STEELVILLE, Mo. (AP) — A third man has been convicted in the ambush killing of a man whose body was found four years ago near a private southeast Missouri campground.
Michael Burkman-Platte Co.
51-year-old Michael Burkman was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty Monday to second-degree murder in the February 2015 shooting death of John Fowler. His body was found on a county road near the Heaven’s Hope Campground in the Hiram area where he had been staying.
Another defendant pleaded guilty previously to involuntary manslaughter for calling Fowler about a purported narcotics transaction to get him to show up at the area where Burkman shot him. A third man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for taking Burkman to the scene and returning later to pick him up.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — An attempt to abolish jail time for possessing small amounts of marijuana has failed in the Missouri House.
Missouri law currently makes possession of 35 grams of marijuana or less a Class A Misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.
Republican Rep. Shamed Dogan, of Ballwin, proposed an amendment Wednesday to a criminal justice bill that would have reduced that to a Class D Misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine with no jail time.
Dogan said marijuana is one of the least harmful drugs, some prosecutors already have stopped pursuing possession cases and that black residents are disproportionately arrested for marijuana possession.
Republican House Speaker Elijah Haahr ruled that the amendment failed on a voice vote.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have arrested a man suspected of driving away after crashing into the rear of a stalled car as people tried to push it off a Lawrence road.
Walden photo Douglas County
Andrew Walden, 25, Iola, faces one count of leaving the scene of the May 2017 crash that sent four people to a hospital, two of them in critical condition. Although that count and two felony aggravated battery charges were filed in January, Walden wasn’t arrested until this week. Jail records show he has been released on $7,500 bond.
A civil lawsuit filed against Walden says he was under the influence of alcohol when he crashed into the car. Walden acknowledged hitting the car in his written response to the suit but denied that he’d been drinking.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Laura Kelly has signed a bill that protects the identities of Kansas National Guard members who undergo counseling.
The legislation signed by the governor on Wednesday is designed to encourage service members to seek help if needed. It will exempt counseling-related notes and records from open records requests and court proceedings.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the bill, which passed the House and Senate with nearly unanimous approval, comes after the Guard experienced three suicides in the last 18 months and nine in the past five years.
Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli said the legislation adds to a variety of services already available to soldiers.
Kelly also signed a bill that makes it easier for Kansas Guard members to receive educational assistance.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The University of South Carolina’s presidential search committee has named executives from Indiana, Florida, Missouri and Illinois as finalists. President Harris Pastides is retiring July 31.
William Tate IV of Washington University
A news release Wednesday says the finalists are John Strait Applegate of Indiana University, Robert Caslen Jr. of the University of Central Florida, William Tate IV of Washington University in St. Louis, and Joseph Walsh Jr. of Northwestern University.
Applegate is IU’s executive vice president for academic affairs. Caslen is Central Florida’s senior counsel to the president and interim CFO. Tate is dean of the graduate school and vice provost for graduate education at Washington. Walsh is vice president for research at Northwestern.
Finalist forums with students, faculty, staff and community leaders are scheduled at the Columbia campus April 22-25.
LENEXA — After issuing a request for assistance, the Lenexa Police Department reported they have identified a man suspected of taking photos or videos of women in a department store changing room.
Can you help us ID this man? He is suspected of taking pics/vids of women in a department store changing room in Lenexa. He left the scene in a black SUV, possibly an Audi. If you know who he is, please contact us at 913-825-8097 or send us a DM. pic.twitter.com/GrcADLjfxA
GLENWOOD, Iowa (AP) — The federal agency that manages dams along the Missouri River received stern criticism from several U.S. senators Wednesday during a hearing held in Iowa to examine the massive spring flooding this year that caused more than $3 billion in damage in the Midwest.
The flooding and actions taken by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which has been bitterly criticized in the wake of the flooding, are the focus of the U.S. Senate hearing. Critics have demanded that the agency make flood control its top priority, though Congress would have to act to change the Corps’ priorities.
Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst said flooding shouldn’t be such a regular occurrence along the Missouri River, saying: “The trend of flood and rebuild, flood and rebuild must end.” Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand added that the Corps should be more aggressive in preventing flood damage and consider the effects of climate change.
