By TONY GUERRERO Hays Post

After the death of Charlie Kirk, a Fort Hays State University student is reviving a Turning Point USA Chapter to turn tragedy into dialogue.

"The initial inspiration was definitely what happened on the 10th," Tyler Preisser, president of FHSU Turning Point USA, said. "The biggest reason was that there were so many kids actually interested after what happened."

After Kirk’s assassination, Turning Point USA <a href="https://x.com/tpusa/status/1968825732974399957?s=46">announced on its official X page that by Sept. 18, more than 62,000 high school and college students across the country had requested to start a chapter or join an existing one</a>.

The FHSU chapter has about 45 members and is planning its next event for 6:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at the Memorial Union. The event will feature an open-mic discussion, inviting students and community members to share and debate their viewpoints respectfully.

On Sept. 30, Turning Point and College Republicans hosted Former Gov. Jeff Colyer, who reflected on his career and outlined his plans for Kansas' future.

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/af650bef-0c19-4f73-b418-bded940b0b7a">SEE RELATED STORY: Former Gov. Jeff Colyer shares vision for Kansas at FHSU</a>

The club hopes to start a podcast, bring in more political speakers and have sessions in the quad to engage with others and answer questions.

"It's OK for us to disagree on things and still coexist and be friends. ... It's also to carry on Charlie's legacy and what he was trying to do," Preisser said.

Preisser said Turning Point had a presence at FHSU in the past but faded due to poor management. The group now has several officers and is collaborating with other organizations, including the FHSU Young Democrats, to encourage open discussions.

"We don't just want to have a big meeting with a bunch of people who agree with us. That's not the point," Preisser said. "The point is to share differing opinions, perspectives, beliefs on life and also be able to humanize each other."

Preisser said the surge of interest led him to partner with the FHSU College Republicans to officially register the group, aiming to involve younger students to keep the organization active for years to come. This is Preisser’s final year at the university.

"I have always been involved in the conservative movement, as well as being a Christian. I've watched Charlie Kirk since I was a freshman in high school," he said.

You can follow FHSU Turning Point on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581456397454">Facebook</a>.

Turning Point USA chapter returns to FHSU

Kansas Department of Transportation

TOPEKA — The Kansas Department of Transportation announces approved bids for state highway construction and maintenance projects. The letting took place Sept. 17 in Topeka. Some of the bids may include multiple projects that have been bundled based on proximity and type of work.

The following project was approved from the Aug. 29 construction letting.

Ellis County bridge among projects approved by Kansas Dept. of Transportation

Disabled American Veterans Chapter 18 is now offering services in Ellis County and surrounding areas through its new office at Hays First United Methodist Church, 302 W. Eighth St., Room 205, and it is now seeing clients.

Chris Deitering, department service officer, will help to expand access to resources for injured veterans by providing free assistance to veterans and their families, including help with VA and federal claims, survivor and burial benefits, membership assistance, and disaster relief, a news release said.

Deitering’s office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

According to the news release, “The DAV is a nonprofit that remains committed to the nation's injured heroes and former federal employees of all generations to ensure they are not alone on their road to recovery by aiding service members in the transition to civilian life, fighting for their rights on Capitol Hill, and funding rehabilitation programs.”

Disabled American Veterans has new office in Hays church

Last week I researched the relationship between milkweed and Monarch butterflies and felt comfortable saying that plant makes those orange-winged wonders toxic to predators. While true in many cases, I discovered in my own flower bed that some common garden critters devour those fluttering visitors without ill effect. For example, Charlotte, our resident yellow orb garden spider devoured one within a couple days after trapping it in her giant web and still lives.

Some of my friends can’t talk about spiders let alone enjoy watching them, but this variety of garden spider is a a garden good guy. Along with jumping spiders, they make friendly, non-venomous neighbors with entertaining antics. As a bonus, orb weavers eat insects like grasshoppers that I don’t want gnawing holes in leaves, tomatoes, and other produce. In fact, this one established her expansive web in a grasshopper-rich section of our flower bed. We watched several incidents over the summer where she’d capture a bristly-legged destruction machine, wrap it in silk, and then leisurely dine al fresco.

As moon phases repeated, Charlotte’s web changed, I researched this species and learned they recycle webs. When the silk fibers thin and weaken, these dramatic hour glass-shaped female yellow and black, long-legged arachnids eat old silk and recycle its protein into a new one. An identifying marker of its trap is a zig-zag patch somewhere near mid-section, which researchers suggest adds strength for catching large prey like grasshoppers and big butterflies. True to form, our girl’s webs incorporated that signature design.

