TOPEKA – To celebrate the modernization of liquor laws in the state of Kansas, which now allow for beer greater than 3.2 percent Alcohol By Weight to be sold in select locations, the Budweiser Clydesdales will symbolically deliver beer to the Kansas Capitol Thursday.
The delivery is reminiscent of the Budweiser Clydesdale delivery of beer in 1933 to President Roosevelt to celebrate the repeal of Prohibition.
The Clydesdale visit just before 2p.m. will include the presentation of a plaque with a Clydesdale horseshoe to Speaker of the House Ron Ryckman.
Anheuser-Busch has a long-standing relationship with the state of Kansas, working with 15 distributors that employ approximately 500 Kansans. The brewer is happy to celebrate with all of Kansas today as the state embraces modern beer laws that will help the Kansas beer industry and entire state economy grow.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Some Republican lawmakers are calling for the resignation of University of Missouri-Kansas City Chancellor C. Mauli Agrawal over what they say was his inadequate response to the disruption of a conservative speaker’s appearance last week.
Police arrest protester image courtesy UMKC News
Lawmakers also threatened to reduce the university’s budget to “make a statement” about what they consider an increase in liberal intolerance on college campuses.
University students on Thursday interrupted an anti-transgender speech by conservative Michael Knowles, a contributor to the Daily Wire website. As other students booed and began to walk out, one student rushed the stage and used a water gun to shoot a mix of lavender oil and other nontoxic substances toward Knowles, who wasn’t injured.
The student, Gerard Dabu, was tackled by campus police and later charged with disturbing the peace, assault on law enforcement, property damage and resisting arrest. He was also suspended and banned from campus during the investigation.
Agrawal issued a statement the next day saying the students’ treatment of Knowles “crossed a line.” He said the school was committed to free speech and maintaining a safe environment for all points of view, “even extreme ones.”
The chancellor also called Knowles “a speaker whose professed opinions do not align with our commitment to diversity and inclusion and our goal of providing a welcoming environment to all people, particularly to our LGBT community.” Knowles denounced the chancellor’s statement during an appearance later on Fox News.
Agrawal issued a second statement as lawmakers discussed the issue Monday night.
“My original statement may have given an indication that UMKC does not support freedom of expression for all. I apologize if I’ve given that impression, for that was not my intention,” Agrawal wrote. “It is not the university’s role to take sides, but to rise to the higher principle of promoting a respectful exchange of ideas for our students to form their own views and engage in critical thinking.”
University of Missouri System President Mun Choi told House lawmakers during a Wednesday hearing on the incident that he still has faith in Agrawal and is confident that he’s committed to free speech.
Choi later told reporters that he doesn’t feel pressured to fire the chancellor, although Republican Rep. Robert Ross during the hearing had asked him “at what point would a staff member not be worth that trade off in a reduced amount of your budget?”
“Am I willing to sacrifice a person for the sake of getting more money from the state?” Choi said. “The answer is, in my case I’m going to be fair to the individual.”
On Monday night, Sen. David Sater, a Cassville Republican and a member of the Appropriations Committee, was among those calling for Agrawal’s resignation during a discussion on the floor of the Missouri Senate. Sen. Gary Romine, a Farmington Republican, said the Senate needed to make a statement, adding: “Intolerance has taken on a different swing of the pendulum at this time.”
Democratic Sen. Jason Holsman, who district includes the university, urged lawmakers to give Agrawal time to clarify.
“The rest of the students do not deserve to be in the cross-hairs of an appropriations battle over words you find distasteful from the chancellor,” Holsman said.
St. Louis Democratic Rep. Peter Merideth told Agrawal during the House hearing that he’s “much more concerned with our reaction to your reaction.”
“That I find much more troubling than anything you said,” Merideth said.
Police said the liquid shot at Knowles was a mixture of lavender oil and nontoxic household liquids. The color and scent of lavender have been adopted by the LGBTQ community as a symbol for transgender solidarity.
SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a man has died after being electrocuted while working in the garage of a suburban Kansas City home.
Police say the man’s death Wednesday morning at a homein the 6500 block of Hallet Street in Shawnee, Kansas, is under investigation but appears to be an accident.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has ruled that Gov. Laura Kelly cannot file a brief in support of a law that would add about $90 million annually to public school funding.
The governor on Monday asked the court for permission to file the brief in support of a bill she signed April 5.
