MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State University would allow concealed firearms in all building under guidelines it is developing for complying with a state law.

The Manhattan Mercury  reports that a university work group is planning a Sept. 15 forum before submitting the guidelines to the Kansas Board of Regents for approval.

Beginning in July 2017, the state’s public universities must allow concealed weapons on campus in buildings that don’t have security measures including metal detectors. The Kansas Board of Regents has directed universities to develop more detailed policies by the fall.

Under Kansas State’s proposed policy, no residence hall, classroom or other campus location would have the security measures that would allow a complete concealed carry prohibition. But concealed carry could be prohibited when temporary security measures are in place.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man has been charged with kidnapping a teenage girl from St. Louis after meeting her on Facebook.

The U.S. attorney’s office says 49-year-old Johnny Angel Vallejo, of Wichita, was charged Wednesday with kidnapping a minor and transporting a minor across state lines to engage in sexual activities. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.

Prosecutors say he traveled to St. Louis to meet the teen and picked her up from school Aug. 19. He is accused of making threats and forcing the teen to go with him to Wichita, where she was found at restaurant.

If convicted, Vallejo faces up to life in federal prison on the kidnapping charge, and not less than 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the transportation charge.

Vallejo has previous convictions for rape, battery and aggravated robbery in Finney County, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

DOUGLAS COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Douglas County are investigating a shooting that injured a child.

Just after 7:45 a.m. on Thursday, officers with the Lawrence Police Department responded to a residence in the 500 block of Wisconsin Street in reference to a reported accidental shooting involving a 6-year-old child, according to a media release.

An ambulance transported the child to a regional hospital in stable condition, according to police.

No additional details were released early Thursday.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The lead elephant in the 1980s film “Smokey and the Bandit 2” is among two new pachyderms at the Topeka Zoo.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the 58-year-old Asian elephant named Cora arrived Wednesday. She was joined by her longtime companion, Shannon, a 34-year-old African elephant.

Topeka Zoo director Brendan Wiley says the pair quickly took to exploring after being unloaded.

Currently, they reside in a special holding area where they’ll be quarantined for a few weeks and have their health evaluated. Within a few weeks, they will join the zoo’s two other elephants — 46-year-old Tembo and 56-year-old Sunda.

The new elephants came from Elephant Encounter, a traveling elephant program based near Tampa, Florida. They’re crucial additions because new guidelines call for herds of at least three elephants.

FINNEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Finney County are investigating a kidnapping, phone scam.

Over the last several days reports have been made to the Garden City Police Department about people being contacted by phone and the caller informing them that they have kidnapped their child or family member, according to a social media report.

The caller then requests money wired to the person for safe return of the child or family member.

This is a scam. You should always treat this type of call serious and it is a good idea to confirm the safety of the alleged kidnapped person, but do not send money.

Police indicated, if you feel the they call is legitimate, contact law enforcement immediately.

TOPEKA – Two Kansas men were indicted on Wednesday and charged with one count of conspiring to steal money orders from a post office and one count of stealing money orders, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall.

Harley M. Edwards, 24, Narka, and Ric Meczyor, 27, Belleville, are alleged to have committed the crimes during February to March 2016 in Narka, Kansas.

If convicted, they face a penalty up to five years and a fine up to $250,000 on the conspiracy charge, and up to 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the theft charge. The U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Kenney is prosecuting.

HUTCHINSON –The state will continue to interview witnesses on Thursday in the trial of a Kansas teen accused of setting a fatal fire.

On Wednesday, the defendant’s father Steve Vonachen testified.

Samuel Vonachen is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and aggravated arson after allegedly setting a fire to his family’s home leaving his mother and sister trapped inside.

He was 14 at the time of the fatal fire in September 2013.

During cross examination Wednesday, the defense showed a video of Steve Vanochen’s interview with police just after the fire. He was very emotional.

He told detectives there was nothing out of the ordinary on the day of the fire.

He told police that a smoke alarm woke him and he came downstairs to a ring of fire. He said he tried to call 911 but the phone was not working.

He also testified that his son was a good student and had no emotional issues.

In addition to Steve Vanochen, Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms Agent Doug Monte testified of determining that the point of origin of the fire was at the front door and spread in a U shape around the stairs making it difficult for anyone upstairs to escape.
Later, Michelle Evans with an ATF lab in Maryland testified they found gasoline on the clothes of Samuel Vonachen, but not on his father’s clothing.

The trial is expected to last approximately ten days.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas has formed a task force to study how state agencies can use drones in their operations.

The Kansas Department of Transportation said in a news release Wednesday that the Unmanned Aerial Systems Joint Task Force will also consider how state government can help the private sector use drones.

Task force members are Josh Row, assistant secretary of Agriculture; Billy Brown, agribusiness development coordinator for the Agriculture Department; Matt Keith, director of research for the Department of Commerce; Chris Tymeson, chief counsel for the Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism; Frank Papish, assistant director of the KBI; and Ron Seitz, chief of KDOT’s Division of Engineering and Design.

