ALLISON KITE, Associated Press

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A few Kansas lawmakers are seeking to undo a law that will allow concealed guns in public hospitals and colleges.

The proposal would permanently exempt several types of health care facilities and colleges from a law that allows guns in public buildings. That exemption will otherwise expire July 1.

Supporters of allowing campuses to ban concealed guns are hopeful because the Legislature is more moderate than it was when the law passed in 2013. The National Rifle Association says it won’t support the bill. The NRA says carrying a concealed gun is a right and allows people to protect themselves.

Overland Park Republican Rep. Stephanie Clayton and Wichita Democratic Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau plan to introduce bills written by Sen. Barbara Bollier, a Mission Hills Republican.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Latest on ice storms in the central U.S. (all times local):

11:25 a.m.

A third wave of sleet and drizzle is glazing swaths of the central U.S. on the eve of the Martin Luther King holiday, adding to an icy mess that began caking the region Friday.

Much of the region remains under an ice storm warning Sunday. The latest round of storms dumped three-quarters of an inch of precipitation overnight near Kansas City, Missouri. That resulted in about one-quarter of an inch of ice, given temperatures that remained below freezing.

Two #KHP Troopers have been struck this morning on I-635!#MOVEOVER & #SLOWDOWN

The roads are ICY! #StayHome pic.twitter.com/WMxskIm9Fb

— Trooper Candice (@TroopCandiceKHP) January 15, 2017

In Kansas near Kansas City, two troopers escaped injury when their vehicles were struck while working a crash along northbound Interstate 635.  

Photos from around the area. Ice accumulations ranging from 1/4 to 5/8 in. of ice. pic.twitter.com/MLRW6ZGEEg

— NWS Dodge City (@NWSDodgeCity) January 15, 2017

KANSAS CITY- A Kansas City man was indicted by a federal grand jury today for the attempted sex trafficking of a minor, according to Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

Andrew Danny Freeman, 32, of Kansas City, was charged in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo. Today’s indictment replaces a criminal complaint that was filed against Freeman on Dec. 16, 2016. Freeman remains in federal custody without bond.

The federal indictment alleges that Freeman solicited a person he believed to be under the age of 18 to engage in prostitution on Dec. 15, 2016.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, an undercover officer received a series of text messages from Freeman on Dec. 15, 2016, in response to an online posting that was part of an undercover prostitution operation. Freeman allegedly made arrangements to meet the undercover officer and whom he believed to be her 12-year-old daughter at a local hotel. When he arrived for the meeting, the affidavit says, he gave the undercover officer $500 and was arrested.

SEWARD COUNTY –One person died and two others were injured in an accident just after 8:30 p.m. on Saturday in Seward County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2004 Ford Explorer driven by
Manuel Hernandez, 25, Guymon, OK., was westbound on U.S. 54 and crossed over the overpass for Old U.S. 54 just west of Liberal.

The driver lost control on the overpass, entered a side skid into the north ditch and rolled multiple times.

A passenger in the Ford Thay Torres-Ocacio, 35, Guymon, was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Miller mortuary.

Hernandez and another passenger Jesus Ponce, 22, Guymon, were transported to Southwest Medical Center. Two others in the SUV were not transported for treatment.

Torres-Ocacio and Ponce were not wearing seat belts, according to the KHP.

By Sam Zeff

In his State of the State speech last week, Gov. Sam Brownback threw down a gauntlet for state universities: come up with a $15,000 bachelor’s degree. In education world, almost nobody saw that coming.

But now that the idea for a bargain bachelor’s is out there, it’s up to the Kansas Board of Regents to try and make it a reality.

“If we are to meet this challenge, it will be through a multi-institution response,” Regents spokesperson Breeze Richardson said in an email. So right now, the Regents believe, no four-year institution in Kansas can meet a $15,000 price point and that means a student would probably have to complete two years at a community college.

But many credits earned at Kansas community colleges already transfer to any of the state’s six universities. “We are unique, in that the entire 32-institution system is centrally coordinated,” said Richardson.

The governor’s detailed budget proposal, submitted to the Legislature Wednesday, calls for $1 million to help fund the idea. Right now, nobody knows if that’s for scholarships or administration.

