SEWARD COUNTY, NE —State troopers arrested two people and seized more than 1,600 pounds of edible marijuana products, THC wax, and marijuana during a traffic stop on Interstate 80, approximately 160 miles west of St. Joseph, according to a media release from the Nebraska State Patrol.

The traffic stop occurred at approximately 2:30 p.m. October 11, when a trooper observed an eastbound 2018 Dodge Caravan speeding near mile marker 385. During the traffic stop, the trooper detected criminal activity and conducted a search of the vehicle.

Troopers found 488 boxes containing 50 THC candy bars in each box, 465 units of THC wax, and 11 pounds of marijuana. The total weight was 1,640 pounds. Estimated street value of the illegal products is more than $550,000.

The driver, Anthony Iovieno, 44, and passenger, Casey Pichette, 38, both of North Grafton, Massachusetts, were arrested for possession of controlled substances with intent to deliver. Both were lodged in Seward County Jail.

KANSAS CITY – A Kansas City man who was involved in a hit-and-run accident before leading police on a car chase that ended when he crashed into a pole and another vehicle, pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to illegally possessing a firearm.

James C. Coleman, 48, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge F. Sachs to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, Coleman was involved in a hit-and-run accident at the intersection of E. 67th Street and College Avenue in Kansas City, Mo., at approximately 1 a.m. on Oct. 4, 2017. The driver of the vehicle that was hit told police officers that a Volkswagen station wagon (later determined to be driven by Coleman) failed to stop for the stop sign and struck his vehicle. He also told police officers that Coleman, who appeared to be high, got out of his car but then left the scene of the accident without exchanging any information.

A Kansas City police officer saw Coleman’s vehicle shortly after the hit-and-run accident. The officer fell in behind Coleman’s vehicle and watched as the station wagon struck a curb. The officer activated his patrol car’s emergency lights and siren, but Coleman refused to stop and a pursuit began.

The car chase continued until Coleman struck a city utility pole and crashed into a Lincoln Continental in the 6800 block of Bales Avenue in Kansas City. Officers noted the vehicle had damage on all sides with multiple air bag deployments. Coleman, who was still inside the overturned vehicle, was lying on his back across the passenger door with his legs coming out of the vehicle’s sun/moon roof. Coleman appeared as though he had tried to crawl out of the passenger side of the vehicle.

A police officer saw a loaded Smith and Wesson 9mm pistol lying inside Coleman’s vehicle. After pulling Coleman out of the vehicle, an officer saw a clear baggie that contained what was later determined to be six individual baggies of cocaine. Coleman was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital for evaluation and treatment of his injuries.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Coleman has three prior felony convictions for drug trafficking and a prior felony conviction for stealing.

Under federal statutes, Coleman is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Moeder. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) – With nearly $30 million in renovations underway on the outside of the Missouri Capitol, attention is turning toward an expensive and lengthy project to upgrade the interior of the building.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatcher reports a consultant hired to oversee the renovation project told state officials this week that the interior work could take as long as seven years, and he won’t have cost estimates until the end of the year.

State officials have been considering overhauling offices, hearing rooms and marble-lined corridors in the nearly 500,000-square-foot building that is a century old.

Commission member Sarah Steelman, who oversees the Office of Administration, would not say whether Gov. Mike Parson supports the latest project. She says the cost will be a major factor in that decision.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is heading toward a postelection showdown over President Donald

Trump’s wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, as GOP leaders signal they’re willing to engage in hardball tactics that could spark a partial government shutdown and the president revs up midterm crowds for the wall, a centerpiece of his 2016 campaign and a top White House priority.

Trump is promising voters at rallies across the country that Republicans will bring tougher border security in campaign speeches that echo those that propelled him to office two years ago. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., promised a “big fight” over the border wall money and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has not ruled out a mini-shutdown as GOP leaders look to help Trump “get what he’s looking for” on the wall.

“Democrats want to abolish America’s borders and allow drugs and gangs to pour into our country,” Trump said without evidence Wednesday during a swing through Erie, Pa.

“Right after the election we’re doing something very strong on the wall,” Trump added Thursday in an interview on “Fox & Friends.”

Republicans steered clear of shutdown politics ahead of the Nov. 6 midterm election. They know voters have soured on government dysfunction, hold low views of Congress and are unlikely to reward Republicans — as the party in control of Congress and the White House — if post offices, national parks and other services are shuttered.

GOP leaders struck a deal with Democrats earlier this year to fund most of the government into next year. They presented their case to Trump in a White House meeting in September — complete with photos of the border wall under construction. Trump, who previously warned he would not sign another big budget bill into law without his border funds, quietly signed the legislation before the start of the new budget year Oct. 1.

Left undone, however, is the portion of the government that funds the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the border, and a few other agencies. They’re now running on stopgap funds set to expire Dec. 7.

The deadline sets the stage for a new round of budget brawls.

“We intend on having a full-fledged discussion about how to complete this mission of securing our border and we will have a big fight about it,” Ryan said in a speech at the National Press Club.

Asked if he made a commitment to Trump for a shutdown over wall funds, Ryan said blame would fall to Democrats, who are in the minority in Congress and largely oppose increased funding for the wall. Trump promised during the campaign that Mexico would pay for the wall — a claim Mexico rejects and Republicans routinely ignore.