“They are too slow, too bureaucratic and they don’t have enough money,” said Gillibrand, who is running for president and was in Iowa touring flood damage. She took part in the hearing because she serves on the committee that oversees the Corps.
The sentiments may be appealing in Midwestern states that have endured flooding along rivers that the Corps is charged with managing, but they may not be as popular with supporters of other approved uses of the river, such as protecting endangered species and navigation.
The Corps’ John Remus said the agency works to balance all the uses of the river and maximize the benefit to several when possible. But flood control is the main concern anytime flooding is imminent along the Missouri River.
“The number one priority of the Corps in its operations is life and public safety,” Remus said.
The Corps has also said that much of the water that caused the Midwest flooding in March came from rain and melting snow that flowed into the Missouri River downstream of all the dams it controls. At the same time massive amounts of water was filling the reservoirs and some had to be released.
Farmer Leo Ettleman said the Corps should have made significant changes to its operating manual after the historic 2011 floods, but neither the Corps nor Congress took action. Ettlemen said the kind of flooding the area saw this spring will continue unless changes are made.
“In the past eight years, Congress has done little or nothing except to offer prayers and thoughts, which are appreciated, but won’t fix the problem,” said Ettleman, who farms near Percival, Iowa, and joined a lawsuit against the Corps after the 2011 flood.
Missouri Farm Bureau President Blake Hurst farms near the Missouri River. He said the lessons from this year’s flooding should lead to changes about where levees are built and how the river is managed.
“When flood recovery is complete, we will have failed if every structure is the same as it was and if the management of the river has not changed,” Hurst said. “To do the same things and expect better results is the triumph of hope over experience.”
Mike Peluso, a longtime professional fisherman who runs an outdoors and guide service in North Dakota, said he doesn’t want to see management of the river “swayed one way or the other” for political reasons.
“They are more populated down south, I get that,” he said. “But it’s the same river regardless of whether or not you’ve got a million people or 100,000 people. It needs to be managed from the top down.”
He added, “I have a hard time believing with all the technology and brainpower we have we can’t find a balance there” between flood protection and other interests like recreation.
Greg Power, fisheries division chief for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said he believes the Corps does “a pretty good job” of managing the Missouri River system.
“Flood control is still a high priority within the Corps, I know that,” Power said. “Some of these water years are pretty incredible themselves and I would hate to be a Corps person, to be honest.”
Rep. Sam Graves, whose district includes the northwestern Missouri area ravaged by flooding in March, introduced a bill this month that would remove fish and wildlife as an authorized management priority on the Missouri River and make flood control the highest priority. The bill would require revision of the Missouri River Master Manuel within 90 days of enactment.
“Time and again, we continue to see fish and birds take precedence over people and property when it comes to managing the Missouri River,” Graves, a Republican, said in a statement. “This latest round of flooding has devastated communities up and down the river. We already know that the management practices are contributing to it.”
Area politicians have said repeatedly since the flood that flood control should be the Corps’ top priority.
Robert Criss, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis who has been studying flooding for more than two decades, said there may be a more important factor than how the Corps’ priorities are ranked.
The Missouri River has been made narrower over the years, Criss said, and the Corps has worked to maintain a defined channel for barge traffic even though few barges ever cross the river near Iowa and Nebraska.
“We’re having this problem because we messed with the rivers too much,” Criss said.
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9:20 a.m.
The federal agency that manages dams along the Missouri River received stern criticism from several U.S. senators at the start of a hearing examining this year’s flooding.
Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst said during the Wednesday’s hearing that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers needs to do a better job of preventing flooding.
Ernst says continuing the cycle of flooding and rebuilding over and over in unacceptable.
Wednesday hearing in Iowa on the Army Corps’ river management photo courtesy Sen. Joni Ernst
Democratic New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand said the Corps is too slow and too bureaucratic, and that it doesn’t have enough money to complete needed preventative projects. Gillibrand also said Congress needs to get past partisan fighting, especially when it comes to disaster aid.
The Wednesday hearing is being held in Glenwood, Iowa, after spring flooding along the Missouri River caused more than $3 billion in damage in the region.
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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — This spring’s massive flooding along the Missouri River unearthed bitter criticism of the federal agency that manages the river while devastating communities and causing more than $3 billion in damage.
