SHAWNEE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Shawnee County are investigating an armed robbery and asking for help to locate a suspect.

Just after 3a.m. on Valentine’s Day, police responded to a fast food restaurant in the 1900 Block of SW 10^th in Topeka, according to a media release.

Employees told police a black male wearing a black face mask and black clothing entered the business, showed the clerk a  handgun and demanded money.

He escaped with an undisclosed amount of cash and left the area on foot headed east.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Topeka police.

BARTON COUNTY – A Kansas teen was injured in an accident just after 4p.m. on Monday in Barton County.

The Barton County Sheriff’s Department reported a 1996 Pontiac Grand AM driven by Benjamin Ball, 17, Hoisington, was southbound in the 1000 block of NW 10 Avenue.

The driver lost control of the vehicle due to speeds and washboard roadway. The vehicle exited the road on the east side and hit a culvert.

Hoisington EMS transported Ball to Clara Barton Hospital.

DETROIT (AP) — Mazda is recalling about 174,000 small cars in the U.S. because the seats can change angles suddenly, making the vehicles hard to drive.

The recall covers the Mazda 2 subcompact from the 2011 model year and the 2010 and 2011 Mazda 3 and Mazdaspeed 3 compacts.

The company says the seat height adjustment links can break or detach from the seat frame, changing the seat angle and increasing the risk of a crash.

Dealers will inspect the seat links and either install a reinforcement bracket or replace the whole seat adjustment unit. The recall is expected to start on March 31.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Fans of Kansas artist Birger Sandzen will be able to bid on 10 of his works later this month. See more on the auction here.

Sandzen taught in Lindsborg from 1824 until he died in 1954. He created more than 3,000 paintings, 328 prints and countless watercolors and drawings that hang in buildings across Kansas and the world.

The pieces for sale were owned by Emerson and Freda Moore of Wichita.

Emerson Moore died last month and his daughter, Terry Moore, decided to auction them. The auction is scheduled Saturday at the Woody Auction Gallery in Wichita.

The collection includes four oil paintings with a starting bid of $7,500 each, three lithographs with a starting bid at $250, one drypoint, one watercolor and one student oil.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a Wichita man has been sentenced to 58 years in prison for fatally shooting another man.

The Sedgwick County prosecutor’s office says 24-year-old Travis Johnson shot JaRon Sanders in the head last year while they were arguing in the street in front of Sander’s home.

Johnson was convicted in January of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a firearm. He also was found guilty of a 2014 probation violation and an offender registration violation in 2015.

The sentencing was Friday.

RENO COUNTY – A Kansas  man is jailed on a bond of $130,500 for a weekend domestic incident in Reno County.

William Woodmansee, 23, is accused of battering, threatening and holding the victim against her will with a knife.

He faces possible charges of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated battery, possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in what police say is a domestic case

The abuse according to statements made in court started Saturday night and continued Sunday at a home in Hutchinson.

The woman managed to get away from the suspect and made it to another residence. She was taken to Hutchinson Regional Medical Center for treatment of injuries.

During the investigation, police found a pipe with suspected methamphetamine inside.

In court, he all but admitted to the drugs, but denied the abuse.

He’s to be back in court on Feb. 21, for the formal reading of any charges.

SUMNER COUNTY — An earthquake shook South Central Kansas just before 8p.m. on Monday.

The quake measured a magnitude 3.3, according to the U.S. Geological Survey and was centered just north of the Oklahoma State line.

On Sunday, a 3.1 magnitude quake shook 16 miles northwest of Harper.

There are no reports of damage or injuries.

GEARY COUNTY -The catfish were biting at Milford Lake on Monday.

Kevin Dandliker of Wymore, Nebraska pulled in a 67.3 pound blue catfish.

Outdoor enthusiast Rick Dykstra submitted the photos and information on the fish.

By McKenna Harford
KU Statehouse Wire Service

TOPEKA – Proponents shared reasons for allowing grocery and convenience stores to move into the more lucrative market of wine and full-strength beer sales with the House Commerce, Labor and Economic Development Committee on Monday.

House Bill 2282 would allow sales of wine and beer in grocery and convenience stores, and the sales of liquor, wine and beer in liquor stores. The bill also would allow liquor stores to sell other products outside of alcohol, and would allow stores to have multiple liquor licenses.

Opponents will give testimony to the committee Tuesday.

Currently, grocery and convenience stores are only allowed to sell beer with 3.2 percent alcohol content. Proponents said Kansas liquor laws are antiquated and limit businesses’ ability to meet customer demand.

Tom Palace, executive director of the Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association of Kansas, said that people don’t want to buy 3.2 percent beer, and brewers have begun phasing this product out.

