TOPEKA – To celebrate the modernization of liquor laws in the state of Kansas, which now allow for beer greater than 3.2 percent Alcohol By Weight to be sold in select locations, the Budweiser Clydesdales will symbolically deliver beer to the Kansas Capitol Thursday.
The delivery is reminiscent of the Budweiser Clydesdale delivery of beer in 1933 to President Roosevelt to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition.
The Clydesdale visit just before 2p.m. will include the presentation of a plaque with a Clydesdale horseshoe to Speaker of the House Ron Ryckman.
Anheuser-Busch has a long-standing relationship with the state of Kansas, working with 15 distributors that employ approximately 500 Kansans. The brewer is happy to celebrate with all of Kansas today as the state embraces modern beer laws that will help the Kansas beer industry and entire state economy grow.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The suspect in a kidnapping and rape case entered a plea Tuesday to an amended complaint, which dropped the kidnapping charge and also changed five rape charges to aggravated sexual battery.
Pedraza
Victor Pedraza, 21, also entered a plea to aggravated domestic battery and possession of marijuana.
He requested a departure before sentencing, but that was denied by Reno County District Judge Joe McCarville. He was then sentenced to just under six years in prison.
Pedraza was convicted for the beating and sexual battery of the Japanese student he had been dating. She had been attending Hutchinson Community College.
Pedraza set her passport and documents on fire. Police also said the victim was tied to a bed and beaten, then forced into sex twice. The crimes occurred in June of 2017.
Pedraza entered a plea last year, but then withdrew it. He apparently had a change of heart and entered a plea in the case Tuesday.
Deputy District Attorney Tom Stanton had agreed to the plea earlier so the victim wouldn’t have to testify in the United States. She was allowed to stay home in Japan.
SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a man has died after being electrocuted while working in the garage of a suburban Kansas City home.
Police say the man’s death Wednesday morning at a homein the 6500 block of Hallet Street in Shawnee, Kansas, is under investigation but appears to be an accident.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Some Republican lawmakers are calling for the resignation of University of Missouri-Kansas City Chancellor C. Mauli Agrawal over what they say was his inadequate response to the disruption of a conservative speaker’s appearance last week.
Police arrest protester image courtesy UMKC News
Lawmakers also threatened to reduce the university’s budget to “make a statement” about what they consider an increase in liberal intolerance on college campuses.
University students on Thursday interrupted an anti-transgender speech by conservative Michael Knowles, a contributor to the Daily Wire website. As other students booed and began to walk out, one student rushed the stage and used a water gun to shoot a mix of lavender oil and other nontoxic substances toward Knowles, who wasn’t injured.
The student, Gerard Dabu, was tackled by campus police and later charged with disturbing the peace, assault on law enforcement, property damage and resisting arrest. He was also suspended and banned from campus during the investigation.
Agrawal issued a statement the next day saying the students’ treatment of Knowles “crossed a line.” He said the school was committed to free speech and maintaining a safe environment for all points of view, “even extreme ones.”
The chancellor also called Knowles “a speaker whose professed opinions do not align with our commitment to diversity and inclusion and our goal of providing a welcoming environment to all people, particularly to our LGBT community.” Knowles denounced the chancellor’s statement during an appearance later on Fox News.
Agrawal issued a second statement as lawmakers discussed the issue Monday night.
“My original statement may have given an indication that UMKC does not support freedom of expression for all. I apologize if I’ve given that impression, for that was not my intention,” Agrawal wrote. “It is not the university’s role to take sides, but to rise to the higher principle of promoting a respectful exchange of ideas for our students to form their own views and engage in critical thinking.”
University of Missouri System President Mun Choi told House lawmakers during a Wednesday hearing on the incident that he still has faith in Agrawal and is confident that he’s committed to free speech.
Choi later told reporters that he doesn’t feel pressured to fire the chancellor, although Republican Rep. Robert Ross during the hearing had asked him “at what point would a staff member not be worth that trade off in a reduced amount of your budget?”
“Am I willing to sacrifice a person for the sake of getting more money from the state?” Choi said. “The answer is, in my case I’m going to be fair to the individual.”
On Monday night, Sen. David Sater, a Cassville Republican and a member of the Appropriations Committee, was among those calling for Agrawal’s resignation during a discussion on the floor of the Missouri Senate. Sen. Gary Romine, a Farmington Republican, said the Senate needed to make a statement, adding: “Intolerance has taken on a different swing of the pendulum at this time.”
