The Hutchinson City Council will meet this evening at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall.&nbsp;

On the consent agenda is approval of a stop sign grant from the Kansas Department of Transportation. If approved, new, improved signage would be installed at Halstead Street and 17th Avenue, Halstead Street and 11th Avenue, and Airport Road and 11th Avenue. The grant is intended to improve traffic control and safety at the intersections.&nbsp;

Among business items, council members will consider a beverage sales and sponsorship agreement between PepsiCo Beverage Sales LLC, the City of Hutchinson, Hutchinson Community&nbsp;College&nbsp;and Unified School District No. 308.&nbsp;

The USD 308 Board of Education approved its&nbsp;portion&nbsp;of the agreement at its Feb. 9 meeting. The agreement would formalize beverage sales and sponsorship terms among the participating entities.&nbsp;

The council&nbsp;also will&nbsp;consider a development agreement with Superior Holding that includes the creation of 10 new jobs paying more than $21 per hour.&nbsp;Additional&nbsp;details about the project are expected to be discussed during the meeting.&nbsp;

Council members are also scheduled to receive an update on Build&nbsp;Hutch,&nbsp;the city’s infill housing initiative created in partnership with the Hutchinson Community Foundation. The program is&nbsp;aimed at helping local property owners and aspiring developers&nbsp;redevelop&nbsp;vacant lots and blighted properties—one project at a time.&nbsp;

The program focuses on incremental development, a model that emphasizes smaller, locally driven projects rather than large, out-of-town developers building sprawling subdivisions. City officials say the approach can strengthen neighborhoods, expand housing&nbsp;options&nbsp;and keep investment dollars circulating locally.&nbsp;

City council to discuss beverage contract, development agreement

The Food Bank of Reno County will move into a larger facility next week after successfully completing its capital campaign, Executive Director Angela Penner announced.

Penner said the organization met its fundraising goal “due to the generosity of our community” and is scheduled to relocate to 921 E. Fourth Ave., at the corner of Fourth and Severance.

The food bank will suspend operations during the move next week and reopen March 3 at the new site.

The expanded space significantly increases storage capacity, particularly for perishable goods. Penner said the new facility has roughly tripled its cold storage area, allowing the organization to accept and distribute more dairy and other refrigerated items.

“We’re going to be able to serve people with a lot more dignity,” Penner said. “People will be able to come through and shop our aisles like a grocery store.”

At its current location, the food bank can serve only one or two patrons at a time, creating delays on busy days. The new site will allow walk-in service without appointments and introduce a client-choice model, enabling families to select items that best meet their needs.

Beginning March 3, distribution hours will be 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays; noon to 7 p.m. Thursdays; and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays.

The Food Bank of Reno County serves at least 15,000 people annually. Penner said the organization operates primarily through community donations and volunteer support and does not receive dedicated funding for its core programs.

The project gained momentum after the organization won the United Way of Reno County’s Spark Tank competition last fall, which Penner said increased public awareness and support.

The outgoing Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce board chair,&nbsp;Nick Baldetti selected the food bank as the recipient of a $200 gift.&nbsp; The foodbank has a grand opening ribbon-cutting ceremony is planned for March 12.

The new building, a former grocery store, was purchased by the food bank. Rental income from other tenants in the building will help offset operational costs.

First Call for Help will share space in the facility, creating what Penner described as a “one-stop shop” for clients seeking food assistance and additional community resources. The organization is also partnering with K-State Research and Extension to provide educational programming and working with United Way to connect clients with further services.

A community food drive is scheduled for March 13 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Dillons Marketplace, with support from Eagle Media. The food bank is seeking donations of cereal, pancake mix, syrup and canned fruit, along with perishable items such as milk, eggs and cheese.

Penner said volunteers remain essential to operations, and those interested can contact the Volunteer Center at Hutchinson Community College.

“We just want to thank our community,” Penner said. “The support has been overwhelming.”

Food Bank of Reno County set to make move

<a href="https://hutchpost.com/category/obituaries">Click&nbsp;to view the most recent obituaries and service times from our funeral home partners</a>.

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Recent obituaries and service times

STERLING, Kan. (AP) — The Sterling College Symphonic Band will take the stage Sunday afternoon for a concert featuring music by three celebrated composers, joined by guest performers from the Wichita Choral Society.

The performance will highlight works by Gustav Holst, John Rutter and Leonard Bernstein, including Holst’s “Mars” and “Jupiter” from “The Planets,” Rutter’s “Gloria,” and selections from Bernstein’s “Mass.”

Members of the Wichita Choral Society will collaborate with the Sterling College Band for the program. Guest vocalists Katelyn Mattson and Sean Foster will perform with the combined ensemble on Bernstein’s “Mass.”

