OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — Overland Park police say a 17-year-old male was fatally shot in his home and the case is being investigated as a homicide.

Police spokesman John Lacy says officers were called to the teenager’s apartment Wednesday evening.

The preliminary investigation indicates to victim had two visitors and a fight broke out before he was shot.

Neighbors told police they heard a disturbance in the victim’s apartment and saw two men running down the stairs.

The victim’s name and any information about possible suspects have not been released.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The number of lawsuits alleging that a private Catholic college in Wichita unfairly fired employees has grown to four with the filing of two new ones.

Former Newman University counseling program director John Walker claims in one of the new suits that his 2018 firing was retaliation for reporting information about an October 2017 overdose death at an off-campus party. The gathering led to the temporary suspension of three baseball players.

The other suit was filed by former School of Social Work director Sue Ellen Gardner, who says she was terminated without good cause.

Newman spokesman Clark Schafer called Walker’s allegations “without merit” and said the school couldn’t comment on Gardner’s lawsuit because it hadn’t been formally served.

A former Newman education professor and human resources director also have sued.

GEARY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect on DUI allegations following an accident just before 5:30p.m. Wednesday in Geary County.

A 2008 Ford pickup driven by Bruce Bowie, 59, Ellsworth, was southbound on the Kansas 18 Bypass and failed to stop at the stop sign, according to the Geary County Sheriff’s Department. The Ford collided with a 2011 Nissan driven by Frank Smith, Junction City.

Deputies arrested Bowie on suspicion of Driving Under the Influence, Transporting an Open Container and Failure to stop at a stop sign.  Smith was not injured, according to the sheriff’s department.

RENO COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating numerous reports of counterfeit cash and have made an arrest.

Police in Hutchinson have arrested 34-year-old Joshua Downey, 34, for two counts of counterfeiting money, theft by deception as well as drug charges.

According to police, on January 12, Downey purchased a computer and monitor using a fake $100 bill. On January 18, he purchased an iPhone using fake $20 bills.

When police arrested him, he was also in possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.

His is being held on a $7,500 Bond.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A man who was driving a vehicle when a passenger started shooting at a Kansas City area home, killing a sleeping 3-year-old boy, has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.

26-year-old SirTerry Stevenson pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder and three other charges in the May 2015 death of Amorian Hale.

Investigators say Stevenson was driving a vehicle when a passenger fired at a Kansas City home where the boy’s family lived. Bullets from an assault-style rifle struck the house. The boy was struck in the head and died instantly.

The passenger who fired the shot, Dominique Marchbanks, was sentenced to life plus 165 years in prison in December 2018.

Two adults and three other children in the home were not injured.

MINNEAPOLIS – General Mills has announced a voluntary national recall of five-pound bags of its Gold Medal Unbleached Flour with a better-if-used-by date of April 20, 2020.

According to a media release from the FDA, the recall is being issued for the potential presence of salmonella, which was discovered during sampling of the five-pound bag product. This recall is being issued out of an abundance of care as General Mills has not received any direct consumer reports of confirmed illnesses related to this product.

This recall only affects this one date code of Gold Medal Unbleached Flour five-pound bags. All other types of Gold Medal Flour are not affected by this recall.

Consumers are asked to check their pantries and dispose of the product affected by this recall. Consumers who have had to discard products covered by this recall may contact General Mills Consumer Relations at 1-800-230-8103 or visit www.generalmills.com/flour.

“Food safety is our top priority, and though we have not had any confirmed illnesses, we are voluntarily recalling this specific lot of Gold Medal Unbleached Flour to prevent potential illnesses,” said Jim Murphy, President of General Mills Meals and Baking Division. “This recall does not involve any other flour products, and we are continuing to educate consumers that flour is not a ‘ready to eat’ ingredient. Anything you make with flour must be cooked or baked before eating.”

This voluntary recall includes the following code date currently in stores or consumers’ pantries:

Gold Medal Unbleached All Purpose 5LB Flour
Package UPC: 000-16000-19610-0
Recalled Better if Used by Date: 20APR2020KC

Healthy persons infected with Salmonella often experience fever, diarrhea (which may be bloody), nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain. In rare circumstances, infection with Salmonella can result in the organism getting into the bloodstream and producing more severe illnesses such as arterial infections (i.e., infected aneurysms), endocarditis and arthritis.

Remember

Do not eat uncooked dough or batter made with raw flour. Flour is made from wheat that is grown outdoors where bacteria are often present. Flour is typically not treated to kill bacteria during the normal milling process.

Actions you should take

1. Do not eat or taste dough or batter made with raw flour.
2. Properly cook or bake food made with flour. Bacteria (such as Salmonella) that might be found in the raw flour will be eliminated.
3. Check your pantry and throw away any products that match the recalled product listed below. If possible, save the product name, UPC (bar code) and Better if Used By Date to help our Consumer Relations team assist you with a replacement coupon. If you no longer have the flour package or have any doubts, throw away the flour.
4. If you have any questions about this recall or need a replacement coupon for any product included in this recall, complete this form or call our Consumer Relations team at 1-800-230-8103.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is deflecting speculation that he might run for Senate in Kansas, saying he has a “very full plate” in his current job.

