KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A man suspected of killing a Kansas City, Kansas, police captain will undergo a third evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial.
Defense attorneys for 21-year-old Jamaal Lewis sought the evaluation by a defense expert. Lewis already has been evaluated locally and at Larned State Hospital.
Capt. Robert Melton
The Kansas City Star reports District Judge Wes Griffin granted the defense request Monday. A status hearing is scheduled for Oct. 5.
Lewis is charged with capital murder in the July 2016 shooting death of Police Capt. Robert David Melton in Kansas City, Kansas.
Melton was investigating a shooting when a man fired shots into Melton’s patrol car, killing him.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri elementary school is considering cutting all references to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee from its name in the wake of a deadly car attack at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that the school originally was named for Lee in 1904. Twenty-five years ago, the school became Lee Expressive Art Elementary School, with the Lee standing for “learn, explore, express.”
Last week, a board that is made up of parents, teachers and administrators voted to formally request that the Columbia Board of Education start the process of renaming the school.
District spokeswoman Michelle Baumstark says the last physical reference to the Confederate general is a stone above the doors to the school that bears his name.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — On the day that thousands of St. Louis workers get pay cuts due to a new state law, Mayor Lyda Krewson, faith leaders and others will gather in support of a higher wage.
A $10 minimum wage in St. Louis went into effect in May after a two-year court battle. Days later, the Republican-led Missouri Legislature passed a bill that requires a $7.70 per hour minimum wage statewide.
Republican Gov. Eric Greitens signed the measure, which is among several laws that became effective Monday.
Kansas City voters this month approved a higher wage, though that vote is essentially nullified by the new state law.
Supporters of the higher wage in St. Louis plan an afternoon protest, during which the Democratic mayor is expected to announce a plan moving forward.
U.S. Navy file photo of Electronics Technician 1st Class Charles Nathan Findley, 31, who was stationed aboard USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) when it collided with the Liberian-flagged merchant vessel Alnic MC, Aug. 21. Findley was identified as missing on Aug. 24. (U.S. Navy photo/Released)
SINGAPORE (AP and Post edits) — The U.S. Navy says divers have recovered the remains of all 10 sailors who went missing after the USS John S. McCain and an oil tanker collided near Singapore last week.
The missing sailors included 31-year-old Charles Nathan Findley of Amazonia, Missouri. According to WDAF-TV, Findley grew up in Parkville and later graduated from Central High School in St. Joseph,Findley got his GED.
Findley’s sister, Toni Greim, told WDAF-TV that her brother, an electronics technician, first class, was “really into computers.” Findley had an 8-year-old daughter and a 6-year-old son who live in Virginia with their mother.
The Japan-based 7th Fleet said Monday that Navy and Marine Corps divers had found the remains. They had been searching in flooded compartments of the destroyer after the damaged ship docked in Singapore.
The cause of the Aug. 21 collision is under investigation.
According to the U.S. Navy, the fallen Sailors are:
– Electronics Technician 1st Class Charles Nathan Findley, 31, from Amazonia, Missouri
– Interior Communications Electrician 1st Class Abraham Lopez, 39, from El Paso, Texas
– Electronics Technician 2nd Class Kevin Sayer Bushell, 26, from Gaithersburg, Maryland
– Electronics Technician 2nd Class Jacob Daniel Drake, 21, from Cable, Ohio
– Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Timothy Thomas Eckels Jr., 23, from Manchester, Maryland
– Information Systems Technician 2nd Class Corey George Ingram, 28, from Poughkeepsie, New York
– Electronics Technician 3rd Class Dustin Louis Doyon, 26, from Suffield, Connecticut
– Electronics Technician 3rd Class John Henry Hoagland III, 20, from Killeen, Texas
– Interior Communications Electrician 3rd Class Logan Stephen Palmer, 23, from Decatur, Illinois
– Electronics Technician 3rd Class, Kenneth Aaron Smith, 22, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
On Aug. 24, divers recovered and identified the remains of Doyon and Smith.
Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City. Photo courtesy Missourinet.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — State workers most frequently describe Missouri’s government as “caring,” ”underpaid,” ”good” and “unorganized.”
According to Gov. Eric Greitens’ office, those were some of the words most often used to describe Missouri government by the more than 35,000 workers who answered an administration-wide survey.
Greitens in an email to staff last week included a word cloud based on responses to the survey launched in July.
Greitens said most workers who answered say they care about state government and find work meaningful. But most also said the state is not focused on what residents need and how to help them. According to Greitens, many workers also reported that agencies lack clear direction.
The first-time officeholder said he met with his Cabinet last week to review answers. He says they’re committed to change.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Many wheat farmers facing low prices have turned this year to other crops, including chickpeas and lentils, in hopes of turning a profit.
This year’s wheat crop of 45.7 million acres (18.49 million hectares) is the smallest since 1919 and it comes after a 2016 crop that was the least profitable in 30 years.
North Dakota, Montana and Nebraska are among the states with significantly fewer wheat acres.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says acres planted in chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are up nearly 86 percent from last year. Lentils reached a U.S.-record 1.02 million acres (0.41 million hectares) planted this year.
Chickpeas are the main ingredient in hummus. Lentils are increasingly used in cereal and pasta as a way to boost protein and fiber.
LANSING, Kan. (AP) — Federal officials are investigating the death of an inmate at the Lansing Correctional Facility.
A Kansas Department of Corrections spokesman says that 56-year-old James Beeson died March 26 under circumstances that were “out of the ordinary.” No further details, including how Beeson died, were provided.
Beeson had eight convictions since December of 1998 for a variety of child sex crimes in Osage County.
Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson told The Kansas City Star the U.S. Attorney’s Office is investigating Beeson’s death.
An autopsy is being conducted by the Leavenworth County coroner.
The federal investigation into Beeson’s death comes amid reports of several violent disturbances and staffing shortages at Lansing and other Kansas prisons.
Missouri state capitol. Photo courtesy Missourinet.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Most new laws passed by Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature this year will take effect Monday.
New laws include a higher standard for proving workplace or housing discrimination in court.
That change has been praised by Republican Gov. Eric Greitens and business groups, who say it has been too easy to sue for alleged discrimination and that the change will help businesses.
The Missouri NAACP opposes the change. State chapter President Rod Chapel says the organization might sue the state over the law.
Another new law provides legal protections for people with small amounts of drugs who seek medical help for themselves or someone else who is overdosing. Another will allow summer camps, restaurants and sports arenas to keep emergency allergy medicine on hand in case of severe allergic reactions.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The University of Missouri is warning students, staff and faculty that a white supremacist group appears to be recruiting on and near the Columbia campus.
Chancellor Alexander Cartwright and Provost Garnett Stokes sent a message Wednesday saying the recruiting is part of a national push to gain members.
The university asked anyone who is aware of activity that would violate university policies to contact the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX.
The Columbia Tribune reports the memo was sent after officials spotted flyers around campus that read “Looking for Young Midwestern Patriots.” The flyers displayed what the Southern Poverty Law Center and others say is a neo-fascist symbol.
University spokesman Christian Basi said the flyers are the only evidence so far that Missouri students are being recruited.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Westar Energy and Great Plains Energy have formally asked the Kansas Corporation Commission to approve a merger between the two utility companies.
The companies submitted a filing to the KCC Friday, seeking formal approval of a $14 billion merger announced in July.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the merger request comes after the commission earlier this year rejected a proposal to allow Great Plains to buy Westar for $12.2 billion. The commission said the proposed sale price was too high and would leave the combined utility financially weaker than the separate companies.
The new transaction would require no cash exchange and no debt for the companies.
Great Plains Energy, the parent company of Kansas City Power & Light, is based in Kansas City, Missouri. Westar is the largest utility in Kansas.
