KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A federal magistrate judge rejected on Friday the government's request to keep the alleged leader of the Kansas City chapter of the Proud Boys in custody pending his trial for the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.

Attorneys for William Chrestman, a 47-year-old Army veteran and union sheet metal worker from Olathe, Kansas, had blamed former President Donald Trump for the riot, telling a federal magistrate judge that the five weeks since then “have broken the fever dream.”

“The court finds no need to get dragged into the ongoing public debate about whether President Trump can or should be held accountable, criminally or civilly (or perhaps both), for inciting the riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. That's for other courts to decide ... later,” U.S. Magistrate Judge James O’Hara wrote.

In a 17-page decision, O’Hara ruled Chrestman could be released on a $10,000 bond to home detention with electronic monitoring. Prosecutors immediately filed a motion seeking to have the order stayed while they appeal the decision to the District Court.

He is charged with conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, threatening to assault a federal law enforcement officer and other federal charges stemming from the melee.

The judge also found that the record “discloses not just a strong, but an overwhelming case on the merits against the defendant. This court believes his ultimate conviction is highly probable, with a significant prison sentence to follow.”

Prosecutors sought to keep Chrestman in custody, arguing that he is a danger to the community and a flight risk. Defense attorneys countered that he won’t flee and argued that he poses no danger since he and the world around him have changed much since that day.

In allowing his release, the judge noted Chrestman's family ties to the area and his lack of significant criminal history.

While in the abstract, the threat of continued riotous conduct if released obviously presents an extremely serious danger to the community, the government has not shown that Chrestman has engaged in any criminal conduct either individually or with the Proud boys before or after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, the judge said.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613070062571.png" alt="Chrestman photo Wyandotte Co. Jail" />
 <figcaption>Chrestman photo Wyandotte Co. Jail</figcaption>
 </figure>KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A federal magistrate judge rejected on Friday the government's request to keep the alleged leader of the Kansas City chapter of the Proud Boys in custody pending his trial for the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol.Attorneys for William Chrestman, a 47-year-old Army veteran and union sheet metal worker from Olathe, Kansas, had blamed former President Donald Trump for the riot, telling a federal magistrate judge that the five weeks since then “have broken the fever dream.”“The court finds no need to get dragged into the ongoing public debate about whether President Trump can or should be held accountable, criminally or civilly (or perhaps both), for inciting the riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. That's for other courts to decide ... later,” U.S. Magistrate Judge James O’Hara wrote.In a 17-page decision, O’Hara ruled Chrestman could be released on a $10,000 bond to home detention with electronic monitoring. Prosecutors immediately filed a motion seeking to have the order stayed while they appeal the decision to the District Court.He is charged with conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, threatening to assault a federal law enforcement officer and other federal charges stemming from the melee.The judge also found that the record “discloses not just a strong, but an overwhelming case on the merits against the defendant. This court believes his ultimate conviction is highly probable, with a significant prison sentence to follow.”Prosecutors sought to keep Chrestman in custody, arguing that he is a danger to the community and a flight risk. Defense attorneys countered that he won’t flee and argued that he poses no danger since he and the world around him have changed much since that day.In allowing his release, the judge noted Chrestman's family ties to the area and his lack of significant criminal history.While in the abstract, the threat of continued riotous conduct if released obviously presents an extremely serious danger to the community, the government has not shown that Chrestman has engaged in any criminal conduct either individually or with the Proud boys before or after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, the judge said.

Judge rejects detention request for Kansas Proud Boys leader

SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary and have two suspects in custody.

Just before 6p.m. February 17, deputies responded to the 2200 block of SW 57th Street for a suspicious vehicle, according to Deputy Abigail Christian.

 An observant citizen noticed a vehicle that did not belong to that residence. Deputies arrived and located two suspects inside a home. They arrested Whitney G. Lariviere, 32, and Ulric E. Sampson, 31, both of Topeka.

&nbsp;During the investigation, a K9 unit was deployed and deputies also found narcotics.

Lariviere was arrested for a misdemeanor warrant out of the City of Topeka and on requested charges of burglary, theft, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Sampson was arrested for a felony warrant out of Shawnee County and on requested charges of burglary, theft, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613685298313.png" alt="Sampson photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Sampson photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>SHAWNEE COUNTY—Law enforcement authorities are investigating a burglary and have two suspects in custody.Just before 6p.m. February 17, deputies responded to the 2200 block of SW 57th Street for a suspicious vehicle, according to Deputy Abigail Christian. An observant citizen noticed a vehicle that did not belong to that residence. Deputies arrived and located two suspects inside a home. They arrested Whitney G. Lariviere, 32, and Ulric E. Sampson, 31, both of Topeka.&nbsp;During the investigation, a K9 unit was deployed and deputies also found narcotics.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613685517339.png" alt="Lariviere photo Shawnee Co." />
 <figcaption>Lariviere photo Shawnee Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Lariviere was arrested for a misdemeanor warrant out of the City of Topeka and on requested charges of burglary, theft, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.Sampson was arrested for a felony warrant out of Shawnee County and on requested charges of burglary, theft, possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Observant neighbor helps deputies catch Kan. burglary suspects

By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-02-18/kansas-meatpacking-workers-faced-outbreak-after-outbreak-but-still-cant-get-a-covid-vaccine">Kansas News Service</a>

Thousands of meatpacking workers in southwest Kansas continue to wait for any news about when they’ll get the COVID-19 vaccine.

