KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement are investigating the connection between a shooting and traffic crash in Kansas City.

Just after 4a.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to reported non-injury accident at 12th and Benton in Kansas City, according to Police Captain Jake Becchina.

Officers located a vehicle, unoccupied, just west of the intersection on 12th Street that appeared to have been involved in a crash. Upon close investigation of the vehicle it appeared there was indications of potential gunshot activity into the vehicle, as well as indications that someone may have been injured inside the vehicle.

Responding officers began gathering information to determine the sequence of events and additional officers responded and began canvassing for anyone that maybe injured. 

Officers canvassing were led to an apartment building diagonal from the intersection to the south and east. Behind that apartment they located a man, later identified as 20-year-old&nbsp;Michael B. Waylee who appeared to have been shot, unresponsive there. Officers called for EMS who declared him deceased at the scene. 

Preliminary Investigation indicates that the vehicle initially reported in the crash was westbound on 12th just after 1am at a high rate of speed. At the intersection of Benton the vehicle sideswiped a vehicle and the driver lost control and crashed into a parked vehicle west of Benton. 

Following the crash the victim exited the vehicle and fled the scene. Detectives are also investigating a reported shooting that took place at 12th and Hardesty just after 1am. 

At that shooting scene one man was shot and transported to the hospital with what is thought to be non-life threatening injuries. Detectives are investigating the potential connection between the two scenes. 

Detectives and crime scene investigators processed the scene for evidence.

If anyone heard or saw anything in this area between 1 am and 4 am, or has any information they are asked to contact Homicide detectives directly at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS. There is a reward of up to $25,000 for information submitted anonymously to the TIPS hotline.

KANSAS CITY—Law enforcement are investigating the connection between a shooting and traffic crash in Kansas City.Just after 4a.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to reported non-injury accident at 12th and Benton in Kansas City, according to Police Captain Jake Becchina.Officers located a vehicle, unoccupied, just west of the intersection on 12th Street that appeared to have been involved in a crash. Upon close investigation of the vehicle it appeared there was indications of potential gunshot activity into the vehicle, as well as indications that someone may have been injured inside the vehicle.Responding officers began gathering information to determine the sequence of events and additional officers responded and began canvassing for anyone that maybe injured. Officers canvassing were led to an apartment building diagonal from the intersection to the south and east. Behind that apartment they located a man, later identified as 20-year-old&nbsp;Michael B. Waylee who appeared to have been shot, unresponsive there. Officers called for EMS who declared him deceased at the scene. Preliminary Investigation indicates that the vehicle initially reported in the crash was westbound on 12th just after 1am at a high rate of speed. At the intersection of Benton the vehicle sideswiped a vehicle and the driver lost control and crashed into a parked vehicle west of Benton. Following the crash the victim exited the vehicle and fled the scene. Detectives are also investigating a reported shooting that took place at 12th and Hardesty just after 1am. At that shooting scene one man was shot and transported to the hospital with what is thought to be non-life threatening injuries. Detectives are investigating the potential connection between the two scenes. Detectives and crime scene investigators processed the scene for evidence.If anyone heard or saw anything in this area between 1 am and 4 am, or has any information they are asked to contact Homicide detectives directly at 816-234-5043 or the TIPS Hotline anonymously at 816-474-TIPS. There is a reward of up to $25,000 for information submitted anonymously to the TIPS hotline.

Homicide: KCPD responds to car crash, found shooting victim

RENO COUNTY — Law enforcement are investigating three suspect on multiple allegations after a chase in Reno County.

&nbsp;Just after 4:30 p.m. Saturday, police were sent to&nbsp;Dunham’s Sports, 1500 East 11th Avenue in Hutchinson in reference to a reported theft, according to&nbsp;According to Hutchinson Police Capt. Dayton Gates in a media release. Three suspects left the area in a U-Haul box truck.

Shortly after being dispatched, Kansas Highway Patrol located and attempted to make a traffic stop on the truck near 15th Avenue and Halstead Street. Kansas Highway Patrol initiated a vehicle pursuit after the driver of the truck refused to pull over.

Hutchinson Police Department assisted with the vehicle pursuit. Officers were able to successfully stop-stick the truck and it came to a stop in the 500 block of West 1st Avenue.

The driver, Charles Bogguess, 44, Wichita, was arrested on requested charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, felony flee and elude, felony interference with law enforcement, possession of stolen property, possession of opiates, possession of stolen&nbsp;property; 2 or more convictions in 5 years, theft; property or services; less than $1,500, reckless&nbsp;driving, driving while suspended; 3rd or subsequent conviction and possession of drug&nbsp;paraphernalia.

Jamie Batres, 39, Wichita, was arrested on requestd charges of felony interference&nbsp;with law enforcement, possession of opiates; 2 or more prior convictions, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of stolen property and theft; property or services; less than $1,500.

Jasmine Gray, 34 YOA female from Wichita, was arrested and charged with possession of stolen&nbsp;property; less than $1,500 and theft; property or services; less than $1,500. No injuries were reported. &nbsp;

Kansas Highway Patrol, Reno County&nbsp;Sheriff’s Office, and South Hutchinson Police Department assisted in the pursuit.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725820336605.png" alt="Bogguess has ten previous convictions for theft, aggravated robbery, burglary, flee or attempt to elude law enforcement and criminal possession of a firearm, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Bogguess has ten previous convictions for theft, aggravated robbery, burglary, flee or attempt to elude law enforcement and criminal possession of a firearm, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>RENO COUNTY — Law enforcement are investigating three suspect on multiple allegations after a chase in Reno County.&nbsp;Just after 4:30 p.m. Saturday, police were sent to&nbsp;Dunham’s Sports, 1500 East 11th Avenue in Hutchinson in reference to a reported theft, according to&nbsp;According to Hutchinson Police Capt. Dayton Gates in a media release. Three suspects left the area in a U-Haul box truck.Shortly after being dispatched, Kansas Highway Patrol located and attempted to make a traffic stop on the truck near 15th Avenue and Halstead Street. Kansas Highway Patrol initiated a vehicle pursuit after the driver of the truck refused to pull over.Hutchinson Police Department assisted with the vehicle pursuit. Officers were able to successfully stop-stick the truck and it came to a stop in the 500 block of West 1st Avenue.The driver, Charles Bogguess, 44, Wichita, was arrested on requested charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, felony flee and elude, felony interference with law enforcement, possession of stolen property, possession of opiates, possession of stolen&nbsp;property; 2 or more convictions in 5 years, theft; property or services; less than $1,500, reckless&nbsp;driving, driving while suspended; 3rd or subsequent conviction and possession of drug&nbsp;paraphernalia.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725820679346.png" alt="Batres has over two dozen previous convictions that include forgery, ID theft, theft and for drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections." />
 <figcaption>Batres has over two dozen previous convictions that include forgery, ID theft, theft and for drugs, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.</figcaption>
 </figure>Jamie Batres, 39, Wichita, was arrested on requestd charges of felony interference&nbsp;with law enforcement, possession of opiates; 2 or more prior convictions, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of stolen property and theft; property or services; less than $1,500.Jasmine Gray, 34 YOA female from Wichita, was arrested and charged with possession of stolen&nbsp;property; less than $1,500 and theft; property or services; less than $1,500. No injuries were reported. &nbsp;Kansas Highway Patrol, Reno County&nbsp;Sheriff’s Office, and South Hutchinson Police Department assisted in the pursuit.

Police catch Kan. felons after chase with U-Haul box truck

KANSAS CITY—Just after 6:20p.m. Sunday, the patrol reported the girls were located safe and Hardy was in custody.  The patrol reported no additional details.

KANSAS CITY —The Missouri State Highway Patrol has issued an Amber Alert involving&nbsp; two 9-month-olds Iris and Halo Gannaway.&nbsp; Police are looking for a Silver 2016 Ford Fusion with Missouri Plate TK7Z6U driven by 21-year-old Malik Hardy.

According to the Patrol, Hardy threatened the mother of the children with a firearm before taking both children from a&nbsp; residence at 8201 Spring Valley Road in Belton.

The car was traveling northbound on Interstate 49 from MO 58.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725835931257.png" alt="Hardy photo MSHP" />
 <figcaption>Hardy photo MSHP</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY—Just after 6:20p.m. Sunday, the patrol reported the girls were located safe and Hardy was in custody. The patrol reported no additional details.--------KANSAS CITY —The Missouri State Highway Patrol has issued an Amber Alert involving&nbsp; two 9-month-olds Iris and Halo Gannaway.&nbsp; Police are looking for a Silver 2016 Ford Fusion with Missouri Plate TK7Z6U driven by 21-year-old Malik Hardy.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725836107918.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>According to the Patrol, Hardy threatened the mother of the children with a firearm before taking both children from a&nbsp; residence at 8201 Spring Valley Road in Belton.The car was traveling northbound on Interstate 49 from MO 58.