Photo courtesy Missouri State Highway Patrol
The flooding and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ actions will be the focus of a U.S. Senate hearing in western Iowa on Wednesday and critics will demand the agency make flood control its top priority. But Congress would have to act to change the Corps’ priorities.
“The current river management policy needs fixing, and recent flooding makes that more urgent than ever,” said Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican.
That sentiment is appealing in Midwestern states that have endured flooding along rivers the Corps of Engineers is charged with managing, but it may not be as popular with supporters of the Corps’ other priorities such as protecting endangered species.
Congress ordered the Corps to treat all eight of its priorities equally, meaning flood control and prevention takes no precedence over protecting endangered species.
Corps officials say they work to balance all the priorities and maximize the benefit to several when possible.
The Corps has also said that much of the water that caused the flooding in March came from rain and melting snow that flowed into the Missouri River downstream of all the dams it controls. At the same time massive amounts of water was filling the reservoirs and some had to be released.
Mike Peluso, a longtime professional fisherman who runs an outdoors and guide service in North Dakota, said he doesn’t want to see management of the river “swayed one way or the other” for political reasons.
“They are more populated down south, I get that,” he said. “But it’s the same river regardless of whether or not you’ve got a million people or 100,000 people. It needs to be managed from the top down.”
He added, “I have a hard time believing with all the technology and brainpower we have we can’t find a balance there” between flood protection and other interests like recreation.
Greg Power, fisheries division chief for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, said he believes the Corps does “a pretty good job” of managing the Missouri River system.
“Flood control is still a high priority within the Corps, I know that,” Power said. “Some of these water years are pretty incredible themselves and I would hate to be a Corps person, to be honest.”
Rep. Sam Graves, whose district includes the northwestern Missouri area ravaged by flooding in March, introduced a bill this month that would remove fish and wildlife as an authorized management priority on the Missouri River and make flood control the highest priority. The bill would require revision of the Missouri River Master Manuel within 90 days of enactment.
“Time and again, we continue to see fish and birds take precedence over people and property when it comes to managing the Missouri River,” Graves, a Republican, said in a statement. “This latest round of flooding has devastated communities up and down the river. We already know that the management practices are contributing to it.”
After touring flood damage last month in northwestern Missouri, Sen. Roy Blunt said the Corps “should be prioritizing flood control, navigation, and drinking water.
“Environmental concerns are a part of that discussion, but the priority should always be on protecting people and property,” said Blunt, a Republican also from Missouri.
Lawmakers say residents are telling them the same thing. At a meeting last week with mid-Missouri farmers and levee district officials, Rep. Vicky Hartzler, another Missouri Republican, was told repeatedly that flood control needs to be the Corps’ top river priority.
Robert Criss, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis who has been studying flooding for more than two decades, said there may be a more important factor than how the Corps’ priorities are ranked.
The Missouri River has been made narrower over the years, Criss said, and the Corps has worked to maintain a defined channel for barge traffic even though few barges ever cross the river near Iowa and Nebraska.
“We’re having this problem because we messed with the rivers too much,” Criss said.
The Missouri River used to be a wide waterway with wetlands and numerous channels running alongside each other. That allowed floodwaters to spread out and cause fewer problems. Criss said the modern river forces the floodwater into a narrow channel restricted by levees that speeds up the flow and increases damage.
“The only way to make this river stop behaving so badly is to widen it out,” Criss said.
Kansas has dropped its effort to terminate Planned Parenthood’s participation in Medicaid, ending a three-year-long court battle that the state lost at every turn.
The change in policy wasn’t announced publicly but rather came in the form of a joint stipulation to dismiss Planned Parenthood’s lawsuit challenging the state’s move.
The stipulation, which was filed in federal court on Friday, stated that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), which oversees the state Medicaid program, has notified Planned Parenthood of its decision to rescind the Medicaid terminations. The court approved the dismissal of the lawsuit on Monday morning.
Ashley All, a spokeswoman for Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, said the state’s decision to end the litigation came after multiple court rulings against the previous administration.
“To continue with this costly litigation would be unwise and out of step with the priorities of Kansas,” All said. “Gov. Kelly is focused on expanding healthcare options to women, not limiting them.”