That
 wait drags on even as some counties vaccinate college faculty, first 
responders and postal workers, and as Kansas launches a new program to 
get a first dose into the arm of every school worker by early April.

Meatpacking
 plants have been the state’s third-biggest source of coronavirus 
outbreaks, eclipsed only by long-term care facilities (such as nursing 
homes) and jails and prisons.

“Meatpacking workers have taken one 
of the hardest hits of this pandemic,” said Monica Vargas-Huertas, a 
political director for the United Food and Commercial Workers 
International Union Local 2 representing 7,000 meatpacking workers in 
two southwest Kansas counties. “They have been in the front lines from 
Day One.”

The factory-scale slaughterhouses stayed open when many other businesses closed under <a href="https://www.kcur.org/health/2020-03-28/kansas-governor-issues-a-statewide-stay-at-home-order-which-starts-monday" target="_blank">statewide stay-at-home</a> orders last spring.

“They kept working, securing the food (supply),” Vargas-Huertas said, “and securing the economy of the state.”

But
 state officials say meatpacking facilities took steps that greatly 
reduced transmission within their walls. In the past two weeks, they 
say, the plants have seen no fresh coronavirus outbreaks involving five 
or more cases.

And Kansas simply doesn’t receive enough vaccines 
per week from the federal government to quickly vaccinate all essential 
workers.

Ashley Goss, deputy secretary for public health, says 
Gov. Laura Kelly wants to get children back to school as soon as 
possible because missing so much in-person contact with peers and 
educators can have long-term effects on learning and mental health.

“She’s
 had to make some really tough decisions,” Goss said. “And she feels 
very strongly for our school staff to be the next push.”

Kansas 
was receiving fewer than 100,000 doses a week from the federal 
government, though shipments should soon increase to about 115,000 a 
week.

To speed shots to school workers, Kansas is redirecting some
 doses from counties that have made more progress than others on 
vaccinating their residents.

For now, it will not do the same for meatpacking workers.

Kansas
 has some of the country’s most productive beef-packing plants. The 
industry drives the economies of Dodge City, Garden City and Liberal.

The meatpacking workers are largely immigrants and people of color. <a href="https://www.kff.org/policy-watch/early-state-vaccination-data-raise-warning-flags-racial-equity/" target="_blank">Mounting evidence</a> from other states suggests people of color across the country aren’t receiving equitable access to the coronavirus vaccine.

Kansas will soon publish vaccination statistics that shed light on whether that holds true here, too.

The state’s figures on known COVID cases already show Hispanic people <a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas" target="_blank">significantly more likely</a> to catch the virus than non-Hispanic people.

Nearly 4,000 known cases of COVID-19 and two dozen deaths link directly to the slaughterhouses in Kansas.

Infections
 related to the plants continue to have serious ripple effects. Five 
ongoing outbreaks linked to the plants have led to nearly 1,800 known 
cases in their communities and 14 deaths.

<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-the-u-s-is-underestimating-covid-reinfection/" target="_blank">Scientists remain uncertain</a> how long a survivor enjoys immunity before catching the illness again, meaning workers fear re-infection.

“We want to prevent a new wave,” Vargas-Huertas said. “We cannot wait four or five months.”

Meatpacking
 workers fall into Phase 2 of the state’s vaccine rollout plan. (Phase 1
 focused on health care workers and nursing homes.)

But Phase 2 is
 a bucket so massive that it includes about 1 million people, or a third
 of the state’s population. It covers everyone over the age of 65 and a 
wide variety of other groups, such as teachers, police and grocery 
clerks.

The state largely lets each county make its own decisions on how to prioritize within that bucket.

“We’ve
 tried to stick with public health being decentralized in our state,” 
Goss said. “Local health authorities have the ability to decide.”

This week the governor’s office announced one exception: It will start earmarking doses each week for school workers.

But meatpackers in Seward, Ford and Finney counties remain unclear when their turn will come.

UFCW
 International Local 2 represents workers at plants in Seward and Ford 
counties and communicates regularly with other workers in Finney County.

It says workers haven’t been able to get shots unless they qualify based on reasons other than their jobs.

“Only
 those workers over 65 years old have received a vaccine or an 
appointment,” Vargas-Huertas said. “The rest of the workers, they 
haven’t even received an appointment.”

The sites are eagerly 
preparing, she said. Health care workers employed by the plants have 
already gathered information from employees to prioritize which ones 
face the greatest health risks and should get the shots first when they 
become available.

State health officials say plants have applied 
to give the vaccine on site, so eventually Kansas will send doses to 
them directly.