Depending on food supply, Charlotte appears thin or plump. Her combined head and thorax were more than an inch-and-a-half long with even longer legs when I noticed her in June. She hasn’t grown noticeably bigger so the insects she eats simply sustain her. At one time, I thought a much smaller, plain-clothed male orb weaver visited and left her producing an egg sac, but, thankfully, baby spiders never emerged. Hordes of them might have altered my opinion about sharing space.

All this said, Charlotte caused distress several days ago. We love watching migrating monarchs in September and October. Some years, scores stop by, but this year has been slow. Six visiting at a time constitutes a good day. Apparently, one decided to sample nasturtiums near our orb weaver’s silken strands. Like grasshoppers and moths entrapped earlier, this transient wonder entangled itself in that complex netting.

By the time I found the monarch, Charlotte had encased it in silken fiber and was dining at her convenience. So what about those orange wings and milkweed-induced toxins? Was my pretty spider dying? Off to the keyboard to see what wisdom entomologists might impart. Apparently, these spiders safely consume monarchs either by eating around concentrated glycosides or by processing them without ill-effect. I searched for uneaten orange wings but saw none discarded amongst the dense greenery surrounding Charlotte’s web.

While I hope to send every monarch that visits our flowers safely to Mexican highlands to over-winter, I can’t blame Charlotte for harvesting the equivalent of a Thanksgiving turkey dinner. After all, a girl’s gotta protect her figure.

Karen Madorin is a retired teacher, writer, photographer, outdoors lover, and sixth-generation Kansan.

MADORIN: Learning something new

<a href="https://hayspost.com/pages/state-farm-weather-window">For a full look at the weather forecast, click here.</a>

Three-day weather outlook

FHSU is hiring a Skilled Trades Technician position in the Energy Division

Training available for the right responsible and reliable individual

This position performs operation, maintenance and repair of industrial equipment as in boilers, generators, pumps and valves. Work involves all aspects of boiler operation and steam distribution to include general maintenance and repair of related Energy Division/Power Plant equipment. Follow written and oral procedures, reading and recording gauges and water testing.

Minimum Qualifications: This position requires a High School Diploma or equivalent as well as one year of experience in a skilled craft area. Ability to work independently as well as part of a team. Education may be substituted for experience as determined relevant by the university.

Many perks and excellent benefits! Application Process: To apply for this position, please visit FHSU Careers. Only electronic applications submitted through the webpage will be accepted.

Required Application Documents: Applicants must submit a resume.

Applicant documents should be submitted in one PDF.

Find more details and application instructions at: <a href="https://fhsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/CAREERS">https://fhsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/CAREERS</a>

💰 ENTER CASH GRAB HERE FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN $250!

On Wednesday, October 1, HaysMed proudly celebrated the remarkable commitment of its 2025 Service Award recipients. This year, 162 associates were recognized for reaching significant career milestones, honored every five years of service.

These individuals represent the heart of HaysMed’s mission. Their dedication not only strengthens our organization but also deeply impacts the communities we serve across Hays and western Kansas where our Associates live and raise their families. Their sustained contributions have helped elevate the quality of care we provide and reinforce our commitment to compassionate, community-centered healthcare.

HaysMed is grateful for their service and proud to celebrate their achievements.

Hays Medical Center (HaysMed) is a private, not-for-profit, 200+ bed hospital providing the only tertiary-level services in the region. As the premier provider in western Kansas for specialized care, HaysMed offers a wide variety of specialty programs including cardiology, orthopedics, cancer, surgery (general, minimally invasive and robotic), ENT, pulmonology, critical care and women’s services. HaysMed is a Level III Trauma Center and a certified Primary Stroke Center.

Other services include rehabilitation, hospice, neonatal, intensive care and diagnostic imaging, as well as a Wound Healing and Hyperbaric Center and a Sleep and Neurodiagnostic Center. HaysMed is proud to be one of only 20 U.S. hospitals recognized by Vizient in 2023 as a Top Performer in the Complex Care Medical Center cohort. In 2024, HaysMed was named as one of the top 100 rural and community hospitals in the country by the National Rural Health Association and earned the prestigious five-star designation in the 2024 CMS Overall Hospital Quality Star Ratings. Learn more at haysmed.com.

