GEARY COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects on drug charges after a traffic stop.

Deputies stopped a vehicle driven by Zeb Tefft-Young, 23,  Elkins, West Virginia on Interstate 70 at Flint Hills Boulevard.

They arrested Tefft-Young  on suspicion of Driving Without A License, Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Controlled Substance, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, No Drug Tax Stamp, Transporting an Open Container, No Proof of Insurance, Improper Driving On laned Roadway and Defective Tail Lamp.

They also arrested the passenger 30-year-old Nickoli Sowa on suspicion of Possession of Marijuana, Possession of Controlled Substance, No Drug Tax Stamp, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Transporting an Open Container.

Both were still in custody late Monday, according to online jail records.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a 47-year-old has been arrested at a Colorado hotel where he was found with a former 14-year-old castmate from a Kansas community theater production of “Elf: The Musical.”

A sergeant at the Montezuma County Detention Center in Colorado says Kansas authorities are seeking a charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor against Michael Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald was arrested Thursday night at the hotel in Cortez, Colorado, two days after the teen went missing from her Topeka home.

Fitzgerald initially played the role of Walter, the father of main character Buddy the Elf, in last month’s Topeka Civic Theatre production.

UPDATE: Chloe Hunnicutt has been located in Cortez, Colorado. She is safe and is now in police protective custody until she can be safely reunited with her family here in Topeka. We would like to thank everyone that helped in locating Chloe. https://t.co/uJ5JLBeuAB

— Topeka Police (@Topeka_Police) January 25, 2019

The teen was part of the ensemble. The theater group’s president and CEO, Vickie Brokke, told The Topeka Capital-Journal that Fitzgerald was replaced after cast members expressed concerns.

WICHITA – A retired Kansas Highway Patrol trooper was sentenced Monday to a year on federal probation for lying to the FBI during an investigation into illegal gambling in Wichita, according to U.S. Attorney Stephan McAllister.

Michael Frederiksen, 53, Derby, Kan., was convicted in a jury trial in May on one count of making false statements to FBI investigators. During trial, prosecutors presented evidence that in 2014, while Frederiksen was still a Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper, he was filmed taking part in an illegal cash poker game. On Feb. 23, 2017, he was interviewed by FBI agents investigating illegal gambling businesses in Wichita.

The FBI had a video of Frederiksen playing in an illegal cash poker game held Feb. 12, 2014, at 922 1/2 E. Douglas in the Old Town district of Wichita. The site was equipped with poker tables, a cabinet for valuables and poker chips, video surveillance equipment, liquor and snacks. Staff included dealers, someone serving food and a waitress serving drinks and giving massages to the players.

An undercover investigator was at the game posing as a gambler. At one point, the undercover officer tried to use his phone to take photos. The men running the game took him aside and told him he was making other players nervous. They allowed the undercover officer to continue playing, but moved the game to other locations after that night.

During an FBI interview, Frederiksen made false statements, downplaying his involvement in illegal poker and his relationship with the operator of the poker game.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge cleared the way Monday for a lawsuit to proceed against a Kansas City-area school district accused of violating students’ free speech and free press rights last year during a nationwide walkout protesting gun violence.

U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson ruled the students have presented a plausible claim that the Shawnee Mission School District violated their First Amendment rights by stopping speakers from talking about gun control or gun violence. The 17-minute walkout on April 20 was sparked by last year’s school shooting in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 people dead.

Robinson also found that the students have a plausible claim under the Kansas Student Publications Act after a school official confiscated a camera from a student journalist to prevent her from photographing the event for the student newspaper. The state law, passed in 1992, aims to protect student journalists from censorship of political or controversial material.

The judge said that the school district’s act of confiscating the camera — alleged to have been loaned to the student by the school to be used in her capacity as a student journalist — suppressed material that would have been used in a student publication.

Robinson also found that former interim Superintendent Kenneth Southwick is not personally liable for the alleged constitutional violations. The judge dismissed those claims against Southwick while allowing other parts of the litigation against the district to continue.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas sued on behalf of students, accusing the district of suppressing student’s political speech on campus “merely to avoid controversy.” The school district countered in court documents its actions were justified because of concern that others might have wrongly assumed the students’ voices reflected the district’s position.