In July, the state named Air Force veteran Bob Brock as its first director of an unmanned aircraft systems program in Kansas.

CUNNINGHAM, Kan. (AP) — A southern Kansas construction project has uncovered a tusk believed to have belonged to a mammoth.

The Hutchinson News reports that the discovery was made last week while the Kingman County city of Cunningham was running a sewer line across a grain elevator’s property.

Skyland Grain CEO David Cron says a Wichita State University associate professor would examine the seven- to eight-foot-long curved tusk Friday.

Mammoths are the extinct, prehistoric cousin to the elephant and once roamed the region. Their bones also were discovered on a Scott County farm in recent years.

Cron is hoping to get advice on how to extract the tusk without damaging it. Eventually, he would like to see it displayed for the public, although curiosity-seekers are being shooed away from the business for now.

 CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — As a pharmaceutical company run by U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin’s daughter faces scrutiny for hiking prices on life-saving allergy injection pens, Manchin is remaining mum.

The Democratic West Virginia senator’s daughter, Heather Bresch, is CEO of Mylan, which manufactures EpiPens.

A two-dose package cost around $94 nine years ago. The cost averaged more than six times that in May.

Manchin spokesman Jonathan Kott said Wednesday the senator had no comment.

Several senators are demanding more information and requesting congressional hearings and investigations.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut want the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Mylan for possible antitrust violations.

Hillary Clinton, whom Manchin has endorsed for president, called the increase “outrageous.”

A Mylan statement Tuesday cited health insurance changes with higher deductible costs for many.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Lawmakers are demanding more information on why the price of lifesaving EpiPens has skyrocketed.

EpiPens are used to ward off potentially fatal allergic reactions, and the price has surged in recent years. A two-dose package cost less than $60 nine years ago. The cost is now closer to $400.

Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley wrote the company that manufactures the devices, and asked for more information on why the prices have increased. He cited the cost to parents when children must have them and to schools that keep EpiPens on hand. The school costs are passed on to taxpayers, he said.

New York Rep. Grace Meng on Tuesday asked the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to hold a hearing. She is a co-chair of the Congressional Kids Safety Caucus.

ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge has delayed sentencing for a Kansas man who has admitted aiding a wannabe Islamic State jihadist’s plan to detonate what they thought was a bomb at Fort Riley.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree heard a psychologist testify Wednesday at the hearing for 29-year-old Alexander Blair. The U.S. attorney’s office says the judge wanted some time to go over the material before handing down a sentence.

No new sentencing date has been set.

Blair pleaded guilty in May to a conspiracy count that carries up to five years’ imprisonment. He admitted loaning John T. Booker $100 to pay for the storage of the device during an FBI undercover operation.

KIOWA COUNTY – One person was injured in an accident just before 3p.m. on Wednesday in Kiowa County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Honda motorcycle driven by Thomas M. Hildebran, 74, Dayton, OH., was eastbound on U.S. 54 one mile east of Greensburg.

The motorcycle had just passed a semi and pulled back into the eastbound lane.

The motorcycle caught the rumble strips. The driver lost control and was ejected from the motorcycle

He landed in the south ditch.

Hildebran was transported to Wesley Medical Center.

He was wearing a helmet, according to the KHP.

GEARY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Geary County are investigating two suspects on drug charges.

After a 2 month long investigation of crack cocaine, the Junction City -Geary County Drug Operations Group assisted by the Kansas Department of Corrections State Parole Office, Tuesday, executed search warrants at 820 South Washington Street, Room 116 at the Budget Host Motel, and at 2204 Brookbend in Junction City, according to a media release.

Two people were arrested including Toriania D. Griffin, 43, Junction city, on suspicion of two counts of Unlawful Use of a Communication Facility to Arrange the Sale / Purchase of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, plus one count each of Sale / Distribution of Crack Cocaine within 1,000 Feet of a School Zone, Sale / Distribution of Crack Cocaine, Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine, Possession of Cocaine with Intent to Distribute, Possession of Marijuana, and No Kansas Drug Tax Stamp.

Derrick Lamont Woods, 43, Junction City, on suspicion of two counts each of Sale / Distribution of Crack Cocaine Within 1,000 Feet of a School Zone, Unlawful Use of a Communication Facility to Arrange the Sale / Purchase of a Controlled Substance and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, plus one count each of Possession of Crack Cocaine with Intent to Distribute, and No Kansas Drug Tax Stamp,.

The Drug Operations Group seized approximately 14 grams of crack cocaine, 17 grams of powder cocaine, marijuana, $3,000 in U.S. currency, and a 1999 Lincoln Town car.

The Drug Operations Group is a joint task force composed of members of the Junction City Police Department, Geary County Sheriff’s Department and Grandview Plaza Police Department.