The concert also will feature harpist Camden Hyder and organist Alejandro Avila.

The performance is scheduled for 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 22, in Culbertson Auditorium on the Sterling College campus. The concert will be livestreamed on the SCMusic Facebook page.

Sterling College Symphonic band to host concert

The National Weather Service Wichita has issued a Red Flag Warning for extreme grassland fire danger across parts of central and south-central Kansas from noon to 9 p.m. CST Tuesday.

Forecasters said southwest winds of 20 to 30 mph, with gusts up to 45 mph, combined with relative humidity as low as 23 percent, will create conditions favorable for rapid wildfire growth. Officials strongly discouraged outdoor burning, warning that any ignition could quickly become a fast-moving grassfire.

A separate Red Flag Warning remains in effect from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. CST for southwest Kansas, where even more severe conditions are expected.

The National Weather Service Dodge City said southwest to west winds of 30 to 40 mph, with gusts reaching 60 mph, and relative humidity dropping as low as 13 percent will significantly increase the risk of extreme fire behavior.

A Red Flag Warning indicates that critical fire weather conditions are occurring or imminent. The combination of strong winds, low humidity and warm temperatures can contribute to rapid fire spread and intense fire behavior.

Emergency managers and fire crews were urged to prepare for potential wildfire operations, and residents were advised to avoid any activities that could spark a fire.

Red Flag Warning issued

The Kansas Department of Transportation plans to begin a bridge replacement project on K-4 over Plum Creek east of Bushton in Rice County on Monday, Feb. 23, conditions permitting.

Initial work will consist of constructing a temporary road around the bridge to carry traffic through the project area. Traffic impacts should be minimal during this phase.&nbsp; Once the temporary road is complete, traffic will then be shifted to the detour while the new bridge is constructed.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Work will occur Monday through Friday during daylight hours.&nbsp;

King Construction, of Hesston, is the prime contractor on the $2.5 million project, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.

KDOT urges motorists to stay alert and follow posted signs in all work zones.

For current road conditions, visit&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://links-2.govdelivery.com/CL0/https:%2F%2Fgcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com%2F%3Fdata=05%257C02%257Cnick.gosnell%2540ks.gov%257C2307b72cd6354edebb9908de0b396462%257Cdcae8101c92d480cbc43c6761ccccc5a%257C0%257C0%257C638960538275676177%257CUnknown%257CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%253D%253D%257C0%257C%257C%257C%26reserved=0%26sdata=R%252FzM61p3LWpRX4mqgVb8vFp2RGA7gdD9N%252FZ5xyhBO9Y%253D%26url=https%253A%252F%252Flinks-2.govdelivery.com%252FCL0%252Fhttps%253A%25252F%25252Fwww.kandrive.gov%25253Futm_medium%253Demail%252526utm_source%253Dgovdelivery%252F1%252F01010199e36a64fc-93fce69b-44f1-44a1-8752-bdd6df0019b0-000000%252FWttZkfWnkeXjcNMQ7BhANqZPjcWOShUW76xWu5IjAbs%253D426%253Futm_medium%253Demail%2526utm_source%253Dgovdelivery%26utm_medium=email%26utm_source=govdelivery/1/0101019c67e18a93-4b2c7d18-eaae-44fe-9e88-b679072d5220-000000/FWl6XVr13NVJy25A36dGR_9lIVmZGaHd9aVV5FMPnpk=444">kandrive.gov</a>&nbsp;or call 511. For updates on construction projects in South Central Kansas, visit&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://links-2.govdelivery.com/CL0/https:%2F%2Fgcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com%2F%3Fdata=05%257C02%257Cnick.gosnell%2540ks.gov%257C2307b72cd6354edebb9908de0b396462%257Cdcae8101c92d480cbc43c6761ccccc5a%257C0%257C0%257C638960538275696990%257CUnknown%257CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%253D%253D%257C0%257C%257C%257C%26reserved=0%26sdata=dod34vcyj47X%252FN%252FmgmDcLFmM5RXAdeDBUvuQNhTkVEQ%253D%26url=https%253A%252F%252Flinks-2.govdelivery.com%252FCL0%252Fhttps%253A%25252F%25252Fwww.ksdot.gov%25252Fsouthcentralnews%25253Futm_medium%253Demail%252526utm_source%253Dgovdelivery%252F1%252F01010199e36a64fc-93fce69b-44f1-44a1-8752-bdd6df0019b0-000000%252FLdD914WqngWaUbjLVqXy7TEPLJvXjX5Bp6Kqc-WGHso%253D426%253Futm_medium%253Demail%2526utm_source%253Dgovdelivery%26utm_medium=email%26utm_source=govdelivery/1/0101019c67e18a93-4b2c7d18-eaae-44fe-9e88-b679072d5220-000000/H9NLq1Q6zCe5Xw8qdkQaWKy7j_hXSBInrTVj1IIFxRs=444">ksdot.gov/southcentralnews</a>.