Amber Alert for two 9-month-old girls canceled, suspect in custody

KANSAS CITY —A Denver, Colorado, man was sentenced in federal court last week for transporting thousands of fentanyl pills and methamphetamine through Kansas City aboard a bus and for illegally possessing a firearm.

Ahmad Rashad Rhodes, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 15 years in federal prison without parole. Rhodes was sentenced as a career offender due to his prior felony convictions.

On December 7, 2023, Rhodes was found guilty at trial of one count of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Officers with the Missouri Western Interdiction and Narcotics Task Force (MoWIN) were conducting interdiction activities at a Kansas City, Mo., bus station on March 20, 2023, when Rhodes arrived on a bus that originated in Los Angeles, California. As passengers disembarked, a police drug-sniffing dog alerted to the scent of illegal drugs in a suitcase in the undercarriage of the bus as well as a backpack in the passenger compartment of the bus. Officers determined both items belonged to Rhodes and contacted him.

After a brief struggle, Rhodes was taken into custody when he admitted to officers he had a gun in the crossbody bag he was wearing. Officers searched Rhodes and found a key chain in his coat with two metal pill holders attached; one pill holder contained 61 blue counterfeit oxycodone hydrochloride pills that contained fentanyl and the other contained 33 blue counterfeit oxycodone hydrochloride pills that contained fentanyl.

In the crossbody bag Rhodes was wearing, officers discovered 3,200 blue counterfeit oxycodone hydrochloride pills that contained fentanyl, a clear plastic baggie that contained 60 grams of pure methamphetamine, and a loaded Smith &amp; Wesson .38-caliber pistol. Officers searched the rest of Rhodes’s luggage and found a digital scale, over 100 unused small, plastic baggies and marijuana.

Rhodes told officers he was enroute to Louisville, Kentucky, and was fleeing from Colorado due to a pending drug-trafficking case in which he was set to be sentenced.

Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Rhodes has eight prior felony convictions related to the use or trafficking of illegal drugs, including two convictions in Colorado to which he pled guilty and then failed to appear for sentencing, and a prior felony conviction for illegally possessing a firearm.

According to court documents, Rhodes has spent most of his adult life under some sort of criminal justice sentence or supervision, meaning that nearly all of his violations of the law were committed while he was being supervised for a previous crime.

KANSAS CITY —A Denver, Colorado, man was sentenced in federal court last week for transporting thousands of fentanyl pills and methamphetamine through Kansas City aboard a bus and for illegally possessing a firearm.Ahmad Rashad Rhodes, 45, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Bough to 15 years in federal prison without parole. Rhodes was sentenced as a career offender due to his prior felony convictions.On December 7, 2023, Rhodes was found guilty at trial of one count of possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.Officers with the Missouri Western Interdiction and Narcotics Task Force (MoWIN) were conducting interdiction activities at a Kansas City, Mo., bus station on March 20, 2023, when Rhodes arrived on a bus that originated in Los Angeles, California. As passengers disembarked, a police drug-sniffing dog alerted to the scent of illegal drugs in a suitcase in the undercarriage of the bus as well as a backpack in the passenger compartment of the bus. Officers determined both items belonged to Rhodes and contacted him.After a brief struggle, Rhodes was taken into custody when he admitted to officers he had a gun in the crossbody bag he was wearing. Officers searched Rhodes and found a key chain in his coat with two metal pill holders attached; one pill holder contained 61 blue counterfeit oxycodone hydrochloride pills that contained fentanyl and the other contained 33 blue counterfeit oxycodone hydrochloride pills that contained fentanyl.In the crossbody bag Rhodes was wearing, officers discovered 3,200 blue counterfeit oxycodone hydrochloride pills that contained fentanyl, a clear plastic baggie that contained 60 grams of pure methamphetamine, and a loaded Smith &amp; Wesson .38-caliber pistol. Officers searched the rest of Rhodes’s luggage and found a digital scale, over 100 unused small, plastic baggies and marijuana.Rhodes told officers he was enroute to Louisville, Kentucky, and was fleeing from Colorado due to a pending drug-trafficking case in which he was set to be sentenced.Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Rhodes has eight prior felony convictions related to the use or trafficking of illegal drugs, including two convictions in Colorado to which he pled guilty and then failed to appear for sentencing, and a prior felony conviction for illegally possessing a firearm.According to court documents, Rhodes has spent most of his adult life under some sort of criminal justice sentence or supervision, meaning that nearly all of his violations of the law were committed while he was being supervised for a previous crime.

Man caught transporting fentanyl pills on a bus in Kansas City

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/johnmccracken/">JOHN MCCRACKEN</a>

Tyson Foods annual sales have doubled in the past two decades, increasing from $26 billion to $53 billion from 2004 to 2023, according to a review of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

Yet Tyson, which is the country’s largest chicken company, has closed nine meatpacking plants over the past year — including two in Missouri impacting more than 2,000 workers.

The plant closures and the company’s contracts with affected chicken farmers sparked an investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The meatpacking company is also being sued for allegations of&nbsp;<a href="https://investigatemidwest.org/2024/06/17/tyson-foods-cal-maine-foods-sued-for-alleged-antitrust-action/" target="_blank">antitrust violations</a>.

The Arkansas-based company operates 183 chicken facilities in the U.S., including hatcheries, processing plants and feed mills. In addition to chicken, the company’s sales come from beef, pork and prepared foods.

In July, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley&nbsp;<a href="https://outreach.senate.gov/iqextranet/iqClickTrk.aspx?&amp;cid=SenHawley&amp;crop=14435QQQ9195332QQQ8060478QQQ8019990&amp;report_id=&amp;redirect=https%3a%2f%2fwww.hawley.senate.gov%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2024%2f07%2fHawley-Letter-to-Tyson-Foods-re-antitrust-class-action-lawsuit.pdf&amp;redir_log=764621686329852" target="_blank">sent</a>&nbsp;a letter to Tyson Foods CEO Donnie King demanding transparency and accountability after a lawsuit brought against his company alleged that Tyson lied about its intentions to sell its chicken plant in Dexter, Missouri, to a competitor.

This&nbsp;<a href="https://investigatemidwest.org/2024/09/04/tyson-foods-annual-sales-have-doubled-in-the-past-two-decades/" target="_blank">article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a href="https://investigatemidwest.org/" target="_blank">Investigate Midwest</a>&nbsp;and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725803498976.png" alt="Google image" />
 <figcaption>Google image</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/johnmccracken/">JOHN MCCRACKEN</a>Tyson Foods annual sales have doubled in the past two decades, increasing from $26 billion to $53 billion from 2004 to 2023, according to a review of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings.Yet Tyson, which is the country’s largest chicken company, has closed nine meatpacking plants over the past year — including two in Missouri impacting more than 2,000 workers.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725657292379.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The plant closures and the company’s contracts with affected chicken farmers sparked an investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The meatpacking company is also being sued for allegations of&nbsp;<a href="https://investigatemidwest.org/2024/06/17/tyson-foods-cal-maine-foods-sued-for-alleged-antitrust-action/" target="_blank">antitrust violations</a>.The Arkansas-based company operates 183 chicken facilities in the U.S., including hatcheries, processing plants and feed mills. In addition to chicken, the company’s sales come from beef, pork and prepared foods.In July, U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley&nbsp;<a href="https://outreach.senate.gov/iqextranet/iqClickTrk.aspx?&amp;cid=SenHawley&amp;crop=14435QQQ9195332QQQ8060478QQQ8019990&amp;report_id=&amp;redirect=https%3a%2f%2fwww.hawley.senate.gov%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2024%2f07%2fHawley-Letter-to-Tyson-Foods-re-antitrust-class-action-lawsuit.pdf&amp;redir_log=764621686329852" target="_blank">sent</a>&nbsp;a letter to Tyson Foods CEO Donnie King demanding transparency and accountability after a lawsuit brought against his company alleged that Tyson lied about its intentions to sell its chicken plant in Dexter, Missouri, to a competitor.This&nbsp;<a href="https://investigatemidwest.org/2024/09/04/tyson-foods-annual-sales-have-doubled-in-the-past-two-decades/" target="_blank">article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a href="https://investigatemidwest.org/" target="_blank">Investigate Midwest</a>&nbsp;and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Tyson Foods annual sales have doubled in the past two decades

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ariana-figueroa/">ARIANA FIGUEROA</a>

WASHINGTON — Latino voters are concerned with the high cost of living, the minimum wage and rising housing costs heading into the November elections, according to a comprehensive survey released Wednesday by UnidosUS, the largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy center in the nation.

“Laying out a coherent economic policy agenda that will resonate with Latinos … would go a long way, I think, for our community,” Janet Murguía, the president and CEO of UnidosUS, said on a call with reporters detailing the&nbsp;<a href="https://unidosus.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Natl-deck-UnidosUS-2024-Pre-Election-Poll-of-Hispanic-Electorate.pdf" target="_blank">results of the survey.</a>

The&nbsp;<a href="https://unidosus.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/National-crosstabs-UnidosUS-2024-Pre-Election-Poll-of-the-Hispanic-Electorate.pdf" target="_blank">survey included 3,000 eligible Hispanic voters</a>&nbsp;who were interviewed in either English or Spanish, from Aug. 5-23, with oversampling of residents of Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Florida, Texas and California. The poll, conducted by BSP Research, had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.

