LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A University of Kansas fraternity is on interim suspension after the school received reports of sexual assault during a party during the weekend.
University Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little said in a news release Wednesday that “disturbing and serious” behavior was reported at the Kappa Sigma fraternity. She did not elaborate.
The Lawrence Police Department and the Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access are investigating the allegations.
The suspension come as the university faces increasing criticism for its handling of previous allegations of rape on the Lawrence campus. Kansas is one of 76 schools nationwide being investigated by the federal government for their handling of sexual abuse cases.
In response to the criticism, Gray-Little appointed a task force to review the school’s policies and procedures and to recommend improvements.
The Missouri Department of Conservation is warning people to be careful when working with wildlife after a case of the rabies virus killed a Missouri man last week.
According to the International Society for Infectious disease, 52-year-old John Emmerich of Eugene Missouri died Friday Sept 26th from the rabies virus.
Missouri Department of Conservation State Wildlife Veterinarian, Kelly Straka said in an email that the rabies virus Emmerich caught was associated with the tri-colored bat. The investigation into how he was exposed to the virus is still in process.
Straka said she just wants to advise people to use caution when working with wildlife in the field.
“Any mammal can be infected with rabies,” said Straka. “In Missouri, bats and skunks are most commonly affected.”
She also urges to contact your vet about rabies vaccinations for your pets and/or livestock.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Supreme Court judges appear skeptical about an appeal from a Springfield man convicted of abusing his 13-year-old son by limiting food and locking him in a church bathroom.
Judges heard arguments Wednesday from an attorney for Peter Hansen, who argued that there was insufficient evidence to show he knowingly inflicted cruel and inhumane punishment.
Hansen and his family were living at a Seventh Day Adventist church in 2009 when child abuse investigators responded to a hotline call. His attorney argued in court filings that the child’s limited diet stemmed in part from religious beliefs.
But judges said during questioning that denying food to children goes beyond merely limiting the types of food they eat.
The judges had no probing questions for a state’s attorney defending the convictions.
CALUMET, Okla. (AP) — A decade ago, states offered wind-energy developers an open-armed embrace and envisioned a bright future with cheap electricity, new jobs and steady income for landowners.
But now that wind turbines stand tall across many parts of the nation’s windy heartland, some leaders in Oklahoma and other states fear their efforts succeeded too well.
The industry is gobbling up huge subsidies in many states, drawing frequent complaints and using its powerful lobby to resist reforms.
Many of the same political leaders who initially welcomed the wind industry now want to regulate it more tightly, even in especially conservative states like Oklahoma. The change of heart is happening as wind farms creep closer to more heavily populated areas.
Opposition is also mounting about the loss of scenic views and environmental impacts.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A former Springfield police officer will serve no jail time for accidentally shooting an unarmed panhandler in May.
Jason Shuck was sentenced Wednesday morning to a previously approved sentence of two years of unsupervised probation. He will have no criminal record if he successfully completes the probation but he is prohibited from ever having a job that requires him to carry a firearm.
Shuck pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of third-degree assault. He told investigators he meant to use his Taser on Eric David Butts but accidentally grabbed his pistol and shot the man in the back. Butts suffered severe internal injuries but is expected to fully recover.
The Springfield News-Leader reports the city has reached a settlement with Butts but the agreement’s terms were not made public.
Thomas DoyleA 53-year-old St Joseph man is scheduled for sentencing next month after a jury found him guilty of sexually molesting a nine-year-old girl.
Thomas Doyle was charged with 1st degree child molestation and two counts of statutory sodomy. A jury rejected the sodomy charges but found Doyle guilty of child molestation.
Law enforcement officials say the victim did not come forward with the allegations for several years. The victim, now 18, describes three incidents she said occurred in May of 2005.
Circuit Judge Dan Kellogg scheduled sentencing November 6 at 2 p.m. The charge of 1st degree child molestation is a class-b felony, which carries a possible sentence of from five to 15 years.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), cofounder of the Senate Economic Mobility Caucus, issued the following statement regarding today’s panel discussion on Capitol Hill about the relationship between student debt and financial security moderated by University of Kansas (KU) Professor Melinda Lewis:
“Our country has historically been a place where, regardless of one’s background, anyone can achieve success through hard work. The ability to move up the economic ladder helps create a dynamic society where individuals are free to reach their full potential. The Economic Mobility Caucus was created to provide Members of Congress with a forum to discuss the policies Washington needs to pursue to make certain all Americans, today and in the future, have the opportunity to dream big and pursue those dreams. This event will serve as a valuable opportunity to exchange and assess ideas about financing the costs higher education, student loans and financial security.”
