DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement officials are investigating the circumstances surrounding an individual found bound and unconscious in a vehicle on the LVS campus in the parking lot at Lawrence Virtual School, 1104 East 1000 Road, the former Wakarusa Valley school building southwest of Lawrence late Saturday night, according to a message to parents and students from USD 497.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office confirms that none of the crimes involved occurred in Douglas County nor had any connection to the school district or USD 497 school property other than that is where the vehicle was parked and located by law enforcement.

Authorities in Osage County released no additional details early Monday.

The CDC and public health and regulatory officials in several states including Kansas and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA-FSIS) are investigating a multi-state outbreak of Salmonella Dublin infections linked to ground beef, according to an advisory issued by the Center for Disease Control.

Ten people infected with the outbreak strain of Salmonella Dublin have been reported in Kansas, California, Colorado, Texas, Iowa and Oklahoma.

According to the advisory illnesses in this outbreak are more severe than expected for Salmonella. A total of 8 people were hospitalized, including one death reported from California.

Epidemiologic and laboratory evidence indicate that ground beef is a likely source of this outbreak. A single, common supplier of ground beef has not been identified.

In interviews, ill people report eating different types and brands of ground beef purchased from many different locations.

Laboratory testing identified the outbreak strain of Salmonella Dublin in repackaged leftover ground beef collected from an ill person’s home in California.

This outbreak investigation is ongoing and CDC will update the public if more information becomes available.

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KANSAS CITY (AP) — More than 100 students who took the ACT this fall at a Kansas City high school will likely have to retake the college entrance exam because the results are missing.

ACT officials said that 111 exams that were taken Sept. 14 at Park Hill High School weren’t in the testing package when it arrived at their offices.

ACT spokesperson Ed Colby says searches have been conducted of the school and FedEx facilities on the route of the package. He says that ACT staff will continue to work with the test center and FedEx to search for the missing documents.

Colby says ACT officials will keep looking for the answers, and then they’ll grade them if they find them. In the meantime, they’re offering students a free makeup test on Nov. 9 or any other future date.

MANHATTAN — The Manhattan City Commission will consider an amendment to Manhattan’s public nudity ordinance at Monday’s legislative meeting, according to a media release from the city.

First adopted in 2003, the existing ordinance makes it unlawful to publicly display female breasts or male or female buttocks or genitals.  The ordinance contains exceptions from prosecution, including for breastfeeding mothers. 
 
The proposed amendment removes the female breast from the definition of public nudity, in reaction to a court case that applies in Kansas.  If the amendment is adopted, Manhattan’s public nudity ordinance will continue to prohibit the display of male or female buttocks or genitals in public. Even as amended, Manhattan’s public nudity ordinance will still be stricter than many areas of Kansas. 
 
“The State of Kansas does not have a state law that prohibits general public nudity,” said City Attorney Katie Jackson.  “To prohibit general public nudity within a city’s limits, the city must adopt an ordinance similar to Manhattan’s.” 
 
Even with the amended ordinance, the City of Manhattan’s public nudity law will still be stricter than many smaller cities and unincorporated areas of Kansas, because Manhattan would still prohibit public display of female or male genitals or buttocks.  However, it is still critical to understand that these communities are also subject to the same state and federal laws as Manhattan, and public nudity in these communities could be prosecuted if the facts violate state or federal law.  
 
“Federal and state criminal laws apply throughout Kansas,” said Jackson.  The facts may violate the “lewd and lascivious” state law, or if a minor is involved, child pornography or other sex offense laws.  “If the facts surrounding a display of female toplessness violate a federal or state law, the offender can be prosecuted in federal or state court regardless of what a city ordinance says.” 
 
Riley County Attorney Barry Wilkerson agreed.  “Manhattan’s proposed change to its public nudity ordinance will not impair our ability to prosecute displays of public nudity or female toplessness that result in violations of state law.”  The County Attorney’s Office also prosecutes offenses related to public nudity that occur in the unincorporated areas of Riley County.  Unlike Manhattan, these areas have no local regulations prohibiting general public nudity.

The ordinance “decriminalizes” female toplessness, but only from the City’s ordinance.  If the definition is changed, the City will not be able to prosecute a public display of female toplessness in the Manhattan Municipal Court.  But this is not the same as “legalizing” female toplessness, which implies that a public display of female toplessness does not violate any law.  Depending upon the facts, state or federal laws may be violated.
 
