SULLIVAN COUNTY — One person died in an accident just before 9:30p.m. Thursday in Sullivan County.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Chevy Sonic driven by Kenneth L. Morris, 71, Milan, was westbound in the eastbound lanes of Missouri 6 five miles east of Milan.
The vehicle collided head-on with a 2005 Chevy Malibu driven by Fiston Meunyi, 35, Kirksville. Morris was pronounced dead at the scene. Sullivan County ambulance transported Meunyi to the hospital in Kirksville.
Both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident, according to the MSHP.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Department of Revenue Director Joel Walters is blaming lagging revenue collections so far this year on a tax withholding error by his agency.
Missouri is down about $460 million in net revenue collections this fiscal year compared to last, according to the latest data available . Most of the drop in is attributable to a dip in individual income tax collections, which are down about $476 million compared to the same time last year.
Walters told the House Budget Committee Wednesday that the withholding mistake is the issue, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.The error meant employers didn’t take enough money out of worker paychecks throughout the year, so employees will have to foot a larger share of their tax bill when they file their taxes this year.
Walters said state revenues will grow as people file taxes and said he still expects the state to meet the revenue growth projections needed to keep this year’s budget balanced.
“I am confident of that,” he told lawmakers.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Dan Hegeman on Thursday described the revenue dip as “disconcerting,” but he also said he expects taxpayers will make up the difference later.
But lawmakers have raised concerns about taxpayers getting an unexpected bill this year because of the mistake.
“My constituents are going to be left holding the bag for a $500 million hole that’s been left in our budget,” Senate Democratic Minority Leader Gina Walsh said. “Will we make it up? I don’t know, but there’s going to be a lot of Missourians writing checks.”
Democratic House Minority Leader Crystal Quade proposed legislation that would give taxpayers who file on time but owe less than $200 an extended deadline of June 15 to pay. Her bill has not yet received a hearing.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Leaders in Kansas City, Missouri, one of the nation’s largest cities without a public memorial to Martin Luther King Jr., settled a yearlong debate Thursday by voting to rename a 10-mile stretch of roadway after the civil rights leader.
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Nearly 51 years after King was assassinated, the Kansas City Council voted 8-4 to rename the Paseo as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The Paseo is a 10-mile boulevard the runs through Kansas City’s mostly black eastern sections.
Supporters, including Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver, fought since early last year to honor King.
Objections centered mostly on whether residents and businesses along The Paseo had been given sufficient notice or didn’t want the street renamed. Others thought a better site could be found to honor King.
“We have overcome a borderline regressive electoral body that almost didn’t do this, but we thank God for the progressive leaders on this council that rose up today and are a reflection of what one Kansas City can look like,” said Vernon Howard Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City, one of the strongest proponents of the name change.
The Board of Parks and Recreation, which oversees the city’s boulevards, rejected the suggestion last year to rename The Paseo for King. That’s when ministers led by the local chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference began collecting signatures to put the question on the August or November 2018 ballot, but the organization didn’t gather enough signatures.
Mayor Sly James, who said he thought there were better ways to honor King than renaming the Paseo, formed a citizens commission to gather public input and recommend which sites could be renamed for King. That panel favored naming a new terminal at the Kansas City International Airport after King, a suggestion that airport officials did not support.
The second option was 63rd Street, an east-west thoroughfare that stretches from majority-white neighborhoods through eastern Kansas City. The commission’s third option was The Paseo.
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) — A 41-year-old man who raped a Kansas sheriff’s deputy has pleaded guilty to a second rape in Missouri.
Luth -photo Jackson Co.
William Luth pleaded guilty Thursday and was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the attack on an Independence, Missouri, woman in February 2016.
The sentence will run concurrently with a 41-year sentence Luth received for attacking a Johnson County, Kansas, sheriff’s deputy in October 2016.
Prosecutors charged Luth and another man, Brady Newman-Caddell, in the both crimes.
The Missouri woman was attacked as she slept, with her 2-year-old daughter on the bed next to her. No suspects were identified until DNA was found after the Kansas attack.
Newman-Caddell on Wednesday asked to withdraw his guilty plea in the Kansas case and go to trial.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A Lawrence woman has pleaded no contest in a drug-deal robbery in which a 17-year-old was shot and critically wounded.