The panel is hosted by The Pew Charitable Trusts in partnership with the Senate Economic Mobility Caucus. Panelists include Brookings Institution’s Beth Akers, Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Meta Brown, Urban Institute’s Sandy Baum, and American Enterprise Institute’s Andrew Kelly. They will provide an overview of the current state of student loan-related research and policy, discuss available data, and analyze the impact of student loans on family balance sheets. Panelists will also consider different paths forward for researchers, policymakers, and the media.
The event took place in Washington, D.C.today in Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room G11.
The Senate Economic Mobility Caucus was created in 2012 and exists to provide a fact-based framework and serve as a clearinghouse for ideas and information with which to assess government policies and identify areas of agreement among the Members of Congress. Sen. Moran serves as co-chairman of the caucus along with U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
The Assets and Education Initiative (AEDI) is an office at the University of Kansas’s School of Social Welfare. AEDI’s mission is to create and study innovations related to assets and economic well-being, with a focus on the relationship between children’s savings and the educational outcomes of low-income and minority children as a way to achieve the American dream.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri House Majority Leader John Diehl wants to let voters decide whether to abolish the state lottery, which he calls an “unstable and “inefficient” funding source for public education.
Diehl said he will present the idea to fellow Republican lawmakers in hopes that the House could consider a measure next year that would place a referendum on the lottery on the 2016 ballot.
“I think we should let the voters have a say in whether or not our commitment to public education should be left to the whims of collecting gambling revenue,”
Diehl told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1wXPisZ ). “The lottery, at the end of the day, is government-run gambling, and it’s been inefficient.”
The lottery had record sales of nearly $1.16 billion during the 2014 budget year that ended June 30, marking its fifth straight year of growth and the fourth consecutive year that it set a new high for revenues. Yet the amount of lottery proceeds transferred to education declined to $267 million this past year from a high of nearly $289 million in 2013.
The amount of lottery revenues provided to education had consistently been above 25 percent annually during the past decade but dipped to 23.1 percent this past year. The rest of the money goes toward prizes and lottery operations.
That education funding decline prompted Gov. Jay Nixon to order a review of the lottery’s operations and replace all five of its commission members, with an emphasis on boosting the percentage of money that goes to education.
If the lottery were eliminated, legislators would have to come up with about $278 million that the lottery is expected to generate for education under the latest annual estimate.
Diehl said the money could come from growth in state general revenues or by cutting less important programs.
Some lawmakers are urging caution. If the state had to replace lottery funding for education, programs such as mental health could face budget cuts, said Sen. Joe Keaveny, D-St. Louis.
Missouri voters authorized the lottery in 1984 and voted to earmark lottery proceeds for education in 1992.
The 2014 Battle of the Belt Challenge competition sponsored by the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety officially kicked off Wednesday.
Northwest Missouri high school students had to sign up by Sept. 26 to take part in the competition that runs Oct. 1 to Nov. 19. Participants could win cash and prizes just for buckling up.
“Nearly eight out of ten teens killed in Missouri vehicle crashes over the last three years weren’t buckled up,” said Leanna Depue, chair of the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety’s executive committee. “The Battle of the Belt competition can make a difference with Missouri teens and save lives through education, competition and fun.”
The program consists of two surprise seat belt checks at each high school to measure student seat belt usage before and after an educational campaign on the importance of safety belt use. In addition, schools have the opportunity to submit a 30-second video spot aimed at encouraging their peers to buckle up. Statewide and regional cash prizes are awarded to schools reaching high safety belt usage rates to further educate the students on the importance of safety belt use.
Marsha Johnson with the Missouri Department of Transportation said from now until November 19 schools will hold surprise seat belt checks followed by several weeks of education and then a follow up sealt belt check.
According to MoDOT teen drivers are over represented in crashes both nationwide and in Missouri. Although comprising only seven percent of Missouri’s licensed drivers, they were involved in nearly 20 percent of the fatal and serious injury crashes over the last three years. Traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for people 15-20 years old. Results of a 2013 survey among Missouri teens indicate 33 percent of teens are not wearing safety belts. According to the survey, even fewer Northwest Missouri teens buckle up – over 40 percent of Northwest Missouri teens do not use a safety belt.
Schools achieving Highest Overall Seat Belt Use and Most Improved Seat Belt Use regionally will receive $500.00 donated by American Family Insurance. Statewide recognition will be awarded with a banner for seat belt use rates of gold (99-100 percent), silver (95-98 percent) or bronze (91-94 percent) donated by the Missouri College of Emergency Physicians. The top three winning video spots will also receive funding to further seat belt educational programs.