“A city ordinance amendment does not change state or federal law.  Manhattan cannot legalize conduct that the federal or state laws make illegal,” said Jackson.
 
If the City Commission amends the ordinance on November 5, it retains the ability to amend it again in the future if the law changes or as issues arise.  At first reading of the ordinance, the Commission noted that the ordinance can be revisited before the City’s swimming pools open.  “This is an evolving area of the law, and we may have more guidance from federal or state courts in the next several months,” said Jackson.
 
A private business owner or organization may require a patron to wear a shirt or other clothing upon their private property.  If a topless male or female enters the location, they can be asked to adhere to the dress code or leave, and be cited for criminal trespass if they refuse.

 

ATCHISON COUNTY — Two people were injured in an accident just after 5a.m. Sunday in Atchinson County.

A Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy attempted to stop a 2004 Saturn Ion driven by Robert Neal Kirk, Jr. 56, Topeka, in the area of 254th Road. and US Highway 75  for traffic infractions, according to Shawnee County Sheriff Tim Morse.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a Jackson County Kansas deputy was eastbound on Kansas 9 Highway three miles north of Muscotah in pursuit of a 2004 Saturn Ion driven by Robert Neal Kirk, Jr., 56, Topeka.

The vehicle continued north on W Road to K-9 Highway then east through the city of Whiting and east into Atchison County. The driver failed to negotiate the curves at 159 Highway and continued east off the road and rolled and came to rest on its top. 

EMS transported Kirk to the hospital in Hiawatha. EMS transported a passenger Ronald E. Snowberger, 49, St. George to the Atchison Hospital.

Both were properly restrained at the time of the accident.  The incident remains under investigation, according to Morse.

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LEXINGTON, Mo. (AP) — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a drug trafficking operation — and possible human trafficking ring — after troopers conducting a traffic stop found a 15-year-old girl with several pounds of methamphetamine strapped to her abdomen.

The traffic stop occurred Tuesday on Interstate 70 in western Missouri. Troopers say a 22-year-old California woman was driving, and the girl was a passenger. When an officer called the girl’s mother, she told him she thought her daughter was at school and had no idea who the California woman was.

When questioned, the girl told officers she had 5.5 pounds of meth strapped to her.

The woman was charged Wednesday with drug trafficking, endangering the welfare of child and other counts. The teen was returned to her mother, and police say no charges against her are expected.The patrol is working with federal law enforcement on the case.

HARVEY COUNTY — Authorities are investigating the cause of a Sunday afternoon grass fire in Harvey County.

The fire in the 3800 block of North Sand Hill Road northeast of Burrton burned about 300 to 400 acres of land, according to a media release.

The spread of the fire was stopped, and there are no injuries or damage to homes reported at this time.

Responders will be on site throughout the night to monitor for potential hot spots.

WICHITA, KAN. – The second of two men charged with the murder of an innocent bystander has been sentenced to prison.

On Friday, District Chief Judge Jeffrey Goering sentenced KeAndre Summers, 24, Wichita to 179 months in prison, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney. On August 9, Summers pled guilty to second degree murder and aggravated assault.

In June of 2017, Erick Vazquez, 25 of Wichita, was found dead in his pickup truck in the 3900 block of East 13th in Wichita.

An autopsy showed Vazquez died of three gunshot wounds. His pickup had several 9mm bullet holes in it. Just before the shooting, Jeremy Levy, 20 of Wichita, told a third party that he saw KeAndre Summers in the parking lot. Levy and Summers began shooting at each other in the parking lot of the strip mall.

At the time of the shooting, Vazquez was waiting in his pickup in the parking lot while his friend was buying cigarettes at a nearby store.

Levy is serving a sentence of life in prison after a jury found him guilty of first degree felony murder. He will be eligible for parole after 25 years.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Abortion opponents who support a constitutional amendment to ban abortions in Kansas are meeting resistance from other anti-abortion groups that are pushing a different approach.

Two legislative committees have recommended lawmakers consider the issue during the 2020 legislative session. The recommendations come as lawmakers consider how to respond to a Kansas Supreme Court ruling last year that the state’s constitution guarantees a right to abortion, Kansas News Service reported . The ruling blocked enforcement of a first-in-the-nation ban on a common second-trimester procedure.

At a legislative hearing this week, some advocates pushed for a “personhood amendment” that would ban all abortions in Kansas.