HaysMed honors 162 associates with service awards

Thomas More Prep-Marian Parents Teachers Friends Soup Supper is Sunday, October 26 from 4-7 p.m.&nbsp; We will have chili, green bean dumpling soup, sandwiches and cinnamon rolls.&nbsp;Carry out is available. 

It is a free will offering with proceeds to support classroom and student scholarships.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Thomas More Prep-Marian PTF Soup Supper fundraiser is Oct. 26

The Hays Public Library is hosting a special book talk with Kansas author George Frazier, as he discusses his latest release,&nbsp;Riverine Dreams: Away to the Glorious and Forgotten Grassland Rivers of America, published by the University of Chicago Press.

The event is set for 2:00 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 11, in the HPL Kansas Room.

Prepare for tales of strange riverine forests left over from the ice age, leviathan fish migrations, modern grizzlies roaming the plains, endangered plants as rare as mastodon ivory, an audacious plan to return 10,000 bison to a Great Plains biosphere reserve, and of course, river otter mayhem.

If you thought you knew about the wild lands of Kansas and the surrounding states, get ready for some surprises. Grassland rivers are the most unheralded gems of the entire American backcountry, and Frazier will tell us about the “Grassland River revival” he discovered while exploring eight of the wildest stretches of rivers that remain.

The Hays Public Library is coordinating with Russell Specialty Books and Gifts for this event.

You can find out more about this and other library programs at&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="http://hayslibrary.org/">hayslibrary.org</a>&nbsp;or by calling 785-625-9014.

Hays Public Library to host Kansas author George Frazier Oct. 11

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

<a href="https://hayspost.com/pages/corrections-about-us">Click HERE for the Hays Post obituary policy.&nbsp;</a>

<a href="https://hayspost.com/posts/45c326ac-a856-480a-b491-0312e5d43c5c">Find our obituary posting policy by clicking here.</a>

Recent obituaries and service times

&nbsp;Submit events to&nbsp;<a href="mailto:admin@hayspost.com">admin@hayspost.com</a>. Cover photo courtesy Pixabay

Special thanks to <a href="https://www.visithays.com/183/Events">The Hays Convention and Visitors Bureau</a> and<a href="https://www.fhsu.edu/"> Fort Hays State University</a> for their contributions to the community calendar.

Community Calendar

Area Pizza Hut fundraisers today for HPD Officer Scott Heimann family 

TOPEKA — The Kansas Department of Transportation is seeking input from the public on regional transportation priorities at Local Consult meetings across the state in October.

“Local Consult meetings are a great opportunity for those who use our highways to give feedback on the projects and improvements that are most important to them,” said District Three Engineer Jeff Stewart. “That feedback is important to help KDOT prioritize and identify projects that will best serve our communities.”

People in northwest Kansas (District 3) are invited to participate:

COLBY - 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday, Oct. 15: City Limits Convention Center, 2227 S. Range Ave.

Attendees will also hear about transportation investments being made in their area and learn about various grant funding programs available through KDOT.

STATEWIDE VIRTUAL MEETING - 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 28:&nbsp;Please register in advance – visit&nbsp;<a target="_blank" href="https://links-2.govdelivery.com/CL0/https:%2F%2Fwww.ksdot.gov%2Flocal-consult-2025%3Futm_medium=email%26utm_source=govdelivery/1/01010199b9b4cec1-ff7a1d38-9138-4660-892b-63a458da4a6a-000000/VkUsBu5dZMEJq9oy5o7thBvm6cxFG-rjCzjWj8hCUgY=425">https://www.ksdot.gov/local-consult-2025</a>&nbsp;to attend the virtual meeting.

Local Consult meetings occur every two years to provide Kansans opportunities to ask questions and speak with local, state and federal officials about transportation needs across the state.

For more meeting or project information, please email&nbsp;<a href="mailto:KDOT.Engagement@ks.gov">KDOT.Engagement@ks.gov</a>.

Local Consult meeting in Colby on Oct. 15 to focus on regional transportation priorities

The Healing Hearts Grief Support Group will have its monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 16, at the Schmidt Community Center, 2510 Canterbury. Doors will open at 6:15 p.m. Please use the south entrance.

The speaker will be Dr. Tim Davis, chair of the social work department at Fort Hays State University. Davis will discuss grief and its long-term effects and then will facilitate the meeting's share and support session.&nbsp;

The Healing Hearts group welcomes any adult who has lost a loved one of any age. The group’s facilitator is Dr. Kate McGonigal, who teaches in the Sociology Department at Fort Hays State University.

