BROWN COUNTY— One person was injured in an accident just before 8:30a.m. Tuesday in Brown County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Toyota Tundra driven by Koertland Carl Beyer, 40, Sabetha, was northbound on U.S. 75 just south of 260th Road.
The driver reported he fell asleep. The Tundra collided with a northbound 2010 Nissan Altima driven by Christine D. Rieschick, 44, Holton.
Rieschick was transported to Sabetha Hospital. Beyer was possibly injured, according to the KHP. They did not report where he was treated.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Latest on the midterm election in Kansas (all times local):
Republican Kansas Secretary of Kris Kobach says voter turnout appears to be heavy.
Kobach talked to reporters Tuesday in Lecompton as he cast his own ballot for governor. He is running for the seat against Democratic state Sen. Laura Kelly. She is wooing GOP moderates who are put off by Kobach’s hardline stances on issues such as immigration, while Kobach expects his conservative base to turn out to counter enthusiasm on the left.
A wild card is Independent candidate Greg Orman, a Kansas City-area businessman, who Democrats fear could take enough votes to hand the election to Kobach.
Lines have been reported in locations that include Salina.
Kansas Democrats are also hoping to flip two GOP held U.S. House seats in the eastern part of the state.
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7:05 a.m.
Voters have started casting ballots in Kansas’ closely watched governor’s race and in two hotly contested U.S. House seats.
The race for governor between Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach and Democratic state Sen. Laura Kelly was a toss-up in the campaign’s final weekend. Kelly is wooing GOP moderates who are put off by Kobach’s hardline stances on issues such as immigration, while Kobach expects his conservative base to turn out to counter enthusiasm on the left. A wild card is Independent candidate Greg Orman.
In eastern Kansas, incumbent Rep. Kevin Yoder is facing a formidable challenge from Democratic newcomer Sharice Davids, who would be the nation’s first LGBT Native American in Congress. And Republican Steve Watkins and Democrat Paul Davis are battling for the seat being vacated by retiring GOP Rep. Lynn Jenkins.
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — An Oregon man is charged after he allegedly rammed a Leavenworth County sheriff deputy’s car twice.
Derek Kelley -photo Leavenworth County
Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson said Monday that 42-year-old Derek Kelley, of Rainier, Oregon, is charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and three other counts. Kelley is jailed in Leavenworth County.
Leavenworth County Undersheriff James Sherley said when the deputy was out of his vehicle after stopping a pickup truck between Leavenworth and Atchison, the pickup reversed and hit the patrol vehicle before taking off. Sherley says during the ensuing chase, the truck suddenly stopped and reversed into the patrol vehicle a second time.
The deputy suffered a knee injury.
The truck was found abandoned. Kelley and a passenger in the truck fled into a nearby home before being arrested.
Police say the woman was pulled from the burning home Monday. Emergency responders began CPR before pronouncing her dead. Her name wasn’t immediately released.
A cause for the fire hasn’t been determined. Workers from the Squire gas company were on the scene investigating. They were joined on scene by the Kansas City Police and Independence Fire Departments and the Missouri State Fire Marshall.
Two people were injured in a head-on crash in Daviess County Monday.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, shortly after 5 a.m. Monday, 51-year-old Steven K. Siegel of Gallatin was driving a Ford F-150 north on MO 13 about five miles south of Gallatin. Siegel fell asleep, his vehicle crossed the center line and hit a Mercury Grand Marquis head-on.
The driver of the Grand Marquis, 35-year-old Brandon L. Bush of Coffey, was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City for treatment of serious injuries. A passenger in the Grand Marquis refused treatment at the scene for minor injuries.
According to the crash report, the driver of the F-150 was not injured.
Nearly six months after ordering a cult leader and his group to pay almost $8 million in damages to a woman they’d effectively enslaved for 10 years, a federal judge has ordered the cult leader’s arrest.
Royall Jenkins, as he appears on the United Nation of Islam’s Wikipedia page. CREDIT CREATIVE COMMONS
Royall Jenkins was the founder and leader of The Value Creators Inc., formerly known as The United Nation of Islam. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree issued a bench warrant for his arrest after finding that Jenkins had ignored numerous court orders.
In May, Crabtree found that Jenkins and The Value Creators, which is based in Kansas City, Kansas, had forced Kendra Ross to work without pay for various businesses run by the group from the time she was 11 years old.
“Here, with reckless disregard for plaintiff’s health and safety, defendants intentionally and maliciously trafficked and forced her to work in their residences for excessive hours – all with no pay or benefits,” Crabtree wrote in his 57-page ruling.
Crabtree’s damage award was believed to be the biggest verdict ever awarded in a human trafficking case. Neither Jenkins nor lawyers representing him or The Value Creators appeared at the May hearing.
