GREAT BEND, Kan. (AP) — Straub International says it will close its Larned location and consolidate the work into its remaining locations.
Straub, an agriculture equipment dealer, also has outlets in Great Bend, Salina, Hutchinson, Pratt, Wichita and Marion.
CEO Larry Straub says closing the Larned location will make the firm more efficient, noting the Great Bend store is only 20 miles away and many services overlap. Many of the 20 employees from the Larned store will have the chance to stay with the company.
The Hutchinson News reports Straub said slowing business conditions prompted the decision.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas City, Kansas, man has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for causing a struggle in which U.S. Marshals were exposed to the drug PCP.
U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom says 32-year-old Frederick E. Pendleton pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting, resisting or impeding a federal employee.
Pendleton struggled with U.S. Marshals as they attempted to arrest him at Liberty Fruit Co., where he was employed, in December 2014 for violating supervised release in a criminal case.
Two marshals were injured when their hands made contact with PCP that leaked from a vial in Pendleton’s waistband. They were treated at a hospital.
Pendleton’s 24-month sentence will be consecutive to an 18-month sentence in the previous case.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas grand jury investigating Planned Parenthood has indicted two anti-abortion activists who covertly shot videos of the organization.
Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson announced Monday that Center for Medical Progress founder David Daleiden was indicted on a felony charge of tampering with a governmental record and a misdemeanor count related to purchasing human organs. Another activist was also indicted on a charge of tampering with a governmental record.
A news release announcing the indictment doesn’t say what the record was.
Anderson said the grand jury cleared Planned Parenthood of any wrongdoing.
The Center for Medical Progress is the anti-abortion group that released covertly shot videos of Planned Parenthood officials discussing the sale of aborted fetuses for research.
A phone message left with the group wasn’t immediately returned.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Secretary of State Kris Kobach is proposing to have Kansas counties audit voting results immediately after the state’s primary and general elections.
Kobach outlined a measure Monday that would require all counties to manually audit 1 percent of their election returns, starting with state elections in 2018. The Kansas House Elections Committee agreed to sponsor his proposal as a bill.
The Republican secretary of state said the measure is a response to calls for his office to allow private parties to audit election equipment. He said state law doesn’t currently allow it.
A Wichita State University mathematician sued the Sedgwick County election commissioner to gain access to voting machine tapes from November 2014 to research what she believes are statistical anomalies. A trial is set for March 22.
Nov. 12, 2014, earthquake at about 3:40 p.m. centered about 8 miles south of Conway Springs in Sumner County.
KS Insurance Dept.
TOPEKA–Earthquake insurance coverage in Kansas requires a separate policy or endorsement to your regular homeowners insurance policy, according to Ken Selzer, CPA, Commissioner of Insurance.
“Earthquake coverage is not a part of a regular homeowners, renters or condominium insurance policy,” Commissioner Selzer said. “If your insurance company offers it — and many do — coverage can be added by including an endorsement to your policy or by purchasing a separate earthquake policy.”
In either case, the Commissioner said, you will pay an extra premium. Instead of a dollar amount, the deductible for that premium will probably be a percentage of the cost of rebuilding your home. There might also be a separate deductible for the home’s contents.
“The type of home construction could also determine the insurability of the structure as well,” Commissioner Selzer said. “Wood frame homes often withstand earthquakes better than brick or stone structures, and their rates may be less costly. Single-story homes may receive better rates. And the age of the home may affect the cost.”
One other factor in the cost of the coverage could be the number of claims filed. More claims may determine whether an insurance company changes its premiums. That process is similar to how premiums for others lines of insurance are structured.
“Kansans should also remember that earthquake policies usually cover only structural and foundation damage to a home, “Commissioner Selzer said. “That is why it is important, if you are considering the coverage, that you talk over the specifics with your local agent.”
Commissioner Selzer also offered these points to consider about earthquake coverage:
• Coverage doesn’t include damage to your vehicles. That may be covered under your current automobile policy. Check with your local insurance agent or company to verify your vehicle coverage.
• The time to buy the coverage is before an earthquake. Most insurers won’t sell any new earthquake insurance for 30 to 60 days after a recent earthquake. Check with your insurance company to be sure.
• As with any household coverage, make a household inventory. Go through each room to write down and video everything. Store the inventory in a secure place at another location, such as a safe deposit box. (For a download of a Personal Home Inventory, go to www.ksinsurance.org, and on the home page hit “Finding a Publication” under the “Help With…” banner. If you have a smartphone, you can get the application for a mobile personal home inventory, MyHomeScr.APP.book, from your phone’s app store.
A survey by the Insurance Information Institute (III) shows that only 8% of homeowners in the Midwest have earthquake insurance. In Oklahoma, where earthquakes have been prevalent during the past few years, a total of 15 percent of homeowners have the coverage, according to the III.
For additional assistance, contact the Kansas Insurance Department’s Consumer Assistance Hotline at 800-432-2484.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Wichita school district says seven years after it ended mandatory busing, nearly a quarter of the district’s 85 schools are considered single-race schools.
Single-race schools have 60 percent or more of students of one race.
