LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas plans to rename its football stadium to honor a major donor.
The Kansas Board of Regents Wednesday approved the university’s request to rename Memorial Stadium to the David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium.
Booth gave $50 million to the university’s athletic department in September. He has given several other financial gifts to the university, including $4.3 million to buy and donate James Naismith’s original rules of basketball.
Kansas chancellor Douglas Girod told The Topeka Capital-Journal that many details still have to be completed, including what the signs will look like and where they will be placed.
Girod also said he wants to erect a monument or signs to re-emphasize that the stadium is memorial to university students who fought and died in World War I.
DETROIT (AP) — Ford and Mazda are recalling more than 380,000 older small pickup trucks for a second time to replace Takata air bag inflators that can explode and hurl shrapnel.
The recalls cover driver and passenger inflators in certain 2004 to 2006 Ford Ranger and Mazda B-Series trucks made by Ford.
Takata uses ammonium nitrate to create a small explosion that inflates air bags. But the chemical can deteriorate over time and burn too fast, blowing apart a metal canister. At least 20 people have been killed worldwide.
The trucks were recalled in 2015 and 2016 to replace inflators with newer ones as a temporary fix. Under the latest recalls, inflators will be swapped for ones that don’t use ammonium nitrate.
Owners will be notified starting later this month.
Today will be cloudy and a bit wet, as scattered showers and drizzle prevail across the region ahead of a cold front that will sweep across Kansas and Missouri tonight. Given the sharp down turn in temperatures tonight, expect any lingering moisture on the roadways to start freezing; thus providing a significant chance that Black Ice will develop this evening. Areas with the greatest threat for Black Ice tonight will be along and north of a line from eastern central Kansas into northeast Missouri. Here’s the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service:
Today: A chance of drizzle, mainly after 9 a.m. Patchy fog after 11 a.m. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 45. East southeast wind 6 to 10 mph becoming north northeast in the afternoon.
Tonight: Patchy drizzle before 4 a.m, then patchy freezing drizzle between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. Cloudy, with a low around 27. North wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
Friday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 35. North northwest wind 6 to 10 mph.
Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 22. North northwest wind 3 to 6 mph.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 32. North wind 7 to 9 mph.
Saturday Night: A chance of snow after 1 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 18. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Sunday: A chance of snow before 1 p.m. Mostly sunny, with a high near 31. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 19.
Christmas Day: Partly sunny, with a high near 35.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 17.
Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 29.
Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 18.
Wednesday: A chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Authorities have identified a woman’s body found in Kansas City, Missouri, as that of missing 18-year-old and say a person of interest in her disappearance killed himself.
Police said Wednesday that the body of Mikayla Norris, of suburban Overland Park, Kansas, was discovered Tuesday in a wooded area. Kareem McCoy-Lee’s body was found behind a sporting goods store in suburban Liberty, Missouri. Police are investigating the deaths as a possible murder suicide.
Police in Liberty say McCoy-Lee also fired shots earlier Tuesday at another woman while she was driving. She wasn’t struck but hit a tree.
Norris was last seen Sunday leaving a barbecue restaurant where she worked.
KSHB-TV reports that McCoy-Lee had been charged with assault while living in Kansas City and with domestic violence while living in Florida.
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Authorities have found a woman’s body in Kansas City, Missouri, while searching for a missing 18-year-old and say a person of interest in her disappearance has killed himself.
Kansas City police say a tip Tuesday night led officers to a wooded area where the woman’s body was found. Police are trying to determine if the body is that of Mikayala Norris, of suburban Overland Park, Kansas. She was last seen Sunday leaving a barbecue restaurant where she worked. A missing person flyer said she was headed to a party. She didn’t show up for work Monday.
Police say the person of interest in the case was found dead Tuesday night behind a sporting goods store in suburban Liberty, Missouri, and that the case is being investigated as a possible murder-suicide.
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Person of interest in connection with the search for Norris-photo Overland Park PD
KANSAS CITY (AP) – Authorities have found a woman’s body in Kansas City, Missouri, while searching for a missing 18-year-old and say a person of interest in her disappearance has killed himself.
KMBC-TV reports that a tip led police to a wooded area where the woman’s body was found Tuesday night. Police are trying to determine if the body is that of Mikayala Norris, of suburban Overland Park, Kansas. She was last seen Sunday leaving a barbecue restaurant where she worked as a hostess. A missing person flyer said she was headed to a party. She didn’t show up for work Monday.
The person of interest in the case was found dead in suburban Liberty, Missouri. Police had asked for help earlier Tuesday finding a man seen in nearby Gladstone, Missouri, driving Norris’ car.
FORSYTH, Mo. (AP) – A southern Missouri man who told investigators he was either sleepwalking or dreaming when he fatally shot his sleeping ex-wife has been sentenced to 30 years in jail for her death.
Taney County Prosecutor Jeffrey Merrell said that 74-year-old Eldon Ault, of Forsyth, was sentenced Wednesday to 30 years for second-degree murder and a concurrent term of 20 years for armed criminal action in the March 2017 death of Dianna Merritt.
