TOPEKA (AP) — Kansas has seen a big jump in syphilis cases over the past five years and a spike in the number of infants born with the sexually transmitted disease.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday that Kansas reported 152 cases of primary and secondary stage syphilis in 2018, compared with 60 in 2013. The increase was 153%.
The rate of cases per 100,000 residents grew to 5.2 in 2018 from 2.1 in 2013.
Kansas had eight cases of newborns being born with syphilis in 2018. The state had only a single reported case from 2013 through 2017.
Kansas Health and Environment Secretary Lee Norman said babies born with syphilis may be developmentally delayed, have seizures or die if the infection is not treated during a pregnancy.
HUTCHINSON — The Reno County Commission received an update on damage at the courthouse from earthquakes.
Structural engineer Brent Engelland says the only major problem seems to be the area where the dome connects with the rest of the building.
“We have what we feel is a pretty good concept to reinforce that area between the concrete and the steel,” Engelland said. “We can do it all from the inside. The area up in the middle of the dome is where the elevators rise up and it’s all an open space up there, relatively easy accessed, so we’re actually right now in the process of designing those reinforcements up there to stiffen that so we don’t have more cracking in the future.”
Before the earthquakes, the county had contractors take pictures and prepare bids to seal cracks anyway. Those contractors came back after the earthquakes to compare what was there before.
The main concern right now is cracks that could allow moisture in during the winter months. Engelland talked about having a cover on the dome during the winter months.
“What we think we would like to try to do is figure out a temporary cover for the dome area just to keep moisture out of it,” Engelland said.
Work will continue inside this winter to prepare for the work that will come on the exterior next spring.
KANSAS CITY (AP) — A Missouri judge has ordered the extradition of a suspect in a Kansas bar shooting that left four people dead and five wounded, while the search continues for a second suspect.
Court records show that the judge issued the order Tuesday after 23-year-old Javier Alatorre waived his right to fight being returned to Kansas.
Alatorre and 29-year-old Hugo Villanueva-Morales are charged with four counts of first-degree murder.
Hugo Villanueva-Morales photo KCK Police
Police say surveillance video shows Villanueva-Morales arguing with someone and being forced to leave the bar in Kansas City, Kansas, late Saturday. Police say gunfire erupted when he returned about two hours later with Alatorre, who was arrested later Sunday in Kansas City, Missouri.
Police provided no updates Tuesday on the search for Villanueva-Morales but have warned that he should be considered “dangerous.”
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Greg Orman says he has no plans to run for political office “anytime soon” after unsuccessful campaigns as an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate and governor in Kansas.
The Kansas City-area businessman made the statement in an email to supporters Tuesday touting a column for the RealClear Politics website that decried what Orman views as political corruption involving both major political parties.
He quoted Mark Twain: “There is nothing to be learned from the second kick of a mule.”
Orman received 6.5 percent of the vote in last year’s governor’s race. But he received nearly 43 percent of the vote in a race for the Senate in 2014 against longtime Republican Sen. Pat Roberts, with no Democrat running.
Roberts is not seeking re-election to the Senate in 2020.
GREENFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas truck driver alleges in a lawsuit that two rail cars were “uncontrolled” when they struck his semi as he drove over a stretch of unmarked tracks in southwest Missouri in the dark.
Brandan Bunnel’s lawsuit against BNSF Railway was moved this month from state to federal court.
The suit says the collision happened in April 2018 as Bunnel left a Dade County grain elevator after unloading cargo there. The suit says he suffered “serious, life-altering injuries” and that his truck was damaged when the rail cars slammed into the vehicle’s passenger side.
The suit says that at the time the crossing had no signs indicating the crossing was there, but that stop signs and “private railroad crossing” signs have now been placed there.
Following a trend across the Johnson County suburbs, the Overland Park City Council passed an ordinance Monday night banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
The move followed a hearing on the new non-discrimination measure in September that drew more than 50 people to a city community development committee meeting — and little opposition.
Council members adopted the ordinance on 10-1 vote on Monday.
Backers of the proposal took the Overland Park action as a landmark development.
“It’s fantastic,” said Brett Hoedl, chair of the Equality Kansas of Metro Kansas City. “We assumed it was going to go this way, but I get jittery every time we go into one of these meetings.”
