By ROXANA HEGEMAN 

The Kansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union on Thursday asked state officials to investigate after a black man was detained by police while moving into his home, then allegedly harassed for weeks and blocked by the police chief from filing a racial bias complaint with the department.

Karle Robinson, a 61-year-old Marine veteran, was held at gunpoint and handcuffed in August as he was carrying a television out of a rented moving van into the home he had bought a month earlier in Tonganoxie, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Kansas City.

“I’d like to see those cops and that chief lose their jobs because this was uncalled for — this is strictly racial profiling,” Robinson told The Associated Press in an interview Thursday.

He added that if he were white “we wouldn’t even be having this conversation right now.”

The ACLU of Kansas said in a news release that it was a case of “moving while black” and that the organization asked Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt to investigate the matter or refer the group’s complaint to the Kansas Commission on Peace Officers’ Standards and Training. The attorney general’s office said in an emailed statement that it has reviewed the ACLU’s letter and forwarded it to the commission in accordance with Kansas law.

“Mr. Robinson believes his detention was motivated by his race rather than a reasonable suspicion that he was committing a burglary,” Lauren Bonds, legal director of the ACLU of Kansas, said in the group’s release. “It also appears that the Chief of Police prevented Mr. Robinson from filing a credible, legitimate complaint and that is not in compliance with reporting and intake standards. He must not interfere with citizens registering complaints.”

The incident involving Robinson is one of the latest examples of situations in which law enforcement officers have had encounters or confrontations with African-Americans over their own belongings. In the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois, city officials approved a $1.25 million settlement with a black man who sued after police tackled him and arrested him for stealing a car that turned out to be his own.

Tonganoxie Police Chief Greg Lawson said in an emailed statement that the department has fully cooperated with Robinson and the ACLU regarding inquiries into the incident.

“We believe that the ACLU’s correspondence to the Attorney General’s Office contains multiple accusations that are inaccurate,” Lawson said, without elaborating. He added that the department will cooperate with the attorney general or commission “if an investigation is deemed warranted.”

The chief said the safety of people who live in the town and those visiting it is important to the department, and the officers and other staff have all “pledged to serve the community with honor and the highest degree of professionalism.”

The town of 5,400 in northeastern Kansas is 97 percent white, census figures show.

In a letter dated Thursday to the attorney general’s office, the ACLU said police had also stopped Robinson hours earlier while he was driving to the home and gave him a warning citation. Robinson and the ACLU say it was for not having the rental van’s headlights turned on.

According to the letter, Robinson arrived at the home shortly after midnight on Aug. 19 and made numerous trips in and out of the house carrying items from the moving van parked outside. Robinson contends an officer passed his house five or six times over the course of two hours.

Around 2:30 a.m. as he was carrying in his TV, the last item out of the moving van, Robinson was approached by an officer who pulled into the driveway. During the incident, which was captured on police body camera, the officer drew his gun and told Robinson to put down the TV.

“I just bought this house,” said Robinson, who followed the officer’s order about the TV.

“You just bought this house and you’re moving in at 4 in the morning?” the officer said.

Robinson told the officer he had paperwork inside the home that would prove he was the owner.

The officer asked Robinson to walk toward the house and put his hands on his head. He then handcuffed Robinson.

Once backup arrived, the officer and a second officer entered the home, brought out the paperwork and took the handcuffs off Robinson. The officers helped Robinson carry the TV in the house after he asked them to.

Police told Robinson there had been a string of burglaries in the area. An officer can be heard on the body camera video apologizing to Robinson and saying, “If you look at the situation, I think, I think you get it.” The officers thanked Robinson for his cooperation.

Robinson, who is retired and volunteers as a radio DJ at a Kansas City radio station, told the AP on Thursday that he considered it “a half-hearted apology.”

“But I mean, that is not the point. It shouldn’t have happened in the first place,” he said.

The ACLU contends that public records show no reported burglaries in the area. And for weeks after the incident, according to Robinson, Tonganoxie police frequently patrolled around his block, parked their squad cars directly across the street almost every evening and on one occasion followed him from his home for more than 7 miles (11 kilometers) until he reached the highway. He claimed that Lawson, the police chief, also stopped him in October from filing a racial bias complaint about the Aug. 19 incident and the police presence afterward, which Robinson said amounted to surveillance.

He said the harassment stopped after he complained to The Kansas City Star.

