(Post/Missourinet) – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill has been holding public town halls across the state over the past few months to hear from Missourians. 

McCaskill held a town hall in St. Joseph in April and has recently traveled to other parts of the state to talk with constituents. 

At McCaskill’s town hall in Ashland, 265 people showed up, where topics ranged from prescription drug monitoring to health care.

McCaskill has a reputation for not shying away from unfriendly groups of constituents. She is seeking another term next year in what is expected to be a hotly contested race.

All of McCaskill’s Missouri congressional colleagues in the House of Representatives, including six Republicans, are also up for reelection. 

McCaskill said at the town halls she’s hosted recently, she’s hearing many people talk about healthcare and public education. 

“(There’s) some real confusion about why the Republicans are going down the path of trying to do healthcare with just Republican votes. I really sense that what a lot of Missourians want is for us to come together and try to repair what we have in a way that will not gut the Medicaid program,” McCaskill said. “So, a lot of talk about that and I’m hopeful that we will get to that. That the Republican effort to do this bill behind closed doors will fail and then we can come together in a bipartisan way for the first time.. I think to get the acceptance of folks it’s really important that we try to work together on this and quit playing politics with it. That’s the message that I got loud and clear.” 

McCaskill is hosting ten public town halls this week in Audrain County, Boone County, Macon County, Miller County, Moniteau County, Monroe County, Morgan County, and Randolph County.

A Kansas woman was sentenced Tuesday for a scheme to collect income tax refunds by creating companies that existed only on paper. In addition, a co-defendant in the case pleaded guilty Tuesday.

U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said Raquel Odegbaro, 44, Olathe, Kan., was sentenced Tuesday to 75 months in federal prison. Odegbaro was also ordered to pay more than $894,000 in restitution.

She had pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of mail fraud.

Co-defendant Abdirizak Aden, 33, Kansas City, Mo., pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of conspiracy to defraud the government and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

In their pleas, Odegbaro and Aden said they operated Cokeza Styles, an online business that sold hair products. They admitted creating a series of fictitious companies and filing tax returns in the names of so-called employees by providing false information about wages earned, amounts withheld and refunds due. The false tax returns directed the Internal Revenue Service to deposit refunds electronically to reloadable credit cards controlled by the conspirators. The individuals whose names appeared on the refunds never actually worked for the fictitious companies.

In addition, the conspirators used stolen Social Security numbers to apply for unemployment benefits from the Kansas Department of Labor. They created more than nine fictitious companies and registered them with the labor department. They filed false claims in the names of employees who purportedly were terminated without fault.

Aden is set for sentencing Oct. 2. The parties have agreed to recommend a sentence of 18 months and restitution of approximately $541,000.

Other co-defendants include Alexander Limihagati, 35, Overland Park, Kan., who is set for sentencing Aug. 14, and Zia Mkubi Kajanja, 42, Overland Park, Kan., who is awaiting trial.

A crash in western Kansas Tuesday afternoon claimed the life of an Ellinwood, Kan. woman.

Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir idenfities the victim as Robin Armstrong, 57.

Bellendir says an investigation indicates Armstrong failed to yield the right-of-way at a stop sign at Southeast 40 Ave and 4th Street. A Mack truck crashed into the driver’s side of her Ford Fusion. Both vehicles wound up in a roadwide ditch.

Bellendir says Armstrong was pronounced dead at the scene by the county coroner. The driver of the truck, Thomas Bussier, 61, of Sawyer, Kan., was not injured in the crash.

An 82-year-old Oklahoma man was killed when his car was hit while he tried to make a u-turn along a southeastern Kansas highway.

The Kansas Highway Patrol says Burl Speer, of Ochelata, Oklahoma, made a u-turn on U.S. Highway 166 a half mile west of Harper Road in Labette County shortly after noon Tuesday. His vehicle was hit from behind by an SUV.

Two people in the SUV were injured in the crash. The patrol identifies them as Bobby Maine, 50, and Ernest Maine, 19, both of Caney, Kansas. They were both transported to the Coffeyville Regional Medical Center for treatment.

A Sharon, Kansas man was killed in a two-vehicle crash in southern Kansas Tuesday afternoon. The Kansas Highway Patrol says two pickup trucks collided at the crossing of Blue Stem Road and SE Naron Road south of Sharon at 4:12 pm Tuesday.

The KHP identifies the fatality victim as Mark Mathews, 62.

The patrol identifies two occupants of the other truck as Cooper Kanngiesser, 33 of Attica, Kan., and Chance Barnes, 19, of Arkansas City, Kan. Neither was hurt.

The crash report says Kanngiesser’s pickup was westbound on Naron Road, and Mathews was driving southbound on Blue Stem Road. The vehicles collided in the middle of the intersection, according to the report.