GARDEN CITY – Law enforcement authorities in Finney County are investigating a robbery at a bank.

Police officers in Garden City were called to Western State Bank, 409 W Kansas on Saturday night, according to a media release.

The victim was in the process of dropping a night deposit when an unknown man approached her from behind.

The assailant subsequently punched the victim and an undisclosed amount of money was taken.

The suspect is described as approximately 5’7” tall, slender build with a black or dark colored Carhart style heavy coat with a hood.

Witnesses described a dark colored Chevy S-10 style pickup that was in the area north of the bank when the attack happened.

The witness stated that a man ran from the area of the bank and got into the pickup and drove off prior to officers arriving in the area.

The Garden City Police Department is asking anyone with any information about this incident to contact them at 620-276-1300. If you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers at 620-275-7807, or text GCTIP and your tip information to 847411 (tip411).

LARKINBURG, Kan. (AP) — Jackson County officials say a body found near the Nebo State Fishing Lake is believed to be that of a suspect in a Topeka kidnapping in December.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that a hunter discovered the body Sunday afternoon about one-half mile south of the lake, which is 2 miles southwest of Larkinburg.

Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse said that after further investigation, the deceased person is believed to be a 32-year-old man who was a suspect in the Dec. 23 kidnapping involving a stolen vehicle. Morse says the vehicle was found about three-fourths of a mile from where the body was discovered.

The Jackson County Deputy Coroner arrived on the scene and the body was transported to Kansas City for an autopsy.

The cause of death remains under investigation.

COLUMBUS, Kan. (AP) — A Cherokee County official says the owners of 27 flood-prone homes in the southeast part of the county may be eligible for a federal buyout estimated to cost about $1.1 million.

Jason Allison, the emergency management director for Cherokee County, said the county has contacted the Kansas Division of Emergency Management to see if Cherokee County residents are eligible for federal help.

The Joplin Globe reports that according to the National Weather Service, the Spring River crested at 31.8 feet in Baxter Springs early Dec. 29, 2015, beating the previous record by about 10 feet. The county says about 50 homes were affected and about half of those were destroyed or received substantial damage.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency would provide 75 percent of the funds, but the buyout programs are administered by states and local communities.

12:05 p.m. Tuesday

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Hillary Clinton wins the Democratic caucuses in Iowa, beating back a strong challenge from Bernie Sanders to claim the first victory in the 2016 race for president.

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THOMAS BEAUMONT, Associated Press
CALVIN WOODWARD, Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The opening contest of the 2016 presidential election delivered an Iowa victory to hard-charging conservative Ted Cruz, humble pie to Donald Trump and a night of bristling suspense in a too-close-to-call contest between Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

Soon it will be on to New Hampshire, where the calculus is different. But first there’s a Democratic race to sort out.

Developments in the presidential scramble as all eyes turn east:

PATH TO VICTORY

—Neither party’s race in the Iowa caucuses produced a quick winner, but it was immediately apparent that the flamboyant Trump, a magnet for excitement from his massive crowds and derision from his rivals, had a terrific fight on his hands — from Marco Rubio as well as from Cruz.

Cruz went into the caucuses with a ground organization that was the envy of his rivals. He scored heavily with conservatives and won the day, leaving Trump and Rubio in a close struggle for second. Late preference polls had suggested a tight finish between Cruz and Trump — with the New York billionaire having a clearer advantage heading into the Feb. 9 New Hampshire primary.

—Clinton’s team spent nearly a year building a massive get-out-the-vote operation in Iowa, trying to power her to an Iowa victory that eluded her eight years ago against Barack Obama on his way to the presidency. But she was confronted by surging enthusiasm for Sanders.

Their Iowa race remains up in the air; Sanders, a senator from Vermont, has the advantage in bordering New Hampshire.

Whatever the outcome, Clinton and Sanders will emerge from Iowa with a similar number of delegates. The Associated Press has awarded 43 of the 44 pledged delegates at stake. Clinton currently leads Bernie Sanders, 22 to 21. If she’s declared the Iowa winner, she’ll have 23. If he is, their delegate allotment will be tied.

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END OF THE ROAD

After a negligible Iowa performance, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley dropped out of the Democratic race, leaving only Clinton and Sanders to duke it out. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, winner of the 2008 GOP caucuses, also exited.

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BEATING EXPECTATIONS

Even though Rubio’s team had made clear he was fighting for third place — and that’s where he finished — Rubio outperformed expectations. That’s because he shrank a gap in preference polls to finish just behind Trump.

