DETROIT (AP) — Ford is recalling more than 874,000 F-Series pickup trucks with engine block heaters in the U.S. and Canada because they can catch fire.
The recall covers certain F-150s from the 2015 through 2019 model years, as well as the 2017 through 2019 F-250, 350, 450 and 550.
The company says in documents posted Friday on the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website that water and contaminants can get into the heater cable and cause corrosion. That can cause electrical shorts and possible fires. Engine block heaters warm the engines so they can start and warm up faster in extreme cold temperatures.
The company says the risk of fire happens only when the block heater cable is plugged into an electrical outlet.
Ford has received three reports of fires in Canada, but none in the U.S. Minor property damage was reported in one incident, but there haven’t been any reports of injuries, Ford said in a statement.
Dealers will inspect and seal the cable or replace the heaters if needed. The recall is expected to start in the U.S. on Jan. 7.
F-Series pickups are the top-selling vehicle in the United States.
OVERLAND PARK (AP) — Outgoing Republican Kansas Congressman Kevin Yoder says President Donald Trump’s message and style fall flat with suburban voters, particularly woman.
The Kansas City Star reports that Yoder spoke to the paper’s editorial board in the waning days of representing a district that includes a mix of Kansas City suburbs and poorer city neighborhoods. He lost in November to Democrat Sharice Davids, a Native American and LGBT lawyer, making him among dozens of suburban Republicans being swept out of office.
Yoder says criticizing the president wouldn’t work. He said that voting for something the president supports, brands lawmakers as Trump backers.
He says he stylizes himself as a peacemaker, not a bomb thrower. He says the most successful people are the ones who go on talk shows and say incendiary things.
WASHINGTON — Geoffrey Rotich pleaded guilty to aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false income tax return and making a false bankruptcy declaration, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Stephen R. McAllister of the District of Kansas.
According to documents filed with the court, Rotich owned and operated Inventax, a tax preparation business in Shawnee, Kansas. In March 2013, Rotich willfully aided and assisted in the preparation and filing of an individual’s 2012 individual income tax return that he knew contained false claims for education expenses and other deductions. Rotich also knowingly filed a fraudulent bankruptcy petition, which failed to disclose his interest in Inventax and to completely identify all of his bank accounts.
U.S. District Judge Daniel D. Crabtree scheduled sentencing for March 21, 2019. Rotich faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison for the tax count and a maximum sentence of three years in prison for the bankruptcy fraud count. Rotich also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney McAllister commended special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations, who conducted the investigation, and Trial Attorney Timothy M. Russo of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Christopher Oakley of the District of Kansas, who prosecuted this case, and the U.S. Trustee’s Office in Wichita, Kansas for their substantial assistance.
BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. (AP) — The parent company of Caribou Coffee and Bruegger’s Bagels says hackers gained access to customer information at 265 of its stores, mostly in Minnesota.
The Minnesota-based company says the data breach occurred between Aug. 28 and Dec. 3. Caribou says it’s possible that customer name and credit card information may have been taken.
The company didn’t say how many people may have been affected. But it says about 200 of the affected stores are in Minnesota, while the rest are in Wisconsin, South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, North Carolina, Colorado, Florida, Georgia and Kansas.
The affected Kansas location is in Merriam.
The company says payments made through Caribou Coffee Perks accounts or other loyalty accounts weren’t affected, nor were orders placed online with associated bagel shops.
Caribou says it believes the breach has been contained but advises customers to monitor their credit card statements and credit reports.
ELLSWORTH (AP) — Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore has been making holiday visits to Kansas inmates.
The Kansas City Star reports that Moore stopped Wednesday at the Ellsworth Correctional Facility. Moore talked about his Christian faith, his family and took questions from an audience of about 200 for more than an hour. During his visit, Moore put his hand on one inmate’s shoulder and prayed with him.
Moore said God “is not impressed with the general manager of a baseball team.” He says, “It’s our job, it’s our responsibility, to use that gift as a platform to help others.”
He also made a stop Tuesday at the prison in Larned with Matt Fulks, director of Moore’s “C” You In The Major Leagues Foundation, which seeks to promote character and community.
