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Ferguson Commission to conduct first meeting

Ferguson City Hall
Ferguson City Hall

FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — The 16-person panel chosen by Missouri’s governor to help find long-term solutions after the Ferguson police shooting meets for the first time Monday.
The Ferguson Commission has scheduled a five-hour public meeting set to begin at noon at the Ferguson Community Center. A public comment session is set to start at 3:45 p.m.

The panel includes a Ferguson construction supply company owner, two pastors, a university professor, two attorneys, a 20-year-old community activist and a

St. Louis police detective who is also president of the state chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police.
The commission’s task is to study the underlying social and economic conditions — from failing schools to high unemployment— underscored by sometimes violent unrest following the early August shooting of Michael Brown by Ferguson officer Darren Wilson.

Kansas man dies in Missouri plane crash, 3 others injured

crash accident deadly fatalBOONVILLE, Mo. (AP) — The pilot has died and three others are injured after the crash of a small plane near the Boonville, Missouri, airport.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol tells KMIZ  that the pilot, Charles Sojka of Salina, Kansas, were killed in the crash around 9 a.m. Sunday. The three passengers were taken to University Hospital in Columbia. Their conditions weren’t known Sunday evening.

Tim Rogers of the Salina Airport Authority says Sojka was a flight instructor at Sojka Aviation. Rogers says the plane had left Salina earlier in the week and was on its way back from Boonville.

Supreme Court to consider Facebook threats case

facebookySAM HANANEL, Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) — It’s a First Amendment test for the Supreme Court in a case being heard Monday.

At issue are the free-speech rights of people who use violent or threatening language on Facebook and other social media.

A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for posting graphically violent rap lyrics on Facebook about killing his estranged wife, shooting up a kindergarten class and attacking an FBI agent.

The man says he was just venting his anger over a broken marriage and that he never meant to threaten anyone.

But a jury convicted him of violating a federal law that makes it a crime to threaten another person. A federal appeals court rejected his claim that his comments were protected by the First Amendment.

Obama to hold White House meetings on Ferguson

Obama2WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will discuss the situation in Ferguson, Missouri, with his Cabinet, civil rights leaders, law enforcement officials and others Monday.

The White House says Obama’s Cabinet meeting will focus on his administration’s review of federal programs that provide military-style equipment to law enforcement agencies.

The president will also meet with young civil rights leaders to discuss the challenges posed by “mistrust between law enforcement and communities of color.” He’ll then meet with government and law enforcement officials, as well as other community leaders, to discuss how to strengthen neighborhoods.

Protests have continued in Ferguson, but have been more muted than the violence sparked last week by a grand jury’s decision not to indict a police officer in the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

Report: Kansas man died from drug overdose

Police Body found MurderLAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — An autopsy report of a man found along Kansas 10 in Douglas County shows he died from an overdose of a prescription antipsychotic medication.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports 37-year-old Nathan Thurman was prescribed the antipsychotic drug at a state hospital before his death in July. Lawrence police found an empty bottle of the Quetiapine tablets inside his bag. They say he filled the prescription five days before his death and that the drugs should have lasted one month.

Douglas County Coroner Erik Mitchell says Thurman had a toxic concentration of the drug in his blood. The report didn’t state if the overdose was intentional.

Kansas farm groups gathering as season wraps up

Screen-Shot-2014-11-29-at-6.52.11-PM.pngWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The fall harvest of crops in Kansas is mostly in the bin now. Winter wheat planting is done. And calving is still months away.

Kansas farmers and ranchers are taking advantage of the seasonal lull this week to gather together to socialize, hash out farm policy aims and gather information at three major agricultural conventions.

On Monday, more 1,000 farmers head to Manhattan to layout the roadmap for public policy issues the Kansas Farm Bureau members consider of importance to agriculture.

Kansas Livestock Association kicks off its three-day convention beginning Wednesday in Wichita amid all-time high cattle prices.

Beginning on Thursday, the Kansas Farmers Union is meeting in Manhattan for three days. The director of the U.S. Agriculture Department agency that oversees fair and competitive trading is headlining their event.

Kansas House members picking leaders for 2015-16

Ray Merrick
Ray Merrick

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas House Speaker Ray Merrick faces a challenge from a fellow Republican for the chamber’s top leadership position for another two years.

And House Democrats are naming a new leader.

The House’s 125 members and members-elect had organizational meetings Monday at the Statehouse to pick leaders for 2015 and 2016.

Republicans will hold a 97-28 House majority when lawmakers open the 2015 session in January, and GOP members will designate the speaker.

Merrick, from Stilwell, is finishing his first, two-year term and is seeking another. His challenger is Rep. Virgil Peck of Tyro.

Democrats must replace Minority Leader Paul Davis of Lawrence. He gave up his House seat to run unsuccessfully for governor.

Reps. Tom Burroughs of Kansas City and Jim Ward of Wichita are vying for the job.

Annual seed harvest keeps wild prairies alive

Screen Shot 2014-12-01 at 5.48.23 AMEL DORADO SPRINGS, Mo. (AP) — This year’s effort to collect wildflower and grass seeds from surviving prairie remnants has wrapped up.
The Missouri Department of Conservation said in a news release that staff and volunteers netted about 6,500 pounds of seeds mixed with chaff. The seed will be used to plant about 300 acres of native wildflowers and grasses.

Today, only small remnants of the once abundant open tallgrass prairies remain in the state. The habitat loss has harmed several species, including Missouri’s greater prairie chickens.

Wildlife biologist Matt Hill says native seed harvest is an economic and ecologically-sound step in broad efforts to help prairie species. A key partner in the project is The Nature Conservancy of Missouri, which owns prairie land and provides financial support for seed collection efforts.

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