“We have a commitment to go fight for securing the border and getting these policy objectives achieved,” Ryan said.

House Republicans approved $5 billion for Trump’s wall, including physical barriers and technology along the U.S. southern border, in a key committee, although it comes without Democratic support. A bipartisan bill being considered in the Senate allocates $1.6 billion for the wall, far short of the $5 billion the White House is seeking as part of a $25 billion, five-year plan to complete the project.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., upped the stakes Friday by introducing legislation for the full $25 billion in border funds as he bids for Ryan’s job as the speaker retires. McCarthy’s toured the southern border this week to make the case for the wall as he seeks to shore up support from conservatives skeptical of his possible leadership promotion.

McConnell predicted a “lively” lame-duck session and didn’t close the door on the possibility of a mini-shutdown.

“We’ve got a lot of work left to do,” he said in an AP Newsmakers interview. “That episode, if it occurs, would be in that portion of the government that we haven’t funded.”

Asked how much money Congress would try to secure for the border wall, McConnell said, “We’re going to try to help (Trump) get what he’s looking for.”

The chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said Senate Republicans are willing to fight for more than the $1.6 billion currently being considered, but stopped short of predicting how much money Congress would approve.

“I think it’s going to be a big fight . always because of the different views,” Shelby said.

The midterm results will play a key role in how the fight over wall funding is resolved. If Republicans lose the House majority, as some analysts predict, they will lose leverage, although the GOP would still be able to force House passage of a wall-funding package in the lame-duck session. Prospects are murkier in the Senate, where 60 votes are required to break a filibuster.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said “Democrats believe in strong border security,” but would not commit to a specific spending figure. “We’re going to keep fighting for the strongest, toughest border security,” he said.

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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A lawsuit alleges that a Kansas man who spent 23 years in prison for a double murder he didn’t commit was targeted because his mother rebuffed a homicide detective’s sexual advances.

Forty-two-year-old Lamonte McIntyre and his mother, 64-year-old Rose Lee McIntyre, sued Thursday in federal court. Lamonte McIntyre was freed last year . He was 17 when he was arrested in 1994 in the deaths of 21-year-old Doniel Quinn and 34-year-old Donald Ewing. They were shot in broad daylight in a drug-infested neighborhood.

No physical evidence linked him to the crime, and he didn’t know the victims. The lawsuit blames his arrest on a “dirty cop who used the power of his badge to exploit vulnerable black women.”

A police spokesman says the department is reviewing the lawsuit.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) – Missouri’s Republican Senate candidate Josh Hawley is taking a cue from President Donald Trump and decrying what he describes as “mob behavior” by Democrats.

Hawley said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday that Missouri voters are motivated by “mob behavior that we’re seeing all over the country.”

Trump and Senate Republicans are forecasting Democratic “mob rule” to amp up GOP voters before the midterms.

Republicans view Hawley’s race against Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill as one of their best chances of flipping a Senate seat.

McCaskill is one of 10 Senate Democrats up for re-election in states Trump won. The president won Missouri by 19 percentage points in 2016.

Hawley is campaigning on McCaskill’s vote against the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.

By STEPHAN BISAHA

Kansas schools are still struggling to hire teachers. 

There are more than 600 vacant teaching positions in Kansas, nearly 100 more than in the fall of 2017. Special education and elementary positions have the largest number of vacancies. 

The Kansas State Board of Education received the update on Tuesday from the Teacher Vacancy and Supply Committee. The main reason for the open positions is a lack of applicants or qualified applicants. 

The committee also hinted that the vacancy numbers could be worse than reported, as some schools have been reluctant to report open positions. 

“I have calls from superintendents that say, ‘Man, what’s going to happen to me if I don’t get a person in this position?’ ” said Susan Helbert, the assistant director for teacher licensure at the Kansas State Department of Education. “Well, actually nothing is going to happen except I need to know that so we can address those issues.” 

2018 saw a drop in the number of new graduates receiving teaching licenses in the state. 

Wichita Public Schools reported that it had cut its teacher shortage in half this fall, though more than 50 vacancies remained at the start of the school year. 

Stephan Bisaha is an education reporter for the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @SteveBisaha. 

TOPEKA, Kan. – The suspect from two officer-involved shootings which occurred Thursday in Topeka was discharged from the hospital and arrested.

According to a media release from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Trevon L. Brown, 23, was discharged from the hospital just before noon Saturday and immediately transported to the Shawnee County Jail where he was booked for two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, two counts of felony possession of a firearm, interference with law enforcement, and criminal use of a weapon. These are initial booking charges, according to the KBI.

Once the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) concludes its investigation, the findings will be turned over to Shawnee County District Attorney Michael Kagay for his review. Any further information related to this investigation will come from the District Attorney’s Office.

TANEY COUNTY —One person died in an accident just before 5:30a.m. Saturday in Taney County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2003 Chevy S10 driven by Phillip A. Ruiz, 22, Branson, was southbound on U.S. 65 five miles north of Branson.

The pickup traveled off the right side of the road. The driver overcorrected and was ejected when the pickup overturned.  Ruiz was pronounced dead at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the MSHP.