Murguía said Latinos are the second-largest voting-age population and 1 in 5 of them will be casting ballots for the first time in a presidential election this November.

“Top of mind are pocketbook issues,” she said. “Hispanic voters are most deeply concerned, like many of their fellow Americans, about the rising cost of living.”

Another issue that Latinos strongly supported is access to abortion. By a 71% to 21% margin, Latinos oppose abortion bans, according to the survey.

“They do not support making it illegal,” Murguía said.

Wages and jobs that provide economic security are a top priority for Latino voters, Gary Segura, who conducted the research poll for UnidosUS, said.

<a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/swa-wages-2022/#:~:text=Low%2Dwage%20workers%20are%20disproportionately%20women%20and%20Black%20and%20Hispanic" target="_blank">Latino workers are disproportionately workers</a>&nbsp;who earn the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, which has not increased since 2009. If the federal minimum wage had kept pace with inflation, it would be around $24 an hour,&nbsp;<a href="https://aflcio.org/what-unions-do/social-economic-justice/minimum-wage#:~:text=Since%20then%2C%20it%20has%20lost,would%20be%20%2424%20an%20hour." target="_blank">according to the AFL-CIO.</a>

“The lived economy for Latinos is different than the lived economy for the nation as a whole,” Segura said.

Segura said during the poll, interviewers followed up with respondents on their concerns about jobs and wages and found that being able to afford necessities like food and housing were top issues.

“People are struggling to make ends meet,” he said.

The number one response was that “jobs don’t pay enough, or I have to take a second job to make ends meet,” Segura said. “We talk a lot about the low levels of unemployment in this society now, which is certainly good news, but the issue is that many of those jobs do not pay enough for the holder of that job to essentially pay their basic living expenses.”

Murguía noted that immigration, which the Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, has made a core campaign issue, ranks fifth in priorities among Latino voters, tied with concern about gun violence and too-easy access to assault weapons.

“We want to be crystal clear that Latino voters overall are not buying into campaign tactics that demonize immigrants,” Murguía said. “They know the difference between those who mean us harm and those who are contributing to the fabric of our nation.”

Latino voters strongly support a legal pathway to citizenship for those in the &nbsp;Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, referred to as Dreamers, and for long-term undocumented immigrants, the survey found.

<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-promises-mass-deportations-undocumented-people-how-would-work" target="_blank">Trump has promised mass deportations</a>&nbsp;should he win a second term, a policy issue that has “virtually no support” by Latino voters sampled in the survey, Segura said.

Segura added that while Trump has campaigned on the issue, his promise to launch mass deportations is not particularly well known in Latino communities.

“Many of the people we speak to believe that (Trump) will do it if he can, but they just don’t actually believe that he can pull that off,” Segura said. “So there’s both a lack of awareness of these really draconian measures or proposals and then a lack of belief that they would actually come to pass.”

He added that he thinks it’s an opportunity for Democrats to campaign on the issue, but Vice President Kamala Harris has mainly criticized Trump for tanking a bipartisan border security deal.

“Our own results suggest that the primary border concern comes from voters who lean in the GOP direction in the first place, and so I don’t see a lot of movement there or a lot of risk for (Democrats), particularly in targeted advertisements and Hispanic voters,” Segura said.

‘Dismissive and diminishing language’

The poll found that 55% of those Latinos had not been contacted by either political party this year.

“We often hear a really dismissive and diminishing language about Latino participation in elections,” Segura said. “‘Latinos don’t vote as often as they should. Latinos will let you down’ and so forth, and no one ever wants to address the elephant in the room, which is that no one is asking Latinos to vote.”

The Harris campaign last month launched a bilingual WhatsApp campaign to target Latino voters. Michelle Villegas, the national Latino engagement director for the Harris campaign, said during a Hispanic Caucus meeting at the Democratic National Convention that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/harris-campaign-launches-bilingual-whatsapp-channel-draw-latino-voters-swing-states" target="_blank">the Latino vote is key to victory in three battleground states</a>&nbsp;— Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania.

The survey also found that running mates had an impact on Latino voters. Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, gave her a 3-point boost, Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, made his rating drop by 3 points.

“Vance has (a) negative impact on the Republican ticket, which is consistent with his low favorability among Latino voters,” according to the survey.

While Democrats have an advantage with Latino voters, and Harris has seen a boost in support compared to when President Joe Biden was in the race, she is still not reaching the levels of Latino support seen in previous elections, Clarissa Martinez De Castro, the vice president of the Latino Vote Initiative at UnidosUS, said.

“There is work to be done to reach the levels of support Democrats need and had achieved in previous elections, and more intense communication with these voters is needed, particularly on economic issues and immigration,” Martinez De Castro said.

Equis Research, which conducts research and polling specifically about Latino voters,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.weareequis.us/research/xssaug2024bgmemo" target="_blank">found in a recent poll t</a>hat Harris has gained significant support from Latinos but that Harris “remains a few points shy of what Biden received in 2020” across battleground states.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725564419417.png" alt="File photo" />
 <figcaption>File photo</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/ariana-figueroa/">ARIANA FIGUEROA</a>WASHINGTON — Latino voters are concerned with the high cost of living, the minimum wage and rising housing costs heading into the November elections, according to a comprehensive survey released Wednesday by UnidosUS, the largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy center in the nation.“Laying out a coherent economic policy agenda that will resonate with Latinos … would go a long way, I think, for our community,” Janet Murguía, the president and CEO of UnidosUS, said on a call with reporters detailing the&nbsp;<a href="https://unidosus.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Natl-deck-UnidosUS-2024-Pre-Election-Poll-of-Hispanic-Electorate.pdf" target="_blank">results of the survey.</a>The&nbsp;<a href="https://unidosus.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/National-crosstabs-UnidosUS-2024-Pre-Election-Poll-of-the-Hispanic-Electorate.pdf" target="_blank">survey included 3,000 eligible Hispanic voters</a>&nbsp;who were interviewed in either English or Spanish, from Aug. 5-23, with oversampling of residents of Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Florida, Texas and California. The poll, conducted by BSP Research, had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.Murguía said Latinos are the second-largest voting-age population and 1 in 5 of them will be casting ballots for the first time in a presidential election this November.“Top of mind are pocketbook issues,” she said. “Hispanic voters are most deeply concerned, like many of their fellow Americans, about the rising cost of living.”Another issue that Latinos strongly supported is access to abortion. By a 71% to 21% margin, Latinos oppose abortion bans, according to the survey.“They do not support making it illegal,” Murguía said.<h2>Minimum-wage workers</h2>Wages and jobs that provide economic security are a top priority for Latino voters, Gary Segura, who conducted the research poll for UnidosUS, said.<a href="https://www.epi.org/publication/swa-wages-2022/#:~:text=Low%2Dwage%20workers%20are%20disproportionately%20women%20and%20Black%20and%20Hispanic" target="_blank">Latino workers are disproportionately workers</a>&nbsp;who earn the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, which has not increased since 2009. If the federal minimum wage had kept pace with inflation, it would be around $24 an hour,&nbsp;<a href="https://aflcio.org/what-unions-do/social-economic-justice/minimum-wage#:~:text=Since%20then%2C%20it%20has%20lost,would%20be%20%2424%20an%20hour." target="_blank">according to the AFL-CIO.</a>“The lived economy for Latinos is different than the lived economy for the nation as a whole,” Segura said.Segura said during the poll, interviewers followed up with respondents on their concerns about jobs and wages and found that being able to afford necessities like food and housing were top issues.“People are struggling to make ends meet,” he said.The number one response was that “jobs don’t pay enough, or I have to take a second job to make ends meet,” Segura said. “We talk a lot about the low levels of unemployment in this society now, which is certainly good news, but the issue is that many of those jobs do not pay enough for the holder of that job to essentially pay their basic living expenses.”<h2>Opinions on immigration</h2>Murguía noted that immigration, which the Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, has made a core campaign issue, ranks fifth in priorities among Latino voters, tied with concern about gun violence and too-easy access to assault weapons.“We want to be crystal clear that Latino voters overall are not buying into campaign tactics that demonize immigrants,” Murguía said. “They know the difference between those who mean us harm and those who are contributing to the fabric of our nation.”Latino voters strongly support a legal pathway to citizenship for those in the &nbsp;Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, referred to as Dreamers, and for long-term undocumented immigrants, the survey found.<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trump-promises-mass-deportations-undocumented-people-how-would-work" target="_blank">Trump has promised mass deportations</a>&nbsp;should he win a second term, a policy issue that has “virtually no support” by Latino voters sampled in the survey, Segura said.Segura added that while Trump has campaigned on the issue, his promise to launch mass deportations is not particularly well known in Latino communities.“Many of the people we speak to believe that (Trump) will do it if he can, but they just don’t actually believe that he can pull that off,” Segura said. “So there’s both a lack of awareness of these really draconian measures or proposals and then a lack of belief that they would actually come to pass.”He added that he thinks it’s an opportunity for Democrats to campaign on the issue, but Vice President Kamala Harris has mainly criticized Trump for tanking a bipartisan border security deal.“Our own results suggest that the primary border concern comes from voters who lean in the GOP direction in the first place, and so I don’t see a lot of movement there or a lot of risk for (Democrats), particularly in targeted advertisements and Hispanic voters,” Segura said.<h2>‘Dismissive and diminishing language’</h2>The poll found that 55% of those Latinos had not been contacted by either political party this year.“We often hear a really dismissive and diminishing language about Latino participation in elections,” Segura said. “‘Latinos don’t vote as often as they should. Latinos will let you down’ and so forth, and no one ever wants to address the elephant in the room, which is that no one is asking Latinos to vote.”The Harris campaign last month launched a bilingual WhatsApp campaign to target Latino voters. Michelle Villegas, the national Latino engagement director for the Harris campaign, said during a Hispanic Caucus meeting at the Democratic National Convention that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/harris-campaign-launches-bilingual-whatsapp-channel-draw-latino-voters-swing-states" target="_blank">the Latino vote is key to victory in three battleground states</a>&nbsp;— Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania.The survey also found that running mates had an impact on Latino voters. Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, gave her a 3-point boost, Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, made his rating drop by 3 points.“Vance has (a) negative impact on the Republican ticket, which is consistent with his low favorability among Latino voters,” according to the survey.While Democrats have an advantage with Latino voters, and Harris has seen a boost in support compared to when President Joe Biden was in the race, she is still not reaching the levels of Latino support seen in previous elections, Clarissa Martinez De Castro, the vice president of the Latino Vote Initiative at UnidosUS, said.“There is work to be done to reach the levels of support Democrats need and had achieved in previous elections, and more intense communication with these voters is needed, particularly on economic issues and immigration,” Martinez De Castro said.Equis Research, which conducts research and polling specifically about Latino voters,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.weareequis.us/research/xssaug2024bgmemo" target="_blank">found in a recent poll t</a>hat Harris has gained significant support from Latinos but that Harris “remains a few points shy of what Biden received in 2020” across battleground states.

