Secretary of State Kris Kobach says he still anticipates another vote in the Legislature on his plan to move up the date when first-time voters are required to provide proof of their U.S. citizenship.

But legislators aren’t sure it will happen.

Kansas has a proof-of-citizenship requirement for people registering to vote for the first time in the state, but it takes effect Jan. 1, 2013. Kobach wants to move up the date to June 15, so the rule is in place ahead of this year’s presidential election.

The House approved the change, but it stalled in the Senate.

House members backing Kobach’s plan could push again but say they won’t without a sign that the Senate would pass the measure. They haven’t gotten it, but Kobach remains optimistic.

State corrections officials says most inmates serving time in county jails for sex crimes or murder have been moved back to state prisons.

The move comes after four inmates, including one convicted of 2 murders, escaped from the Ottawa County jail earlier this month. The prisoners were all caught within three days. But the escape raised concerns about the types of criminals being transferred to county jails because of overcrowding.

Secretary of Corrections Ray Roberts told The Wichita Eagle the state believes the county jails are secure. He says the inmates were moved to ease public concern about violent prisoners housed in jails in Ottawa, Butler, Cowley and Leavenworth counties.

Roberts says the four county jails all were built within the last decade and are newer than state prisons.

Kansas officials say they’re relieved the federal government has abandoned proposed rules restricting farm work by children.

Speaking Friday in Topeka, U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran said the proposed rules lacked common sense. The Kansas Republican says pressure from farmers, ranchers and farm-state officials led the U.S. Labor Department to withdraw the plan.

Gov. Sam Brownback and Attorney General Derek Schmidt also welcomed the department’s move.

The rules would have banned children under 16 from using most power-driven farm equipment, including tractors. The rules also would have kept those under 18 from working in feed lots, grain silos and stockyards.

The federal agency had said it was trying to reduce deaths and accidents. Critics said the rules would have dramatically changed farm life.

Riley County police arrested 11 people over two days during an undercover operation targeting prostitution.

Lt. Josh Kyle said in a news release those arrested gave home addresses in seven different cities.

These arrests were made at two different Manhattan hotels, the Clarion and America’s Best Value Inn.

Officials did not say if the arrests are connected to a bust in Manhattan earlier this month at America’s Best Value Inn where police said that a runaway girl was found at the hotel working as a prostitute.

Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration is asking the Legislature for about $2 million to alleviate staffing problems at Larned State Hospital.

The hospital for the mentally ill is in danger of losing its federal certification because of the inadequate staffing. Losing the federal certification could cost the state $14.5 million a year. The hospital also houses the state’s sexual predator treatment program.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports the administration is seeking $993,000 to hire 23 direct care staff. Another $940,000 would be used to increase pay for nurses.

State hospitals in Parsons, Osawatomie and Kansas City, Kan. have also reported being understaffed. All the hospitals are facing major increases in overtime costs.

Investigators have cleared a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper of any wrongdoing in the fatal shooting of a man last year.

Ottawa County Attorney Betty Mick said Thursday that trooper Justin Rohr was justified in shooting 56-year-old Larry Dean Smith of Delphos last October.

The Salina Journal reports a Kansas Bureau of Investigation found that Smith fired first during a confrontation in a heavily wooded area near Delphos.

Smith was scheduled to appear in Saline County District Court the day he was shot. He was facing prison time on 10 drug-related charges. He had been released from prison nine months earlier.

Mick said her office has closed the investigation into the shooting.

A Wichita man has been sentenced to life plus 14 years in prison for raping his 10-year-old stepdaughter and setting her on fire.

The Wichita Eagle reports 31-year-old Chris Newberry has been undergoing psychiatric treatment at Larned State Hospital since pleading guilty to rape and attempted murder in September 2009.

Wichita police say Newberry doused his stepdaughter with lighter fluid before setting fire to the family’s mobile home in March 2009. His wife and three other children escaped the fire. The stepdaughter survived with burns over 40% of her body.

The sentence Newberry received Thursday includes five years on each of 4 counts of aggravated arson.

