JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – A Missouri inmate who was in the first year of a 19-year prison sentence has died in custody.

The Missouri Department of Corrections says in news release that 50-year-old Joel Allred died Friday morning at the Jefferson City Correctional Center. Officials say Allred died of natural causes.

He began his term at the Jefferson City prison on Feb. 25, 2016. He was sentenced on convictions out of Saline County for two counts of possession of a controlled substance, resisting or interfering with arrest, possession with intent to distribute and endangering the welfare of a child.

SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspect after an attack on officers early Saturday.

Just after 2:00am, a man later identified as Anthony Hernandez of Topeka entered the Law Enforcement Center, 320 South Kansas Avenue in Topeka, according to Lt. Steve Roth.

Hernandez wielded a machete and stated that he had a bomb. Officers were able isolated him outside the building and initiated communications that continued for over an hour.

Hernandez subsequently “aggressed on officers” with his machete, according to Roth. Officers used a Taser and took him into custody. He received only superficial injuries, according to Roth.

No officers were injured in this incident.

Police booked Hernandez for Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer, Criminal Threat, and other charges.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – A judge has refused to issue a temporary restraining order that would have prohibited Republican Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens and his staff from using a texting app that erases messages after they are read.

The Kansas City Star reports that Cole County Judge Jon Beetem issued the ruling Friday in a lawsuit that accuses Greitens and his staff of engaging in a conspiracy to violate Missouri’s open records law by using the Confide app.

Critics contend that with the app, it is impossible to determine whether the governor and his staff use it to conduct state business in secret.

Beetem set a hearing for further arguments in March, acknowledging there are “open questions.”

The governor’s office’s use of Confide also is being investigated by Attorney General Josh Hawley’s office.

By STEPHEN KORANDA

Lowering the Kansas sales tax on food is as popular as it is difficult in a state scrounging for every nickel to balance its budget.

On Thursday, supporters of a plan to cut taxes on groceries sounded off at the Kansas Statehouse with a plea to a Senate committee to advance a constitutional amendment that would reduce the rate.

The current state sales tax rate stands at 6.5 percent. Local sales taxes bring the total to more than 11 percent in some parts of Kansas. Under the proposal, the state sales tax on food would drop to 4 percent in 2019 and 2 percent in 2020. Local sales tax decisions would still remain the business of city and county politicians.

Staff from the Department of Revenue said such tax cuts would lower collections for the state’s general fund by $128 million in the first year and $246 million in the second year.

Casey Cordts is a pediatrician at Stormont Vail Health in Topeka. He told the Senate committee that the state’s sales tax makes it harder for low-income Kansans to buy healthy foods instead of cheaper, less-nutritious options.

He remembers one example where a child was dealing with significant weight issues. His family worked on a diet plan, but the boy’s mother said the family couldn’t afford the extra vegetables.

“A dollar or two back can be a couple extra vegetables a week,” Cordts said. “That can make a huge impact on a kid’s life.”

Brenda Johnson owns a small grocery store called Hometown Market in Bird City, a town of 400 in northwest Kansas. She told lawmakers that grocery stores near the state’s borders struggle to compete with stores in neighboring states that charge a lower tax rate.

She recently ran into someone preparing to head across the Nebraska border for a large grocery purchase.

“Just because it was minus that sales tax,” Johnson said. “They’re at zero percent.”

She said the sales tax on food makes small stores like hers less competitive and that losing grocery stores in small communities can leave people without a local option to buy necessities.

“For a grocery store to leave the town,” Johnson said, “it makes it even harder to survive as a town.”

Lowering the sales tax on food appeals to lawmakers across ideological lines, but the problem is balancing the budget.

Unless it’s part of a larger tax proposal, cutting the sales tax on food would also mean a sizable cut into state revenues. That challenge has led to similar proposals faltering in recent years.

If state revenues fell, that could jeopardize funding for state services such as education.

Rob Gilligan, with the Kansas Association of School Boards, did not urge lawmakers to defeat the proposal. But he said reducing the food sales tax should be part of a larger tax overhaul “where you looked at an appropriate taxation policy for the funding of all government services.”

Gov. Jeff Colyer said he likes lowering taxes but doubts there will be much action on the tax front after the major overhaul last year.

“I’ll look at anything the Legislature sends my way,” Colyer said. “But right now, I don’t see the Legislature passing a different tax proposal.”

Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for KPR a partner in the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas lawmakers have rejected an effort to repeal a law that allows people to carry concealed firearms in most facilities at public colleges and universities in the state.

The Kansas House voted 53-69 against Democratic Rep. Barbara Ballard’s repeal amendment Thursday.

The House did vote to require students, faculty and staff carrying a concealed firearm on campus to receive gun safety training. Lawmakers also voted to allow 18-year-olds to carry concealed weapons. The previous age limit was 21.

Ballard says the law is making it difficult for higher education institutions in the state to attract new students to their campuses.

Opponents to the appeal argue that people have the constitutional right to bear arms for self-protection.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – A nonprofit formed by supporters of Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens has begun running a 30-second TV ad promoting his tax plan.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the Republican governor is featured in the ad touting the benefits of his plan announced last week that would cut taxes by an estimated $787 million.

The ad is funded by the group A New Missouri, which also is paying for a website to promote the proposal. A Greitens spokesman estimates the total cost of the ad campaign at $1 million, with ads planned for television, radio and digital platforms.

Critics have cited concerns about so-called “dark money” groups like A New Missouri since they can accept an unlimited amount of money from donors without having to reveal the contributors.