“What the personhood amendment says is that we recognize the humanity of the unborn child from their earliest biological beginning,” said Bruce Garren, the chairman of Personhood Kansas.

Garren and other supporters say any other response to the state Supreme Court’s ruling would bring lengthy legal fights over abortion restrictions.

Some of the state’s largest anti-abortion groups instead want lawmakers to change the Kansas Constitution to clarify it does not include a right to abortion.

It’s not clear how much the differences in opinion will slow the push for a constitutional amendment next year. Anti-abortion legislators have generally deferred to Kansans for Life on policy issues for more than two decades, and the group is an important player in GOP politics. The group has long argued that an incremental approach helps build public support for greater abortion restrictions.

Even if a personhood amendment passed, it likely wouldn’t survive a court challenge, said Jeanne Gawdun, director of government relations with Kansans for Life. She said an amendment stating there is not right to abortion would preserve restrictions already in place and allow lawmakers to approve more of them.

“We’re interested in making a difference, and not just a statement,” Gawdun said.

A constitutional amendment would require approval from two-thirds of both the Kansas House and Senate and would then go to a statewide vote.

Former state lawmaker Chuck Weber is now executive director of the Kansas Catholic Conference. He likes the idea of a personhood amendment but said it’s not a practical response.

“A personhood amendment just simply has no chance,” Weber said. “We live in a real world, and it’s not going to happen.”

Democrats on the committee objected to lawmakers taking up the issue.

Democratic Rep. Stephanie Clayton, an abortion-rights supporter, said voters who don’t like court ruling can vote judges off the bench during retention elections.

And Rachel Sweet, a lobbyist for Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which provides abortion and other health services, said any abortion amendment would discriminate against women.

“The fundamental right to personal and bodily autonomy is too critical to be stripped from our state constitution,” she said, “or put to a popular vote.”

WICHITA, KAN. – Autism Concepts, Inc., an Overland Park-based provider of therapy services for children with autism, has agreed to pay $300,000 to resolve False Claims Act allegations that it submitted false claims to the TRICARE program, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

TRICARE is a federal health insurance program for active and retired military service members and their families.

The United States alleged that Autism Concepts, Inc. and its director Nancy Champlin represented in claims to TRICARE that the company provided individual applied behavioral analysis services to children with autism spectrum disorders when the company actually provided the services to groups of children at the same time. TRICARE does not cover the services in a group setting.

Autism Concepts and Champlin agreed to pay $300,000 to resolve the allegations.

“TRICARE providers must comply with program requirements that are designed for effective treatment for children with special and particular needs,” McAllister said. “This office is committed to making sure federal funds are spent as intended, while protecting federally funded programs that make it possible for military families to receive vital services.”

“I applaud the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney for their continued efforts to hold health care providers accountable to the American taxpayer,” said Army Lt. Gen. Ronald Place, director of the Defense Health Agency. “The efforts of the Department of Justice safeguard the health care benefit for our service members, veterans and their families. The Defense Health Agency continues to work closely with the Justice Department, and other state and federal agencies to investigate all those who participated in fraudulent practices.”

“As the investigative arm of the Department of Defense – Office of Inspector General (DoDIG), one of the primary missions of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) is the detection of fraud, particularly fraud that targets critical DoD health care funding,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael Mentavlos of the DCIS Southwest Field Office. “Today’s resolution demonstrates our commitment to working with DoDIG’s Deputy Inspector General for Audit as well as the FBI, Department of Labor Office of Inspector General and the Employee Benefits Security Administration to ensure federal health care programs, such as TRICARE, are protected from companies and/or individuals who attempt to take advantage of them.”

RILEY COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting in Manhattan, have made an arrest and identified the victim.

Just after 10p.m. Friday, the Riley County Police Department Emergency Dispatch center received multiple 911 calls concerning the sound of a gunshot in the 1400 block of Cambridge Place in Manhattan, according to a media release.

When officers arrived on scene, they found one victim identified as Tanner Zamecnik, 24, of Manhattan, suffering from a potentially life-threatening gunshot wound. A second person was injured, but was not believed to have been shot. Both victims were transported to Via Christi for treatment of their injuries and Zamecnik died.

Just before 5 a.m., officers took a suspect identified as Richard Goens, 29, of Manhattan into custody. He is being held on a $1million bond on requested charges of First Degree Murder, Aggravated Assault and Aggravated Robbery.