Student organizers at various schools informed administrators in advance that they intended to participate as part of the national walkout, and the school informed parents that the students would be allowed to participate without risking discipline, according to the filing.

But the district then directed administrators to prohibit students from discussing guns, gun control and school shootings — the central topics of the planned protest — during the walkout, the judge noted.

Among the plaintiffs is an eighth-grade student enrolled in Hocker Grove school, identified in court documents only as M.C., who organized her school’s walkout. She spoke two lines of her prepared speech, stating “the school administration wants us to keep this about school violence and not about the real issue here. The real issue is gun violence” before an administrated interrupted her and ordered to step down from the speaking platform. She complied without protest, and the administrator abruptly ended the event. About 50 students remained outside.

Several students were suspended or given detention, including M.C. who was sent home for “being the most disruptive child in the school,” according to the court documents.

At Shawnee Mission North High School, more than 100 students remained outside the school after the approved walkout ended to discuss the topics the administrators had prohibited. The school let them remain outside for that “unsanctioned” event, except for student journalists, the court documents said.

A high school junior identified only as S.W. in the lawsuit was ordered to hand over the camera she was using that had been checked out to her for the year to use in her role as student journalist. The administrator also confiscated at least one other camera during the protest, according to the filing.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — One person died in an accident just before 2p.m. Monday in Wichita.

A Ford Escort driven by a 28-year-old woman was northbound on Webb Road.  The driver was attempting to make a left turn into a private parking lot and collided head-on with a southbound Chevy Cavalier driven by a 34-year-old man, according to officer Paul Cruz.

An 82-year-old female passenger in the Chevy was pronounced dead at the scene. The drivers were transported to a local hospital for treatment.

Webb Road at 35^thStreet was closed in both directions while police investigate the crash, according to Cruz.

Police have not released names of the victims.

By STEPHEN KORANDA

Republicans and Democrats are braced for a fight over whether state government in Kansas should cash in on the ramifications of the 2017 federal tax cut. The sides are staking out their positions and could come to loggerheads sooner rather than later.

Republican legislative leaders want to push the tempo and pass legislation in time for the upcoming filing season to return what they call a “windfall” to Kansas taxpayers. Democrats want to hold off and say lawmakers need to wait and see if there even is a windfall.

When Congress, at the behest of President Donald Trump, overhauled the federal tax code in late 2017, that meant a minority of Kansans who itemized on their state tax returns could no longer do so. Some Kansans will end up paying more to the state without the option to itemize.

At stake are millions of dollars. Estimates vary, but the boon to the state from the federal overhaul may be upwards of $100 million. Legislation could give all of that back to Kansas taxpayers by letting them itemize again and tweaking business tax rules. The cost to the state could be bigger if lawmakers include other tax relief.

Republican Senate President Susan Wagle has created a special committee to swiftly tackle the issue.

“Provide relief to Kansas families and businesses, allowing them to fully benefit from the Trump tax cuts,” Wagle urged in a statement.

The committee could debate and even vote on a bill as soon as next week.

Wagle has reportedly called for them to come up with a clean bill, one that would return the windfall and not get bogged down by delving into other areas of tax policy.

An effort to address the windfall last year narrowly failed with Democrats and some Republicans concerned that the legislation had ballooned with unrelated tax cuts that prompted unanswered questions about the financial impact to the state budget.

Sen. Caryn Tyson, chairwoman of the standing tax committee, was the Senate’s top negotiator in that failed effort. She is conspicuously absent from Wagle’s new special committee.

Still, Tyson would support legislation that comes out of the special committee.

“This money was intended for the Kansas taxpayer,” she said in an interview. “It was not intended to grow Kansas government.”

Tyson wants a fix in place before most Kansans file their 2018 taxes. Democrats say it would be more prudent to wait until the state has a better handle on collections.