He said the Overland Park ordinance could create pressure for adoption of a statewide law in Kansas banning discrimination against people based on their gender identity or sexual orientation.
The new ordinance prevents residents and employees from being denied housing, employment or services from businesses because of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Brett Hoedl celebrates the passage of an non-discrimination ordinance offering protection to the LGBTQ community. CREDIT MICHELLE TYRENE JOHNSON
Council Member Dave White voted for the ordinance, but said he wanted more teeth in the legislation. The ordinance allows fines of up to $1,000.
“We’re saying, ‘Yes, it’s illegal but we can only fine them,’” White said. “We can’t do anything more than that and none of the money goes to the person who suffered the discrimination.”
Nearly two dozen states outlaw discrimination against someone because they are LGBTQ. Missouri and Kansas are not among them.
Overland Park is the largest city in Johnson County to pass a non-discrimination ordinance. It follows Kansas City, Kansas, Lawrence, Manhattan, Merriam, Roeland Park and Prairie Village.
It appears that at least us folks who hang out at the Statehouse — and possibly the rest of voting-age Kansans —
may get dragged through the debate over who gets the final say on who gets to sit on the Kansas Supreme Court.
There are seven pretty good jobs on the high court, paying $145,600 a year (a dab more for the Chief Justice) and which include reserved indoor parking, so if they have automatic garage door openers at home, they don’t have to wear a coat to drive to work. Nice.
But choosing who gets those nice jobs is now pretty much the decision of the governor, who picks from three candidates who have been screened for qualification, or maybe weight, by the nine-member Supreme Court Nominating Commission. That commission is headed by a Kansas lawyer, and the roughly 10,000 Kansas-licensed lawyers elect one member from each congressional district to sit on the commission. The governor appoints four members, one from each congressional district, who may or may not be lawyers but generally have some free time.
Once the governor looks through the list of nominees, she/he names a winner, and the person is on the court.
Well, that’s not the way some folks look at it. They figure that lawyers choose lawyers for the majority of the commission, and those lawyers choose the nominees who will be recommended to the governor. Sort of an insiders’ deal among lawyers, they say.
Conservatives, generally, want something between that governor’s choice and the black robe, and want the Senate to have to confirm the governor’s choice—essentially veto power over an appointment they don’t like or feel may turn the court in a direction they don’t like, or maybe just a slap at lawyers winnowing the field for the court.
Some other folks figure that having a lot of lawyers on the Supreme Court Nominating Commission means that they’d probably nominate folks who have a pretty good background in the law so the governor can choose from journeymen, not apprentices.
The Special Committee on Judiciary last week suggested that the 2020 Legislature consider changing the state constitution as it deals with filling Supreme Court vacancies—getting rid of that nominating commission and letting the governor nominate a candidate who needs approval by the Senate.
The issue splits relatively oddly, even for the Kansas Legislature. Conservative Republicans don’t like Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly naming the next two members of the Supreme Court. Justice Lee Johnson and Chief Justice Lawton Nuss are retiring this year, and Kelly will get to name their replacements without Senate confirmation. That much is locked up…she’ll make her appointments before a constitutional amendment could be considered by Kansas voters.
But a constitutional amendment to give the Senate the final say and eliminate the Supreme Court Nominating Commission? That might—if approved in the Legislature by a two-thirds vote and a simple majority of Kansas voters—give the Senate the power to derail future nominations.
It puts all the power in the hands of 21 senators.
The result? Probably that lawmakers of a party different than that of the governor can blast the governor for making a bad choice, or at least a choice they don’t like. While governors for years have said they don’t specifically ask even in private meetings with the nominees just where they stand on, say, abortion or the death penalty or any number of controversial issues, don’t count on senators to even assert they won’t ask about issues, just general temperament.
Will one person make the decision about who gets to sit on the Supreme Court, or 21? And do a majority of voters care?
We’ll see…
Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at www.hawvernews.com
KANSAS CITY– Twenty defendants, primarily residents of Kansas City have been indicted for their roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy. Most of the defendants were arrested during a law enforcement operation last week that resulted in seizures of firearms, heroin and other illegal drugs, and large amounts of cash, according to the United State’s Attorney.