Only, Kansas can’t get its hands on enough doses 
yet to make that happen, Goss said, despite pleading with every federal 
agency it can think of.

“Oh my gosh,” Goss said. “I’ve told anyone
 who will listen. … Anyone who has an ear in the federal government or 
is part of it. We tell them if there’s anyone’s vaccine (who) can’t use 
it, doesn’t want it, that you just want to give us — we’ll take it. 
We’re more than happy to beg and borrow.”

Early
 in the pandemic, some meatpacking workers said their plants should 
close for deep cleaning when coronavirus began spreading on the 
slaughterhouse floors. At <a href="https://www.hppr.org/post/emails-show-kansas-agencies-helped-keep-meatpacking-plants-open-despite-concerns-about" target="_blank">least one county medical officer agreed</a>.

The
 companies opposed closure, and National Beef urged the Kelly 
administration to make clear to meatpacking workers — many of whom were 
fearful of continuing to show up for work in buildings where the disease
 was spreading — that they have a “special responsibility” to do their 
jobs.

State officials said they could close the plants if 
necessary, but wanted to avoid that and require changes within the 
buildings to promote safety instead.

The Kelly and <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/emails-show-the-meatpacking-industry-drafted-an-executive-order-to-keep-plants-open" target="_blank">Trump</a> administrations threw their weight behind ramping up COVID-19 testing for meatpacking plants to keep the facilities open. <a href="https://www.hppr.org/post/emails-show-kansas-agencies-helped-keep-meatpacking-plants-open-despite-concerns-about" target="_blank">The state said</a> workers with known COVID-19 exposure could keep going to work unless they showed symptoms.

But inside the plants, true <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-05-04/despite-meatpacking-plants-efforts-kansas-workers-say-were-right-next-to-each-other" target="_blank">social distancing is impossible</a>, the union says, and plexiglass and face masks can only do so much.

Public
 announcements on the Facebook pages and websites of Seward, Finney and 
Ford counties and a southwest Kansas clinic that has helped with 
outreach and giving shots don’t say when meatpacking workers will get 
their doses.

Nor have workers been able to find that out from the state health department.

By late January, Finney County was vaccinating people over the age of 65, police officers, firefighters and clergy.

Day care workers, UPS, FedEx and postal workers, city employees and taxi drivers were among those who became eligible next.

This week, community college faculty and school employees also get their turn.

The
 most recent update on the Seward County Facebook page, meanwhile, says 
the county is scheduling people over the age of 90 or in critical 
functions, but doesn’t elaborate on the latter category.

The 
Kansas News Service has reached out to Finney, Seward and Ford counties 
seeking more information. A regional health clinic that has helped 
administer doses in southwest Kansas deferred to local health 
authorities.

