LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A University of Kansas fraternity will remain on interim suspension as the school continues an investigation of alleged sexual assaults occurring at the house.

Kappa Sigma had asked the university to remove it from suspension, arguing that it did not represent a threat. University and fraternity representatives met Nov. 24 to discuss the request.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports university procedures require a decision within 10 business days of the meeting. But the university said Wednesday that deadline was extended and Kappa Sigma’s interim suspension will continue indefinitely.

The suspension was imposed Sept. 30 after the university received allegations of sexual assault during a party at the fraternity the previous weekend.

Lawrence police are conducting a separate investigation. A spokesman said Wednesday no arrests have been made.

A sister project to Missouri’s embattled Grain Belt Express high-voltage power line project received approval from regulators in Illinois.

But the project was dealt an unattractive hand in the process.

The Illinois Commerce Commission approved the hotly contested Rock Island Clean Line high voltage transmission line (RICL).

Illinois’ utility regulatory board did not give the project the power of eminent domain. Landowners will not be forced to sell an easement of face condemnation. Opponents of the Missouri project tell us that without eminent domain, the company “will likely never succe3ssfully negotiate with each and every landowner along a direct path.”

In a news release, “Block Grain Belt Express-Missouri” says that if RICL wants to obtain that authority, they must re-apply and start the long and expensive process over.

They also assert the company may have trouble getting financing without eminent domain. Clean Line has admitted it has obtained only two percent of the total financing they need. The Illinois project must prove it has 100% of its financing before the project can begin.

RICL will not be to obtain financing from ratepayers, and its permit would be revoked if it attempts to obtain any such cost allocation.

Rock Island Clean Line would use high-voltage, direct-current power lines to deliver wind energy from Northwest Iowa to communities in Illinois and points east.

The projects are facing growing opposition with each proposal, according to the Missouri group. There are now active groups in Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Iowa, and South Dakota. Groups share the common goal to prevent the private company from obtaining the power of eminent domain and ability to condemn private property for its own profit without proven benefit to pass-through states, or actual need for the power.

The legal hearings at the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) have finished for the Grain Belt Express application for Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (CCN).

“We are very encouraged and thankful that the PSC staff recommended that the Commission does not grant the CCN to Grain Belt Express Clean Line,” Block Grain Belt Express-Missouri spokesperson Jennifer Gatrel said in a news release.

“That is a very important because the Commission relies on the expertise of its staff for technical and legal recommendations. The staff recognized that the proposal does not meet the five necessary requirements to be granted the CCN.”

One staff member of the PSC testified that out of approximately 7,200 public comments that have been received by the PSC regarding the Grain Belt Express transmission line, all but 65 have been in opposition. In September, the PSC held eight public hearings on the Grain Belt Express proposal which were attended by approximately 2,000 people in opposition. The Commission could rule on the case by the end of the year.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Brown v. Board of Education historic site in Topeka has a new superintendent.

The National Park Service announced Wednesday that Sherda K. Williams will become leader of the site on Jan. 11.

Williams currently is superintendent of the James A. Garfield and the First Ladies National Historic Sites in Ohio. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports  she previously led the Nicodemus National Historical Site in western Kansas.

Williams, a native of Berkeley, California, replaces David Smith. He resigned last September to become supervisor of Joshua Tree National Park in California.

The Topeka site commemorates the 1954 Supreme Court decision that ended separate-but-equal school segregation in the United States.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill  met this week  with United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and nominee for Attorney General of the United States, Loretta Lynch.

“Our nation’s top lawyer is a critical post,” McCaskill said. “As the events that unfolded over the past few months in Ferguson highlighted, the position of Attorney General is an important backstop in our nation’s legal system and can positively reinforce Americans’ trust in the rule of law amid intense legal controversies. I’m impressed by Ms. Lynch’s qualifications and confident in her ability to fulfill the duties of U.S. Attorney General.”

Loretta Lynch, who holds a B.A. and J.D. from Harvard University, currently serves as the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York where she has successfully prosecuted numerous cases of corruption in the public and private sectors. Prior to her current post, Ms. Lynch was a partner at Hogan & Hartson, a drug and violent crime pro

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City woman has been charged with felony animal abuse and animal neglect after her dog was abused so severely that his eyes had to be surgically removed.

Jackson County prosecutors charged 36-year-old Kimberly Anderson on Wednesday in the Nov. 9 attack on the Tibetan spaniel named Roadrunner. A witness says Anderson threw the small dog off of a third-floor balcony before kicking and choking him.

Anderson was previously issued a municipal citation in the same case. She tells police she didn’t abuse the dog and that he was hit by a car.

KC Pet Project manages the city’s animal shelter and said Friday that the dog is doing well at a foster home.
It wasn’t immediately clear if Anderson has an attorney.

PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — The former director of Pittsburg State’s College of Business is facing federal charges of defrauding Nigerian graduate students recruited to attend the school.

Federal prosecutors said Wednesday that 61-year-old Michael Muoghalu of Pittsuburg faces one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

Muoghalu is accused of taking more than $148,000 in refunds due to the Nigerian students in Pittsburg State’s Masters of Business Administration program.

The Pittsburg Morning Sun reports  that prosecutors allege that beginning in 2006 Muoghalu worked with an unknown accomplice in Nigeria to persuade 15 Nigerian students to give him part of the refunds they received on deposits for tuition and fees.

Muoghalu was suspended in June and resigned Sept. 15.

It wasn’t immediately clear if Muoghalu

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri parents could be guaranteed time off work to attend a school event with their child if enough lawmakers support the proposal.

State Rep. Karla May of St. Louis recently filed legislation that would allow parents and legal guardians to take off eight hours from work a year.

Employers could deny the leave if it could cause unusual difficulty for the business.

Parents or guardians would get eight hours each academic year per child. Employers could limit that to three-hour increments and require proof from the school.