Democratic Sen. Jason Holsman, who district includes the university, urged lawmakers to give Agrawal time to clarify.
“The rest of the students do not deserve to be in the cross-hairs of an appropriations battle over words you find distasteful from the chancellor,” Holsman said.
St. Louis Democratic Rep. Peter Merideth told Agrawal during the House hearing that he’s “much more concerned with our reaction to your reaction.”
“That I find much more troubling than anything you said,” Merideth said.
Police said the liquid shot at Knowles was a mixture of lavender oil and nontoxic household liquids. The color and scent of lavender have been adopted by the LGBTQ community as a symbol for transgender solidarity.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has ruled that Gov. Laura Kelly cannot file a brief in support of a law that would add about $90 million annually to public school funding.
The governor on Monday asked the court for permission to file the brief in support of a bill she signed April 5.
The court said on Wednesday that such motions, called amicus briefs, must be filed 30 days before oral arguments in a case. The arguments on the latest effort to address school finance litigation are scheduled for May 9.
Four school districts sued the state over education funding in 2010.
Attorneys representing the schools argued that late request to file the brief didn’t leave them enough time to respond to her argument.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The families of victims of a mass shooting at a central Kansas business in 2016 have won a $2 million legal settlement from a pawn shop that sold the firearms to the shooter’s girlfriend.
Law enforcement near the parking lot of Excel in Hesston on the day of the tragedy -Courtesy photo
The settlement of three lawsuits in Harvey County District Court was announced Wednesday by Brady, a national center against gun violence.
Brady attorneys represented the wife and young son of one of three people shot to death at the Excel Industries factory in Hesston. Fourteen people also were wounded.
The victims’ families argued that the now-defunct A Pawn Shop should have known that shooter Cedric Ford’s girlfriend was a straw buyer. He was a convicted felon barred from possessing the firearms.
An attorney for the pawn shop did not immediately return a telephone message seeking comment.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have arrested a man suspected of driving away after crashing into the rear of a stalled car as people tried to push it off a Lawrence road.
Walden photo Douglas County
Andrew Walden, 25, Iola, faces one count of leaving the scene of the May 2017 crash that sent four people to a hospital, two of them in critical condition. Although that count and two felony aggravated battery charges were filed in January, Walden wasn’t arrested until this week. Jail records show he has been released on $7,500 bond.
A civil lawsuit filed against Walden says he was under the influence of alcohol when he crashed into the car. Walden acknowledged hitting the car in his written response to the suit but denied that he’d been drinking.
TOPEKA – Encouraging Kansas National Guard members to participate in peer counseling sessions, Governor Laura Kelly signed House Bill 2365 in an official signing ceremony today, exempting any notes or records of National Guard members’ counseling sessions from the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA).
“Mental health matters – for civilians and guard members alike. It’s important that we do all we can to decrease the stigma around mental health and encourage guardsmen and women to seek the necessary help,” Kelly said. “This is an issue of great importance to me personally and I’m proud to sign this legislation into law.”
Kelly was joined by Major General Lee E. Tafanelli, mental health representatives from the Kansas National Guard, and legislators at the signing ceremony.
“We must work together to expand access to affordable healthcare and mental healthcare for our men and women in uniform,” Kelly said.
House Bill 2365 amends the law concerning the peer support counseling session communication privilege within the Code of Civil Procedure. By adding references to National Guard members throughout the section, their records would be inadmissible and not subject to disclosure or discovery in judicial or other proceedings. This legislation will become effective upon its publication in the Kansas Statute Book.
Governor Kelly also ceremonially signed House Bill 2123 at the event. This legislation was officially signed on April 2, 2019 and amended the Kansas National Guard Education Assistance Act.
The governor signed four additional bills yesterday, bringing the total number of bills signed in the 2019 Legislative Session to 42, with one being vetoed. By law, the Kansas governor has 10 calendar days to sign bills into law, veto bills or allow bills to become law without her signature.
House Bill 2040
Designates a portion of United States highway 75 as the John Armstrong Memorial Highway and a bridge on United States highway 77 as the SGT Kevin A. Gilbertson Memorial Bridge. This legislation will become effective upon its publication in the Kansas Statute Book.