“Each of these incidents would be concerning had they been alleged independently,” the ACLU said in the letter to the attorney general’s office. “Together, they suggest a pervasive culture of racial bias and systemic process failure within the Tonganoxie Police Department.”

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The family of a Kansas sheriff’s deputy who was killed in the line of duty will get $300,000 in a worker’s compensation settlement over his death in September.

The Sedgwick County Commission approved settlement payouts to Deputy Robert Kunze’s widow and young daughter on Wednesday.

Kunze was fatally shot on Sept. 16 when attempting to handcuff a man on suspicion of vehicle theft about 20 miles west of downtown Wichita. The sheriff’s department says Kunze killed his attacker , 29-year-old Robert Greeson, and likely saved the lives of two witnesses before he died from a gunshot wound. Greeson had a history of drug convictions.

The commission’s chairman, David Dennis, called Kunze a hero who “touched the lives of all the folks here in Sedgwick County.”

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s top economic development official might have trouble keeping his job after a committee recommended that the Kansas Senate reject his appointment.

A two-day Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing for Acting Commerce Secretary David Toland turned bitter and partisan. Some Republicans questioned his credentials and criticized him over social media posts and comments during a Statehouse rally last year for Medicaid expansion.

The committee voted 6-5 against him Thursday.

Toland is from Iola and served as the unpaid treasurer for Kelly’s campaign for governor last year. He also earned national praise in 11 years as executive director of the economic development group Thrive Allen County.

The Senate’s rules require the full chamber to vote on confirming Toland despite the committee’s vote. Kelly is standing by him.

SEDGWICK COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect in connection with a Thursday morning business fire.

Just before 4a.m., fire crews were dispatched to the fire at the Idle Hand Tattoo Parlor in the 900 Block of West Douglas, according to Lt. Jose Ocadiz of the Wichita Fire Department.

Upon arrival, fire crews found heavy fire in the rear of the building. Fire attack teams were deployed to prevent the fire from spreading to the second floor. The Wichita fire investigation unit and officials from the Kansas State Fire Marshal determined the fire was intentionally set, according to Ocadiz.

Police were notified of a suspect fleeing the area at the time of the fire, according to officer Charley Davidson. With the help of witnesses, police located 36-year-old Cassie Grover at a nearby convenience store and arrested without incident. She is being held on requested charges of burglary, theft and aggravated arson, according to Davidson.  Grover is a former employee at the business, according to Davidson.

The majority of the fire damage was in the Tattoo Parlor, according to Ocadiz. The estimated damage loss is approximately $80,000 to the structure and $150,000 to contents.

SALINA — Former Topeka Capital-Journal Business Editor Morgan Chilson Rothenberger has joined Saint Francis Ministries as director of communications, tasked with leading the internationally renowned social service organization’s strategic approach to internal and external communications.

“Morgan is an award-winning journalist with a strong belief in public service journalism,” said Tom Blythe, COO of Saint Francis Ministries. “She has a knack for breaking complex issues into relatable, compelling stories that impact lives and communities. We’re extremely excited to have her join our team. She’ll be a tremendous voice for Saint Francis, helping us spread the word about our mission and the life-changing services we provide for children and families in the U.S. and across the globe.”

A career journalist and freelance writer, Rothenberger spent a total of eight years with the Topeka Capital-Journal, coordinating business and healthcare coverage that earned more than 20 Kansas Press Association and KC Press Club awards for excellence. Her editorial and management skills earned her positions as business editor of the paper, and most recently, a part in managing the newsroom.

A graduate of Kansas State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication, Rothenberger has also worked as a freelance writer/reporter for national and regional publications, including the New York Times, Kansas City Business Journal and Kansas magazines. She has edited and designed books, including non-fiction medical books.

“My love of journalism runs deep, but my connection to family services runs even deeper, having grown up with a parent who spent her career as a Kansas foster care social worker,” Rothenberger said. “My mother taught me that protecting children and keeping families together is hard – and sometimes heartbreaking – work. But I know that when communities, schools, law enforcement, legislators and organizations like Saint Francis work together to find solutions, amazing, positive outcomes are possible. I’m eager to be part of the Saint Francis team in building stronger families and communities, and sharing those stories with others.”

ATCHISON COUNTY, Kan. (AP) — The latest on flooding in the Midwest:

Another levee has breached as high water levels make their way down the flooding Missouri River.

