HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Live entertainment, stunt dogs and a new butter sculptor are luring visitors to the Kansas State Fair.

The event started Friday and runs through Sept. 18 on the Kansas State Fairgrounds in Hutchinson. The fair draws a crowd of about 350,000 people each year. See the Fair Web Site here.

Performers will include pop artists Andy Grammer and Rachel Platten, along with the classic rock band Lynryd Skynyrd.

Away from the grandstand, there’s a petting zoo, camel rides and giant pumpkins. Besides the traditional livestock and food competitions, contestants also can vie in beard and mustache contests.

280 acres of all things Kansas. Welcome to the 2016 @KansasStateFair pic.twitter.com/lOAsi3Iflj

— Kansas State Fair (@KansasStateFair) September 9, 2016

Fairgoers also will be able to meet sculptor Sarah Pratt, who is transforming 700 pounds of butter into a cow and boy. Pratt has been the Iowa State Fair butter sculptor for 12 years.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The Lawrence City Commission has issued letters of solidarity with Black Lives Matter and with American Indians protesting the Dakota access Pipeline after about 20 people staged a sit-in.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Tuesday’s protest delayed a commission meeting by about 45 minutes.

Watch a replay of the city commission meeting here.

Commissioners initially said a letter would be written within 24 hours, but that offer wasn’t immediately accepted. The protesters left after the commission decided to issue an initial statement of support Tuesday night and called for a continuation of the meeting Wednesday to issue official letters.

Trinity Carpenter, with Lawrence’s Black Lives Matter chapter, said the final drafts of the letters “definitely felt well thought out.” Mayor Mike Amyx says the commission will work with people of color in the community and continue listening.

By ELLE MOXLEY

The American Civil Liberties Union is suing Kansas City Public Schools after a school resource officer handcuffed a second grader.

The incident happened in 2014, says ACLU of Missouri Executive Director Jeffrey Mittman, after 7-year-old Kalyb Wiley Primm began to cry in class.

Mittman says Primm had been bullied.

“He didn’t want to go with the officer, who was being scary,” Mittman says. “Instead of calming the child, instead of reassuring him, instead of finding out what was wrong, the officer yelled at him, told him to stop crying and then handcuffed him.”

Primm allegedly sat, handcuffed, in the principal’s office for 15 minutes before his mother arrived.

“I think it’s an important question that we as a community must ask of our schools: how is it possible that this happened?” Mittman says.

But it happens more often than you might think. Schools in Missouri have wide latitude to set their own discipline policies. In fact, Missouri leads the nation in suspending young, black students.

“What we see from the data is there are too many students are disciplined improperly,” says Mittman. “There are too many young students of color who are treated unfairly and differentially. They are suspended at higher rates. They are expelled at higher rates.”

Primm, who is black, was too scared to return to school. Now 9, he has been homeschooled for the last two years.

A spokeswoman for KCPS said the district doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

Follow Elle Moxley on Twitter @ellemoxley

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House has approved a bipartisan bill that would allow families of Sept. 11 victims to sue the government of Saudi Arabia.

The measure was approved by voice vote Friday.

Passage of the legislation puts Congress on a collision course with President Barack Obama on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the attacks.

The Senate passed the bill in May by voice vote despite vehement objections from Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East.

Fifteen of the 19 hijackers from 9/11 were Saudi nationals.

The White House has signaled that Obama would veto the legislation over concerns about exposing Americans overseas to legal risks.

The Obama administration cautions that if U.S. citizens can take the Saudis to court, then a foreign country could in turn sue the United States.

DETROIT (AP) — Nissan is recalling over 120,000 cars and SUVs in the U.S. because brake fluid could leak and cause fires.

In some cases owners should park their vehicles outside until they are fixed.

The recall covers certain 2015 to 2017 Murano SUVs and 2016 to 2017 Maxima large cars that are equipped with intelligent cruise control. Also included are some 2015 and 2016 Murano hybrids.

Nissan says seals on antilock brake pumps can leak fluid onto a circuit board. That can cause an electrical short, which could lead to a fire. If fluid leaks, the antilock brake warning light could stay on for 10 seconds after startup. Owners who see that should park outside and call their dealer.

Nissan says several vehicles caught fire. Dealers will replace defective pumps for free.

In addition, General Motors Co. is recalling about 4 million vehicles worldwide to fix an air bag software defect that has been linked to one death.

The company said Friday that in rare cases, the car’s computers can go into test mode and the front air bags won’t inflate in a crash. The seat belts also may not function.

GM says the defect is linked to at least one death.

GM will notify customers and update the software for free.

The recall involves the 2014-2016 Buick LaCrosse, Chevrolet SS and Spark EV; the 2014-2017 Buick Encore, GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Corvette, Trax, Caprice and Silverado; and the 2015-2017 Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban and Silverado HD, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL and Sierra HD and Cadillac Escalade and Escalade ESV.

