JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Supreme Court judges appear skeptical about an appeal from a Springfield man convicted of abusing his 13-year-old son by limiting food and locking him in a church bathroom.
Judges heard arguments Wednesday from an attorney for Peter Hansen, who argued that there was insufficient evidence to show he knowingly inflicted cruel and inhumane punishment.
Hansen and his family were living at a Seventh Day Adventist church in 2009 when child abuse investigators responded to a hotline call. His attorney argued in court filings that the child’s limited diet stemmed in part from religious beliefs.
But judges said during questioning that denying food to children goes beyond merely limiting the types of food they eat.
The judges had no probing questions for a state’s attorney defending the convictions.
CALUMET, Okla. (AP) — A decade ago, states offered wind-energy developers an open-armed embrace and envisioned a bright future with cheap electricity, new jobs and steady income for landowners.
But now that wind turbines stand tall across many parts of the nation’s windy heartland, some leaders in Oklahoma and other states fear their efforts succeeded too well.
The industry is gobbling up huge subsidies in many states, drawing frequent complaints and using its powerful lobby to resist reforms.
Many of the same political leaders who initially welcomed the wind industry now want to regulate it more tightly, even in especially conservative states like Oklahoma. The change of heart is happening as wind farms creep closer to more heavily populated areas.
Opposition is also mounting about the loss of scenic views and environmental impacts.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A former Springfield police officer will serve no jail time for accidentally shooting an unarmed panhandler in May.
Jason Shuck was sentenced Wednesday morning to a previously approved sentence of two years of unsupervised probation. He will have no criminal record if he successfully completes the probation but he is prohibited from ever having a job that requires him to carry a firearm.
Shuck pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of third-degree assault. He told investigators he meant to use his Taser on Eric David Butts but accidentally grabbed his pistol and shot the man in the back. Butts suffered severe internal injuries but is expected to fully recover.
The Springfield News-Leader reports the city has reached a settlement with Butts but the agreement’s terms were not made public.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), cofounder of the Senate Economic Mobility Caucus, issued the following statement regarding today’s panel discussion on Capitol Hill about the relationship between student debt and financial security moderated by University of Kansas (KU) Professor Melinda Lewis:
“Our country has historically been a place where, regardless of one’s background, anyone can achieve success through hard work. The ability to move up the economic ladder helps create a dynamic society where individuals are free to reach their full potential. The Economic Mobility Caucus was created to provide Members of Congress with a forum to discuss the policies Washington needs to pursue to make certain all Americans, today and in the future, have the opportunity to dream big and pursue those dreams. This event will serve as a valuable opportunity to exchange and assess ideas about financing the costs higher education, student loans and financial security.”
The panel is hosted by The Pew Charitable Trusts in partnership with the Senate Economic Mobility Caucus. Panelists include Brookings Institution’s Beth Akers, Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Meta Brown, Urban Institute’s Sandy Baum, and American Enterprise Institute’s Andrew Kelly. They will provide an overview of the current state of student loan-related research and policy, discuss available data, and analyze the impact of student loans on family balance sheets. Panelists will also consider different paths forward for researchers, policymakers, and the media.
The event took place in Washington, D.C.today in Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room G11.
The Senate Economic Mobility Caucus was created in 2012 and exists to provide a fact-based framework and serve as a clearinghouse for ideas and information with which to assess government policies and identify areas of agreement among the Members of Congress. Sen. Moran serves as co-chairman of the caucus along with U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).
The Assets and Education Initiative (AEDI) is an office at the University of Kansas’s School of Social Welfare. AEDI’s mission is to create and study innovations related to assets and economic well-being, with a focus on the relationship between children’s savings and the educational outcomes of low-income and minority children as a way to achieve the American dream.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Missouri House Majority Leader John Diehl wants to let voters decide whether to abolish the state lottery, which he calls an “unstable and “inefficient” funding source for public education.
Diehl said he will present the idea to fellow Republican lawmakers in hopes that the House could consider a measure next year that would place a referendum on the lottery on the 2016 ballot.
“I think we should let the voters have a say in whether or not our commitment to public education should be left to the whims of collecting gambling revenue,”
Diehl told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1wXPisZ ). “The lottery, at the end of the day, is government-run gambling, and it’s been inefficient.”
The lottery had record sales of nearly $1.16 billion during the 2014 budget year that ended June 30, marking its fifth straight year of growth and the fourth consecutive year that it set a new high for revenues. Yet the amount of lottery proceeds transferred to education declined to $267 million this past year from a high of nearly $289 million in 2013.
The amount of lottery revenues provided to education had consistently been above 25 percent annually during the past decade but dipped to 23.1 percent this past year. The rest of the money goes toward prizes and lottery operations.
That education funding decline prompted Gov. Jay Nixon to order a review of the lottery’s operations and replace all five of its commission members, with an emphasis on boosting the percentage of money that goes to education.
If the lottery were eliminated, legislators would have to come up with about $278 million that the lottery is expected to generate for education under the latest annual estimate.
Diehl said the money could come from growth in state general revenues or by cutting less important programs.
Some lawmakers are urging caution. If the state had to replace lottery funding for education, programs such as mental health could face budget cuts, said Sen. Joe Keaveny, D-St. Louis.
