TOPEKA (AP) — A road maintenance official is pushing back against suggestions that the Kansas Department of Transportation is to blame for an invasion of a plant threatening native grasses.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that KDOT’s potential role in spreading bluestem grass is a point of contention as the state Department of Agriculture contemplates quarantining invasive varieties now in 103 of 105 of the state’s counties.

Ranchers and others attending a Department of Agriculture comment session last month on a possible quarantine said KDOT’s mowing regimen carried seed for invasive grasses to new roads.

KDOT maintenance chief Clay Adams said the agency includes bluestem varieties in seeding mixtures applied beside highways but not the invasive varieties targeted by the Department of Agriculture. KDOT mows from April to October to improve visibility for motorists.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Authorities in Kansas City, Missouri, believe fireworks are to blame for a Fourth of July blaze at a home that sent two firefighters to the hospital with minor injuries.

Deputy Fire Chief Jimmy Walker said two firefighters received burns on their ears and necks in fighting a fire at a two-story home early Thursday. They were treated at a local hospital and released.

The Kansas City Star reports that an elderly resident safely fled the home.

It’s unclear when the fire began. Walker said the fireworks could have been smoldering long before igniting the home. He believes they came from a neighbor, not the resident of the home.

He said, “That’s why fireworks are illegal in the city.”

Walker said another home was damaged Wednesday in a fireworks-related fire.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A social-justice advocacy group says it is launching a hotline in Kansas City, Kansas, for people to report police misconduct.

The Kansas City Star reports that Wednesday’s announcement by the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equity comes about a month after it marched on local government offices.

A federal lawsuit against the department alleges that now-released Lamonte McIntyre spent 23 years in prison for two 1994 murders he didn’t commit because of police misconduct.

Another federal lawsuit was filed by a former police cadet alleging she was dismissed after reporting reported sexual harassment and assault by a supervising officer.

The police department says it has received complaints relating to only 0.1% of police calls. Local officials say police have a complaint line and there’s a Wyandotte County ethics hotline.

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — A recently awarded grant will help local teachers who are Hispanic or who teach in districts with large Hispanic populations.

The Joplin Globe reports that the Laura Bush 21st-Century Librarian program awarded Pittsburg State University’s College of Education a $530,281 grant to provide scholarships, mentoring and laptops to 25 teachers from Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

University officials said school districts in those four states have experienced significant growth in their Hispanic populations in the past five years.

The project to be funded by the grant is called Building Bridges Across Cultures. It will enable 25 future school librarians to earn master’s degrees online with an emphasis in library media.

A 2013 grant to Pittsburg State focused on Native American culture in teaching and provided scholarships to 25 school librarians.

DURHAM (AP) — Flooding in central Kansas has forced evacuations in a small town along the rain-swollen North Cottonwood River.

The flooding resulted from heavy rains Thursday morning. Parts of Saline County received more than 8 inches of rain, while 6 inches fell in Marion County.

KAKE-TV reports that about 10 homes in Durham in northwest Marion County along the North Cottonwood had to be evacuated. Mayor Mike Sorensen said the downtown in the community of about 110 residents was under 3 feet of water.

Longtime resident Anna Maegoertz said she had to be rescued by boat after water surrounded her house and “It rose quickly. I couldn’t get out.”

Flooding also forced water rescues in Gypsum, southeast of Salina, along Gypsum Creek.

HUTCHINSON (AP) — A Kansas prison inmate serving 50 years for a brutal murder has been ordered to stand trial for attempted rape last year of a female correctional officer.

The Hutchinson News reports a judge found sufficient evidence to bind 42-year-old Tanner Lee Green over for trial on Wednesday on alternate counts of attempted rape, aggravated sexual battery, and battery on a law enforcement officer.

The corrections officer testified Green grabbed her and pushed her to the ground. The two struggled until she was able to push her panic alarm on her belt to summon help.

A prison investigator testified cameras in the cellblock captured the assault.

Green was convicted of first-degree murder in 2000. His lengthy criminal record includes aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, aggravated escape and other crimes.

TOPEKA (AP) — A study has found that Kansas saves more money, on average, than any other state that uses federal grants to mitigate natural disasters.

The Pew Charitable Trusts recently released its data analysis showing that for every $1 of federal funds spent on protecting against flood and tornado damage, Kansas avoided $6.81 in potential recovery costs. Researchers drew from a previous study of federal disaster mitigation grants between 1993 and 2016.

The data shows Missouri trailed close behind, with each federal dollar saving $6.72, the Kansas News Service reported.

The findings come after Kansas saw heavy rain and flooding this spring, delaying wheat harvests. A May tornado near Pittsburg damaged buildings and toppled power lines and trees.

The mitigation programs in Kansas and Missouri only addressed threats of wind and flooding, but the projects had a large payback in the two states.