The top Democrat in the Kansas House, Rep. Tom Sawyer, points out that the federal tax cut came with a lot of changes to the tax code — some with positive effects on the state coffers and others with negative effects.

Sawyer said the updated state revenue forecast in May will reveal the true impact of the federal overhaul.

“I think it’s really way too soon to work on this issue,” he said.

Kansas has been riding a tax rollercoaster over the last eight years. The 2012 tax cuts were followed by budget deficits and then tax increases. In 2017, lawmakers pulled the plug on the 2012 tax cuts by reversing nearly all of them.

Kansas is now projected to have around $900 million in reserves, and Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly doesn’t want to disturb the state’s newfound financial stability.

When asked if she’d support simply fixing the itemizing change, the governor reiterated her opposition to tinkering with taxes.

“We have no idea if there’s a windfall,” Kelly said Thursday.  “Let the dust settle on everything.”

If there is a windfall but Republicans in the Senate push a broader bill, Sawyer and other Democrats are ready with legislation in the House that only fixes the itemizing issue for taxpayers. But the timing is critical.

“I think it has broad support in our caucus,” Sawyer said. “I think it’d be better if we did it later in the session when we know hard numbers.”

Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda.

SEWARD COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a man and woman on drug charges after a weekend arrest.

On Saturday, police responded to a 911 hang up call at a home in the 200 block of W. Pancake in Liberal, according to police captain Robert Rogers.

Upon their arrival, they learned that a 27-year-old woman had been involved in a verbal argument with her 34-year-old husband.  He left the scene prior to officers’ arrival.

While talking to her, the officers noticed that she appeared to under the influence of methamphetamine, according to Rogers.  The room was in complete disarray.  There were three children, ages 5, 3, and 1, in the room with her.  The children appeared to be uncared for.  A search of the room revealed syringes containing suspected methamphetamine within easy reach of the children.  It was also determined that the only food available for the children was a box of club crackers and dry cereal.

Police took all three children into protective custody and to Southwest Medical Center for treatment.  It was determined that one of the children tested positive for methamphetamines.

Police arrested the mother for possession of methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia, aggravated endangering a child and child abuse.  Police later located the man and arrested him on similar requested charges.   Police have not released the names of the parents.

SALINE COUNTY —  One person died in a motorcycle accident just after 4p.m. Sunday in Salina.

A 2008 Harley Davidson motorcycle driven by Blaine K. Smith, 26, Salina, was westbound on Franklin Street at a high rate of speed, according to police Sergeant Brent Rupert.

The driver was unable to stop at the intersection of Custer Street.  The driver laid the motorcycle down. It flipped over the curb and came to rest in a yard in the 800 Block of Custer.

Smith was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing a helmet, according to Rupert.

The accident is still under investigation. Alcohol is believed to have played a factor in the accident, according to Rupert.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a home burglary and asking for help to identify a suspect.

Just before 9p.m. Friday, police were dispatched to a residential burglary in the 500 block of north Stratford in Wichita, according to a media release.

Through the investigation an unknown suspect entered the residence and took items from the home.

On Monday, police released security camera images of the suspect in an attempt to help identify him.

Anyone with information is asked to please call Crime Stoppers at 316 267-2111 or 911

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A book by the daughter of the BTK serial killer about finding out that her father had killed 10 people in the Wichita area will be released Tuesday.

Kerri Rawson’s memoir, “A Serial Killer’s Daughter,” details the 40-year-old’s panicked descent into denial and depression after the 2005 arrest of her father, Dennis Rader.

His self-coined moniker was BTK, which stood for “bind, torture, kill.” The book being put out by Thomas Nelson Publishers also includes letters he sent her from jail.

Rawson, who now lives in Michigan, has said that she hopes her story helps others wade through their own emotional turmoil. In the book’s epilogue, Rawson talks about finally finding her own peace. She says she misses her father, “the one I mainly knew.”

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating two more armed robberies and one attempted armed robbery that occurred Sunday in Wichita.

Just after 4:42 a.m., police responded to an armed robbery at the Quik Trip, in the1000 block of East Douglas, according to officer Paul Cruz.

