By BRIAN GRIMMETT

Kansas water use is declining, according to a new report from the U.S. Geological survey.

Kansans decreased their water usage by 25 percent over the past 25 years — which is great. But conservation experts say there’s still a lot more work to be done.

In 2015, Kansas used on average more than 4 billion gallons of water each day. That’s down nearly 25 percent from 1990. Of that, 2.6 billion gallons per day are used for irrigation — a decrease of 36 percent from 1990.

“What we’re doing is great, it’s just not enough of it,” said Kansas Water Office Director Tracy Streeter.

He’s particularly concerned about areas of western Kansas where farmers draw from the diminishing Ogallala aquifer.

“Overall, we’ve got to see more widespread adoption of conservation efforts,” he said.

The top three water consuming counties are Stevens, Finney and Seward — all located in southwestern Kansas.

Linn County, in eastern Kansas, withdraws the most water per day of any county. The culprit is the LaCygne coal-fired power plant, which withdraws 610 million gallons per day. But the plant puts almost all the water it withdraws back into the lake it comes from, consuming just 1 percent of it.

Mandy Stone is a hydrologist at the USGS in Kansas. She said the data is a good tool to show policymakers, and Kansans, where their water comes from and where it goes.

“This water use data is important, ultimately because all of us in the economy depend on water every day,” she said.

Brian Grimmett, based at KMUW in Wichita, is a reporter focusing on the environment and energy for the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KMUW, Kansas Public Radio, KCUR and High Plains Public Radio covering health, education and politics. Follow him on Twitter @briangrimmett. 

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Security services company ADT received alarms at a burning Topeka home with a woman inside but didn’t alert authorities about the deadly fire, according to a lawsuit.

The wrongful death lawsuit was filed Wednesday on behalf of Elizabeth Frost’s child, who is a minor. Frost, 36, died of carbon monoxide poisoning from inhaling smoke and soot inside her burning home in August 2016.

ADT received two alarms regarding the fire, the lawsuit said. But the company didn’t alert officers and “inexplicably … fully cleared” the incident about an hour before first responders pulled Frost’s body from the home, according to the lawsuit.

The suit accuses ADT of negligence, fraud, deception and breaching the Kansas Consumer Protection Act and its agreement with Frost. It seeks damages for Frost’s pain prior to her death and subsequent medical expenses, as well as damages for the loss suffered by Frost’s child.

Firefighters didn’t respond to Frost’s home until city employees noticed the fire and called 911. ADT received the first alarm for a broken glass window about 90 minutes earlier. The second alarm was received two minutes later for a failure of the home system’s main keypad, according to the lawsuit.

An ADT employee attempted unsuccessfully to contact Frost three times and Frost’s mother twice, the lawsuit stated. The employee cleared the incident about 30 minutes after the first alarm and made no attempt to contact first responders, according to the suit.

ADT’s website said that the company will notify authorities if an employee couldn’t make contact with a resident under an alarm.

“These representations were known to be false or untrue by (ADT), or were recklessly made without knowledge concerning them,” the lawsuit stated.

ADT has declined to comment to The Associated Press citing pending litigation.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – A Kansas City man has been convicted of killing a man during a fight over drugs.

The Kansas City Star reports that jurors found 37-year-old Brad Lindsey guilty Thursday of first-degree murder, armed criminal action, unlawful use of a weapon and tampering with evidence in the May 2016 death of 26-year-old D’Adrian Lamar Bell.

Prosecutors say Bell was trying to buy marijuana from Lindsey when a fight broke out over the price. Lindsey was accused of shooting Bell in a home and then tossing Bell’s phone along a road. Prosecutors say Lindsey threw the guns and clothes he was wearing into the Missouri River from a bridge.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — The two leading Republican candidates for governor exchanged pointed criticisms during the last party-approved debate before the August primary.

Watch a replay of the debate here.

Supporters of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach repeatedly tried to shout down Gov. Jeff Colyer Thursday night when he attacked Kobach during a debate at Johnson County Community College.

Colyer focused on Kobach’s heavily-criticized performance during a court hearing defending the state in a federal lawsuit over voter registration regulations. He pointed out that Kobach was fined $1,000 by a federal judge for lying and was required to take classes on legal procedure.

Kobach presented himself as a candidate who would fight hard for conservative social values, saying he wouldn’t be just a “steady hand on the tiller.”

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – Gov. Mike Parson has signed a bill that raises the marriage age in Missouri from 15 to 16.

The measure, signed into law Friday, requires that 16 and 17-year-olds receive parental permission to be married. It also bars someone 21 or older from marrying anyone 17 or younger.

The law also provides a way for people convicted of some sex crimes to be removed from the sex offender registry and removes the statute of limitations for sex crimes against children.

Although the bill passed the Legislature overwhelmingly, some lawmakers say raising the marriage age strips parents of their rights.

Proponents say the marriage change will help combat sex trafficking.

Parson is expected to act on other bills Friday.

HOLTS SUMMIT, Mo. (AP) – An investigation into animal neglect at a central Missouri kennel has led to a city employee’s arrest and the removal of impounded animals.

The Jefferson City News-Tribune reports that the Holts Summit animal control office reported Tuesday to have found poor conditions for some animals at the city’s kennel. The city has sent the impounded animals to a shelter in Fulton as part of an emergency arrangement with a longer agreement pending.

City Administrator Matt Harline says an employee responsible for the animals’ care was fired and arrested. City officials haven’t identified the employee and no charges have been filed yet.

Police Chief Kyle McIntyre says the city took action to move the animals after discovering the neglect, which included the lack of food and water. He says cats were the primary animals affected.

DOUGLAS COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a possible attempted abduction.

On Thursday, police were notified of the possible attempted abduction that took place on the Prairie Park Nature Trail around 6:45 a.m. Thursday morning, according to a media release from Lawrence Police.

A 40-year-old woman reported that she was jogging on the path when a male suspect attempted to grab her from behind.

The woman was able to fight to get away from the suspect and flee the area.

The suspect is described as a white male, wearing light colored pants and white shoes with black stripes, possibly Adidas brand shoes. The male was possibly associated with a blue tent in the park that was near a picnic table in the center of the park.

Additional actions taken by the suspect indicate the crime was sexually motivated. Officers responding to the location of the incident Thursday afternoon were unable to locate any people in the area.

Anyone who may have been in the area of Mary’s Lake, or the Prairie Park Nature Trail on Thursday morning who may have seen any individuals on the path are asked contact Lawrence Police.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election (all times local):

12:30 p.m.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein says that Russian intelligence agents stole information on 500,000 U.S. voters after hacking a state U.S. election board. The allegation was part of new charges Rosenstein announced against 12 Russian intelligence officers for hacking offenses during the 2016 presidential election.

The charges are part of the ongoing special counsel probe into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.

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12:20 p.m.

The Justice Department has announced charges against 12 Russian intelligence officers for hacking offenses during the 2016 presidential election.

The indictments were announced Friday by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein as part of the ongoing special counsel probe into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia.

The Russians are accused of hacking into the computer networks of the Democratic National Committee and the presidential campaign of Hillary Clinton.

Before Friday, 20 people and three companies had been charged in the Mueller investigation. That includes four former Trump campaign and White House aides and 13 Russians accused of participating in a hidden but powerful social media campaign to sway American public opinion in the 2016 election.