But the Brownback plan suggests that he doesn’t want the state to create a bargain bachelor’s degree for just any subject. “The Governor’s proposal is intended to provide access to quality affordable higher education while focusing on high demand fields in an effort to grow the economy,” according to the budget document.

While there are no specifics, educators would generally agree that means IT jobs, engineering or nursing. In fact, the Regents already have programs to help fill the need for those jobs. The state provides $1.8 million a year for nursing scholarships resulting, the Regents say, in an additional 2,865 nursing graduates since 2007.

But even if the Regents can get tuition and fees down to $15,000, there’s still room and board to consider, plus inflation.

“To me it’s a puzzle,” said freshman Republican Sen. Ed Berger, appearing on the podcast Statehouse Blend Kansas. Berger is the former president of Hutchinson Community College. “You can throw a number out — $15,000 — I’m not sure how you’re going to arrive at that without additional state support for those universities to offset tuition increases.”

There’s also concern that $15,000 may exclude students from attending the University of Kansas or Kansas State. Tuition at KU is $10,550 a year and at K-State it’s $9,874. The cheapest tuition in the state is at Fort Hays State where it’s $4,884.

Sam Zeff  covers education for KCUR.org, a partner in the Kansas News Service.  Follow Sam on Twitter @SamZeff.

 

ELLENTON, Fla. (AP) — The owners of Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus announced Saturday that they will close the 146-year-old show in May.

Kenneth Feld, the chairman and CEO of Feld Entertainment, which owns the circus, said declining attendance combined with high operating costs are the reasons for closing.

Here’s where things stand with the iconic show:

WHEN IS THE CIRCUS’ FINAL SHOW?

Ringling Bros. has two touring circuses this season: “Circus Extreme” and “Out of This World.” The final show for “Circus Extreme” will be in Providence, Rhode Island, on May 7, and the other will close after a performance in Uniondale, New York, at the Nassau County Coliseum on May 21.

___

WHAT HAPPENS BETWEEN NOW AND MAY?

The two touring circuses will perform a total of 30 shows over the next four months. Most of the shows will be held in the South or the East Coast. Major stops include Atlanta, Washington, Philadelphia, Boston and Brooklyn. Tickets can still be purchased online and at venues.

___

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE EMPLOYEES?

The Feld family has owned the circus for 49 years, and employs some 500 people for the show. Those employees were told about the closure on Saturday night, after shows in Orlando and Miami. A handful will be placed in positions with the company’s other shows — it owns Monster Jam, Disney on Ice and Marvel Live, among other things — but most will be out of a job. Chief Operating Officer Juliette Feld said the company will help employees with job placement and resumes. In some cases where a circus employee lives on the tour rail car (the circus travels by train), the company will also help with housing relocation.

___

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE ANIMALS?

In May of 2016, Ringling retired all of its elephants to a property in central Florida. Forty elephants live at the Center for Elephant Conservation in Polk County. But the circus still has other animals, such as lions, tigers, camels, donkeys, alpacas, kangaroos and llamas.

Juliette Feld says homes will be found for the animals, but the company will continue operating the Center for Elephant Conservation.

___

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE COSTUMES AND PROPS?

The Feld family hasn’t decided what it will do with the enormous warehouse filled with circus costumes and props. Kenneth Feld says the company will continue to work with the Circus Museum at The Ringling in Sarasota. That museum holds memorabilia dating to the 1800s, when John Ringling and his family founded Ringling Bros and Barnum and Bailey Circus.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is working on new guidelines for how to handle situations where a wild animal is being kept as a pet after game wardens were criticized for shooting a family’s pet deer.

It is illegal in Kansas to keep a wild animal as a pet. Wildlife officials said they shot the Mark and Kim Mcgaughey family’s deer out of concern it could hurt people or spread disease.

The Wichita Eagle reports that Robin Jennison, secretary of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, says the situation could have been handled better. He wants new policies for similar situations in place quickly.

————–

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A western Kansas family is outraged after game wardens killed a deer that was allowed inside their house and took walks with the family.

Kim Mcgaughey, of rural Ulysses, described the deer as “very much a big pet.”

The 2-year-old mule deer was named Faline, after Bambi’s friend and future mate in the cartoon movie.

