SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a shooting and working to find a suspect.

Just after 2:30a.m. Tuesday, residents in the 300 block of SE Lime in Topeka reported hearing gunfire. Police were immediately dispatched to the area to investigate, according to Sgt. Steven Block.

A short time later, 3 victims arrived at a local hospital with gunshot wounds. They arrived by a private vehicle, according to Block.

Officers and detectives responded to the hospital to speak with the victims. Their injuries are considered non-life threatening. Police ask that anyone with information is asked to contact authorities.

By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post

An economic analysis of the impact of our current trade dispute with China indicates the losses could be huge for farmers.

The Nebraska Farm Bureau has issued a report which estimates producers in that state could lose $943 million due to retaliatory tariffs imposed by the U.S. on other countries.

Nebraska Farm Bureau economist Jay Rempe says some producers will absorb a larger impact than others.

“Well, soybeans is the biggest one just because of the situation with China and our lost markets there, but then corn is another big one and pork, I think for a couple of different reasons, one is obviously China. They’re importing more pork right now, because of the African Swine Fever in that country. They’re trying to make up for those losses and we’re not able to participate in that,” Rempe tells St. Joseph Post.

The report considers the impact of all trade disputes, but concentrates heavily on the dispute with China. Rempe notes losses could be lessened with approval of the new trade agreement with Canada and Mexico as well as a new deal reached with Japan.

Rempe says the report issued by the Nebraska Farm Bureau doesn’t even take into account beef exports, because it’s harder to analyze losses to the beef industry.

“You saw China. We just opened the beef markets there,” Rempe says. “There was just a lot of potential there, because when you look at their per capita beef consumption in China it’s very low compared to most developed countries like the United States or Europe. So, there was a lot of potential there.”

The report does not consider farm payments pledged by the Trump Administration to farmers to offset the losses from the trade disputes. Pending trade deals with Canada and Mexico as a recently announced deal with Japan would help greatly, according to Rempe.

It does consider the overall impact on the state. Nebraska relies heavily, more so than other Midwestern states, on agriculture. The Farm Bureau analysis pegs the total income loss to the Nebraska economy at $1.16 billion.

Rempe says that during a recent trip to Washington he didn’t hear much optimism that the standoff with China would end anytime soon.

“Almost to a person, they don’t look for a quick turnaround or a quick resolution of the Chinese issue, because of the complexity some of the issues we’re trying to deal with on them and some of the politics involved.”

FINNEY COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatal shooting believed to be in connection with a robbery and have a suspect in custody.

Just before 11p.m. September 10, police responded to the area of Buffalo Jones Avenue and Bancroft Street in Garden City for a reported person down, according to Captain Randy Ralston.

Upon the arrival of first responders, they located a man later identified as Ernest Ortiz, 69, Garden City lying on the east parking lot entrance to the El Conquistador Restaurant with gunshot wounds.

EMS transported him to St. Catherine Hospital where he later died.  Ortiz is the owner of the El Conquistador Restaurant and the preliminary investigation revealed that this could be a possible robbery.

Just after 4:30a.m. Monday, police arrested 31-year-old Marcus William Road a transient in the 300 Block of Hillside Avenue in Garden City, according to Sergeant Lana Urteaga.  He is being held in the Finney County Jail on requested charges of first-degree murder, according to Urteaga.

Roady was was wanted on a Kansas Department of Corrections warrant and was on parole for convictions that include criminal damage to property and drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

 

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas plans to close its Center for STEM Learning and a program designed to attract math and science teachers.

Program director Steven Case said Friday that the center and the UKanTeach program will close at the end of the academic year because of budget cuts at the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Students in the UKanTeach program complete a science, technology, engineering or math bachelor program while also receiving a teaching license in math or some science programs.

An email to students in the program said officials in the liberal arts and education departments are collaborating on a new program to continue the UKanTeach approach.

The 112 students currently in the program will be allowed to obtain their teaching licenses.

SALINE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a Kansas felon on new charges after a traffic stop on Interstate 135.