Bridge replacement to begin in Rice County

Here’s the latest booking activity from the Reno County Jail. This information is provided by the Reno County Sheriff’s Office and is not criminal history. The Hutch Post assumes no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, or completeness, of this information. All suspects are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. ——————————————

Hayward	Paul	Mckoy	Jr	2/16/2026 12:53&nbsp;AM	Poss of opiate, narcotic, or certain stimulant,					Use or Possess with Intent to use Drug Paraphernalia into Human Body

William	Alexander Lane	Stiffler		2/16/2026 4:12&nbsp;AM	DUI; 1st conv; blood or breath .08 or higher,					Driving while license cancelled/suspended/revoked; misd; unknown conv,					Insurance; Fail to maintain liability insurance

Joshua	Alexander	Duque		2/16/2026 9:56&nbsp;AM	Agg battery; Knowingly cause great body harm,					Agg burglary; Locked dwelling for felony, theft, sex, dv,					Endangering a Child

William	James	Galloway		2/16/2026 10:52&nbsp;AM	Viol protection order; Ext stalk/sex aslt/hmn traf,					Stalking; Conduct after receiving notice of protection order causing fear; 2nd conviction,					Harassment by Telephone; Calling to harass or threaten,					Interference with Law Enforcement; Obstruct, Resist, Oppose; Felony Case, Execution of a Felony Warrant

Shellie	Rae	Cap		2/16/2026 7:23&nbsp;PM	Poss of stimulant; 1 prior conviction,					Use or Possess with Intent to use Drug Paraphernalia into Human Body,					Probation Violation

Douglas	Craig	Millet		2/16/2026 8:35&nbsp;PM	Failure to Appear

Charles	Daniel	Sayer		2/17/2026 12:24&nbsp;AM	Failure to Appear,					Domestic Battery; Knowing or Reckless Bodily Harm (1st conviction),					Viol protection order; Pre-trial order

Daily Bookings

KANSAS DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) has issued a stream advisory for an unnamed tributary of the Chikaskia River in Kingman County from County Road 808 to the Chikaskia south of Spivey to the K-2 bridge in Harper County.

The stream advisory is due to a spill of crude oil and produced water from an oil production lease. Water quality has been impacted and the extent is still being determined. Water quality measurements have been taken by EPA.

The Kingman County Sheriff’s Office, along with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) are on scene to assist with the coordination of this cleanup.

The agencies asks that individuals avoid contact with the impacted bodies of water, do not let their cattle enter the water, or drink the water.

KDHE will rescind the advisory once contact has been deemed safe.

Stream advisory issued in Kingman County

<a href="https://hutchpost.com/pages/weather">Click here for the KSStorm.info 7-day forecast.&nbsp;</a>

Three-day Outlook

ELLIS COUNTY—One person was injured in an accident just after 8p.m. Monday in Ellis County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2010 Chevy Cobalt driven by Carson&nbsp;Johnston, 19, Hesston, was&nbsp;eastbound on Interstate 70 just east of&nbsp;Toulon Avenue.&nbsp; The car traveled off the road into the south ditch and rolled onto the driver's side.

EMS transported Johnston to Hays Medical Center. He was properly restrained, according to the KHP.

Kansas man hospitalized after I-70 rollover accident

HUTCHINSON, Kan. — A Wichita man has been arrested in connection with a fatal fentanyl overdose investigated by the Hutchinson Police Department.

Cody R. Martin, 31, was taken into custody Feb. 11 on charges of distribution of fentanyl causing death and arranging the sale of a controlled substance using a communication facility, according to authorities.

The case stems from a fatal overdose reported in January 2025. The Hutchinson Police Department assigned the investigation to its Special Operations Unit, which identified Martin as a suspect in the alleged illegal distribution of controlled substances that resulted in the death.

Investigators forwarded their findings to the Reno County District Attorney’s Office for review. After evaluating the case, Reno County District Attorney Thomas R. Stanton filed criminal complaints in Reno County District Court alleging violations of Kansas law.

The Hutchinson Police Department thanked the Wichita Police Department and the United States Marshals Service for assisting with the investigation and arrest.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Hutchinson Police Department at 620-694-2816, their local law enforcement agency or Crime Stoppers of Reno County at 800-222-TIPS. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the P3Tips app or by texting RENOKS to 738477 to receive a link to an anonymous tip form.

All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

Wichita man arrested in Hutchinson fentanyl overdose death

&nbsp;WASHINGTON —Officers arrested a person with a gun near the West Front of the U.S. Capitol Building on Tuesday afternoon, according to an online statement from the U.S. Capitol Police.