Pompeo was asked Wednesday night in a Fox News television interview about whether he might run next year for the seat held by retiring Republican Sen. Pat Roberts. He stopped short of ruling it out but said his “singular focus” is his work as the nation’s top diplomat under President Donald Trump.

He acknowledged receiving encouragement from several Republicans to seek the seat. At least seven Republicans have said they’re interested in running.

Pompeo represented a Wichita-area district in the House for six years before Trump named him CIA director in 2017. He became secretary of state in April 2018.

Cabela’s King Kat Tournament Trail has announced that the 2020 King Kat Championship Classic will be held October 25th and 26th, 2020 at Milford Lake, according to a media release from the Geary County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.

The championship will bring two-person teams from across the United States to fish for catfish at Milford Lake. Over $100,000 in prize money and outdoor products will be awarded to top finishers.

Jeremey Coe, Cabela’s King Kat Tournament Director added, “We are excited to be returning to Milford Lake with the King Kat Trail. It’s been several years in the process setting these events up an we can’t thank the staff at the Geary County CVB enough for all they do in making these events a success! Milford Lake i one of the top destinations in the sport of catfishing!

Geary County Commissioner Charles Stimatze stated that the event will demonstrate why Junction City was named in the past as one of the Top 200 Towns to Live for Anglers and Hunters.

The Milford Lake King Kat Qualifier will be on March 30th, 2019 at the Farnum Creek Boat Ramp at Milford Lake.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A suspect in the ambush, kidnapping and rape of a Johnson County sheriff’s deputy wants to withdraw his guilty plea.

23-year-old Brady Newman-Caddell, of Independence, Missouri, was scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty in May to the attack.

Instead, he asked to withdraw his plea and go to trial. His attorney, Zane Todd, then withdrew from the case.

His co-defendant, 26-year-old William Luth, of Blue Springs, Missouri, previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 41 years in prison.

Court testimony indicated the two men kidnapped the deputy as she arrived for work, forced her into a car and took turns raping and sodomizing her.

Newman-Caddell and Luth also are suspected of attacking an Independence, Missouri, woman several months before the deputy was attacked.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A judge has sentenced a Lincoln man to prison for burglarizing the Lincoln home of Nebraska football coach Scott Frost.

Lancaster County District Judge Susan Strong on Tuesday sentenced 21-year-old Andrew M. Williams to three to five years in prison. He could be eligible for parole in just over a year.
In December, Williams pleaded guilty to burglarizing Frost’s home on July 29 as well as possession of methamphetamine in a separate case.

At the hearing, Williams apologized to Frost.

Two 17-year-olds also were arrested in connection with the burglary. They are awaiting trial in adult court.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly said she wants a review of state sentencing guidelines to reduce overcrowding in prisons, a move that could find bipartisan support in the Republican-controlled Legislature.

The Democratic governor said in an interview Tuesday with The Topeka Capital-Journal’s editorial board that she would like to see more people receiving treatment rather than spending time in a cell.

Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, R-Overland Park, said he believes finding ways to reduce the prison population “would get a lot of attention.”

“It’s been talked about not only in Kansas but nationally,” Denning said.

Most of the discussion has been is in relation to the legalization of medicinal marijuana, Denning said.

But the governor said many people in prison don’t belong there.

“Aside from overflowing prisons, they lose their job, they lose their family, and they also become unemployable,” Kelly said.

Kelly, whose first job out of college was at a boys’ prison in Illinois, told the newspaper that she wants Kansas Secretary of Corrections Roger Werholtz to evaluate the state corrections system.

Rehabilitation programs elsewhere have led to declines in recidivism, she said.

“Unless we want to give up on these people and pay for them for the rest of their lives, it’s a wise investment,” Kelly said.

LINCOLN COUNTY, NE — Law enforcement authorities arrested two people and seized 50 pounds of high grade marijuana during a traffic stop on Interstate 80 near North Platte, according to a media release from the Nebraska State Highway Patrol.

Just after 1:30 p.m. Monday, a trooper observed an eastbound 2018 Chevrolet Malibu fail to signal a lane change near mile marker 181 on I-80. During the traffic stop, the trooper became suspicious of criminal activity.

A search of the vehicle revealed 50 pounds of high grade marijuana in large garbage bags in the trunk. The marijuana was contained in vacuum sealed bags.

The driver, Thanh Ho, 51, and passenger, Joe Nguyen, 56, both of Westminster, Colorado, were arrested for possession of marijuana – more than one pound, possession with intent to deliver, and no drug tax stamp.

Both suspects remain in custody in Lincoln County, according to online jail records.