SALINE COUNTY -The League of Women Voters annual Fall Issues Forum will feature Kansas Supreme Court Justices Marla Luckert and Carol Beier at Kansas Wesleyan University’s Pioneer Hall in Sams Chapel on Monday, September 12 at 7:30 p.m., according to a media release.

They will discuss “The Role of Fair and Impartial Courts in Kansas Government.”

The League is sponsoring this event to inform all Kansans, given the movement to vote out or non-retain Justices in November’s general elections.

Sarah Bagby, Wichita Watermark Books, will moderate the event.

Ms. Bagby will ask questions included those submitted by the audience for the Justices’ response.

Smoky Hills Public Television will record the event for later broadcast.

SEWARD COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in southwest Kansas are investigating a hunting violation.

The game warden in Seward County is asking the public for help to learn the identity of hunters after 18 doves were found shot and left to lay east of Wide Awake Road and north of CR Zero in Seward County, according to a social media report.

The birds were dead, not cleaned and with numerous shotgun hulls littering the ground.

Officials ask anyone with information about the case to call Operation Game Thief at 877-426-3843.

SEDGWICK COUNTY -Law enforcement and Emergency Management officials in South Central Kansas are busy after another round of heavy rain.

The National Weather Service issued flood advisories, watches and warnings from just east of Barton County across the state.

Some areas of Sedgwick and Butler County are reporting 8 and 9 inch rain totals, according to the National Weather Service.

Westar Energy is reporting widespread power outages.

Radar estimates of heavy rainfall that occurred last night. Do not drive through flooded roadways!! #kswx pic.twitter.com/sQWQOKiP4N

— NWS Wichita (@NWSWichita) September 9, 2016

Several creeks and rivers, including the Ninnescah and Arkansas, have overflowed their banks.

Crews performed a swift-water rescue Friday in Mulvane. Butler County Emergency Management also says high waters have closed a stretch of Kansas 53 that runs through the town.

Roads are also flooded in a number of other areas. Mulvane USD 263, Clearwater USD 264 and Rose Hill USD 394 closed schools on Friday due to the flooding, according to the school websites.

Thursday night school sporting events and activities across the region were postponed, rescheduled or cancelled.

Many schools have adjusted start times of high school football games and other activities on Friday.

 

HUTCHINSON — Imagine coming home and finding people asleep on the floor of your home or apartment.

That happened to a Hutchinson woman who says she found four people asleep in her apartment early Wednesday morning.

She apparently told the four to get out of her apartment and then discovered items missing including a stereo, clothing and food.

She may have known at least one of the four, according to police.

The four were later found at a home in the 300 block of East B Street and arrested for burglary and theft.

That included 50-year-old Sherri Lemonds, 40-year-old Brenda Caylor, 43-year-old Shane Tooker and 49-year-old Michelle Mullins.

All four made a court appearance Thursday where they were told of the potential charges.

Only Tooker asked for a bond reduction, which was granted. He has several previous convictions in Reno County on various drug charges.

All are expected back in court next week.

NEOSHO COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Southeast Kansas are investigating a fatal hit and run crash just before 1p.m. on Thursday in Neosho County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a vehicle was northbound on U.S.169 Highway two miles north of Chanute.

The vehicle traveled left of center and hit the trailer being pulled by a southbound semi.

The collision caused the semi to travel off the roadway to the right and jackknife in the ditch.

The semi driver Bryan Wayne Brodie, 56, Neosho, MO., was pronounced dead at the scene. The other vehicle fled the scene.

Brodie was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A civilian employee for a health center at Fort Leavenworth is accused of setting one of his co-workers on fire.

Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall says 54-year-old Clifford Currie of Leavenworth was charged Thursday with one count of assault with intent to commit murder.

Prosecutors allege that on Wednesday Currie threw a flammable liquid on his female supervisor, lit on her fire and assaulted her with a straight edge razor.

Another worker at the Munson Army Health Center was injured when she tried to stop the assault before other hospital employees subdued Currie.

A criminal complaint says the supervisor had in the past asked for another employee to be with her whenever she talked to Currie.

It was not immediately clear if Currie has an attorney.

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FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — Authorities are investigating after an employee at the Fort Leavenworth medical facility assaulted two co-workers.

The fort said on its website that the Munson Army Health Center will be closed Thursday while the probe into Wednesday’s assault is underway. The online posting says the suspect is in custody and that both victims are being treated for their injuries.

No other information was immediately available. Fort staff didn’t immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking more information.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice has found that federal agents lacked proper guidance and experience when they conducted undercover sting operations in several cities since 2010 that were aimed at disrupting illegal gun sales.

The Justice Department’s inspector general’s office released a report Thursday examining shortcomings with U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ storefront sting operations in Milwaukee; Pensacola, Florida; St. Louis; Wichita, Kansas; and Boston.

The report found that agents who worked the operations lacked policies, experience and supervision. It also noted the operations have to do a better job defining the problem they’re trying to solve.

Problems with the ATF’s storefront operations surfaced in 2013 after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published an investigation detailing multiple problems with the operation in that city.