Maryland Avenue was temporarily closed between First and Third Streets, SW, while officers investigated

At this time, there does not appear to be any other suspects or ongoing threat. Out of an abundance of caution, Capitol police asked the public to stay away from the area while they investigate and collect evidence.&nbsp;

🎥Man with loaded shotgun arrested after running toward the US Capitol

Both sides agree 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, needs regulation, but opponents say kratom shouldn’t be included

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

TOPEKA — A bill heard Monday would list kratom as a Schedule 1 drug, moving the previously unclassified substance into the same category as methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin.&nbsp;

<a href="https://kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/sb497/" target="_blank">Senate Bill 497</a>&nbsp;classifies both Kratom and 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, as controlled substances. Proponents and opponents Monday before the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee agreed that 7-OH — the opioid-like compound derived from kratom — is hurting Kansans, but opponents argued the bill wrongly equates the two substances.&nbsp;

Several proponents came from state organizations. One was Sara Hortenstine, youth services division chief for the Kansas Attorney General’s Office.&nbsp;

“If we continue to allow widespread retail access to substances that act like opioids, we will see opioid-type consequences that include more addiction and overdoses and preventable deaths in our state,” Hortenstine said.&nbsp;

David Kuntz works for the Clinical Reference Laboratory in Lenexa. He said he’s seen more 7-OH recently than oxycodone, hydrocodone and fentanyl combined.&nbsp;

If the bill passes, Kansas would join a&nbsp;<a href="https://stateline.org/2025/08/11/kratom-faces-increasing-scrutiny-from-states-and-the-feds/" target="_blank">growing number of states</a>&nbsp;in banning kratom or 7-OH. Kratom and 7-OH aren’t considered a controlled substance in Kansas, but there have been regional bans.&nbsp;

On Thursday,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kcur.org/health/2026-02-13/kansas-city-kratom-ban-7oh-addiction-gas-station-drugs" target="_blank">Kansas City, Missouri barred</a>&nbsp;the sale of synthetic kratom — known as 7-OH — and restricted kratom sales to adults older than 21.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/documents/hb2230_00_0000.pdf" target="_blank">House Bill 2230</a>&nbsp;from last session would have taken a similar path in Kansas, but was never heard by the House.&nbsp;

Kratom&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/prescription-drug-abuse/in-depth/kratom/art-20402171" target="_blank">is marketed as</a>&nbsp;a stimulant if used in low dosages, and a sedative at higher ones. It’s also been used to ease the symptoms of withdrawal from opioids. The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/public-health-focus/fda-and-kratom" target="_blank">Food and Drug Administration&nbsp;</a>said 7-OH naturally occurs in trace amounts in kratom, but when synthesized it acts more like an opioid, and increases the chance of addiction.&nbsp;

Kelly Gray owns two shops that sell kratom in Salina and Derby. He broke his back 10 years ago, and was prescribed opioids. He became addicted and decided to quit.&nbsp;

“I was still going through daily pain with my back as well as my hips being bone on bone when I heard about and tried kratom, after much research. It completely changed my life for the better,” Gray said.

Jason Todack runs a similar business in Topeka. He also uses kratom.

“I’ve seen addicts from fentanyl. I’ve seen alcoholics use it. I’ve seen people hooked on pain pills,” Todack said. “This is an all-natural, whole leaf product, this product gives people choices and options to be able to get off of these other heinous drugs that are out there. I see this literally every day.”&nbsp;

Nearly every opponent asked legislators not to lump kratom and 7-OH in the same group.&nbsp;

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-takes-steps-restrict-7-oh-opioid-products-threatening-american-consumers" target="_blank">FDA recommended</a>&nbsp;scheduling 7-OH as a controlled substance, and specified they are “not focused on natural kratom leaf products.”&nbsp;

Mac Haddow, a senior fellow on public policy for the American Kratom Association based in Virginia, said the bill should be amended to focus solely on 7-OH.&nbsp;

Bob Stuart is an executive officer for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. He said it’s difficult for KBI officers to differentiate between the two substances. Haddow disagreed.

Kansas bill would label kratom a Schedule 1 drug alongside heroin, meth and cocaine 

SEDGWICK COUNTY— A man convicted&nbsp; of killing two people in a parking garage in&nbsp;Old Town in Wichita is scheduled to learn his fate Tuesday.

&nbsp;Zachary Ramirez, 21, will appear at a sentencing hearing in Judge Jeffry Goering's courtroom, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

In April of 2024, a jury found him guilty on two counts of first-degree murder, two alternative counts of second-degree murder, criminal discharge of a weapon, aggravated battery and two counts of battery in the deaths of 20-year-old Josephina Lerma-Dominguez and 21-year-old Bryan Lara-Hernandez both of Wichita, according to the district attorney's office.

