OVERLAND PARK –Work crews imploded a 10-story high-rise building early Sunday morning near Interstate 435 and Nall in Overland Park. It was a first in the city’s history.
The project will clear the way for a contemporary new office development project called Overland One led by VanTrust Real Estate; it will be designed and built by Burns & McDonnell.
Eastbound and westbound I-435 from Roe Avenue to Metcalf Avenue were closed during the implosion for safety of the traveling public.
SALINE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a suspect on child endangerment charges.
After a call from the Department of Children and Families just before 1 a.m. on Monday, police went to a residence in the 800 Block of N. 4th in Salina, according to Police Captain Paul Forrester.
During the welfare check, police visited with 46-year-old Andrew D. Poling.
He told police he gave a 7-year-old boy and 6-year-old girl Clonazepam, his wife’s prescription drug to help the children sleep.
The boy said he was tired and his head was pounding like a drum.
Both children were taken by EMS to Salina Regional Health Center for treatment.
Just after 4:30 a.m. police booked Poling into the Saline County Jail on requested charges of aggravated endangerment of a child.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times local):
President Donald Trump signed three executive orders on Monday morning.
The first memorandum is to leave the proposed Pacific Rim trade pact known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Trump called the move “a great thing for the American workers”
He signed a memorandum that freezes hiring for some federal government workers as a way to reduce payrolls and rein in the size of the federal workforce.
Members of the military will be exempted from the hiring freeze.
The president is also reinstating a ban on providing federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide information on the option.
The regulation has been something of a political football, instituted by Republican administrations and rescinded by Democratic ones since 1984.
MANHATTAN — Law enforcement authorities in Riley County are investigating a report of an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound of a K-State student on Sunday evening in a residence hall on the Manhattan campus, according to a media release.
The Kansas State University Police Department responded to the dorm. The name of the student has not been released.
The student was transported for medical treatment and is in stable condition.
The Kansas State University Office of Student Life and Counseling Services is offering counseling and assistance to students and employees.
Firearms aren’t currently allowed in campus buildings or residence halls, although that’s on track to change. Starting in July, a Kansas law will allow concealed guns on state college campuses unless a legislative effort to undo the law is successful.
Faculty and student organizations generally have been strongly opposed to concealed guns on campus, as have administrators.
In 2015, commercial and industrial buyers accounted for more than half of all signed wind energy power purchase agreements (PPAs), exceeding utilities-signed PPAs. This trend showcases how the private sector chooses to fuel business operations. Commercial customers plan to procure an additional 60 GW of renewable energy by 2025, according to the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA).
The states with an appetite for economic growth are paying attention to the market’s needs and are forging policies that make clean energy procurement accessible and simple for large and small corporations. Welcoming policies that eliminate barriers in accessing renewable energy and energy efficiency are attractive for businesses looking for reliable, cost-competitive long-term agreements and financing options.
Kansas has an inherent competitive advantage when it comes to the underutilized advanced energy resources, with the second best wind resource and 5th solar potential in the nation. Climate + Energy Project’s newest initiative – The Clean Energy Business Council is bridging the divide between companies’ energy needs and the policy landscape in Kansas. This fast-growing coalition of businesses is expediting the momentum of the increasing demand for clean energy through collaborative work among diverse stakeholders.
In addition to policy work, the Council provides programming and resources to connect, celebrate and empower advanced energy leaders in Kansas and the Greater KC Area. Keep visiting our website as we will be adding multiple events in the next few weeks such as webinars, lunch-and-learns, and company tours.
Olga Khakova is Program Director of the Hutchinson-based Climate + Energy Project.
SHAWNEE COUNTY— Law enforcement authorities in Shawnee County are investigating a deadly shooting.
Just before 8 p.m. on Sunday police responded to report of a shooting in the 300 Block of SE Pinecrest Drive in Topeka, according to a media release.
Emergency medical crews transported Detryck Franklin, 25, Topeka to a local hospital where he died,
Anyone with information is urged to call police.
DONIPHAN COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in northeast Kansas and northwest Missouri are investigating a Sunday morning shooting and have made an arrest.
Just after 2 a.m. on Sunday, deputies responded to a large underage drinking party in the 100 block of Mount Zion Road in Buchannan County, Missouri, where A 20-year-old man had sustained a gunshot wound to the leg, according to a media release from Buchanan County Sheriff Bill Puett.
The victim is recovering in a Kansas City hospital with what appears to be a non-life threatening wound.
A 17-year-old Wathena, Kan. boy was taken into custody in connection with the investigation. Name have not been released.
HARVEY COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Harvey County investigated a reported threat at a school in Newton.
At the close of the school on Friday, a concerned student notified a School Resource Officers in Newton about a rumor of threatened school violence, according to a social media report.
The SRO immediately investigated the report and learned the comment heard was part of a joke the previous evening which was taken out of context.
Police reported they were confident there is not a concern with this incident.
The Newton Police Department appreciated the actions of the student in reporting the concern.
They were also pleased the SROs created the type of trusting relationships that provide for the safety of children in the community.
No additional details were released.
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — The family of a central Kansas dog breeder whose body was found among her puppies nearly seven months ago wants to remind the public that her death remains a mystery.