On Monday evening,  an officer monitoring traffic on I-135 recognized a northbound white Toyota Sequoia as one driven by Torrean Hughley, 30, of Salina. Hughley had two warrants for failure to appear including one from Saline County District Court and one from Harvey County, according to Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester.

The officer stopped the vehicle and the K-9 deployed indicated the presence of illegal narcotics in the vehicle, and a search revealed six pounds of methamphetamine in a backpack on the front passenger floorboard, The methamphetamine has a street value of $18,000-$20,000, according to Forrester.

In addition to the active warrants, Hughley was arrested on requested charges of Distribution of a certain stimulant greater than one kilogram, Possession of drug paraphernalia and no drug tax stamp.

Hughley has four previous drug convictions, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

WABAUNSEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary and have a suspect in custody.

Just after 3p.m. Monday, the owner of a property located at 26736 Paw Paw Creek Road in rural Wabaunsee County contacted the Wabaunsee County Sheriff’s Office 911 emergency dispatch and reported when they had arrived home they had observed a white Chevy pick-up on their property and a man later identified as Thomas “Tommy” Farrell, 50, St. Marys, Kansas,  placing property that belonged to the property owner inside of the bed of the truck, according to a media release.  The property owner attempted to block the drive so that the suspect’s truck could not leave.

Hutch Post

HUTCHINSON — An extensive renovation project is underway at the Cosmosphere. The project includes construction of the CosmoKids interactive area, design and construction of a new museum entrance and exit — allowing for increased guest accessibility — upgrades and improvements to the Germany Gallery, and creating a fully interactive area for both the new Liquid Galaxy display and the virtual reality interactive currently available at the entrance of the museum.

“The last significant upgrade date was 1997, so over 20 years ago was the last time people really saw something new,” Cosmosphere President Jim Remar said. “We’ve done some gallery improvements throughout the facility, but this is the first real significant investment and addition of new programming.”

Remar says one of the major additions will be designed for younger visitors. “We’re going to add a new CosmoKids discovery area that will provide hands-on activities for kids two through six,” Remar said. Some other features of the new project include the installation of a new mission simulator for Cosmosphere Camp 2020, featuring a capsule-based simulator and landing vehicle along with new carpet and lighting in the rotunda.

The work will require some areas of the museum to be closed off for a short time. “We’ll close the main entrance in the Germany Gallery and the first part of the Cold War exhibit for a period of time,” Remar noted. “We’ll be looking to get visitors back in there as soon as possible so we will do some rerouting, but it shouldn’t impact the overall experience.”

If all goes as planned, the new renovation and additions will be finished in March of 2020.

General Mills announced Tuesday a voluntary national recall of five-pound bags of its Gold Medal Unbleached All Purpose Flour with a better if used by date of September 6, 2020.

According to a release from the FDA, the recall is being issued for the potential presence of E. coli O26 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 All Purpose 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/flourExternal Link Disclaimer.

Guidance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) continues to warn that consumers should refrain from consuming any raw products made with flour. E. coli O26 is killed by heat through baking, frying, sautéing or boiling products made with flour. All surfaces, hands and utensils should be properly cleaned after contact with flour or dough.

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

Although most strains of E. coli are harmless, others can make you sick. E. coli O26 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. Seniors, the very young, and persons with compromised immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness.

Any consumers concerned about an illness should contact a physician. Anyone diagnosed by a physician as having an illness related to E. coli O26 is also urged to contact state and local public health authorities.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The amount of water flowing down the lower Missouri River this year is approaching the record set during the historic 2011 flood, and another round of flooding is expected this week after unusually heavy rains upstream, federal officials said.

Heavy rains dumped more than four times what is normal in parts of Montana, North and South Dakota and Nebraska last week — triggering flood warnings and forcing the forecast for how much water will flow down the Missouri River to jump by 4 million acre feet (1.22 million meters) to 58.8 million acre feet (17.92 million meters).

That will be second only to 2011’s 61 million acre feet (18.59 million meters), and it means the river has stayed high all year long. Previously, the second highest runoff year was 1997 when 49 million acre feet (14.94 million meters) of water flowed down the river and caused major flooding.