Social work professor to address grief support group

By KENDRA FRASIER Cottonwood Extension District

Medicare can be challenging to navigate. 

If you are eligible, you know that enrolling in hospital insurance, Part B, supplemental coverage, and a drug plan can be overwhelming. 

The good news is that if you aren’t pleased with your current coverage, open enrollment allows you to make some changes. For example, you can review your current drug plan and see if it will be your best option next year. Since Part D plans tend to change yearly, it’s smart to see what that means for your coverage and costs.

The Cottonwood Extension District is here to help. Certified Senior Health Insurance Counselors in Kansas (SHICK) offer free, unbiased, and confidential Part D assistance to help you find the best drug plan. If you want to compare drug plans, switch plans, or shop around, we are available to visit with you and see what works best for your situation. Open Enrollment is from October 15 – December 7, and you can schedule an appointment today in Hays or Ellis with a certified counselor.

When you schedule an appointment with the Cottonwood District, you will receive a Medicare Part D Prescription Drug -Coverage Worksheet. Medicare beneficiaries need to list all prescription drugs taken, dosage, and 30-day quantity on the worksheet. Bring the worksheet, your Medicare card, and recent letters from Social Security or Medicare to your appointment. 

To schedule your appointment in Hays or Ellis, please call 785-628-9430.

Or if you are in surrounding areas such as Great Bend, Hoisington, Ellinwood, or Claflin, please call 620-793-1910 to schedule an appointment with Michelle Beran.

Karissa Frasier, M.S., is a Certified Community Health Worker for Cottonwood Extension District in Hays. You may reach her at 785-628-9430 or by email at&nbsp;krfrasier@ksu.edu.

FRASIER: Medicare Part D Open Enrollment

HPD Officer Scott Heiman to be honored by Breakfast for a Cause fundraiser

The Thursday, Sept. 9 Hays City Commission meeting has been canceled.

Thursday's Hays City Commission meeting canceled

WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans voted down legislation Wednesday that would have put a check on President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump’s</a>&nbsp;ability to use deadly military force against drug cartels after Democrats tried to counter the administration’s&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-cartels-armed-conflict-cb57804807e55a00ace60ad5f4d4f24d">extraordinary assertion of presidential war powers</a>&nbsp;to destroy vessels in the Caribbean.

The vote fell mostly along party lines, 48-51, with two Republicans, Sens. Rand Paul and Lisa Murkowski, voting in favor and Democratic Sen. John Fetterman voting against. Kansas U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall voted against the measure.

It was the first vote in Congress on Trump’s military campaign, which according to the White House has so far&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hegseth-venezuela-drug-cartels-unlawful-combatants-1848b02febe08acacb82979d7da47dfb">destroyed four vessels</a>, killed at least 21 people and stopped narcotics from reaching the U.S.. The war powers resolution would have required the president to seek authorization from Congress before further military strikes on the cartels.

The Trump administration has asserted that&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/caribbean-indictments-armed-forces-united-states-miami-d82797206561db03851e47df125c243f">drug traffickers</a>&nbsp;are armed combatants threatening the United States, creating justification to use military force. But that assertion has been met with some unease on Capitol Hill.

Some Republicans are asking the White House for more clarification on its legal justification and specifics on how the strikes are conducted, while Democrats insist they are violations of U.S. and international law. It’s a clash that could redefine how the world’s most powerful military uses lethal force and set the tone for future global conflict.

The White House had indicated Trump would veto the legislation, and even though the Senate vote failed it gave lawmakers an opportunity to go on the record with their objections to Trump’s declaration that the U.S. is in “armed conflict” with drug cartels.

“It sends a message when a significant number of legislators say, ‘Hey, this is a bad idea,’” said Sen. Tim Kaine, a Virginia Democrat who pushed the resolution alongside Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California.

Wednesday's vote was brought under the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which was intended to reassert congressional power over the declaration of war.

“Congress must not allow the executive branch to become judge, jury and executioner,” Paul, a Kentucky Republican who has long pushed for greater congressional oversight of war powers, said during a floor speech.

Paul was the only Republican to publicly speak in favor of the resolution before the vote, but a number of GOP senators have questioned the strikes on vessels and said they are not receiving enough information from the administration.