The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and Saline County authorities continue to search for clues in the June death of 57-year-old Lori Heimer. Her body was found on the family’s 80-acre farm near Assaria, just south of Salina.
The Kansas City Star reports the KBI has not said how Heimer died but said she was brutally murdered.
Heimer told her husband that she was expecting a potential customer the day she was killed but didn’t return to the house. She bred poodles and other small dogs.
A $37,000 reward is being offered for information in the case.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Police say a man whose body was found in an east Topeka parking lot was run over by a tractor-trailer truck.
The man was identified Sunday as 30-year-old Sean McLaughlin.
Police say McLauglin was lying under a trailer parked in the Deer Creek Shopping Center early Saturday and was hit when the trailer left the parking lot.
It is unclear why McLaughlin was under the truck.
Police say the driver and trucking company have been questioned no foul play is suspected.
RENO COUNTY– One person died in an accident just after 2p.m. on Saturday in Reno County.
An Audi passenger vehicle driven by 65-year-old Jane Ellen Hart of Hutchinson was eastbound on 30th Street and made a left turn onto Prairie Dunes Drive, according to Reno County Sheriff’s Department.
The vehicle struck a westbound motorcycle driven by Charles Caselton, 62, Burrton.
He was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Sedgwick County Forensic Science Center.
Hart was not injured and was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence and involuntary manslaughter.
The name of the victim on the motorcycle has not been released pending notification of the family.
The accident remains under investigation.
RENO COUNTY -A Kansas man was denied a departure in a drug case and sentenced to 34-months in prison for a charge of possession of marijuana after an arrest from January of last of 2016.
The attorney for 61-year-old Willard LaGrange of Hutchinson argued that because of his age and health issues, he should be granted community corrections.
The state argued against it because of his past criminal history which includes 37 prior convictions dating to 1974, as well as two pending drug cases. A Reno County judge denied the request and ordered the sentence served.
In one of the other two cases, he’s charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell, possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to distribute, possession of marijuana and personal use drug paraphernalia
During the search, the Reno County drug unit alleges that they found 3.6 grams of methamphetamine as well as drug paraphernalia, including packaging materials and a small amount of marijuana. The meth was split into several small baggies, which weighed about 2 grams each. Most of what they found was allegedly in the room belonging to Lagrange. This case is pending a jury trial.
On Thursday, the prosecution read a new complaint against LaGrange where the state charged him in another distribution case. Charges include possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia with intent to sell and possession of marijuana. These crimes allegedly occurring
By SAM ZEFF
The number of degrees and certificates being awarded by state colleges and universities is up, as are on-time graduations.
Overall the Kansas Board of Regents seemed pleased Wednesday with its latest annual progress report.
In news that will also be very welcomed by the Legislature, the report says wages are rising for those earning either a two-year or four-year degree.
In his message in the report, CEO Blake Flanders noted the accomplishments were made despite dwindling support from the state. Funding for the higher education system has essentially remained flat “with just over $744 million appropriated for FY 2010 and approximately $749 million appropriated for FY 2017,” he wrote.
The state has cut $75 million from the Regents in just the past three years to help balance an ailing budget. Without making an explicit plea for more money, Flanders made it clear the system needs more resources.
“Unfortunately, Kansas will experience decreases in personal income per capita, lost income and sales tax revenues to the state, declining federal revenues, and lost savings in both Medicaid and Corrections budgets, if postsecondary education attainment isn’t increased,” he said in the report.
The Regents have said that by 2020 Kansas will need to graduate 53,000 students a year with either a four-year degree or a two-year certificate. Currently, the annual quota is 40,000.
Wednesday all of the schools found out how many more students they are going to have to graduate to meet the goal. The University of Kansas will have to graduate 311 more students every year, Kansas State the same number. Johnson County Community College has a goal of 284 more graduates, while Kansas City Kansas Community College has to graduate 116 more students a year.
To hit the target, the Regents says campuses will have to get more high school graduates to seek a post-secondary education, keep more students in school until they graduate, or lure back to school some of the 185,000 Kansans with some college credit but no degree.
“There is no way to meet the attainment goal on high school graduates alone. We can’t do it,” Flanders said at the meeting Wednesday.
That may not be too heavy a lift. In 2016, 27 percent of those students without degrees had between 60 and 119 credit hours and 12 percent had 120 credit hours, according to the report.
While there was a considerable decrease in on-time graduations from the state’s technical colleges (from 69 percent in 2010 to 56 percent in 2015), on-time graduation rates for other degrees showed a slight increase.
The report strongly suggests that more education means more income. In 2015 the average wage in Kansas was $42,020. For someone with a bachelor’s degree just one year out of school, the average wage was just below that at $41,625. Someone with an associates degree would start their career earning $36,078.
Separate from the discussion of graduating more students, the board did make mention Wednesday of Gov. Sam Brownback’s challenge to create a bachelor’s degree with a total tuition and fee cost of $15,000. Regent Shane Bangerter from Dodge City says a degree at that price point might already exist. He suggests two years at Dodge City Community College combined with two years at Fort Hays State University would meet it.
Sam Zeff covers education and politics for KCUR and the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @samzeff.