Missouri voters authorized the lottery in 1984 and voted to earmark lottery proceeds for education in 1992.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — The city of Springfield has donated $10,000 to prevent the demolition of a temple that has historic significance to the city’s black community.
The city made the pledge this week to a group trying to save Timmons Temple. The funds are from the Minor Neighborhood Improvement Program.
Paula Ringer, a member of a committee trying to save the temple, said about $120,000 of the $200,000 needed to relocate the temple has been raised. A developer who bought the church wants it moved to erect an apartment complex on the site.
The Springfield News-Leader reports Timmons Temple was built in 1932 and was a place of worship for four generations of the city’s black residents.
A Kansas City, Mo., police officer and a mental health liaison talk with a man in need of mental health services. A new documentary focuses on the growing number of confrontations between people with mental health issues and police on Kansas City’s streets- photo Michael Price/KCPT
By Cody Newill
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The state of Kansas City’s mental health care services is dire, according to a forthcoming new documentary.
Journalist and documentary filmmaker Michael Price’s “Lost Minds: KC’s Mental Health Crisis” focuses on the growing number of confrontations between people with mental illness and police on Kansas City’s streets. The locally produced documentary airs at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, on KCPT.
There are five professional mental health liaisons in Kansas City, Mo., who ride along with Kansas City Police Department officers once a month to visit with mentally ill Kansas Citians — residents who could pose a danger to themselves and others.
In an interview with Steve Kraske on KCUR’s “Up to Date,” Price said the liaisons are dealing with nearly three times the number of cases they ordinarily would oversee. And that means they aren’t getting enough time to help individuals who need their attention most.
“They’re being asked to swim against a tsunami,” Price said. “In the 10 months up to last July, KCPD Crisis Intervention Team (CIT) officers and liaisons dealt with nearly 60 incidents where a mentally ill person was in crisis and armed with a weapon.”
Though liaisons are overwhelmed, KCPD officers have been receiving crisis intervention team training to learn how to de-escalate confrontations with mentally ill individuals. “Rather than rolling out of their cop cars with guns pulled, CIT-trained officers try to talk people down,” Price said. “Unfortunately, only 15 percent of law enforcement agencies in the U.S. offer this kind of training.”
One of the biggest obstacles to improving mental health care is funding. Missouri state Sen. Kiki Curls, who sits on the Senate’s appropriations committee, told “Up to Date” that politics often comes into play when dealing with funding for mental health care.
“I think everyone recognizes that this is a critical issue,” Curls said. “But even this year, there was money that was vetoed by Gov. Jay Nixon, and specifically a project here in Kansas City to create a crisis stabilization center.”
Dr. Keith Schafer, director of the Missouri Department of Mental Health, agreed that more funding is needed for mental health services. Schafer told “Up to Date” that expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, which the Missouri Legislature has not done, would help extend mental health care to more individuals.
“If we would expand Medicaid in this state, 300,000 people would get benefits, and 50,000 of those people need mental health or substance abuse help,” Schafer said. “It is the greatest issue in the state of Missouri, in terms of resources [for mental health care].”
While Price agreed that Medicaid expansion would greatly help, he said the situation on the streets requires more immediate action and could be done for much less money.
“For each liaison to go out twice a week with a police escort would cost $20,000 a year,” Price said. “Relatively speaking, that’s peanuts [compared to Medicaid expansion].”
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s office says it had no written or email correspondence with national Republican groups or U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts’ re-election campaign as a legal dispute over the contest unfolded.
Kobach’s office responded this week to an open records request from The Associated Press.
The request sought copies of written and email correspondence from Aug. 25 through Sept. 19 between Kobach and top aides with two national GOP groups, Roberts and his top campaign aides.
The legal dispute stems from Democrat Chad Taylor’s withdrawal from the Senate race. A three-judge panel in Shawnee County District Court is reviewing a voter’s lawsuit aimed at forcing Kansas Democrats to name a new nominee.
Taylor’s move was seen has helping independent candidate Greg Orman’s chances of defeating Roberts.
KCMO police shared this photo on their Facebook page
KANSAS CITY (AP) – A national award-winning police dog in Kansas City has been put down after becoming ill.
The Kansas City police department announced Tuesday that the Belgian Malinois named Brunie died on Sunday. The nearly 4-year-old dog contracted a nervous system disease. Officers believe the dog ingested something toxic on Sept. 20 while searching for a suspect in a wooded area near Belton.
Brunie had been with the department since August 2012.
The National Police Canine Association gave Brunie the Patrol Case of the Year award in 2013. Brunie and officer Jason Brungardt responded to a carjacking in August 2013. The suspect pulled out a gun but was disarmed by the dog.
JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill is planning to travel to Missouri colleges and universities to discuss ways of addressing sexual violence on campuses.
McCaskill’s office says she will hold events at schools in 10 cities next week to listen to opinions about her legislation on the topic.
The bill would require campuses to designate advocates to confidentially discuss options with victims and to develop agreements with local law enforcement agencies on handling sexual assaults. Schools that don’t comply with new standards for training and data collection could face penalties.
This summer, McCaskill released survey results showing that 40 percent of campuses reported no sexual assault investigations in the past five years.
McCaskill’s events will be in Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Kansas City, Kirksville, Maryville, Rolla, St. Joseph, St. Louis, Springfield and Warrensburg.
