TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A surprisingly competitive special congressional election in Kansas has Democrats hopeful about cracking Republicans’ lock on the state’s delegation next year.
And an open contest for governor also looms.
Republican Ron Estes’ 7-percentage-point victory over Democrat James Thompson in the 4th Congressional District in south-central Kansas drew national attention.
GOP candidates there won by an average of 27 percentage points over the past 20 years. The seat was vacant after former U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo’s appointment as CIA director.
Democrats are bullish about the 4th District but also about 2nd District of eastern Kansas and the 3rd in the Kansas City area.
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback is term-limited and there’s speculation that he may leave early for a job with President Trump’s administration. Both parties expect a crowded field.
KANSAS CITY (AP) — Federal investigators say they have determined that the fatal explosion at an ammunition plant in near Kansas City is non-criminal in nature while their probe continues to pinpoint the exact cause of the blast.
The National Response Team of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says in a news release Friday that they have now concluded the on-scene phase of the investigation at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence.
Investigators have spent the past three days examining the scene and interviewing first responders and plant personnel.
Tuesday’s blast killed Lawrence Bass, of Blue Springs, Missouri, and injured four other workers.
The explosion occurred in a building where chemicals are mixed.
Contractor Orbital ATK operates the plant where it makes and tests small-caliber ammunition for the military.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The Douglas County district attorney has charged a woman with first-degree murder after a 9-month-old child died last year at a day care in Eudora.
District Attorney Charles Branson says 42-year-old Carrody Buchhorn was charged Friday. She is scheduled to make her first court appearance Monday.
The license for Sunshine Kids Group Daycare Home in Eudora was placed under emergency suspension after the toddler died in September. The state later ordered the day care closed.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports a criminal complaint filed with the charges does not detail how the child died. Buchhorn’s position at the day care also was not released.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Prosecutors say a man convicted of causing a traffic death will be going to prison for more than 13 years.
District Attorney Marc Bennett says in a news release that 53-year-old Richard L. Johnson of Wichita was sentenced Friday to 162 months. Johnson pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Johnson admitted that on Aug. 15 last year his 1991 Buick Regal crossed the center line and struck a smaller car head-on. Thirty-five-year-old Nicholas Woodall of Wichita was killed in the crash.
Prosecutors say that before that fatal crash, Johnson had rear-ended a car stopped at a red light. He left the scene of that non-injury crash and drove to a liquor store where he purchased beer. Moments later caused the fatal crash.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has signed legislation that lets states withhold federal family planning funds from Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.
Trump’s action erases a rule that was finalized shortly before President Barack Obama left office in January. It’s the latest Obama-era regulation that Trump’s overturned.
Trump signed the measure Thursday behind closed doors in the Oval Office.
The measure narrowly cleared the Senate last month. It took votes by an ailing Republican senator who was recovering from back surgery, and a tie-breaking vote by Vice President Mike Pence — serving as president of the Senate.
ELLSWORTH COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Ellsworth County are investigating a scam and warning residents.
On Friday, the Ellsworth police department received a call from the Kansas Attorneys Generals office of a scam in the Ellsworth area, according to a social media report from police.
The Attorney General’s office reported citizens receiving calls from a cable company stating they bought out H and B Communications.
The caller asked for account and credit card information.
Police reminded residents don’t ever give out credit card information over the phone unless it’s from a trusted known company.
TOPEKA–House Republicans in March took the first step toward repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—also known as Obamacare—with the release of H.R. 1628, the American Health Care Act (AHCA).
However, following several days of negotiation and debate among House Republicans and President Donald Trump, Speaker Paul Ryan declared the bill dead when he determined there were not enough votes to pass it. Despite the withdrawal of the bill, many Republicans have maintained that repealing and replacing the ACA is still a priority.
