COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — More than 2,000 petitions have been delivered to the leader of the University of Missouri’s Columbia campus demanding the reversal of a decision that threatens a Planned Parenthood clinic’s ability to continue performing medically induced abortions. Planned Parenthood says students, faculty and a group called MU for PP met with Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin on Tuesday.
They’re demanding the full instatement of all Planned Parenthood training contracts and so-called “refer and follow” privileges.
The privileges are significant because they’d been granted to a Planned Parenthood doctor and played a role in its Columbia clinic obtaining a license to begin offering abortions in August. State law requires physicians or centers providing abortions to have certain agreements with local hospitals for patient care.
The university said in a news release that Loftin is committed to continuing discussions with the group.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas has recently raised the rent by more than 25 percent for agencies housed in state office buildings.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reported Monday that the Department of Administration began charging higher rents this summer. According to documents obtained by the newspaper, rent was increased about 27 percent for the current fiscal year, beginning July 1, compared to the previous year.
That is a jump from $15.25 per square foot in fiscal year 2014 to $19.40 per square foot in fiscal year 2016.
Department of Administration spokesman John Milburn said fewer tenants in the Docking State Office Building, which sits west of the Statehouse, are part of the reason for the rent increase. He said the department had agreed to reduce rates for two years to help agencies with their budgets, and the two-year period was up.
HOUSTON (AP) — A Kansas man must serve 15 years in federal prison for flying an Ohio girl to Texas, taking her on a spring break cruise and having sex with her.
Paul Francis Grimm of Goddard, Kansas, was sentenced Tuesday in Houston.
The 44-year-old Grimm pleaded guilty to transporting a minor across state lines for criminal sexual activity.
Officials say Grimm knew the 15-year-old girl when he lived in Ohio. Prosecutors say Grimm had an online relationship with the teen, paid for her March 2014 flight from Cleveland to Houston, drove her to Galveston and they took a Caribbean cruise.
Grimm was arrested when the ship returned and an officer checking disembarking passengers noticed the man and girl had different last names and weren’t related.
Grimm still faces child pornography production counts in Kansas.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska prison officials say they’re still working to comply with the recommendations of a report that evaluated what went wrong during a May riot that left two inmates dead.
Corrections Director Scott Frakes announced Tuesday that prison officials have completed 13 of the 83 recommended actions, and are making progress on others.
The recommendations were outlined in a June 29 incident report detailing how the riot unfolded at the state prison in Tecumseh. The incident caused thousands of dollars in damage, and two convicted sex offenders were found dead once order was restored.
The recommended steps include an analysis for prison staff, additional training and drills, and reviews of responses to prison disturbances. Prison officials say they’ve ordered new “weapon resistant” mops and brooms as a safety precaution.
Kansas City officials estimate half a million people attended festivities for the World Series champion Royals. Some media estimates were as high as 800,000 people. Yet despite a crowd larger than the city’s population, city officials report no major problems, unless you were trying to park.
Streets were clogged Tuesday for the downtown parade and rally at Union Station. Most area schools canceled classes and many employers excused their workers to they could attend the event.
The local transit authority estimated its shuttles carried more than 100,000 people to downtown from several staging areas around the city. Officials say some people had to wait as long as three hours for a ride.
Despite the turnout, Police Chief Darryl Forte says that as of 4:30 p.m. there had been only three arrests during the celebration — and they were for minor incidents.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The execution of a Missouri man is off for Tuesday and appears unlikely to happen Wednesday, either.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday night granted a stay of execution for Ernest Lee Johnson, who was convicted of beating three people to death with a claw hammer. The case was sent back to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Johnson claims that the execution drug could cause painful seizures because he still has part of a benign tumor in his brain, and surgery to remove the rest of the tumor in 2008 forced the removal of up to 20 percent of his brain tissue.
Missouri Department of Corrections spokesman Mike O’Connell sent media witnesses home for the night late Tuesday, saying it wasn’t clear when the appeals court would take up the case. O’Connell says there is no indication that the courts will resolve the matter before 6 p.m. Wednesday. If it isn’t resolved by then, a new execution date would have to be set.
Crowds at Union Station. Photo courtesy @UnionStationKC
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The latest on celebrations in Kansas City to mark the Kansas City Royals’ World Series victory:
2:55 p.m.
The Kansas City Royals are thanking their fans during a rally celebrating their World Series championship.
Johnny Gomes was a midseason acquisition from the Atlanta Braves who didn’t make the playoff roster. But he was credited by his team for bringing positive energy to the clubhouse.
During Tuesday’s rally at Union Station, Gomes asked the crowd for a moment of silence in honor of Edinson Volquez’s father, Chris Young’s father and Mike Moustakas’ mother, all of whom died this year.
All three Royals played key roles in Kansas City’s playoff run and later praised their teammates for helping them to play through their grief.
Gomes said, “It’s unbelievable what those guys did.”
Volquez drew loud applause when he vowed to the fans that the Royals would be back on the same stage next season after winning another world championship.
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2 p.m.
The Kansas City Royals have arrived at Union Station for a celebratory rally after a parade through downtown Kansas City.
