WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The American Civil Liberties Union is defending a flyer it mailed comparing the civil rights records of the leading Republican candidates for Kansas governor, calling it voter education.
Secretary of State Kris Kobach pointed to the flyer in seeking to portray Gov. Jeff Colyer as the ACLU’s “man” during a Tuesday fundraiser.
Colyer’s campaign distanced itself from the civil rights group, calling it a dirty trick to help Kobach and ensure that Democrats and the ACLU have an easy opponent to defeat in the general election just as they’ve defeated Kobach in the courtroom.
The ACLU has won several lawsuits against Kobach over voting rights.
Kobach is mounting a threat from the right to unseat Colyer in a Republican primary in which the candidates seek to burnish their conservative credentials.
HOYT, Kan. (AP) — Jackson County Sheriff Tim Morse says 12 horses were removed from a farm this week after a veterinarian determined they were not receiving proper care.
Morse says the horses were taken Monday from a farm near Hoyt. Medical staff is caring for the four stallions, two colts and six mares.
He says some horses were not getting adequate water despite recent high temperatures and hay on the farm was old.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports another 35 horses were determined to be in adequate health and remained at the farm. Those horses will be checked daily.
Morse says the sheriff’s office received complaints for almost 18 months about poor conditions at the farm but substantial evidence wasn’t found before Monday despite repeated visits to the property.
The Jackson County attorney will determine if any charges are filed.
Governor Mike Parson signed an executive order Wednesday, placing 47 counties in Missouri on Drought Alert.
According to a news release, Parson called upon the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to activate the Drought Assessment Committee and the associated drought impact teams.
“Missouri farmers are resilient, but with no control over Mother Nature, this year’s drought has been difficult to battle,” said Governor Parson. “By responding early to this drought, we can greatly reduce the impact upon our agricultural community as well as on all Missouri citizens. Our farmers are the backbone of our state, and it is imperative that we assist to get through this difficult time.”
In accordance with Phase One of Missouri’s Drought Plan, the Department of Natural Resources convened the Climate and Weather Committee in January 2018, to begin monitoring drought conditions and consider response options.
At its July 13 meeting, the Climate and Weather Committee recommended that Phase Two of Missouri’s Drought Plan be activated. Phase Two includes declaring a Drought Alert for 47 Missouri counties currently experiencing severe or extreme drought on the U.S. Drought Monitor issued July 12, 2018.
In June, to aid the agricultural community, the Department of Natural Resources’ Soil and Water Districts Commission granted a statewide variance that allows grazing on practices that would normally be livestock-excluded.
For more information on the Missouri Drought Plan, the Drought Assessment Committee, Executive Order 18-05, and the Drought Monitor map click here.
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – A central Missouri man pleaded guilty to causing a crash that killed a teacher and injured four students.
The Columbia Missourian reports 27-year-old Brandon Brill, of Clark, pleaded guilty Wednesday to involuntary manslaughter and assault. The September 2017 crash killed 37-year-old Brian Simpson, a Harrisburg teacher and cross-country coach.
Simpson was driving a bus carrying five girls to a track meet when a pickup truck driven by Brill crossed a center line and struck the bus in northern Boone County. The two vehicles overturned and the bus caught fire.
Simpson died at the scene and the girls were treated for minor to moderate injuries.
Brill said he had worked over 100 hours in the weeks before the crash and was driving home from a 16-hour shift from a nursing home in Centralia when the crash occurred.
KANSAS CITY — (AP) — A Kansas City-area woman has been charged with letting men rape her 2-year-old daughter.
Watson -photo Wyandotte County
Twenty-five-year-old Azzie Watson, of Independence, was charged Tuesday with child abuse and endangerment. Bond is set at $75,000. No attorney is listed for her in online court records.
Court documents say Watson’s boyfriend recorded Watson talking about repeatedly taking her daughter to a house where her daughter was raped about five times. She says on the recording that she watched.
