

When the other car passed a truck, Vanbruggen pulled over to the shoulder of the road.

A short time later, Vanbruggen then, passing the other car, allegedly pointed the gun.

The other car with two occupants pulled off at the Assaria exit and called the Sheriff’s Office.

Vanbruggen was arrested on a requested charge of aggravated assault.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas Department of Transportation report says 96.7 percent of interstate highways in the state were ranked as good in the fiscal year ending in July.

The report was released on Friday. The department evaluates the state’s 10,000-mile highway system annually and gives ratings based on scores of surface roughness and distress.

The Topeka Capital-Journal has previously reported that 97.7 percent of interstate highways in Kansas were ranked as good in 2015.

Friday’s report says 91.7 percent of non-interstate highways in the state were found to be in good condition last fiscal year.

The agency says it has targets of 85 percent good for interstate highways and 80 percent good for non-interstate highways.

Kansas Contractors Association executive vice president Bob Totten says the report didn’t take into account consequences of recent postponement of funds for maintenance and construction projects in response to budget issues.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A man has been charged in a shooting that injured seven people in Kansas City’s Westport entertainment district.

Twenty-nine-year-old Kelvin Clark, of Kansas City, Kansas, faces seven counts each of assault and armed criminal action. His bond is set at $250,000. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.

Court documents say a man was knocked down by a vehicle early Sunday. Surveillance video from after the collision shows two people inside of the vehicle shooting toward the downed man and a crowd.

Police said in a news release that the suspects’ vehicle then drove at responding officers before crashing. The release says an officer fired at the vehicle, but no one was struck by that gunfire. Police said the most seriously wounded victim was in critical condition.

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — State and federal regulators say 32 disposal wells in northeastern Oklahoma must shut down because they are too near a newly discovered fault line that produced the state’s strongest earthquake on record.

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission said Monday that 27 wells under its jurisdiction would cease operations, along with five wells in Osage County, which is covered by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rules.

A magnitude 5.8 quake at Pawnee, Oklahoma, on Sept. 3 shook several states, including Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas. Shortly afterward, geologists speculated on whether the temblor occurred on a previously unknown fault.

In a standard energy field practice, wastewater from oil and gas production is injected deep into the earth. The high pressure has been blamed for triggering an increase in earthquakes.

Regulators shuttered wells within 10 miles of the new fault.

 

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court is wrestling with whether it should censure a former Wichita-area judge over allegations that he was not candid in answering questions about earlier accusations of improper behavior.

An attorney for former Sedgwick County District Judge Timothy Henderson said Monday in arguments before the Supreme Court that the latest case against Henderson is moot.

Henderson lost his Republican primary race for re-election in August and resigned, effective Sunday.

The high court suspended Henderson for three months without pay in 2015 after a disciplinary panel found he had sexually harassed female attorneys and staff by repeatedly making offensive remarks.

Disciplinary Examiner Todd Thompson told the Supreme Court that while it no longer can suspend Henderson, it should censure him to help maintain public confidence in the courts.

By STEVE KORANDA

Former Democratic Gov. John Carlin and former Republican House Speaker Mike O’Neal have starkly different views on the condition of Kansas government. That divergence was plain as the two met Thursday in Topeka for a discussion about the size of government recorded for the Statehouse Blend podcast.

O’Neal and Carlin agree on one thing — that they don’t know exactly what the “right size” of state government is.

“It’s not about high or low,” said Carlin, but about finding the right tax level to get return on investment.

O’Neal said the goal of the 2012 tax cuts, passed while he was Kansas House speaker, wasn’t shrinking state government, it was boosting the economy. He said government will shrink, at least temporarily, while waiting for the economic growth that tax cuts are aimed at boosting.

“It’s not a shot of adrenaline, as I think we’ve found out,” said O’Neal. “In fact, it’s very hard for anyone to have predicted the stagnation nationally, because everybody thought they’d pull out of the recession quicker than they did.”

Carlin said the results of the August primaries, where multiple incumbent conservatives lost to more moderate challengers, were a referendum on the state’s tax policy and direction.

“I think it’s an understanding of the people of Kansas that what we tried did not work,” Carlin said.

O’Neal now heads the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, which had endorsed all the incumbent Republican legislators defeated in the primaries. He said this is just another swing in Kansas politics like others in the past.

“People want something different,” said O’Neal, suggesting there’s an anti-incumbency movement and distrust of government at all levels in 2016. “Lower taxes tend to stimulate our economy, that’s still our philosophy.”

O’Neal said for years Kansas had a very high number of state employees based on its population and advocates for a focus on growing the private sector.

“That doesn’t necessarily mean firing everybody in state government and outsourcing everything, but there are certainly some efficiencies,” O’Neal said.

Carlin argued a loss of state workers in the wake of the tax cuts has had a negative impact on state services like mental health care.

“There’s pain. Citizens know that,” Carlin said. It’s not just about increasing services, he said, “it’s about getting back to quality.”

Without a change in course on tax policy, Carlin said the state won’t be able to invest in infrastructure and education, and he says that means Kansas won’t be competitive in attracting people and business.

