OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — The first marriage of a gay couple in Kansas has thrown a new twist to a pair of intensely fought races for U.S. Senate and governor.

A suburban Kansas City county issued a marriage license to two women Friday.

The move was quickly denounced by the Republican incumbents, U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts and Gov. Sam Brownback.

Kansas voters have typically backed GOP candidates who are staunchly against gay marriage. But it’s unclear whether that will hold true this year, as Roberts and Brownback fight for votes from moderates concerned about the economy.

Independent Senate candidate Greg Orman has said he doesn’t think government ought to prohibit gay marriage.

Democratic gubernatorial challenger Paul Davis opposed the Kansas gay-marriage ban but has not campaigned specifically in support of gay marriage.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) – Police have released the name of a Kansas City man who was killed during an altercation with officers.

The Kansas City Star reports that the man who was shot late Wednesday was 41-year-old Ymauo Erwin. Police said he threatened an officer with what looked like a sword before he was shot.

The officer involved was placed on leave, and the shooting is under investigation.

Erwin’s pastor said Erwin was an immigrant from the Federated States of Micronesia who had lived in the Kansas City area about three years. He worked for a car rental company at Kansas City International Airport.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An appeals court has ruled that a suburban Kansas City councilman was improperly kicked out of office for allowing a homeless friend to spend four nights in City Hall.

The Kansas City Star  reports that the Kansas Court of Appeals ruled Friday that Prairie Village councilman David Morrison should be reinstated. Morrison says the ruling is the best news he’s had had in a long time.

A Johnson County judge ordered Morrison to vacate his seat last October after Johnson County District Attorney Steve Howe’s office filed an ouster motion. Howe says his office will ask the Kansas Supreme Court to review the decision.

Prairie Village Mayor Ron Shaffer says the city will abide by whatever the final decision is.

SMITHTON, Mo. (AP) — Four people are dead and two are seriously injured after a head-on crash in central Missouri.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the crash happened Friday night when an eastbound car attempted to pass a tractor-trailer and collided with a westbound car on U.S. 50 in Morgan County.

Also killed at the scene were the westbound car’s 42-year-old driver, Philip Allen, and a 44-year-old passenger, Carin Allen, both of Rolla. The patrol says a 12-year-old girl in the westbound car was flown to a Kansas City hospital, and a 14-year-old boy was taken by ambulance to a Columbia hospital.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An autopsy report says a driver was drunk in a crash that killed him and a 13-month-old girl.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Shawnee County District Court Clerk Angela Callahan’s office released the autopsy report Friday at the newspaper’s request. It says 33-year-old Brian Lee Riley, of Topeka, had a blood-alcohol level of more than twice the legal limit when the car he was driving struck a culvert and rolled. The crash happened in March as Riley was returning from an auto parts store.

Riley died at the scene, and 13 -month-old Kylynn Gunter died nine days later. She was in a child safety seat, but didn’t appear to have been properly restrained.

The girl’s 12-year-old sister survived. Authorities said Riley was an acquaintance of the children’s mother.

PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) — Two suspects are jailed in the death of a Pittsburg State University student.

The 21- and 24-year-old suspects were arrested Friday on suspicion of first-degree murder in the death of 20-year-old Taylor C. Thomas and several other felonies. The Joplin Globe reports that both suspects are from Pittsburg.

An autopsy showed that Thomas died of a single gunshot wound. He was a junior at Pittsburg State majoring in mechanical engineering technology.

Officers responding to a disturbance call at an off-campus home where Thomas lived found him wounded around 2 a.m. Thursday. He was pronounced dead at Via Christi Hospital.

Police Maj. Brent Narges says Thomas was shot while inside the home.

KANSAS CITY- A Kansas man was injured in an accident just 9:30 a.m. on Saturday in Johnson County,

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2003 GMC truck driven by Kirk A. Keberlein, 59, Berryton, was eastbound on Kansas 10 in the right lane and ran into the back of a 2003 International semi driven by Charles F. Myers, 65, Mayetta, that was eastbound on the right shoulder merging into the right lane of the highway.

Keberlein was transported to Overland Park Regional Medical Center.
The KHP reported Meyers was not injured and not wearing a seat belt.

Missouri Attorney General

Jefferson City, Mo. –  On Friday, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced an agreement in a case involving the mismanaged James Adams trust, which will result in the University of Missouri-Columbia and Three Rivers College in Poplar Bluff receiving $1,548,485 to divide between them.

Koster said James Adams of Piedmont, Missouri, left more than 750 acres of farm land and a $700,000 maintenance trust fund in a trust following his death in 2012, with his two daughters and his brother serving as trustees. Adams’ daughters were free to use the farm during their lifetimes, but the farm and the trust funds were to be transferred to charity upon their deaths.

According to Koster, the trustees had a fiduciary duty to preserve the trust’s value for charity. However, infighting between the trustees degraded the farm’s value and drained the maintenance fund.

The trustees failed to harvest hundreds of acres of hay at the Adams Farm. They failed to use more than $100,000 in purchased farm equipment. They neglected to retain a bookkeeper to manage the farm’s finances. They also failed to file tax returns for the trust and commingled personal and trust funds. The trust’s largest expenses were for attorney’s fees resulting from court battles between the trustees.

On September 6, the trust assets were liquidated at an auction in Piedmont. Through negotiations, the Attorney General obtained an agreement for the proceeds to be distributed with 75%, or $1,544,485, being split between the University of Missouri-Columbia and Three Rivers College and the remaining 25% retained by the Adams’ daughters as compensation for relinquishing their rights. The recipient schools were chosen to receive the funds by the trustees and were approved by the Attorney General. The Three Rivers Endowment Trust will receive $772,242 for the Three Rivers Activity Center project located on Three Rivers College’s campus in Poplar Bluff. The University of Missouri will receive $772,243 for its College of Human Environmental Sciences at its Columbia, MO campus.

“James Adams generously intended that his farm—the legacy of his life’s work—would eventually serve a charitable purpose,” Koster said. “This agreement will benefit thousands of Missourians seeking educational enrichment at these institutions, fulfilling Mr. Adams’ wishes.”

DAVID PITT, Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Pork prices hit record highs this summer as farmers weren’t able to feed the demand — mostly because a virus had killed millions of their baby pigs.