Federal programs typically have a match — typically 25% — that must be paid by the state or local government receiving the grant. Researchers found Kansas and the federal government spent roughly $220 million on wind and flood mitigation, which netted about $1.5 billion in savings.

“The mitigation projects that the Kansas Division of Emergency Management are able to support or implement are largely reliant on the federal grants,” said Bryan Murdie, director of the Planning and Mitigation Branch at the Kansas Division of Emergency Management.

California, which is prone to earthquakes and fires, ranked near the bottom of the list, with every dollar of mitigation saving $3.26.

Colin Foard, one of the study’s authors, said governments should find ways to fit mitigation costs into their budgets.

“The takeaway for policymakers really should be that investing in mitigation saves,” Foard said.

TOPEKA (AP) — A former Kansas legislator who also served on a federal parole board will represent the U.S. in meetings of a group that promotes peace in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Former state Sen. Ed Reilly says he expects to attend meetings of the board of the International Fund for Ireland in November. He was appointed as a U.S. observer last month by President Donald Trump’s administration.

The 82-year-old Reilly is a Leavenworth native who now lives in the Washington area after serving as a member and chairman of the U.S. Parole Commission.

He served 29 years in the Kansas Legislature as a Republican. He was appointed to fill a vacancy in the House in 1964, won a Senate seat that year and served there until 1992.

TOPEKA (AP) — A zookeeper who spent two months recovering from a tiger attack at a Kansas zoo is now back to work.

Topeka zoo director Brenden Wiley told KSNT-TV that Kristyn Hayden-Ortega returned to work Tuesday.

She was seriously injured in the April 20 attack by a 7-year-old Sumatran tiger named Sanjiv.

The zoo released a lengthy report last month that said “multiple” protocols and procedures concerning spaces occupied by tigers had prevented any similar attack at the zoo for decades. Its report says protocol was not followed when the keeper entered the tiger’s outdoor habitat without ensuring that the animal was locked inside.

Other zoo employees lured the animal away with meat so emergency responders could treat Hayden-Ortega.

Cyanobacteria is toxic to livestock and other animals, says K-State veterinarian

MANHATTAN – The extreme heat that hailed the end of June in Kansas combined with the heavy runoff from rains earlier in the month put many of the state’s waterways at risk to a waterborne toxin that could impact livestock and other animals around the farm.

Kansas State University veterinary toxicologist Steve Ensley said that the incidence of blue-green algae in farm ponds “has become more frequent in the last 15-20 years,” creating headaches for farmers who rely on those ponds to keep livestock hydrated during the hot, summer months.

When blue-green algae blooms, it creates a toxin that can affect the liver or the nervous system of animals that drink affected water. Animals may recover from toxins that affect the liver, but when they ingest toxins affecting the nervous system, those animals often die – sometimes within hours of exposure.

“There is no antidote for this toxin,” Ensley said. “If we have animals that look sick, we’ll try to do supportive care. If the damage is to the liver, there are things we can do to treat animals to get them over the initial damage they may have.”

But, he adds, “neurotoxins are very acute, so typically they lead to sudden death. In the last two years in Kansas, I have had grazing animals that have died…horses, cattle, sheep, goats and even dogs that swim in the water and drink as they’re swimming through the pond.”

Blue-green algae can form in a pond or other waterway from runoff that carries nitrogen or phosphorus into the body of water. The algae grow and bloom as temperatures reach 75 degrees or higher.

Farmers and others should be on the lookout for a blue, green or even orange color in the water. The bacteria will often give the impression of paint in the water, or a growth mat, according to Ensley. Blue-green algae is a threat to surface water only; it does not affect ground water. Well water typically is not affected.

“If you see something different about your pond or surface water, you need to investigate it,” Ensley said. “You need to get a sample taken and send it in to be tested.”

The Kansas State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab can test water samples for blue-green algae, but Ensley said farmers can also work through their local veterinarian or extension agent.

Until water is confirmed safe, Ensley said farmers should keep animals away from the pond, and look for other ways to provide water to the herd.

“It takes about two weeks from when we see a bloom for it to get rid of the toxin,” Ensley said. “That’s kind of the guideline. Get them off that water for two weeks and then we can re-evaluate.”

For the future, Ensley noted that farmers can lessen the risk of toxins forming in their ponds by installing “as much grass and buffer strips between crop fields and surface water as possible so that we can slow down the movement of nitrogen and phosphorus into that water.”

Some short-term solutions to prevent algae blooms include installing solar-powered aerators to keep water moving; or adding water-soluble dyes to the water, which block the amount of sunlight that can get to the pond.

For more information, talk with your local veterinarian or extension agent, or visit the K-State Veterinary Diagnostic Lab at www.ksvdl.org.