Celia Llopis-Jepsen reports on consumer health and
 education for the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter 
@celia_LJ or email her at celia@kcur.org.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613744554329.png" alt="The Cargill beefpacking plant in Dodge City. Corinne Boyer / Kansas News Service" />
 <figcaption>The Cargill beefpacking plant in Dodge City. Corinne Boyer / Kansas News Service</figcaption>
 </figure>By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2021-02-18/kansas-meatpacking-workers-faced-outbreak-after-outbreak-but-still-cant-get-a-covid-vaccine">Kansas News Service</a>Thousands of meatpacking workers in southwest Kansas continue to wait for any news about when they’ll get the COVID-19 vaccine.That
 wait drags on even as some counties vaccinate college faculty, first 
responders and postal workers, and as Kansas launches a new program to 
get a first dose into the arm of every school worker by early April.Meatpacking
 plants have been the state’s third-biggest source of coronavirus 
outbreaks, eclipsed only by long-term care facilities (such as nursing 
homes) and jails and prisons.“Meatpacking workers have taken one 
of the hardest hits of this pandemic,” said Monica Vargas-Huertas, a 
political director for the United Food and Commercial Workers 
International Union Local 2 representing 7,000 meatpacking workers in 
two southwest Kansas counties. “They have been in the front lines from 
Day One.”The factory-scale slaughterhouses stayed open when many other businesses closed under <a href="https://www.kcur.org/health/2020-03-28/kansas-governor-issues-a-statewide-stay-at-home-order-which-starts-monday" target="_blank">statewide stay-at-home</a> orders last spring.“They kept working, securing the food (supply),” Vargas-Huertas said, “and securing the economy of the state.”But
 state officials say meatpacking facilities took steps that greatly 
reduced transmission within their walls. In the past two weeks, they 
say, the plants have seen no fresh coronavirus outbreaks involving five 
or more cases.And Kansas simply doesn’t receive enough vaccines 
per week from the federal government to quickly vaccinate all essential 
workers.Ashley Goss, deputy secretary for public health, says 
Gov. Laura Kelly wants to get children back to school as soon as 
possible because missing so much in-person contact with peers and 
educators can have long-term effects on learning and mental health.“She’s
 had to make some really tough decisions,” Goss said. “And she feels 
very strongly for our school staff to be the next push.”Kansas 
was receiving fewer than 100,000 doses a week from the federal 
government, though shipments should soon increase to about 115,000 a 
week.To speed shots to school workers, Kansas is redirecting some
 doses from counties that have made more progress than others on 
vaccinating their residents.For now, it will not do the same for meatpacking workers.<h2>Hot spots</h2>Kansas
 has some of the country’s most productive beef-packing plants. The 
industry drives the economies of Dodge City, Garden City and Liberal.The meatpacking workers are largely immigrants and people of color. <a href="https://www.kff.org/policy-watch/early-state-vaccination-data-raise-warning-flags-racial-equity/" target="_blank">Mounting evidence</a> from other states suggests people of color across the country aren’t receiving equitable access to the coronavirus vaccine.Kansas will soon publish vaccination statistics that shed light on whether that holds true here, too.The state’s figures on known COVID cases already show Hispanic people <a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas" target="_blank">significantly more likely</a> to catch the virus than non-Hispanic people.Nearly 4,000 known cases of COVID-19 and two dozen deaths link directly to the slaughterhouses in Kansas.Infections
 related to the plants continue to have serious ripple effects. Five 
ongoing outbreaks linked to the plants have led to nearly 1,800 known 
cases in their communities and 14 deaths.<a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-the-u-s-is-underestimating-covid-reinfection/" target="_blank">Scientists remain uncertain</a> how long a survivor enjoys immunity before catching the illness again, meaning workers fear re-infection.“We want to prevent a new wave,” Vargas-Huertas said. “We cannot wait four or five months.”<h2>Phase 2 vaccines</h2>Meatpacking
 workers fall into Phase 2 of the state’s vaccine rollout plan. (Phase 1
 focused on health care workers and nursing homes.)But Phase 2 is
 a bucket so massive that it includes about 1 million people, or a third
 of the state’s population. It covers everyone over the age of 65 and a 
wide variety of other groups, such as teachers, police and grocery 
clerks.The state largely lets each county make its own decisions on how to prioritize within that bucket.“We’ve
 tried to stick with public health being decentralized in our state,” 
Goss said. “Local health authorities have the ability to decide.”This week the governor’s office announced one exception: It will start earmarking doses each week for school workers.But meatpackers in Seward, Ford and Finney counties remain unclear when their turn will come.UFCW
 International Local 2 represents workers at plants in Seward and Ford 
counties and communicates regularly with other workers in Finney County.It says workers haven’t been able to get shots unless they qualify based on reasons other than their jobs.“Only
 those workers over 65 years old have received a vaccine or an 
appointment,” Vargas-Huertas said. “The rest of the workers, they 
haven’t even received an appointment.”The sites are eagerly 
preparing, she said. Health care workers employed by the plants have 
already gathered information from employees to prioritize which ones 
face the greatest health risks and should get the shots first when they 
become available.State health officials say plants have applied 
to give the vaccine on site, so eventually Kansas will send doses to 
them directly.Only, Kansas can’t get its hands on enough doses 
yet to make that happen, Goss said, despite pleading with every federal 
agency it can think of.“Oh my gosh,” Goss said. “I’ve told anyone
 who will listen. … Anyone who has an ear in the federal government or 
is part of it. We tell them if there’s anyone’s vaccine (who) can’t use 
it, doesn’t want it, that you just want to give us — we’ll take it. 
We’re more than happy to beg and borrow.”<h2>No plant shutdowns</h2>Early
 in the pandemic, some meatpacking workers said their plants should 
close for deep cleaning when coronavirus began spreading on the 
slaughterhouse floors. At <a href="https://www.hppr.org/post/emails-show-kansas-agencies-helped-keep-meatpacking-plants-open-despite-concerns-about" target="_blank">least one county medical officer agreed</a>.The
 companies opposed closure, and National Beef urged the Kelly 
administration to make clear to meatpacking workers — many of whom were 
fearful of continuing to show up for work in buildings where the disease
 was spreading — that they have a “special responsibility” to do their 
jobs.State officials said they could close the plants if 
necessary, but wanted to avoid that and require changes within the 
buildings to promote safety instead.The Kelly and <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/emails-show-the-meatpacking-industry-drafted-an-executive-order-to-keep-plants-open" target="_blank">Trump</a> administrations threw their weight behind ramping up COVID-19 testing for meatpacking plants to keep the facilities open. <a href="https://www.hppr.org/post/emails-show-kansas-agencies-helped-keep-meatpacking-plants-open-despite-concerns-about" target="_blank">The state said</a> workers with known COVID-19 exposure could keep going to work unless they showed symptoms.<h2>Finding a shot</h2>But inside the plants, true <a href="https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-05-04/despite-meatpacking-plants-efforts-kansas-workers-say-were-right-next-to-each-other" target="_blank">social distancing is impossible</a>, the union says, and plexiglass and face masks can only do so much.Public
 announcements on the Facebook pages and websites of Seward, Finney and 
Ford counties and a southwest Kansas clinic that has helped with 
outreach and giving shots don’t say when meatpacking workers will get 
their doses.Nor have workers been able to find that out from the state health department.By late January, Finney County was vaccinating people over the age of 65, police officers, firefighters and clergy.Day care workers, UPS, FedEx and postal workers, city employees and taxi drivers were among those who became eligible next.This week, community college faculty and school employees also get their turn.The
 most recent update on the Seward County Facebook page, meanwhile, says 
the county is scheduling people over the age of 90 or in critical 
functions, but doesn’t elaborate on the latter category.The 
Kansas News Service has reached out to Finney, Seward and Ford counties 
seeking more information. A regional health clinic that has helped 
administer doses in southwest Kansas deferred to local health 
authorities.Celia Llopis-Jepsen reports on consumer health and
 education for the Kansas News Service. You can follow her on Twitter 
@celia_LJ or email her at celia@kcur.org.

