BARTON COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Barton County are investigating a suspect in connection with a burglary.

On Wednesday, officers were notified of a burglary that occurred at The Long Drive driving range in the 400 Block of South Main in Hoisington at midnight, according to a social media report.

Thanks to surveillance footage and the assistance of neighboring law enforcement agencies a suspect was identified.

Just before 3p.m. on Wednesday, officers with the Great Bend Police Department arrested Keaton Krom in the 3200 block of Lakin Avenue.

Krom is being held at the Barton County Jail on a $20,000 bond for burglary. Additional arrests are expected in the coming days as the investigation continues. Anyone with information is urged to call the Hoisington Police Department at (620) 653-4995 or Barton County Crimestoppers at (620) 792-1300.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A state senator from southern Kansas says school district superintendents are working to defeat incumbent Republican conservative lawmakers in this year’s elections.

Sen. Forrest Knox, a Republican from Altoona, made that allegation in an email to supporters last week and in an interview with The Wichita Eagle.

Knox says he sees signs for his opponents at the homes across the state belonging to people connected to the state’s schools. He suggested some superintendents are intimidating teachers into supporting his opponents.

Cory Gibson, president of the Kansas School Superintendents Association, says the organization doesn’t ever make endorsements in legislative races. He says school employees are free to campaign for a candidate on their own time but many superintendents don’t because they have to work with whoever wins the election.

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — The U.S. Army says imprisoned transgender soldier Chelsea Manning was briefly hospitalized this week, though few details have been provided.

Army spokesman Wayne Hall says the 28-year-old Manning was taken to a hospital Tuesday near Fort Leavenworth and was later returned to the Kansas military base’s prison, where Manning is now being monitored. Hall and other Pentagon officials didn’t say why Manning was hospitalized.

Manning, formerly Bradley Manning, was convicted in military court in 2013 for sending classified information to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. Manning is serving a 35-year prison sentence.

Manning’s appellate attorney, Nancy Hollander, said she was unaware of the hospitalization until Wednesday and was “profoundly distressed by the complete lack of official communication about Chelsea’s current situation.”

A Fort Leavenworth spokeswoman declined comment, citing medical privacy laws.

WICHITA, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced Tuesday to more than 15 years in federal prison for robbing two Wichita gas stations, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall.

Also Tuesday, a co-defendant in the same case pleaded guilty.

Roy E. Walls-Guiden, 29, Wichita, was sentenced Tuesday to 188 months in federal prison. He pleaded guilty to two counts of robbing a commercial establishment.

Demon L. Anderson, 27, Wichita, pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of robbing a commercial establishment.

In their pleas, the defendants admitted that on Dec. 4, 2015, they robbed a Valero gas station at 248 S. Hillside in Wichita. They entered the store while the clerk was outside and began taking cash and cigarettes. When the clerk returned, Walls-Guiden pointed a .40 caliber handgun at him. Then the defendants fled the store.

Later that same night, the defendants tried to rob a Petro America gas station at 2838 W. Central in Wichita. The defendants did not know that a police officer had set up surveillance on the store and called for backup when he saw the defendants enter. The defendants were arrested at the scene.

Anderson is set for sentencing Sept. 20. He faces a penalty of up to 20 years and a fine up to $250,000 on each count.

Beall commended the Wichita Police Department, the FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Hart for their work on the case.

FINNEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Finney County are investigating a suspect on various drug charges.

Garden City/Finney County Drug Task Force culminated a four-month investigation into the sale of methamphetamine by service of a search warrant at the residence of 603 1⁄2 Garden City Avenue, according to a media release.

The search warrant was served by the Garden City/Finney County SWAT team.

The suspect, Alfredo Ramirez Jr., 29, Garden City Ave. was not at the residence at the time of the service of the warrant.

He was arrested a short time later on a traffic stop conducted by the Garden City Police Department.

He is being held in the Finney County Jail and could face the possible charges of:
Sale of Methamphetamine (x2), Possession of Methamphetamine with intent to distribute, Use of a Telecommunication Device to facilitate a drug felony, Possession of Proceeds from the Sale of Controlled Substances Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Sedgwick County commissioners are officially asking the Kansas Legislature to ban immigrants living in the U.S. illegally from receiving in-state tuition or help from a federal nutrition program.

The resolution passed 3-2 Wednesday after almost two hours of public debate. The Wichita Eagle reports  some speakers supported the resolution but most were opposed.

Commissioners supporting the resolution said they were seeking a clear directive from Kansas government on issues related to those in the country illegally. The resolution is not binding.

The resolution will ask the state lawmakers to keep immigrants in the country illegally from receiving in-state tuition. It also asks the state health department to ban them from receiving help from the Women, Infants and Children program, which provides nutritious foods to low-income mothers and their children.

JOHNSON COUNTY – A Kansas man was injured in an accident just after 9a.m. on Wednesday in Johnson County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Kenworth concrete truck driven by Christopher J. Robertson, 32, Leavenworth, was southbound on Interstate 435 and took the exit ramp to Holiday Drive.

The truck was going too fast for the load it carried and overturned into the south ditch.

Robertson was transported to Overland Park Regional Medical Center.

He was properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the KHP.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court is turning its attention to whether the state is spending enough money overall on its schools.

The justices issued a brief order Wednesday setting oral arguments on that issue for Sept. 21.

The court wants the parties to also address at that time a lower panel’s remedial orders and any changes it should make to them if it ultimately upholds their findings. The panel ruled last year the state must increase its annual aid by at least $548 million.

It also gave the parties until Aug. 12 to file any supplemental written arguments.

The Supreme Court signed off last week on a new education funding law that boosts state aid to poor school districts, ending a threat that the state’s public schools would be shut down.