Ault was charged with first-degree murder but entered an Alford plea to the lesser charges.
Investigators said deputies found 73-year-old Merritt dead in a bed from a gunshot wound.
Ault told authorities he sleeps with a loaded pistol under his pillow and the sound of the gunshot woke him up. He said he had no memory of shooting Merritt.
We applaud the passage today of the tax reform package, and look forward to the president signing it into law. Individual tax rates are going down, and with 94 percent of farmers and ranchers paying taxes as individuals, this is a welcome change.
The doubling of the estate tax exemption to $11 million per person will also provide relief to the vast majority of farmers and ranchers. The bill also provides the opportunity for farmers and ranchers to immediately deduct expenses like feed, seed, fertilizer and chemicals.
We appreciate the hard work by Congress, specifically Sen. Roberts who serves on the Senate Finance committee and Rep. Lynn Jenkins who serves on the House Ways and Means committee. We look forward to the bill becoming law.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – The Latest on Gov. Eric Greitens commuting the sentence of a Missouri woman imprisoned since 1982 (all times local):
A former Springfield woman whose sentence was commuted by Gov. Eric Greitens has been released from prison after serving more than 35 years.
The Missouri Department of Corrections says Judy Henderson left the Chillicothe Correctional Center about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Henderson had been jailed since 1982. She was sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for a robbery that left Springfield jeweler Harry Klein dead. Investigators have said Henderson persuaded Klein to drive out of town with her but he was shot to death by Henderson’s boyfriend.
Greitens noted Wednesday that the judge at Henderson’s trial said she played a “relatively minor” role in the crime. Supporters also said she received inadequate representation from her attorney.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback argues as he prepares to leave office that his experiment in aggressive tax-cutting pioneered a national debate over helping small business owners.
He said during a year-end interview with The Associated Press that what Kansas did on taxes influenced Congress and other states even if his home-state lawmakers rolled back the cuts.
The conservative Republican governor predicted that other states will look at lowering personal income taxes for small business owners. He pointed to provisions of a GOP federal tax overhaul as a sign that the idea has taken root.
Brownback is awaiting U.S. Senate confirmation as ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. Looking ahead, he said he believes religious liberty issues are more visible globally and “the time is right” to focus on them.
(Update 6:19 p.m.) The grand prize Shop St. Joseph winning ticket number 1167869 has been claimed.
A press conference and check presentation will be held Thursday morning.
Shoppers are encouraged to keep their tickets as second-chance prize numbers will be released at the press conference.
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(News release) – The winning number for the Shop St. Joseph program is:
1167869
The shopper with the winning ticket has 24 hours to come forward to claim the $10,000 prize. Shoppers are urged to keep their tickets because if the winner hasn’t come forward by 5 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 21, another number will be announced. This process will continue at 5 p.m. on weekdays until a winner comes forward with the correct ticket. Exclusions include Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
The winner MUST call the St. Joseph Chamber of Commerce at (816) 232-4461 during business hours or (816) 261-3610 after business hours to arrange a time to verify the ticket. He or she MUST come to the Chamber office at 3003 Frederick Ave. before 5 p.m. Thursday to claim the prize. The person with the winning ticket should come to the Chamber to have the ticket verified, not a member of the media. Media members cannot verify a winning ticket.
The winner must be 18 or older. Proof of age, Social Security number, home address and place of employment (if applicable) is required to claim the prize. Chamber of Commerce staff, Chamber officers and their immediate family members (dependents living at the same address) are not eligible to win the grand prize. Participating business owners, managers and employees are eligible to win, with the exception of tickets distributed through their own place of business (including other participating locations).
The winner will be responsible for any applicable taxes.
One winning number per each second-chance prize were also drawn Wednesday. Those numbers will be announced after the grand prize ticket has been verified.
Two certified public accountants worked with Chamber staff to provide oversight of the program.
Almost 1.7 million tickets were distributed this year, which is the most in program history. In 2016, 1.2 million were distributed.This is the 10th year for the local holiday shopping program. The program’s goal is to keep holiday spending in the local economy, so sales tax collected goes back into helping St. Joseph and Buchanan County projects.
Bartlett Grain Co. elevator in Atchison following the accident
ATCHISON, Kan. (AP) – The federal government has sharply reduced the fines facing a Kansas City-based company after a grain elevator explosion killed six people and injured two others in northeast Kansas.
A pending settlement would require Bartlett Grain Co. to pay $182,000 in fines, safety audits and improvements at its 20 grain handling facilities in six states.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration had proposed $406,000 in fines after the October 2011 explosion in Atchison.
The Kansas City Star reports the agreement must still be approved by an administrative law judge.
Kansas investigators previously determined the grain dust explosion was accidental. Federal investigators have declined to file any criminal charges.
OSHA said previously that the deaths could have been prevented had operators addressed known industry hazards.