Sen. Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican, acknowledged “there may be some concern” in the Republican conference about the strikes. However, Republican leaders argued against the resolution on the Senate floor Wednesday, calling it a political ploy from Democrats.

“People were attacking our country by bringing in poisonous substances to deposit into our country that would have killed Americans,” said Sen. Jim Risch, the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “Fortunately most of those drugs are now at the bottom of the ocean.”

Risch thanked Trump for his actions and added that he hoped the military strikes would continue.

What has the administration told Congress about the strikes?

Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee received a classified briefing last week on the strikes, and Cramer said he was “comfortable with at least the plausibility of their legal argument.” But he added that no one representing intelligence agencies or the military command structure for Central and South America was present for the briefing.

“I’d be more comfortable defending the administration if they shared the information,” he said.

Kaine also said the briefing did not include any information on why the military chose to destroy the vessels rather than interdict them or get into the specifics of how the military was so confident that the vessels were carrying drugs.

“Maybe they were engaged in human trafficking, or maybe it was the wrong ship,” Schiff said. “We just have little or no information about who was onboard these ships or what intelligence was used or what the rationale was and how certain we could be that everyone on that ship deserved to die.”

The Democrats also said the administration has told them it is adding cartels to a list of organizations deemed “narco-terrorists” that are targets for military strikes, but it has not shown the lawmakers a complete list.

“The slow erosion of congressional oversight is not an abstract debate about process,” Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said in a floor speech. “It is a real and present threat to our democracy.”

Secretary of State&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/marco-rubio">Marco Rubio</a>&nbsp;visited the Republican Conference for lunch Wednesday to emphasize to senators that they should vote against the legislation. He told the senators the administration was treating cartels like governmental entities because they have seized control of large portions of some Caribbean nations, according to Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota.

“These drug trafficking organizations are a direct threat to the safety and security of the United States to unleash violence and criminality on our streets, fueled by the drugs and the drug profits that they make,” Rubio told reporters at the Capitol. “And the president is the commander in chief, has an obligation to keep our country safe.”

Still, there is worry in the Senate that the recent buildup of U.S. maritime forces in the Caribbean was a sign of shifting U.S. priorities and tactics that could have grave repercussions. Senators warned that further military strikes had the potential to set off a conflict with Venezuela.

“This is the kind of thing that leads a country, unexpectedly and unintentionally, into war," Schiff said.

Following the vote, Sen. Todd Young, an Indiana Republican, said in a statement that even though he voted against the resolution, he was still “highly concerned about the legality” of the strikes.

He also raised concern that the military buildup in the Caribbean could divert resources from countering China's military elsewhere. Young said he would be meeting with Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth about those concerns and also called for a hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“The administration should adhere to the Constitution and keep the people’s representatives informed on this critical national security issue,” he said.

Associated Press writer Lisa Mascaro contributed.

Moran, Marshall help Senate vote down check of Trump's use of war powers against cartels

WASHINGTON (AP) — The IRS will furlough nearly half of its workforce on Wednesday as part of the ongoing&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-shutdown-federal-workers-pay-health-care-415768faa14b4e54525d5e6d18ac97b4">government shutdown</a>, according to an updated contingency plan posted to its website. Most IRS operations are closed, the agency said in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26183224-irs-furlough-letter/">a separate letter to its workers</a>.

The news comes after&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-chicago-pritzker-johnson-national-guard-illinois-3ca116f867916ac6538bf45ce391c94c">President Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;and Congress&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/shutdown-senate-schumer-thune-trump-health-care-b85fe6cdd5d8cdc3e3aa1f4ae889474f">failed to strike an agreement</a>&nbsp;to fund federal operations, and the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/government-shutdown">government shutdown</a>&nbsp;has entered its second week, with no discernible endgame in sight.

The agency's initial&nbsp;<a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26183200-irs-lapse-plan/">Lapsed Appropriations Contingency Plan</a>, which provided for the first five business days of operations, stated that the department would remain open using Democrats’&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/biden-inflation-reduction-climate-anniversary-9950f7e814ac71e89eee3f452ab17f71">Inflation Reduction Act</a>&nbsp;funds.

Now, only 39,870 employees, or 53.6%, will remain working as the shutdown continues. It is unclear which workers will remain on the job.

Doreen Greenwald, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said in a statement that taxpayers should expect increased wait times, backlogs and delays implementing tax law changes as the shutdown continues.