A 21-year-old store employee reports an unknown suspect entering the business, armed with a handgun and demanding money.  The suspect identified as a black male wearing a hoodie took cash then fled the store.

Just after 6:15 a.m., police responded to an attempted armed robbery at the Petrol America,  in the 2700 block of North Amidon. A 57-year-old store employee told police an unknown black male suspect wearing a hoodie entered the business armed with a handgun and demanding money. The suspect fled the store and no loss or injuries were reported.

At 6:48 a.m., police responded to an armed robbery at the Casey’s General Store, in the 1100 block of West Central. A 40-year-old store employee told police an unknown black male suspect wearing a hoodie entered the business armed with a handgun and demanded money.

WPD investigators are currently investigating all three robberies to determine if they are connected.

By STEPHAN BISAHA

A hot job market and the increasing cost of tuition have slowed the growth in the number of Kansans earning a college education nearly to a halt. Educators are worried that will worsen shortages of high-skilled workers and impede prosperity long term. 

“It is concerning,” said Donna Ginther, an economist at the University of Kansas. “Having these types of degrees and certificates are very important for the future of economic growth in the state and the country.” 

Kansas’ public colleges and universities granted 40,856 undergraduate degrees and certificates last year, according to the latest progress report from the Kansas Board of Regents. That’s virtually the same as five years ago and well short of the state’s goals. 

Kansas is nine years into the 10-year “Foresight 2020” plan designed to increase the number of Kansans getting post-secondary education and to better align state college and university programs with economic needs. 

The Regents have found some success, particularly in technical education. 

An initiative started in 2012 greatly increased the number of Kansans earning college credit before they graduated from high school. More than 10,000 students participated last year. And many of those students have continued technical education programs after high school, contributing to the growth of technical colleges by more than a third from 2012 to 2017. 

Yet most of the state’s other colleges and universities have gone the other direction. 

The headcount at community colleges shrank by 12 percent between 2012 and 2017. State universities grew less than half of a percent, with many seeing declines. 

There are likely not enough students currently enrolled for the main objective in Foresight 2020 — more than 53,000 degrees and certificates earned by the end of this decade — to be achieved. 

Much of the declining enrollment at Kansas colleges and universities is among white students. Their enrollment numbers have dropped 12 percent since 2010, according to data in the Foresight 2020 progress report. Enrollment by Hispanic students has grown the most, by more than 42 percent. 

The progress report blames several factors outside of the Regents’ control, including the Kansas economy. The low unemployment rate means Kansans are able to find jobs without a college degree. 

In the early days of the recovery from the 2008 recession, college enrollment increased in Kansas as elsewhere. Unemployed Americans decided to go back to college instead of hunting for non-existent jobs. 

The reverse was true as the economy continued to improve. In 2013, enrollment in Kansas colleges plunged as the Kansas unemployment rate hit 5.3 percent. 

But while more Kansans are now employed, many remain shut out of high-skill, high-paying occupations that offer a pathway to the middle class. 

“A high school education is not going to cut for economic prosperity,” Ginther said. 

Ginther and others also worry that high-skill industries such as aerospace manufacturing that Kansas is trying to foster will experience increasing workforce shortages without more Kansans completing a college education. 

Rising tuition has also driven students away from Kansas schools. 

Students have born more of the cost of their education at public universities as the state repeatedly cut over the past decade. 

Higher tuition could be an outsized barrier for poorer students. The number of Pell Grant recipients at Kansas universities, students receiving grant money for college from the federal government, has been declining since 2015. 

Studies have shown a link between increasing tuition and decreasing enrollment, though there are disputes over the size of the effect. What’s indisputable is the massive leap in cost colleges have seen over the years. At Kansas State University, the sticker price for a semester has increased 57 percent over the last ten years. 

“When I started at K-State in the late ‘60s I paid out-of-state tuition and was able to work my way through the university with summer jobs and employment through the school year,” said Pat Bosco, the vice president for student life at Kansas State University. “That’s no longer the case now.” 

Stephan Bisaha reports on education for the Kansas News Service.  Follow him on @SteveBisaha.