“3.2 is viewed as a lesser product,” Palace said. “People don’t want to buy it. Our customers want to buy the real beer.”

The bill is modeled after an Oklahoma bill that passed in November. After that bill goes into effect, Kansas will be one of only three states that sells 3.2 percent beer.

Karen Washburn, a Lenexa resident, testified that the current situation is inconvenient and unaccommodating to customers.

“What I find myself having to do in order to economize my time is to go to a grocery store that does offer wine sales and guess what? Those are about three miles across the state line,” Washburn said.

Dick Stoffer, director for state government relations for Hy-vee, said Kansas’ restrictive liquor laws are a main reason that the Hy-vee chain has not expanded in Kansas. Stoffer said this means Kansas is missing out on the reinvestments Hy-vee offers.

“Dollars made in Hy-vee are put back into communities that we go to or where we are existing,” Stoffer said.

Written testimony provided by Whole Foods Market also said the laws can prevent the chain from expanding in Kansas.

“When we look for new sites, locations where the laws allow us to sell alcoholic beverages are certainly preferable,” Whole Foods Market licensing team leader Ryan Bissett said in the written testimony. “In fact, our ability to sell alcoholic beverages could be the deciding factor in determining whether to sign a lease for a new site or not.”

Representatives who heard the testimony questioned how the bill would affect the market, including smaller liquor stores.

Rep. Ken Corbet (R-Topeka) said he isn’t sure whether allowing grocery stores to sell alcohol is worth the economic value when the law might hurt small liquor businesses.

“My concern is if you’re a small business person then you’re a little more fragile on day to day activities than a Dillons, Hy-vee or a corporation,” Corbet said. “I’m truly not sure if the big corporations will employ any additional help, where on the other hand for every small liquor store that goes out of business in a small town they lose the property tax, the insurance agents, the employees will drop off. I think that the financial impact will be a lot harder.”

McKenna Harford is a senior journalism major at the University of Kansas from San Antonio, Texas.

WICHITA  – A registered sex offender who has been living in Wichita pleaded guilty Monday to distributing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said.

Jeremy Michael Schmidt, formerly known as Jeremy Michael Davis, 41, Wichita, pleaded guilty to one count of distributing child pornography. In 2013, Schmidt was convicted in Florida on a possession of child pornography charge and registered as a sex offender under the name Jeremy Michael Davis. He later changed his name to Jeremy Michael Schmidt.

Schmidt came to the attention of investigators in Wichita when they received four separate Cyber Tipline Reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Investigators identified emails in which Schmidt provided links to child pornography.

Sentencing is set for May 1. He faces a penalty of not less than 15 years and not more than 40 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000

SALINE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating an attempted burglary.

Just after 1a.m. on Monday, a security guard at the Rolling Hills Zoo told authorities that he heard glass break and went to the lobby, where he saw a dark figure, according to Sheriff Roger Soldan.

The suspect fled, leaving a dolly. The Kansas Highway Patrol responded with a K-9 unit but could not locate the alleged thief.

Soldan says the intruder was attempting to steal the ATM.

The suspect cut through the chain link fence, gaining access to the building where they broke a window to get to the ATM.

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — The parents of a 10-year-old boy who died on the world’s tallest water slide at a Kansas water park say they’re still grieving but are thankful for the condolences they’ve received from around the world.

In an interview Monday on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Kansas state Rep. Scott Schwab and his wife, Michele, recalled the day in August 2016 when Caleb died as he rode the “Verruckt” water slide at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City.

They say Caleb was on the ride with his older brother when he was killed.

The Schwabs have reached an undisclosed settlement with the park’s owners and Zebec, the manufacturer of the raft. “Verruckt” — German for “insane” — is now closed.

Scott Schwab says the death was an accident, but that “someone was negligent.”

BARTON COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Barton County are investigating a drive by shooting.

Just after 11p.m. Saturday, officers from the Great Bend Police Department were dispatched to 1809 Jackson Street, in reference to a “drive-by” shooting, according to a media release.

Upon interviewing witnesses, officers came to believe that a suspect in a maroon Dodge Durango drove by the residence and fired multiple times into the residence. The occupant of the house, Matthew Jones, age 51, was inside but was not injured.

The Department is also working a separate incident, in which a yoga studio on 10th Street had rounds fired into the building. At this time, there is no information to indicate that the two incidents are related.

Officers were able to locate and recover several bullets from inside the house on Jackson Street.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact the Great Bend Police Department at 620-793-4120 or Crimestoppers at 620-792-1300. Crimestoppers is a service that lets people give tips anonymously and provides cash rewards for information that leads to an arrest.