Despite outbreaks, Kan. meatpacking workers wait in line for their COVID vaccine

WASHINGTON (AP) — By the thousands, U.S. service members are refusing or putting off the COVID-19 vaccine as frustrated commanders scramble to knock down internet rumors and find the right pitch that will persuade troops to get the shot.

Some Army units are seeing as few as one-third agree to the vaccine. Military leaders searching for answers believe they have identified one potential convincer: an imminent deployment. Navy sailors on ships heading out to sea last week, for example, were choosing to take the shot at rates exceeding 80% to 90%.

Air Force Maj. Gen. Jeff Taliaferro, vice director of operations for the Joint Staff, told Congress on Wednesday that “very early data” suggests that just up to two-thirds of the service members offered the vaccine have accepted.

That’s higher than the rate for the general population, which a recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation put at roughly 50%. But the significant number of forces declining the vaccine is especially worrisome because troops often live, work and fight closely together in environments where social distancing and wearing masks, at times, are difficult.

The military’s resistance also comes as troops are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-deploys-troops-virus-vaccine-c60769071dbc308c6eeeee77668e395d">deploying to administer shots</a>&nbsp;at vaccination centers around the country and as leaders look to American forces to set an example for the nation.

“We’re still struggling with what is the messaging and how do we influence people to opt in for the vaccine,” said Brig. Gen. Edward Bailey, the surgeon for Army Forces Command. He said that in some units just 30% have agreed to take the vaccine, while others are between 50% and 70%. Forces Command oversees major Army units, encompassing about 750,000 Army, Reserve and National Guard soldiers at 15 bases.

At Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where several thousand troops are preparing for future deployments, the vaccine acceptance rate is about 60%, Bailey said. That’s “not as high as we would hope for front-line personnel,” he said.

“I think the most amusing one I heard was, ‘The Army always tells me what to do, they gave me a choice, so I said no’,” he said.

<a href="https://apnews.com/article/army-anthony-fauci-coronavirus-pandemic-infectious-diseases-jill-biden-1caffff55ad1817a2e618aa5dfa3b826">Service leaders have vigorously campaigned</a>&nbsp;for the vaccine. They have held town halls, written messages to the force, distributed scientific data, posted videos, and even put out photos of leaders getting vaccinated.

For weeks, the Pentagon insisted it did not know how many troops were declining the vaccine. On Wednesday they provided few details on their early data.

Officials from individual military services, however, said in interviews with The Associated Press that refusal rates vary widely, depending on a service member’s age, unit, location, deployment status and other intangibles.

The variations make it harder for leaders to identify which arguments for the vaccine are most persuasive. The Food and Drug Administration has allowed emergency use of the vaccine, so it’s voluntary. But Defense Department officials say they hope that soon may change.

“We cannot make it mandatory yet,” Vice Adm. Andrew Lewis, commander of the Navy’s 2nd Fleet, said last week. “I can tell you we’re probably going to make it mandatory as soon as we can, just like we do with the flu vaccine.”

About 40 Marines gathered recently in a California conference room for an information session from medical staff. One officer, who was not authorized to publicly discuss private conversations and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Marines are more comfortable posing questions about the vaccine in smaller groups.

The officer said one Marine, citing a widely circulated and false conspiracy theory, said: “I heard that this thing is actually a tracking device.” The medical staff, said the officer, quickly debunked that theory, and pointed to the Marine’s cellphone, noting that it’s an effective tracker.

Other frequent questions revolved around possible side effects or health concerns, including for pregnant women. Army, Navy and Air Force officials say they hear much the same.

The Marine Corps is a relatively small service and troops are generally younger. Similar to the general population, younger service members are more likely to decline or ask to wait. In many cases, military commanders said, younger troops say they have had the coronavirus or known others who had it, and concluded it was not bad.

“What they’re not seeing is that 20-year-olds who’ve actually gotten very sick, have been hospitalized or die, or the folks who appear to be fine but then it turns out they’ve developed pulmonary and cardiac abnormalities,” Bailey said.

Lewis, based in Norfolk, Virginia, said last week that sailors on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which is operating in the Atlantic, agreed to get the shot at a rate of about 80%. Sailors on the USS Iwo Jima and Marines in the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, who also are deploying, had rates of more than 90%.