Parnell-Photo Douglas Co.Hormell -photo Douglas Co.
19-year-old Ardyn Pannell, of Lawrence, entered the plea Wednesday to counts of robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery.
An attempted second-degree murder case is pending against Pannell’s former boyfriend, 19-year-old Michael Hormell, of Lawrence. The affidavit says Pannell and Hormell set up a January 2018 drug buy with the victim at a Lawrence park. But authorities say their plan was to rob him. Pannell is accused of pulling the trigger. The victim was flown to a hospital in critical condition with a chest wound but survived.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Laura Kelly has signed an executive order creating an advisory group that aims to improve education in Kansas.
The governor told reporters Thursday that educating children is one of the most important obligations of elected leaders and one of the best economic and civic investments to make in Kansas.
I’m pleased today to announce the creation of the Governor’s Council on Education, via Executive Order No. 19-03. They will work together to find ways to improve education outcomes in Kansas and provide future opportunities for our children. pic.twitter.com/MyGhE8GhRq
The Governor’s Council on Education will look for ways to enhance early childhood education, create relationships between the education and the business community and develop partnerships to address workforce needs in Kansas.
Kelly says improving education means not only fully funding public schools, but also looking for ways to evaluate and innovate from early childhood all the way through to the workforce.
The group, which builds on the work of a previous education council, will hold its first meeting Wednesday.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Latest on fatal shooting of an off-duty St. Louis police officer (all times local):
12:30 p.m.
St. Louis police have identified the officer killed in an accidental early morning shooting as 24-year-old Katlyn Alix.
In honor of Officer Katlyn Alix, members of the #SLMPD will be wearing the Department mourning band. “Officer Alix was an enthusiastic and energetic young woman with a bright future ahead of her” –@ChiefJohnHaydenpic.twitter.com/BDIZ2d6NOQ
The shooting happened around 1 a.m. Thursday when two on-duty male officers went to one of their homes during their shift. Police Chief John Hayden says Alix was off-duty and stopped by the home. It wasn’t clear why the officers were at the home.
A police incident report says the officers were seated in the apartment living room when one of the male officers “mishandled a firearm and shot (Alix) in the chest.”
The male officers took her to a hospital, where she died.
Police and the St. Louis city circuit attorney’s office are investigating.
Hayden, in a statement, says Alix was an “enthusiastic and energetic young woman with a bright future ahead of her.” Survivors include her husband, parents and a sister.
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7:30 a.m.
Authorities say a St. Louis police officer has accidentally shot and killed another officer.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the shooting happened around 1 a.m. Thursday when two on-duty male officers went to one of their homes during their shift. Police Chief John Hayden said during a news conference that a 24-year-old off-duty officer was shot in the chest when she stopped by the home.
The male officers took her to a hospital, where she died. Mayor Lyda Krewson described the shooting as “terribly sad” in a tweet.
No other details were immediately released, including the names of the officers or why they were at the same home when the shooting happened. Overall crime in the Carondelet neighborhood where the shooting happened has been up in recent months.
The National Chicken Council Wednesday released its annual Chicken Wing Report estimating Americans will eat an all-time high of 1.38 billion wings during the Super Bowl weekend, featuring the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots. The figure is up two percent, or about 27 million wings, from 2018.
The report points out that the record number of wings is enough to circle the Earth three times, and is four wings for every man, woman and child in the United States. Also, the Council announced it is petitioning President Trump and Congress to declare the Monday after the Super Bowl a federal holiday. The petition is available on Change.org.
National Chicken Council spokesperson Tom Super concluded, “Whether you’re a fan of the left wing or the right wing, there’s no debate – or controversial missed calls – about America’s favorite Super Bowl food.”
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A group of Republicans in the Missouri Senate has formed the Conservative Caucus.
Six Republican senators on Thursday highlighted issues including abortion, gun rights and reducing the size of government as caucus priorities.
Weldon Spring Sen. Bill Eigel says the group wants to be a resource for other Republicans. He says caucus members support the party’s elected leaders in the chamber.
The National Chicken Council Wednesday released its annual Chicken Wing Report estimating Americans will eat an all-time high of 1.38 billion wings during the Super Bowl weekend, featuring the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots. The figure is up two percent, or about 27 million wings, from 2018.
