WASHINGTON —The White House on Monday opened a weeklong celebration of&nbsp;Donald Trump’s&nbsp;first 100 days in office.&nbsp; Kansas lawmakers used social media to recognize the President's accomplishments.

President&nbsp;Donald Trump&nbsp;is holding&nbsp;a rally in Michigan&nbsp;on Tuesday to mark&nbsp;the first 100 days&nbsp;of his second term.

WASHINGTON —The White House on Monday opened a weeklong celebration of&nbsp;Donald Trump’s&nbsp;first 100 days in office.&nbsp; Kansas lawmakers used social media to recognize the President's accomplishments.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">A historic 100 Days with <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>! Promises made, promises kept. 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/bj8YPSTzne">pic.twitter.com/bj8YPSTzne</a>&mdash; Rep. Mark Alford (@RepMarkAlford) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepMarkAlford/status/1917199531713630539?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Thank you, President <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@realDonaldTrump</a>, for delivering a historic first 100 days. America is back. 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/4DUNZs9P5L">pic.twitter.com/4DUNZs9P5L</a>&mdash; Dr. Roger Marshall (@RogerMarshallMD) <a href="https://twitter.com/RogerMarshallMD/status/1917210222059261987?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">The most underrated win of President Trumps first 100 days: Ending the war on plastic straws. <a href="https://t.co/Mv3H2ZRSeM">pic.twitter.com/Mv3H2ZRSeM</a>&mdash; Rep. Eric Burlison (@RepEricBurlison) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepEricBurlison/status/1916924648366674228?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">President Trump’s first 100 days in office have been 100 days of promises made, promises kept. He promised to secure our borders, defend American workers, and lower inflation, and has done just that.&mdash; Rep. Jason Smith (@RepJasonSmith) <a href="https://twitter.com/RepJasonSmith/status/1917182861817577965?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 29, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>President&nbsp;Donald Trump&nbsp;is holding&nbsp;a rally in Michigan&nbsp;on Tuesday to mark&nbsp;the first 100 days&nbsp;of his second term.

Missouri lawmakers celebrate Trump's first 100 days in office

RENO COUNTY — Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire that destroyed a two-story brick home in rural Reno County on Tuesday, according to Reno County Emergency Management.

Just before 1a.m., Reno County Fire Districts 8, 9 and Pretty Prairie Fire were dispatched to the 8800 block of South K-14, where the house was reported fully engulfed in flames. The response was quickly upgraded, with additional crews from Fire Districts 3, 4, 6 and the Hutchinson Fire Department called to assist.

Reno County EMS provided firefighter rehabilitation on scene. The Reno County Sheriff’s Office, South Hutchinson Police Department and the Kansas Department of Transportation assisted with traffic control, closing K-14 for several hours to allow for a water shuttle operation.

No injuries were reported. The home is a total loss.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1745953342309.jpeg" alt="&nbsp;Photo Reno County Emergency Management&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>&nbsp;Photo Reno County Emergency Management&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>RENO COUNTY — Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire that destroyed a two-story brick home in rural Reno County on Tuesday, according to Reno County Emergency Management.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1745953220453.jpeg" alt="A home in Reno County is a complete loss following a fire early on Tuesday morning - Photo Reno County Emergency Management&nbsp;" />
 <figcaption>A home in Reno County is a complete loss following a fire early on Tuesday morning - Photo Reno County Emergency Management&nbsp;</figcaption>
 </figure>Just before 1a.m., Reno County Fire Districts 8, 9 and Pretty Prairie Fire were dispatched to the 8800 block of South K-14, where the house was reported fully engulfed in flames. The response was quickly upgraded, with additional crews from Fire Districts 3, 4, 6 and the Hutchinson Fire Department called to assist.Reno County EMS provided firefighter rehabilitation on scene. The Reno County Sheriff’s Office, South Hutchinson Police Department and the Kansas Department of Transportation assisted with traffic control, closing K-14 for several hours to allow for a water shuttle operation.No injuries were reported. The home is a total loss.

Fire destroys 2-story rural Kansas brick home

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement are investigating another homicide in Kansas City, Missouri.

&nbsp;Just before 6p.m. Monday, police were dispatched to a shooting at 9th and Prospect, according to&nbsp;Officer Alayna Gonzalez.

Officers arrived on scene in less than one minute, and located a victim in&nbsp; a business parking lot suffering from apparent gunshot trauma and unresponsive. EMS transported the man to an area hospital with critical injuries. Officers received an update from the hospital the victim had died of his injuries.

Preliminary information provided to officers indicated multiple individuals entered the store and were involved in a physical altercation with another man that ultimately resulted in shots being fired. 

Responding officers escorted several bystanders out of the area to safety while canvassing for any potential suspects.Multiple individuals were taken into custody for further questioning. Currently, we are not looking for any additional suspects, according to Gonzalez.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1745922110705.png" alt="Photos Sheriff Daryl Forte'" />
 <figcaption>Photos Sheriff Daryl Forte'</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement are investigating another homicide in Kansas City, Missouri.&nbsp;Just before 6p.m. Monday, police were dispatched to a shooting at 9th and Prospect, according to&nbsp;Officer Alayna Gonzalez.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1745922078887.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure>Officers arrived on scene in less than one minute, and located a victim in&nbsp; a business parking lot suffering from apparent gunshot trauma and unresponsive. EMS transported the man to an area hospital with critical injuries. Officers received an update from the hospital the victim had died of his injuries.Preliminary information provided to officers indicated multiple individuals entered the store and were involved in a physical altercation with another man that ultimately resulted in shots being fired. Responding officers escorted several bystanders out of the area to safety while canvassing for any potential suspects.Multiple individuals were taken into custody for further questioning. Currently, we are not looking for any additional suspects, according to Gonzalez.

Man killed after altercation at business in Kansas City

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Consumers across the U.S. still will be able to buy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ethanol-e15-gasoline-midwest-epa-40550ba65a308617fdc490dcf9e57ad9">higher-ethanol blend E15 gasoline</a>&nbsp;this summer, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday, saving them a little money at the pump but risking potential damage to the air and water.

The emergency waiver issued by the EPA prevents retailers in most states from having to stop selling E15 gasoline on May 1. While the waiver remains in effect only through May 20, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin signaled that he plans to keep issuing waivers through Sept. 15, the date when the federal government typically would allow E15 sales in all states again.

Most gasoline sold across the U.S. is blended with 10% ethanol, but 15% blends are becoming increasingly common, particularly in the Midwest, where most of the nation's corn is grown. E15 gasoline generally costs at least 10 cents less a gallon than E10 gasoline, but the EPA had previously prohibited its sale during the summer over concerns that its use during the summer driving season could increase smog.

But the EPA has relaxed restrictions on E15, granting a series of short-term waivers in 2022, 2023 and 2024 to allow its sale nationwide through the summer. And last year, the EPA&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ethanol-e15-gas-midwest-ba37597f6d1880e31d94180a13299e35">issued a rule</a>&nbsp;allowing year-round sales in eight Midwestern states — Iowa, usually the nation's top corn producer, as well as Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Trump administration officials said Monday's action will lower consumers' costs and give them more choices at the pump while also increasing the demand for corn. They also described it as reducing America's reliance on imported energy.

“Our nation’s great corn growers are critical to helping the U.S. achieve energy independence, which is essential to national security,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement.

While the ethanol industry and Iowa officials praised the EPA's action, the Renewable Fuels Association, a trade group for ethanol producers, argued that Congress should approve legislation allowing year-round E15 sales across the U.S.

“For the economic and energy security benefits of E15 to be fully realized, the marketplace needs long-term certainty,” President and CEO Geoff Cooper said.

The biofuels industry and politicians in both major parties argue that ethanol helps farmers, lowers prices at the pump and reduces greenhouse gas because the fuel burns more cleanly than straight gasoline.

But ethanol consumes about 40% of the nation's corn crop, and environmentalists argue that higher corn production leads to higher use of fertilizers that are a leading source of water pollution.

Zack Pistora, Kansas lobbyist for the Sierra Club, said ethanol plants also use high amounts of water, and states like Kansas are worried about the depletion of aquifers. He said it's “hypocritical” to portray ethanol as environmentally friendly and said the Trump administration should promote renewable energy, electric vehicles, public transportation and sustainable agriculture.