Pocketbook issues rank high for Latino voters in 2024 election, survey finds

KANSAS CITY —A motocross instructor who mentored children was sentenced this week to 40 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, and ordered to pay at least $193,500 in restitution for sexually exploiting numerous children, according to the United State's Attorney.

According to court documents, Ryan Meyung, 33, of no fixed address, sexually exploited multiple young children that he met and befriended while traveling across the country as a motocross instructor between July 2019 and December 2021. 

As part of his predatory behavior, Meyung produced images and videos of six different minor victims engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including sex acts with him and with each other. The victims were between 6 and 13 years old at the time. Meyung also possessed and transported images and videos of child sexual abuse produced by other sex offenders and sexually abused and recorded other children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Meyung pleaded guilty in April to six counts of sexual exploitation of a minor (producing child sexual abuse material) and has been in custody since his arrest in December 2021.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia, and Special Agent in Charge Rana Saoud of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Nashville made the announcement.

HSI Chattanooga investigated the case, with assistance from HSI Dalton, the Hamilton County, Tennessee, Sheriff’s Office, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Police Department, and HSI field offices throughout the country.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725718046095.png" alt="Meyung- Photo Hamilton County Sheriff's Office&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>Meyung- Photo Hamilton County Sheriff's Office&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —A motocross instructor who mentored children was sentenced this week to 40 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, and ordered to pay at least $193,500 in restitution for sexually exploiting numerous children, according to the United State's Attorney.According to court documents, Ryan Meyung, 33, of no fixed address, sexually exploited multiple young children that he met and befriended while traveling across the country as a motocross instructor between July 2019 and December 2021. As part of his predatory behavior, Meyung produced images and videos of six different minor victims engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including sex acts with him and with each other. The victims were between 6 and 13 years old at the time. Meyung also possessed and transported images and videos of child sexual abuse produced by other sex offenders and sexually abused and recorded other children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Meyung pleaded guilty in April to six counts of sexual exploitation of a minor (producing child sexual abuse material) and has been in custody since his arrest in December 2021.Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia, and Special Agent in Charge Rana Saoud of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Nashville made the announcement.HSI Chattanooga investigated the case, with assistance from HSI Dalton, the Hamilton County, Tennessee, Sheriff’s Office, Chattanooga, Tennessee, Police Department, and HSI field offices throughout the country.&nbsp;

Motocross coach sexually exploited multiple young children

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — The Kansas Farm Bureau’s political action committee for the first time has endorsed Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids for reelection in the 3rd District of northeast Kansas.

The organization’s PAC previously committed to Republican incumbent U.S. Reps. Tracey Mann of the 1st District and Ron Estes of the 4th District. In July, the PAC announced support of Derek Schmidt, who in August won the GOP primary in the 2nd District. Schmidt is seeking to replace U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, a Republican who didn’t seek reelection.

Davids, who is completing her third term in Congress, is running against Republican Prasanth Reddy and Libertarian Steve Roberts in the November election.

She joined the House Agriculture Committee in 2022 after the Kansas Legislature expanded the 3rd District’s boundary beyond Johnson and Wyandotte counties to include all of Anderson, Franklin and Miami counties. Those three counties have a larger agricultural economic footprint.

On Thursday, Farm Bureau president Joe Newland said Davids had dedicated herself to building relationships with agriculture interests in the congressional district. This is the first time the Farm Bureau PAC has endorsed her.

“Rep.&nbsp;Davids&nbsp;has sought the input of farmers and ranchers as part of her decision-making process. I’m confident she’s the right choice for agriculture and look forward to her reelection,” Newland said.

The Farm Bureau’s PAC is known as VOTE FBF or Voters Organized to Elect&nbsp;Farm&nbsp;Bureau&nbsp;Friends. Since inception of the PAC in 1993, endorsed candidates have prevailed in 90% of their elections.

“Kansas farmers and ranchers are the backbone of our state, and I’m committed to ensuring their voices are heard in Washington,” Davids said. “I’ll continue working to support our agricultural economy and the hardworking families who make it thrive.”

In the spring, Davids joined with former U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, to host U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small for discussion of challenges facing Kansas’ crop and animal producers. Roberts and Davids said during the event that Congress should overcome partisan disputes to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill reauthorizing federal financial programs for U.S. agriculture.

The 2018 law expired in 2023, but was extended for one year to allow for negotiations in the House and Senate. No deal has been reached since September 2023, and the existing law could be renewed for another year given budget disputes and election-year politics.

Reddy, who didn’t respond to a request for comment about the Farm Bureau PAC’s endorsement, said in May that he disagreed with Davids’ vote against a GOP-sponsored version of the Farm Bill that was introduced to the House Agriculture Committee.

“It’s a betrayal of Kansas farmers and ranchers,” Reddy said, “but that’s what you can expect from a professional politician who puts party leaders before common sense.”

Mann, the 1st District representative who also serves on the House Agriculture Committee, voted for the bill rejected by Davids. His represents the third-largest agriculture producing congressional district in the United States.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725651193375.png" alt=" The Kansas Farm Bureau’s political action committee endorsed the reelection of U.S. Rep. Sharice Davies, D-Kansas. It’s the PAC’s first endorsement of the three-term Democrat and sidestepped both the Republican and Libertarian nominees ahead of the November election. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from livestream of Davids’ news conference)" />
 <figcaption> The Kansas Farm Bureau’s political action committee endorsed the reelection of U.S. Rep. Sharice Davies, D-Kansas. It’s the PAC’s first endorsement of the three-term Democrat and sidestepped both the Republican and Libertarian nominees ahead of the November election. (Kansas Reflector screen capture from livestream of Davids’ news conference)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — The Kansas Farm Bureau’s political action committee for the first time has endorsed Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids for reelection in the 3rd District of northeast Kansas.The organization’s PAC previously committed to Republican incumbent U.S. Reps. Tracey Mann of the 1st District and Ron Estes of the 4th District. In July, the PAC announced support of Derek Schmidt, who in August won the GOP primary in the 2nd District. Schmidt is seeking to replace U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, a Republican who didn’t seek reelection.Davids, who is completing her third term in Congress, is running against Republican Prasanth Reddy and Libertarian Steve Roberts in the November election.She joined the House Agriculture Committee in 2022 after the Kansas Legislature expanded the 3rd District’s boundary beyond Johnson and Wyandotte counties to include all of Anderson, Franklin and Miami counties. Those three counties have a larger agricultural economic footprint.On Thursday, Farm Bureau president Joe Newland said Davids had dedicated herself to building relationships with agriculture interests in the congressional district. This is the first time the Farm Bureau PAC has endorsed her.“Rep.&nbsp;Davids&nbsp;has sought the input of farmers and ranchers as part of her decision-making process. I’m confident she’s the right choice for agriculture and look forward to her reelection,” Newland said.The Farm Bureau’s PAC is known as VOTE FBF or Voters Organized to Elect&nbsp;Farm&nbsp;Bureau&nbsp;Friends. Since inception of the PAC in 1993, endorsed candidates have prevailed in 90% of their elections.“Kansas farmers and ranchers are the backbone of our state, and I’m committed to ensuring their voices are heard in Washington,” Davids said. “I’ll continue working to support our agricultural economy and the hardworking families who make it thrive.”In the spring, Davids joined with former U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kansas, to host U.S. Department of Agriculture Deputy Secretary Xochitl Torres Small for discussion of challenges facing Kansas’ crop and animal producers. Roberts and Davids said during the event that Congress should overcome partisan disputes to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill reauthorizing federal financial programs for U.S. agriculture.The 2018 law expired in 2023, but was extended for one year to allow for negotiations in the House and Senate. No deal has been reached since September 2023, and the existing law could be renewed for another year given budget disputes and election-year politics.Reddy, who didn’t respond to a request for comment about the Farm Bureau PAC’s endorsement, said in May that he disagreed with Davids’ vote against a GOP-sponsored version of the Farm Bill that was introduced to the House Agriculture Committee.“It’s a betrayal of Kansas farmers and ranchers,” Reddy said, “but that’s what you can expect from a professional politician who puts party leaders before common sense.”Mann, the 1st District representative who also serves on the House Agriculture Committee, voted for the bill rejected by Davids. His represents the third-largest agriculture producing congressional district in the United States.