Errick Eugene Martin Jr., also known as “Dough Boy,” photo MDC
Ladele D. Smith, also known as “Dellio” and “Dog,” 32, Roy O. Franklin Jr., 29, David J. Duncan IV, also known as “Deei” or “DJ,” 30, Terrance R. Garner, also known as “T-Dot,” 34, Joshua D. Marchbanks, 29, Cory Tremaine Brown, also known as “Twin,” 39, Carleeon D. Lockett, also known as “Tone,” 27, Gary Othniel Toombs, 39, Errick Eugene Martin Jr., also known as “Dough Boy,” 28, Kenneth Dewayne Scott, also known as “Kenny,” 23, Cordell D. Edwards, also known as “Duke,” 31, Victor Gonzalez, also known as “Lil Vic” and “El Chavo,” 30, Michael E. Sims, also known as “Mikey,” 33, Cordarrel Lamonte Scott, also known as “DOB,” 33, Marco Rashon Maddox, 35, and Herman Graham Bell Jr., 64, all of Kansas City; Cornelius Phelps, also known as “Tim Tim,” 33, of Lee’s Summit, Mo.; Sirrico L. Franklin, also known as “Chico” and “Rico,” 28, of Raytown, Mo.; Lencorya Tiko Montrel Grady, also known as “Thick,” 44, of Springfield, Mo.; and Martin Christopher Garner, also known as “Looch” and “Lu Lu,” 32, of St. Louis, Mo., were charged in a two-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
The federal indictment was unsealed following a law enforcement operation on Wednesday, Oct. 2, in which 16 of the 20 defendants were arrested. Approximately 200 federal agents and local law enforcement officers were involved in the operation, which also resulted in the arrests of two additional individuals who have been charged with being felons in possession of firearms in separate cases related to the underlying investigation of this case.
According to court documents, investigators seized 23 firearms, approximately 350 grams of heroin, cocaine, marijuana, $75,000 in cash, scales, an apparent drug ledger, and drug packaging materials during the course of the arrest operation and accompanying search warrants. Smith, Duncan, Martin, Garner, Gonzalez, Scott, Phelps, and Bell were arrested with firearms either on their person, in their vehicle, or in their residence.
The indictment alleges that all 20 of the defendants participated in a conspiracy to distribute at least a kilogram of heroin, as well as cocaine, crack cocaine, oxycodone, codeine, and marijuana, from Jan. 1, 2011, to Oct. 1, 2019.
In addition to the drug-trafficking conspiracy, Smith, Roy Franklin, Sirrico Franklin, and Toombs are charged with maintaining a residence for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, and using controlled substances.
Officers executed a search warrant at a residence maintained by Smith, Roy Franklin, Sirrico Franklin, and Toombs during the Oct. 2 operation and seized approximately 350 grams of suspected heroin, a digital scale, packaging material, two Glock handguns, two Mico Draco AK-47 pistols, a Century Arms AK-47 pistol, and an apparent bullet proof vest. According to court documents, officers also found a stolen Jeep, riddled with bullet holes and missing the back window, that allegedly had been used by conspirators in a shoot-out on Sept. 9, 2019, in the area of 35th Street and Woodland. Investigators also recovered live ammunition and shell casings inside the vehicle.
Duncan was among those arrested in his apartment during the Oct. 2 operation. According to court documents, officers located three firearms under his mattress: a Zastava M92PV, a Glock Model 19, and a Norinco MAK90 AK-47. Investigators also seized approximately $7,100 in cash, an apparent drug ledger on the nightstand listing nicknames and dollar amounts, and Duncan’s Dodge Charger.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — One of two suspects in the fatal shooting of four people in a Kansas bar caused a disturbance two hours earlier that brought officers to the scene, but they couldn’t find him in the area, the interim police chief said Monday.
Hugo Villanueva-Morales photo KCK Police
Michael York said Kansas City, Kansas, police were still searching for one suspect, Hugo Villanueva-Morales, 29, in connection with the shootings at the Tequila KC bar early Sunday that also wounded another five people. Officers arrested the second man, Javier Alatorre, 23, late Sunday afternoon.