The Wichita Eagle reports some schools in predominantly black neighborhoods lost the racial balance they achieved with forced busing. Minority student enrollment has dropped up to 40 percent in some schools in predominantly white neighborhoods, while some schools in mostly Hispanic schools have more than 95 percent Hispanic students.
The Wichita district is spending millions every year to persuade families to enroll in certain schools.
Superintendent John Allison says the district has a wide array of schools and it is ultimately up to parents to decide which school their children will attend.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is rejecting a Pennsylvania inmate’s appeal to consider banning the death penalty across the United States.
The justices did not comment Monday in turning away a challenge from death row inmate Shonda Walter.
She convicted in the 2003 murder of her 83-year-old neighbor as part of a gang initiation and robbery.
Walter’s appeal plays off Justice Stephen Breyer’s call in an impassioned dissent in June to re-evaluate the death penalty in light of problems involving its imposition and use.
Breyer renewed his plea last week when he was the lone justice willing to give a last-minute reprieve to an Alabama death row inmate who was later put to death.
WICHTA, Kan. (AP) — A top lawmaker says he plans to file a complaint with the Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission seeking an investigation into Gov. Sam Brownback’s use of campaign donations to pay more than $167,000 in legal fees last year. The payments came as a federal grand jury was investigating loans his running mate, Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer, made to their 2014 re-election effort.
Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley said Monday he also plans to ask the ethics panel for an advisory opinion on the legality of a candidate using campaign funds as collateral.
Eileen Hawley, spokeswoman for the governor’s office, said in an email Monday speaking on behalf of Colyer that the campaign complied with all laws and regulations and that the investigation into the loans did not result in charges.
WASHINGTON, D.C.– Congresswoman Lynn Jenkins (KS-02) sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Ash Carter requesting a copy of the results of the Department’s site survey at the Disciplinary Barracks located at Fort Leavenworth.
“As a representative of Leavenworth County, I believe it is very important that the Department of Defense shares their survey results with our community,” said Congresswoman Jenkins. “The folks of Leavenworth County would be most impacted should the detention center at Guantanamo Bay close and the remaining terrorists be transferred to Fort Leavenworth. Decisions that could endanger American lives and have a very detrimental impact on the local community and military installation require openness, not secrecy. I urge the President and his Administration to be fully transparent in their plans to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay.”
The following is the full text of the letter:
The Honorable Ashton Carter
Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301
Dear Secretary Carter:
It was reported on January 14, 2016, that you are preparing to submit a report to the President on a plan to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Many of those reports quote you as saying: “That plan will propose bringing those detainees to an appropriate, secure location in the United States.” One of those potential sites is the Disciplinary Barracks located at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. As part of your efforts to develop that plan, the Department of the Defense undertook site surveys of the three potential locations, including Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. As the Member of the House of Representatives representing Leavenworth County, I request a copy of the results of that survey.
I appreciate your understanding of the impact this plan and its potential implementation may have on my constituents and other residents of the great state of Kansas. I further appreciate your prompt reply, including a copy of your detailed report regarding the plan to close the Detention Center at Guantanamo Bay and subsequent transfer of its detainees to the United States.
SALINA – Law enforcement authorities in Salina County are investigating a home invasion robbery.
Just before 4 a.m., on Saturday, an elderly woman at a home in the 1700 Block of North 5th Street woke to someone knocking at the front door of her home, according to Salina Police Captain Mike Sweeney.
When she answered the door, a woman in her 20’s said she needed to use the phone to make a call.
When the resident’s husband came to the door, a man with his face covered and the younger woman, forced their way inside and started to beat the older couple with a gun.
The suspects took cell phones, a wallet with credit cards, and the elderly couple’s 2007 Chevy Tahoe.
Both the victims suffered bruises. The man declined treatment.
The woman was taken to Salina Regional Health Center for treatment and later released.
The stolen Tahoe was found in Wichita Sunday afternoon and three male occupants were taken into custody.
Police are encouraging anyone with information to contact Crimestoppers at 825-TIPS or the Salina Police Department at 826-7210.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita doctor charged in federal court with unlawfully distributing prescription drugs had been selected to be a jail medical director.
Wichita attorney Kurt Kerns says Dr. Steven R. Henson had the job lined up at the Sedgwick County Jail, but that the offer was terminated upon his arrest. The Wichita Eagle reports that Henson was supposed to start the job soon.
The 54-year-old is accused of writing prescriptions for cash, when there wasn’t a medical need and for people other than the ones who came to see him. Federal prosecutors say the drug scheme resulted in the death of a patient in July.
Henson has pleaded not guilty.
Eight people who got prescriptions from the doctor also are charged with unlawful drug distribution.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A woman has pleaded not guilty to six charges related to the deaths of two Kansas City firefighters.
The Kansas City Star reports Thu Hong Nguyen’s attorney entered the pleas Monday on her behalf. She is charged with two counts of second-degree murder, arson, causing catastrophe and two counts of second-degree assault.
Prosecutors allege Nguyen set fire in a nail salon on Oct. 12. An investigator said in an affidavit that Nguyen owned the nail salon, while her attorney said she worked there.
The blaze spread to a building housing several businesses and apartments. Firefighters Larry Leggio and John Mesh died when a wall collapsed on them. Two other firefighters were injured.
Five businesses and 26 apartment residents were displaced.
