FRANKLIN COUNTY — One person died and five others were injured in an accident just before 11p.m. Wednesday in Franklin County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Chevy Suburban SUV driven by Hudson, Curtrail J H Hudson, 16, Kansas City, Kansas, was northbound in the southbound lanes of Interstate 35.

The Suburban struck a 2018 Chevy Impala driven by Charisma A. Shirley, 20, Kansas City, Mo., head-on.

A passenger in the Suburban Tyra L. Cooper, 32, Independence, Mo. was pronounced dead at the scene.

Hudson, Shirley, and passengers in the Impala Alexis M. Thompson, 20, Kansas City, Mo.; Dyimond U. Johnson, 20, Kansas City, Mo., and Shakyra K. Nichols, 21, Kansas City, Kansas, were transported to Overland Park Regional Medical Center.

The occupants of the Suburban were not wearing a seat belts, according to the KHP.

 

SHAWNEE COUNTY – The Topeka Police Department has requested that the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) issue an endangered person advisory for a missing Topeka man.

The whereabouts of Gary “Junior” Darby-Bey, 27, are unknown. Darby-Bey is a black male, 5 ft. tall and approximately 125 lbs. He has short black hair and brown eyes and walks with a limp. Darby-Bey was last seen Tuesday night at approximately 11:30 p.m. in the 5200 Block of SW 10^th St. in Topeka, Kan.

Darby-Bey is a person with diminished mental capacity and authorities believe he may have had assistance leaving the area. Law enforcement is concerned for his welfare because he requires medical assistance to ensure his safety. It is believed Darby-Bey may currently be in the Northeast or Central part of Kansas, or in Southeast Nebraska or Western Missouri.

The Topeka Police Department asks anyone who comes in contact with Darby-Bey to immediately call 911. However, if other information is known about this case, or past sightings occurred, please contact the Topeka Police Department at (785) 368-9247.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Congressional committees and farm groups have crafted language to fix a provision in the federal tax overhaul that gave an unintended tax advantage to farmers who sell their crops to cooperatives instead of other buyers.

Both sides are now trying to get it included in a massive spending bill that needs to pass by March 23 to avert another federal government shutdown.

The deal announced Tuesday is meant to keep the playing field level between co-ops and other crop buyers, ranging from local companies to agribusiness giants such as Cargill and ADM.

The complex language is the product of weeks of negotiations among committee leaders and staffers with farm groups, including the National Grain and Feed Association and the National Council of Farm Cooperatives.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture endorses the agreement, but the National Farmers Union opposes it.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Latest on allegations against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (all times local):

5:20 p.m.

The chairman of a House panel investigating allegations against Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens says it has used subpoenas in its probe, but he’s declining to say who has testified or about what.

Committee Chairman Jay Barnes said Wednesday that the panel is on track to submit a report on its findings within a 40-day deadline and further details on its work would be available then.

The panel was created after Greitens was indicted last month by a St. Louis grand jury on a charge of invasion of privacy for allegedly taking a nonconsensual photo of a partially nude woman with whom he has acknowledged having an affair in 2015.

Last week, an attorney for the ex-husband of the woman said she had testified before the House panel.

President Donald Trump is checking out fighter jets at a Boeing facility in St. Louis and holding a round-table discussion with business leaders.

The president climbed a set of metal stairs to take a look at the cockpit of an EA-18 Growler plane.

Trump is calling Boeing a “truly great company” and says the U.S. makes the best fighter jets in the world.

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Together, we are MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! pic.twitter.com/CUutL5SZxQ

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 14, 2018

Trump says he has asked Congress to provide funding for two dozen new F-18 jets and jokes with the head of Boeing that he’s “working on price.”

The president is in Missouri to promote the benefits of last year’s tax overhaul. He says families in Missouri will save $4 billion in taxes in 2018

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ST. LOUIS (AP) – President Donald Trump is in Missouri to promote the tax cuts he signed into law last year and campaign for Republican Senate candidate Josh Hawley.