Kansas lawmakers are considering a bill creating a special fund to cover the state’s share of federal disaster assistance.

Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli, the Kansas adjutant general, testified before a Senate committee Thursday about the legislation. The bill would move $12 million a year into the special fund, which would be capped at $40 million.

Tafanelli, a former legislator, says Kansas spends an average of $22 million a year to cover its 10 percent share of federal disaster aid. He suggested the Legislature transfer $22 million a year, instead of the $12 million in the bill, to build the special fund more quickly.

The full Senate is expected to debate the bill next week.

A California woman will spend more than 13 years in prison for shooting at two Kansas Highway Patrol troopers during a chase last year on Interstate 70.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt says 31-year-old Piper Lacey Stout-Briese was sentenced Thursday in Sherman County District Court. She pleaded no contest to two counts of attempted second-degree murder for the shooting in January 2011.

Stout-Briese, of Palmdale, Calif., was a passenger in a car driven by Anthony Patrick when it was stopped in northwestern Kansas for a tag violation. Patrick drove off, and Stout-Briese fired shots from a .22-caliber rifle that struck the troopers’ vehicle during the ensuing chase.

Patrick pleaded no contest earlier to the same charges and received the same sentence.

Police in Kansas City, Kan., have been investigating the theft of several guns from an outdoor recreation store in a suburban retail development.

Police said the guns were stolen early Thursday from the Cabela’s store in a retail area near the Kansas Speedway in Wyandotte County. Police said thieves broke into the business but did not say how many or what variety of guns were taken.

Police say they have no suspects.

A portion of I-70 was down to one lane of eastbound traffic after a fatality accident at the I-70 rest area near Solomon.

The incident occurred just inside the Saline County line at the rest area just west of the Solomon Rd exit, around 1PM.

According to authorities, a semi driving into the Solomon rest area hit a motorhome causing it to catch fire. The motorhome was reported to be housing pesticides. One person inside the motorhome was killed.

The driver of the semi and another occupant of the motorhome were taken to Salina Regional Medical Center with injuries.

Interestate 70 was reduced to one Eastbound lane of traffic from Niles Road to Solomon Road just east of Salina around 1:40. All lanes are now back open, but the rest stop will likely be closed through the evening.

Law enforcement officials from Salina Police, Saline County Sheriff and Kansas Highway Patrol remain at the scene.

Kansas City police are teaming up with the city’s transportation authority to deploy gunshot-detection technology that can instantly pinpoint the location of shots fired.

The Kansas City Star reports officials with the company that developed and markets the ShotSpotter system say it can be operational in the city within 60 to 90 days.

ShotSpotter uses multiple sensors to pick up the sound of gunfire and pinpoint its location. The information goes into computers at California-based SST Inc., where acoustic experts assess the data to determine whether the sounds were gunfire or something else.

Gunshots are instantly reported back to the area’s 911 operators, or in some cases patrol officers.

SST vice president Lydia Barrett says 68 police agencies across the U.S. use the technology.

by Randy Picking ~ Salina Post

The Saline County Sheriffs Office is hoping that someone that may have a small bit of information could help clear a nearly 31 year old unsolved murder case.

On May 31. 1981, 30-year-old William “Billy” Farmer was found dead in a car with multiple gunshot wounds in a remote area southeast of New Cambria.

Thursday morning, the Sheriffs Office and the family of Farmer, made an appeal to anyone who might have any information about the murder to come forward. Deputy Jim Hughes who has been investigating the case, says it’s believed that with the recent deaths of some persons of interest in the case, someone who might have felt intimidated should come forward with information that can be used to close the case.

Hughes, and Saline County Sheriff Glen Kochanowski both said there are people in the area who know what happened, but for many reasons have not chosen to come forward to law enforcement, but they asked them to come forward now and help provide closure for Farmer’s two sons Brady and Bronson, and his wife Brenda Farmer-Henderson.

Brenda told members of the media that “It is way past time to solve this crime”.

Any one who believes they may have information concerning the case no matter how small or insignificant they think may be are ask to contact the Saline County Sheriffs Office or call Crimestoppers at 825-TIPS.