“We need to dramatically reduce our fossil fuel dependence, but relying on corn-based ethanol doesn’t put our country on the path it needs,” Pistora said in an interview.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/12/1640102505306.png" alt="File photo EPA" />
 <figcaption>File photo EPA</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Consumers across the U.S. still will be able to buy&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ethanol-e15-gasoline-midwest-epa-40550ba65a308617fdc490dcf9e57ad9">higher-ethanol blend E15 gasoline</a>&nbsp;this summer, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday, saving them a little money at the pump but risking potential damage to the air and water.<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">GOOD NEWS: The Trump Administration has approved the year-round sale of E15, providing consumers with more options at the pump, new markets for Kansas farmers and bolstering American energy independence. <a href="https://t.co/LwYnMfGwbH">https://t.co/LwYnMfGwbH</a>&mdash; Senator Jerry Moran (@JerryMoran) <a href="https://twitter.com/JerryMoran/status/1916960571238306167?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>The emergency waiver issued by the EPA prevents retailers in most states from having to stop selling E15 gasoline on May 1. While the waiver remains in effect only through May 20, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin signaled that he plans to keep issuing waivers through Sept. 15, the date when the federal government typically would allow E15 sales in all states again.Most gasoline sold across the U.S. is blended with 10% ethanol, but 15% blends are becoming increasingly common, particularly in the Midwest, where most of the nation's corn is grown. E15 gasoline generally costs at least 10 cents less a gallon than E10 gasoline, but the EPA had previously prohibited its sale during the summer over concerns that its use during the summer driving season could increase smog.But the EPA has relaxed restrictions on E15, granting a series of short-term waivers in 2022, 2023 and 2024 to allow its sale nationwide through the summer. And last year, the EPA&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ethanol-e15-gas-midwest-ba37597f6d1880e31d94180a13299e35">issued a rule</a>&nbsp;allowing year-round sales in eight Midwestern states — Iowa, usually the nation's top corn producer, as well as Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.Trump administration officials said Monday's action will lower consumers' costs and give them more choices at the pump while also increasing the demand for corn. They also described it as reducing America's reliance on imported energy.“Our nation’s great corn growers are critical to helping the U.S. achieve energy independence, which is essential to national security,” Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement.While the ethanol industry and Iowa officials praised the EPA's action, the Renewable Fuels Association, a trade group for ethanol producers, argued that Congress should approve legislation allowing year-round E15 sales across the U.S.“For the economic and energy security benefits of E15 to be fully realized, the marketplace needs long-term certainty,” President and CEO Geoff Cooper said.The biofuels industry and politicians in both major parties argue that ethanol helps farmers, lowers prices at the pump and reduces greenhouse gas because the fuel burns more cleanly than straight gasoline.But ethanol consumes about 40% of the nation's corn crop, and environmentalists argue that higher corn production leads to higher use of fertilizers that are a leading source of water pollution.Zack Pistora, Kansas lobbyist for the Sierra Club, said ethanol plants also use high amounts of water, and states like Kansas are worried about the depletion of aquifers. He said it's “hypocritical” to portray ethanol as environmentally friendly and said the Trump administration should promote renewable energy, electric vehicles, public transportation and sustainable agriculture.“We need to dramatically reduce our fossil fuel dependence, but relying on corn-based ethanol doesn’t put our country on the path it needs,” Pistora said in an interview.

Thanks to Sen. Moran's efforts: Cheaper E15 gas available this summer

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/03/kansas-state-garden-city-cc-striving-to-shrink-bachelors-degree-educational-desert/?emci=8e6f56cf-3bca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;emdi=a9416bb1-82ca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;ceid=115039">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Five years ago, Lee Norman was trying to dissuade Kansans from ingesting chemical cleaners to prevent COVID-19, preparing for the end of a statewide stay-at-home order and deciding whether to send tests for everyone in long-term care facilities and prisons.

Norman, then secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, jokes that reflecting on those years is like taking “a walk down bad memory lane.”

“We were meeting 24/7, 365,” Norman said on the Kansas Reflector podcast. “And trying to figure out — without having enough resources, without having (a) vaccine, without having any medications and without having any testing — what the heck we were going to do with this lethal virus that has now landed in the United States.”

Within two years of the first cases in Kansas,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/11/19/lee-norman-steps-down-as-kansas-health-secretary-months-after-internal-dispute/">Norman stepped down from his cabinet post</a>&nbsp;at the request of Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration.

The first case was recorded March 7, 2020, and about a week later, Kelly declared a state of emergency.

Less than a week after that, she ordered K-12 schools closed.

By the end of the month, national case counts inched toward 100,000, deaths reached 1,000, President Donald Trump signed a $2 trillion stimulus bill and Kelly issued a stay-at-home order for the entire state.

The first four weeks went “swimmingly well,” even amid uncertainty and shock, Norman said.

But, he said, things quickly became contentious as executive action from the governor, public health recommendations and attempts at understanding a brand new virus unfolded.

“You know, four weeks was pretty unusual to have that kind of engagement,” he said. “And after that, it became distinctly unfun.”

He admitted public health was slow to address the social and psychological impacts of the pandemic. But by the point he and other public health officials realized that, he said, resistance to following public health guidance had already begun to take shape.

The politicization that crept into Norman’s role during the COVID-19 pandemic still exists in public health today. The 2025 Kansas Legislature passed bills in April that hinder the governor’s authority to&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/04/10/kansas-legislature-votes-to-remove-county-health-officials-power-to-ban-public-gatherings/">limit public gatherings</a>&nbsp;and pare back vaccination requirements for children.

Norman, who now works in the private sector, said investing in public health infrastructure is key for preparing for future health crises.

As Kansans faced last year a spike in&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/31/tuberculosis-toll-in-kansas-city-kansas-area-rises-to-nearly-70-active-cases/">tuberculosis cases</a>&nbsp;and more recently a growing&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/04/02/vaccination-rates-down-in-most-kansas-counties-where-measles-cases-occurring/">measles outbreak</a>, Norman emphasized the importance of vaccinations and adhering to public health guidance.

The governor signed into law in April modifications to vaccine requirements for children that make it easier for parents to claim religious exemptions as justification for their unvaccinated children. The governor vetoed another piece of legislation that created a pathway for people to sue state and county health officials for their decisions about quarantines and other public health guidance. The Legislature overrode Kelly’s veto, making the change law.

Masks and limiting large gatherings work, Norman said. They have for centuries, he added.

“Half of everybody, kind of wants to undo the benefits of public health, and mock it even, which is particularly hurtful,” Norman said. “I think that the Legislature needs to, one, respect personal autonomy and responsibility, and then secondly, if people are want to have more autonomy, I think they have to listen to very, very good guidance.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1610057767019.png" alt="Dr. Lee Norman during a press conference with Gov.&nbsp; Kelly -image from governor's weekly media briefing in 2020" />
 <figcaption>Dr. Lee Norman during a press conference with Gov.&nbsp; Kelly -image from governor's weekly media briefing in 2020</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/03/kansas-state-garden-city-cc-striving-to-shrink-bachelors-degree-educational-desert/?emci=8e6f56cf-3bca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;emdi=a9416bb1-82ca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;ceid=115039">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Five years ago, Lee Norman was trying to dissuade Kansans from ingesting chemical cleaners to prevent COVID-19, preparing for the end of a statewide stay-at-home order and deciding whether to send tests for everyone in long-term care facilities and prisons.Norman, then secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, jokes that reflecting on those years is like taking “a walk down bad memory lane.”“We were meeting 24/7, 365,” Norman said on the Kansas Reflector podcast. “And trying to figure out — without having enough resources, without having (a) vaccine, without having any medications and without having any testing — what the heck we were going to do with this lethal virus that has now landed in the United States.”Within two years of the first cases in Kansas,&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2021/11/19/lee-norman-steps-down-as-kansas-health-secretary-months-after-internal-dispute/">Norman stepped down from his cabinet post</a>&nbsp;at the request of Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration.The first case was recorded March 7, 2020, and about a week later, Kelly declared a state of emergency.Less than a week after that, she ordered K-12 schools closed.By the end of the month, national case counts inched toward 100,000, deaths reached 1,000, President Donald Trump signed a $2 trillion stimulus bill and Kelly issued a stay-at-home order for the entire state.The first four weeks went “swimmingly well,” even amid uncertainty and shock, Norman said.But, he said, things quickly became contentious as executive action from the governor, public health recommendations and attempts at understanding a brand new virus unfolded.“You know, four weeks was pretty unusual to have that kind of engagement,” he said. “And after that, it became distinctly unfun.”He admitted public health was slow to address the social and psychological impacts of the pandemic. But by the point he and other public health officials realized that, he said, resistance to following public health guidance had already begun to take shape.The politicization that crept into Norman’s role during the COVID-19 pandemic still exists in public health today. The 2025 Kansas Legislature passed bills in April that hinder the governor’s authority to&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/04/10/kansas-legislature-votes-to-remove-county-health-officials-power-to-ban-public-gatherings/">limit public gatherings</a>&nbsp;and pare back vaccination requirements for children.Norman, who now works in the private sector, said investing in public health infrastructure is key for preparing for future health crises.As Kansans faced last year a spike in&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/31/tuberculosis-toll-in-kansas-city-kansas-area-rises-to-nearly-70-active-cases/">tuberculosis cases</a>&nbsp;and more recently a growing&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/04/02/vaccination-rates-down-in-most-kansas-counties-where-measles-cases-occurring/">measles outbreak</a>, Norman emphasized the importance of vaccinations and adhering to public health guidance.The governor signed into law in April modifications to vaccine requirements for children that make it easier for parents to claim religious exemptions as justification for their unvaccinated children. The governor vetoed another piece of legislation that created a pathway for people to sue state and county health officials for their decisions about quarantines and other public health guidance. The Legislature overrode Kelly’s veto, making the change law.Masks and limiting large gatherings work, Norman said. They have for centuries, he added.“Half of everybody, kind of wants to undo the benefits of public health, and mock it even, which is particularly hurtful,” Norman said. “I think that the Legislature needs to, one, respect personal autonomy and responsibility, and then secondly, if people are want to have more autonomy, I think they have to listen to very, very good guidance.”