Jenkins is thought to reside in Arizona but listed a Kansas City, Kansas, telephone number on the docket in Ross’ case. A person who answered the phone at that number claimed to be Jenkins’ “liaison” and said he would forward a request for comment to Jenkins.
Jenkins, a long-distance trucker, declared himself to be Allah four decades ago.
“At the end of the testing period (1978 ½), two scientists (angels) actually came physically and took me on a small craft around the universe to acquaint me with who I am and what already exists, to ensure my success in being myself, Allah, The Supreme Being,” Jenkins wrote on his website, according to a detailed investigation by The Pitch magazine in 2003.
In Kansas City, Kansas, The Value Creators operated a variety of businesses with the word “Your” in their names: Your Diner, Your Supermarket, Your Service Station and Your Colonic Center.
Jenkins was a member of the Nation of Islam, the group founded by Elijah Muhammad, but after Elijah Muhammad’s death, Jenkins left the organization and founded the United Nation of Islam.
In her lawsuit, Ross, who is now in her late 20s, alleged that Jenkins had at least 13 wives and 20 children. She said she was forced to cook, clean, babysit and work without pay or benefits for them and businesses owned by the group around the country. She also said she was subjected to physical and emotional abuse, and was rarely given time off.
In ordering Jenkins’ arrest, Crabtree noted that Jenkins had not responded to requests by Ross’ attorneys to determine the extent of Jenkins’ assets.
“The court thus concludes that a bench warrant calling for the United States Marshal to apprehend Royall Jenkins is the appropriate sanction for his demonstrated civil contempt for the court,” Crabtree wrote on Friday.
Ross’ lawyer, Betsy Hutson with the McGuire Woods law firm, said that Jenkins had not shown up for any of the court proceedings and apart from two court filings, had not participated in the case.
“He hasn’t otherwise showed up or made any attempt to follow the court’s orders or otherwise respond timely to the things that we’ve filed,” Hutson said.
“It’s been a challenge to serve him personally and I imagine that the (U.S.) marshals are going to find it challenging to track him down as well,” she added.
Hutson said that while lawyers have not recovered the full $8 million, “we have made significant progress in terms of garnishing on some of the bank accounts, and we’ve identified a lot of the properties and businesses that they own. It just takes time.”
Dan Margolies is a senior reporter and editor in conjunction with the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.
Election day will start out dry with temperatures around 40. Light rain is possible by the afternoon as temperatures warm to around 50. Wednesday looks dry but there is a chance for snow to mix in with some Thursday morning before becoming all rain by late morning or early PM. Little accumulation is expected. The start of weekend looks dry but on the chilly side. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: A chance of rain, mainly after 4 p.m. Increasing clouds, with a high near 50. West northwest wind 8 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight: A chance of rain before 7 p.m. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly clear, with a low around 31. West wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Wednesday: Sunny, with a high near 45. Northwest wind 6 to 9 mph.
Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 30. North northwest wind around 6 mph becoming light and variable in the evening.
Thursday: A chance of snow before 8 a.m., then a chance of rain and snow between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., then rain likely after 10 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 40. Northeast wind 3 to 5 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Thursday Night: Rain likely before 10 p.m., then rain and snow likely between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., then snow likely after 11 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 26. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 39.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 21.
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 45.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 31.
Veterans Day: Mostly sunny, with a high near 47.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 29.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas voters will decide Tuesday whether to promote to governor Kris Kobach, a strong ally of President Donald Trump, who wants to crack down on immigrants living in the state illegally and resume conservative tax-cutting policies from earlier in the decade that critics labeled a failure.
October gubernatorial candidate debate -photo courtesy Kobach for governor campaign
Republican Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state, says if elected he would slash spending and seek tax cuts like those championed by unpopular former Gov. Sam Brownback.
His Democratic opponent, state Sen. Laura Kelly, has made her opposition to the ill-fated 2012-13 experiment in slashing state income taxes the centerpiece of her campaign in a tight race. She was part of a bipartisan effort in 2017 that reversed most of the tax cuts to drag state finances out of a gaping hole.
“By then, Kansans understood the damage that was done,” Kelly said between last-minute campaign stops. “And they wanted nothing more to do with that.”
A wildcard in the race is Independent candidate Greg Orman, a Kansas City-area businessman, who Democrats fear could take enough votes from Kelly to hand the election to Kobach.
Kansas is considered a deep red state with party registration 44 percent Republican and 25 percent Democratic. But its dominant Republican party sometimes splits between moderates and conservatives, leaving an opening for a Democrat to peel off disaffected GOP voters. In recent decades the state has alternated between Republican and Democratic governors.
That GOP rift emerged this year with the nomination of Kobach, who has concentrated on motivating his conservative base rather than wooing moderate voters.