The Kansas City Star reported that Alatorre was recently released from jail in Missouri, where he faced pending charges for tampering with a motor vehicle, possession of a controlled substance and resisting or interfering with arrest, detention or stop. A judge reduced his bail and released him on his own recognizance over the objections of prosecutors.
Police said both men have been charged with four counts of first-degree murder, and bail has been set at $1 million for each. Villaneuva-Morales is considered armed and dangerous.
Surveillance video shows Villanueva-Morales entering Tequila KC, where he got into an argument and was told to leave late Saturday, police said. It wasn’t clear whether Alatorre also was in the bar during the argument.
York said officers went to the area late Saturday to investigate the disturbance but couldn’t find the suspect. He said officers remained in the area “doing their patrol duties.”
Alatorre photo KCK Police
“They cleared the call and then two hours later, he returns back,” York told reporters during a news conference. “But we had no information that he was going to return back.”
Bartender Jose Valdez told The Star that he had refused to serve one of the suspects because the man had previously caused problems at the bar. Valdez said the man threw a cup at him and left, but that he returned later with another man shortly before closing time.
Authorities identified the four people killed as Francisco Anaya-Garcia, 34; Alfredo Calderon, 29; Ebar Meza-Aguirre, 29, Martin Rodriguez-Gonzalez, 58.
All of those killed were Hispanic, and two were Mexican citizens, that country’s foreign relations secretary, Marcelo Ebrard, said Sunday on Twitter. He did not identify the two but said the Mexican government would support their families.
Authorities have said they do not believe the shooting was racially motivated. The shooting happened in a neighborhood with a large Hispanic population.
“The investigation is leading us to believe that it was not random,” York said.
Family members told The Kansas City Star that Calderon owned a heating and cooling business for several years and was the devoted father of a 6-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter. They said he went to the bar to watch a boxing match.
“He cared about those babies so much,” recalled sister-in-law Celeste Trevino. “Those babies need their dad.”
Trevino also said that Meza-Aguirre pushed her to the floor when the gunfire started, and she believes it is why she survived. Meza was a regular at the bar, and it was where he and friends usually watched the Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Chiefs. Friends had plans to catch a game there Sunday, said Toni Maciel, Trevino’s cousin.
“He’s always going to be a hero in my eyes,” Maciel said.
Around 40 people were inside the small bar when gunfire erupted, police spokesman Thomas Tomasic said. The gun shots sent people running for the exits, with the injured leaving trails of blood as they fled. Two of the wounded were treated and released and three others remained hospitalized in stable condition, he said.
Alatorre is jailed again in Missouri after he was arrested without incident at a home that court records listed as his place of residence. He does not yet have an attorney.
Alatorre will have an initial court appearance in the coming days in Kansas, said Wyandotte County District Attorney’s Office spokesman Jonathan Carter. Carter said it’s too soon to determine whether prosecutors will consider the death penalty in the case.
Villanueva-Morales had a pending third-degree assault charge in Missouri. It stemmed from an incident in August outside a club in which an off-duty sheriff’s deputy reported that left both men bloodied.
Alatorre had past convictions for fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement in Kansas and for driving while intoxicated in Missouri, in addition to the pending charges in Missouri.
In 2017, an court order barred Alatorre from abusing, stalking and possessing a firearm after a woman who had a child with him reported physical abuse and threats. It expired in February 2018.
Alatorre’s mother, Teresa Minerva Alatorre, declined to comment when reached by phone.
————
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on a bar shooting in Kansas that left four dead and five others wounded (all times local):
Police say two suspects in a Kansas City, Kansas, bar shooting that left four people dead and five wounded had each faced criminal charges in Missouri.
Police announced early Monday that 23-year-old Javier Alatorre was arrested Sunday afternoon in Kansas City, Missouri, while 29-year-old Hugo Villanueva-Morales is still at large. Both men have been charged with four counts of first-degree murder.
Villanueva-Morales had a pending third-degree assault charge in Missouri. Court documents say he fought with a sheriff’s deputy in August after another man was ordered to leave a club in Kansas City, Missouri.
Alatorre, meanwhile, faced several charges stemming from a police chase. An order of protection also was issued against him in 2017.