A bus was involved in an accident in Finney County on Thursday afternoon.
Kelsey B. Kelley, 32, of Garden City was talking on her cell phone when she pulled forward at a traffic stop on U.S. Highway 50 at milepost 69 and rear ended the bus, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol report.
No one on the bus was injured. The accident happened at 3:40 p.m.. It was unclear in the report who was on the bus at the time of the crash.
Kelley reported possible injuries at the time of the accident, but was not transported to the hospital via ambulance.
The driver of the bus, Maria I Ortiz-Corrales, 31, of Garden City, reported no injuries.
A state audit of Kansas’s only juvenile corrections facility uncovered allegations of violence between staff members and sexual relationships between workers and the underage inmates.
Seven respondents to a survey of current and former Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex staff said they had been assaulted or attacked by other staff. NOMIN UJIYEDIIN / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
A survey attempted to reach 229 current and former employees of the Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex in Topeka. Only 48 responded.
But of those responding, seven people reported being attacked or assaulted by other staff. There were three reports of sexual relationships between staff and youth at the facility.
Other comments alleged that the facility falsified metrics by removing residents from solitary confinement during auditors’ visits.
The Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex in Topeka housed 171 youth in July 2018, when the state conducted an audit of the facility’s workplace culture. CREDIT NOMIN UJIYEDIIN / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
Staff at the Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit said that the number of responses was too low to draw definitive conclusions, but the comments were still cause for concern. The audit did not verify the responses, which were anonymous.
“The responses do provide some insight into the culture at the facility,” wrote Legislative Post Auditor Justin Stowe in the report.
Kansas state Sen. Anthony Hensley and state Rep. John Alcala requested the audit following the assault of a KJCC employee in December 2017. Kyle Rohr, then superintendent of the facility, was convicted of battery this July for grabbing an accountant’s arm after she failed to gather enough volunteers for a Christmas party. Rohr resigned following the conviction.
Alcala said he was concerned about the work environment at the facility and the culture of management at the Kansas Department of Corrections.
“No one should have to be working in that type of environment,” he said. “Physical contact, from staff to staff, employee to employee, should be zero tolerance.”
As of July’s audit, KJCC housed 171 residents aged 13 through 21. The Topeka facility provides maximum- and medium-security detention for young people convicted of charges that would be considered felonies if they were adults.
The state previously audited the KJCC in 2012, finding issues with management, safety, training and staff discipline. A follow-up audit in 2015 found that some of the problems had been resolved, while others, like outdated policies and inadequate supervision of youth at the facility, were not adequately addressed.
This year’s audit received fewer responses and revealed mixed perspectives. Six respondents to the survey agreed with the statement that “Employee morale at KJCC is high,” while 23 employees disagreed. Sixteen respondents agreed that “Appropriate actions are taken when staff violate policies,” while 21 disagreed. Twenty-three respondents agreed that they feel safe working at the facility and 12 disagreed.
Some survey respondents agreed that they felt intimidated or threatened by co-workers or management. Some agreed that they feared retaliation from peers or management.
“Staff should never be in fear of termination on a daily basis and many are scared if they ‘screw up,’ they will be fired. Even for minor things,” commented one respondent.
Another survey comment: “Anyone that speaks out about staff safety or any issues is targeted until the staff can no longer take the abuse and quits.”
The audit also received multiple comments reflecting “a pervasive ‘boys’ club’ mentality that provides preferential treatment to favored staff and encourages others to quit if they are unhappy,” and lenient treatment of residents “which puts staff in danger.”
Andy Brienzo, who conducted the audit, said the results couldn’t be projected onto every KJCC employee, but they accurately reflected the opinions of the 48 respondents.
“When you have a number of people saying similar things, or saying the same thing on a survey,” he said in a phone interview, “that lends some gravity to what they’re saying.”
Kansas Department of Corrections spokesman Samir Arif declined to comment on personnel matters. He said allegations of sexual assault are investigated according to guidelines set by the federal Prison Rape Elimination Act.
“It is absolutely the duty of every staff member of the Kansas Department of Corrections to report if there are sexual assault allegations,” Arif said.