“Taxpayers around the country will now have a much harder time getting the assistance they need, just as they get ready to file their extension returns due next week," she said. “Every day these employees are locked out of work is another day of frustration for taxpayers and a growing backlog of work that sits and waits for the shutdown to end.”

She urged the Trump administration and Congress to "reach an agreement that reopens government and restores the services that Americans need and deserve."

The notice to workers states that furloughed workers and those who remain on the job will receive back pay once the shutdown ends. This is notable since the Republican administration on Tuesday&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-federal-workers-back-bay-shutdown-785eb776d2312d1f68f7e91961d0a93a">warned of no guaranteed back pay</a>&nbsp;for federal workers affected by a government shutdown.

Last week, Trump said roughly&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-9-30-2025#00000199-9b62-d3e5-a399-ff7b4ce10000">750,000 federal workers</a>&nbsp;nationwide were expected to be furloughed across agencies, with some&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-9-30-2025#00000199-9c25-d394-abb9-bf2ff8a90000">potentially fired</a>&nbsp;by his administration.

Representatives from the IRS, the Treasury and the White House did not comment on the furlough plans.

Earlier this year the IRS embarked on mass layoffs, spearheaded by the Department of Government Efficiency, affecting tens of thousands of workers. At the end of 2024, the agency employed roughly 100,000 workers — and currently that hovers around 75,000.

IRS will furlough nearly half its workforce due to government shutdown 

KANSAS CITY —Authorities are working to determine the cause of a house fire in Kansas City.

Just before 6a.m. Wednesday, crews responded to a reported house fire in the 3500 block of E. 26th Street in Kansas City, Missouri, according to Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins.

 Crews reported heavy fire through the roof of a two-story occupied home .&nbsp; Searches of the structure came back all clear. The occupants of the home were able to escape. The fire was placed under control at 5:53 am. Red Cross was ordered for two adults and animal control was ordered to care for multiple dogs. 

Animal control responds for multiple dogs after KC house fire

HAMILTON COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating two suspects on drug charges after a drug bust in southwest Kansas.

&nbsp;On October 6, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office in coordination with the Stanton County Sheriff's Office, executed a search warrant at 207 N. Maple Street in Coolidge, Kansas as part of an ongoing investigation into the illegal distribution of methamphetamine, according to a report from the Hamilton County Sheriff.

During the search investigators recovered suspected methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, and additional evidence consistent with the distribution of controlled substances.&nbsp; Deputies arrested 59-year-old&nbsp;Patricia Apodaca of Coolidge on requested charges of Distribution of Methamphetamine, Unlawful Use of a Communication Facility in the Commission of a Drug Felony, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and No Drug Tax Stamp.

They also arrested 69-year-old Claude Bezona (69) of Coolidge on requested charges of Possession of Methamphetamine and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.

Woman accused of selling meth from rural SW Kansas home

The Jackson County judge didn’t draw any conclusions about whether the current parental consent law is unconstitutional under the reproductive rights amendment

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/annaspoerre/">ANNA SPOERRE</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/02/20/state-senator-throws-first-punches-of-2024-missouri-governors-campaign/">Missouri Independent</a>

A&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/04/30/abortion-advocacy-group-sues-missouri-parental-consent-laws/">lawsuit</a>&nbsp;seeking to strike down Missouri laws that restrict access to abortion for minors was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/fv/c/2516-CV13783-%20%20Omnibus%20Order_FINAL.pdf?courtCode=16&amp;di=29109222" target="_blank">thrown out Tuesday on technical grounds.&nbsp;</a>

Jackson County Circuit Judge Sarah Castle determined that the nonprofit that filed the litigation, Right By You, did not have the standing to sue. The lawsuit targeted a requirement that minors get parental consent before an abortion and a ban on anyone aiding or assisting minors who are seeking an abortion.&nbsp;

Castle didn’t draw any conclusions in her Tuesday decision about whether the&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/11/05/missouri-voters-overturn-states-near-total-abortion-ban/">reproductive rights amendment approved by voters last year&nbsp;</a>renders either law unconstitutional.&nbsp;

<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=188.028" target="_blank">Missouri’s parental consent law</a>&nbsp;requires a minor attempting to access abortion receive at least one parent’s consent. The other parent must also be notified. If that’s not possible, they can also ask a judge to bypass the requirement.