The court said on Wednesday that such motions, called amicus briefs, must be filed 30 days before oral arguments in a case. The arguments on the latest effort to address school finance litigation are scheduled for May 9.
Four school districts sued the state over education funding in 2010.
Attorneys representing the schools argued that late request to file the brief didn’t leave them enough time to respond to her argument.
The U.S. and Japan this week agreed to accelerate trade talks to advance a trade agreement. The first round of talks focused on agriculture and cars, according to Bloomberg News. Japan’s Economic Revitalization Minister will meet again next week with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to continue the negotiation.
Japan is seeking to avoid U.S. tariffs on cars exported to the U.S., while President Trump is seeking greater access for agricultural goods to Japan and many measures similar to those found in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Farm groups are pressing the administration to reach an agreement quickly to counter lost market share in Japan from competitors that were included in the TPP replacement.
Trump removed the U.S. from TPP upon taking office, and the member countries moved forward with an agreement that allowed Japan to import 60 percent more beef from TPP nations. Further, U.S. pork exports to Japan have dropped around 35 percent this year, since the new TPP agreement was enacted.
STEELVILLE, Mo. (AP) — A third man has been convicted in the ambush killing of a man whose body was found four years ago near a private southeast Missouri campground.
Michael Burkman-Platte Co.
51-year-old Michael Burkman was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty Monday to second-degree murder in the February 2015 shooting death of John Fowler. His body was found on a county road near the Heaven’s Hope Campground in the Hiram area where he had been staying.
Another defendant pleaded guilty previously to involuntary manslaughter for calling Fowler about a purported narcotics transaction to get him to show up at the area where Burkman shot him. A third man has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for taking Burkman to the scene and returning later to pick him up.
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — An attempt to abolish jail time for possessing small amounts of marijuana has failed in the Missouri House.
Missouri law currently makes possession of 35 grams of marijuana or less a Class A Misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.
Republican Rep. Shamed Dogan, of Ballwin, proposed an amendment Wednesday to a criminal justice bill that would have reduced that to a Class D Misdemeanor punishable by up to a $500 fine with no jail time.
Dogan said marijuana is one of the least harmful drugs, some prosecutors already have stopped pursuing possession cases and that black residents are disproportionately arrested for marijuana possession.
Republican House Speaker Elijah Haahr ruled that the amendment failed on a voice vote.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have arrested a man suspected of driving away after crashing into the rear of a stalled car as people tried to push it off a Lawrence road.
Walden photo Douglas County
Andrew Walden, 25, Iola, faces one count of leaving the scene of the May 2017 crash that sent four people to a hospital, two of them in critical condition. Although that count and two felony aggravated battery charges were filed in January, Walden wasn’t arrested until this week. Jail records show he has been released on $7,500 bond.
A civil lawsuit filed against Walden says he was under the influence of alcohol when he crashed into the car. Walden acknowledged hitting the car in his written response to the suit but denied that he’d been drinking.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Gov. Laura Kelly has signed a bill that protects the identities of Kansas National Guard members who undergo counseling.
The legislation signed by the governor on Wednesday is designed to encourage service members to seek help if needed. It will exempt counseling-related notes and records from open records requests and court proceedings.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the bill, which passed the House and Senate with nearly unanimous approval, comes after the Guard experienced three suicides in the last 18 months and nine in the past five years.
Maj. Gen. Lee Tafanelli said the legislation adds to a variety of services already available to soldiers.
Kelly also signed a bill that makes it easier for Kansas Guard members to receive educational assistance.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The University of South Carolina’s presidential search committee has named executives from Indiana, Florida, Missouri and Illinois as finalists. President Harris Pastides is retiring July 31.
William Tate IV of Washington University
A news release Wednesday says the finalists are John Strait Applegate of Indiana University, Robert Caslen Jr. of the University of Central Florida, William Tate IV of Washington University in St. Louis, and Joseph Walsh Jr. of Northwestern University.
Applegate is IU’s executive vice president for academic affairs. Caslen is Central Florida’s senior counsel to the president and interim CFO. Tate is dean of the graduate school and vice provost for graduate education at Washington. Walsh is vice president for research at Northwestern.
Finalist forums with students, faculty, staff and community leaders are scheduled at the Columbia campus April 22-25.
The U.S. and Japan this week agreed to accelerate trade talks to advance a trade agreement. The first round of talks focused on agriculture and cars, according to Bloomberg News. Japan’s Economic Revitalization Minister will meet again next week with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to continue the negotiation.
