BRANSON, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say a 97-year-old Indiana man has died after he was found floating in a lake near the southwest Missouri tourist town of Branson.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol identified the drowning victim as Clarence Leohr, of Clay City, Indiana. He was found floating Saturday in Lake Taneycomo at the Tanglewood Resort about 1.5 miles northeast of Branson.

He was transported to a Branson hospital, where he later died. The patrol report didn’t say why Leohr was in the water.

TUNAS, Mo. (AP) — Authorities say two southwest Missouri homeowners have been shot to death in a gunfight with possible intruders.

The shooting happened Sunday morning at a home in the Dallas County town of Tunas. The Dallas County Sheriff’s Office says the homeowner apparently interrupted an attempted robbery. The names of the slain homeowners haven’t been released.

Authorities are looking for their pickup truck. The missing vehicle is a 2006 silver Chevrolet Silverado single cab with dark gray or black fender flares and license plate 9YX 415.

Anyone with information is urged to call law enforcement and not approach the vehicle. The sheriff’s office says the suspects are considered armed and dangerous.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A statue has been dedicated in Topeka to honor an instrumental player in the Brown v. Board of Education case that ended segregation in public schools.

The statue of McKinley Burnett was dedicated Sunday afternoon in the city’s downtown. While president of the Topeka chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Burnett helped recruit the 13 black parents who tried unsuccessfully to enroll their children in white Topeka elementary schools in 1951. Their lawsuit was combined with four other segregation challenges, leading to the historic 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

Washburn University School of Law dean Carla Pratt says the case was the most significant of the 20th century because it demanded that America live up to its promise of equality.

WICHITA– Starting Monday October 1, it costs more to drive the Kansas Turnpike.  The KTA’s toll  will increase the following ways:

Electronic passenger vehicles (2-4 axles using a K-TAG or compatible device) will see an approximate 5% increase and realize a savings of up to 25% off cash tolls.

Electronic commercial vehicles (5+ axles using a K-TAG or compatible device) may see an adjustment due to rounding electronic fares to the nearest nickel and realize a savings of up to 18% off cash tolls.

The less than 40% of cash customers will see an approximate 12.5% increase (passenger) and 10% increase (commercial). All cash fares will be adjusted to the nearest quarter, which could cause variances in the percentage increase.

“KTA’s toll rate per mile continues to be one of the lowest in the country,” said Steve Hewitt, KTA’s CEO.  “We encourage travelers to maximize their savings by using an electronic transponder like K-TAG to pay for tolls.”

The Kansas Turnpike Authority Board approved the increase in July.

JACKSON COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating two suspects after a weekend drug bust. Deputies served a search warrant in connection with a drug investigation at a home in the 15, 500 Block of US Hwy 75 in rural Mayetta Saturday, according to Sheriff Tim Morse.

At the scene, deputies arrested  Jonathan L. Seeley, 53, and his son Samuel Jacob Seeley, 25, both of Mayetta.

Deputies seized methamphetamine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia and weapons from the residence.

Jonathan Seeley was booked for possession of methamphetamine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia and criminal use of firearms. Samuel Seeley was booked for possession of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and criminal use of firearms.  Troopers from the Kansas Highway Patrol assisted with the search warrant, according to Morse.

Both men bonded out of jail on Sunday.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Republicans and Democrats are focusing a lot of attention on seven eastern Missouri counties that some say will be pivotal in the U.S. Senate race between Attorney General Josh Hawley and U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill.

The two parties consider Jefferson County, which is adjacent to St. Louis’ suburbs, as a key in the closely-watched race, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported .

There’s “no county more important in this entire state than the one we are sitting in right now,” Republican Senate candidate Josh Hawley told supporters this week (Monday) in Imperial, in northern Jefferson County. “This county is key. As goes this county, so goes this state. And I’m telling you right now: So goes this state, so goes this nation.”

Voters in Jefferson County and six surrounding counties — Washington, Franklin, Iron, Reynolds, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve and Shannon — tend to be socially conservative but receptive to Democrats’ support of unions and other basic economic issues.

McCaskill, who won all of the counties six years ago and every one except Franklin in 2006.

“I think it (the region) is essential for her re-election, and if he’s got a hope to take her out, he’s got to win these areas that can be 60 percent Democrat or 60 percent Republican,” said Rep. Kevin Engler, R-Farmington, adding: “Claire’s got a much better ground game, and unless he picks it up, he’s going to have a difficult time just winning it by doing TV ads.”

McCaskill won Jefferson County by 10 percentage points in 2006 and by 14 percentage points in 2012, in a race where she was helped by mistakes made by her Republican opponent, Todd Akin. Republican Mitt Romney won the county in 2012 and President Donald Trump took nearly two-thirds of the county vote in 2016. However, U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, a Republican, garnered only about 50 percent of the county’s vote in 2016.

Dave Robertson, political scientist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, said Trump winning two-thirds of the vote “has to be of great concern” to McCaskill, “who needs to have votes in Jefferson County.”

Blunt’s winning only 50 percent in Jefferson County in 2016 indicates the county’s voters assess each race independently, said Stephen Webber, chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party.

“In an area where everybody votes all one ticket or all the other, the question is, ’How many people show up to vote?’” Webber said. “In an area like Jefferson County, where people go back and forth between Democrat and Republican, there’s just a lot of opportunity for persuasion.”

KANSAS CITY – A man was sentenced in federal court Thursday for robbing the U.S. Bank inside Truman Medical Center.

Jimmy Lee Bozeman II, 57, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to 12 years and seven months in federal prison without parole, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

On June 6, 2018, Bozeman pleaded guilty to one count of bank robbery. Bozeman stole $1,450 from U.S. Bank on March 14, 2018.

According to court documents, Bozeman demanded a bank teller give him all of her $50 and $100 bills. The teller briefly hesitated because she thought he was joking; he told her it was not a joke and he possessed a handgun.

After the teller handed him money from her top drawer, he demanded the money from the second drawer. As she was attempting to open the second drawer, a hospital cafeteria employee approached the bank to make change for the register in the cafeteria.

When Bozeman turned to look at him, the teller activated the hold-up alarm. Bozeman then fled from the hospital, got into a vehicle parked nearby and left the area.

Bank surveillance photos were released to the media. Several social workers at Truman Medical Center recognized Bozeman as a former client. Bozeman’s ex-wife also identified him from the surveillance photos.

Bozeman was previously convicted of bank robbery in the Western District of Missouri in 2009. He also has prior felony convictions for robbery and armed criminal action.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas is offering a free food pantry at the Memorial Union on the Lawrence campus.

The Campus Cupboard on the fourth level of the union opened Monday.

The space allows students, faculty and staff to pick up such items as fresh fruit, cereal, steaks and even gluten-free products.

Shoppers can visit the store twice a week. They receive 15 points each time they visit and they spend the points as they see fit. For example, a package of meat is five points and rice is three pounds.

The food bank is a collaboration of several organizations. Some items were donated by local grocery stores, area farms and from food drives. Just Food, the Douglas County food bank, bought some of the food