Kansas’ former top public health official reflects on five years since COVID-19

KANSAS CITY, Kansas —Law enforcement investigating a fatal shooting April 24, in Kansas City have identified the victim as 21-year-old Eric Johnson-Linares.

Just after 5p.m. April 24, police responded to a shooting in the 600 Block of South 71st Terrace, according to a media release. First responders found Johnson-Linares outside, deceased from apparent gunshot wounds.&nbsp; Police have not reported an arrest or released suspect details.

KANSAS CITY, Kansas —Law enforcement investigating a fatal shooting April 24, in Kansas City have identified the victim as 21-year-old Eric Johnson-Linares.Just after 5p.m. April 24, police responded to a shooting in the 600 Block of South 71st Terrace, according to a media release. First responders found Johnson-Linares outside, deceased from apparent gunshot wounds.&nbsp; Police have not reported an arrest or released suspect details.

Police ID victim in deadly Kansas shooting

KANSAS CITY—One person died in a hit-and-run incident on Monday in Kansas City, Missouri.

A pedestrian was standing on the left shoulder of westbound 210 Highway at N Chouteau, according to KCPD&nbsp;Officer Alayna Gonzalez.&nbsp; An unknown vehicle struck the pedestrian,&nbsp;throwing the person into the grassy center median. 

The vehicle left the scene without stopping. The pedestrian was declared deceased at the scene. Police don't know exactly when the pedestrian was struck. This is fatality #20 compared to #38 at this time last year.&nbsp; Police have not released the name of the victim.

KANSAS CITY—One person died in a hit-and-run incident on Monday in Kansas City, Missouri.A pedestrian was standing on the left shoulder of westbound 210 Highway at N Chouteau, according to KCPD&nbsp;Officer Alayna Gonzalez.&nbsp; An unknown vehicle struck the pedestrian,&nbsp;throwing the person into the grassy center median. The vehicle left the scene without stopping. The pedestrian was declared deceased at the scene. Police don't know exactly when the pedestrian was struck. This is fatality #20 compared to #38 at this time last year.&nbsp; Police have not released the name of the victim.

KCPD investigating fatal hit-and-run

On Monday, Kansas Governor Laura attended join the State of Kansas Holocaust Commission, the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, and community leaders for the annual Holocaust Commemoration ceremony. 

"We must take every opportunity to remember those affected by the Holocaust and renew our commitment to building a more inclusive tomorrow." "There is no place for bigotry and hate in Kansas"

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1745888844950.png" alt="Courtesy photos" />
 <figcaption>Courtesy photos</figcaption>
 </figure>On Monday, Kansas Governor Laura attended join the State of Kansas Holocaust Commission, the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education, and community leaders for the annual Holocaust Commemoration ceremony. "We must take every opportunity to remember those affected by the Holocaust and renew our commitment to building a more inclusive tomorrow." "There is no place for bigotry and hate in Kansas"

Kansas Governor attends Holocaust commemoration ceremony

MANAMA, Bahrain – USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) lost an F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 136 and a tow tractor as the aircraft carrier operated in the Red Sea on Monday, according to a statement from the office of United State's Navy Chief of Information.&nbsp; One Sailor was injured, all other personnel were accounted for.

The F/A-18E was actively under tow in the hangar bay when the move crew lost control of the aircraft. The aircraft and tow tractor were lost overboard.

Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard. An investigation is underway.

The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group and embarked air wing remain fully mission capable. The strike group consists of flagship Harry S. Truman, the nine squadrons of Carrier Air Wing 1, three guided-missile destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 28, and the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64).

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1745891273909.png" alt="An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 136, launches from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75). US Navy Photo" />
 <figcaption>An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 136, launches from the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75). US Navy Photo</figcaption>
 </figure>MANAMA, Bahrain – USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) lost an F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 136 and a tow tractor as the aircraft carrier operated in the Red Sea on Monday, according to a statement from the office of United State's Navy Chief of Information.&nbsp; One Sailor was injured, all other personnel were accounted for.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1745891330505.png" alt="USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) on April 15, 2025. US Navy Photo" />
 <figcaption>USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) on April 15, 2025. US Navy Photo</figcaption>
 </figure>The F/A-18E was actively under tow in the hangar bay when the move crew lost control of the aircraft. The aircraft and tow tractor were lost overboard.Sailors towing the aircraft took immediate action to move clear of the aircraft before it fell overboard. An investigation is underway.The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group and embarked air wing remain fully mission capable. The strike group consists of flagship Harry S. Truman, the nine squadrons of Carrier Air Wing 1, three guided-missile destroyers of Destroyer Squadron 28, and the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64).

US Navy loses $60 million jet that fell overboard from aircraft carrier

KANSAS CITY —It was another deadly weekend of violence in Kansas City. Police are investigating four separate homicides involving five victims including a Kansas City firefighter/paramedic.

Just after 3:30p.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to report of a shooting in the 3100 block of Spruce, according to KCPD Captain Jake Becchina. 

Officers were directed to a home on the block and led inside by people at the scene. Inside the residence officers located a shooting victim later identified as 42-year-old William Porter.&nbsp; &nbsp;EMS transported him to the hospital with life threatening injuries.

A short time later officers were notified he died at the hospital. 

Preliminary investigation indicates that the victim and one or more suspects were inside the residence when they had an interaction that led to gunfire and the victim being struck. The unknown suspect(s) then left the scene.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Just before 6p.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to a shooting in the 8500 block of Sni-A-Bar Road, according to Captain Becchina.

On arrival officers were directed to the side of a residence there where they located a man later identified as 50-year-old Joshua Teel unresponsive. Officers summoned EMS to the scene who declared him deceased.

A preliminary investigation indicates that Teel was outside the residence when he had an interaction with an unknown suspect. That interaction led to gunfire which struck him .The suspect then left the scene in an unknown direction.

Just after 12:30a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to a check the welfare call at 152 Highway and North Oak Trafficway involving a woman, later identified as&nbsp; 38-year-old Shanetta Bossell walking on the highway.

Callers were concerned for her safety and called police. Responding officers located Bossell on the side of the highway there. Ultimately, they requested EMS to respond for further treatment.

EMS began to transport Bossell to the hospital for further treatment. While en-route to the hospital in the ambulance, at approximately 1:25a.m., she produced an edged weapon and stabbed the KCFD Firefighter/Paramedic Graham Hoffman causing significant injuries.

The ambulance driver then stopped the ambulance at 152 highway and Platte Purchase and signaled to a KCPD police officer that had been following the ambulance for help. That KCPD officer took Bossell into custody at that location. Additional EMS crews responded and transported&nbsp; Hoffman to the hospital for treatment of life threatening injuries.

Just after 2p.m. Sunday, police were notified that Hoffman had died.&nbsp; The Clay County prosecutor charged Bossell murder in the first degree and armed criminal action.

Just before 1p.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to report of a shooting at 12th and Belmont in Kansas City, Missouri , according to Becchina.

First responders were directed to a vehicle in the road there. Inside that vehicle officers located Ruiz and Suri unresponsive. Officers summoned EMS to the scene who declared the victims deceased.

The investigation indicates that the victims were inside the vehicle at the location when they had an interaction with one or more suspects and shots were fired. Both victims were inside the vehicle when they were struck by the gunfire. Initial responding officers took one subject of interest into custody for further investigation.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1745807157858.png" alt="Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'" />
 <figcaption>Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —It was another deadly weekend of violence in Kansas City. Police are investigating four separate homicides involving five victims including a Kansas City firefighter/paramedic.Just after 3:30p.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to report of a shooting in the 3100 block of Spruce, according to KCPD Captain Jake Becchina. Officers were directed to a home on the block and led inside by people at the scene. Inside the residence officers located a shooting victim later identified as 42-year-old William Porter.&nbsp; &nbsp;EMS transported him to the hospital with life threatening injuries.A short time later officers were notified he died at the hospital. Preliminary investigation indicates that the victim and one or more suspects were inside the residence when they had an interaction that led to gunfire and the victim being struck. The unknown suspect(s) then left the scene.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1745807068124.png" alt="Photos Sheriff Daryl Forte'" />
 <figcaption>Photos Sheriff Daryl Forte'</figcaption>
 </figure>Just before 6p.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to a shooting in the 8500 block of Sni-A-Bar Road, according to Captain Becchina.On arrival officers were directed to the side of a residence there where they located a man later identified as 50-year-old Joshua Teel unresponsive. Officers summoned EMS to the scene who declared him deceased.A preliminary investigation indicates that Teel was outside the residence when he had an interaction with an unknown suspect. That interaction led to gunfire which struck him .The suspect then left the scene in an unknown direction.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1745790431024.png" alt="Graham Hoffman" />
 <figcaption>Graham Hoffman</figcaption>
 </figure>Just after 12:30a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to a check the welfare call at 152 Highway and North Oak Trafficway involving a woman, later identified as&nbsp; 38-year-old Shanetta Bossell walking on the highway.Callers were concerned for her safety and called police. Responding officers located Bossell on the side of the highway there. Ultimately, they requested EMS to respond for further treatment.EMS began to transport Bossell to the hospital for further treatment. While en-route to the hospital in the ambulance, at approximately 1:25a.m., she produced an edged weapon and stabbed the KCFD Firefighter/Paramedic Graham Hoffman causing significant injuries.The ambulance driver then stopped the ambulance at 152 highway and Platte Purchase and signaled to a KCPD police officer that had been following the ambulance for help. That KCPD officer took Bossell into custody at that location. Additional EMS crews responded and transported&nbsp; Hoffman to the hospital for treatment of life threatening injuries.Just after 2p.m. Sunday, police were notified that Hoffman had died.&nbsp; The Clay County prosecutor charged Bossell murder in the first degree and armed criminal action.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1745702653802.png" alt="Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'" />
 <figcaption>Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'</figcaption>
 </figure>Just before 1p.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to report of a shooting at 12th and Belmont in Kansas City, Missouri , according to Becchina.First responders were directed to a vehicle in the road there. Inside that vehicle officers located Ruiz and Suri unresponsive. Officers summoned EMS to the scene who declared the victims deceased.The investigation indicates that the victims were inside the vehicle at the location when they had an interaction with one or more suspects and shots were fired. Both victims were inside the vehicle when they were struck by the gunfire. Initial responding officers took one subject of interest into custody for further investigation.

