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Memorial service set for police dog killed over weekend

Kobus cropOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A memorial service has been set for an Omaha police dog killed during a standoff over the weekend.

The service will be held Thursday afternoon at Christ Community Church for the 9-year-old Belgian Malinois named Kobus.

Police have said the dog had served with the department’s K-9 unit since 2008 and was scheduled to retire in March.

The dog’s shooting happened in the final hours of a 25-hour standoff between a 59-year-old Omaha man and police. The incident began when officials tried to serve a warrant ordering the man late Friday to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

The man is also accused of firing on police, although no people were injured. He surrendered Saturday evening.

The public is invited to the memorial service.

Missouri lawmakers get in fistfight over right-to-work bill

Missouri State CapitolJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri lawmaker says a colleague upset over a right-to-work bill took a swing at him in an alley outside a Jefferson City restaurant and the two ended up in a fistfight.

Both are Democratic lawmakers from the St. Louis area.

Rep. Courtney Allen Curtis released a copy of the restraining order Tuesday that he filed against Rep. Michael Butler. Curtis also asked the House speaker to open an ethics investigation against Butler.

Curtis alleges Butler verbally confronted him during an AFL-CIO reception at a Jefferson City restaurant Jan. 19 because Curtis had supported a right-to-work bill limiting union powers. He says Butler later took a swing at him in an alley as he was leaving, and Curtis says he fought back.

Butler declined to comment about the incident.

Are BB guns weapons? Kansas bill says no, and would require schools to allow shooting clubs

Rep Blake Carpenter
Rep Blake Carpenter
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Shooting clubs that use air guns could hold practice and competition in schools under a Kansas bill.

The Weapon Free Schools Act would be amended so air guns wouldn’t be considered weapons. Schools also wouldn’t be able to prohibit organizations from conducting activities just because they “include the possession and use of air guns by the participants.”

Rep. Blake Carpenter, a Derby Republican, introduced the bill in response to a controversy in the Derby school district.

After operating at Oaklawn Elementary for 30 years, district leaders forced the club off campus. The Derby BB Club’s founder, Larry Richardson, complained that the club never had an incident.

The Kansas Association of School Boards, however, raised liability concerns.

Amendment would establish hunting, fishing right in Kansas

Original Kansas ConstitutionTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Lawmakers are considering an amendment that would give Kansans a constitutional right to hunt, fish and trap wildlife.

The measure will be added to the November ballot if it obtains a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate.

The resolution had a hearing before the House Committee on Federal and State Affairs on Tuesday.

National Rifle Association lobbyist Travis Couture-Lovelady says the measure may not be needed immediately. But the former lawmaker says it’s important to “ingrain” the rights in the constitution because the population may become “disconnected” from its “hunting heritage” as the population becomes more urban.

The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism also voiced support for the measure.

Burglar hits at least 6 Kansas dorm rooms as residents sleep

University of Kansas
University of Kansas

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — University of Kansas police say someone burglarized at least six rooms at a residence hall while students were sleeping.

Prescription drugs and hundreds of dollars of cash were stolen during the thefts late Wednesday and Thursday morning at Lewis Hall.

Capt. James Anguiano says all the rooms were unlocked and people were asleep inside when the burglaries occurred. No one was hurt.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports police are not yet sure whether one or more burglars committed the thefts.

7 injured in KC school bus crash

school bus feature
File Photo

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Officials say seven children suffered minor injuries when their school bus collided with a vehicle in eastern Kansas City.

Police say six children were taken to Research Medical Center and one was taken to Children’s Mercy. The other children on the bus continued on to school.

At least 20 students, mostly ages 12 and 13, were on the bus headed to Kauffman School when it was hit from behind by a sports utility vehicle.

The bus driver and the driver of the other vehicle were not injured.

Apple Bus Company said in a statement that the accident is still under investigation.

Centene loses personal, health data of 950,000 members

Centene Corp. logoST. LOUIS (AP) — Health insurer Centene Corp. says it is missing half a dozen hard drives that contain the personal and health information of roughly 950,000 clients.

The St. Louis-based company says the hard drives don’t include financial or payment details. But the missing information does include the names, addresses, birthdates, Social Security numbers, member identification numbers and health information of patients who received laboratory services between 2009 and 2015.

Centene says it is notifying regulators and affected individuals, who will be offered free credit and health care monitoring to those affected. The company says it’s publicizing its internal search “out of an abundance of caution.”

Centene is a Fortune 500 company that runs managed health-care plans for Medicaid programs in various states.

Missouri bill would ban abortions for Down Syndrome

File Photo
File Photo

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Performing an abortion based solely on a Down Syndrome diagnosis would become illegal under a bill in the Missouri Senate.

Sen. David Sater told a committee Tuesday that his bill would make Missouri the second state to ban abortions based on a prenatal diagnosis of mental disability, after North Dakota. The Cassville Republican says abortions performed under those circumstances are a form of eugenics.

American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri policy director Sarah Rossi said outlawing abortions for a group of people is unconstitutional. Other opponents said the bill could make it harder for women to talk with their doctors about prenatal screening.

Parents of children with Down Syndrome said the public needs to understand the condition doesn’t stop people from leading full, meaningful lives.

Proposed lobbyist gift ban moves forward in Missouri House

Missouri StatehouseJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A proposed ban on lobbyist gifts to lawmakers and other elected officials has initial approval in the Missouri House.

House members voted for the ban in a voice vote Tuesday. Lobbyists currently can give unlimited gifts, such as sports tickets, to lawmakers.

Lobbyists could pay for events if they invite all lawmakers and all statewide elected officials in writing.

Senators earlier Tuesday questioned other ethics-related measures already passed by the House.

Republican Sen. Bob Dixon says enacting the current proposals wouldn’t have prevented the tumultuous end to the 2015 legislative session that spurred calls to change ethics policy.

The former House speaker resigned after admitting to exchanging sexually suggestive texts with an intern. A senator later left office amid accusations that he sexually harassed interns, which he denied.

Kansas lawmaker retracts panel’s dress code, apologizes

Sen. Mitch Holmes
Sen. Mitch Holmes

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas lawmaker has apologized and retracted a dress code that banned plunging necklines and short skirts for women testifying before his committee.

Republican state Sen. Mitch Holmes issued a statement Tuesday saying it was unacceptable for him to provide specific guidance about how women should dress in the state’s Ethics and Elections Committee’s rules without also producing similar guidance for men.

Legislators in both parties have strongly criticized the guidelines issued more than a year ago that said “low-cut necklines and mini-skirts” are inappropriate “for ladies.”

Holmes of St. John, who is the committee’s chairman, apologized and said he “meant no offense.”

Similar issues have arisen in Missouri and Montana in recent years.

The Kansas Legislature’s rules generally allow its committee leaders to set their own rules.

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