“2019 continues to be a very wet year throughout the basin,” said John Remus with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that operates the dams along the Missouri River.

This week’s third round of flooding along the Missouri River will likely be less severe than the first two but still significant, said National Weather Service hydrologist Dave Pearson. When the river crests near Omaha, Nebraska, on Friday and Saturday, parts of Interstates 29 and 680 could again be under water.

At Omaha, this week’s crest is projected to be 30.5 feet (9.3 meters). In March the river hit 34 feet (10.36 meters), and it registered 32 feet (9.75 meters) in the June flooding.

The Corps of Engineers doesn’t expect major problems or threats to cities with this week’s latest flooding — provided all the temporary repairs that have been made to levees since the spring hold up. But communities along the river are bracing for more problems in an exceptionally wet year.

Residents of Dakota Dunes, South Dakota, have been encouraged to evacuate their homes as a precaution because the river is already threatening that city. The river will peak there on Tuesday.

“When people call me and ask me what to do, I tell them, ‘Hey I relocated my family,'” Dakota Dunes Community Improvement District Manager Jeff Dooley told the Sioux City Journal. “If you wait until you know for sure, it’s too late.”

Downstream, residents of Hamburg, Iowa, will be keeping a close eye on the repaired levees around their town that was inundated in the spring to be sure the patches will hold up. Completely repairing the levees damaged in the spring is likely to take several years and cost more than $1 billion.

“Anybody I talk to I tell them to be prepared,” said Mike Crecelius, the emergency manager in the southwest Iowa county that’s home to Hamburg. “There’s been no relief at all this year.”

In March, massive flooding caused more than $3 billion in damage in Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri. In June, flooding returned and inundated many of the same places because most damaged levees remained broken.

The river will remain high throughout the fall because the Corps of Engineers plans to continue releasing large amounts of water into the river to clear out space in the reservoirs ahead of winter.

The amount of water flowing into the lower Missouri was temporarily cut to 60,000 cubic feet (1699 cubic meters) per second this weekend, but it will increase to 80,000 cubic feet (2265.6 cubic meters) per second later this week.

SUMNER COUNTY — After four earthquakes over the past two days, the U.S. Geological Survey reported a 3.4 magnitude quake approximately 8 miles southeast of Caldwell in Sumner County Tuesday morning.

Just before 9p.m. Monday, the USGS reported a 3.2 magnitude quake approximately 8 miles east of Marion, Kansas. Just before 10a.m. Monday, a magnitude 3.6 quake shook the same area.

The quake follow a 3.9 magnitude quake at 2:37 a.m. Monday approximately 10 miles west of Cottonwood Falls in Chase County and a magnitude 2.8 quake at 10:30 a.m. Sunday in Reno County.

There are no reports of damage or injury. The threshold for damage usually starts at 4.0.

KANSAS CITY (AP) — A 21-year-old Kansas City man is charged with second-degree murder for allegedly killing a woman at a family cookout in a park.

Larry Dodds also is charged with armed criminal action in the Aug. 31 death of Angela Banks.

According to court records, Dodds and another man arrived while several family members were rapping to music. The court records say Dodds and the other man began to “trash talk,” leading to an argument. Dodds and the other man allegedly began shooting.

Banks was struck by the gunfire. She was pronounced dead at a hospital. A man also was shot and was treated at the hospital.

Dodds was arrested Saturday and is jailed on $250,000 bond. He does not have a listed attorney.

WICHITA, KAN. – A former treasurer for the city of Fontana in Miami County, Kan., was sentenced Monday to 12 months and a day in prison for embezzlement, according to U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister.

Deborah Sell, 56, Fontana, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return. In her plea, she admitted she used her position as treasurer to steal money from the city. She issued city checks to pay her personal expenses, withdrew cash using a city debit card for personal expenses, and deposited cash payments received from customers into her personal account.

At a sentencing hearing Monday, prosecutors told the court Sell embezzled a total of more than $174,000 from the city, including a debit card withdrawal of $414 at an ATM in a casino in Riverside, Mo.

She admitted her 2016 tax return failed to include more than $94,000 in income she embezzled that year.