Just before&nbsp; 4a.m. July 27, 2023, police responded to the 300 block of North Moore after a a street sweeper operator saw two gunshot victims in a vehicle in a parking garage in Wichita's Old Town and called 911, according to Officer Kris Gupilan.

EMS&nbsp; arrived on the scene and attempted life-saving measures Lerma-Dominguez and Lara-Hernandez died at the scene.&nbsp;

Sentencing day: Man killed Kansas couple in parking garage 

JOHNSON COUNTY —Last week, a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper attempted to stop a driver on Interstate 70 around Turner Diagonal, according to a social media report from Troop A. The trooper was stopping the driver for displaying a tag that belonged on a Dodge Charger; however, it was being displayed on a GMC truck.

The driver fled east on I-70.  The trooper was joined by another trooper equipped with a Grappler.  The trooper successfully deployed the Grappler on Interstate 70 just east of 18th Street.  

The driver was taken into custody.  It was discovered the driver had multiple felony warrants through multiple jurisdictions and was in possession of methamphetamine.&nbsp; The patrol released no additional details including the name of the suspect.

KHP used Grappler to capture wanted suspect on I-70

GRANT COUNTY —USD 214 Ulysses gave students the day off Tuesday due to the forecast sustained high winds and wind gusts exceeding 60 mph producing reduced visibility and blowing dust.

A high wind warning and red flag warning is in effect for Tuesday, according to National Weather Service in Dodge City.

The status of scheduled night activities for the school district are yet to be determined.

Wind warning prompts Kan. district to cancel school Tuesday

Group makes case by drawing upon dystopian horror of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’

By:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">Tim Carpenter</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2025/02/24/gov-laura-kelly-skeptical-kansas-houses-anti-tenure-legislation-will-reach-her-desk/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Five people walked through the Kansas Capitol on Monday shrouded in long, red cloaks and with faces concealed from view by wing-like white bonnets.

The intent was to catch the attention of legislators and lobbyists, who complied with puzzled looks as they tried to comprehend the scene.

Why the outfits? Were they part of a cult? Might they be nuns? What do they want? Could they be dangerous?

Christy Allen, among the women dressed as characters from the dystopian novel and film “The Handmaid’s Tale,” said the group chose the distinctive wardrobe to emphasize frustration with the direction of state government in Kansas and Missouri as well as the dismantling of political norms by President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C.

Allen and her peers carried small cloth signs that summarized their message to politicians. It said, simply: “Shame.” They were told they would be asked to leave if they displayed the signs inside the Kansas Senate chamber.

“I’m tired of people putting party over people,” Allen said. “I feel with the erosion of all people’s rights, the United States becomes a theocracy. Our uniform, and it is a uniform, and we are an army, stands for the subjugation of all people’s rights, and that’s what’s happening with the hypocrisy right now. It’s carrying over into Kansas. We are free staters, right, and we should stick with that.”

The 1985 novel by Canadian author Margaret Atwood and a more recent television series based on the book described a world where fertility rates plunged and fertile women were enslaved to bear children for the ruling class. Civil war in the United States produced a totalitarian, Christian form of government led by power-hungry leaders who relied on a divine law to control women. In the Handmaid world, female residents were forced to survive under laws forbidding them from owning property, handling money or reading and writing.

Angela Korbin, another member of the Handmaid group, said she was in Topeka to protest how democracy was under attack for the benefit of white, evangelical men.

“I want people to know that women’s rights are trans rights and trans rights are human rights,” she said.

She was referencing Senate Bill 244, an anti-transgender bill passed by the Republican-led House and Senate but vetoed by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.

Under the legislation, Kansans using public restrooms would be required to make use of facilities aligned with their sex declaration at birth rather than respect a person’s gender identity. It would establish a mechanism for people who claimed they were offended to seek $1,000 bounties from violators of the law. Government agencies not in compliance could be hit with a $25,000 fine on a first offense or $125,000 fines for subsequent incidents.

“It’s punitive,” Allen said. “Actions say a lot.”

The Handmaid contingent also voiced objections to public policy decisions in Kansas on immigration, health care, education and elections.

Outside the Capitol on Monday, a couple hundred people with colorful signs and flags conducted a protest on Presidents Day that was labeled “Not My President.” It was organized by Kansas 50501, which promotes nonviolent protests in Topeka that build relationships among people eager to defend the Constitution, respect coequal branches of government and deliver on the promise of equal rights for all.

Much of the anger on the south steps of the Statehouse centered Trump’s alleged campaign to violate rights of Americans by directing federal agents to, organizers said, “kill us.”