Deadly weekend in Kansas City: 5 victims, 4 homicide investigations

JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan.—One person died in accident just before 4a.m. Sunday in Johnson County.

A citizen report told police a vehicle was southbound on Interstate 35 at Interstate 635 freeway at a high rate of speed according to Overland Park Police Officer John Lacy.

Moments later the same citizen came upon the vehicle after it had crashed underneath the eastbound Interstate 635 bridge. EMS transported the driver of vehicle, later identified as&nbsp;Nicolas Hawthorne, 34, Kansas City, Missouri,&nbsp; to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries. Medical staff pronounced him deceased.

The crash is still under investigation, according to Lacy.

JOHNSON COUNTY, Kan.—One person died in accident just before 4a.m. Sunday in Johnson County.A citizen report told police a vehicle was southbound on Interstate 35 at Interstate 635 freeway at a high rate of speed according to Overland Park Police Officer John Lacy.Moments later the same citizen came upon the vehicle after it had crashed underneath the eastbound Interstate 635 bridge. EMS transported the driver of vehicle, later identified as&nbsp;Nicolas Hawthorne, 34, Kansas City, Missouri,&nbsp; to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries. Medical staff pronounced him deceased.The crash is still under investigation, according to Lacy.

Speed a possible factor in crash that killed Missouri man 

TOPEKA — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced Friday she had signed into law 11 bills, meeting a deadline and cementing public education funding, tax incentives for major data centers and a new crime for possessing, creating or distributing AI-generated child pornography.

The bills were bipartisan, Kelly said, as she signed them before the end of the 10-day period she has to take action after the Legislature delivers them to her.

<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb186/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 186</a>&nbsp;crafted first-time, clear protections for those who are the subject of AI-generated imagery without their consent. It’s an effort to mitigate the harms caused by technology, “in both the digital realm and the physical world,” Kelly said in a news release.

“Given the rise of AI-enabled crime, enhancing public safety for our fellow Kansans is crucial,” Kelly said.

The law applies to the alteration of real photos or generating new material from scratch, said Rep. Brad Barrett, an Osage City Republican who sat on the House committee that heard and negotiated the original bill.&nbsp;

“This legislation strengthens our child exploitation laws to protect kids from this evolving threat and also updates our breach of privacy law to shield adults from having their images maliciously altered to appear nude or sexually explicit when they have an expectation of privacy,” he said.

The law adds to the definition of sex crimes within the Kansas Criminal Code to include AI-generated material. It also modifies existing criminal bond-setting procedure to hike up bond rates for any defendant with prior convictions of sexually violent crimes. The minimum bond for those defendants is now $750,000, which Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes said addresses patterns of “predatory behavior.”

“This part of the bill ensures the safety of victims comes first,” Sykes, a Lenexa Democrat, said. “By requiring the consideration of similar prior acts when setting bond, we can alleviate some of the fear for victims.”

<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb156/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 156</a>&nbsp;increases the amount of money inmates can receive from the Kansas Department of Corrections for losses, personal injury or property damage.

<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb204/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 204</a>&nbsp;seals criminal and juvenile cases — meaning information is kept secret — until an arrest warrant is executed. It also creates a new appointment process for trustees of county law libraries.

<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb237/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 237</a>&nbsp;empowers law enforcement officers to investigate violations of the Scrap Metal Theft Reduction Act, which targets scrap metal dealers. It was initially proposed by the Wichita Police Department.

Kelly said a new law that incentivizes major data center projects in Kansas gives “the state another tool in the toolbox to bring jobs, infrastructure, and prosperity to Kansas communities through economic development.”

<a href="https://kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb98/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 98</a>&nbsp;creates a 20-year sales tax exemption for data centers investing at least $250 million within five years of opening. The exemption could include land acquisition, development and construction, equipment acquisition and permitting, design, engineering, labor for installing and maintaining data center equipment, and lease payments.

Businesses that receive the exemption must by law conserve, reuse, and replace water, pay for electricity from a public utility for 10 years and maintain at least 20 new jobs at the data center within two years of launching.

Kelly also signed into law&nbsp;<a href="https://kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/hb2289/" target="_blank">House Bill 2289</a>, which was championed by Stilwell Republican Rep. Sean Tarwater and enacts limits on housing tax credits. Over time, the law eventually will dismantle the state’s affordable housing tax credit program.

<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/hb2125/" target="_blank">House Bill 2125</a>&nbsp;reauthorized the 20-mill statewide school property tax levy to finance public schools through the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years. The bill also sets strict deadlines on local taxing entities, enabling county clerks to use a taxing jurisdiction’s budget and tax levy from the previous year if it doesn’t submit budget information by Oct. 1.

<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/hb2231/" target="_blank">House Bill 2231</a>&nbsp;shifts Kansas to a corporate income tax calculation method that aligns with the majority of states. Kelly said the law evens “the playing field for Kansas-based businesses, making the state more attractive for capital investment, and encouraging job creation.”

<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/hb2335/" target="_blank">House Bill 2335</a>&nbsp;creates, beginning in January, a new license plate for members of hunting organization Hunter Nation.

<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/hb2007/" target="_blank">House Bill 2007</a>&nbsp;cleans up statutes that were amended multiple times during the 2025 session.

<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/hb2275/" target="_blank">House Bill 2275</a>&nbsp;enables a handful of Kansas counties to ask voters whether they favor a sales tax proposal to fund projects. It also creates a tax exemption for custom meat processing sales.

In Finney County, county commissioners want to impose a 0.5% sales tax to finance construction or remodeling projects in the county courthouse, jail, law enforcement center or other administrative building.

In Jackson County, commissioners want to ask voters if they would favor a 0.25% sales tax to support hospital services.

In Pawnee County, commissioners can ask voters if they want to pay an up to 1% sales tax for providing health care services and “furnish” and “equip” public safety operations.

