JAMESTOWN, N.D. (AP) — Deputies in Barnes County have arrested a man out on parole for murder who’s wanted in Kansas on a felony warrant.
KOVC-AM reports 56-year-old Robert Synoracki (sin-oh-RAK’-ee) was driving a stolen vehicle from Kansas with seven guns when he was arrested Tuesday.
Authorities say the man was also arrested for driving under the influence. The station reports the original call in connection with the arrest reported a gas drive off from a gas station in Casselton.
Synoracki is at the Barnes County Correctional Center pending extradition back to Kansas.
TOPEKA — Rep. Jim Ward is a Wichita Democrat whose party loyalty has rarely been questioned, but even he says his party is likely to pick up only a few House seats in next week’s election.
But he said a few Democratic victories coupled with a few more by Republican moderates might be enough to swing the chamber currently controlled by conservative Republicans more toward the middle.
“I think three or four votes would give us a working majority, at least on some of the big stuff,” Ward said.
With down-to-the-wire races for governor and U.S. Senate in Kansas, less attention is being paid to the contests for seats in the 125-member Kansas House. But a few key races could decide whether the House becomes a more predictable counterbalance to a Senate led by conservatives.
There were 33 Democrats in the House this year, a number that dropped to 32 after the session when Hutchinson Rep. Jan Pauls switched parties over disagreements on social issues.
The number of Republicans who are willing to vote with Democrats on contentious legislation is harder to pin down and shifts depending on the topic. But several votes from the 2014 session illustrate that a few more moderate Republicans could have changed the outcome.
When Ward offered an amendment to remove Medicare from a health care compact bill last session, the change failed by a 57-61 vote, with almost 30 Republicans voting with the Democrats.
A high-stakes school finance bill that eliminated state-mandated due process for tenured teachers squeezed through the House 63-57 over the objections of moderate Republicans and Democrats.
Moderate Republicans and Democrats joined with a handful of more conservative Republicans from rural areas to vote down proposed elimination of the state’s renewable energy standards, 63-60.
Conservatives blocked consideration of Medicaid expansion in the 2014 session, but a change in the balance of power in the House would likely give the issue more traction. The Kansas Hospital Association is working on an expansion proposal that it will push to have considered during the 2015 session, which begins in January.
Two of the House’s most conservative members — Rep. Josh Powell of Topeka and Rep. Allan Rothlisberg of Grandview Plaza — lost in the Republican primary, potentially narrowing the gap.
Ward said he thinks Democrats can pick up seats against some of the remaining conservative Republicans in certain districts, but some Democratic incumbents are vulnerable to conservative Republican challenges in others.
That leaves about 10 key races to decide who emerges with what Ward called “that working majority”:
• The 1st District in southeast Kansas, where pharmacist Brian Caswell, a Democrat, faces Republican Rep. Michael Houser.
• The 3rd District in Pittsburg, where Democratic incumbent Rep. Julie Menghini faces Republican challenger Chuck Smith, a well-known St. Mary’s-Colgan High School football coach.
• The 17th District in Johnson County, where former Lake Quivira mayor Larry Meeker, a Democrat, is challenging Rep. Brett Hildabrand, one of the House’s most conservative Republicans.
• The 40th District in Leavenworth County, where social worker and League of Women Voters volunteer Linda Johnson, a Democrat, faces conservative Republican Rep. John Bradford.
• The 54th District in south Topeka, where former Rep. Ann Mah faces conservative Republican Rep. Ken Corbet in a rematch of one of 2012’s tightest races.
• The 56th District in Topeka, where Democratic incumbent Virgil Weigel faces Republican Lane Hemsley, executive director of the Kansas Dental Board.
• The 79th District in and around Winfield, where Democratic incumbent Ed Trimmer faces Republican Larry Alley, a business owner and former school board president.
• The 102nd District in Hutchinson, where Pauls faces Democrat Brian Davis.
• Several districts where incumbents are not seeking re-election, leaving an open, contested seat, including the 23rd District, 30th District, 41st District and 52nd District.
