JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — Authorities are looking for a suspect in a southwest Missouri killing.
Osborne -photo Joplin PD
Police have issued an arrest warrant for 33-year-old Michael Osborne, of Joplin.
He is suspected in the death of 27-year-old Shawn Rockers, who was assaulted and found Friday night in a Joplin roadway. Rockers died later at a hospital.
Osborne is 6-foot, 4 inches (about 1.8 meters and 10.15 centimeters) and weighs 217 pounds (98 kilograms). He has a forearm tattoo on each arm that when combined says “no effort.” Police say he should be considered armed and dangerous.
The latest on the swearing in of Democratic Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (all times local):.
Laura Kelly takes the oath of office Monday morning on the steps of the Kansas Statehouse-image courtesy office of Kansas Governor
Democrat Laura Kelly has been sworn in as the new governor in Republican-leaning Kansas.
Kelly took the oath of office Monday on the south steps of the Statehouse in front of banners that declared, “Equality,” ”Education” and “Opportunity.”
She was a veteran state senator from Topeka who pitched herself to voters as a no-nonsense problem-solver who could work with Republicans. The GOP has supermajorities in the Legislature.
Her victory last year drew national attention partly because she defeated Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. He’s a staunch conservative who touted an endorsement from President Donald Trump.
Kelly is the state’s 48th governor.
Her swearing-in followed those of Lt. Gov. Lynn Rogers, Attorney General Derek Schmidt, Secretary of State Scott Schwab, Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt and State Treasurer Jake LaTurner.
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By JOHN HANNA
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas’ new Democratic governor is expected to take office promising a bipartisan administration even as she and her supporters celebrate a sharp break with her conservative Republican predecessors.
Gov.-elect Laura Kelly was scheduled to be sworn in as the state’s 48th governor Monday, with her inaugural address likely to stress the broad themes that underpinned her successful campaign last year. A veteran state senator from Topeka, Kelly pitched herself to voters as a no-nonsense problem-solver who could work with Republicans, who control the Legislature.
“I’m hoping to hear that we’re going to have change, that we’re hopeful for the future, to get Kansas back on track,” said Kansas House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer, a Wichita Democrat. “Her tone so far has been bipartisanship, and I think she’ll continue that.”
Kelly’s victory drew national attention because Kansas is a Republican-leaning state and her opponent, departing Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, touted his history of advising President Donald Trump. Kobach won a narrow victory over Gov. Jeff Colyer in the GOP primary after Trump endorsed Kobach.
But Kelly made the race more about whether Kobach’s fiscal policies would align with those of former Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, who pushed legislators to slash state income taxes as an economic stimulus. Most voters deemed Brownback’s experiment a failure because of the budget woes that followed, and legislators reversed most of the cuts in 2017.
The new governor has little choice but to work with Republicans, given their large majorities in the Legislature, which was set to open its annual session Monday afternoon. Even as voters were electing Kelly, in more local Statehouse races, GOP conservatives gained seats.
Top Republicans have said they will hold Kelly to a campaign promise not to increase taxes to pay for additional state spending. They will learn more about Kelly’s budget proposals later in the week, after she gives the annual State of the State address Wednesday evening.
“Any areas that we have common agreement or we can compromise and work on, we’ll do it,” said Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, a Kansas City-area Republican.
BRANSON, Mo. (AP) — The Missouri city where 17 people died in a tour boat accident last year plans to honor the victims somehow but is still determining how to do so.
A Branson businessman in September proposed building a lighthouse-shaped monument to the victims of the July 19 ”duck boat ” accident on nearby Table Rock Lake. But some community members felt the monument should be closer to the lake, which is just outside of popular tourist city. Local news reports said some people worried that erecting a monument would serve as a grim reminder of the tragedy.
Aldermen voted last week to develop a memorial plan by January 2020. Mayor Karen Best said the delay is so the city can come up with the best possible tribute.
“We housed a lot of the families (after the accident), so we got to be close to the families as members of the city and staff,” Best said. “We are just so committed to making sure that what we do provides honor and tribute to them.”
The amphibious vehicle operated by Ride the Ducks Branson first took tourists on a trip through the city known for its country music concerts before it entered the lake. The vessel capsized moments later when a severe storm blew in.