In Seward County, voters will decide if they want to pay a 0.5% sales tax to fund road and bridge projects.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1745864234505.png" alt=" Gov. Laura Kelly, pictured here at a May 14, 2024, event in Topeka, signed 11 bills into law last week following the close of the 2025 legislative session. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Gov. Laura Kelly, pictured here at a May 14, 2024, event in Topeka, signed 11 bills into law last week following the close of the 2025 legislative session. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/03/kansas-state-garden-city-cc-striving-to-shrink-bachelors-degree-educational-desert/?emci=8e6f56cf-3bca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;emdi=a9416bb1-82ca-ef11-88d0-0022482a9b45&amp;ceid=115039">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly announced Friday she had signed into law 11 bills, meeting a deadline and cementing public education funding, tax incentives for major data centers and a new crime for possessing, creating or distributing AI-generated child pornography.The bills were bipartisan, Kelly said, as she signed them before the end of the 10-day period she has to take action after the Legislature delivers them to her.Crime and law enforcement<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb186/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 186</a>&nbsp;crafted first-time, clear protections for those who are the subject of AI-generated imagery without their consent. It’s an effort to mitigate the harms caused by technology, “in both the digital realm and the physical world,” Kelly said in a news release.“Given the rise of AI-enabled crime, enhancing public safety for our fellow Kansans is crucial,” Kelly said.The law applies to the alteration of real photos or generating new material from scratch, said Rep. Brad Barrett, an Osage City Republican who sat on the House committee that heard and negotiated the original bill.&nbsp;“This legislation strengthens our child exploitation laws to protect kids from this evolving threat and also updates our breach of privacy law to shield adults from having their images maliciously altered to appear nude or sexually explicit when they have an expectation of privacy,” he said.The law adds to the definition of sex crimes within the Kansas Criminal Code to include AI-generated material. It also modifies existing criminal bond-setting procedure to hike up bond rates for any defendant with prior convictions of sexually violent crimes. The minimum bond for those defendants is now $750,000, which Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes said addresses patterns of “predatory behavior.”“This part of the bill ensures the safety of victims comes first,” Sykes, a Lenexa Democrat, said. “By requiring the consideration of similar prior acts when setting bond, we can alleviate some of the fear for victims.”<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb156/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 156</a>&nbsp;increases the amount of money inmates can receive from the Kansas Department of Corrections for losses, personal injury or property damage.<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb204/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 204</a>&nbsp;seals criminal and juvenile cases — meaning information is kept secret — until an arrest warrant is executed. It also creates a new appointment process for trustees of county law libraries.<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb237/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 237</a>&nbsp;empowers law enforcement officers to investigate violations of the Scrap Metal Theft Reduction Act, which targets scrap metal dealers. It was initially proposed by the Wichita Police Department.Industry and developmentKelly said a new law that incentivizes major data center projects in Kansas gives “the state another tool in the toolbox to bring jobs, infrastructure, and prosperity to Kansas communities through economic development.”<a href="https://kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb98/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 98</a>&nbsp;creates a 20-year sales tax exemption for data centers investing at least $250 million within five years of opening. The exemption could include land acquisition, development and construction, equipment acquisition and permitting, design, engineering, labor for installing and maintaining data center equipment, and lease payments.Businesses that receive the exemption must by law conserve, reuse, and replace water, pay for electricity from a public utility for 10 years and maintain at least 20 new jobs at the data center within two years of launching.Kelly also signed into law&nbsp;<a href="https://kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/hb2289/" target="_blank">House Bill 2289</a>, which was championed by Stilwell Republican Rep. Sean Tarwater and enacts limits on housing tax credits. Over time, the law eventually will dismantle the state’s affordable housing tax credit program.Taxes and government<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/hb2125/" target="_blank">House Bill 2125</a>&nbsp;reauthorized the 20-mill statewide school property tax levy to finance public schools through the 2025-2026 and 2026-2027 school years. The bill also sets strict deadlines on local taxing entities, enabling county clerks to use a taxing jurisdiction’s budget and tax levy from the previous year if it doesn’t submit budget information by Oct. 1.<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/hb2231/" target="_blank">House Bill 2231</a>&nbsp;shifts Kansas to a corporate income tax calculation method that aligns with the majority of states. Kelly said the law evens “the playing field for Kansas-based businesses, making the state more attractive for capital investment, and encouraging job creation.”<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/hb2335/" target="_blank">House Bill 2335</a>&nbsp;creates, beginning in January, a new license plate for members of hunting organization Hunter Nation.<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/hb2007/" target="_blank">House Bill 2007</a>&nbsp;cleans up statutes that were amended multiple times during the 2025 session.<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/hb2275/" target="_blank">House Bill 2275</a>&nbsp;enables a handful of Kansas counties to ask voters whether they favor a sales tax proposal to fund projects. It also creates a tax exemption for custom meat processing sales.In Finney County, county commissioners want to impose a 0.5% sales tax to finance construction or remodeling projects in the county courthouse, jail, law enforcement center or other administrative building.In Jackson County, commissioners want to ask voters if they would favor a 0.25% sales tax to support hospital services.In Pawnee County, commissioners can ask voters if they want to pay an up to 1% sales tax for providing health care services and “furnish” and “equip” public safety operations.In Seward County, voters will decide if they want to pay a 0.5% sales tax to fund road and bridge projects.

Kansas governor signs 11 bills dealing with crime, industry, governing

KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man faces felony charges for his involvement in a fatal crash involving street racing last year.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2602/Hamilton-COMPLAINTREDACTED">Cortez A. Hamilton</a>&nbsp;faces two counts of 1st Degree Involuntary Manslaughter, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson. If convicted, he could face between six to 20 years in prison.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2603/Hamilton-PCREDACTED">According to court records</a>, Kansas City police were dispatched to the intersection of Carondelet Drive and Wornall Road on a reported injury crash on Dec. 30, 2024. Both occupants of a Honda HRV identified as 91-year-old Verne Zugenbuhler and 72-year-old Diane Zugenbuhler, were pronounced dead at the scene. The defendant identified as Hamilton driving a black Chrysler involved in the crash was transported to an area hospital with minor injuries.&nbsp;

Witnesses say they saw the Chrysler and a silver vehicle racing each other at a high rate of speed on Wornall Road before the crash. As the Honda HRV was making a left-hand turn from Wornall Road onto Carondelet Drive, the Chrysler struck the front passenger corner, redirecting it southbound and causing it to begin rotating counterclockwise. The Chrysler continued in a southwest direction and collided with a wooden utility pole where it came to its final resting spot. The silver vehicle was not impacted in the crash and continued south on Wornall Road.&nbsp;

Prior to the collision, Hamilton's vehicle was traveling at a recorded speed of 104 miles per hour in a 40 miles per hour zone. At impact, Hamilton was traveling 79 miles per hour.

A blood test revealed Hamilton was operating his vehicle while under the influence of Cannabinoids.&nbsp; Under a new municipal law, drivers participating in illegal street racing or side shows could face fines of up to $1,000 and their vehicles could be impounded.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1735607895651.png" alt="Photo courtesy KMBC" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy KMBC</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —A Kansas City man faces felony charges for his involvement in a fatal crash involving street racing last year.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2602/Hamilton-COMPLAINTREDACTED">Cortez A. Hamilton</a>&nbsp;faces two counts of 1st Degree Involuntary Manslaughter, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson. If convicted, he could face between six to 20 years in prison.&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/12/1735607871090.png" alt="Photo courtesy KMBC" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy KMBC</figcaption>
 </figure><a href="https://www.jacksoncountyprosecutor.com/DocumentCenter/View/2603/Hamilton-PCREDACTED">According to court records</a>, Kansas City police were dispatched to the intersection of Carondelet Drive and Wornall Road on a reported injury crash on Dec. 30, 2024. Both occupants of a Honda HRV identified as 91-year-old Verne Zugenbuhler and 72-year-old Diane Zugenbuhler, were pronounced dead at the scene. The defendant identified as Hamilton driving a black Chrysler involved in the crash was transported to an area hospital with minor injuries.&nbsp;Witnesses say they saw the Chrysler and a silver vehicle racing each other at a high rate of speed on Wornall Road before the crash. As the Honda HRV was making a left-hand turn from Wornall Road onto Carondelet Drive, the Chrysler struck the front passenger corner, redirecting it southbound and causing it to begin rotating counterclockwise. The Chrysler continued in a southwest direction and collided with a wooden utility pole where it came to its final resting spot. The silver vehicle was not impacted in the crash and continued south on Wornall Road.&nbsp;Prior to the collision, Hamilton's vehicle was traveling at a recorded speed of 104 miles per hour in a 40 miles per hour zone. At impact, Hamilton was traveling 79 miles per hour.A blood test revealed Hamilton was operating his vehicle while under the influence of Cannabinoids.&nbsp; Under a new municipal law, drivers participating in illegal street racing or side shows could face fines of up to $1,000 and their vehicles could be impounded.

KC man allegedly 'under the influence' before fatal street racing crash 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. —A Kansas City firefighter paramedic, 29-year-old Graham Hoffman, critically injured in a stabbing while transporting a patient to the hospital on Sunday died, according to&nbsp;Fire Chief Ross Grundyson.

The suspect accused in the stabbing identified as 38-year-old Shanetta Bossell of Kansas City has been charged&nbsp;with murder in the first degree and armed criminal action, according to the Clay County Prosecutor’s Office.

Just after 12:30a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to a check the welfare call at 152 Highway and North Oak Trafficway involving a woman, later identified as Bossell, walking on the highway.

Callers were concerned for her safety and called police, according to KCPD Captain Jake Becchina. Responding officers located Bossell on the side of the highway there. Ultimately, they requested EMS to respond for further treatment. 

EMS began to transport Bossell to the hospital for further treatment. While en-route to the hospital in the ambulance, at approximately 1:25a.m., she produced an edged weapon and stabbed the KCFD Firefighter/Paramedic Graham Hoffman causing significant injuries. 

Just after 2p.m. Sunday, police were notified that Hoffman had died.&nbsp;

"Hoffman was a member of the Kansas City Fire Department for three years. He was a vibrant individual who loved life and loved serving his community. He was an excellent paramedic who treated his patients with the highest level of skill and compassion," said&nbsp;Fire Chief Ross Grundyson in a media release.

"The Kansas City Fire Department grieves with Graham’s family, friends, and loved ones. This is a senseless act that has taken a great young man from his family, friends, and coworkers, and deprived our city of a dedicated firefighter, and a leader on and off the job who only wanted toserve and protect those in his community."