Kansas Farm Bureau’s PAC endorses Democrat in 3rd District congressional campaign

JOHNSON COUNTY—Authorities are investigating the cause of an apartment fire in Kansas.

Crews responded overnight to the fire at the London Square Apartments, 62nd and Robinson in Overland Park, according to a social media report from the fire department.&nbsp;

No injuries reported.&nbsp; Occupants of 16 units are displaced. Red Cross assisting those residents.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725797955156.png" alt="Photos Overland Park Fire Department" />
 <figcaption>Photos Overland Park Fire Department</figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSON COUNTY—Authorities are investigating the cause of an apartment fire in Kansas.Crews responded overnight to the fire at the London Square Apartments, 62nd and Robinson in Overland Park, according to a social media report from the fire department.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725799645797.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>No injuries reported.&nbsp; Occupants of 16 units are displaced. Red Cross assisting those residents.&nbsp;

Residents of 16 apartments displaced after Kansas fire

BARRY COUNTY —One person died in an accident just after 4p.m. Saturday in Barry County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a&nbsp;2021 ASIS 500 Side by Side driven by Douglas W. Holley, 80, Shell Knob, was northbound on Stallion Bluff Road one mile northwest of Shell Knob. A tree fell on the vehicle

A passenger Penny A. Hons, 80, Richmond, Texas, was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Fohn Funeral Home.&nbsp; EMS transported Holley to Mercy Cassville.&nbsp;

BARRY COUNTY —One person died in an accident just after 4p.m. Saturday in Barry County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a&nbsp;2021 ASIS 500 Side by Side driven by Douglas W. Holley, 80, Shell Knob, was northbound on Stallion Bluff Road one mile northwest of Shell Knob. A tree fell on the vehicleA passenger Penny A. Hons, 80, Richmond, Texas, was pronounced dead at the scene and was transported to Fohn Funeral Home.&nbsp; EMS transported Holley to Mercy Cassville.&nbsp;

Woman dies, man injured after tree falls on UTV

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Kansas First District Congressman Tracey Mann was in Hutchinson on Saturday at the Kansas State Fair, and he talked to Hutch Post about the work that still needs to be done before the end of the federal fiscal year on Sept. 30.

"We go back for votes in D.C. this week," Mann said. "The House is in session the next three weeks here in September. It looks like there is momentum to do some kind of an extension. We'll know a lot more once we get to Washington D.C. this week and talk about what the plan is and what we do to fund the government moving forward."

Also up at the end of the fiscal year is the extension to the five-year farm bill that has now gone through a sixth, will it see a seventh? Quite possibly, according to Mann.

"I've been frustrated at how slow this farm bill process has been," Mann said. "I've been to the floor 33 times imploring members of Congress to get serious about getting a five-year farm bill done. It looks like, potentially, there'll be an extension. The House passed a really good version out of the House Ag Committee, that still needs to go to the floor and we need to conference with the Senate. Unfortunately, there's still a long way to go on the farm bill."

The political question is will the House Ag Committee continue under Republican control of the gavel? In other words, will Republicans still be in the House majority come January 2025?

"We're going to find out in November," Mann said. "Elections have consequences. It sure seems like Republicans are going to continue to have the majority in the House. I'm optimistic they will in the Senate as well, and win the White House, but we'll have to see what happens in November."

The most likely scenario at this point for all of this pending work is that it gets extended until at least the next Congress is seated, so that those who have tough elections on both sides of the aisle can come home and campaign.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725719231298.jpeg" alt="The sun rises on the Kansas State Fairgrounds on Saturday, September 7, 2024. Photo by Nick Gosnell." />
 <figcaption>The sun rises on the Kansas State Fairgrounds on Saturday, September 7, 2024. Photo by Nick Gosnell.</figcaption>
 </figure>NICK GOSNELL Hutch PostHUTCHINSON, Kan. — Kansas First District Congressman Tracey Mann was in Hutchinson on Saturday at the Kansas State Fair, and he talked to Hutch Post about the work that still needs to be done before the end of the federal fiscal year on Sept. 30."We go back for votes in D.C. this week," Mann said. "The House is in session the next three weeks here in September. It looks like there is momentum to do some kind of an extension. We'll know a lot more once we get to Washington D.C. this week and talk about what the plan is and what we do to fund the government moving forward."Also up at the end of the fiscal year is the extension to the five-year farm bill that has now gone through a sixth, will it see a seventh? Quite possibly, according to Mann."I've been frustrated at how slow this farm bill process has been," Mann said. "I've been to the floor 33 times imploring members of Congress to get serious about getting a five-year farm bill done. It looks like, potentially, there'll be an extension. The House passed a really good version out of the House Ag Committee, that still needs to go to the floor and we need to conference with the Senate. Unfortunately, there's still a long way to go on the farm bill."The political question is will the House Ag Committee continue under Republican control of the gavel? In other words, will Republicans still be in the House majority come January 2025?"We're going to find out in November," Mann said. "Elections have consequences. It sure seems like Republicans are going to continue to have the majority in the House. I'm optimistic they will in the Senate as well, and win the White House, but we'll have to see what happens in November."The most likely scenario at this point for all of this pending work is that it gets extended until at least the next Congress is seated, so that those who have tough elections on both sides of the aisle can come home and campaign.

Rep. Mann discusses farm bill issues at the Kansas State Fair

KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man faces multiple felony charges for a series of crimes on August 21, in the&nbsp; area of the 3300 block of Linwood Boulevard in Kansas City, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.

<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2414/LJohnsonRedacted">Click here to read t</a>he charging documents.

Lorenzo Johnson, 31, faces Murder in the 2nd Degree, Robbery in the 1st Degree, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Resisting Arrest and three Armed Criminal Action charges.

According to court records, on the evening of Aug. 21, Kansas City Police Department officers were dispatched to a shooting at the BP Gas Station in the 3300 block of Linwood Blvd. Officers found the victim at the gas pumps. He had been wounded by a gunshot and Johnson then backed the victim's car over him.

The Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide. Hours earlier the suspect had committed robberies in the area. Johnson took the victim's vehicle after the shooting. Officers later forced the stolen vehicle off the road while the suspect was driving. He attempted to flee on foot and officers took him into custody. He had the victim's vehicle title in his pocket. Johnson remains in custody and is being held on no bond.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1724866518643.png" alt="Johnson photo Jackson Co." />
 <figcaption>Johnson photo Jackson Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man faces multiple felony charges for a series of crimes on August 21, in the&nbsp; area of the 3300 block of Linwood Boulevard in Kansas City, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2414/LJohnsonRedacted">Click here to read t</a>he charging documents.Lorenzo Johnson, 31, faces Murder in the 2nd Degree, Robbery in the 1st Degree, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Resisting Arrest and three Armed Criminal Action charges.According to court records, on the evening of Aug. 21, Kansas City Police Department officers were dispatched to a shooting at the BP Gas Station in the 3300 block of Linwood Blvd. Officers found the victim at the gas pumps. He had been wounded by a gunshot and Johnson then backed the victim's car over him.The Medical Examiner ruled the death a homicide. Hours earlier the suspect had committed robberies in the area. Johnson took the victim's vehicle after the shooting. Officers later forced the stolen vehicle off the road while the suspect was driving. He attempted to flee on foot and officers took him into custody. He had the victim's vehicle title in his pocket. Johnson remains in custody and is being held on no bond.

KC robbery suspect shot and then backed car over victim at gas station

EDITOR'S NOTE: On Monday police updated the information.&nbsp; Michael Sanchez is 47-year-old not 35 as they originally reported.

SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a homicide in Topeka have identified the victim as 47-year-old Michael Sanchez, according to Topeka Police Lieutenant Ronnie Connell.

Just before 9a.m. Friday, police responded to the 1300 block of SW Western in Topeka on a report of an individual down, according to Police Lt. Matt Danielson.

First responders located Sanchez suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced deceased on scene. 

Police have not reported any suspect details or reported an arrest.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725645926163.png" alt="Police on the scene of the investigation-Photo Courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Police on the scene of the investigation-Photo Courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>EDITOR'S NOTE: On Monday police updated the information.&nbsp; Michael Sanchez is 47-year-old not 35 as they originally reported.----------------SHAWNEE COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a homicide in Topeka have identified the victim as 47-year-old Michael Sanchez, according to Topeka Police Lieutenant Ronnie Connell.Just before 9a.m. Friday, police responded to the 1300 block of SW Western in Topeka on a report of an individual down, according to Police Lt. Matt Danielson.First responders located Sanchez suffering from gunshot wounds. He was pronounced deceased on scene. Police have not reported any suspect details or reported an arrest.&nbsp;

Police ID man who died in shooting outside Kansas home

HUTCHINSON —Kansas State Highway Patrol troopers are busy at the Kansas State Fair.

On Friday night troopers responded to a subject brandishing a weapon on the fairgrounds, according to a social media report from Trooper Tod Hileman.

The subject was placed under arrest for being a felon in possession of a firearm and for possession of a firearm while intoxicated.&nbsp; The KHP released no additional details including the name of the suspect.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725735460237.png" alt="Photo KHP" />
 <figcaption>Photo KHP</figcaption>
 </figure>HUTCHINSON —Kansas State Highway Patrol troopers are busy at the Kansas State Fair.On Friday night troopers responded to a subject brandishing a weapon on the fairgrounds, according to a social media report from Trooper Tod Hileman.The subject was placed under arrest for being a felon in possession of a firearm and for possession of a firearm while intoxicated.&nbsp; The KHP released no additional details including the name of the suspect.

KHP makes gun arrest at the Kansas State Fair 

SEDGWICK COUNTY- A Kansas will be sentenced next month for her role in a deadly shooting outside of a Wichita strip club.

Last week, a jury found 33-year-old Autumn Metcalf guilty of first-degree murder and solicitation to commit first-degree murder in the death of 33-year-old Joe Wheeler III, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney' office.

In August of 2020, police responded to a shooting at Baby Dolls in the 4900 Block of North Arkansas in&nbsp; Wichita and found Wheeler dead in his vehicle,&nbsp;according to Wichita Police Captain Jason Stephens.

Investigators learned there was a disturbance in the club that spilled out into the parking lot.  Wheeler was shot while inside his car which was parked in the back business parking area, according to Stephens.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/9/1664314804304.png" alt="Metcalf-photo Sedgwick County" />
 <figcaption>Metcalf-photo Sedgwick County</figcaption>
 </figure>SEDGWICK COUNTY- A Kansas will be sentenced next month for her role in a deadly shooting outside of a Wichita strip club.Last week, a jury found 33-year-old Autumn Metcalf guilty of first-degree murder and solicitation to commit first-degree murder in the death of 33-year-old Joe Wheeler III, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney' office.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725719889284.png" alt="-Police on the scene of the Aug. 2020 shooting investigation outside a Wichita night club-photo courtesy KWCH" />
 <figcaption>-Police on the scene of the Aug. 2020 shooting investigation outside a Wichita night club-photo courtesy KWCH</figcaption>
 </figure>In August of 2020, police responded to a shooting at Baby Dolls in the 4900 Block of North Arkansas in&nbsp; Wichita and found Wheeler dead in his vehicle,&nbsp;according to Wichita Police Captain Jason Stephens.Investigators learned there was a disturbance in the club that spilled out into the parking lot. Wheeler was shot while inside his car which was parked in the back business parking area, according to Stephens.&nbsp;

Jury: Kansas woman guilty in killing outside gentlemen’s club 

Kansas Chamber hosts candidate forum as general election heats up

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/"></a><a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Second congressional district candidate Derek Schmidt said this could be a moment in American history when Congress could effectively push back against explosive growth in federal regulation.

Schmidt, a former Kansas attorney general who won the Republican nomination for the open seat, said serious people didn’t argue for elimination of federal agencies or for an end to government regulation. However, he said recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions throttling power of the federal bureaucracy presented an opportunity for Congress to take action to contain power of unelected officials in Washington, D.C.

“Here’s the bottom line: There is a moment to deal with this over-regulation problem that I think is enormous. I hear it everywhere I go in the 2nd District. Took us generations to get it. It’s not going to be headline-grabbing. It’s going to be down in the weeds, roll up your sleeves, do the dirty work of oversight,” Schmidt said.

Schmidt took part in a Kansas Chamber candidate forum Wednesday along with five other major party candidates for Congress. All four GOP nominees and two of four Democratic Party nominees participated in the question-and-answer program. U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, the 3rd District Democrat, didn’t attend. Nor did the Democrat running against U.S. Rep. Ron Estes of the 4th District in Wichita. Libertarian Party candidates for Congress didn’t take part.

Former U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda, who captured the Democratic nomination in the 2nd District of eastern Kansas, spoke before her rival Schmidt closed out the event. But Boyda also argued the nation could no longer let fester a persistent problem — the relentless partisanship and division damaging the nation.

“We have so much broken trust. We are so divided,” said Boyda, who cast herself as a political centrist. “I can get the right and the left to speak to each other. That’s just what I’ve been about for 20 years.”

Boyda told members of the Kansas Chamber in the audience that they wouldn’t be fulfilling their roles if they didn’t put pressure on the Kansas congressional delegation to work in a bipartisan manner on behalf of Kansans. She made her point personal, suggesting U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann, a Salina Republican who serves the 1st District, had to find common ground with Democrats in a quest to improve the lives of Kansans.

“Tracey, I expect you to work with me. I expect you to work together, and very visibly. And it will cost you politically and it will cost me,” she said.

Mann, who easily won the 1st District’s GOP nomination, said his attention was focused on underhanded acts by China, the $35 trillion U.S. federal debt and the nation’s drift away from fundamental values of “faith, family and hard work, personal responsibility.” He said the federal government had to create a safe national border and place emphasis on “innovation and not regulation.”

“We have a lot of work to do to get this country back on track,” said Mann, who serves a district ranking No. 3 nationally in terms of agriculture commerce. “I’ve been very frustrated, very vocal with this (Biden) administration’s lack of focus on trade. We’ve got to think about who should our trading partners be in 2040 and 2050, and working to build those relationships today to be less beholden to China and other countries that wish us ill.”

Mann said the Big First included 60 of the state’s 105 counties, and there were more hospitals — 58 — in his U.S. House district than any other district in Congress.

“In the western part of the state,” Mann said, “our hospitals are struggling. This is a problem today. It’s about to become a huge problem.”

He didn’t endorse expansion of eligibility for Medicaid in Kansas, which would add more than 100,000 lower-income people to the joint federal-state health care program and unleash hundreds of millions of dollars annually in federal funding for preventive health care that would have an impact on the bottom line of hospitals. The congressman did argue against the federal government imposing staff mandates on rural hospitals.

First District Democratic nominee Paul Buskirk, who worked for decades in academic counseling of students at University of Kansas, said his conversations with registered Republicans, Democrats and independents revealed deep frustration with the inability of Congress to do its fundamental job.

“They’ve lost sight of that call to service,” Buskirk said. “Politicians tell us what we want to hear. Leaders tell us what we need to know.”

Buskirk said the most important business issue of 2024 was the pledge by GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump to identify, arrest and deport everyone not legally in the United States. He said one estimate put the number of people living without proper documentation in Kansas at 62,000, but he speculated the total could be twice that figure. He said withdrawing thousands of immigrants from the state’s labor force would cause an economic calamity, especially in the southwest Kansas livestock and meatpacking industry.

“The leader of that (GOP) party believes that they can create more unity out of finding an enemy,” he said. “That could not be more ludicrous.”

Physician Prasanth Reddy, the Republican nominee in the 3rd District, said his experience immigrating to the United States from India as a child left him “very much pro-immigration.” He’s running against Davids, the incumbent.

“Immigrants are the driving engine of this country, right? We are a melting pot,” he said. “The question is: What’s the right policy? The folks who are doing it the right way (legally) are being punished, and we’re letting people kind of jump in line. We got to do better right now for the needs of this country. Work programs, right? Amnesty is not a solution. Geographic convenience shouldn’t be a moral argument for amnest either.”

Estes, the 4th District incumbent, said he filed to run for another two-year term because he was frustrated with the surging federal debt and excessive annual overspending. He said Congress had to make difficult decisions about expenditures on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps.