Bailey said the Army is seeing opportunities to reduce the two-week quarantine period for units deploying to Europe if service members are largely vaccinated and the host nation agrees. U.S. Army Europe may cut the quarantine time to five days if 70% of the unit is vaccinated, and that incentive could work, he said.

The acceptance numbers drop off among those who are not deploying, military officials said.

Gen. James McConville, the Army’s chief of staff, used his own experience to encourage troops to be vaccinated. “When they asked me how it felt, I said it was a lot less painful than some of the meetings I go to in the Pentagon.”

Col. Jody Dugai, commander of the Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital at Fort Polk, Louisiana, said that so far conversations at the squad level, with eight to 10 peers, have been successful, and that getting more information helps.

At the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Brig. Gen. David Doyle, has a dual challenge. As base commander, he must persuade the nearly 7,500 soldiers on base to get the shot and he needs to ensure that the thousands of troops that cycle in and out for training exercises are safe.

Doyle said the acceptance rate on his base is between 30% and 40%, and that most often it’s the younger troops who decline.

“They tell me they don’t have high confidence in the vaccine because they believe it was done too quickly,” he said. Top health officials have attested to the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.

Doyle said it appears peers are often more influential than leaders in persuading troops — a sentiment echoed by Bailey, the Army Forces Command surgeon.

“We’re trying to figure out who the influencers are,” Bailey said. “Is it a squad leader or platoon sergeant in the Army? I think it probably is. Someone who is more of their age and interacts with them more on a regular basis versus the general officer who takes his picture and says, ‘I got the shot.’″

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613698670049.png" alt="Photo courtesy Department of Defense" />
 <figcaption>Photo courtesy Department of Defense</figcaption>
 </figure>WASHINGTON (AP) — By the thousands, U.S. service members are refusing or putting off the COVID-19 vaccine as frustrated commanders scramble to knock down internet rumors and find the right pitch that will persuade troops to get the shot.Some Army units are seeing as few as one-third agree to the vaccine. Military leaders searching for answers believe they have identified one potential convincer: an imminent deployment. Navy sailors on ships heading out to sea last week, for example, were choosing to take the shot at rates exceeding 80% to 90%.Air Force Maj. Gen. Jeff Taliaferro, vice director of operations for the Joint Staff, told Congress on Wednesday that “very early data” suggests that just up to two-thirds of the service members offered the vaccine have accepted.That’s higher than the rate for the general population, which a recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation put at roughly 50%. But the significant number of forces declining the vaccine is especially worrisome because troops often live, work and fight closely together in environments where social distancing and wearing masks, at times, are difficult.The military’s resistance also comes as troops are&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/pentagon-deploys-troops-virus-vaccine-c60769071dbc308c6eeeee77668e395d">deploying to administer shots</a>&nbsp;at vaccination centers around the country and as leaders look to American forces to set an example for the nation.“We’re still struggling with what is the messaging and how do we influence people to opt in for the vaccine,” said Brig. Gen. Edward Bailey, the surgeon for Army Forces Command. He said that in some units just 30% have agreed to take the vaccine, while others are between 50% and 70%. Forces Command oversees major Army units, encompassing about 750,000 Army, Reserve and National Guard soldiers at 15 bases.At Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where several thousand troops are preparing for future deployments, the vaccine acceptance rate is about 60%, Bailey said. That’s “not as high as we would hope for front-line personnel,” he said.Bailey has heard all the excuses.“I think the most amusing one I heard was, ‘The Army always tells me what to do, they gave me a choice, so I said no’,” he said.<a href="https://apnews.com/article/army-anthony-fauci-coronavirus-pandemic-infectious-diseases-jill-biden-1caffff55ad1817a2e618aa5dfa3b826">Service leaders have vigorously campaigned</a>&nbsp;for the vaccine. They have held town halls, written messages to the force, distributed scientific data, posted videos, and even put out photos of leaders getting vaccinated.For weeks, the Pentagon insisted it did not know how many troops were declining the vaccine. On Wednesday they provided few details on their early data.Officials from individual military services, however, said in interviews with The Associated Press that refusal rates vary widely, depending on a service member’s age, unit, location, deployment status and other intangibles.The variations make it harder for leaders to identify which arguments for the vaccine are most persuasive. The Food and Drug Administration has allowed emergency use of the vaccine, so it’s voluntary. But Defense Department officials say they hope that soon may change.“We cannot make it mandatory yet,” Vice Adm. Andrew Lewis, commander of the Navy’s 2nd Fleet, said last week. “I can tell you we’re probably going to make it mandatory as soon as we can, just like we do with the flu vaccine.”About 40 Marines gathered recently in a California conference room for an information session from medical staff. One officer, who was not authorized to publicly discuss private conversations and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Marines are more comfortable posing questions about the vaccine in smaller groups.The officer said one Marine, citing a widely circulated and false conspiracy theory, said: “I heard that this thing is actually a tracking device.” The medical staff, said the officer, quickly debunked that theory, and pointed to the Marine’s cellphone, noting that it’s an effective tracker.Other frequent questions revolved around possible side effects or health concerns, including for pregnant women. Army, Navy and Air Force officials say they hear much the same.The Marine Corps is a relatively small service and troops are generally younger. Similar to the general population, younger service members are more likely to decline or ask to wait. In many cases, military commanders said, younger troops say they have had the coronavirus or known others who had it, and concluded it was not bad.“What they’re not seeing is that 20-year-olds who’ve actually gotten very sick, have been hospitalized or die, or the folks who appear to be fine but then it turns out they’ve developed pulmonary and cardiac abnormalities,” Bailey said.One ray of hope has been deployments.Lewis, based in Norfolk, Virginia, said last week that sailors on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which is operating in the Atlantic, agreed to get the shot at a rate of about 80%. Sailors on the USS Iwo Jima and Marines in the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, who also are deploying, had rates of more than 90%.Bailey said the Army is seeing opportunities to reduce the two-week quarantine period for units deploying to Europe if service members are largely vaccinated and the host nation agrees. U.S. Army Europe may cut the quarantine time to five days if 70% of the unit is vaccinated, and that incentive could work, he said.The acceptance numbers drop off among those who are not deploying, military officials said.Gen. James McConville, the Army’s chief of staff, used his own experience to encourage troops to be vaccinated. “When they asked me how it felt, I said it was a lot less painful than some of the meetings I go to in the Pentagon.”Col. Jody Dugai, commander of the Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital at Fort Polk, Louisiana, said that so far conversations at the squad level, with eight to 10 peers, have been successful, and that getting more information helps.At the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, Brig. Gen. David Doyle, has a dual challenge. As base commander, he must persuade the nearly 7,500 soldiers on base to get the shot and he needs to ensure that the thousands of troops that cycle in and out for training exercises are safe.Doyle said the acceptance rate on his base is between 30% and 40%, and that most often it’s the younger troops who decline.“They tell me they don’t have high confidence in the vaccine because they believe it was done too quickly,” he said. Top health officials have attested to the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine.Doyle said it appears peers are often more influential than leaders in persuading troops — a sentiment echoed by Bailey, the Army Forces Command surgeon.“We’re trying to figure out who the influencers are,” Bailey said. “Is it a squad leader or platoon sergeant in the Army? I think it probably is. Someone who is more of their age and interacts with them more on a regular basis versus the general officer who takes his picture and says, ‘I got the shot.’″___