With Iowa (and New Hampshire) offering only a small contingent of delegates needed to win the party nominations, the national campaign at this point is very much about who does better and worse than people think they will.

That changes when the rush of big-state primaries begins and the delegate math becomes decisive.

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GOP DISAFFECTION

Voters at Republican caucuses indicated they were deeply unhappy with the way the federal government is working. Half said they were dissatisfied and 4 in 10 said they were angry, according to surveys by Edison Research for The Associated Press and the television networks.

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YOUNG & OLD

Democrats under 45 favored Sanders; those older tended to back Clinton, the surveys found. That trend was even more pronounced among the youngest and oldest Democrats interviewed.

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THE DEMOCRATS

The bracing Sanders-Clinton contest came down to a struggle between practicality and passion, with both candidates from the left but Sanders farther to the left. That continues in New Hampshire and beyond.

Clinton went hard after Sanders for “magic wand” ideas, like substituting government-paid health care for the hard-won and landmark health law everyone knows as Obamacare.

She called herself a “progressive who wants to make progress and actually produce real results in people’s lives.”

Said Sanders, “You don’t make progress unless you have the courage to look reality in the eye.”

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THE REPUBLICANS

From one provocative comment to the next, Trump was the man to beat in Iowa, just as he will be in New Hampshire next week despite his defeat Monday. He flouted convention at every turn and capped his iconoclastic ways by blowing off the final Iowa debate in a snit with Fox News.

Cruz, who campaigned and organized exhaustively in Iowa, put into motion a strong ground game to get Iowans to the caucuses.

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IOWA VOTERS SAY…

— “Hillary goes out and works with what we have to work with. She works across the aisle and gets things accomplished.” — John Grause, 54, of Nevada, Iowa, served as a precinct captain for Clinton.

— “He’s the one true conservative in the race. I don’t think he’s the wolf in sheep’s clothing.” — Brad Sorensen, 46, of Waukee, who works for the Iowa Farm Bureau, on why he came out for Cruz.

— “I think he’s got leadership written all over him.” — Wayne Wagemann, 35, who was among more than 2,000 people at a concert hall in Clive, a Des Moines suburb, on why he backed Rubio.

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Woodward reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Scott Bauer, Jill Colvin, Thomas Beaumont and Ken Thomas in Iowa and Emily Swanson in Washington contributed to this report.

 

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers are discussing two House bills that that would create new penalties for transmitting and possessing nude photos of children between the ages of 12 and 19 years old.

Republican Rep. Ramon Gonzales of Perry introduced the bill last year in the House Committee on Corrections and Juvenile Justice. He called the measure an alternative to current laws that make first-time sexual exploitation of a child under 18 years old a felony.

Those laws apply only to adults over the age of 18 and do not address the practice of sending to others sexually suggestive messages or photos, commonly known as sexting.

Lawmakers heard testimony Monday about how the measure deals with transmitting and possessing nude images of children.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A government report shows that the Kansas wheat crop is mostly weathering the winter well so far.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Monday that 55 of the crop is in good to excellent shape, with 37 percent in fair condition. About 8 percent is in poor to very poor condition.

The agency noted that all of Kansas received some precipitation in January, with the heaviest amounts in the central portion of the state.

Topsoil moisture was adequate to surplus across 81 percent of the state.

TOPEKA -Law enforcement authorities in Shawnee County are investigating a suspect in connection with a car jacking.

Just after 8:30 on Sunday morning, police were contacted reference a car jacking in the 1100 Block of Southwest Lane in Topeka, according to a media release.

Police saw the vehicle, a white Chevy SUV, at Southeast 29th and California Street where it sped away from officers.

Kansas Highway Patrol aircraft saw the vehicle at 21st and Southwest Washburn where a trooper attempted to stop it and a chase was initiated. The suspect crashed the vehicle at Southwest Hampton and Southwest Buchanan.

Police arrested Paul Jeffery Gladney, Jr., 25, without incident and he was booked into the Shawnee County jail on requested charges of aggravated robbery and felony in possession of a firearm.

BROOKVILLE – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a teenager for alleged vandalism.

Austin Sommerfeld, 18, Brookville, was has been charged with damage to property after he allegedly used spray paint to leave profane words on the sidewalks, doors, and windows at Ell-Saline High School late Saturday night, according to Sheriff’s Captain Roger Soldan.

A deputy discovered the vandalism about 10:40 p.m. on Saturday.

During an investigation Sunday, witnesses said they saw a person on a red four wheeler leave the area of the school at about 10:30 p.m. That led investigators to Sommerfeld.

Damage from the graffiti has been estimated at $950.