Alatorre’s mother, Teresa Minerva Alatorre, declined to comment when reached by phone.
____
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — One of the two men accused of opening fire inside a Kansas bar early Sunday, killing four people and wounding five others, was arrested Sunday afternoon while the other remained at large, police said.
Javier Alatorre, 23, and Hugo Villanueva-Morales, 29, were each charged with four counts of first-degree murder, police in Kansas City, Kansas, said in an early Monday release. Alatorre was arrested late Sunday afternoon in Kansas City, Missouri, but police were still looking for Villanueva-Morales, considered “armed and dangerous.”
Bail for each was set at $1 million. The release says Alatorre was arrested with the help of the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and police in Kansas City, Missouri. A prosecutor’s office spokesman didn’t immediately respond to an email asking whether he has an attorney.
Villanueva-Morales and Alatorre each faced criminal charges in Missouri, and Alatorre’s criminal record also included previous convictions, according to online court records in Missouri and online Department of Corrections records in Kansas.
Villanueva-Morales had a pending third-degree assault charge in Missouri. Alatorre, meanwhile, had past convictions for fleeing or attempting to elude law enforcement in Kansas and for driving while intoxicated in Missouri. He also had pending charges in Missouri for tampering with a motor vehicle, possession of a controlled substance and resisting or interfering with arrest, detention or stop. And in 2017, an order of protection had been ordered, barring him from abusing, stalking and possessing a firearm.
The two men apparently had a disagreement with people inside Tequila KC bar, left, and then returned with handguns, police spokesman Officer Thomas Tomasic had said.
“We think there was something that happened in the bar earlier probably,” Tomasic had said. “Unfortunately, they left and decided to take it to another level, came back and started shooting.”
Around 40 people were inside the small bar when gunfire erupted around 1:30 a.m., Tomasic had said. The gunfire sent people running for the exits, with the injured leaving trails of blood as they fled. One of the injured was trying to get a ride to the hospital when ambulances arrived.
“It’s a pretty small bar, so if you have two guys come in and start shooting, people are just running, running anywhere they can,” Tomasic had said.
All four men who were killed were Hispanic, but Tomasic had said authorities did not believe the shooting was racially motivated. The shooting happened in a neighborhood with a large Hispanic population.
Among the dead was a man in his late 50s, another in his mid-30s and two in their mid-20s, police said. Authorities did not immediately release their names.
However, Juan Ramirez, of Kansas City, Kansas, told The Kansas City Star that his 29-year-old nephew was among those killed. He said his nephew left behind a 6-year-old son and a 4-year-old daughter.
“I don’t wish this upon anybody,” Ramirez said.
Bartender Jose Valdez told the newspaper that he had refused to serve one of the suspects on Saturday night because the man had previously caused problems at the bar. Valdez said the man threw a cup at him and left, but returned later with another man shortly before closing time.
The gunfire created smoke inside the business, Valdez said, and he thought the building was “going to cave in.”
Valdez said three of the people killed were regulars whose parents also frequented the neighborhood bar.
“I don’t know what to make of it. A sad day for everybody who lost their lives and their families,” he said, choking up. “How can you go into a place full of people and just start shooting?”
The state’s congregational delegation also weighed in, with Republican Sens. Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts and Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids describing the shooting as “senseless.”
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police have identified two suspects in a Kansas bar shooting that left four people dead and five others wounded.
photos courtesy KCK Police
Police in Kansas City, Kansas, announced early Monday that 23-year-old Javier Alatorre was arrested Sunday afternoon in Kansas City, Missouri, while 29-year-old Hugo Villanueva-Morales is still at large.
Both men have been charged with four counts of first-degree murder. Authorities had said the two men had apparently gotten into some sort of disagreement with people inside Tequila KC Bar, left, then returned with handguns early Sunday. Around 40 people were inside the small bar when gunfire erupted around 1:30 a.m.
Police say four men were killed. Their names weren’t immediately released.
It’s unclear whether Alatorre has a lawyer to comment on his behalf. Police say Villanueva-Morales is considered “armed and dangerous.”
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in two of the term’s most closely watched cases over whether federal civil rights law protects LGBT people from job discrimination.