To help stakeholders better understand how future federal legislation might impact Kansans, the Kansas Health Institute (KHI) has prepared an issue brief, Repealing and Replacing the Affordable Care Act: Key Provisions of the American Health Care Act. The brief describes the major policy issues under discussion among House Republicans and the White House in the debate of the AHCA, including:
Repealing both the individual and employer mandates;
Moving away from income-based tax credits to help individuals purchase health insurance;
Eliminating cost-sharing subsidies for low-income individuals to reduce their out-of-pocket costs for deductibles, copayments and coinsurance;
Eliminating some existing requirements to give health insurance companies greater flexibility in the design of health insurance plans;
Making health insurance more affordable for young adults by expanding age-rating rules, possibly resulting in higher costs for older adults;
Repealing Medicaid expansion and substantially changing the way state Medicaid programs are funded by the federal government; and
Encouraging states to experiment and find ways to impact the cost of health insurance and health care for their citizens.
The Kansas Health Institute delivers credible information and research enabling policy leaders to make informed health policy decisions that enhance their effectiveness as champions for a healthier Kansas. The Kansas Health Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan health policy and research organization based in Topeka, established in 1995 with a multiyear grant from the Kansas Health Foundation.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Four second-graders on a field trip suffered minor injuries while riding a horse-drawn wagon at the Old Cowtown Museum in Wichita.
KWCH-TV reports the students and parents were in the wagon when the horse got spooked and took off around the ride area. People inside the wagon were jostled around but no one was seriously hurt.
The students are from Roberts Martin Elementary in Andover.
Principal Crystal Hummel sent home a letter informing parents that the students would be returning early from their field trip.
BARTON COUNTY-Law enforcement authorities in Barton County are investigating two suspects on felony charges.
Just before 2 a.m. Deputy Sheriff David Melcher was in the 2300 block of Main Street in the City of Great Bend when he observed a vehicle in the parking lot of Brit Spaugh Park, near the pool, according to a media release.
The driver side door of the vehicle was standing open and initially the deputy did not see any occupants. The city park was closed at that time. Upon further investigation the deputy found a male and a female occupant in the vehicle.
It was discovered that the female passenger had two outstanding felony warrants and was placed under arrest. The K-9 officer from the Great Bend Police Department was called and assisted the deputies. As a result of the K-9 investigation, the officers located methamphetamine, marijuana, prescription drugs, scales, baggies and approximately $250 cash as well as other paraphernalia.
Nichole McConkey
The driver was identified as Sean M. Brown, age 27 of Larned.
The female passenger was identified as Nichole R. McConkey of Garfield, Kansas.
Both McConkey and Brown were arrested for possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, felony possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Sean Brown’s bond was set at $100,000. McConkey’s bond was set at $100,000 for the drug charges, plus additional bonds on the outstanding warrants for child endangerment and parole violation.
Paul Davis, a Lawrence Democrat, said Thursday that he is considering a run for the 2nd District seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins. FILE PHOTO / KANSAS NEWS SERVICE
Paul Davis, a former legislator and Democratic candidate for Kansas governor, said Thursday he is considering a run for the 2nd District congressional seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Lynn Jenkins.
Davis narrowly lost to incumbent Republican Sam Brownback in the 2014 race for governor. Davis is from Lawrence and served as the Democratic leader in the Kansas House of Representatives.
In an interview Thursday, Davis said he has concerns about some of President Donald Trump’s proposed policies.
“A lot of people who supported President Trump expected that he was going to try to change Washington in a positive way, get rid of the special interest influence,” Davis said. “He’s certainly changing Washington in some ways, but I’m not sure that’s necessarily for the better.”
Davis said he worked across the aisle during his time as a lawmaker in Topeka and could take that spirit to the U.S. Capitol to combat “political bickering.”
“The process doesn’t work if we don’t try to work together,” he said. “I think that’s what people expect.”
Davis had been rumored as a candidate for governor in 2018, but he’s instead pinning his hopes on the congressional seat.
“Congress right now desperately needs people who are going to attack the problems that people want to have addressed,” he said.
Tops among those issues is the economy, which Davis said “just is not working for middle-class and lower-income Americans.
“We see an economy where big corporations and people at the top end of the income scale are just doing better and better,” he said.
