Members of a committee that wrote a new report critical of a federal safety assessment for a planned biosecurity lab in northeast Kansas say they don’t doubt the need for such a facility.

Gregory Baecher is chairman of the National Research Council committee that issued the report Friday. He says members believe the federal government needs a facility like the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility planned for Manhattan. It would research dangerous animal diseases.

The council’s report said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s latest safety assessment is technically flawed and underestimates the risks of an accidental release of a dangerous disease.

Baecher said officials need to balance the risks of operating a lab against the risks of not having the research capabilities.

Kansas officials say the state saw few changes in its economy in May as the unemployment rate remained steady at 6.1 percent.

The state Department of Labor said Friday that the economy continues to be stronger than it was last year. In May 2011, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.7 percent.

Kansas continued to see modest job growth in the private sector compared to last year.

About 1.1 million Kansans had jobs with private employers in May. The department said that’s about 10,800 more than in May 2011, or growth of about 1 percent. Some of the gain was offset by a drop in government employment over the year.

Department labor economist Tyler Tenbrink said the economy has remained essentially flat for the fourth consecutive month.

A gay rights group that opposes the re-election bid of a conservative Kansas House member is trying to get her removed from the ballot with questions about her residence.

The Kansas Equality Coalition submitted an objection to the secretary of state Thursday to the filing by Democratic Rep. Jan Pauls, of Hutchinson, for re-election. A state board expects to review the objection next week.

Coalition executive director Tom Witt questioned whether Pauls lives at the address she lists – a former church she and her husband are renovating.

Pauls announced she was moving to the former church when political redistricting put the precinct containing her home into another House district. Pauls said she’s receiving mail at the new address.

The coalition has criticized Pauls over her positions on social issues.

By Dewey Terrill ~ Junction City Post

The Geary County Sheriff’s Department, Junction City and Grandview Plaza police departments have conducted a prostitution sting.

Geary County Undersheriff Tony Wolf confirms 16 people have been arrested. Authorities were able to monitor online traffic as part of their investigation in the case. Wolf added those arrested included alleged prostitutes, pimps, and johns.

The undersheriff also notes out of the operation authorities also recovered stolen property, served some outstanding arrest warrants, and developed several drug cases.  Some of those allegedly coming to patronize prostitutes came multiple locations including the local area, Topeka, and Wichita.  More details are expected to be released later today.

A Fort Riley private has been charged with murder in the death of a fellow soldier from his unit.

Officials at the northeast Kansas post announced the charge Thursday against Pvt. John Hughes. He’s also charged with larceny and resisting arrest.

Hughes is accused of killing 21-year-old Pvt. Thomas Lavrey, who was found unresponsive in his living quarters on May 14. The Army has not disclosed the cause of death but says the investigation continues.

Hughes is being held at Fort Leavenworth. Members of his defense team could not be located for comment Thursday night.

Lavrey was a native of West Seneca, N.Y.

Both were assigned to Special Troops Battalion, 1st Sustainment Brigade, 1st Infantry Division – Lavrey as a utilities equipment repairman and Hughes as a wheeled vehicle mechanic.

Kansas health officials are warning residents to avoid direct contact with water in two lakes because of high levels of blue-green algae blooms.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment issued the warnings Thursday for Memorial-Veterans Lake in Great Bend and Old Herington City Lake in Dickinson County.

The agency also issued health advisories for seven lakes where blue-green algae have been detected. Advisories mean boating and fishing may be safe, but direct contact with the water is discouraged for people, pets and livestock.

Those lakes are Cedar Bluff Reservoir, Lovewell Reservoir, Milford Lake, Overland Park South Lake, Logan City Lake, Marion Reservoir and Winfield City Lake.

Blue-green algae can cause allergic reactions, diarrhea, vomiting and death. Animals can die from drinking too much tainted water.

Democrats say one of their Kansas House candidates is being denied a spot on the ballot because the secretary of state’s office lost his paperwork.

Democratic Party officials announced Thursday that they will challenge a decision by Secretary of State Kris Kobach not to list Larry Meeker, of Lake Quivira, as a candidate for the 17th House District in the Kansas City area. They had until Thursday evening to file an objection with Kobach’s office.

Kobach is a Republican, but House Minority Leader Paul Davis, a Lawrence Democrat, said he doesn’t believe the decision against Meeker was motived by politics or malice. Davis said he believes Kobach’s office simply made a mistake.

Kobach spokeswoman Kay Curtis said only that his office does not have a form for Meeker.

The University of Kansas will ask for $30 million in state funds to help erect a new medical education building.

The university says the building will cost an estimated $75 million. It will be built at the University of Kansas School of Medicine campus in Kansas City, Kan.

The Kansas Board of Regents will consider the request along with other funding requests from all public universities at its June 21 meeting. The board will send its final budget request to Gov. Sam Brownback by October.

Kansas officials say the current medical education building is too small and doesn’t meet accrediting standards.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports Kansas will provide $30 million in private funds and revenue bonds, and use $15 million from a medical resident refund.

Business continues to be good at the Kansas Star Casino near Mulvane.

The Kansas Lottery reports the casino collected a net of $15.1 million gambling revenue in May, an increase from $14.5 million in April.

The Wichita Eagle reports the casino’s best month since the casino opened last December was March, when it collected $16.8 million.

Lottery officials say the casino has generated $84.5 million in revenue since December. The state has received $18.6 million, or 22%, of that revenue.

The city of Mulvane and Sumner and Sedgwick counties each received $845,000 and another $1.7 million went to the state’s gambling addiction fund.

The casino’s manager, Peninsula Gaming of Dubuque, Iowa made $61.7 million, or 73%.

Two people were arrested Wednesday afternoon after a customer at a Walmart store in Lawrence, KS reported believed that he saw a child bound and restrained in a vehicle in the parking lot.

Authorities responded to the Walmart at 550 Congressional Dr. around 11:15 am and reportedly saw a young boy, approximately, 4-years-old that was blindfolded with his hands bound behind his back.

When police approached a man near the SUV, he resisted and an officer used a Taser on him.

The man, whose name has not been released, has been taken into custody along with a woman, who was inside the Walmart.

There were a total of 5  children in the vehicle, ranging in age from about 4 to 17-years-old.

All of the children are now in protective custody.

This story will be updated as more information is released.

A new study suggests cougars are again spreading across the Midwest, a century after the generally reclusive predators were hunted to near extinction in much of the region.

The findings by a University of Minnesota doctoral student, a Southern Illinois University wildlife ecologist and the Cougar Network are detailed in the latest Journal of Wildlife Management.

The study showed 178 cougar confirmations in the Midwest between 1990 and 2008. The animals were spotted as far south as Louisiana and Texas.

Confirmed sightings of Midwest cougars were sporadic before 1990, when there were only a couple. The study shows that number spiked to more than 30 by 2008.

Sixty-seven confirmations were in Nebraska, 31 in North Dakota, 12 each in Oklahoma and Texas, 11 in South Dakota and 10 in Missouri. Other states had single-digit tallies.