The cases Tuesday are the court’s first on LGBT rights since Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement and replacement by Justice Brett Kavanaugh. A decision is expected by early summer 2020, amid the presidential election campaign.
The issue is whether a key provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that bars discrimination in employment because of sex covers LGBT people.
A ruling for employees who were fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity would have a big impact for the estimated 8.1 million LGBT workers across the country because most states don’t protect them from workplace discrimination. An estimated 11.3 million LGBT people live in the U.S., according to the Williams Institute at the UCLA law school.
Kennedy was a voice for gay rights and the author of the landmark ruling in 2015 that made same-sex marriage legal throughout the United States. Kavanaugh generally is regarded as more conservative.
The Trump administration has changed course from the Obama administration and now supports the employers in arguing that the civil rights law’s Title 7 does not prohibit discrimination because of sexual orientation or transgender status.
People have been waiting in line outside the court since the weekend to try to snag the few seats the court makes available to the public for arguments.
The justices will first hear appeals in lawsuits filed by Gerald Lynn Bostock, who claims he lost his job working for Clayton County, Georgia, after he began playing in a gay recreational softball league. He lost his case in federal district court and at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.
Skydiving instructor Donald Zarda was fired shortly after telling a woman he was preparing to take on a dive that he was gay. Zarda, who worked for Altitude Express on New York’s Long Island, said he would sometimes reveal his sexual orientation to allay concerns women might have about being strapped together during a dive.
Zarda initially lost his lawsuit, but the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for him. Zarda has since died.
The other case involves fired transgender funeral home director Aimee Stephens. She lost her job when she told Thomas Rost, owner of the Detroit-area R.G. and G.R. Harris Funeral Homes, that she had struggled with gender identity issues almost her whole life. She was planning to exchange the dark suit and tie she had worn to work for nearly six years as an embalmer and funeral director for a conservative dress or skirt that was required for women who worked for Rost.
Rost told Stephens her plan wouldn’t work and let her go. The federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission sued on her behalf and, after losing in a district court, won a ruling in the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati.
During the Obama years, the EEOC had changed its longstanding interpretation of civil rights law to include discrimination against LGBT people. The law prohibits discrimination because of sex, but has no specific protection for sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Trump administration and the employers say Congress could easily settle the matter by amending Title 7 to include LGBT people. Legislation to that effect is pending in Congress, but is not likely to pass the Republican-controlled Senate.
But the workers contend, and the lower courts that have ruled for them have reasoned, that the law as it stands plainly covers sexual orientation and gender identity because discrimination against them is based on generalizations about sex that have nothing to do with their ability to do their jobs.
They also argue that they were fired for not conforming to sex stereotypes, a form of sex discrimination that the Supreme Court recognized 30 years ago.
Arnold photo Johnson Co.Captain Chris Arnold photo Wyandotte Co. Sheriff
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The son of a Kansas sheriff’s captain has been charged with fatally shooting his father.
Twenty-two-year-old Zachary Arnold was charged Monday with second-degree murder in the death of 57-year-old Chris Arnold. He was a captain with the Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office, but was off-duty when he was killed Saturday at his home in Kansas City, Kansas. No details have been released about what led up to the shooting.
Zachary Arnold is being jailed without bond in neighboring Johnson County, Kansas. No attorney is listed for him in online records.
Wyandotte County Sheriff Don Ash said that Chris Arnold was “a man of integrity who loved his family, especially his son Zach, and served his community and his agency and we should honor that and we will.”
___
WYANDOTTE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting and have made an arrest.
The sheriff’s office in Wyandotte reported Sunday that Sheriff’s Captain Chris Arnold was shot and killed Saturday night at his residence, according to a social media report.
This was not a line of duty death, according to the sheriff’s department.
Just before 8p.m., officers responded to the shooting at a home in the 2800 block of 76th Street, according to a media release.
A suspect, Arnold’s 22-year-old son, has been taken into custody and is being held in Johnson County on requested charges of premeditated first degree murder, according to online jail records.
Chris Arnold would have been 59-years old Monday, according to the sheriff’s department. The department asked the public to “Please keep us and his family in your prayers as we work through this tragedy.”