If enough of these races go their way, moderate Republicans and Democrats could wield sufficient power to influence the legislative agenda. But members of both groups say it’s unlikely that they would attempt to deny conservative Republican Speaker Ray Merrick a second term as speaker, assuming he wins re-election.
A Republican who needs a large block of Democratic votes to win the job would face practical problems governing his or her caucus, Ward said.
Rep. Tom Moxley, a moderate Republican from Council Grove, concurred.
“I’ve heard talk, but I don’t think that’s a realistic expectation,” Moxley said.
Moxley said that though their political philosophies differ, he respects Merrick’s honesty.
Bill Otto, a former Republican House member from Coffey County seeking to return as an independent, is ready to challenge convention if he prevails in a three-way race against incumbent Republican Peggy Mast and Democrat Teresa Briggs.
“I wouldn’t be above running against the speaker as an independent,” said Otto, a former teacher.
Otto, with his “No bull zone” slogan, was considered one of the chamber’s more colorful personalities from 2005 to 2012. He lost to Mast, currently the speaker pro-tem, when redistricting forced the two incumbents to square off in a Republican primary.
If elected as an independent, Otto said he wouldn’t be beholden to either party. That would allow him to bridge the partisan gap as speaker by naming both Republicans and Democrats to lead committees.
“I really think it’s time we do something like look at the parties and pick the best person,” Otto said.
Andy Marso is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A federal prosecutor will be on duty during election day to respond promptly to complaints of possible election fraud and voting rights violations in Kansas, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Leon Patton will be available to the public at 913-551-6730 while the polls are open on Nov. 4.
“Anyone who has evidence of possible electoral corruption or voting rights abuses should call my office immediately,” Grissom said.
Grissom said he does not expect any problems during the voting, but warned that there are penalties under federal law for any efforts to fraudulently influence the outcome of the election or to improperly prevent another person from exercising the right to vote.
As the lawyer in the Kansas U.S. Attorney’s Office responsible for election matters, Patton will join other federal prosecutors across the nation as part of the election-day program of the U.S. Department of Justice. They will be responsible for overseeing the handling of complaints of election fraud and voting rights abuses in consultation with Justice Department headquarters.
The FBI’s Kansas City Field Office will also have Special Agents available to receive allegations of election fraud, intimidation, suppression, and other election abuses. The public can provide information regarding possible election crimes to the FBI’s Kansas City Field Office’s toll-free hotline, 1-855-527-2847, or email kcpctip@ic.fbi.gov .
Citizen complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can be made directly to the Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section in Washington by phone at 1-800-253-3931 or 202-307-2767, by fax at 202-307-3961, by email to voting.section@usdoj.gov, or by complaint form at http://www.justice.gov/crt/complaint/votintake/index.php.
Any questions involving state or local issues may be referred to the Elections Division of the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office at 785-296-4561 or 1-800-262-8683, or to the pertinent county election office.
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Google’s latest “moon shot” project: A pill that would test for cancer and other illnesses.
The company says it’s working a pill that contains microscopic particles, which can travel through the bloodstream and search for malignant cells. The particles could then report their findings to a sensor device that you wear.
The project is in the early stages. It’s the latest effort undertaken by the Internet giant’s X division, which tries to apply new technology to solving big problems. The division’s other “moon shot” efforts include self-driving cars and contact lenses that can measure glucose in tears.
Google says the microscopic particles can be magnetized and coated with antibodies that bind with specific proteins or cells associated with various maladies. A wearable sensor could track the particles’ magnetic fields.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri House Speaker Tim Jones is forming an investigatory committee after a report that Chris Koster was one of several state attorneys general who may have been influenced by campaign contributions and lobbyists.
The New York Times reported Wednesday that Koster is one of numerous state attorneys general who have changed policies and negotiated more favorable settlements after receiving campaign contributions and incentives from lobbyists.
Documents obtained by the newspaper show Koster received contributions, met with lobbyists and spoke to political action committees for companies under investigation by his office. The newspaper reported that Koster later negotiated more favorable settlements with those companies than they received in other states.
Koster says the report distorts how his office dealt with the companies and cited previous legal actions taken against them.