Buchanan County, Missouri, Emergency Director Management Bill Brinton says an agriculture levee breached around 11 a.m. Thursday just across the river from Atchison, Kansas, where the river is expected to crest at record levels.

Photos of flooding near @CityofAtchison this morning including the levee break. pic.twitter.com/5zZSZud8DJ

— KHP Air Support Unit (@KHPAircraft) March 21, 2019

The Missouri towns of Winthrop and Lewis and Clark Village are at risk of taking on water as the size of the breach grows. But Brinton says most of the 200 people who live in the area already left.

Levee break near @CityofAtchison on the east side of the river. pic.twitter.com/ertI0vx16d

— KHP Air Support Unit (@KHPAircraft) March 21, 2019

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the levee is one of about 20 that have breached in Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska. Crests in St. Joseph, Missouri, are expected to be the third-highest on record, although only about half a dozen homes in the city aren’t protected by a federal levee.

____

TOPEKA — Late Thursday morning, the Kansas House passed Medicaid expansion in 69-54 vote. The measure now moves to the State Senate for final approval.

The following statement is from Governor Laura Kelly.

“Today a bipartisan coalition in the Kansas House put politics aside and came together to pass Medicaid expansion. I’m proud of their work – and the work of so many advocates and citizens who worked tirelessly to make their voices heard on this issue.
“Medicaid expansion is one of the most critical issues impacting our state’s future. It will allow up to 150,000 more Kansans access to affordable healthcare, support local hospitals and clinics, and impact our economy for the better.
“Over 70 percent of Kansans support Medicaid expansion. I encourage the Kansas Senate to join me, this bipartisan coalition, business leaders and the overwhelming majority of Kansans in support of Medicaid expansion. The time for blocking progress has long since passed. Now is the time to expand Medicaid.”

————-

By JIM MCLEAN

A coalition of Democrats and moderate Republicans powered past objections from conservative leaders in the Kansas House Wednesday to approve Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s Medicaid expansion proposal.

Albeit a slightly revised version.

“We’ve discussed this for five years, we absolutely cannot let this chance slip through our fingers,” said Rep. Kathy Wolfe Moore, a Kansas City Democrat.

In summary, the bill would:

•           Expand KanCare, the state’s privatized Medicaid program, to cover Kansans earning less than 138 percent of the federal poverty level — $17,236 for an individual or $35,535 for a family of four. The Kansas Health Institute estimates that 90,000 of the 130,000 Kansans expected to enroll would be non-disabled adults who are not currently eligible for KanCare. The remaining 40,000 would be children.

•           Require the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to refer all non-disabled adults who are unemployed or working fewer than 20 hours a week to a job training program.

Parents caring for young children would be exempt. The Commonwealth Fund estimated in a 2017 report that only 11 percent of Kansans likely to enroll in expansion coverage are unemployed. Some Republicans favor a “work requirement.” But Gov. Kelly says she won’t agree to one because it would be a “nightmare” to administer.

•           Establish a working group to identify additional revenue sources to offset the state’s share of expansion costs. The Affordable Care Act requires the federal government to fund no less than 90 percent of expansion costs. Expansion opponents fear budget pressures will eventually force a reduction in that funding. Should that happen, an amendment added to the bill during Wednesday’s debate would require state officials to repeal expansion.

Cost an issue

The governor’s budget office estimates that the state’s share of expansion costs in the first full year would be approximately $34 million.

A recent estimate by the Kansas Health Institute put the cost at $41.7 million. The lion’s share of that would come from “privilege fees” paid by the managed care organizations that administer KanCare and projected savings generated from using federal dollars to cover services and programs now funded by the state.

Neither the state nor the KHI estimate include a projection of how much economic activity triggered by an infusion of nearly $1 billion in additional federal Medicaid funding would increase state revenues. New research done by economists at Kansas State University indicates the spike in revenue would be nearly enough to cover the state’s share of expansion costs.

An amendment added to the bill at the urging of Rep. Troy Waymaster, the Republican chair of the House Appropriations Committee, would also help defray expansion costs by requiring beneficiaries to pay $25 a month for their coverage. Family premiums would be capped at $100 a month. Waymaster estimated the payments would generate between $26 million and $45 million a year.

What’s next

Assuming the expansion bill clears a final vote in the House, it would go to the Senate. Expansion advocates say they believe they have to votes to also pass it there, but the margin may be narrower.

However, both Senate President Susan Wagle and Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning are opposed to it.