“At the spending level that we’re at right now, one out of every four dollars that the federal government spends is borrowed. That equates to about $80,000 a second that is being borrowed. We’re borrowing more than the median income of a Kansas household,” he said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725648365265.png" alt=" Former Kansas Attorney General and current Republican nominee for the 2nd District seat in Congress Derek Schmidt, right, said during a Kansas Chamber forum on Wednesday there was a window of opportunity for elected officials in Washington to crack down on the growing federal bureaucracy. He faces Democrat Nancy Boyda in the November general election to decide who replaces retiring U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, R-Kansas. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Former Kansas Attorney General and current Republican nominee for the 2nd District seat in Congress Derek Schmidt, right, said during a Kansas Chamber forum on Wednesday there was a window of opportunity for elected officials in Washington to crack down on the growing federal bureaucracy. He faces Democrat Nancy Boyda in the November general election to decide who replaces retiring U.S. Rep. Jake LaTurner, R-Kansas. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Kansas Chamber hosts candidate forum as general election heats up</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/"></a><a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Second congressional district candidate Derek Schmidt said this could be a moment in American history when Congress could effectively push back against explosive growth in federal regulation.Schmidt, a former Kansas attorney general who won the Republican nomination for the open seat, said serious people didn’t argue for elimination of federal agencies or for an end to government regulation. However, he said recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions throttling power of the federal bureaucracy presented an opportunity for Congress to take action to contain power of unelected officials in Washington, D.C.“Here’s the bottom line: There is a moment to deal with this over-regulation problem that I think is enormous. I hear it everywhere I go in the 2nd District. Took us generations to get it. It’s not going to be headline-grabbing. It’s going to be down in the weeds, roll up your sleeves, do the dirty work of oversight,” Schmidt said.Schmidt took part in a Kansas Chamber candidate forum Wednesday along with five other major party candidates for Congress. All four GOP nominees and two of four Democratic Party nominees participated in the question-and-answer program. U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, the 3rd District Democrat, didn’t attend. Nor did the Democrat running against U.S. Rep. Ron Estes of the 4th District in Wichita. Libertarian Party candidates for Congress didn’t take part.Former U.S. Rep. Nancy Boyda, who captured the Democratic nomination in the 2nd District of eastern Kansas, spoke before her rival Schmidt closed out the event. But Boyda also argued the nation could no longer let fester a persistent problem — the relentless partisanship and division damaging the nation.“We have so much broken trust. We are so divided,” said Boyda, who cast herself as a political centrist. “I can get the right and the left to speak to each other. That’s just what I’ve been about for 20 years.”Boyda told members of the Kansas Chamber in the audience that they wouldn’t be fulfilling their roles if they didn’t put pressure on the Kansas congressional delegation to work in a bipartisan manner on behalf of Kansans. She made her point personal, suggesting U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann, a Salina Republican who serves the 1st District, had to find common ground with Democrats in a quest to improve the lives of Kansans.“Tracey, I expect you to work with me. I expect you to work together, and very visibly. And it will cost you politically and it will cost me,” she said.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725648323773.png" alt=" Paul Buskirk, a Lawrence Democrat seeking to unseat U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann, R-Kansas, in the 1st District said during a Kansas Chamber event Wednesday the plan by former President Donald Trump to deport millions of people in the United States illegally was impractical and would significantly harm the Kansas economy. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Paul Buskirk, a Lawrence Democrat seeking to unseat U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann, R-Kansas, in the 1st District said during a Kansas Chamber event Wednesday the plan by former President Donald Trump to deport millions of people in the United States illegally was impractical and would significantly harm the Kansas economy. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Mann frets about hospitals</h2>Mann, who easily won the 1st District’s GOP nomination, said his attention was focused on underhanded acts by China, the $35 trillion U.S. federal debt and the nation’s drift away from fundamental values of “faith, family and hard work, personal responsibility.” He said the federal government had to create a safe national border and place emphasis on “innovation and not regulation.”“We have a lot of work to do to get this country back on track,” said Mann, who serves a district ranking No. 3 nationally in terms of agriculture commerce. “I’ve been very frustrated, very vocal with this (Biden) administration’s lack of focus on trade. We’ve got to think about who should our trading partners be in 2040 and 2050, and working to build those relationships today to be less beholden to China and other countries that wish us ill.”Mann said the Big First included 60 of the state’s 105 counties, and there were more hospitals — 58 — in his U.S. House district than any other district in Congress.“In the western part of the state,” Mann said, “our hospitals are struggling. This is a problem today. It’s about to become a huge problem.”He didn’t endorse expansion of eligibility for Medicaid in Kansas, which would add more than 100,000 lower-income people to the joint federal-state health care program and unleash hundreds of millions of dollars annually in federal funding for preventive health care that would have an impact on the bottom line of hospitals. The congressman did argue against the federal government imposing staff mandates on rural hospitals.First District Democratic nominee Paul Buskirk, who worked for decades in academic counseling of students at University of Kansas, said his conversations with registered Republicans, Democrats and independents revealed deep frustration with the inability of Congress to do its fundamental job.“They’ve lost sight of that call to service,” Buskirk said. “Politicians tell us what we want to hear. Leaders tell us what we need to know.”Buskirk said the most important business issue of 2024 was the pledge by GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump to identify, arrest and deport everyone not legally in the United States. He said one estimate put the number of people living without proper documentation in Kansas at 62,000, but he speculated the total could be twice that figure. He said withdrawing thousands of immigrants from the state’s labor force would cause an economic calamity, especially in the southwest Kansas livestock and meatpacking industry.“The leader of that (GOP) party believes that they can create more unity out of finding an enemy,” he said. “That could not be more ludicrous.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725648283707.png" alt=" Republican 3rd District nominee Prasanth Reddy, who immigrated to the United States as a child, said during a Kansas Chamber forum Wednesday that Congress had a duty to embrace immigration policy that respected economic potential of people seeking to legally reside in the United States and avoided simplistic solutions that equated to amnesty for people in the country without permission. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Republican 3rd District nominee Prasanth Reddy, who immigrated to the United States as a child, said during a Kansas Chamber forum Wednesday that Congress had a duty to embrace immigration policy that respected economic potential of people seeking to legally reside in the United States and avoided simplistic solutions that equated to amnesty for people in the country without permission. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>‘Amnesty is not a solution’</h2>Physician Prasanth Reddy, the Republican nominee in the 3rd District, said his experience immigrating to the United States from India as a child left him “very much pro-immigration.” He’s running against Davids, the incumbent.“Immigrants are the driving engine of this country, right? We are a melting pot,” he said. “The question is: What’s the right policy? The folks who are doing it the right way (legally) are being punished, and we’re letting people kind of jump in line. We got to do better right now for the needs of this country. Work programs, right? Amnesty is not a solution. Geographic convenience shouldn’t be a moral argument for amnest either.”Estes, the 4th District incumbent, said he filed to run for another two-year term because he was frustrated with the surging federal debt and excessive annual overspending. He said Congress had to make difficult decisions about expenditures on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and food stamps.“At the spending level that we’re at right now, one out of every four dollars that the federal government spends is borrowed. That equates to about $80,000 a second that is being borrowed. We’re borrowing more than the median income of a Kansas household,” he said.

Kansas congressional forum: Schmidt vows to tackle bureaucracy, Boyda calls for bipartisanship

KANSAS CITY —Authorities are investigating a fatal house fire in Kansas City.

Just before 11:30p.m. Friday, crews&nbsp;responded to a reported house fire in the 5700 block of Bales in Kansas City, according to Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins.&nbsp; First responders reported smoke and fire showing from the front of the home.

 The fire was quickly brought under control. During the search of the home, crews discovered the body of a man. Kansas City police homicide detectives were notified and responded to investigate.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The investigation will be handled by the Kansas City Police Department with assistance from bomb and arson investigators. Police released no additional details early Saturday.

KANSAS CITY —Authorities are investigating a fatal house fire in Kansas City.Just before 11:30p.m. Friday, crews&nbsp;responded to a reported house fire in the 5700 block of Bales in Kansas City, according to Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins.&nbsp; First responders reported smoke and fire showing from the front of the home. The fire was quickly brought under control. During the search of the home, crews discovered the body of a man. Kansas City police homicide detectives were notified and responded to investigate.&nbsp;&nbsp;The investigation will be handled by the Kansas City Police Department with assistance from bomb and arson investigators. Police released no additional details early Saturday.

Body of a man found in Kansas City house fire

The campaign behind the reproductive-rights amendment plans to appeal the decision, and as part of the judge’s stipulations, Amendment 3 will not yet be taken off the ballot

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/annaspoerre/">ANNA SPOERRE</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>

A Missouri judge ruled Friday evening that a reproductive-rights amendment&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/09/06/judge-decides-abortion-amendment-3-missouri-ballot/">did not comply with state initiative petition requirements,</a>&nbsp;leaving the door open to potentially withhold it from the November ballot.&nbsp;

Cole County Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh ruled that the coalition behind the citizen-led ballot measure failed to meet the sufficiency requirement through a “failure to include any statute or provision that will be repealed, especially when many of these statutes are apparent.”