“The way we win is, we rack up our numbers,” Kobach told a get-out-the vote rally in Topeka. “If Republicans vote in big numbers, we win a statewide election. It’s just that simple.”
Kobach has built a national profile as an advocate of tough immigration policies and strict voter identification laws. He has advised Trump and served as vice chairman of Trump’s since-disbanded commission on voter fraud. He narrowly defeated Gov. Jeff Colyer in the GOP primary in August after Trump ignored some of his advisers and tweeted an endorsement of Kobach.
Trump carried the state by 20 percentage points in the 2016 presidential race and had a rally to help Kobach’s campaign in October. Donald Trump Jr. had two fundraising events for him.
Kobach delights in provoking critics with stunts such as using of a red-white-and-blue jeep with a replica machine gun mounted on top in community parades to emphasize his support for the 2nd amendment to the Constitution.
Despite the painful experience of the Brownback tax cuts, he has promised to shrink the size of government so that the state could resume cutting taxes. He has bristled at Kelly’s suggestion that he would revive the Brownback tax experiment and top it, arguing that he would be more aggressive about reducing government spending.
Kelly wants to increase spending, not reduce it, saying more money is needed for higher education, early childhood education and mental health services.
She also embraced a plan this year from the Legislature to phase in a $548 million increase in spending on public schools in response to Kansas Supreme Court decisions in an education funding lawsuit filed in 2010. Kobach criticized the court and suggested that lawmakers had paid a “king’s ransom” to comply with the court order.
Like Trump, Kobach has stressed immigration issues in the run-up to the election. He wants policies designed to push immigrants living in Kansas illegally out of the state. Kelly said Kobach’s immigration policies would hurt the state’s economy, particularly in western Kansas which depends on immigrant workers for the meatpacking industry.
Orman had hoped to build on an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate in 2014 as an independent candidate that brought him national attention. But his campaign for governor never gained enough traction to make him more than a spoiler.
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) – President Donald Trump closed out his midterm election rallies with one in Missouri that featured conservative stars, Republican hopefuls, favorite Democratic targets, and a little drama.
Joining Trump on stage in the Mississippi River town of Cape Girardeau was native son and radio host Rush Limbaugh plus Fox News hosts Sean Hannity and Jeanine Pirro.
A fantastic evening in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Josh @HawleyMO will be a tireless champion for YOU. He is great on jobs, great on tax cuts, and tough on crime. He shares your values, and he will always support our Military, Vets and Police! Get out tomorrow and VOTE for Josh!! pic.twitter.com/YPB8nqX2d6
Trump’s stump speech was interrupted for several minutes Monday night when a woman in the crowd required medical attention. People sang the hymn “Amazing Grace” as she was taken outside.
Trump’s Missouri rally was his third of the day and his 11th in a spate of campaigning during which he accused Democrats of planning to ruin the country if they succeed in gaining power in Congress after Tuesday’s midterm elections.
On Monday, KBI agents arrested 44-year-old Bryan Boldridge of Atchison, the man who was involved in a shooting with an Atchison police.
Boldridge was discharged from the University of Kansas Medical Center Monday evening. At approximately 6:25 p.m., KBI agents, with assistance from the University of Kansas Medical Center Police Department, took him into custody on an arrest warrant for attempted second degree murder in connection with the officer involved shooting.
Boldridge was booked into the Wyandotte County Jail on $150,000 bond.
Once the KBI concludes its investigation, the findings will be turned over to the Atchison County Attorney’s Office for review. Further information related to this investigation will come from the County Attorney’s Office.
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ATCHISON, Kan. – The Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) is investigating an officer involved shooting which occurred in Atchison on Wednesday, Oct. 31.
According to a KBI media release, the Atchison Police Department contacted the KBI at approximately 10:35 a.m. to request assistance investigating an officer involved shooting. KBI agents and the crime scene response team (CSRT) responded to conduct the investigation.
Preliminary information indicates that an officer from the Atchison Police Department was dispatched to a theft of services call at a residence at N. Fourth St. and L St. in Atchison. When the officer arrived on scene at approximately 10:20 a.m., a male subject on the property approached the officer while carrying a rifle. The officer gave verbal commands to drop the gun, and the subject complied by putting down the rifle.
Then, the verbal conflict with the resident escalated, and the officer deployed a Taser toward the subject. The subject produced a handgun he had in his possession, and fired at the officer. The officer was not hit by gunfire, and returned fire at the subject. The subject was struck during the exchange.
The subject was taken into custody, and EMS was called. He was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The subject was later identified as Bryan C. Boldridge, 44, of Atchison.
The KBI will conduct a thorough and independent investigation into this shooting. Once the investigation is complete, the findings will be turned over to the Atchison County Attorney for review.
