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Iowa woman learns she is pregnant 3 hours before birth

HospitalDES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A Fort Dodge woman was surprised to learn she was pregnant about three hours before she gave birth to her fourth child on Friday.

The Des Moines Register reports Stephanie Hughes originally went to her doctor because she was having cramps.

Then she learned she was pregnant.

Hughes called her husband to give him the news Friday morning. Then she gave birth around 11 a.m. to a 5 pound, 13 ounce baby girl named Ames.

Hughes says the past few days have been a whirlwind, but she’s looking forward to getting to know her little surprise. The couple’s three older children are excited about the family’s new addition.

US wants to force lower speeds on truck and bus drivers

semi truckDETROIT (AP) — The U.S. is seeking to forcibly limit how fast trucks, buses and other large vehicles can travel on the nation’s highways.

A new proposal Friday would impose the nationwide limit by electronically capping speeds with a device on newly made U.S. vehicles that weigh more than 26,000 pounds. Regulators are considering a cap of 60, 65 or 68 miles per hour, though that could change.

The government says capping speeds for large vehicles will reduce the 1,115 fatal crashes involving heavy trucks that occur each year.

The proposal offered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is subject to public comment before becoming final.

Garmin announces major expansion at Olathe headquarters

garminOLATHE, Kan. (AP) — Garmin International says it is planning a $200 million expansion at its headquarters in Olathe.

Garmin and the city of Olathe announced Friday that the company will build a new manufacturing and distribution center and new road through its campus. The project is expected to take two years.

After the expansion is completed, the company plans to renovate its existing manufacturing and warehouse space for research, development and office space.

The company currently employs about 2,800 at its headquarters. The expansion will accommodate another 2,600 workers.

Company spokesman Ted Gartner says officials have not decided whether about 600 Garmin workers who work elsewhere in the Kansas City area will be moved to the expanded headquarters.

FDA advises Zika screening for all US blood centers

FDAWASHINGTON (AP) — The Food and Drug Administration wants all U.S. blood banks to start screening for Zika virus, a major expansion intended to protect the nation’s blood supply from the mosquito-borne disease.

The new advisory means all U.S. states and territories will need to begin testing blood donations for Zika. Previously, the requirement was limited to areas with active Zika transmission, such as Puerto Rico and two Florida counties.

Blood banks already test donations for HIV, hepatitis, West Nile virus and other blood-borne viruses.

Last month, the FDA told blood centers in Miami and Fort Lauderdale to immediately stop collecting donations until they could begin screening each unit of blood for Zika. The order followed now-confirmed reports of local Zika transmission — the first in the continental U.S.

 

Kansas State policy would allow guns in all buildings

 

concealed carryMANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State University would allow concealed firearms in all building under guidelines it is developing for complying with a state law.

The Manhattan Mercury reports that a university work group is planning a Sept. 15 forum before submitting the guidelines to the Kansas Board of Regents for approval.

Beginning in July 2017, the state’s public universities must allow concealed weapons on campus in buildings that don’t have security measures including metal detectors. The Kansas Board of Regents has directed universities to develop more detailed policies by the fall.

Under Kansas State’s proposed policy, no residence hall, classroom or other campus location would have the security measures that would allow a complete concealed carry prohibition. But concealed carry could be prohibited when temporary security measures are in place.

Crop duster crash injures pilot

The plane involved in Thursday’s crash-photo courtesy KWCH
The plane involved in Thursday’s crash-photo courtesy KWCH

BUSHTON, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a Kansas pilot has been hurt in a small plane crash in central Kansas.

Kansas Highway Patrol Master Trooper Dave Jacobs says 51-year-old Bradley Fitchett, of Ellsworth, was using a small agricultural aircraft to spray pesticide on a field south of Bushton on Thursday when the plane developed an engine problem. Fitchett attempted to make an emergency landing when the plane flipped.

The pilot was transported to Great Bend hospital and then transferred to a Wichita hospital.

Jacobs says Fitchett was wearing a helmet that was crushed in two places. Jacobs says it saved Fitchett from a more serious head injury.

The accident is under investigation.

Ex-Missouri bank worker gets 18 months for theft scheme

gavel with cashAURORA, Mo. (AP) — A former employee of a bank in southwestern Missouri has been ordered to spend a year and a half in federal prison for a $130,000 embezzlement scheme.

Forty-six-year-old Jo Ann Nickell of Aurora was sentenced Thursday in Springfield. That’s where she pleaded guilty in October of last year.

Prosecutors say Nickell was employed by Community National Bank in Aurora as a customer service representative and back-up teller from mid-August 2009 to mid-July 2013.  Authorities say she stole money from the accounts of seven victims, ranging in age from 65 to 91.

Nickell’s actions led to a total loss for the bank of just over $130,000, which a judge has ordered her to repay to the bank and its insurer.

Charges filed for Leawood bank robbery

USDOJ coinTwo Kansas City men were charged in federal court with robbing a Leawood bank.

Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall says Terry Lovelady, 57, Kansas City, Mo., and Chad English, 42, Kansas City, Mo., were charged in U.S. District Court Thursday with one count of bank robbery. A criminal complaint alleges that on Aug. 24, 2016, Lovelady robbed the Central Bank of the Midwest at 4801 Town Center Drive in Leawood and fled in a getaway car driven by English.

The robbers led police on a high speed chase, running red lights and cutting off other drivers. Eventually, the getaway car jumped a curb, rolled down a hill and came to a stop in a parking lot at St. Joseph Medical Center. The robbers fled the car on foot and were soon arrested.

If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000. The FBI and the Leawood Police Department investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Leon Patton is prosecuting.

Kansas man charged with kidnapping St. Louis teen

Johnny Angel Vallejo
Johnny Angel Vallejo

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A convicted rapist from Kansas has been charged with kidnapping a teenage girl from St. Louis after meeting her on Facebook.

The U.S. attorney’s office says 49-year-old Johnny Angel Vallejo, of Wichita, was charged Wednesday with kidnapping a minor and transporting a minor across state lines to engage in sexual activities. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.

Prosecutors say he traveled to St. Louis to meet the teen and picked her up from school Aug. 19. He is accused of making threats and forcing the teen to go with him to Wichita, where she was found at restaurant.

If convicted, Vallejo faces up to life in federal prison on the kidnapping charge, and not less than 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the transportation charge.

According to the Kansas Department of Corrections, Vallejo was convicted on rape and other charges in Finney County, Kansas in 1994.

 

Topeka Zoo adds 2 new elephants; 1 is a past movie star

Cora (Topeka Zoo)
Cora (Topeka Zoo)

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The lead elephant in the 1980s film “Smokey and the Bandit 2” is among two new pachyderms at the Topeka Zoo.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the 58-year-old Asian elephant named Cora arrived Wednesday. She was joined by her longtime companion, Shannon, a 34-year-old African elephant.

Topeka Zoo director Brendan Wiley says the pair quickly took to exploring after being unloaded.

Currently, they reside in a special holding area where they’ll be quarantined for a few weeks and have their health evaluated. Within a few weeks, they will join the zoo’s two other elephants — 46-year-old Tembo and 56-year-old Sunda.

The new elephants came from Elephant Encounter, a traveling elephant program based near Tampa, Florida. They’re crucial additions because new guidelines call for herds of at least three elephants.

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