“Today’s victory ensures that Missouri’s parental consent laws will continue to safeguard young girls, hold abortion providers accountable and uphold the values of Missouri families for generations to come,”&nbsp;Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said in a statement Wednesday.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Right By You is a nonprofit that helps young people navigate pregnancy decisions, including by increasing access to and awareness around contraceptives, prenatal care, abortion, parenting and adoption. In its lawsuit, the nonprofit also asked the court to allow the group to begin funding and arranging logistics for minors seeking abortions, including transportation, hotel and child care costs.&nbsp;

But Castle on Tuesday determined Right By You, which has one employee in Illinois and some volunteers who live in Missouri,&nbsp; didn’t have the ability to sue because it’s “fiscally sponsored” by a nonprofit incorporated in California. She dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice, leaving the door open for the suit to be filed again.

“Young Missourians will continue to be coerced, isolated, and stigmatized for simply choosing to end a pregnancy until the abortion restrictions targeting them are lifted,” Stephanie Kraft Sheley, Right By You’s founder and director, said in a statement Wednesday. “Missouri’s youth deserve better than being left on their own just to access basic health care.”

Kraft Sheley said attorneys may re-file the lawsuit. In the meantime, she said, Right By You will continue providing young people with information on abortion and contraception through the nonprofit’s text line.

Castle heard arguments in early September after the attorney general’s office asked the court to dismiss the case.

Peter Donohue, an assistant attorney general involved in the lawsuit, told Castle that the judicial bypass measures in place are sufficient.&nbsp;

“It’s kind of wild the plaintiffs think that in cases where judicial bypass is insufficient, that they want basically no circumstance in which parents would be notified of their minor children having an abortion, essentially,” Donohue said.

Allison Zimmer, with the Lawyering Project, argued on behalf of Right By You that the lawsuit was part of a larger effort to broadly protect reproductive rights.&nbsp;

“Just to go back to what is at stake here again, this is about the threat to the right to reproductive freedom,” Zimmer said. “A constitutional right for people in Missouri after the November election … “

Thirty-eight states, including Missouri, require at least some parental involvement for minors seeking abortions, according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/minors-access-abortion-care" target="_blank">the Guttmacher Institute,&nbsp;</a>a reproductive rights research group.&nbsp;

“It makes sense that folks that are in healthy relationships with their children have this instinct that they would want their children to come to them, but a law that forces that to happen in every case is not the solution to that problem,” Kraft Sheley previously told The Independent. “Because it’s not possible for a law to legislate a healthy family dynamic.”

Kraft Sheley is also a co-founder of What’s Next, a reproductive justice group made up of organizers and activists who previously called for a constitutional amendment to appear on the Missouri ballot with no restrictions on abortion.&nbsp;

Last year, the coalition called on the state’s major reproductive rights groups<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/11/25/reproductive-justice-whats-next-abortion-amendment-3-missouri/">&nbsp;to challenge Missouri’s parental consent law</a>.&nbsp;

After getting no response, Kraft Sheley filed her own lawsuit, noting that current policy does not clearly state how or if minors in state custody or in the foster care system can access abortion through the current parental consent law.

An answer to the question of constitutionality may instead come from a separate lawsuit filed in February 2024 in Cole County by the attorney general’s office alleging Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which oversees clinics in Kansas City and Columbia, illegally transported minors out of state for abortions.&nbsp;

<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/02/29/missouri-attorney-general-andrew-bailey-lawsuit-planned-parenthood-project-veritas/">The lawsuit relied on a staged video&nbsp;filmed and edited by Project Veritas</a>, a conservative news organization. In the footage, a man working with Project Veritas goes to a Kansas City area Planned Parenthood and pretends to have a 13-year-old niece who he says needs an abortion. The employee tells the man that Planned Parenthood can help the girl get an abortion in Kansas.

Planned Parenthood has said the lawsuit should be dropped because the video was based on a hypothetical situation and because abortion is now legal.&nbsp;

“I find that the right to reproductive freedom initiative does not address the issue of parental consent,”&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/04/29/attorney-general-andrew-bailey-demands-records-from-missouri-abortion-nonprofit/">Boone County Judge J. Hasbrouck Jacobs said in April.</a>&nbsp;“And because of that, I’m going to deny the motion to dismiss.”

The next hearing date has not yet been set.