Thousands of service members saying no to COVID-19 vaccine

WASHINGTON (AP) — Deadly weather will be hitting the U.S. more often, and America needs to get better at dealing with it, experts said as Texas and other states battled winter storms that blew past the worst-case planning of utilities, governments and millions of shivering residents.

This week’s storms —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/100-million-americans-more-ice-snow-404012f8d8885259968b8d37b13899d6">with more still heading east&nbsp;</a>— fit a pattern of worsening extremes under climate change and demonstrate anew that local, state and federal officials have failed to do nearly enough to prepare for greater and more dangerous weather.

At least two dozen people have died this week, including from fire or carbon monoxide poisoning while struggling to find warmth inside their homes. In Oklahoma City, an Arctic blast plunged temperatures in the state capital as low as 14 degrees below 0.

“This is a different kind of storm,″ said Kendra Clements, one of several businesspeople in Oklahoma City who opened their buildings to shelter homeless people, some with frostbite, hypothermia and icicles in their hair. It was also a harbinger of what social service providers and governments say will be a surge of increased needs for society’s most vulnerable as climate and natural disasters worsen.

Other Americans are at risk as well. Power supplies of all sorts failed in the extreme cold, including natural gas-fired power plants that were knocked offline amid icy conditions and, to a smaller extent, wind turbines that froze and stopped working. More than 100 million people live in areas under winter weather warnings, watches or advisories, and blackouts are expected to continue in some parts of the country for days.

The crisis sounded an alarm for power systems throughout the country: As climate change worsens, severe conditions that go beyond historical norms are becoming ever more common. Texas, for example, expects power demand to peak in the heat of summer, not the depths of winter, as it did this week.

The dire storms come as President Joe Biden aims to spend up to $2 trillion on infrastructure and clean energy investment over four years. Biden has pledged to update the U.S. power grid to be carbon-pollution free by 2035 as well as weatherize buildings, repair roads and build electric vehicle charging stations.

“Building resilient and sustainable infrastructure that can withstand extreme weather and a changing climate will play an integral role” in creating jobs and meeting Biden’s goal of “a net-zero emissions future,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday.

The storms are big news this week, especially in light of their effect on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/weather-hampers-vaccine-distribution-7a8e8908a0d68da784d1335b3bd6ead8">COVID-19 vaccinations</a>&nbsp;as well as freezing Americans, but that doesn’t mean they won’t become more common, experts say.

“This definitely was an anomaly,″ but one that is likely to occur more frequently as a result of climate change, said Sara Eftekharnejad, assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Syracuse University.

“There probably needs to be better planning, because we’re starting to see more extreme weather events across the country,″ she said, whether it’s severe cold in Texas or the intense heat wave in California last year that fueled deadly wildfires.