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1745790431024.png" alt="Graham Hoffman photo KCFD" />
 <figcaption>Graham Hoffman photo KCFD</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, Mo. —A Kansas City firefighter paramedic, 29-year-old Graham Hoffman, critically injured in a stabbing while transporting a patient to the hospital on Sunday died, according to&nbsp;Fire Chief Ross Grundyson.The suspect accused in the stabbing identified as 38-year-old Shanetta Bossell of Kansas City has been charged&nbsp;with murder in the first degree and armed criminal action, according to the Clay County Prosecutor’s Office.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1745803226594.png" alt="Bossell photo Clay Co. Jail" />
 <figcaption>Bossell photo Clay Co. Jail</figcaption>
 </figure>Just after 12:30a.m. Sunday, police were dispatched to a check the welfare call at 152 Highway and North Oak Trafficway involving a woman, later identified as Bossell, walking on the highway.Callers were concerned for her safety and called police, according to KCPD Captain Jake Becchina. Responding officers located Bossell on the side of the highway there. Ultimately, they requested EMS to respond for further treatment. EMS began to transport Bossell to the hospital for further treatment. While en-route to the hospital in the ambulance, at approximately 1:25a.m., she produced an edged weapon and stabbed the KCFD Firefighter/Paramedic Graham Hoffman causing significant injuries. The ambulance driver then stopped the ambulance at 152 highway and Platte Purchase and signaled to a KCPD police officer that had been following the ambulance for help. That KCPD officer took Bossell into custody at that location. Additional EMS crews responded and transported&nbsp; Hoffman to the hospital for treatment of life threatening injuries.Just after 2p.m. Sunday, police were notified that Hoffman had died.&nbsp;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Mayor Lucas Responds to First-Degree Murder Charges Filed in Death of KCFD Firefighter <a href="https://t.co/YcTPqHNWaT">pic.twitter.com/YcTPqHNWaT</a>&mdash; Mayor Quinton Lucas (@MayorLucasKC) <a href="https://twitter.com/MayorLucasKC/status/1916661676897657070?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>"Hoffman was a member of the Kansas City Fire Department for three years. He was a vibrant individual who loved life and loved serving his community. He was an excellent paramedic who treated his patients with the highest level of skill and compassion," said&nbsp;Fire Chief Ross Grundyson in a media release."The Kansas City Fire Department grieves with Graham’s family, friends, and loved ones. This is a senseless act that has taken a great young man from his family, friends, and coworkers, and deprived our city of a dedicated firefighter, and a leader on and off the job who only wanted toserve and protect those in his community."

New details in fatal stabbing of Kansas City paramedic

The conclave to elect a new Pope will begin on May 7 according to the Holy See Press Office. The Cardinals present in Rome made the decision on Monday at their fifth General Congregation.

The conclave will take place in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1745839969701.png" alt="Image courtesy CSPAN" />
 <figcaption>Image courtesy CSPAN</figcaption>
 </figure>The conclave to elect a new Pope will begin on May 7 according to the Holy See Press Office. The Cardinals present in Rome made the decision on Monday at their fifth General Congregation.The conclave will take place in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel.&nbsp;

Vatican sets May 7th for Conclave to Elect New Pope

KANSAS CITY —Police investigating a double homicide in Kansas City have identified the victims as 16-year-old&nbsp;Maximiliano Ruiz and 19-year-old&nbsp;Matthew Suri, according to KCPD Captain Jake Becchina.

The investigation indicates that the victims were inside the vehicle at the location when they had an interaction with one or more suspects and shots were fired. Both victims were inside the vehicle when they were struck by the gunfire. Initial responding officers took one subject of interest into custody for further investigation. Detectives are working to determine that subject of interest’s exact involvement at this time.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/4/1745702653802.png" alt="Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'" />
 <figcaption>Photo Sheriff Daryl Forte'</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY —Police investigating a double homicide in Kansas City have identified the victims as 16-year-old&nbsp;Maximiliano Ruiz and 19-year-old&nbsp;Matthew Suri, according to KCPD Captain Jake Becchina.Just before 1p.m. Saturday, police were dispatched to report of a shooting at 12th and Belmont in Kansas City, Missouri , according to Becchina.First responders were directed to a vehicle in the road there. Inside that vehicle officers located Ruiz and Suri unresponsive. Officers summoned EMS to the scene who declared the victims deceased.The investigation indicates that the victims were inside the vehicle at the location when they had an interaction with one or more suspects and shots were fired. Both victims were inside the vehicle when they were struck by the gunfire. Initial responding officers took one subject of interest into custody for further investigation. Detectives are working to determine that subject of interest’s exact involvement at this time.

KCPD: 16-year-old among victims in double-homicide 

A newly enacted law allows the attorney general to challenge temporary injunctions, a move inspired by a pending abortion-rights case

A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.senate.mo.gov/25info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&amp;BillID=394" target="_blank">bill signed Thursday</a>&nbsp;by Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe generated a lawsuit Friday challenging its constitutionality even as Attorney General Andrew Bailey wasted no time using new powers granted in the law.

The bill changes the deadlines and procedure for challenging the ballot language of measures placed before voters by the General Assembly or by initiative petition. It also allows the ballot summaries to be longer.&nbsp;

&nbsp;But a major focus of legislative debate was the provision of the bill giving the attorney general the power to appeal preliminary injunctions granted in cases where the state or a statewide official is blocked from enforcing a law or statute.

It was inspired by an ongoing abortion-rights lawsuit and included an emergency clause making the power to appeal preliminary injunctions effective immediately. The bill cited the need “to ensure judicial efficiency” as the reason it is “deemed necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health, welfare, peace and safety” of the state.

On Friday, attorney Chuck Hatfield filed a lawsuit in Cole County Circuit Court on behalf of longtime progressive activist Sean Nicholson arguing the bill violates the constitution in six ways. The emergency clause, and the reason it gives for invoking the Constitution’s provision for&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=III++++29&amp;bid=31769&amp;constit=y" target="_blank">making laws effective immediately</a>, are not an emergency, Hatfield wrote.

“There is no crisis or emergency which requires immediate or quick legislative action for the preservation of the public peace, property, health, safety, or morals,” Hatfield wrote.

Bailey followed through on the intent of the legislation Thursday by using the newly granted power to challenge two preliminary injunctions issued after voters&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/11/05/missouri-voters-overturn-states-near-total-abortion-ban/">approved Amendment 3</a>&nbsp;overturning Missouri’s near-total ban on abortions.&nbsp;

The first preliminary injunction,&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/12/20/missouri-amendment-3-abortion-regulations-trap-laws/">issued by Jackson County Judge Jerri Zhang in December</a>, blocked state laws that required a 72-hour waiting period for an abortion and a mandate that physicians performing abortions have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.

The second,&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/02/14/missouri-judge-blocks-discriminatory-abortion-clinics-rules-blamed-for-lack-of-access/">issued Feb. 14</a>, stopped enforcement of a licensing requirement for abortion clinics that providers argued was a key obstacle to renewing access to the procedure across the state. Hours later, Planned Parenthood clinics announced they would begin offering abortion services in Missouri.

In a statement issued Thursday, the ACLU of Missouri and the state’s two Planned Parenthood affiliates vowed to fight against the effort to alter the laws governing court cases.

“A majority of Missouri voters passed Amendment 3 to end Missouri’s abortion ban and protect reproductive freedom,” the statement read. “Rather than following the will of the people, the same anti-abortion politicians that fought against Amendment 3 and lost at the ballot box have changed the rules of both the initiative petition and the court procedures so they can try to reinstate Missouri’s abortion ban.”

A spokeswoman for Bailey’s office said in an emailed statement that he filed an appeal to challenge the court’s decision to “eliminate common-sense health and safety standards.

Abortion Action Missouri executive director Mallory Schwarz said in a news release that the bill signed by Kehoe is an admission that abortion rights backers have won at the ballot box and in the courts.&nbsp;

“The governor signing this attack on democracy just shows that the state is power hungry and obsessed with controlling Missourian’s lives, taking away their personal and private decision-making, and inserting itself into their bedrooms and doctors’ offices,” Scharz said.

In the lawsuit, Hatfield wrote that until the passage of the bill signed Thursday, Missouri court procedure did not allow an appeal of preliminary injunctions.&nbsp;

Hatfield wrote that “the grant of the right is one sided, favoring only the attorney general” and violates the state Constitution’s&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=I++++2&amp;bid=31702&amp;constit=y" target="_blank">guarantee of equal rights and opportunity</a>.&nbsp;

The power to appeal past preliminary injunctions is also “unconstitutionally retroactive because it is applicable to preliminary injunctions in place prior to the passage.”

The Missouri Constitution forbids ex post facto laws — laws making something a crime after the act — and laws that alter contracts or is&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=I++++13&amp;bid=31713&amp;constit=y" target="_blank">retrospective in effect</a>.

The bill’s provisions governing the revision of ballot language is a reaction to the legal fight over the wording for Amendment 3. In 2023,&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/08/20/missouri-secretary-state-ashcroft-lawsuit-abortion/">Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ruled</a>&nbsp;the ballot title written by then-Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft was “argumentative” or unfairly biased and rewrote it. That&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/10/31/appeals-court-swats-down-ashcroft-arguments-on-missouri-abortion-rights-petitions/">decision was upheld&nbsp;</a>by the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals.

Under the bill, a ballot title deemed insufficient or unfair would be sent back to the secretary of state for revision. The courts would have to allow three attempts, all under increasingly tight deadlines, before taking over the job.

The bill also moves up the deadline for completing all court challenges from eight weeks before the election to 10 weeks before the election.

Along with creating unconstitutional powers for the attorney general and granting them in an unconstitutional way, Hatfield’s lawsuit alleges the bill was improperly changed to&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=III++++21&amp;bid=31761&amp;constit=y" target="_blank">alter its original purpose</a>&nbsp;and that the changes made violate the constitutional requirement that bills&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=III++++23&amp;bid=31763&amp;constit=y" target="_blank">address a single subject</a>.

The bill filed by state Sen. Rick Brattin, a Harrisonville Republican, began as “one new section relating to ballot summaries prepared by the general assembly.” It was changed to be “three new sections relating to ballot summaries” in a Senate committee before being passed as “five new sections relating to judicial proceedings.”

One provision allowing ballot titles to have 100 words instead of 50 has nothing to do with judicial proceedings, the lawsuit states.&nbsp;

And the power to appeal preliminary injunctions has nothing to do with ballot summaries prepared by lawmakers, it adds.