The boat’s captain, Kenneth Scott McKee, was indicted in November. He is accused of failing to properly assess incoming weather before entering the water, failing to tell passengers to use flotation devices, and other violations of federal laws overseeing captains.
The St. Joseph School District Board of Education candidate filing deadline is this week.
There are two positions available with three-year terms.
Anyone interested may file at the superintendent’s offices located at 925 Felix Street. The last day for candidate filing is Tuesday, January 15, at 5 p.m.
Board of Education elections take place April 2, 2019.
NEW YORK (AP) — It’s early, but the current flu season is shaping up to be gentler than last winter’s unusually brutal one, U.S. health officials said.
Most recent CDC Flu map- click to expand
In most parts of the country, most illnesses right now are being caused by a flu strain that leads to fewer hospitalizations and deaths as the kind of flu that dominated a year ago, according to officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Vaccines also work better against it, said the CDC’s Dr. Alicia Fry.
So is the U.S. in for a milder flu season?
“If (this strain) continues to be the predominant virus, that is what we’d expect,” Fry said.
Last season, an estimated 80,000 Americans died of flu and its complications — the disease’s highest death toll in at least four decades. In recent years, flu-related deaths have ranged from about 12,000 to 56,000, according to the CDC.
The CDC has no estimate of deaths so far this season, partly because it’s so early. Flu usually takes off after Christmas and peaks around February.
On Friday, the CDC released its regular weekly flu update, showing that it was reported to be widespread in 30 states last week, up from 24 the week before.
The health agency also released new estimates of how the flu season is playing out. It said:
—About 6 million to 7 million Americans have become ill since flu season kicked off in the fall.
—About half were sick enough to go to see a doctor.
—Roughly 70,000 to 80,000 have been hospitalized.
The CDC usually doesn’t make those estimates until a flu season is over, but researchers have been working on the model for nearly a decade and believe it is sound enough to use while the season is still going on, officials said.
Because the model is new, CDC researchers said they aren’t able to compare those estimates to previous flu seasons.
Last season, an estimated 49 million Americans got sick from the flu, 23 million went for medical care and 960,000 were hospitalized.
Some doctors and nurses were anxious going into this flu season, considering how bad last year was, said Dr. James Steinberg, chief medical officer at Emory University Hospital Midtown in Atlanta.
But so far it hasn’t been nearly as severe. “It seems more like a typical flu season,” he said.
Seasonable temperatures are expected with highs mainly in the 30s. A chance of snow is possible late Friday into Saturday. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Patchy fog before 9 a.m. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 33. South southwest wind 5 to 8 mph.
Tonight: Patchy fog after 8 p.m. Otherwise, mostly cloudy, with a low around 27. Southwest wind 3 to 5 mph.
Tuesday: Patchy fog before 10 a.m. Otherwise, partly sunny, with a high near 40. Southwest wind 3 to 7 mph.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 23. Southwest wind around 6 mph becoming north after midnight.
Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 34. East northeast wind around 6 mph.
Wednesday Night: A chance of snow after midnight. Cloudy, with a low around 28. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Thursday: Partly sunny, with a high near 36.
Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 23.
Friday: Snow likely after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 33. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Friday Night: Snow. Low around 17. Blustery. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Saturday: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 19. Blustery. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around -1.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The trial of a man charged with fatally shooting three people in downtown Lawrence has been pushed back.
Roberts-photo Douglas Co.
Lawyers for 21-year-old Anthony Roberts Jr., of Topeka, said Friday that they needed more time to prepare for the trial. It had been scheduled to begin Feb. 4 but was moved to June 10. Prosecutors didn’t object to the delay.
Shaye Downing and another attorney were appointed to represent Roberts after his old attorney was kicked off the case over concerns about her competency. The concerns culminated in a judge declaring a mistrial in November.
Roberts is charged with three murder counts and one attempted murder count. Two other suspects face less series charges in the October 2017 shooting.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Tens of thousands remain without power and dozens of schools have canceled classes after a deadly winter blast.