Police were given the recording last month while responding to a rape report at a hospital. Court documents say Watson told detectives that what she said in the recording was a lie because she was scared of her boyfriend. Watson also said she didn’t know how her daughter contracted a sexually transmitted disease.
The Trails West! Festival is making some changes this year.
Tickets instead of buttons for the Trails West!® festival August 17-19 will be the new admission into the festival. Tickets will be redeemed at the gate for a two-day wristband.
Teresa Fankhauser, executive director of the Allied Arts Council, said after 25 years of admittance buttons, switching to tickets is the right change.
“We wanted to follow the trend and follow what other festivals were doing,” Fankhauser said. “Now, people don’t have to worry about being poked by a button.”
If someone shows up wearing all 25 buttons, the individual and a guest will receive a free 2-day wristband. Also new this year, the festival is offering single day passes if someone only plans to attend the festival Friday or Saturday for a $10 wristband at the gate.
The last day to purchase advance tickets is August 15.
Main Stage performers this year include Robert Randolph and the Family Band performing Friday and Chase Rice on Saturday. The theme of the 2018 festival is ‘Made with Uncommon Character.’
Tickets are available for sale in St. Joseph at the Allied Arts Council, City Hall, Commerce Bank, Farmers State Bank, Goetz Credit Union, Hy-Vee, Mosaic Life Care, NASB, Nodaway Valley Bank, Price Chopper, St. Joseph CVB and UMB Bank.
Tickets will allow individuals to enjoy entertainment, fine art, folk art and food. Advanced tickets can also be purchased through the Allied Arts Council website.
For more information, contact the Allied Arts Council at (816) 233-0231.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Midwest grocery store chain Hy-Vee Inc. has recalled its store-brand spring pasta salad after 20 people got salmonella in Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Iowa.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday the West Des Moines-based grocery chain discovered potential salmonella contamination on Monday night and pulled the product from its shelves.
The recall includes 16-ounce and 48-ounce containers of Hy-Vee Spring Pasta Salad produced between June 1 and July 13. It was available from deli service cases in the company’s 244 stores across eight states including Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Salmonella can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in the young, frail and elderly.
Two Neosho residents were injured, one seriously, in a crash in Daviess County Tuesday afternoon.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, at 3:55 p.m., 63-year-old Gary R. Richards was driving a 2002 Suzuki Grand Vitara north on I-35 at the 59.2 mile marker north of Cameron. Richards lost control of the vehicle, ran off the east side of the road and hit a tree.
Richards was transported to Liberty Hospital for treatment of serious injuries. He was not wearing a seatbelt. A passenger in the vehicle, 60-year-old Janell W. Miller of Neosho, was transported to Liberty Hospital for treatment of minor injuries. She was wearing a seatbelt.
Scattered shower and thunderstorm chances today along with an increased possibility of locally heavy rainfall which could lead to localized flooding. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 9 a.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 85. Calm wind becoming east southeast around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Tonight: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. Southeast wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Thursday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 2 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 94. Heat index values as high as 99. Calm wind becoming west 5 to 9 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 50%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Thursday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2 a.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 70. West northwest wind 5 to 8 mph becoming light and variable after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Friday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 2 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 91. Light and variable wind becoming south southeast 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 66.
Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 88.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 65.
Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 89.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 68.
Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 87.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 66.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – A 61-year-old southwest Missouri woman has been sentenced to life in prison for an ambush-style shooting of her former daughter-in-law.
Angaline Ryan, of West Plains, was sentenced Tuesday for the April 2015 attack on Tammy Hatchcock in their shared driveway.
Ryan was found guilty in December of first-degree assault and armed criminal action.
Hathcock was in the midst of a bitter divorce with Ryan’s son when the attack occurred. The couple was due in court the week of the attack.
Hatchcock was director of Drury University’s campuses in Thayer and West Plains. She eventually recovered from several gunshot wounds, changed her name and moved away after the divorce.
Secretary of State Kris Kobach pointed to the flyer in seeking to portray Gov. Jeff Colyer as the ACLU’s “man” during a Tuesday fundraiser.
