TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Shawnee County officials have agreed to pay $500,000 to the survivors of a jail inmate who died at a hospital shortly after he was held for eight days at the county jail.

The family of 35-year-old Julio C. Aguirre sued after he died in December 2010. The lawsuit said while he was held in the jail, Aguirre suffered physical injuries and engaged in bizarre behaviors that included drinking from the toilet. He was sent to a hospital, where he died two days later.

The Shawnee County Commission on Monday approved the settlement in exchange for dismissal of the lawsuit, although the county denies negligence in the case

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Aguirre’s family sued 24 defendants and some other entities also have reached settlements with the family.

NEW MADRID, Mo. (AP) — A southeast Missouri police officer is hospitalized in stable condition after being run over by a car during a traffic stop.

KFVS-TV reports that New Madrid officer Brandon Hanner and an officer he was training pulled over a car Monday afternoon. Police Chief Joey Higgerson says Hanner was speaking with the driver, 43-year-old Ron Murphy of New Madrid, when Murphy appeared ready to drive off.

Higgerson says Hanner reached into the car to try and get the keys and Murphy took off, dragging the officer briefly before the car ran over Hanner’s left leg and arm.

Murphy allegedly then put the car in reverse and drove back toward the officers again, but crashed. He is charged with first-degree assault on a law enforcement officer.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — The University of Missouri athletic department is planning significant changes to its donor system.

The changes are an effort to keep the school financially competitive in the Southeastern Conference. Effective July 1, the school will change its Priority Points system, which determines perks given to private donors based on their contributions.

Under the current system, boosters are given separate point totals for football and men’s basketball and earned points based only on gifts for seat premiums and parking.

The Kansas City Star reports the new system will tally a donor’s total annual contribution to Missouri athletics to decide a donor’s annual level. The donor level determines rank for parking passes, as well as requests for season tickets and tickets for away, neutral site and postseason games.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal appeals court has sided against parents in a northeast Kansas lawsuit who are challenging the state’s cap on how much money residents in a school district can raise through taxes.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals decision Monday comes in the lawsuit filed by parents in the relatively wealthy Shawnee Mission School District. The parents argued the limit on education spending impairs their rights to fully fund and support education.

The appeals court upheld the denial of a preliminary injunction and affirmed the lower court’s decision that partially granted the state’s motion to dismiss. It sent the case back for further proceedings.

It noted Kansas amended its Constitution to create a system that does not make the quality of a child’s education a function of his parent’s wealth.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri farmers averaged less than a day of fieldwork last week because of above-average rainfall that has caused corn and soybean planting to fall a little behind.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service says precipitation averaged 2.46 inches statewide, which is 1.44 inches above normal, while temperatures were slightly above average.

NASS says corn planting is 87 percent complete, lagging behind 99 percent at this time last year and the five-year average of 95 percent. Only 23 percent of the state’s soybeans had been planted, compared with 74 percent last year and the 57 percent five-year average.

Subsoil moisture was rated 3 percent short, 76 percent adequate and 21 percent surplus, while topsoil moisture was rated 46 percent adequate and 54 percent surplus.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas health officials say a 19-year-old suburban Kansas City student at the University of Kansas has died of complications from a sinus infection, which led to bacterial meningitis.

The Kansas City Star reports Haley Drown of Leawood, Kansas, died on Sunday. She was a freshman at the university.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said the public is not at risk and the agency is not recommending preventative care for those who had contact with Drown.

Len Lozada, a doctor at St. Luke’s Health Systems, where Drown was treated, said she had a sinus infection that became more aggressive and eventually infected her brain. He said it is an uncommon form of bacterial meningitis.

Drown was a 2014 graduate of Blue Valley North High School.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — William Shatner is boldly traveling across the U.S. on three-wheeled motorcycle.

The “Star Trek” star announced plans Monday for the cross-country mission to promote his custom motorcycle and raise awareness about the American Legion.

Shatner partnered with motorcycle builder American Wrench to create the Rivet motorcycle. The Aurora, Illinois-based company says the silver studded bike is inspired by the B-17 bomber.

The eight-day journey will launch June 23 outside Chicago and make stops in St. Louis; Kansas City, Missouri; Oklahoma City; Amarillo, Texas; Albuquerque; Flagstaff, Arizona; and Las Vegas before arriving in Los Angeles on June 30.

Shatner will be joined on the 2,400-mile ride by members of the American Legion and American Wrench crew. The company is planning to sell limited quantities of his Shatner’s trike.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has overturned the deportation of a Tunisian man whose crime was possessing drug paraphernalia.

Mones Mellouli was deported after he pleaded guilty to the minor drug crime in Kansas state court. The item in question was a sock that contained four pills of the stimulant Adderall.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote for the court Monday that federal law does not authorize deportation for such a minor offense.

Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.

 

SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas woman contends in a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas that a false child abuse complaint was filed against her after she complained that her daughter was being bullied at school.

Melissa Schroeder of Shawnee also named Sacred Heart Catholic Church and its school principal, Maureen Engen. She says her 10-year-old daughter’s health began declining in April 2014 because of bullying at the diocese school and school officials ignored her requests to protect her daughter.

The lawsuit alleges Engen reported to the Kansas Department of Children and Families that Schroeder was abusing and neglecting her daughter. The Kansas City Star reports the agency’s investigation found no substantiation to the allegations.

A spokeswoman for the defendants said the archdiocese had not yet seen the lawsuit.