MANHATTAN -Janir Vega, 17, appeared in Riley County Court on Monday for sentencing under Judge Wilson after being arrested following a robbery spree near the K-State campus.

Vega was taken into custody on September 16, 2015 after an overnight search lasting several hours.

Vega was taken into custody for the offenses of aggravated robbery (X3) and conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery in relation to a string of robberies that shut down K-State and Manhattan Christian College campuses on Friday, September 4.

Attorney Blake Robinson, who motioned for a durational or dispositional departure so that Vega would get probation or a shorter sentence, represented Vega.

Robinson went into detail about Vega’s personal past, and argued that going into the Kansas Department of Corrections wouldn’t help Vega, who had been under pressure by adults that were also involved in the robberies.

Vega told Judge Wilson that he wanted to apologize to everyone involved, and that he was a victim of peer pressure.

Ransom Gardiner, one of the robbery victims, gave a statement to the court, saying he was approached from an alleyway after walking home from Aggieville in the early morning hours of September 4. Gardiner said a man ran up to him with what looked like a black semi-automatic handgun.

The man had him get on the ground where he took his phone and wallet at gunpoint. Gardiner admitted to being very shaken up for several weeks following the robbery.
Barry Disney, senior deputy county attorney in Riley County, argued against Robinson’s motion. He said Vega put the gun to Gardiner’s head, which made him a culprit, not a victim of peer pressure.

Disney read a transcript from Vega’s preliminary hearing where he didn’t contest any of Gardiner’s statements.
Judge Wilson sentenced Vega to 59 months with the Kansas Department of Corrections, with 89 days credit for time served.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers are pledging support of legislation that seeks to make state government more transparent.

The Wichita Eagle reports that Republican state Rep. John Rubin and Democratic state Rep. John Wilson signed a pledge to support these efforts.

The pledge was drafted by Open Kansas, a nonprofit that supports government transparency. The organization says Kansas was among 11 states to receive a failing grade when the Center for Public Integrity rated state transparency last year.

One of the Senate bills would address a loophole in the state’s records law that allows officials to conduct public business on private email. Another would change the Open Meetings Act so public bodies have to disclose more information when they go into closed sessions.

A House bill would enable live audio streaming of committee hearings.

IRVING, Texas (AP) — Former Dallas Cowboy Joseph Randle has been arrested in Texas after it was determined he was wanted for speeding.

Irving police spokesman James McLellan says 24-year-old Randle was arrested early Monday. McLellan says police were called to a home after a woman said her daughter’s ex-boyfriend was ringing their doorbell at 3 a.m.

Upon arrival, police ran a standard warrant check and discovered Randle was wanted on a speeding ticket warrant in the nearby suburb of Coppell. He was taken into custody and released from jail after $359 bond was posted. McLellan didn’t know of an attorney for Randle.

Randle has had a string of run-ins with the law, beginning with a 2014 shoplifting arrest. The Cowboys released him last fall.

HUTCHINSON — A Reno County judge on Monday granted the state’s motion in the case against a 16-year-old Kansas boy charged with two counts of first-degree murder and aggravated arson.

Samuel Vonachen, 16, Hutchinson, is accused of setting fire to his family’s home, which killed his mother and sister. He was 14 at the time and the state has charged him as an adult for those crimes.

The court was informed Monday that the defense filed a writ of mandamus with the Kansas Court of Appeals to try to get them to overrule the judge’s order.

The issue is over the judge granting the state’s request for handing over writings or a journal and other items that the defendant has been working on or writing since his arrest.

Those items were sent to the doctors doing a mental evaluation to see if the defendant can use mental disease or defect at trial.

Judge Trish Rose had told the defense to provide the items to her first and then she would rule whether they can be released to the doctors.

She apparently decided they could, but has now stayed that order.
That mean the case will be on hold until the Kansas Court of Appeals rules on the defense filing.

The case centers on Vonachen allegedly spreading gas through the downstairs of his family’s home, then setting it on fire on Sept. 26, 2013.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is reporting that it collected about $7 million less in taxes than anticipated in January, with corporate income and sales taxes falling short of expectations.

Monday’s report of a shortfall came as legislative budget committees prepared to discuss proposals for closing a projected shortfall approaching $200 million in the budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

The Department of Revenue says the state collected $535 million in taxes last month instead of the $542 million projected in a November fiscal forecast. The shortfall is 1.3 percent.

Since the current fiscal year began in July, the state has collected $3.38 billion in taxes. That’s $26 million less than anticipated.

The department noted that personal income tax collections exceeded expectations in January but