TOPEKA – Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and Secretary of Commerce David Toland announced today they have kicked off the development of the “Framework for Growth” – a robust strategy to accelerate economic growth in the state of Kansas.
The announcement comes after a months-long search for a professional consulting services firm to help research and analyze the Kansas economy and deliver a comprehensive economic development blueprint for the state.
“The economic challenges facing Kansas require innovative solutions and a well-coordinated approach,” Governor Kelly said. “It’s been more than 30 years since the state had a formal strategy to accelerate economic development. The creation and implementation of a new economic growth strategy, along with other initiatives such as tax reform, will help ensure Kansas remains an attractive place for individuals and businesses alike.”
In coordination with members of Kansas businesses and economic development organizations, the Commerce team will develop the first economic development strategy for the state of Kansas since the Redwood-Krider report was issued in 1986.
“Kansas’ lack of a strategy has resulted in our state lagging in some key economic indicators such as GDP growth, population growth and labor participation. Under the leadership of Governor Kelly, I’m excited to announce that we have now embarked on a necessary journey to bring Kansas back to best in class,” Secretary Toland said. “To be competitive in today’s global economy, we must identify and pursue new, nimble economic best practices. It’s past time that we develop a thoughtful, strategic plan to guide Kansas forward.”
A steering committee consisting of economic development professionals, Kansas business leaders and Commerce staff has been created to guide the team through the planning process and the development of the Framework for Growth.
“Our local and regional economic development partners and business stakeholders are critical to our success as a state, so as we put together the team who would guide this process, it was important they were represented in the steering committee,” Toland said. “We also want to ensure that all interested stakeholders have the opportunity to be involved in this process and have created an online survey to capture feedback and allow individuals to share their ideas of how to create long-term prosperity for Kansas.”
The Department of Commerce selected McKinsey and Company as its partner for this important initiative. The work over the next several months will be broken into three phases: assessment and benchmarking, recommendations and best practices, and implementation planning. Each of these phases will be underpinned by ongoing stakeholder and public engagement, and the Department of Commerce will provide progress reports upon the completion of each phase.
For more information on the Kansas Framework for Growth, visit www.kansasgrowth.com.
KANSAS CITY – A Kansas City area man pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally selling firearms without a license, some of which have been seized during arrests at several crime scenes, according to the United State’s Attorney.
Hedden photo Wyandotte Co.
Frank E. Hedden, 25, waived his right to a grand jury and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Roseann Ketchmark to engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license.
By pleading guilty, Hedden admitted that he sold 21 firearms to an undercover special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for a total of $11,155 between Feb. 26 and July 16, 2019.
On May 7, 2019, investigators served Hedden with a warning notice. Investigators explained to Hedden that several firearms he purchased from licensed firearms dealers had been recovered in crimes within a relatively short amount of time after Hedden purchased them.
This indicated Hedden could be re-selling them, thereby dealing in firearms without a license. Investigators further explained to Hedden that he could be prosecuted if he was buying firearms with the intent to resell them. Hedden signed an acknowledgement receipt for the Warning Notice of Unlicensed Firearms Dealing in Violation of Federal Law.
A few days later, however, Hedden met again with the undercover agent and illegally sold the agent two pistols for $1,200. During that meeting, which was recorded, Hedden told the undercover agent about the warning notice. “I don’t know if it’s anything, you know, of your or somebody else,” he said, “they said I had several firearms show up in crime scenes lately.” Hedden then added, “I knew this would happen eventually.”
The undercover agent told Hedden the firearms he purchased were going to Mexico and asked Hedden if he could obtain more AK-47 type pistols, to which Hedden responded “Yeah. So, I’ll have to figure out something … I’m going to try to figure something out cause like I said, I like doing the business, it’s nice to come into a little extra money.”
Hedden subsequently sold three more firearms to the undercover agent on two separate occasions.
On July 17, 2019, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Hedden’s residence and seized 33 firearms (which must be forfeited to the government). Officers also seized a red binder that contained 100 bills of sale for firearms; 18 of the documents were for firearms sold to the undercover agent, 72 of the documents were for firearms that Hedden sold to other individuals, and 10 of the documents were for firearms that Hedden purchased from other individuals.
Under federal statutes, Hedden is subject to a sentence of up to five years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