NEW YORK (AP) — More than 500,000 hoverboards are being recalled after reports that dozens of them have burst into flames. See more on the recall here.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission said Wednesday that it has received 99 reports that the battery packs in the two-wheel motorized scooters caught on fire or exploded, causing burns or property damage.

The hoverboards were made by 10 companies, including Swagway and Keenford.

They were sold nationwide from June 2015 to May 2016 for between $350 and $900.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Two women who are suing Kansas State University for refusing to investigate complaints that they were raped off-campus are getting support from the federal government.

The U.S. Department of Justice and the Department of Education say in a court brief that the university is incorrect in its conclusion that it isn’t responsible for what happens at off-campus fraternity houses.

The Kansas City Star reports Sara Weckhorst of Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and Tessa Farmer of Overland Park have filed separate federal lawsuits accusing Kansas State of violating Title IX, the gender discrimination law that protects students from sexual violence and harassment.

The Associated Press generally doesn’t name sexual assault victims, but the two women have gone public with their case to stand up for victims of rape on college campuses.

By Dan Margolies

A federal judge blocked Kansas’ effort to cut off two regional Planned Parenthood affiliates’ Medicaid funding, ruling the move likely violates federal law. In a 54-page decision handed down Tuesday afternoon, U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson granted a preliminary injunction sought by Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri (now known as Planned Parenthood Great Plains) and by Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region.

Robinson found that the plaintiffs probably would be able to show at trial that the grounds the state cited for terminating their participation in the Medicaid program were inapplicable.

In a May 3 letter to the affiliates, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment cited three grounds for terminating the Medicaid funding:

• Video evidence that other Planned Parenthood affiliates entered into illegal agreements to procure fetal tissue after abortions.
• An alleged failure to comply with solid waste disposal inspections.
• Concerns about Medicaid claims submitted by other Planned Parenthood affiliates in neighboring states.

Robinson said the Planned Parenthood affiliates were likely to prevail on all three claims.

“Medicaid patients have the explicit right to seek family planning services from the qualified provider of their choice,” she wrote. “It is uncontroverted that PPKM (Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri) and PPSLR (Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region) serve hundreds of underprivileged women in the State of Kansas. It is in the public interest to allow these individuals to be treated by the qualified provider of their choice, and to have that provider reimbursed under Medicaid pending a trial on the merits in this case.”

KDHE notified the affiliates of its intentions nearly four months after Gov. Sam Brownback vowed to defund them in his State of the State address. Brownback accused Planned Parenthood of trafficking in “baby body parts,” even though several days earlier the Kansas Board of Healing Arts had found no merit to the charge.

“We promised to fight Gov. Brownback’s fool’s errand in his attempt to cut funding to Planned Parenthood and today marks one more step forward in defending access for patients,” Laura McQuade, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said in a statement shortly after Robinson handed down her decision. “While Gov. Brownback continues touting baseless accusations and wasting taxpayer dollars on frivolous lawsuits, Planned Parenthood refuses to allow politics to get in the way of access to health care.”

Eileen Hawley, a spokeswoman for Brownback, said Tuesday that the administration will review the ruling and move forward with the case.

“The governor is going to continue the fight to make Kansas a pro-life state,” she said. “You know, this is a preliminary ruling. We need to look at the ruling more closely, but our intent is to move forward with the litigation.”

The two affiliates filed their lawsuit just a day after learning about the loss of Medicaid funding. The suit named the head of the agency, Susan Mosier, and alleged that KDHE’s action was unlawful and based on spurious grounds. The affiliates were joined by 11 current and former medical providers at the two affiliates whose participation in Medicaid the agency also sought to terminate.

Kansas recently agreed to rescind its termination of the individual medical providers, leaving just the Planned Parenthood affiliates as plaintiffs.

Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri last year served nearly 450 Medicaid patients — adults with monthly income of no more than $768 who were pregnant, disabled or parents.

The St. Louis affiliate operates a clinic in Joplin, just over the Kansas state line, and serves a small number of Kansas patients.

The state’s move to end Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid funding came just two weeks after the Obama administration warned all 50 states that they cannot cut funding to medical providers simply because they also offer abortion services.

Under federal law, Medicaid funds can’t be used to pay for abortions unless the mother’s life is in danger or she was the victim of rape or incest.

Kansas is one of several states, including Missouri, that have cut off or threatened to cut off Planned Parenthood’s Medicaid funding. Courts in several states — Kansas is now the latest — have blocked those moves.

Robinson’s decision, which was expected, comes just eight days after the U.S. Supreme Court found that two Texas restrictions on abortion clinics — requiring doctors to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and requiring clinics to meet the standards of ambulatory surgical centers — placed an “undue burden” on the right to an abortion. —

Dan Margolies, editor of the Heartland Health Monitor team, is based at KCUR.

FINNEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Finney County are investigating two suspects who fled a traffic stop.

On Monday, officers of the Garden City Police Department attempted to conduct a traffic stop in the 500 block of West Mary Street. on a Silver Jeep Commander for multiple traffic violations, according to a media release.

The vehicle failed to stop and fled from officers. The vehicle was pursued North on Taylor from Mary Street into Finney County.

The suspects stopped the vehicle in the 4200 Block of Nancy and fled on foot.

Officers pursued the two suspects on foot to the 4100 Block of Nancy where they were arrested without incident.

A Garden City Police Officer received a minor hand injury while scaling a barb- wire fence. He was treated and released back to full duty. There was no property damage during this incident.

The suspects are being held in the Finney County Jail and could face the possible charges of:

(Driver) Jose Tapia, 20, Garden City, Fleeing and Eluding (F)
Driving while License Suspended, Reckless Driving

(Passenger) Steven Rosas,25, Garden City, Interference with a Law Enforcement Officer