Teresa Gorby of Ottawa was on hand with a sign that declared “Stop ICE Now.”

“I’m here for my country,” she said. “We need funding for health care, things that help our people not rich guys.”

Topeka residents Duane and Kathy Dahm carried signs that urged people to respect the Constitution and to remind people that “silence kills democracy.”

“We’re just tired and fed up with everything that’s going on,” Duane Dahm said. “All the illegal stuff (Trump’s) doing.”

Other signs registered other concerns: “We’re not being governed, we’re being lied and looted,” “No dictator, no crown. We the people won’t kneel down” and “The darkness has got to give.”

Doug McGaw, a Vietnam veteran who earned a Purple Heart and taught at Emporia State University, said the people had to compel the three branches of the federal government to bring order to chaos.

“We have a corrupt government that will not obey the law,” he said. “We need to stiffen the spine of people who are responsible for our laws and justice system.”

Kansas protesters argue for fundamental reform of government in both style and substance

CHICAGO (AP) — The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, a protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate who led the Civil Rights Movement for decades after the revered leader's assassination, died Tuesday. He was 84.

His daughter, Santita Jackson, confirmed that Jackson died at home, surrounded by family.

As a young organizer in Chicago, Jackson was called to meet with King&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-news-ap-top-news-voting-rights-memphis-north-america-a5fa959c9c3a418d9f5eb1b1badb8db2">at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis</a>&nbsp;shortly before King was killed and he publicly positioned himself thereafter as King's successor.

Jackson led a lifetime of crusades in the United States and abroad, advocating for the poor and underrepresented on issues from voting rights and job opportunities to education and health care. He scored diplomatic victories with world leaders, and through his Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, he channeled cries for Black pride and self-determination into corporate boardrooms,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/0cfc7e215c604452be78493c000ec5c8">pressuring executives</a>&nbsp;to make America a more open and equitable society.

And when he declared, “I am Somebody,” in a poem he often repeated, he sought to reach people of all colors. “I may be poor, but I am Somebody; I may be young; but I am Somebody; I may be on welfare, but I am Somebody,” Jackson intoned.

It was a message he took literally and personally, having risen from obscurity in the segregated South to become America’s best-known civil rights activist since King.

“Our father was a servant leader — not only to our family, but to the oppressed, the voiceless, and the overlooked around the world,” the Jackson family said in a statement posted online. “We shared him with the world, and in return, the world became part of our extended family. His unwavering belief in justice, equality, and love uplifted millions, and we ask you to honor his memory by continuing the fight for the values he lived by.”

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/8f3f24a221ed47b79ee04b47a789d35a">Despite profound health challenges</a>&nbsp;in his final years including a rare brain disorder that affected his ability to move and speak, Jackson continued protesting against racial injustice into the era of Black Lives Matter. In 2024, he appeared at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago and at a City Council meeting to show support for a resolution backing a&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/chicago-israel-hamas-resolution-ceasefire-7f210b4ed091347d4137810999bdc536">ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war</a>.

“Even if we win,” he told marchers in Minneapolis before the officer whose knee kept&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/death-of-george-floyd">George Floyd</a>&nbsp;from breathing was convicted of murder, “it’s relief, not victory. They’re still killing our people. Stop the violence, save the children. Keep hope alive.”

Calls to action, delivered in a memorable voice

Jackson’s voice, infused with the stirring cadences and powerful insistence of the Black church, demanded attention. On the campaign trail and elsewhere, he used rhyming and slogans such as: “Hope not dope” and “If my mind can conceive it and my heart can believe it then I can achieve it,″ to deliver his messages.

Jackson had his share of critics, both within and outside of the Black community. Some considered him a grandstander, too eager to seek out the spotlight. Looking back on his life and legacy, Jackson told The Associated Press in 2011 that he felt blessed to be able to continue the service of other leaders before him and to lay a foundation for those to come.

“A part of our life’s work was to tear down walls and build bridges, and in a half century of work, we’ve basically torn down walls,” Jackson said. “Sometimes when you tear down walls, you’re scarred by falling debris, but your mission is to open up holes so others behind you can run through.”

In his final months, as he received 24-hour care, he lost his ability to speak, communicating with family and visitors by holding their hands and squeezing.

“I get very emotional knowing that these speeches belong to the ages now,” his son, Jesse Jackson Jr., told the AP in October.

A student athlete drawn to the Civil Rights Movement

Jesse Louis Jackson was born on Oct. 8, 1941, in Greenville, South Carolina, the son of high school student Helen Burns and Noah Louis Robinson, a married man who lived next door. Jackson was later adopted by Charles Henry Jackson, who married his mother.

