STEVE PEOPLES, Associated Press
JILL COLVIN, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Several Republican governors are urging GOP congressional leaders to stand firm against legislation funding the Department of Homeland Security if the bill doesn’t also overturn President Barack Obama’s executive action on immigration.

Governors in both parties in Washington this weekend warned of economic and security concerns should Congress fail to resolve its latest budget standoff. Homeland Security’s $40 billion budget runs out Feb. 27, giving federal lawmakers only a few days to reach an agreement once they return from recess next week.

A handful of high-profile Republicans say that stopping what they see as Obama’s unconstitutional power grab may be as important as resolving the funding dispute. The White House last week postponed plans to shield more than 4 million immigrants from deportation after a Texas judge blocked the effort.

BY DAN CASSIDY

 

– See more at: http://www.mofb.org/NewsMedia/CuttotheChase.aspx#sthash.qUXtlpmz.dpuf

iNDEPENDENCE (AP) – A child is among three people injured in a house fire in the Kansas City suburb of Independence.

The Kansas City Star reports that the fire was reported about 12:15 p.m. Saturday. Two adults were taken to a hospital, and the child was taken to Children’s Mercy Hospital with unspecified injuries.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

KANSAS CITY (AP) – The new chairman of the Missouri Republican Party is consultant John Hancock.

The Missouri Republican State Committee during a convention on Saturday voted overwhelmingly to elect Hancock to replace Ed Martin, who is leaving to serve as president of the conservative interest group Eagle Forum.

Fifty of 68 votes went to Hancock.

Hancock has raised concerns about the party’s finances as the 2016 elections approach. The party’s bank accounts at some points last year held only a few thousand dollars.

Hancock will lead the party as members fight for seats in the U.S. House and Senate, the governorship and other statewide offices in 2016.

LIBERTY (AP) – A suburban Kansas City man has been sentenced to four life terms plus 231 years for sexually assaulting young children.

The Kansas City Star reports that 69-year-old Lawrence Browning of Liberty was known by neighborhood kids as “cookie man” because he often gave them treats when they visited.

Browning pleaded guilty in December to eight criminal charges, including statutory sodomy, attempted statutory sodomy, sexual exploitation of a minor and possessing child pornography. He was sentenced Friday.

Authorities say the victims were girls ages 5 and 3. The incidents happened in 2013.

OZARK (AP) – Three people are dead after a shooting at a mobile home near the southwest Missouri town of Ozark.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that one person is in custody.

The victims – two women and a man – were found dead with gunshot wounds Friday evening at a home in the Starlight mobile home park in Christian County, Sheriff Joey Kyle said. A fourth occupant of the home found the victims after returning home from work, but authorities believe they were killed Friday morning.

Names have not been released, but Kyle says the ages were 40, 26 and 27. Kyle did not release any information about the person in custody.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is assisting Christian County in the investigation.

FREEBURG- A Missouri man died in an accident just before 10 p.m. on Friday in Osage County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Chevy passenger vehicle driven by Paul L. Luebbering, 46, Freeburg, was southbound on U.S. 63 one mile south of U.S. 59.

The driver lost control on the ice-covered road, traveled off the right side of the road, struck an embankment and overturned. The driver was ejected

Luebbering was transported to University Hospital where he died.

The MSHP reported he was not wearing a seat belt.

FORT LEONARD WOOD (AP) – A town hall meeting is planned for next month to discuss the possibility of up to 5,400 personnel cuts at Fort Leonard Wood.

During the March 2 meeting at Nutter Field House, a nonprofit group called the Sustainable Ozarks Partnership will promote the south-central Missouri installation to Army leaders. The Army is planning to downsize from a war-time high of 570,000 to as few as 420,000 personnel by 2020.

If the 5,400 Fort Leonard Wood jobs are shed, an Army analysis has estimated that the region could lose up to $318.2 million in annual sales and 13,388 people.

Fort Leonard Wood already is set to lose 1,200 positions by year’s end. Those cuts would count toward the total number of jobs the fort would need to slash.

By MIKE SHERRY
Kansas City, Mo., officials said Friday that the city is one of 15 finalists nationwide for the Culture of Health prize conferred annually by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), a highly regarded health foundation based in Princeton, N.J.

The recognition, Mayor Sly James said in a news release, “acknowledges sustained and strategically focused efforts of the Health Department and several others in the entire Kansas City health provider community.”

RWJF said it selected the finalists from more than 340 applicants. The foundation said in the release that it will name up to 10 winners this fall.

Each winning community is eligible for a $25,000 award, according to an RWJF spokeswoman. The foundation has a complete list of the finalists on its website.

More than the prize money, Health Department spokesman Jeff Hershberger said the city would welcome the award as recognition of the collaboration throughout the city aimed at improving public health.

The foundation judged applications on six criteria:

Defining health in the broadest possible terms
Committing to sustainable systems changes and policy-oriented long-term solutions
Cultivating a shared and deeply-held belief in the importance of equal opportunity for health
Harnessing the collective power of leaders, partners and community members
Securing and making the most of available resources
Measuring and sharing progress and results
The health department’s efforts to treat violence as a disease that officials can prevent and contain is one area the city highlighted in its application, Hershberger said.

He said the city also highlighted its move to put healthy food options in vending machines in city buildings and its work with community organizations, such as Communities Creating Opportunity, which is working to improve the financial health of low-income residents.

Hershberger also noted the revamping of the health department’s website to reduce jargon and make public health data more accessible.

A video the city has produced summarizes what it calls its “culture of health” through the promotion of peace, access to health care, prosperity and well-being.     Watch the video HERE

As an example, it cites the Healthy KC initiative of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce and its partners.

The Culture of Health prize is a part of the County Health Rankings & Roadmaps program, a collaboration between the foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute.

Mike Sherry is a reporter for Heartland Health Monitor, a news collaboration focusing on health issues and their impact in Missouri and Kansas.