JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Opponents of a gun-rights amendment recently approved by Missouri voters are asking the state Supreme Court to overturn the election results.
A court challenge filed Wednesday contends the summary on the Aug. 5 ballot was insufficient and unfair and thus the results should be invalidated.
Voters approved Constitutional Amendment 5 by 61 percent. The ballot summary presented to voters said the amendment declares “that the right to keep and bear arms is a unalienable right and that the state government is obligated to uphold that right.”
The lawsuit contends voters should also have been told that the amendment subjects gun-control laws to strict legal scrutiny and that it repeals a provision allowing restrictions on concealed guns.
A similar lawsuit was rejected before the election because of time constraints.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt has received an endorsement from one of his predecessors in his bid for a second term.
Republican Bob Stephan served as attorney general from 1979 through 1995. He now chairs the Attorney General’s Senior Consumer Protection Advisory Council.
Schmidt was unopposed in last month’s Republican primary. He faces Democrat and Topeka lawyer A.J. Kotich in November’s general election.
Stephan announced his backing of Schmidt on Wednesday, saying the incumbent has championed new laws to protect consumers against identity theft. Stephan also said Schmidt has acted to toughen penalties against those who commit financial and physical abuse of older Kansans.
OVERLAND PARK, Kansas (AP) — Republican Sen. John McCain is in Kansas praising three-term Sen. Pat Roberts as “a steady hand” and calling Roberts’ independent opponent a Democrat in disguise.
At a rally Wednesday in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee fired up the crowd of Roberts supporters.
Roberts has called Orman, a businessman from Olathe who has run as a Democrat and made contributions to Democratic candidates, a vote for Senate Democrats, should he win.
McCain repeating those criticisms, saying, “If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it might be a duck!”
Orman’s campaign called the critique “desperate.”
McCain is scheduled to headline a Roberts fundraiser in Olathe on Thursday.
FORT LEONARD WOOD (AP) – A military judge has recommended a 20-year prison sentence for a Missouri drill sergeant found guilty of sexually assaulting and harassing several female soldiers.
Army Staff Sgt. Angel M. Sanchez was found guilty of four counts of sexual assault and six counts of abusive sexual contact. The verdict came Wednesday afternoon at a court-martial.
Sanchez was accused of using his supervisory position with the 14th Military Police Brigade at Fort Leonard Wood to isolate his victims and win their trust with favors, including cake and ice cream. One woman testified that failing to cooperate would have jeopardized her military status.
The Philadelphia native and married father of two didn’t testify during the three-day hearing but apologized to his victims, many of whom were in the courtroom, after the verdict.
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ALAN SCHER ZAGIER, Associated Press
FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (AP) — The military court-martial of a Missouri sergeant accused of sexually assaulting eight female soldiers has resumed.
A verdict is expected Wednesday after a three-day trial for 30-year-old Army Staff Sgt. Angel M. Sanchez, who is accused of using his supervisory position with the 14th Military Police Brigade to threaten some of the women he was tasked with training.
Sanchez pleaded guilty to three charges at the outset of the military judicial hearing. His accusers said the incidents took place in the bathroom of the female barracks as well as in an office shared by drill sergeants.
Most of the allegations involved women at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, but some involved women in Afghanistan and Fort Richardson, Alaska.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A man and woman have been charged with kidnapping and sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl over the weekend in Topeka.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that 28-year-old Jeremy Lindsey and 23-year-old Michelle Harris were charged with the attack Wednesday in Shawnee County District Court. The two are jailed on $1 million bond.
The Shawnee County court website listed Lindsey’s attorney as Joseph Huerter, but a woman at his law firm said the case hadn’t yet been formally assigned to Huerter. Harris’ attorney in the Shawnee County public defender’s office didn’t immediately return a phone call.
The girl was missing for nearly six hours when she was found Saturday afternoon walking along a road about two miles away from her home. About 50 people participated in the search.
LYNDON, Kan- A Kansas man died in an accident just before 7 a.m. on Wednesday in Osage County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1994 Mazda truck driven by Bryan Lee Turpin, 34, Emporia, was northbound on U.S. 75 three miles north of Lyndon and began to fishtail.
The vehicle went into on coming traffic and was struck in the passenger side by a 2005 Ford Econoline driven by James William Nutt, 52, Topeka.
A passenger in the Mazda Brian Warren Bender, 27, Waverly, was pronounced dead at the scene and transported to Frontier Forensics.
Turpin was transported to Stormont Vail. Nutt was not injured.
The KHP reported Bender and Turpin were not wearing seat belts.
Photos by Darren Whitley /Northwest University Relations)
Enrollment at Northwest Missouri State University this fall is 6,720 students and is up 3.6 percent, the University announces this week after completing its fall census.
The total headcount is comprised of 5,491 undergraduate students and 1,229 graduate students. Graduate enrollment is up 30 percent from the same time last year.
The headcount also includes 1,297 first-time freshmen, a 3 percent increase from last year’s freshmen headcount. At the same time, about 71 percent of Northwest’s fall 2013 freshmen returned to the University this fall – an increase from last fall that places Northwest’s freshman retention rate above the national average.