Roof collapse from heavy snow at the Columbia Canine Sports Center -Photo by Barry Mangold courtesy KMIZ
The storm hit the Midwest and mid-Atlantic region Friday, dumping more than a foot of snow across parts of Missouri. Authorities say at least three died in Missouri and two in Kansas on snow-covered roads.
Kansas City Power & Light says more than 45,000 customers still had no power Monday morning.
School closings also were widespread in the Kansas City and St. Louis area. The University of Missouri’s flagship campus in Columbia says its campus will remain closed Monday, after Friday afternoon classes also were canceled.
In Columbia, snow also collapsed the roof of a dog training and event center. No one was inside the Columbia Canine Sports Center at the time.
The weekend snowstorm kept first responders busy. The Kansas Highway Patrol reported working nine injury accidents on Friday and ten on Saturday. Four of those accidents involved fatalities.
The Phillips County Sheriff’s Office released several photos from accidents they worked in the snow over the weekend.
As snow was falling just after 5p.m. Friday, a semi driver from Mexico Ernesto Rafeal Nevarez Medoza, 41, died after the semi he was driving westbound on Kansas 156 just east of the Kansas 140 Junction in Ellsworth County collided head-on with another semi.
Lee R. Crum, 81, Oskaloosa, Kansas died in a 2-vehicle crash Friday afternoon in Jefferson County.
Fatal Friday crash scene in Jefferson County photo courtesy WIBW TV
Just after 9p.m. Friday, 62-year-old Bradley S. Horton, Topeka died when his pickup hit a barrier wall on the Kansas Turnpike.
At 9:15 p.m. Saturday, Steven R. Horn, 53, Oklahoma City, died in a head on crash on U.S. 69 just south of Pittsburg. The crash sent four Kansas teens to the hospital with serious injuries.
On Sunday, the Phillips County Sheriff reported they had a busy weekend as the snow began to fall in the area. They released photos of accidents they worked Friday to remind everyone to slow down when road conditions deteriorate and always buckle up.
HUMANSVILLE, Mo. (AP) — For members of a polygamous community of about 400 people in rural Missouri, their enclave has always been the promised land.
Google map
Known as “The Ranch” to its residents and as “The Compound” to people in neighboring towns, the group still practices plural marriage 35 years after it was established on a 600-acre property between the towns of Humansville and Stockton in southwest Missouri, according to a report by The Salt Lake Tribune in collaboration with The Guardian that shined a new spotlight on the little-known community.
Founder Steven Laub was living in southwest Utah in November 1983 when he said he heard a voice and was called up a mountain where the Lord told him to go to Missouri and buy a ranch, according to an oral history made by community members and recorded on a CD shared with the Tribune.
Dirt roads wind through clusters of trees and homes in the community built on one of the Ozark Mountains’ plateaus. Its residents, who share a common belief in plural marriage, include people from at least three polygamous sects as well as some with fundamentalist Mormon beliefs who do not affiliate with a church.
“Missouri is the promised land,” said Sean Anderson, a 51-year-old fundamentalist Mormon from Mexico who has also lived in Arizona and Utah. He had two wives for a time, but those marriages dissolved. He moved to The Ranch in the fall with his current wife and six children.
Missouri has played an outsized historical role in the religion. Latter-day Saints began arriving in 1831, the year its founder Joseph Smith had a prophecy that Zion was in eastern Missouri’s Jackson County and that Jesus would return there one day.
But his followers had conflicts with other Missouri settlers. In 1838, at least 17 Latter-day Saints were massacred at a place called Haun’s Mill. Church members soon began fleeing the state.
The newspaper’s review of Missouri marriage license showed most residents in the polygamous community marry in their 20s, although some have married as young as 17. Typically, the husband has one legal wife and subsequent marriages are ordained in a religious service with no license on file with a county clerk.
In Missouri, someone can be convicted of bigamy if a married person “purports” to marry another person. The offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. In Utah, polygamy is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison or 15 years if it’s committed in conjunction with fraud or a violent offense.
Cedar County Prosecutor Ty Gaither said he has received no complaints about crimes at the community. He said if he had three parties who were consenting adults, he wouldn’t have a complaining witness.