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RILEY COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting in Manhattan and have made an arrest.

Just after 10p.m. Friday, the Riley County Police Department Emergency Dispatch center received multiple 911 calls concerning the sound of a gunshot in the 1400 block of Cambridge Place in Manhattan, according to a media release.

When officers arrived on scene, they found one victim suffering from a potentially life-threatening gunshot wound. A second person was injured, but is not believed to have been shot. Both victims were transported to Via Christi for treatment of their injuries and one of the victims died, according to the RCPD.

Just before 5 a.m., officers took a suspect identified as Richard Goens, 29, of Manhattan into custody. He is being held on a $1million bond on requested charges of First Degree Murder, Aggravated Assault and Aggravated Robbery.

Because of the support from the community, our RCPD detectives were able to identify, and arrest the suspect within 12 hours of the crime.

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RILEY COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting in Manhattan and have made an arrest.

Just after 10p.m. Friday, the Riley County Police Department Emergency Dispatch center received multiple 911 calls concerning the sound of a gunshot in the 1400 block of Cambridge Place in Manhattan, according to a media release.

When officers arrived on scene, they found one victim suffering from a potentially life-threatening gunshot wound. A second person was injured, but is not believed to have been shot. Both victims were transported to Via Christi for treatment of their injuries.

Just before 5 a.m., officers took a subject into custody in the 900 block of Moro in connection to the shooting.  People in the area may have heard loud noises, as officers gained entry into a home to apprehend the male suspect, according to officer Hali Rowland.

As part of the investigation, officers are attempting to locate pieces of a handgun that may have been disassembled and left in the Westloop area.

If you are in the area and see parts of a gun, please contact RCPD at (785) 537-2112.

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RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting in Manhattan.

Just after 10p.m. Friday, the Riley County Police Department Emergency Dispatch center received multiple 911 calls concerning the sound of a gunshot in the 1400 block of Cambridge Place in Manhattan, according to a media release.

When officers arrived on scene, they found one victim suffering from a potentially life-threatening gunshot wound. A second person was injured, but is not believed to have been shot. Both victims were transported to Via Christi for treatment of their injuries.

Police have not reported an arrest.

If you have any information, please contact RCPD at (785) 537-2112 or Crime Stoppers at (785) 539-7777. Using the Crime Stoppers service allows you to remain anonymous and could qualify you for a cash reward up to $1,000.00.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — As Pete Buttigieg works to prove the leader of a city of roughly 100,000 people is ready to assume the American presidency, he’s relying on help from politicians who would know best: his fellow mayors.

The South Bend, Indiana, mayor has amassed a network of roughly 60 “Mayors for Pete,” a collection of local leaders pushing for his underdog bid. The group includes mayors from former industrial cities, thriving metros and tiny towns of just a few thousand people. It includes the mayor of Dayton, Ohio, a Rust Belt city like the one Buttigieg leads, and the mayor of West Sacramento, California, a rising progressive leader. About a third are from swing states Democrats need to win to take the White House. But just three are from the early voting states Buttigieg needs to win to become Democrats’ presidential nominee.

The campaign believes the mayors bring credibility to the 37-year-old Buttigieg’s chief pitch — a promise to usher in the next generation of Democratic politics and a more pragmatic, no-excuses style of governing.

“He’s a mayor, which means that unlike a lot of people who are running for that office, he’s in a place where he actually has to get things done,” said Steve Adler, the mayor of Austin, Texas, who endorsed Buttigieg in April, passing over Beto O’Rourke, a home state candidate.

But Buttigieg’s list also highlights one of his chief weaknesses in the Democratic primary. Adler aside, the group is short on mayors who represent America’s largest cities, and on city leaders who aren’t white. It’s an omission that reflects Buttigieg’s trouble winning over black voters, a critical group of the Democratic primary electorate, amid criticism of his handling of the fatal shooting of a black man by a white police officer in South Bend.

Meanwhile, some of his competitors have picked up big names: Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan are backing Joe Biden. Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney just endorsed Elizabeth Warren.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who flirted with a presidential run himself, has not yet offered an endorsement, nor has Lori Lightfoot, Chicago’s first black and LGBT mayor and a rising Democratic star. Many mayors of majority black cities in the South still haven’t endorsed anyone.

Senior Buttigieg campaign adviser Jess O’Connell said that winning support from mayors is just a piece of the campaign’s overall strategy for capturing the nomination and that she hopes the list of mayors will grow as the Democratic field winnows to fewer candidates.