Manager Ned Yost raised the World Series trophy as his vehicle turned into Union Station, prompting loud cheers from the crowd. World Series MVP catcher Salvador Perez later had the trophy as he walked through the crowd, taking selfies and pictures with fans along the route.
Christian Colon, who hit in the go-ahead run in the Royals’ 7-2 win over the New York Mets in the championship game, told WDAF-TV that he was not surprised by the turnout. Colon said it was great to see everyone’s smiling faces and hear their thank-yous. He says the team won for the city and its fans and is excited to be part of the celebration.
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1:20 p.m.
Some of the Kansas City Royals fans crowded into the streets and a park near the site of a planned rally have given up and left after finding themselves packed tightly in places where they couldn’t see the activities.
The crowds mostly stayed in good spirits during the long wait for the rally, but a few people said they could not tolerate the tight quarters. Cellphone service also was out along much of the parade route.
Mary Winston, of Overland Park, Kansas, said she brought her five children about three hours before the rally but she decided to give up and go home. She says they were disappointed because it was not possible to get close enough to see any part of the rally.
Tiffany Davis, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, also decided to turn around with her 11-year-old daughter, Julia, who rode bikes to the scene. She says she expected the “wild” scene but realized there was no way to get close enough to see the rally.
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12:15 p.m.
Kansas City is turning blue as Royals fans line up to watch the World Series championship team parade.
Forty-eight-year-old Kansas City native Steve Spencer marveled at the crowd as he joined the masses walking toward the city’s Union Station. Recalling the years of losing seasons, he says the “crazy” turnout is beyond anything he has ever seen.
Highways leading into the city are packed and city streets are jammed.
Thirty-four-year-old Chris Lasister, of Lenexa, Kansas, brought his 2-year-old son with him to watch the festivities. He says he doesn’t remember the parade when the Royals last won the World Series in 1985, so he can’t miss this one.
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10:40 a.m.
Kansas City Royals fans are streaming into the city in preparation for a celebration of the team’s World Series championship.
Fans took up spots along the 2.3-mile parade route Tuesday morning, hours before the start of the parade, with many playing games and cheering, while some slept. Organizers set up food trucks and provided music to entertain the fans as they waited for the parade to start.
The Royals won the World Series Sunday with a 7-2 win over the New York Mets, the team’s first championship since 1985.
Steve Templeton, of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, says he’s supported the Royals since 1965. He says he couldn’t attend the 1985 parade and was determined not to miss this one, and he wanted to be sure his 8-year-old son had the experience.
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12:10a.m.
The Kansas City Royals and their fans will throw one of the biggest parties in the city’s history to celebrate the team’s first World Series championship in 30 years.
The Royals became World Series champions Sunday with a 7-2 victory in 12 innings over the New York Mets. It was the first championship for the Royals since 1985, which was followed by decades of losing baseball that caused many in the city to abandon the team.
City officials said they expect at least 200,000 people to pack into the 2.3-mile parade route Tuesday through downtown Kansas City to cheer as the players, coaches and team officials drive by in a motorcade before a rally at Union Station.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A father, grandmother and aunt charged with kidnapping a 5-year-old boy from St. Louis Children’s Hospital have been sentenced after pleading guilty to reduced charges.
Porter Stone was being treated at the hospital for cardiomyothapy when he vanished after being discharged on April, 24, 2012. His mother had sole custody.
Authorities found the boy in Alsip, Illinois, with his father, Jeffrey Stone; grandmother, Rhonda Matthews; and aunt, Heather Minton, all of California.
Stone pleaded guilty Monday to a felony charge of interference with custody and was ordered to serve supervised probation, with a suspended three-year prison sentence.
Minton and Matthews admitted to misdemeanor charges of interference with custody. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the charges won’t go on their record if they successfully complete probation.
CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — A St. Louis man is accused of sexually attacking a girl younger than 12 years old while he was infected with HIV.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 25-year-old Richard Jones III is charged with statutory sodomy and exposing another to HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Police in the St. Louis suburb of Florissant allege Jones abused the girl in June and did so knowing he was HIV-infected.
It was not immediately clear if the girl has tested positive for HIV.
Online court records don’t show whether Jones has an attorney.
File PhotoCOLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — A Republican candidate running for Missouri governor wants to ban abortions that are not medically necessary at or beyond 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Former House speaker and U.S. attorney Catherine Hanaway announced the proposal Tuesday while touring the state.
Missouri currently bans abortions at 20 weeks or later if there’s no serious medical risk to the woman. But there’s an exception if the fetus is not viable.
Hanaway’s proposal would end that exception.
Hanaway also says she wants ramped-up penalties for selling fetal organs. She said she supports defunding Planned Parenthood.
Requests for comment to Planned Parenthood branches in Missouri were not immediately returned.
Hanaway announced the proposals hours before she and four other Republican candidates for governor were set to speak at a forum in Jefferson City
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — More than 2,000 petitions have been delivered to the leader of the University of Missouri’s Columbia campus demanding the reversal of a decision that threatens a Planned Parenthood clinic’s ability to continue performing medically induced abortions. Planned Parenthood says students, faculty and a group called MU for PP met with Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin on Tuesday.
