JEFFERSON CITY (AP) – Missouri lawmakers and elected officials plan to oppose proposed cuts at Fort Leonard Wood during a listening session there.
U.S. military leaders are holding a public comment session Monday evening at the base to hear input on a plan that could cut up to 5,400 military and civilian positions there by 2020.
Missouri officials plan to express opposition to those job cuts, highlighting the economic importance of the facility to the surrounding communities.
The Missouri House and Senate are planning to end their sessions earlier than usual Monday so that lawmakers can attend the Fort Leonard Wood event.
U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill, Gov. Jay Nixon and Secretary of State Jason Kander will also be at the hearing at Nutter Fieldhouse on the base.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas has spent $3.5 million of taxpayer money flying coaches and university administrators on 641 trips on private jets.
The Lawrence Journal-World reports the university’s planes were bought by donors but taxpayers pay the costs of their operation. About two-thirds of those expenses were for flights by Kansas coaches and athletic administrators, and basketball coach Bill Self is the jet’s most frequent flier. He flew 118 trips on private jets since mid-2009, costing $1.2 million
Kansas officials contend the use of the jets save money when coaches or administrators have to go to remote locations in western Kansas or make quick trips to major U.S. cities. Tim Caboni, vice chancellor for public affairs, said the jets allow officials to use their time efficiently.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new report suggests economic growth is ahead for nine Midwestern and Plains states.
The survey report issued Monday says the overall Mid-America Business Conditions Index climbed to 57.0 in February from 54.8 in January.
Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the survey, and he says the regional growth is likely although areas “linked closely to the energy sector, including ethanol, are experiencing pullbacks in economic activity.”
The survey results from supply managers are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests economic growth, while a score below that suggests decline.
The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama says now is the moment for police to make changes that build trust in minority communities.
The president on Monday announced findings of a policing task force he appointed in response to the fatal shooting of an unarmed black 18-year-old by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.
Obama says the shooting in Ferguson and another in New York City exposed “deep rooted frustration” in communities of color. Obama says the task force found that police must improve trust with their communities.
He says the report recommends more police training to reduce possibilities for bias. And he says it suggests more data collection on the frequency of police interactions.
Obama spoke from the White House during a meeting with members of the task force.
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A police officer testified at a preliminary hearing that a white supremacist suspected of killing three people at two Jewish sites in Kansas declared “Heil Hitler!” after the shootings.
Overland Park police Sgt. Marty C. Ingram testified Monday that Frazier Glenn Miller also asked how many Jews he had killed after the shootings on April 13, 2014.
The hearing will determine whether there is enough evidence to put Miller, of Aurora, Missouri, on trial. Prosecutors plan to seek the death penalty.
The 74-year-old Miller is charged with capital murder in the shootings at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City in Overland Park, Kansas, and at a nearby Jewish retirement home. None of the victims was Jewish.
Miller’s attorneys raised questions about how witnesses were identified.
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HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH, Associated Press
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — An avowed white supremacist accused in the fatal shootings of three people at two Jewish sites in Kansas is set to appear in court Monday to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to try him.
Seventy-four-year-old Frazier Glenn Miller, of Aurora, Missouri, is charged with capital murder in the attacks on April 13, the eve of Passover. Johnson County prosecutors have announced plans to seek the death penalty.
Miller is accused of killing a 69-year-old man and his 14-year-old grandson who were at the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City for a singing contest audition. He also is accused of fatally shooting a woman who was visiting her mother at a Jewish retirement home in nearby Overland Park. None of the victims was Jewish.
IRVING, Texas – Kansas men’s basketball junior Perry Ellis has been named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week in a vote by a media panel which covers the conference, the league office announced Monday.
This is second time in the last three weeks Ellis has earned the honor and the third time this season. Ellis has been named Big 12 Player of the Week five times during his KU career.
Ellis averaged a double-double with 26.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game as the Jayhawks split contests at Kansas State and against Texas. The Wichita, Kansas, forward opened the week by scoring 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting versus the Wildcats, adding nine rebounds and two steals. He then recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 28 points and 13 boards versus the Longhorns. Ellis, who earned Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors last week, has scored 20 points or more in three straight outings. He is the only player in the Big 12 to rank sixth or higher in scoring (sixth at 14.5 ppg) and rebounding (fourth at 7.2 rpg).
Kansas (23-6, 12-4) will host West Virginia (22-7, 10-6) on Tuesday, March 3, at 8 p.m. (Central) on ESPN2.
Nicklaus showing off the ice cream on a recent TV broadcast- courtesy photo
NORTH PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Jack Nicklaus is now devoting time to the one glaring weakness in his incomparable career — ice cream.
The Schwan Food Company in Minnesota is teaming up with the 18-time major champion to create Jack Nicklaus premium ice cream. It will be sold by the pint and available in grocery stores in select markets.
The ice cream will be offered in seven flavors.
Nicklaus says it’s no secret that he loves ice cream and he loves this project. He says he’s never had so much fun in research and development.
Schwan is donating to the Nicklaus Children’s Health Care Foundation. Once the ice cream launch is over, Schwan says it will donate a percentage of the proceeds to the foundation and another children’s health care charity.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will decide whether a bank discriminated against the wives of two Missouri real estate developers by requiring them to guarantee their husbands’ business loans.
The justices said Monday they will hear an appeal of Valerie Hawkins and Janice Patterson, who claim the bank discriminated against them based on their marital status in violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.
A federal judge ruled that the law protects only those who apply for credit and not those who guarantee to secure debt. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed.
The women argue that the court ruling conflicts with Federal Reserve Board regulations that say the law covers credit guarantees.
The court will hear arguments in the case when it begins its new term in the fall.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A federal judge has blocked Nebraska’s gay marriage ban, but the decision will not take effect until March 9.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon on Monday ordered the state to not enforce its ban.
Seven same-sex couples filed a lawsuit last year challenging the state’s voter-backed ban. Last week, Bataillon heard arguments for and against a motion for an injunction to block enforcement of the ban while the lawsuit is pending.
The Nebraska Attorney General’s office has said it will appeal any decision blocking or overturning the voter-approved ban on gay marriage.
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Jan. 17 that it would decide whether same-sex couples have a right to marry under the Constitution. A decision is expected by late June.
LENEXA – A Kansas man was injured in an accident just before 6:30 a.m. on Monday in Johnson County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2008 Mazda passenger vehicle driven by Marcus James Rademacher, 20, Eudora, was westbound on Kansas10 just east of Cedar Creek Parkway.
The driver lost control on the ice. The vehicle went into the ditch and overturned.
Rademacher was transported to Overland Park Regional Medical Center.
The KHP reported he was properly restrained at the time of the accident.