Jackson was a star quarterback on the football team at Sterling High School in Greenville, and accepted a football scholarship from the University of Illinois. But after he reportedly was told Black people couldn’t play quarterback, he transferred to North Carolina A&amp;T in Greensboro, where he became the first-string quarterback, an honor student in sociology and economics, and student body president.

Arriving on the historically Black campus in 1960 just months after students there launched sit-ins at a whites-only diner, Jackson immersed himself in the blossoming Civil Rights Movement.

By 1965, he joined the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/voting-rights-business-alabama-martin-luther-king-jr-race-and-ethnicity-b0d6202cf702d3ae1e487e9c0329083c">voting rights march</a>&nbsp;King led from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. King dispatched him to Chicago to launch Operation Breadbasket, a Southern Christian Leadership Conference effort to pressure companies to hire Black workers.

Jackson called his time with King “a phenomenal four years of work.”

Jackson was with King on April 4, 1968, when the civil rights leader was slain at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Jackson’s account of the assassination was that King died in his arms.

With his flair for the dramatic, Jackson wore a turtleneck he said was soaked with King’s blood for two days, including at a King memorial service held by the Chicago City Council, where he said: “I come here with a heavy heart because on my chest is the stain of blood from Dr. King’s head.”

However, several King aides, including speechwriter Alfred Duckett, questioned whether Jackson could have gotten King’s blood on his clothing. There are no images of Jackson in pictures taken shortly after the assassination.

In 1971, Jackson broke with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to form Operation PUSH, originally named People United to Save Humanity. The organization based on Chicago’s South Side declared a sweeping mission, from diversifying workforces to registering voters in communities of color nationwide. Using lawsuits and threats of boycotts, Jackson pressured top corporations to spend millions and publicly commit to diversifying their workforces.

The constant campaigns often left his wife, Jacqueline Lavinia Brown, the college sweetheart he married in 1963, taking the lead in raising their five children: Santita Jackson, Yusef DuBois Jackson, Jacqueline Lavinia Jackson Jr., and two future members of Congress, U.S. Rep. Jonathan Luther Jackson and Jesse L. Jackson Jr., who resigned in 2012 but is seeking reelection in the 2026 midterms.

The elder Jackson, who was ordained as a Baptist minister in 1968 and earned his Master of Divinity in 2000, also acknowledged fathering a child, Ashley Jackson, with one of his employees at Rainbow/PUSH, Karen L. Stanford. He said he understood what it means to be born out of wedlock and supported her emotionally and financially.

Presidential aspirations fall short but help ‘keep hope alive’

Despite once telling a Black audience he would not run for president “because white people are incapable of appreciating me,”&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/9399c132eb6f43d28021ba0e1da1d88c/Jesse-Jackson's-decades-in-public-eye-shaped-by-many-roles">Jackson ran twice</a>&nbsp;and did better than any Black politician had before President Barack Obama, winning 13 primaries and caucuses for the Democratic nomination in 1988, four years after his first failed attempt.

His successes left supporters chanting another Jackson slogan, “Keep Hope Alive.”

“I was able to run for the presidency twice and redefine what was possible; it raised the lid for women and other people of color,” he told the AP. “Part of my job was to sow seeds of the possibilities.”

<a href="https://www.c-span.org/video/?c4842199/representative-john-lewis-reflects-impact-jesse-jackson-1988-presidential-candidacy">U.S. Rep. John Lewis said</a>&nbsp;during a 1988 C-SPAN interview that Jackson’s two runs for the Democratic nomination “opened some doors that some minority person will be able to walk through and become president.”

Jackson also pushed for cultural change, joining calls by NAACP members and other movement leaders in the late 1980s to identify Black people in the United States as African Americans.

“To be called African Americans has cultural integrity — it puts us in our proper historical context,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=jesse+jackson+african+americans&amp;rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS1028US1028&amp;ei=KhfEZLOoI9PJptQP0-iu2AE&amp;ved=0ahUKEwiz5fXTkbKAAxXTpIkEHVO0CxsQ4dUDCBA&amp;uact=5&amp;oq=jesse+jackson+african+americans&amp;gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiH2plc3NlIGphY2tzb24gYWZyaWNhbiBhbWVyaWNhbnNInxNQlwRY4QtwAXgAkAEAmAFuoAGWDKoBAzcuObgBA8gBAPgBAeIDBBgBIEGIBgE&amp;sclient=gws-wiz-serp#fpstate=ive&amp;vld=cid:3a6492f0,vid:qrSA6vbqC90">Jackson said at the time</a>. “Every ethnic group in this country has a reference to some base, some historical cultural base. African Americans have hit that level of cultural maturity.”

Jackson’s words sometimes got him in trouble.

