TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is asking a federal appeals court to stay a judge’s preliminary injunction against the state enforcing its gay-marriage ban.
The state attorney general’s office filed the request Thursday with the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver, a day after appealing a ruling from U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree.
The judge ruled in lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union for two lesbian couples who were denied marriage licenses.
But Crabtree noted in his decision Tuesday that the 10th Circuit has struck down similar bans in Oklahoma and Utah. Crabtree stayed his order until Monday to give the state a chance to appeal it.
Kansas wants Crabtree’s ruling stayed until the appeals court decides the case.
Rep. Delus Johnson, R-St. Joseph, will play a key role in helping the Missouri House of Representatives achieve its legislative priorities for the 2015-16 session. On Wednesday Johnson was elected by Missouri’s 118 Republican State Representatives to serve as their next Majority Whip.
“I am honored to have Representatives from all over Missouri entrust me with a much greater role in the legislative process” said Johnson.
Johnson will serve as the only State Representative in this capacity and one of seven members of House Leadership. As Majority Whip, Johnson will lead a team of 28 legislators that are responsible for rounding up votes on critical issues, educating House members on legislation, and overseeing that parliamentary rules of the House are followed.
“I believe this position will give the residents of Northwest Missouri a greater voice in the State Legislature.” Johnson said.
In 2015, Rep. Johnson will also oversee the implementation of a new electronic whipping system that will streamline the legislative process to ensure more efficient bill handling in the House Chamber.
Other House members elected to leadership positions yesterday include Speaker Pro-Tem Denny Hoskins-Warrensburg, Majority Floor Leader Todd Richardson-Poplar Bluff, Asst. Majority Floor Leader Mike Cierpiot-Blue Springs, along with Johnson of St. Joseph.
Johnson added that his new position allows him to become more involved in a wider variety of legislative matters and gives Northwest Missouri a stronger position in House Leadership decisions.
The Kansas City Chiefs are slated to play the Detroit Lions in London on November 1, 2015.
The NFL announced the games for the 2015 International Series in London on Thursday.
The Miami Dolphins will play the New York Jets on Sunday, October 4 and the Jacksonville Jaguars will play the Buffalo Bills on October 25. The times for the games will be announced at a later date.
The Dolphins versus Jets match will be the first time a divisional game is played in London. This will be the first time the Chiefs will take part in the International Series.
A 46-year-old Ravenwood, Missouri man is being held on charges of child endangerment, child molestation and possession of a controlled substance.
According to court documents filed in Nodaway County Circuit Court, Gary Alan Koebel was in possession of methamphetamine in a residence in which two persons under the age of seventeen reside. Investigators also say Koebel had fondled a nine-year-old girl.
A Sheriff’s deputy says that the drugs were discovered during the investigation of the other case, and witnesses established probable cause that the meth was the property of Mr Koebel.
A first court appearance is scheduled November 18. Bond was set at $50,000 on the child molestation case and $25,000 for the drug charge.
Livingston County Sheriff Steve Cox tells us investigators have arrested two men allegedly involved in a string of burglaries.
Detective Detective Jay Cooksey began his investigation on October 30, according to a news release. Cooksey was summoned to Dawn for a reported theft from a vehicle which had been broken into and property stolen. With the help of other deputies, Cox says Detective Cooksey was able to interview potential suspects on November 3.
Investigation revealed there were more than 60 vehicles and a shed that were burglarized in Livingston, Trenton and Grundy counties. Two men, Trey Ryan Schooler, 19, Trenton, and Andrew Scot Robinson, 18, Princeton, were arrested for alleged Burglary, Thefts, and Property Damage. Both have been officially charged in Livingston County Associate Circuit Court for alleged Burglary 2nd Degree.
Cox says additional charges may be pending in Livingston and Grundy County. Both men remain incarcerated in the Daviess Dekalb County Regional Jail under $10,000 bond each.
The Albrecht-Kemper invites you to kick off your holiday shopping season as local and regional vendors transform the museum into a “Holiday Gift Gallery”.
The fundraiser starts tonight with a special Preview Party and continues through Saturday. There’s a gift gallery, a holiday lunch café, and wine tasting plus some great Christmas shopping.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A company says a report that Kansas has one of the highest rates of vacant foreclosures in the country reflects the small number of foreclosures in the state, not problems in the housing market.
RealtyTrac says Kansas has the third-highest rate of vacancies, with 31 percent of its homes in the foreclosure process abandoned.
But RealtyTrac executive Daren Bloomquist says Kansas’ rate is so high because it has a small number of foreclosures, so its percentage of vacancies will be higher than a state with many foreclosures.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports 232 homes in Kansas were being foreclosed, with only about 72 homes statewide abandoned. In comparison, Florida has 35,913 abandoned homes but those account for only 22 percent of total foreclosures in that state.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — University of Kansas police are trying to determine if two masked men who disrupted classes were playing a prank or were a serious safety problem.
The men, wearing Guy Fawkes masks, walked into classes Wednesday at two buildings and threatened action against the Kappa Sigma fraternity, which is suspended after allegations of sexual assaults occurring at the frat house.
Police spokesman Capt. James Anguiano said the men were questioned after the incidents. No weapons were found.
Wednesday was Guy Fawkes Day, when the British commemorate a plot to blow up the English Parliament in 1605. The Fawkes mask has become a staple at modern protests.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Anguiano says investigators don’t want to violate free speech rights but disorderly conduct charges are possible.
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man has been found guilty in the death of a pest control worker more than six years ago.
A Riley County jury on Wednesday found 58-year-old Howard Barrett guilty of reckless second-degree murder in the death of 48-year-old Thomas James of Clay Center.
James was doing extermination work when he stabbed and beaten in Barrett’s Leonardville apartment in February 2008.
Barrett’s trial was delayed when he was ruled incompetent to stand trial in 2009 after experts said he suffered from schizophrenia. A judge ruled in 2010 that Barrett could stand trial.
Defense attorney Mark Dinkel said during closing arguments that Barrett was “not right in the head” when he attacked James. Prosecutors argued Barrett knew what he was doing when he attacked his victim.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is reducing releases from the Fort Randall and Gavins Point dams on the Missouri River starting Thursday. The Corps is reminding duck hunters to check their decoys, and river users to plan for lower levels. Navigators also may need to make adjustments.
Releases will be reduced by approximately 3,000 cubic feet per second in a stair-step manner during a four-day period, which will lower the river stage roughly 2 to 3 feet. “The Corps is reducing releases because our planned evacuation of stored floodwater, which began in September, is ahead of schedule, and actual runoff is lower than forecasted,” explains Jody Farhat, chief of the Missouri River Basin Water Management Division.
The reduced releases will not impact municipal or industrial water intakes because the river will still be higher than the average November flows of 28,700 cfs from Fort Randall Dam, and 31,000 cfs from Gavins Point Dam. The lower river levels may help improve drainage of farmland in this reach.
Higher releases at the four lower dams on the Missouri River Mainstem Reservoir System were implemented in September to evacuate above normal runoff, thus reducing future flood risk.
Additional precipitation, lack of precipitation, or other circumstances could cause adjustments to the reservoir release rates.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is asking a federal appeals court to stay a judge’s preliminary injunction against the state enforcing its gay-marriage ban.