“Students recognize our emphasis on helping them succeed, and our enrollment numbers are indicative that Northwest Missouri State remains a top destination for a comprehensive academic experience that is high-quality and affordable,” Northwest President Dr. John Jasinski said.
Northwest also recorded a substantial increase in enrollment of international students. The University’s enrollment includes 708 international students, a 98 percent increase from last fall. They represent 31 countries with the majority of those students coming from India, while China, Nepal and South Korea are also well represented.
Additionally, Northwest’s student body remains increasingly diverse with 1,498 students, or 22 percent, coming from an underrepresented domestic group or another country. Northwest’s total minority enrollment is 790 students, which represents 12 percent of the student body.
Thirty-seven percent of Northwest’s student body, or a total of 2,460 students, hail from beyond the Missouri border. Out-of-state enrollment is up 25 percent from last year, including an 87 percent increase among graduate students. In all, Northwest students represent 46 states this fall.
Northwest – a coeducational, primarily residential four-year university that offers a broad range of undergraduate and selected graduate programs – is ranked as the top moderately selective regional university in Missouri on U.S. News and World Report’s list of “2015 Best Colleges.”
It boasts a 59 percent graduation rate, which is about 20 percent higher than the national average. In addition, 98 percent of Northwest bachelor’s degree earners and 99 percent of master’s degree earners secure employment or continue their education within six months of graduation, according to the most recent data.
Furthermore, its vibrant and diverse learning community offers more than 150 student organizations, and textbooks and a laptop are included in tuition, which is among the lowest in the state, saving students an estimated $7,200 over four years. Northwest also offers 1,200 student employment positions, allowing students to build professional skills through its internationally benchmarked student employment program.
Northwest students are strong academically with an average ACT score of 22.8, and students enrolled at the University this fall carried an average high school grade-point average of 3.35.
Photo by Jeff and Laura Jacobson / Kansas Athletics
Kansas senior Jimmay Mundine was named the John Mackey Tight End of the Week Wednesday morning, it was announced by The John Mackey Award.
A senior from Denison, Texas, Mundine recorded six receptions for 67 yards (both career-highs), leading the Jayhawks in receptions in their 24-10 win over Central Michigan. Mundine was one of 40 tight ends named to the 2014 Mackey Preseason Watch List in July.
Honorable mentions for this week’s John Mackey Tight End of the Week include Nick O’Leary of Florida State and Clive Walford of Miami.
The 2014 John Mackey recipient will be announced on December 10, 2014 and presented live on December 11, 2014 at The Home Depot College Football Awards Red Carpet Show on ESPNU. Other key dates include the announcement of the Midseason Watch List on October 13, 2014, the Mackey Semi-finalists on November 17, 2014 and the Mackey Finalists on November 24, 2014.
The John Mackey Tight End of the Week is an honor distinct and different from the annual John Mackey Award. This weekly honor was started in 2004 to draw attention to individual play by Tight Ends during the active season. The Tight End of the Week acknowledgment does not have a direct bearing on the final John Mackey Award selection process.
The John Mackey Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 21 awards boast 678 years of tradition-selection excellence.
Mundine and his Kansas teammates host Texas in the annual Homecoming game, which doubles as their first Big 12 contest of the 2014 season, Saturday, Sept. 27. Game time is slated for 3 p.m.
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — Some Kansas officials are questioning whether a state law meant to exempt school districts from some education regulations is just another layer of red tape.
A 2013 Kansas law allows school districts to be excluded from certain rules involving public education if they present plans to improve student achievement. The Coalition of Innovative School Districts met Tuesday.
The Salina Journal reports coalition members discussed how districts should notify the group and government agencies of regulations they wanted to be exempted from.
But some members questioned whether the law meant to give a blanket exemption to any district, or whether each exemption needed separate approval.
According to a Kansas newspaper, the state is about to become actively involved in the sex-toy business, selling thousands of them at auction to make good on tens of thousands of dollars in state taxes owed by the owner. The Topeka Capital Journal reported that a private auction firm is selling the sex toys online at the direction of the Kansas Department of Revenue.
According to the newspaper, online shoppers for adult DVDs, novelty items, clothing and other products can “participate in a bonanza shopping experience.”
The owner, Larry Minkoff, was doing business under the Bang label. But the newspaper reports he resisted requests from the Kansas Department of Revenue for payment of $163,986 in state taxes. It’s unclear how much he still owes the state, because those precise records are not open to the public.
Agents took action in July to seize business inventory at outlets in Topeka, Wichita, Junction City and Kansas City, Kan., under Minkoff’s control.
The newspaper reported that the merchandise was released back to Minkoff as part of a negotiated arrangement. He subsequently entered into a contract to sell the holdings at public auction and apply the money toward payment of taxes owed the state of Kansas. The contract is with equip-bid.com auction company.
Political opponents of Republican Governor Sam Brownback were quick to pounce. In a news release, Kansas Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley said “Brownback is so desperate to fill the massive hole in the state budget caused by his reckless income tax cuts that the state of Kansas is now in the porn business.”
“The Kansas Department of Revenue must be working overtime turning over every rock to find funds to make next week’s revenue numbers look better than they really are,” Hensley said.