Denning, an Overland Park Republican, has said in a recent interview he’d “be willing to have (a) conversation with the governor” about terms of expanding Medicaid.

Multiple polls showing that sizeable majorities of Kansas voters favor expansion should motivate Denning, Wagle and others to seek a compromise, Kelly said.

“This is something,” Kelly said, “they don’t want to be talking about next year in an election year.”

Jim McLean is the senior correspondent for the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks. 

——————-

BRANSON, Mo. (AP) — The company that owns a duck boat that sank on a Missouri lake last year, killing 17 people , won’t operate the vessels this year and will instead open a replacement attraction in the tourist town of Branson.

Ripley Entertainment Suzanne Smagala-Potts announced plans for the new attraction, called Branson Top Op, on Thursday. She declined to comment on whether the boats would ever float again on Table Rock Lack, saying only that the company is focused on 2019 and hasn’t “looked in the future of what we may or may not do.”

The entertainment venue will include indoor laser tag and an interactive outdoor maze. It’s expected to open for Memorial Day weekend.

The company faces several lawsuits alleging that it launched the doomed boat despite warnings of severe weather.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating an alleged scam aimed at registered offenders in Kansas.

According to a media release from the sheriff’s department, registered offenders reported receiving calls from a person posing as a deputy from the sheriff’s department. The caller claims the offender is not in compliance and urges the offender to send money to pay the fines or bond.

The Montgomery County sheriff reminded the public they do not call offenders or anyone to collect money. Investigators are working to learn the identity of the callers and bring them to justice, according to the release.

Anyone who receives a similar call should hang just hang up. If you received a call, the sheriff’s office wants you to contact law enforcement.

Large swaths of Nebraska are recovering from disastrous flooding — and donations are being sought to aid in the recovery effort.

In response to requests, the United Way of Ellis County is providing information for the Nebraska and Iowa Flood Relieve Fund. The United Way of the Midlands (Omaha, Nebraska) has created the Nebraska and Iowa Flood Relief Fund. Contributions to this fund can be made by visiting https://www.unitedwaymidlands.org/floodrelief  or texting FLOODRELIEF (all caps and one word) to 41444.  100% of every donation will be directed to nonprofit programs meeting people’s needs for emergency shelter, food and more in Nebraska. Donors can also direct their gift to another community affected by flooding in Nebraska or Iowa by providing the city name. United Way of the Midlands will then distribute those funds to the local United Way chapter serving that area. United Way of the Midlands is also assisting those affected by flooding through its 2-1-1 Helpline which serves Nebraska and southwest Iowa.

At that link you will find a way to text donations or send donations to Nebraska Flood Relief.

From the Fremont area this morning on the Platte. Each of those little islands has dozens of cattle on it, stranded with no place to go.

Our thoughts are with our agriculture industry as they will certainly feel the effects of this flooding. pic.twitter.com/PK8gpu2NMb

— NEStatePatrol (@NEStatePatrol) March 15, 2019

Please don’t come to closed areas to sight see. You put yourselves at risk and the first responders as well. Barricades are placed and roads are closed for safety.

This is Highway 2 on the Missouri River near Nebraska City. pic.twitter.com/hehqDjyCQf

— NEStatePatrol (@NEStatePatrol) March 17, 2019

KANSAS CITY— A Kansas felon who rammed a police vehicle and crashed into two more cars while leading officers on a high-speed chase in a stolen vehicle was charged in federal court Wednesday with being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Chance Ayers, 24, was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition in a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City, according to the United State’s Attorney.

In an affidavit filed in support of Wednesday federal criminal complaint, on March 3, 2019, a Kansas City police detective saw Ayers driving a maroon 2002 Mercury Sable, which had been reported stolen when the keys were taken during a burglary earlier that day. The detective followed Ayers to a gas station, where he pulled up next to the front of the building. A police captain, dressed in full police uniform and driving an unmarked police vehicle equipped with emergency lights and siren, arrived to conduct a car check. The captain activated his lights, got out of his vehicle, and made verbal contact with Ayers.

When Ayers saw the captain, the affidavit says, he immediately put his car in reverse and backed up until he struck the front of the captain’s police vehicle. Ayers continued to accelerate in reverse and the Mercury began pushing the parked police vehicle backward. The captain was dragged backwards through the parking lot as he struggled with Ayers through the driver’s window of the Mercury in an effort to get Ayers to stop. The captain was able to disengage from Ayers and the Mercury before it entered 11th Street. Ayers continued to push the police vehicle until it struck a wooden utility pole, which sheared off. Ayers then placed the Mercury in drive and fled westbound on 12th Street.