Arif said the department had a “zero tolerance” policy for sexual abuse, but he did not clarify whether the policy included termination of employment or prosecution. Under Kansas law, incarcerated people are unable to consent to sexual activities with corrections staff.
Mike Fonkert, a juvenile justice advocate at nonprofit Kansas Appleseed, said the survey results reflected a need for change at the management level.
“These are the kids with the highest needs,” he said. “If we’ve got a facility that has infighting and staff problems… it’s not difficult to imagine that they’re not getting what they need.”
Alcala, who requested the KJCC audit, agreed.
“Any time you’re talking about a hostile work environment, physical contact, sexual assault or sexual affairs, I think that is a priority,” Alcala said. “If the corrections director hasn’t seen that and looked at that and immediately addressed it, what does that tell you?”
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A monthly survey of rural bankers in parts of 10 Plains and Western states suggests the regional economy is growing.
The overall index of the Creighton University Rural Mainstreet survey for December climbed back above growth neutral to hit 54.2, compared with 49.9 in November.
Any score above 50 suggests a growing economy in the months ahead, while a score below 50 indicates a shrinking economy.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the surveys over the past several months indicate the regional economy is expanding outside of agriculture.
The survey’s confidence index slumped to 44.3 from November’s 47.0, and Goss says tariffs, trade tensions and weak agriculture commodity prices harmed the economic outlook of bank CEOs.
Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.
WICHITA (AP) — The number of Kansas high school athletes who go on to compete at the state’s junior colleges has plummeted since out-of-state roster restrictions were eliminated.
The Wichita Eagle reports that the number of Kansas football players in the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference has declined by 80 percent, from 318 in 2016 to 64 this season.
Before the rule change, Kansas kids made up around 67 percent of the conference. Now, there are more players from Georgia, 114; and Florida, 90. Kansas kids make up just 11 percent of the Jayhawk Conference.
In basketball, Kansas participation in the last two years has declined by 53 percent in men’s basketball and 28 percent in women’s basketball.
Wichita Northwest coach Steve Martin said he fought the change because he “saw this coming.”
At approximately 7:45 p.m. on Saturday, police responded to an armed robbery call at the Kwik Shop, 710 W. 29th Street South in Wichita, according to officer Charley Davidson. A 27-year-old female employee reported an unknown suspect entered the store, pointed a handgun at her and demanded money. Money was given to the suspect who fled on foot.
Jermaine Baker-photo Sedgwick Co.
Police responded to similar robberies at at the Kwik Shop, 3959 S. Hydraulic at 8:15p.m. and another at the Kwik Shop, 3601 E. 47th Street South at 8:25p.m. and the Quick Trip, 2821 E. 31st Street South at 8:35p.m.
Through an investigation, police identified and three suspects and have arrested 32-year-old Jermaine Baker, 25-year-old Shaiquille Harris and 27-year-old Brelen Vonfange all of of Wichita on three counts of aggravated robbery and warrants.
The case will be presented to the United States Attorney’s Office, according to Davidson.
LAWRENCE (AP) — An affidavit alleges University of Kansas football player Pooka Williams punched a woman in the stomach and grabbed her by the throat earlier this month.
The Lawrence Journal-World reported the 18-year-old woman showed the officer text messages from Williams admitting to punching her in the arms during the Dec. 5 incident. The document says the officer also found the victim had bruises on her arms and side.
Williams reportedly told police that he pushed the woman when he saw her in a room with other men at an apartment building. Both have said they were in an intimate relationship.
His attorney entered a not guilty on his behalf to a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery during a Dec. 7 court hearing.
Coach Les Miles says Pooka is suspended pending investigation.
TOPEKA (AP) — A new report by a coalition of legislators and advocates says Kansas must fix its troubled child welfare system now or more vulnerable children will suffer.
The Kansas City Star reported Thursday’s document details problems ranging from racial disparities in children removed from their homes to children lingering in state custody too long. The group spent the past year hosting town halls.
A recent review of the Kansas Department for Children and Families also exposed high caseloads, alarming turnover and lack of timely training. At the same time, a record number of children have been in foster care.
Among the coalition’s recommendations is to improve funding for food stamp benefits and other programs targeting needy families. It advocates for keeping more children in their homes and addressing the racial disparity.