House Bill 2084
Amends the Kansas 911 Act, including making changes to the membership of the 911 Coordinating Council. This legislation will become effective upon its publication in the Kansas Statute Book.
House Bill 2085
Clarifies that if a rural water district has available capacity, the board of the district must adhere to the benefit unit reinstatement requirements in continuing law. Also, the bill increases the maximum repayment period from 20 years to 40 years for loans provided by the Secretary of Health and Environment to municipalities for the payment of all or part of a project associated with a public water supply system. This legislation will become effective upon its publication in the Kansas Statute Book.
House Bill 2144
Amends the law related to community college student fees and enacts the Community College Taxpayer Transparency Act. The bill includes findings and conclusions generally noting the structure and financing of community colleges; the duty of transparency owed by community colleges to property taxpayers and students of community colleges; and reaffirming the students and taxpayers of community colleges as the priority in financial decisions, reporting processes, and transparency measures of community colleges. The bill takes effect on and after July 1, 2020.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Law enforcement and school district officials continue to investigate vandalism to a music room at Pretty Prairie High School and have identified four students involved. It is still up in the air whether at least one student can even be prosecuted.
Photos Reno Co. Sheriff
Reno County District Attorney Keith Schroeder says he has only received a brief narrative of what happened at this point and says he has only been told about three suspects: an 8-year-old, a 10-year-old and an 11-year-old.
Under Kansas law, Schroeder says he cannot prosecute the 8-year-old. He says that would fall under a child-in-need-of-care case.
“I can’t comment too much on the case because it involves juveniles,” Schroeder said.
The paperwork will eventually be sent to the District Attorney’s Office for possible legal action, however, how that will be handled is unknown.
USD 311 is also taking appropriate action against the students involved. The damage is estimated to be between $50,000 and $75,000, according to the sheriff’s department.
A GoFundMe pagehas raised over $5000 to help the students and school.
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RENO COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities and school officials are investigating vandalism at Pretty Prairie High School.
Photos courtesy Reno Co. Sheriff
Just after 9:00a.m. Saturday, deputies were dispatched to Pretty Prairie High School for a criminal damage to property case, according to a media release.
Deputies met with Principal Kevin Hedrick who said he was giving a tour of the school to the up-coming freshman class when he noticed the band room had been vandalized.It appears that the school was entered between the hours of 1:00am – 3:00a.m. Saturday.
The entire band room received severe damage. Several different colors of paint were thrown across the floor, walls and over equipment. The majority of the drums, if not all, had holes punched in them. Some of the drum heads had painted hand prints left on them. Several different musical instruments were completely destroyed.
Fire extinguishers were discharged on the building and inside of a recently purchased Van that belonged to the school. Both in the band room and in the van, items within had been thrown around. Although it is going to take a bit to see what if anything has been stolen, we believe items have been taken.
The school gave a rough estimate of damage to be between $50,000 and $75,000 and could be more.
If anyone has information regarding this case please contact the Reno County Sheriff’s Office at 620-694-2735 or Crime Stoppers of Reno County at 1-800-222-TIPS.
Detectives are continuing to investigate this case.
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RENO COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities and school officials are investigating vandalism at Pretty Prairie High School.
Many instruments were damaged or destroyed in the school’s music room over the weekend, according to the school’s social media page.
Vandals threw paint on pianos and destroyed music instruments along with causing extensive damage to that area of the building.
“We just got permission from the sheriff’s department and from our insurance agency to start the cleanup process and then start the inventory of what’s broken, what’s not, what can be repaired, what can’t,” USD 311 Superintendent Randy Hendrickson said. “Hopefully our goal by the end of the day is to have a list of what we need to get back into the kids hands so we can get back to normal as quickly as possible.”
While the music room was off limits, music classes were moved to the school’s auditorium. Area schools have sent emails and calls of support in an effort to help including Burrton USD 369 who was working to provide students in Pretty Prairie with replacement instruments. They have also volunteered to help restore the school’s music room.
If you would like to help the Pretty Prairie music department you can do so by calling Pretty Prairie High School at 620-459-6313 or the USD 311 offices at 620-459-6241.
LENEXA — After a request for assistance, the Lenexa Police Department reported they have identified a man suspected of taking photos or videos of women in a department store changing room.