State Senator In The Race
Davis is the most recent person to announce interest in the seat since Jenkins announced in January that she won’t run for re-election or any other political office in 2018.
Republican State Sen. Steve Fitzgerald said earlier this month that he would run for the job.
In an interview Thursday, Fitzgerald said he believes he can keep the seat in Republican hands.
“We need a Congress that’s going to help President Trump achieve the agenda that the American people voted for,” said Fitzgerald, of Leavenworth.
He also said he would work to boost the economy, and part of that would include reducing federal regulations.
“It will be liberating for the economy, for business, for the states, and I think we will regain a lot of the energy that we need in order to move forward,” Fitzgerald said.
While it’s never easy for anyone going to Congress for a first term, he said, he pointed to his work in the political “trenches” in the Legislature, local school board and for the state Republican Party as experience that will help him quickly get up to speed.
“I’m always running,” Fitzgerald said. “I think I have enough experience and knowledge to be able to pick up quickly on a number of the issues that are going to be before us.”
Fitzgerald recently made some headlines when he compared Planned Parenthood to Nazis.
A Blip Or A Trend?
The 2nd District seat covers much of eastern Kansas and includes Topeka, Lawrence and Pittsburg.
Patrick Miller, a political science professor at the University of Kansas, said the competitiveness of the race will hinge on a number of factors, such as the quality of the candidates and the popularity of Trump.
“(The district) leans Republican, but there’s a healthy Democratic base to it, and under the right conditions Democrats can put it in contention,” he said.
Republican Kansas Treasurer Ron Estes beat Democrat James Thompson in a special election this week for the 4th District congressional seat in the Wichita region. Estes won with 53 percent of the vote, compared to Thompson’s 46 percent.
While Davis pointed to the 4th District results and said they show “a lot of support” for Democrats, Miller suggested that people shouldn’t draw conclusions from the 4th District results until after some other upcoming special elections for Congress.
“This could be a blip, but it could also be the start of a trend,” Miller said.
Vernon Fields, a city council member in Basehor, filed to run as a Republican for the 2nd District. Democrat Kelly Standley also has said he will run for the seat.
Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for kcur.org, a partner in the Kansas News Service
MANHATTAN – Law enforcement authorities in Riley County are investigating an alleged sexual assault of a 13-year-old and have a suspect in custody.
Just after 10:30 Thursday, police arrested Qavonjez Mason, 24, Manhattan, in the 1200 block of Fremont Street.
On Tuesday, police filed a report against a 24-year-old man for rape, electronic solicitation, and contributing to a child’s misconduct after a mother reported finding text messages and pictures that suggested her daughter was in a sexual relationship with the man, and that the man provided her 13-year-old daughter with marijuana.
Mason is being held on a $500, 000 bond on requested charges of rape (x2), aggravated criminal sodomy(x2), electronic solicitation, and aggravated endangering of a child, according to daily police incident report.
First responders on the scene of Thursday night’s fatal shooting-photo courtesy KWCH
SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Sedgwick County are investigating a fatal shooting and asking for help to locate suspects.
Just after 11p.m. Thursday, police responded to a report of a shooting in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 2700 Block of South Seneca in Wichita, according to Lt. Todd Ojile during Friday’s online media briefing.
First responders found Brandon Nelson, 22, Wichita suffering from a single gunshot wound. He died at the scene.
Police determined Nelson was standing in the parking lot when an unknown vehicle pulled into lot. Nelson had contact with the vehicle. One of the occupants shot him and drove away.
SALINE COUNTY –Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a case of vandalism and asking for help identifying several suspects.
Late Monday or early Tuesday, the suspects broke into the old schoolhouse in Gypsum south east of Salina, according to the Saline County Sheriff’s Office.
Authorities discovered damaged drywall and several broken windows in the building. The total loss was estimated at $1,000.
Anyone with information on this crime is encouraged to call Crimestoppers at 825-TIPS, text SATIPS to CRIMES (274637), or visitwww.pd.salina.organd follow Crimestoppers link to submit a web tip. You may receive a cash reward of up to $1,000 and you are not required to give your name.