A civilian police department employee, who was seated in the front passenger seat of the police vehicle, was treated at a hospital for neck and back pain. The police vehicle was towed from the scene.

A Kansas City police officer soon located Ayers, who was traveling at a high rate of speed, near 12th Street and Chestnut. The officer activated his emergency lights and siren and attempted to stop the vehicle, the affidavit says, but Ayers refused to stop. Ayers allegedly ran multiple red traffic signals as he traveled at a high rate of speed. Ayers made a wide turn onto 71 Highway, almost driving off the road. Ayers continued to drive at a high rate of speed in rainy conditions on 71 Highway, the affidavit says, weaving in and out of all three lanes. When Ayers exited 71 Hwy at 39th Street, he caused an accident with another vehicle, but did not stop. The officer pursuing Ayers was unable to continue the pursuit and lost sight of Ayers after he exited at 39th Street.

Ayers eventually wrecked into a parked car on Wayne Avenue. A police sergeant saw Ayers run from the vehicle towards Highland Avenue. The sergeant located an open garage door of an abandoned residence at 4316 Highland Avenue and heard noises inside. A perimeter was set up and Ayers was eventually taken into custody inside the residence. Ayers had two 12-gauge shotgun shells in his right front pants pocket at the time of his arrest.

The Mercury had major damage, and was towed from the scene. Inside the vehicle, officers found a loaded New England 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun on the driver’s side floorboard. Two more shotgun shells were found on the floor next to the shotgun.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Ayers has prior felony convictions for burglary, theft and criminal damage, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections. He was on state parole at the time of the alleged offense.

By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post

Extreme northwest Missouri continues to battle floodwaters, even as flooding on the Missouri River moves downstream.

Atchison County Emergency Management Deputy Director Mark Manchester says three levees in the county have failed and the community of Watson has been surrounded by water and cut off from the rest of the county.

Manchester is grateful for one thing: no deaths so far.

“The levees can be fixed, homes can be repaired, roads can be fixed; people’s lives can’t be replaced,” Manchester says. “And, like I said, thankfully we haven’t had any injuries or anything like that.”

Flooding began in earnest with the failure of the Spencer Dam in northern Nebraska, which sent the Niobrara River cascading south. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers increased water releases from Gavins Point Dam, upstream on the Missouri River, to relieve pressure on Nebraska. But, all that water washed over private levees downstream, sending water over Interstate 29 in southwestern Iowa, forcing the closure of I-29 at Rock Port.

It didn’t stop there.

A levee failed west of Watson, which now finds itself an island. Another levee failed two miles north of Highway 136 and a third was overtopped and collapsed between Rock Creek and Mill Creek.

Manchester says, as bad as the current situation is, he is concerned about the near future.

“A lot of levee damage out there,” Manchester says. “If this turns out to be a wet spring, summer, we get a lot of rains, and the levees haven’t had a chance to get repaired yet, then we could be looking at flooding again later in the year. We don’t know.”

As the flooding in extreme northwest Missouri grew worse, the Missouri Department of Transportation moved to closure of I-29 south, diverting northbound traffic to U.S. 71 just north of St. Joseph.

Manchester says that with the failure of private levees in Iowa and Missouri it makes it difficult to estimate when things might return to normal.

“This is such a different ballgame with the number of breaks that have occurred to our north and the number of areas that are impacted,” according to Manchester. “So, we really don’t know at this time how soon this is going to be over.”

The National Weather Service forecasts the Missouri River to crest Friday morning at just over 29 feet, which would be just below the level reached in 2011. The record crest of slightly higher than 32 feet was reached in 1993. The water level on the river is expect to drop quickly to below major flood stage by the end of the weekend.

HASKELL COUNTY —One person died in an accident just before 7p.m. Wednesday in Haskell County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2012 Harley Davidson motorcycle driven by Richard Hidalgo, 71, Plains, was westbound on U.S. 56 behind a 2015 Chevy Silverado driven by John Giesbrecht-Fehr, 34, Ulysses. The motorcycle ran into the side of the pickup’s trailer as the Chevy slowed down and turned North on to County road OO.

Hidalgo was transported to Santanta District Hospital where he died. Giesbrecht-Fehr was not injured. Hidalgo was not wearing a helmet, according to the KHP.