Can you help us ID this man? He is suspected of taking pics/vids of women in a department store changing room in Lenexa. He left the scene in a black SUV, possibly an Audi. If you know who he is, please contact us at 913-825-8097 or send us a DM. pic.twitter.com/GrcADLjfxA
GLENWOOD, Iowa (AP) — The federal agency that manages dams along the Missouri River received stern criticism from several U.S. senators Wednesday during a hearing held in Iowa to examine the massive spring flooding this year that caused more than $3 billion in damage in the Midwest.
Wednesday hearing in Iowa on the Army Corps’ river management -photo courtesy Sen. Joni Ernst
The flooding and actions taken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has been bitterly criticized in the wake of the flooding, are the focus of the U.S. Senate hearing. Critics have demanded that the agency make flood control its top priority, though Congress would have to act to change the Corps’ priorities.
Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst said flooding shouldn’t be such a regular occurrence along the Missouri River, saying: “The trend of flood and rebuild, flood and rebuild must end.” Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand added that the Corps should be more aggressive in preventing flood damage and consider the effects of climate change.
“They are too slow, too bureaucratic and they don’t have enough money,” said Gillibrand, who is running for president and was in Iowa touring flood damage. She took part in the hearing because she serves on the committee that oversees the Corps.
The sentiments may be appealing in Midwestern states that have endured flooding along rivers that the Corps is charged with managing, but they may not be as popular with supporters of other approved uses of the river, such as protecting endangered species and navigation.
The Corps’ John Remus said the agency works to balance all the uses of the river and maximize the benefit to several when possible. But flood control is the main concern anytime flooding is imminent along the Missouri River.
“The number one priority of the Corps in its operations is life and public safety,” Remus said.
The Corps has also said that much of the water that caused the Midwest flooding in March came from rain and melting snow that flowed into the Missouri River downstream of all the dams it controls. At the same time massive amounts of water was filling the reservoirs and some had to be released.
Farmer Leo Ettleman said the Corps should have made significant changes to its operating manual after the historic 2011 floods, but neither the Corps nor Congress took action. Ettlemen said the kind of flooding the area saw this spring will continue unless changes are made.
“In the past eight years, Congress has done little or nothing except to offer prayers and thoughts, which are appreciated, but won’t fix the problem,” said Ettleman, who farms near Percival, Iowa, and joined a lawsuit against the Corps after the 2011 flood.
Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst farms near the Missouri River. He said the lessons from this year’s flooding should lead to changes about where levees are built and how the river is managed.
“When flood recovery is complete, we will have failed if every structure is the same as it was and if the management of the river has not changed,” Hurst said. “To do the same things and expect better results is the triumph of hope over experience.”
Mike Peluso, a longtime professional fisherman who runs an outdoors and guide service in North Dakota, said he doesn’t want to see management of the river “swayed one way or the other” for political reasons.
“They are more populated down south, I get that,” he said. “But it’s the same river regardless of whether or not you’ve got a million people or 100,000 people. It needs to be managed from the top down.”
He added, “I have a hard time believing with all the technology and brainpower we have we can’t find a balance there” between flood protection and other interests like recreation.
Greg Power, fisheries division chief for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said he believes the Corps does “a pretty good job” of managing the Missouri River system.
“Flood control is still a high priority within the Corps, I know that,” Power said. “Some of these water years are pretty incredible themselves and I would hate to be a Corps person, to be honest.”
Rep. Sam Graves, whose district includes the northwestern Missouri area ravaged by flooding in March, introduced a bill this month that would remove fish and wildlife as an authorized management priority on the Missouri River and make flood control the highest priority. The bill would require revision of the Missouri River Master Manuel within 90 days of enactment.
“Time and again, we continue to see fish and birds take precedence over people and property when it comes to managing the Missouri River,” Graves, a Republican, said in a statement. “This latest round of flooding has devastated communities up and down the river. We already know that the management practices are contributing to it.”
Area politicians have said repeatedly since the flood that flood control should be the Corps’ top priority.
Robert Criss, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis who has been studying flooding for more than two decades, said there may be a more important factor than how the Corps’ priorities are ranked.
The Missouri River has been made narrower over the years, Criss said, and the Corps has worked to maintain a defined channel for barge traffic even though few barges ever cross the river near Iowa and Nebraska.
“We’re having this problem because we messed with the rivers too much,” Criss said.