“For now, what we most want are people that know Mayor Pete and understand his style,” she said. “But we know we have more to do to earn everybody’s endorsement.”

Adrian Perkins of Shreveport, Louisiana, is one of the mayors who hasn’t yet committed. Perkins went to Harvard Law School and served in the military like Buttigieg; the two connected through a friend when Perkins, 33, was still in school and Buttigieg took time to offer him advice.

But Perkins said his endorsement must be the best choice for his city, a majority black community experiencing major floods that he attributes to climate change. Perkins, who is black, acknowledged that Buttigieg has a perception problem with some black voters, but he said that could change if people get to know him.

“It would go a long way for Pete … on coming here and me putting him in front of some of the African Americans in my community, so they can see who I see in him,” he said.

Buttigieg has already won over Sly James, the former mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, and former head of the African American Mayors Association, and Michelle De La Isla, the first Latina mayor of Topeka, Kansas. Christropher Cabaldon, of West Sacramento, is Filipino, part of the West’s growing Asian-Pacific Islander community.

While smaller-city mayors may not seem like coveted presidential endorsements, they are more closely connected to voters than most politicians and are responsible for functions of government that often have a more direct impact on voters’ lives.

“I think that right now you see a complete breakdown of state and federal politics, and the only place you see governing happening and stuff getting done is at the local level,” said Nan Whaley, the mayor of Dayton, Ohio.

Whaley, Adler and Cabaldon met Buttigieg through the U.S Conference of Mayors and developed friendships. Cabaldon, who came out as gay in 2006 while serving as mayor, sought Buttigieg out at the conference in 2015, after Buttigieg came out, to offer support. Three years later, he was a guest at Buttigieg’s wedding to husband Chasten.

All three spoke at Buttigieg’s campaign launch in April, where the effort to win support from other mayors began.

As impeachment battles consume Washington, Cabaldon said, Buttigieg can provide an alternative focused on actual governance, not partisan bickering.

“We don’t fight to the death in local government,” he said.

The mayors have a call every other week with a campaign staffer dedicated to working with mayors, where they toss around policy ideas, discuss Buttigieg’s upcoming schedule and connect the campaign with interested people, Whaley said.

O’Connell, the senior campaign adviser, said the campaign has drawn from various cities to build out its policy proposals.

Whaley said she’s helped at least three Ohio mayors who aren’t backing Buttigieg connect local donors or activists with the campaign. Adler has set up fundraisers and facilitated community meetings, including with Austin’s black and Hispanic communities.

“Mayors know the leadership of every one of their communities,” Whaley said.

Buttigieg won the endorsement of Victory Fund, a group that helps LGBT candidates raise money that is headed by Annise Parker, the former Houston mayor who is backing his bid. Buttigieg didn’t automatically win the group’s endorsement, instead having to prove he was competitive first, Parker said.

With so many other current and former mayors running for president — Cory Booker (Newark), Julián Castro (San Antonio) and, previously, Bill de Blasio (New York) — Parker said Buttigieg’s ability to win over his colleagues stands out.

“One telling indicator is that mayors across the country stood up and said, “We like this one,'” Parker said.

WICHITA, KAN. – A Kansas man was charged in federal court this week with five armed robberies, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

Darren Green, 20, Wichita, Kan., was charged with five counts of robbery and five counts of brandishing a handgun during the robberies. Green was charged with the following robberies on July 8 at the Burger King, 3500 S. Meridian in Wichita; Aug. 28, at the Meridian Grocery, 2719 S. Meridian in Wichita; Aug. 29, Domino’s Pizza, 2047 West 21st in Wichita; Oct. 20, Wal-Mart, 3030 N. Rock Road in Wichita; Oct. 21, Advance America, 601 N. Ridge Road in Wichita.

An affidavit filed in the case alleges that during the first robbery Green wore a skeleton mask, pointed a gun at an employee and said, “Don’t be stupid – get on the ground.”

The affidavit alleges that during the Wal-Mart robbery Green wore a yellow Wal-Mart vest, placed a gun against an employee’s ribs, and handed an employee a note saying, “I have AIDS. Do not panic. Put all the money in bag.”

If convicted, he could face up to 20 years and a fine up to $250,000 on each robbery count, and not less than seven years and a fine up to $250,000 on each count of brandishing a firearm.