Still up in the air is the extent to which Kansas will be required to reimburse Planned Parenthood for the legal fees it incurred. Both sides have requested an additional 60 days to resolve the matter. The legal fees are likely to amount to several hundred thousand dollars, if not more, since the case has been litigated for three years and gone all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
“We’re really pleased that this case has come to a resolution,” said Rachel Sweet, regional director of public policy and organizing for Planned Parenthood Great Plains in Overland Park, one of the two affiliates whose Medicaid funding Kansas sought to cut off.
“We believe that all Kansans deserve access to high-quality health care. and it shouldn’t matter where they live or how much money they make,” Sweet said. “If Medicaid is your insurance, you should be able to get the best care possible and we’re glad that this politically motivated fight is coming to a close.”
The legal saga dates to May 2016, when the administration of then-Gov. Sam Brownback notified Planned Parenthood Great Plains and the Planned Parenthood affiliate in St. Louis that it was terminating their Medicaid provider status.
Planned Parenthood Great Plains had several hundred Medicaid patients at the time – adults with monthly income of no more than $768 who were pregnant, disabled or parents. And though based in Missouri, Planned Parenthood in St. Louis operated a health center in Joplin, Missouri, near the Kansas state line, and served a small number of Kansas patients.
Both affiliates immediately sued KDHE, alleging the terminations were unlawful and based on spurious grounds. KDHE had cited the Overland Park’s alleged failure to cooperate with a solid waste disposal inspection and potentially fraudulent Medicaid claims submitted by the Planned Parenthood affiliates in Oklahoma and Texas as reasons for the terminations.
Planned Parenthood responded that it had cooperated with the solid waste disposal inspection, although it said it refused to allow inspectors to take photographs out of concern for patients and staff privacy and safety. And it said the affiliates in Oklahoma and Texas had no connection to the affiliates in Overland Park and St. Louis.
The move to end Planned Parenthood’s participation in Medicaid came not long after Brownback, in his State of the State address in January 2016, accused Planned Parenthood of trafficking in “baby body parts” and vowed to defund the organization.
Brownback made his remarks after anti-abortion activists in 2015 released a highly edited undercover video purporting to show that Planned Parenthood clinics illegally sold fetal tissue for profit.
A dozen states, including Kansas, launched investigations, but none of them – including Kansas – found evidence for the video’s claims. A Houston grand jury cleared Planned Parenthood of wrongdoing and indicted two of the makers of the video instead; those charges were later dismissed.
The firm doesn’t come cheap. In the first three months after Kansas hired it, Consovoy billed Kansas more than $272,000, according to invoices obtained by KCUR under the Kansas Open Records Act. At that rate, assuming the firm continued to represent the state through last December, Kansas would have spent about $2.8 million in legal fees on the case.
Dan Margolies is a senior reporter and editor in conjunction with the Kansas News Service. You can reach him on Twitter @DanMargolies.
DOUGLAS COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a stabbing and asking the public for help to locate a suspect.
Google map
Just after 6a.m. Wednesday, police responded to the 900 block of Essex Court in Lawrence for reports of a stabbing, according to a media release.
Responding officers made contact with the 28-year-old woman who had suffered multiple stab wounds, inside her residence.
The victim was transported via ambulance to an area trauma center with injuries that are reported to be possibly life threatening. Police have no suspect information available.
Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact the Lawrence Police Department at (785) 832-7509, or Crime Stoppers of Lawrence and Douglas County at (785)843-TIPS. Tips to Crime Stoppers can be anonymous.
NIXA, Mo. (AP) — Officials say a student was caught passing out fake $100 bills at a southwest Missouri high school.
Nixa Public Schools is cautioning the community to be extra cautious because not all of the bills that were handed at Tuesday were collected.
District spokesman Zac Rantz says the bills “do appear to be fake.” But he adds that the bills could be mistaken for real currency if they were included in a bundle with other money.
Rantz says the school is working with the U.S. Secret Service. No information has been released about what happened to the unnamed students who distributed the bills. Rantz said only that the district is following its policies and procedures.
Kansas has dropped its effort to terminate Planned Parenthood’s participation in Medicaid, ending a three-year-long court battle that the state lost at every turn.
