Two granddaughters of the founder of a Topeka anti-gay church have left the group and apologized for any hurt they caused others.

Megan Phelps-Roper and her sister, Grace Phelps-Roper, are the granddaughters of Fred Phelps, whose Westboro Baptist Church is known for protesting at funerals for service members and gay people and at other events.

They are the daughters of Shirley Phelps-Roper, a prominent spokeswoman for the group.

 

The pair left the church last November but posted a statement on social media Wednesday explaining their decision. They say they still love their family and have not decided what to do next.

Steve Drain, a spokesman for the church, says the sisters have rejected the Lord and are headed for hell.

The Douglas County prosecutor will decide whether to file charges against a man who was detained after approaching a Lawrence bank while wearing a bulletproof vest under his shirt.

Employees at a Bank of America branch called police Tuesday after spotting the man acting suspiciously.

The man had been at the bank previously and had conflicts with employees.

Officers detained the man and seized a firearm from his vehicle. Police said the weapon might have been illegal for the man to possess because of an earlier, involuntary commitment for mental health reasons.

The man was not booked into jail. Police spokesman Sgt. Trent McKinley says his information has been forwarded to the Douglas County prosecutor for review.

A state senator wants the University of Kansas and Kansas State men’s basketball teams to play Wichita State each year before the three schools begin conference play.

Republican Sen. Michael O’Donnell, of Wichita, introduced legislation Tuesday requiring the two Big 12 schools to do just that starting in 2014. Wichita State plays in the Missouri Valley Conference.

The Shockers last met Kansas in 1993, losing to the Jayhawks 103-43.

Kansas State and Wichita State last played in 2003. The Wildcats won that game 54-50 in Manhattan.

O’Donnell’s bill would let the schools decide where the mandatory non-conference games would be played.

A Missouri House committee is taking up legislation that would bar union membership or dues as a condition of employment.

The House Workforce Development Committee scheduled a public hearing Wednesday on the bill, which supporters call “right to work.”

Approval by the Legislature would put the proposed new law to a statewide vote this November.

Supporters argue the legislation would allow Missouri to be more competitive in the job market. Opponents say it would weaken unions and hinder collective bargaining.

Kansans can use their vehicles to show they support pets.

Revenue from a new “I’m Pet Friendly” license plate will be used to reduce the stray animal population. Proceeds from the sale of the plates will support scholarships for Kansas State veterinary students.

Scholarship winners will work with local animal shelters, particularly in spay/neuter programs.

With a one-time production fee of $45.50 and an annual donation of $50, the new plate can be picked up at county tag offices across the state.

The dean of Kansas State’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Ralph Richardson, says the program can help improve the quality of animal health throughout the state.

Missouri already has such a program. The fees here support spay and neuter initiatives in animal shelters and non-profit agencies.

A southeast Missouri automotive repair shop had an unexpected find with the SUV door it bought from a Texas salvage yard – cocaine hidden inside the door with a street value of $150,000.

The Poplar Bluff Daily American Republic reports that authorities believe the six pounds of cocaine arrived in Missouri last week by mistake.

Poplar Bluff Police Chief Danny Whiteley says the door apparently came from wrecked SUV in the Dallas area.

The vehicle was impounded by police and never claimed. It ended up in a Dallas salvage yard.

When the door arrived last week at a Poplar Bluff repair shop workers found powder cocaine tucked inside five plastic storage containers inside the door.

An investigation is under way to trace the source of the drug.

Officials of Missouri’s Republican and Democratic parties have set dates to pick nominees for the vacant 8th Congressional District seat.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/11KDKrR ) reports Democrats will gather Feb. 16 in Poplar Bluff to choose a candidate for the June 4 special election. Republicans are scheduled to select their candidate Saturday in Van Buren.

Rep. Jo Ann Emerson resigned last month after 17 years in the U.S. House to take a job leading the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Gov. Jay Nixon set the date for the special election to finish the remainder of Emerson’s term.

Both party meetings are open to the public.

Officials say two juveniles suspected of killing a couple last week had recently run away from a facility for at-risk boys.

Officials say 70-year-old Paul Brooks and his wife, 69-year-old Margaret Brooks, were found dead Thursday night at a home south of Table Rock Lake. The Baldwin, Mich., couple were seasonal residents of the home in the Trace Hollow area in southwest Missouri.

Authorities found their bodies after receiving a call from a man who reported he was holding two suspicious young men at gunpoint.

Lives Under Construction Ranch says it reported to authorities that the boys had run away. But Stone County Sheriff Doug Rader said police had no indication from the report that the boys were dangerous.

The juveniles remain in custody.

Authorities in Kansas City, Kan., say a 39-year-old man is suspected of starting a fire at an apartment that killed a woman and a young girl she was babysitting.

Police say the man admitted he set the fire early Saturday at the Legend Oaks Apartment after getting into a fight with a tenant.

Officials were expected to file murder and arson charges on Monday.

The fire killed two-year-old Amiyah McClenton, and her babysitter, 34-year-old Brandi Johnson.

Residents say other tenants escaped after some residents ran through the hallways pounding on doors to alert people to the fire.

The American Red Cross helped 26 people who were displaced by the fire.

The Kansas Supreme Court has ruled that exotic dancers are eligible for unemployment insurance.

The court’s ruling Friday affirmed a Shawnee County District Court decision in a case that stemmed from a 2005 unemployment claim filed by a Club Orleans dancer.

The Topeka club’s owner, Milano’s Inc., argued that dancers are independent contractors.

The argument was the dancers make their income off tips as opposed to being paid by the club. Court papers showed Milano’s stopped paying its dancers a nominal weekly wage shortly after buying Club Orleans in 2002.

But the court found the club exercised control over the dancers that constituted an employer-employee relationship. Those controls included rules regarding contact between dancers and customers and fines for violations of those rules.