In 1984, he apologized for what he thought were private comments to a reporter, calling New York City “Hymietown,” a derogatory reference to its large Jewish population. And in 2008, he made headlines when he complained that Obama was “talking down to Black people” in comments captured by a microphone he didn’t know was on during a break in a television taping.

Still, when Jackson joined the jubilant crowd in Chicago’s Grant Park to greet Obama that election night, he had tears streaming down his face.

“I wish for a moment that Dr. King or (slain civil rights leader) Medgar Evers ... could’ve just been there for 30 seconds to see the fruits of their labor,” he told the AP years later. “I became overwhelmed. It was the joy and the journey.”

Exerting influence on events at home and abroad

Jackson also had influence abroad, meeting world leaders and scoring diplomatic victories, including the release of Navy Lt. Robert Goodman from Syria in 1984, as well as the 1990 release of more than 700 foreign women and children held after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. In 1999, he won the freedom of three Americans imprisoned by Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic.

In 2000, President Bill Clinton awarded Jackson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor.

“Citizens have the right to do something or do nothing,” Jackson said, before heading to Syria. “We choose to do something.”

In 2021,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/al-sharpton-racial-injustice-georgia-brunswick-crime-d79f3ef1a8cc16ce74adc38f9e6ec0ec">Jackson joined the parents of Ahmaud Arbery</a>&nbsp;inside the Georgia courtroom where three white men were convicted of killing the young Black jogger. In 2022, he hand-delivered a letter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago, calling for federal charges against former Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke in the 2014 killing of Black teenager Laquan McDonald.

Jackson, who&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/jesse-jackson-rainbow-push-stepping-down-8452b3479834d1ef7acef84419575864">stepped down as president of Rainbow/PUSH</a>&nbsp;in July 2023, disclosed in 2017 that he had sought treatment for Parkinson’s, but he continued to make public appearances even as the disease made it more difficult for listeners to understand him. Earlier this year doctors confirmed a diagnosis of progressive supranuclear palsy, a life-threatening neurological disorder. He was admitted to a hospital in November.

During the coronavirus pandemic, he and his wife survived&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-health-religion-coronavirus-pandemic-voting-rights-fb8ce99277e00e21189f948b98d15d55">being hospitalized with COVID-19</a>. Jackson was vaccinated early, urging Black people in particular to get protected, given their higher risks for bad outcomes.

“It’s America’s unfinished business — we’re free, but not equal,” Jackson told the AP. “There’s a reality check that has been brought by the coronavirus, that exposes the weakness and the opportunity.”

Former Associated Press writer Karen Hawkins, who left The Associated Press in 2012, contributed to this report. Associated Press writer Amy Forliti in Minneapolis contributed.

Longtime civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson dies at 84

SEDGWICK COUNTY—An Oklahoma truck driver accused of intentionally backing over and killing a Georgia man in the parking lot of a Wichita truck stop will face a trial.

On Friday, Travis Briscoe, 46,&nbsp;waived his right to a preliminary hearing and was bound over for trial, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office.

&nbsp;He is charged with 2nd degree murder for the death of 57-year-old Abdelmuttalib Mohammed.

On August 13, police responded to the Love's Travel Stop in the 1500 block of East 21st Street North for an injury crash, according to Officer Kris Gupilan. They found 57-year-old Abdelmuttalib Mohammed of Georgia, under a truck. Sedgwick County Emergency Medical Services pronounced him dead at 5:32 p.m.

Investigators with the Wichita Police Department determined Mohammed had been in a verbal altercation with Briscoe. The two men did not know each other, according to Gupilan. During the altercation, Briscoe began backing into a parking stall with his semitractor-trailer striking&nbsp; Mohammed.

Briscoe remains jailed on a $150,000 bond, according to online jail records.

Driver who backed over, killed man at Kan. truck stop will face a jury

KANSAS CITY —Law enforcement are investigating their seventh homicide case over the past week in Kansas City, Missouri.

Just before 2p.m. Monday, police were dispatched to the VA hospital in Kansas City on a reported shooting, according to KCPD Officer&nbsp;Alayna Gonzalez.

Upon officers arrival, they contacted several individuals who had stated the shooting occurred in the 2900 block of Brighton Avenue. The victim was transported by private conveyance to the VA hospital for medical treatment. VA hospital staff advised officers at that time that the victim was pronounced deceased.

Preliminary information provided by a witness stated that she was inside of her residence when she heard several sounds of shots outside of her home. She exited the residence and located an adult male victim, lying in the street suffering from apparent gunshot trauma. An adult male suspect was seen entering an unknown vehicle and left the area in an unknown direction.&nbsp;

Homicide detectives and crime scene personnel have responded to the scene to begin collecting evidence and witness statements.

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

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