No hearings can be set for the lawsuit until notice is served on Bailey and Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, the defendants in the case.

The political battle over abortion, and how the initiative process is used, is also continuing inside and outside the General Assembly.

On April 17, the Missouri House&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/04/17/missouri-abortion-ban-amendment-jon-patterson-senate/">approved a proposed constitutional amendment</a>&nbsp;that would overturn most provisions of Amendment 3, restoring the ban on abortions that was in place starting in 2022 but with new exceptions for medical emergencies, fatal fetal anomalies and for survivors of rape and incest in the first 12 weeks of gestation.

The bill has not been assigned to a state Senate committee.

Lawmakers have tried, and failed, to pass proposals that would change how many signatures must be gathered for initiatives and how majorities are counted for initiative measures that make the ballot.

A group called the Respect Missouri Voters Coalition has filed an initiative proposal to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sos.mo.gov/CMSImages/Elections/Petitions/2026-036.pdf" target="_blank">add new protections for initiative measures</a>&nbsp;to the state constitution. Any initiative changing a statute or the constitution could only be altered by lawmakers if 80% of members in both chambers vote for a bill that is then submitted to a statewide vote.

The bill signed Thursday will give far too much power to the secretary of state, Benjamin Singer, co-founder of the Respect Missouri Voters Coalition and CEO of Show Me Integrity, said in a news release.

“Missouri’s citizen initiative process is now dead for anything that the Secretary of State doesn’t like and wants to kill with biased language,” Singer said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2023/2/1676064784756.png" alt="The Cole County Courthouse in Jefferson City (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent)" />
 <figcaption>The Cole County Courthouse in Jefferson City (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent)</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>A newly enacted law allows the attorney general to challenge temporary injunctions, a move inspired by a pending abortion-rights case</h2>A&nbsp;<a href="https://www.senate.mo.gov/25info/BTS_Web/Bill.aspx?SessionType=R&amp;BillID=394" target="_blank">bill signed Thursday</a>&nbsp;by Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe generated a lawsuit Friday challenging its constitutionality even as Attorney General Andrew Bailey wasted no time using new powers granted in the law.The bill changes the deadlines and procedure for challenging the ballot language of measures placed before voters by the General Assembly or by initiative petition. It also allows the ballot summaries to be longer.&nbsp;&nbsp;But a major focus of legislative debate was the provision of the bill giving the attorney general the power to appeal preliminary injunctions granted in cases where the state or a statewide official is blocked from enforcing a law or statute.It was inspired by an ongoing abortion-rights lawsuit and included an emergency clause making the power to appeal preliminary injunctions effective immediately. The bill cited the need “to ensure judicial efficiency” as the reason it is “deemed necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health, welfare, peace and safety” of the state.On Friday, attorney Chuck Hatfield filed a lawsuit in Cole County Circuit Court on behalf of longtime progressive activist Sean Nicholson arguing the bill violates the constitution in six ways. The emergency clause, and the reason it gives for invoking the Constitution’s provision for&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=III++++29&amp;bid=31769&amp;constit=y" target="_blank">making laws effective immediately</a>, are not an emergency, Hatfield wrote.“There is no crisis or emergency which requires immediate or quick legislative action for the preservation of the public peace, property, health, safety, or morals,” Hatfield wrote.Bailey followed through on the intent of the legislation Thursday by using the newly granted power to challenge two preliminary injunctions issued after voters&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/11/05/missouri-voters-overturn-states-near-total-abortion-ban/">approved Amendment 3</a>&nbsp;overturning Missouri’s near-total ban on abortions.&nbsp;The first preliminary injunction,&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/12/20/missouri-amendment-3-abortion-regulations-trap-laws/">issued by Jackson County Judge Jerri Zhang in December</a>, blocked state laws that required a 72-hour waiting period for an abortion and a mandate that physicians performing abortions have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.The second,&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/02/14/missouri-judge-blocks-discriminatory-abortion-clinics-rules-blamed-for-lack-of-access/">issued Feb. 14</a>, stopped enforcement of a licensing requirement for abortion clinics that providers argued was a key obstacle to renewing access to the procedure across the state. Hours later, Planned Parenthood clinics announced they would begin offering abortion services in Missouri.In a statement issued Thursday, the ACLU of Missouri and the state’s two Planned Parenthood affiliates vowed to fight against the effort to alter the laws governing court cases.“A majority of Missouri voters passed Amendment 3 to end Missouri’s abortion ban and protect reproductive freedom,” the statement read. “Rather than following the will of the people, the same anti-abortion politicians that fought against Amendment 3 and lost at the ballot box have changed the rules of both the initiative petition and the court procedures so they can try to reinstate Missouri’s abortion ban.”A spokeswoman for Bailey’s office said in an emailed statement that he filed an appeal to challenge the court’s decision to “eliminate common-sense health and safety standards.Abortion Action Missouri executive director Mallory Schwarz said in a news release that the bill signed by Kehoe is an admission that abortion rights backers have won at the ballot box and in the courts.&nbsp;“The governor signing this attack on democracy just shows that the state is power hungry and obsessed with controlling Missourian’s lives, taking away their personal and private decision-making, and inserting itself into their bedrooms and doctors’ offices,” Scharz said.In the lawsuit, Hatfield wrote that until the passage of the bill signed Thursday, Missouri court procedure did not allow an appeal of preliminary injunctions.&nbsp;Hatfield wrote that “the grant of the right is one sided, favoring only the attorney general” and violates the state Constitution’s&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=I++++2&amp;bid=31702&amp;constit=y" target="_blank">guarantee of equal rights and opportunity</a>.&nbsp;The power to appeal past preliminary injunctions is also “unconstitutionally retroactive because it is applicable to preliminary injunctions in place prior to the passage.”The Missouri Constitution forbids ex post facto laws — laws making something a crime after the act — and laws that alter contracts or is&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=I++++13&amp;bid=31713&amp;constit=y" target="_blank">retrospective in effect</a>.The bill’s provisions governing the revision of ballot language is a reaction to the legal fight over the wording for Amendment 3. In 2023,&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/08/20/missouri-secretary-state-ashcroft-lawsuit-abortion/">Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem ruled</a>&nbsp;the ballot title written by then-Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft was “argumentative” or unfairly biased and rewrote it. That&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/10/31/appeals-court-swats-down-ashcroft-arguments-on-missouri-abortion-rights-petitions/">decision was upheld&nbsp;</a>by the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals.Under the bill, a ballot title deemed insufficient or unfair would be sent back to the secretary of state for revision. The courts would have to allow three attempts, all under increasingly tight deadlines, before taking over the job.The bill also moves up the deadline for completing all court challenges from eight weeks before the election to 10 weeks before the election.Along with creating unconstitutional powers for the attorney general and granting them in an unconstitutional way, Hatfield’s lawsuit alleges the bill was improperly changed to&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=III++++21&amp;bid=31761&amp;constit=y" target="_blank">alter its original purpose</a>&nbsp;and that the changes made violate the constitutional requirement that bills&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=III++++23&amp;bid=31763&amp;constit=y" target="_blank">address a single subject</a>.The bill filed by state Sen. Rick Brattin, a Harrisonville Republican, began as “one new section relating to ballot summaries prepared by the general assembly.” It was changed to be “three new sections relating to ballot summaries” in a Senate committee before being passed as “five new sections relating to judicial proceedings.”One provision allowing ballot titles to have 100 words instead of 50 has nothing to do with judicial proceedings, the lawsuit states.&nbsp;And the power to appeal preliminary injunctions has nothing to do with ballot summaries prepared by lawmakers, it adds.No hearings can be set for the lawsuit until notice is served on Bailey and Secretary of State Denny Hoskins, the defendants in the case.The political battle over abortion, and how the initiative process is used, is also continuing inside and outside the General Assembly.On April 17, the Missouri House&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/04/17/missouri-abortion-ban-amendment-jon-patterson-senate/">approved a proposed constitutional amendment</a>&nbsp;that would overturn most provisions of Amendment 3, restoring the ban on abortions that was in place starting in 2022 but with new exceptions for medical emergencies, fatal fetal anomalies and for survivors of rape and incest in the first 12 weeks of gestation.The bill has not been assigned to a state Senate committee.Lawmakers have tried, and failed, to pass proposals that would change how many signatures must be gathered for initiatives and how majorities are counted for initiative measures that make the ballot.A group called the Respect Missouri Voters Coalition has filed an initiative proposal to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sos.mo.gov/CMSImages/Elections/Petitions/2026-036.pdf" target="_blank">add new protections for initiative measures</a>&nbsp;to the state constitution. Any initiative changing a statute or the constitution could only be altered by lawmakers if 80% of members in both chambers vote for a bill that is then submitted to a statewide vote.The bill signed Thursday will give far too much power to the secretary of state, Benjamin Singer, co-founder of the Respect Missouri Voters Coalition and CEO of Show Me Integrity, said in a news release.“Missouri’s citizen initiative process is now dead for anything that the Secretary of State doesn’t like and wants to kill with biased language,” Singer said.

Lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of Missouri attorney general’s new powers

CASS COUNTY —One person died in an accident just after 7a.m. Sunday in Cass County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2007 Chevy Trailblazer driven by a 55-year-old Monnett man was northbound on Interstate 49 at the&nbsp;150.6 mile marker.