NEWTON, Kan. (AP) — Independent challenger Greg Orman is attempting to make inroads into rural Kansas while asserting that Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts no longer effectively represents the agricultural interests that have long formed his political base.
The suburban Kansas City businessman traveled Wednesday to a farm in rural south-central Kansas in an attempt to highlight his commitment to supporting federal crop insurance programs and rural economic development.
Roberts says he expects to become the Senate Agriculture Committee chairman if Republicans take control of the chamber after next Tuesday’s elections.
But Orman believes he may have a shot at attracting rural support, partly because Roberts voted against legislation this year reauthorizing federal farm programs.
Roberts said he believes the new farm bill moves people toward government dependence.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith plans to practice Wednesday despitechiefs logo spraining his troublesome throwing shoulder in last weekend’s victory over the St. Louis Rams.
Smith landed on his right shoulder shortly before halftime. He received treatment in the locker room and played the entire second half, complaining only later of a bit of soreness.
The Chiefs play the New York Jets on Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
Smith has a history of shoulder trouble dating to his days with the San Francisco 49ers. He missed eight games and finished the 2007 season on injured reserve after separating it, requiring surgery that December. He also missed the entire 2008 season after breaking a bone in the shoulder a few days before the start of the season.
Smith also separated his non-throwing shoulder in 2010.
LENEXA- Environmental Protection Agency personnel conducted inspections in northeastern Kansas in December 2013. As a result of one of the inspections, the owner of a beef feedlot, Winifred Feed Lot, LLC, has agreed to pay a $16,150 civil penalty to settle alleged violations of the Clean Water Act (CWA), according to a proposed consent agreement.
The EPA inspection documented pollutant discharges from production areas of the 2,200-head facility to Perkins Creek, a perennial stream that has been listed by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) as impaired because of high levels of phosphorus and total suspended solids.
The settlement also addresses Winifred Feed Lot’s failure to develop and implement a Nutrient Management Plan (NMP) as required by its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. Nutrient management plans are critical to ensuring that nutrient-rich manure is land applied properly and kept out of nearby river and streams. Ultimately, the failure to develop the NMP resulted in KDHE’s refusal to renew the NPDES permit.
Manure and wastewater discharges from concentrated animal feeding operation production areas can violate water quality standards, pose risks to human health, threaten aquatic life and its habitat, and impair the use and enjoyment of waterways.
As part of the settlement agreement, Winifred Feed Lot has certified that it is now in compliance with the CWA. KDHE has confirmed that Winifred has developed and submitted a NMP. The consent agreement is subject to a 40-day public comment period before it becomes final. Information on how to submit comments is available on the EPA Region 7 website.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City development company says circumstances beyond its control have forced it to drop its plan to turn Kemper Arena into a regional youth sports facility.
The Kansas City Star reports City Councilman Ed Ford announced Wednesday that the Foutch Brothers company told him it was no longer pursuing an overhaul of the arena.
That leaves a proposal by the American Royal, in partnership with Sporting Kansas City’s investor group, to demolish the arena and replace it with a custom-designed $50 million multipurpose building.
Kemper Arena has lost nearly all of its events to the downtown Sprint Center in recent years and is currently idle.
Supporters of the American Royal plan had suggested that approval of the Foutch proposal could prompt the Royal to go somewhere else.
JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – A former Kansas City man faces up to 40 years in federal prison after admitting he held up two central Missouri banks in 2010.
The U.S. Attorney’s office says 45-year-old Brian Dewitt Unthank pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of bank robbery.
Unthank admitted robbing a Landmark Bank branch in Columbia of $6,300 on June 18, 2010. Five days later, he robbed River Region Credit Union in Jefferson City of nearly $19,000.
Authorities quickly connected the two hold-ups based on descriptions of a man carrying a handgun and wearing a distinctive straw hat, but no mask.
Investigators connected Unthank to the two Missouri robberies after he was convicted in August 2011 of robbing a bank in Texas, for which he was sentenced to prison for 10 years.
JAMESTOWN, N.D. (AP) — Deputies in Barnes County have arrested a man out on parole for murder who’s wanted in Kansas on a felony warrant.