Kansas has dropped its effort to terminate Planned Parenthood’s participation in Medicaid, ending a three-year-long court battle that the state lost at every turn.
The change in policy wasn’t announced publicly but rather came in the form of a joint stipulation to dismiss Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit challenging the state’s move.
The stipulation, which was filed in federal court on Friday, stated that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), which oversees the state Medicaid program, has notified Planned Parenthood of its decision to rescind the Medicaid terminations. The court approved the dismissal of the lawsuit on Monday morning.
Ashley All, a spokeswoman for Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, said the state’s decision to end the litigation came after multiple court rulings against the previous administration.
“To continue with this costly litigation would be unwise and out of step with the priorities of Kansas,” All said. “Gov. Kelly is focused on expanding healthcare options to women, not limiting them.”
Still up in the air is the extent to which Kansas will be required to reimburse Planned Parenthood for the legal fees it incurred. Both sides have requested an additional 60 days to resolve the matter. The legal fees are likely to amount to several hundred thousand dollars, if not more, since the case has been litigated for three years and gone all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We’re really pleased that this case has come to a resolution,” said Rachel Sweet, regional director of public policy and organizing for Planned Parenthood Great Plains in Overland Park, one of the two affiliates whose Medicaid funding Kansas sought to cut off.
“We believe that all Kansans deserve access to high-quality health care. and it shouldn’t matter where they live or how much money they make,” Sweet said. “If Medicaid is your insurance, you should be able to get the best care possible and we’re glad that this politically motivated fight is coming to a close.”
The legal saga dates to May 2016, when the administration of then-Gov. Sam Brownback notified Planned Parenthood Great Plains and the Planned Parenthood affiliate in St. Louis that it was terminating their Medicaid provider status.
Planned Parenthood Great Plains had several hundred Medicaid patients at the time – adults with monthly income of no more than $768 who were pregnant, disabled or parents. And though based in Missouri, Planned Parenthood in St. Louis operated a health center in Joplin, Missouri, near the Kansas state line, and served a small number of Kansas patients.
Both affiliates immediately sued KDHE, alleging the terminations were unlawful and based on spurious grounds. KDHE had cited the Overland Park’s alleged failure to cooperate with a solid waste disposal inspection and potentially fraudulent Medicaid claims submitted by the Planned Parenthood affiliates in Oklahoma and Texas as reasons for the terminations.
Planned Parenthood responded that it had cooperated with the solid waste disposal inspection, although it said it refused to allow inspectors to take photographs out of concern for patients and staff privacy and safety. And it said the affiliates in Oklahoma and Texas had no connection to the affiliates in Overland Park and St. Louis.
The move to end Planned Parenthood’s participation in Medicaid came not long after Brownback, in his State of the State address in January 2016, accused Planned Parenthood of trafficking in “baby body parts” and vowed to defund the organization.
Brownback made his remarks after anti-abortion activists in 2015 released a highly edited undercover video purporting to show that Planned Parenthood clinics illegally sold fetal tissue for profit.
A dozen states, including Kansas, launched investigations, but none of them – including Kansas – found evidence for the video’s claims. A Houston grand jury cleared Planned Parenthood of wrongdoing and indicted two of the makers of the video instead; those charges were later dismissed.
The firm doesn’t come cheap. In the first three months after Kansas hired it, Consovoy billed Kansas more than $272,000, according to invoices obtained by KCUR under the Kansas Open Records Act. At that rate, assuming the firm continued to represent the state through last December, Kansas would have spent about $2.8 million in legal fees on the case.
Dan Margolies is a senior reporter and editor in conjunction with the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.
DOUGLAS COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a stabbing and asking the public for help to locate a suspect.
Google map
Just after 6a.m. Wednesday, police responded to the 900 block of Essex Court in Lawrence for reports of a stabbing, according to a media release.
Responding officers made contact with the 28-year-old woman who had suffered multiple stab wounds, inside her residence.
The victim was transported via ambulance to an area trauma center with injuries that are reported to be possibly life threatening. Police have no suspect information available.
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact the Lawrence Police Department at (785) 832-7509, or Crime Stoppers of Lawrence and Douglas County at (785)843-TIPS. Tips to Crime Stoppers can be anonymous.
Kansas has dropped its effort to terminate Planned Parenthood’s participation in Medicaid, ending a three-year-long court battle that the state lost at every turn.