The SUV traveled off the left side of the road and struck a guard rail. The driver and three occupants were ejected from the vehicle.&nbsp;

EMS transported the driver to Research Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased.&nbsp; &nbsp;EMS transported a 4-year-old girl and an 8-year-old girl, both of Aurora, Missouri, to Children's Mercy.&nbsp; EMS transported a 27-year-old man and 20-year-old woman, both of Aurora, Missouri, to Truman Medical Center. Only the 4-year-old was properly restrained, according to the MSHP. The patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

CASS COUNTY —One person died in an accident just after 7a.m. Sunday in Cass County.The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 2007 Chevy Trailblazer driven by a 55-year-old Monnett man was northbound on Interstate 49 at the&nbsp;150.6 mile marker.The SUV traveled off the left side of the road and struck a guard rail. The driver and three occupants were ejected from the vehicle.&nbsp;EMS transported the driver to Research Medical Center where he was pronounced deceased.&nbsp; &nbsp;EMS transported a 4-year-old girl and an 8-year-old girl, both of Aurora, Missouri, to Children's Mercy.&nbsp; EMS transported a 27-year-old man and 20-year-old woman, both of Aurora, Missouri, to Truman Medical Center. Only the 4-year-old was properly restrained, according to the MSHP. The patrol no longer releases names of accident victims.

Mo. man dead, 2 adults and 2 children injured in crash

SUN Bucks program provides eligible families with $120 per school-aged child for summer groceries

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/ghills/">GRACE HILLS</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — An estimated 138,776 Kansas school-age children could have received free summer meals last year — their families just didn’t submit the application.

Of the estimated 148,000 children eligible for SUN Bucks pending application, according to the Kansas Department for Children and Families, there were applications submitted for 9,961 children. The program, also known as the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer program, gives families a $120 summer grocery card per eligible school-age child.

While most eligible children did not receive the SUN Bucks, 117,263 children automatically received them, according to DCF. The number of families who automatically received benefits were not counted into the 148,000 potential applications. Children in a household that had already submitted paperwork to receive free or reduced-price school lunches or applied for monthly food assistance programs, for example, were auto-enrolled. Families auto-enrolled for this summer received a letter in January.

The majority of states that offer SUN Bucks auto-enroll children in Medicaid. Kansas does not.

Haley Kottler, campaign director for food access at Kansas Appleseed, says DCF can’t auto-enroll children on Medicaid because of capacity issues with its internal system.

After&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/usda-grocery-ebt-21-million-children-summer-2024-what-to-know/" target="_blank">federal funding was approved</a>, families had from<a href="https://www.propel.app/summer-ebt/" target="_blank">&nbsp;Aug. 12, 2024</a>, to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ksde.gov/Home/Quick-Links/News-Room/Weekly-News/Student-Health-and-Nutrition/PID/6197/mcat/6219/acat/2/ArtDateMonth/9-2024" target="_blank">Oct. 15, 2024</a>, to apply. This year, families have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/ees/Pages/Food/sunbucks.aspx" target="_blank">from Jan. 27 to Aug. 29</a>&nbsp;to apply — enlarging the window from two to seven months.

Kottler identified the small timespan as a reason for the low number of applications. The original application deadline was Sept. 11, 2024, and Kottler fought to change it. But she said that even with the extended window, applications didn’t increase.

“It made it really challenging, because a lot of families just didn’t know they were able to utilize this benefit,” Kottler said.

Erin LaRow, a spokeswoman for DCF, said her department spread the word via social media campaigns, messaging within the DCF phone system and self-service portal, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/ees/Pages/Food/SUNBucks.aspx" target="_blank">dedicated webpage</a>&nbsp;and a statewide news release.

The department also shared a fact sheet, both in English and Spanish, with the Kansas State Department of Education.

David Rubel, a New York City-based education consultant, looked at 12 states’ potential number of applications vs applications submitted. He found the percentage of applications submitted in every state was less than 20%.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2025/1/1738161277873.png" alt=" " />
 <figcaption> </figcaption>
 </figure><h2>SUN Bucks program provides eligible families with $120 per school-aged child for summer groceries</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/ghills/">GRACE HILLS</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — An estimated 138,776 Kansas school-age children could have received free summer meals last year — their families just didn’t submit the application.Of the estimated 148,000 children eligible for SUN Bucks pending application, according to the Kansas Department for Children and Families, there were applications submitted for 9,961 children. The program, also known as the Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer program, gives families a $120 summer grocery card per eligible school-age child.While most eligible children did not receive the SUN Bucks, 117,263 children automatically received them, according to DCF. The number of families who automatically received benefits were not counted into the 148,000 potential applications. Children in a household that had already submitted paperwork to receive free or reduced-price school lunches or applied for monthly food assistance programs, for example, were auto-enrolled. Families auto-enrolled for this summer received a letter in January.The majority of states that offer SUN Bucks auto-enroll children in Medicaid. Kansas does not.Haley Kottler, campaign director for food access at Kansas Appleseed, says DCF can’t auto-enroll children on Medicaid because of capacity issues with its internal system.<h2>Why were applications so low?&nbsp;</h2>After&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/usda-grocery-ebt-21-million-children-summer-2024-what-to-know/" target="_blank">federal funding was approved</a>, families had from<a href="https://www.propel.app/summer-ebt/" target="_blank">&nbsp;Aug. 12, 2024</a>, to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ksde.gov/Home/Quick-Links/News-Room/Weekly-News/Student-Health-and-Nutrition/PID/6197/mcat/6219/acat/2/ArtDateMonth/9-2024" target="_blank">Oct. 15, 2024</a>, to apply. This year, families have&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/ees/Pages/Food/sunbucks.aspx" target="_blank">from Jan. 27 to Aug. 29</a>&nbsp;to apply — enlarging the window from two to seven months.Kottler identified the small timespan as a reason for the low number of applications. The original application deadline was Sept. 11, 2024, and Kottler fought to change it. But she said that even with the extended window, applications didn’t increase.“It made it really challenging, because a lot of families just didn’t know they were able to utilize this benefit,” Kottler said.Erin LaRow, a spokeswoman for DCF, said her department spread the word via social media campaigns, messaging within the DCF phone system and self-service portal, a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/ees/Pages/Food/SUNBucks.aspx" target="_blank">dedicated webpage</a>&nbsp;and a statewide news release.The department also shared a fact sheet, both in English and Spanish, with the Kansas State Department of Education.David Rubel, a New York City-based education consultant, looked at 12 states’ potential number of applications vs applications submitted. He found the percentage of applications submitted in every state was less than 20%.North Carolina had the highest results, with 19.3% of applications submitted, followed by Missouri, with 18.3%. He said the comparatively robust numbers are because of communication about the SUN Bucks program from school districts.“It’s all about the school districts getting the word out to their families. And why I emphasize the school districts is because they’re the only ones who have the current contact information for the families,” Rubel said.Amber Wheeler, the superintendent of Humboldt School District — which has 33% of students approved for free and reduced-price lunches — said it has posted a DCF infographic on their social media accounts.Robin Button, the food and service director for Fort Scott School District — with 56.7% of students approved for free and reduced-price lunches — said it plans on posting the infographic and mentioning the program at its town hall.<h2>‘Chilling effect’ of recent politics</h2>In the wake of President Donald Trump’s promise to deport more people — and the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/irs-share-taxpayer-info-ice-immigrants-rcna200250" target="_blank">use of federal documents to identify them</a>&nbsp;— immigrant families are wary of submitting more documentation. While the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/ees/Pages/Food/sunbucks.aspx" target="_blank">Kansas DCF website</a>&nbsp;states that receiving SUN Bucks would not affect a family’s immigration status, fear remains.“There’s a chilling effect when it comes to programs like this,” Kottler said. “It’s absolutely causing them fear and to not apply.”Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk have been pushing spending cuts — a crusade that has trickled down to state-level officials.At the Kansas State Board of Education’s April meeting, a motion failed to allow KSDE Child and Wellness services to enter an agreement with the Kansas Association of Broadcasters to run public service announcements about summer meal programs. This means that stations associated with KAB won’t air promotional materials about the KSDE’s Sun Meals program, which is separate from the SUN Bucks program.In the 2025-2026 Kansas legislative session, Republicans attempted to insert a provision in the budget that would ban the use of SUN Bucks on candy or soda. Democratic Governor Laura Kelly vetoed the provision — and while the Senate overturned her veto, the House did not — ultimately upholding her veto.LaRow with DCF said the department has received 1,294 SUN Bucks applications as of April 11.Corrections: An earlier version of this story miscalculated the number of children who didn’t receive the SUN Bucks benefit, misstated a decision by the Kansas State Board of Education at its April meeting, and didn’t specify that KSDE’s Sun Meals program is separate from the SUN Bucks program.How to apply for SUN BucksApplication is open now through Aug. 29, 2025.Families who did not receive a letter from the Kansas Department for Children and Families in January&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dcf.ks.gov/services/ees/Pages/Food/sunbucks.aspx" target="_blank">can check their eligibility</a>.Families should&nbsp;<a href="https://www.dcfapp.kees.ks.gov/apspssp/sspNonMed.portal" target="_blank">apply through the DCF Self-service portal</a>.