But it’s illegal to keep a wild animal as a pet in Kansas, and wildlife officials said something had to be done.

The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism says pet deer have killed at least two people. The department said it was trying to protect people from being physically injured by the deer, and eliminate the possibility of disease being passed to humans, livestock and other deer.

PLATTE CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri authorities say one of 13 occupants of a van was killed when the vehicle crashed north of Kansas City.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says 35-year-old Maung Hnin of Kansas City, Kansas, was ejected from the van during the crash early Saturday on Interstate 29 in Platte County and was hit by another vehicle. He died at the scene.

The patrol says three other occupants of the van were taken to a hospital with moderate injuries. Others in the van declined treatment.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A prison documentary filmed at the Sedgwick County Jail in Wichita in 2015 is set to begin airing on MSNBC.

The Wichita Eagle reports “Lockup” is a documentary show that profiles life in prison by following the stories of inmates and prison staff. The first episode is set to air Saturday. This will be the final season of the show.

Filming at the Sedgwick County Jail occurred from September to October of 2015. Lawyers with the public defender’s office tried to have the crews prohibited from filming in the jail, but a judge denied the request.

SHAWNEE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities in Shawnee County are investigating a shooting and searching for a suspect.

Just after 9p.m. on Friday, police responded to the area of SW 6th and SW Tyler in Topeka after report of a shooting, according to a media release.

The victim told police he got into an argument with an older, male acquaintance that pulled a handgun and shot him.

The man fled the scene on foot. The victim suffered non-life threatening injuries and is expected to recover, according to police.

Anyone with information on the crime is asked to call Topeka Police.

RENO COUNTY — A Kansas man convicted on two counts of aggravated indecent liberties with a child and a misdemeanor count of intimidation of witness was sentenced to just under seven years in prison Friday.

In November, a jury convicted Tanner Ward, 23, Hutchinson of indecent liberties charges, which involved a child 14 to 16 years of age.

The state had asked for the maximum on both felony counts and wanted them to run consecutive to each other. The victim’s mother also wanted the maximum.

Ward maintained his innocence, not believing he did anything wrong.

On Thursday, Ward was bound over for trial in another case after being arrested stealing some copper pipes from the construction site at the Hutchinson Sports Arena, then took the pipes to Midwest Iron and Metal and sold them for cash.

In doing so, he apparently signed papers saying the items were his. The state charged him with making false writing.
He’ll be arraigned on that charge in February.

SEDGWICK COUNTY – Law enforcement and emergency medical teams were busy on Friday night with accidents blamed on slick Kansas highways.

Just after 6 p.m. Robert W. Callison, 49, Park City, lost control of a southbound 2005 Ford F150 on Interstate 235 at the Kansas 32 due to the icy road. The pickup went off the road way and rolled multiple times, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol.

Callison was transported to St. Francis Medical Center.

Just before 7:15p.m. on Friday six-vehicles traveling westbound on Kansas 96 at Oliver were involved in an accident.

A 2004 Chevy Suburban driven by Ramonyka E. Smith, 19, Wichita; 2000 Toyota Celica driven by Caleb J. Curry, 19, Wichita; 2004 Toyota Corolla driven by Thornton M. Bonner, 23, Newton; 2002 Ford Van driven by Ryan B. Ralston, 52, Wichita; 2002 Chevy Trailblazer driven by Jacob A. Chubb, 18, Wichita; 2016 Toyota Tundra driven by Steven P. Castorena, 18, Wichita

A passenger in the Suburban Jalil J L Walker, 18, Wichita, and a 10-year-old were transported to a local hospital. Four others including 3 children were not transported for treatment, according to the KHP.

Just before 8:30 p.m. Friday a 2015 Volvo semi driven by Douglas P. DeMayo, 60, Augusta, was westbound on U.S. 400 ten miles east of Leon in Butler County when the trailer started to fishtail and crossed into the eastbound lanes.

An eastbound 2017 Freightliner semi driven by William Mason, 63, Pineville, MO. hit the trailer and rolled into the South ditch, according to the KHP.

The Volvo semi rolled into the north ditch. Mason was transported to Wesley Medical Center. DeMayo was not injured.