Missourians in November narrowly voted to enshrine the right to reproductive health care in the state constitution.<a href="https://moconstitutionalfreedom.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Missourians-for-Constitutional-Freedom-Amendment.pdf" target="_blank">&nbsp;This amendment&nbsp;</a>includes a provision that prohibits the government from discriminating “against persons providing or obtaining reproductive health care or assisting another person in doing so.”&nbsp;

The amendment does allow the government to legislate abortion access if compelling governmental interest exists.&nbsp;

A new amendment proposed by the Republican legislature is set to appear on the November 2026 ballot. If passed, it will<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2025/10/07/missouri-abortion-ban-amendment-ballot-language-2026/">&nbsp;repeal the reproductive rights amendment and ban nearly all abortions,&nbsp;</a>with limited exceptions for survivors and for medical emergencies.

Judge throws out lawsuit challenging Missouri’s parental consent abortion law for minors

WASHINGTON (AP) — Israel and Hamas have agreed to the “first phase” of his peace plan to pause fighting and release at least some hostages and prisoners, U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday in announcing the outlines of the biggest breakthrough in months in the two-year-old war.

“This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace,” Trump wrote on social media. “All Parties will be treated fairly!”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on social media, “With God’s help we will bring them all home.” Hamas said separately that the deal would ensure the withdrawal of Israeli troops as well as allow for the entry of aid and exchange of hostages and prisoners.

Hamas plans to release all 20 living hostages this weekend, people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press, while the Israeli military will begin a withdrawal from the majority of Gaza.

It was not immediately clear whether the parties had made any progress on thornier questions about the future of the conflict, including whether Hamas will demilitarize, as Trump has demanded, and eventual governance of the war-torn territory. But the agreement nonetheless marked the most momentous development since a deal in January and February that involved the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners.

The deal was solidified in Egypt after days of negotiations centered on a Trump-backed peace plan that he hopes will ultimately result in a permanent end to the war and bring about a sustainable peace in the region.

The war began with Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people, many of them civilians, and took 251 hostage. Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has left tens of thousands of Palestinians dead, devastated Gaza and upended global politics.

Trump expressed optimism earlier in the day by saying that he was considering a trip to the Middle East within a matter of days.

Yet another hint of a deal came later in that event when U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-rubio-note-middle-east-peace-f570658c65daefab6d0af9b29e851dd7">passed Trump a note</a>&nbsp;on White House stationery that read, “You need to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first.” Truth Social is the president’s preferred social media platform.

The note prompted Trump to proclaim, “We’re very close to a deal in the Middle East.”

WASHINGTON (AP) — President&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>&nbsp;was holding a roundtable event with conservative influencers about antifa Wednesday when Secretary of State Marco Rubio, standing in the back corner of the White House’s Blue Room, caught his eye.

He had news for Trump, he said, but it would have to wait until after the media left. Then Rubio passed the president a note.

News photographers covering the event zoomed in on the handwriting on White House stationery that read, “You need to approve a Truth Social post soon so you can announce deal first.”

“I was just given a note by the secretary of state saying that we’re very close to a deal on the Middle East, and they’re gonna need me pretty quickly,” Trump said. “So we’ll take a couple of more questions.”

The influencer event had already been going on for more than an hour when Rubio first approached. The president invited him to come in, and Rubio whispered something to Trump before handing him the note.

The note’s urgent tone came as Trump’s top Middle East adviser, Steve Witkoff, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and other senior officials joined a third day of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">peace talks</a>&nbsp;between Israel and Hamas at an Egyptian resort Wednesday — a sign that negotiators aim to dive deeply into the toughest issues of&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/gaza-israel-palestinians-hamas-war-explainer-d5c5057d2fe9e2e255215850b454f601">an American plan</a>&nbsp;to end the war in Gaza.

Trump had kicked off the influencer event by telling assembled journalists that he planned to travel to the Middle East “toward the end of the week” and could even “make the rounds” in the region to Egypt and possibly the Gaza Strip as U.S. negotiators closed in on a deal.

Still, even after Rubio passed Trump the note, Trump continued to talk to the influencers and take questions from the media as the secretary of state became visibly anxious.

Nearly 10 minutes after his initial comments about leaving, Trump said: “I have to go now to try and solve some problems in the Middle East — although I’m very well represented by our secretary of state. He could probably do an even better job than me, but who knows.”

“We don’t want to take any chances. So we’re going to go and do that,” Trump added.

He then suggested Attorney General Pam Bondi and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stay and take questions in his absence. However, Trump continued to take questions before the event finally broke up without Cabinet members remaining behind.

“We’re gonna get peace in the Middle East,” Trump wrapped by saying. “That’s what we want to do.”

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