“If we don’t invest at a level that gives people confidence that we’re funding a quality public education system, then people look at leaving, not coming,” Carlin said.

O’Neal said Kansas isn’t in the tough spot Carlin thinks it is.

O’Neal blame the media for not telling positive stories about the state and attacking the administration of Gov. Sam Brownback.

“It pains us to hear all the people who hear things are going down the toilet. If you talk about that enough, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy,” O’Neal said.

He said Kansas still does well in many state comparisons and has a low unemployment rate.

“The good news is we’ve got low unemployment. The bad news is we’ve got low unemployment,” said O’Neal, adding that unemployment is so low businesses actually are having difficulty finding qualified workers for some jobs.

Carlin said that trend will continue unless Kansas changes course and invests in education. O’Neal said Kansas has been generous in its funding of public education.

— Stephen Koranda is the Statehouse Bureau Chief for KPR

 

BARTON COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Barton County are investigating a shooting at the school district offices.

Just after 9 p.m. on Sunday, sheriff’s deputies responded to the USD 428 administrative offices, 200 block of Patton Road in Great Bend, according to a media release.

Upon arrival deputies observed the front main doors of the office had been shot repeatedly.

The investigation indicates four rounds were fired from a 9 mm handgun, entering the building and lodging in the walls.

The sheriff’s office has recovered shell casings and bullets from the scene.

Witnesses stated a Dodge Neon or Cobalt was seen leaving the area at the time of the shooting.

Damage is estimated in excess of $6,000. No one was in the office at the time. No injuries were reported.

The sheriff’s office is seeking the public’s help in locating the suspect. Any person with information is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers of Barton County.

SALINE COUNTY – A Kansas man died in an accident just after 2.am. on Saturday in Saline County.

A Mitsubishi Montero driven by Amanda Myers, 29, Salina was westbound on State Street at Lightville Road west of Salina, according to Saline County Undersheriff Roger Soldan.

The SUV traveled into the ditch and rolled.

Both Myers and a passenger Wesley Meyers, 52, Salina were ejected.

Wesley Meyers was pronounced dead at the scene.

Emergency Responders transported Amanda Meyers to Salina Regional Health Center and later transferred to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.

They were not wearing seat belts, according to Soldan.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A man has been arrested in the death of a Johnson County Sheriff’s deputy after crashing into his stopped patrol car.

Overland Park Police spokesman, Officer John Lacy, says the 38-year-old suspect is jailed on suspicion of reckless second-degree murder in the death of Master Deputy Brandon Collins.

The crash happened Sunday after the 45-year-old Collins stopped a driver for a traffic infraction on U.S. 69. Lacy says Collins had made contact with the driver and returned to his vehicle when it was rear-ended. Collins died at the scene. No one else was hurt.

Lacy says the suspect fled on foot and was captured in the area.

The results of a drug and alcohol tests are pending. Lacy said he didn’t know if the suspect had an attorney.

HARVEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Harvey County are investigating a teen suspect for a social media threat against schools in Newton.

This was a high-school student who was recently expelled from school, according to Lt. Scott Powell with Newton Police.

“He took a Snapchat picture of a gun and the statement don’t attend school tomorrow,” said Powell.

“The person who received the Snapchat photo took a screenshot of it, knew who sent it and notified school administration,” said Powell.

It was Friday and with a home football game, officials were concerned.

Police immediately went to the suspect’s home. “He admitted sending the photo and said it was just a joke,” said Powell.

“We didn’t take it as a joke.”

Police also located the realistic looking BB gun from the photo.

The teen was arrested for criminal threat and the case has been turned over to the Harvey County Attorney.

 

SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) — A woman has been released from the hospital and a good Samaritan who came to her aid is recovering after a suburban Kansas City Wal-Mart parking lot attack in which a suspect was killed.

Police said the Kansas City, Kansas, woman was putting her baby in her car Sunday afternoon in Shawnee when two suspects hit her in the head from behind. Shawnee police Maj. Dan Tennis says a Kansas City, Missouri, man in the parking lot who tried to help was shot several times and is recovering after undergoing surgery.

Another good Samaritan from De Soto, Kansas, has been interviewed and released after fatally shooting 28-year-old John Simmons III, of Kansas City, Missouri.

Authorities continue looking for the second suspect after determining that a man arrested afterward wasn’t involved.

——————-

SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) — Two people were critically injured and a good Samaritan killed a suspect during a confrontation in the parking lot of a suburban Kansas City Wal-Mart.

Police said the incident Sunday afternoon in Shawnee began when two suspects hit a woman in the head from behind as she was putting her child in her car.

Shawnee police Maj. Dan Tennis says a person in the parking lot who tried to help was shot several times. Another good Samaritan then shot one of the suspects, who died at the scene.

The second suspect fled but was caught near the store.

The female victim and the other person who was shot were both hospitalized in critical condition.

Shawnee Police reported late Sunday the woman was improving and expected to be released from the hospital soon. The wounded good Samaritan was alert while waiting to undergo surgery.

Tennis said a motive for the initial attack on the woman is not yet clear.