TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union is seeking a federal court order to force Kansas to allow same-sex couples to marry as the group challenges the state constitution’s ban on gay marriage.

The ACLU filed its request Monday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kansas, only three days after it filed a lawsuit in Wichita and Lecompton in Douglas County on behalf of lesbian couples who unsuccessfully sought marriage licenses.

The ACLU is requesting a preliminary injunction and an order temporarily restraining the state from enforcing its ban on gay marriage.

The lawsuit came after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear appeals from five states seeking to save their gay-marriage bans. The states included Oklahoma and Utah, which are in the same appeals court circuit as Kansas.

MARQUETTE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) — Authorities say a 55-year-old Kansas man has died after being hit by a minivan while crossing a roadway with a group of people in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

The Mining Journal of Marquette and WLUC-TV report Paul Cox of Plains was hit about 8 p.m. Saturday in Marquette County’s Marquette Township.

The minivan’s 43-year-old driver and three children inside the vehicle weren’t injured.

The sheriff’s department says the group was crossing from a motel to a restaurant. No one else in the group was injured.

The crash is under investigation.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A bill that would decriminalize cultivation of small amounts of marijuana in Columbia has been endorsed by one city commission.

The Columbia Disabilities Commission voted unanimously last week to endorse legislation offered by Sixth Ward Councilwoman Barbara Hoppe.

The Columbia City Council asked the commission to make a recommendation on the bill. It also asked for recommendations from the Columbia Board of Health and the Substance Abuse Advisory Commission, which both declined to endorse the proposal.

The council voted last week to table discussion of Hoppe’s bill until its Oct. 20 meeting.

DETROIT (AP) — At least 27 people have died and 25 people have been seriously injured in crashes involving General Motors cars with defective ignition switches.

Attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who was hired by GM to compensate victims, updated the totals Monday.

Feinberg says he has received 178 death claims since August. Of those, 27 have been deemed eligible for compensation payments.

Twenty-five of the 1,193 injury claimants have also received compensation offers.

GM knew about faulty ignition switches in Chevrolet Cobalts and other small cars for more than a decade but didn’t recall them until February of this year. The switches can slip out of the “on” position, which causes the cars to stall, knocks out power steering and turns off the air bags.

Feinberg will accept claims until Dec. 31.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Independent candidate Greg Orman is broadcasting a new television ad in his campaign for the U.S. Senate in Kansas featuring an endorsement from the state’s retiring GOP insurance commissioner.

The 30-second spot began statewide Monday. It features Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger saying she plans to vote for Orman over three-term Republican Sen. Pat Roberts because she is “ready for a fresh face.”

Orman is an Olathe businessman running as a centrist.

Roberts has been campaigning with tea party movement conservatives such as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. He portrays Orman as a liberal Democrat.

Praeger broke with fellow Republicans by expressing support for parts of the federal health care overhaul. Orman’s campaign says he and Praeger disagree on health care issues.

MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State University says it will not renew the contract of a professor who conducted controversial research on grassland burning.

Research associate Gene Towne says he believes his 26-year career will end Oct. 31 because he suggested in a published article that ranchers could burn grassland at times other than April. For years, the university has said spring, especially late April, was the best time for grassland burning to revive the prairie.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Biology Division administrator John Blair said Towne’s contract was not renewed because of budget issues. Blair also said Towne lacked technical skills and his research project did not meet accepted standards.

For decades, Kansas State has used the Konza Prairie as a laboratory for research into methods of managing fire.