A spokesperson for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the campaign behind the reproductive-rights amendment, said they plan to appeal.&nbsp;

Limbaugh also wrote that while he found a “blatant violation” of state law, he “recognizes the gravity of the unique issues involved in this case, and the lack of direct precedent on point.”&nbsp;

As a result, he won’t issue an injunction preventing the amendment from being printed on the ballot until Tuesday to allow time for “further guidance or rulings” from the appeals court.&nbsp;

The constitutional deadline for ballots to be printed is Tuesday.&nbsp;

<a href="https://moconstitutionalfreedom.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Missourians-for-Constitutional-Freedom-Amendment.pdf" target="_blank">Amendment 3&nbsp;</a>would establish the constitutional right to an abortion up until fetal viability and grant constitutional protections to other reproductive health care, including in-vitro fertilization and birth control. It would also protect those who assist in an abortion from prosecution.&nbsp;

“The court’s decision to block Amendment 3 from appearing on the ballot is a profound injustice to the initiative petition process,” Rachel Sweet, campaign manager with Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, said in a statement. “And undermines the rights of the<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/08/13/missouri-voters-will-decide-whether-to-legalize-abortion-in-november/">&nbsp;380,000 Missourians who signed our petition&nbsp;</a>demanding a voice on this critical issue.

The lawsuit was filed two weeks ago by a group of anti-abortion lawmakers and activists against Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/08/13/missouri-voters-will-decide-whether-to-legalize-abortion-in-november/">certified the citizen-led ballot initiative for the Nov. 5 ballot&nbsp;&nbsp;</a>nine days earlier. The group is arguing that the initiative should never have been allowed on the ballot.

The plaintiffs — state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, state Rep. Hannah Kelly, anti-abortion activist Kathy Forck and shelter operator Marguerite Forrest — said in a statement Friday evening that the amendment’s scope is “staggering.”&nbsp;

“Missourians have a constitutional right to know what laws their votes would overturn before deciding to sign initiative petitions,” they said. “Amendment 3 isn’t just about abortion.”

The plaintiffs were represented in court by Mary Catherine Martin, an attorney with the Thomas More Society who&nbsp;argued during a brief bench trial Friday morning that the campaign behind the amendment fell short of the law by failing to list the specific laws or constitutional provisions which would be repealed if the amendment is approved by voters.&nbsp;

Missouri law requires that initiative petitions&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=116.050#:~:text=116.050.,pages%20of%20a%20uniform%20size." target="_blank">“include all sections of existing law or of the constitution which would be repealed by the measure.”&nbsp;</a>

“No one disputes,” she said, “one of its primary purposes and effects is to repeal Missouri’s ban on abortion.”&nbsp;

Speculation isn’t necessary to come to this conclusion, Martin said, pointing to the ballot summary which reads, in part, that a yes vote would<a href="https://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/petitions/2024BallotMeasures" target="_blank">&nbsp;“remove Missouri’s ban on abortion.”</a>

Loretta Haggard, an attorney representing the campaign supporting the amendment, said that while the amendment would supersede existing law, it would not erase it from the current constitutional text, and therefore would not truly repeal the current statute.&nbsp;

She told the judge in court that this is because the two texts do have some overlapping similarities: both protect women who get abortions from prosecution and both restrict abortion after the point of fetal viability.&nbsp;

Fetal viability is an undefined period of time generally seen as the point in which the fetus could survive outside the womb on its own, generally around 24 weeks, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.&nbsp;&nbsp;

When it comes to everything else, Haggard said, the amendment would leave the current law to be interpreted through the lens of the new law, meaning any restrictions implemented by the government on abortion prior to fetal viability will have to withstand strict scrutiny in court to remain. She ventured that most of Missouir’s current restrictions would not survive for this reason.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/9/1725707612193.png" alt=" Mary Catherine Martin, an attorney with the Thomas Moore Society, represented a group of Missouri anti-abortion lawmakers and activists Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, during a trial at the Cole County Courthouse (Anna Spoerre/Missouri Independent)." />
 <figcaption> Mary Catherine Martin, an attorney with the Thomas Moore Society, represented a group of Missouri anti-abortion lawmakers and activists Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, during a trial at the Cole County Courthouse (Anna Spoerre/Missouri Independent).</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>The campaign behind the reproductive-rights amendment plans to appeal the decision, and as part of the judge’s stipulations, Amendment 3 will not yet be taken off the ballot</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/annaspoerre/">ANNA SPOERRE</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>A Missouri judge ruled Friday evening that a reproductive-rights amendment&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/09/06/judge-decides-abortion-amendment-3-missouri-ballot/">did not comply with state initiative petition requirements,</a>&nbsp;leaving the door open to potentially withhold it from the November ballot.&nbsp;Cole County Circuit Judge Christopher Limbaugh ruled that the coalition behind the citizen-led ballot measure failed to meet the sufficiency requirement through a “failure to include any statute or provision that will be repealed, especially when many of these statutes are apparent.”A spokesperson for Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, the campaign behind the reproductive-rights amendment, said they plan to appeal.&nbsp;Limbaugh also wrote that while he found a “blatant violation” of state law, he “recognizes the gravity of the unique issues involved in this case, and the lack of direct precedent on point.”&nbsp;As a result, he won’t issue an injunction preventing the amendment from being printed on the ballot until Tuesday to allow time for “further guidance or rulings” from the appeals court.&nbsp;The constitutional deadline for ballots to be printed is Tuesday.&nbsp;<a href="https://moconstitutionalfreedom.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Missourians-for-Constitutional-Freedom-Amendment.pdf" target="_blank">Amendment 3&nbsp;</a>would establish the constitutional right to an abortion up until fetal viability and grant constitutional protections to other reproductive health care, including in-vitro fertilization and birth control. It would also protect those who assist in an abortion from prosecution.&nbsp;“The court’s decision to block Amendment 3 from appearing on the ballot is a profound injustice to the initiative petition process,” Rachel Sweet, campaign manager with Missourians for Constitutional Freedom, said in a statement. “And undermines the rights of the<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/08/13/missouri-voters-will-decide-whether-to-legalize-abortion-in-november/">&nbsp;380,000 Missourians who signed our petition&nbsp;</a>demanding a voice on this critical issue.The lawsuit was filed two weeks ago by a group of anti-abortion lawmakers and activists against Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, who&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/08/13/missouri-voters-will-decide-whether-to-legalize-abortion-in-november/">certified the citizen-led ballot initiative for the Nov. 5 ballot&nbsp;&nbsp;</a>nine days earlier. The group is arguing that the initiative should never have been allowed on the ballot.The plaintiffs — state Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, state Rep. Hannah Kelly, anti-abortion activist Kathy Forck and shelter operator Marguerite Forrest — said in a statement Friday evening that the amendment’s scope is “staggering.”&nbsp;“Missourians have a constitutional right to know what laws their votes would overturn before deciding to sign initiative petitions,” they said. “Amendment 3 isn’t just about abortion.”The plaintiffs were represented in court by Mary Catherine Martin, an attorney with the Thomas More Society who&nbsp;argued during a brief bench trial Friday morning that the campaign behind the amendment fell short of the law by failing to list the specific laws or constitutional provisions which would be repealed if the amendment is approved by voters.&nbsp;Missouri law requires that initiative petitions&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=116.050#:~:text=116.050.,pages%20of%20a%20uniform%20size." target="_blank">“include all sections of existing law or of the constitution which would be repealed by the measure.”&nbsp;</a>“No one disputes,” she said, “one of its primary purposes and effects is to repeal Missouri’s ban on abortion.”&nbsp;Speculation isn’t necessary to come to this conclusion, Martin said, pointing to the ballot summary which reads, in part, that a yes vote would<a href="https://www.sos.mo.gov/elections/petitions/2024BallotMeasures" target="_blank">&nbsp;“remove Missouri’s ban on abortion.”</a>Loretta Haggard, an attorney representing the campaign supporting the amendment, said that while the amendment would supersede existing law, it would not erase it from the current constitutional text, and therefore would not truly repeal the current statute.&nbsp;She told the judge in court that this is because the two texts do have some overlapping similarities: both protect women who get abortions from prosecution and both restrict abortion after the point of fetal viability.&nbsp;Fetal viability is an undefined period of time generally seen as the point in which the fetus could survive outside the womb on its own, generally around 24 weeks, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.&nbsp;&nbsp;When it comes to everything else, Haggard said, the amendment would leave the current law to be interpreted through the lens of the new law, meaning any restrictions implemented by the government on abortion prior to fetal viability will have to withstand strict scrutiny in court to remain. She ventured that most of Missouir’s current restrictions would not survive for this reason.Ultimately, Limbaugh sided with the plaintiffs, writing that the page attached to the initiative petition forms “included no disclaimer or any equivalent to a disclaimer.”&nbsp;“In fact,” he concluded. “The full and correct text failed to identify any ‘sections of existing law or of the constitution which would be repealed by the measure.’”