 

 

Trump toured a Boeing plant in St. Louis as part of his visit Wednesday. The facility produces Navy F/A-18s and Air Force F-15s.

Trump is also holding a round table with business leaders and workers at the plant before headlining a fundraiser for Hawley, who is running for the Senate seat currently held by Democrat Claire McCaskill.

It’s his second fundraiser in as many days.
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ST. LOUIS (AP) – President Donald Trump is traveling to Missouri to promote recent tax cuts and campaign for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Josh Hawley.

Trump is scheduled to visit the Boeing plant in St. Louis Wednesday. He’ll hold a round table with business leaders and workers, then plans to attend a fundraiser for Hawley.

During a November trip to Missouri, Trump publicly endorsed the Republican Hawley in his campaign for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democrat Claire McCaskill.

Trump also previously visited a Springfield, Missouri, manufacturing plant in August to launch his push for an overhaul of the nation’s tax system. He’ll return with a win under his belt after Congress passed legislation to significantly cut taxes for corporations while providing more modest tax breaks for middle-class families.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Leaders of sororities at the University of Kansas say they support a decision to suspend all social activities for fraternities until a “significantly safer” environment is created at the school.

The Panhellenic Association, which governs most of sororities at Kansas, said in a statement Wednesday that it would rejoin social activities with fraternities once they complete a strategic plan to improve conditions.

The Infraternity Council, which oversees 24 fraternities at Kansas, on Monday announced the self-imposed freeze on all social activities because of “systemic behavioral issues.” The men will continue to hold chapter meetings and participate in philanthropy events that do not include alcohol.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports the sorority organization said it hoped to work with fraternities to address issues that affect both organizations.

 

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) – A man already serving life in prison was sentenced to two more life terms for killing another prisoner at the federal prison hospital in Springfield, Missouri.

Sixty-one-year-old Ulysses Jones Jr. was sentenced Tuesday in the 2006 stabbing death of 38-year-old Timothy Baker.

Jones was convicted of murder in October for stabbing Baker with a homemade knife at the U.S. Medical Center for Federal Prisoners.

The Springfield News-Leader reports it was Jones’ fourth murder conviction.

Federal prosecutors tried last year to have Jones sentenced to death for Baker’s murder but a jury split on the sentence because Jones is dying from kidney problems.

Prosecutors say Baker was one of several inmates who had asked prison officials to investigate Jones for stealing from them during meal breaks.

 

By BRIAN GRIMMETT

A resolution pending in the Kansas Legislature would urge, but not require, state regulators to make electric rates more competitive.

In 2017, Kansas electric utility rates averaged 10.58 cents per kilowatt hour. That’s higher than any other state in the region. It’s also slightly higher than the national average of 10.54 cents per kilowatt hour.

Jim Zakoura represents several large manufacturers, including Spirit Aerosystems and Cargill, as part of the Kansas Industrial Consumers Group. He told the Senate Commerce Committee on Monday that high utility rates make the state less competitive. Without legislative action, he said, major utilities won’t stop raising rates.

“They are clearly saying that the trend is upward,” Zakoura said. “There may be fewer increases but they’re going to keep coming.”

Utility company officials, however, told lawmakers no resolution is needed because their companies also worry about staying competitive.

“The only way we can grow, the only way we can find prosperity, is if the businesses and the residents in the states that we serve thrive,” said Chuck Caisley, a spokesman for Kansas City Power & Light Company and Great Plains Energy.

He also told members of the committee that much of the retail price increases during the past decade came from the added costs of meeting stricter EPA regulations and the construction of transmission lines.

If passed, the resolution would only urge regulators to make changes. But it wouldn’t change the rules the Kansas Corporation Commission must follow in responding to rate hike requests.

Brian Grimmett is a reporter focusing on the environment and energy for the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @briangrimmett.