Better forecasting — both short-term and long-term — would help avoid catastrophic failures such as the current outages in Texas and other states, as would large-scale storage systems that can supply electricity when demand spikes and a greater diversity of power sources, Eftekharnejad and other experts said.

Climate change also is hurting military readiness. Damage from a 2018 hurricane at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida and 2019 flooding at Nebraska’s Offutt Air Force Base, for example, led the Pentagon to send service members as far away as Britain to train.

Another 2018 hurricane that hit North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune, home to one-third of the U.S. Marine Corps’ capability, caused enough damage to degrade training overall, senior U.S. military authorities concluded.

Hardening military installations against worsening natural disasters will cost trillions. But it has to be done, said Joan VanDervort, a former longtime Defense Department climate expert now with the Center for Climate and Security think tank. “We have eyes overseas that are looking at our vulnerability and seeing how we respond. ... There are enemies out there that will certainly take advantage of it.”

Michael Craig, an assistant professor of energy systems at the University of Michigan, said the events in California and Texas show that “what we have now is not going to do it in the face of climate change. It’s only going to get worse from here.″

The disaster in Texas and other states “is a reminder that our nation’s critical infrastructure is vulnerable to extreme weather events and we can no longer turn a blind eye to the resiliency investments needed to protect it,″ said Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, who met with Biden at the White House last week.

“The cost associated with addressing climate change and improving our infrastructure’s resilience is always going to be less than the cost of rebuilding or failing to act,″ Carper said.

Meanwhile, federal regulators are looking into the operations of the bulk-power system during the severe winter storm that affected states from Louisiana to Minnesota.

In Texas, where wind power is a growing source of electricity, the wind turbines generally are not equipped to withstand extended low temperatures, as they are in Iowa and other cold-weather states. Modifying the turbines slightly to withstand freezing temperatures is one step needed to confront climate change, said Roy McCann, professor of electrical engineering at the University of Arkansas.

While some Republican politicians, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, have tried to pin blame on wind and solar power for the outages, traditional thermal power plants, which rely mostly on natural gas, provide the bulk of power in the state and were the larger problem.

“The entire system was overwhelmed,” said Joshua Rhodes, a research associate on energy issues at the University of Texas.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Deadly weather will be hitting the U.S. more often, and America needs to get better at dealing with it, experts said as Texas and other states battled winter storms that blew past the worst-case planning of utilities, governments and millions of shivering residents.This week’s storms —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/100-million-americans-more-ice-snow-404012f8d8885259968b8d37b13899d6">with more still heading east&nbsp;</a>— fit a pattern of worsening extremes under climate change and demonstrate anew that local, state and federal officials have failed to do nearly enough to prepare for greater and more dangerous weather.At least two dozen people have died this week, including from fire or carbon monoxide poisoning while struggling to find warmth inside their homes. In Oklahoma City, an Arctic blast plunged temperatures in the state capital as low as 14 degrees below 0.“This is a different kind of storm,″ said Kendra Clements, one of several businesspeople in Oklahoma City who opened their buildings to shelter homeless people, some with frostbite, hypothermia and icicles in their hair. It was also a harbinger of what social service providers and governments say will be a surge of increased needs for society’s most vulnerable as climate and natural disasters worsen.Other Americans are at risk as well. Power supplies of all sorts failed in the extreme cold, including natural gas-fired power plants that were knocked offline amid icy conditions and, to a smaller extent, wind turbines that froze and stopped working. More than 100 million people live in areas under winter weather warnings, watches or advisories, and blackouts are expected to continue in some parts of the country for days.The crisis sounded an alarm for power systems throughout the country: As climate change worsens, severe conditions that go beyond historical norms are becoming ever more common. Texas, for example, expects power demand to peak in the heat of summer, not the depths of winter, as it did this week.The dire storms come as President Joe Biden aims to spend up to $2 trillion on infrastructure and clean energy investment over four years. Biden has pledged to update the U.S. power grid to be carbon-pollution free by 2035 as well as weatherize buildings, repair roads and build electric vehicle charging stations.“Building resilient and sustainable infrastructure that can withstand extreme weather and a changing climate will play an integral role” in creating jobs and meeting Biden’s goal of “a net-zero emissions future,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday.The storms are big news this week, especially in light of their effect on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/weather-hampers-vaccine-distribution-7a8e8908a0d68da784d1335b3bd6ead8">COVID-19 vaccinations</a>&nbsp;as well as freezing Americans, but that doesn’t mean they won’t become more common, experts say.“This definitely was an anomaly,″ but one that is likely to occur more frequently as a result of climate change, said Sara Eftekharnejad, assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Syracuse University.“There probably needs to be better planning, because we’re starting to see more extreme weather events across the country,″ she said, whether it’s severe cold in Texas or the intense heat wave in California last year that fueled deadly wildfires.Better forecasting — both short-term and long-term — would help avoid catastrophic failures such as the current outages in Texas and other states, as would large-scale storage systems that can supply electricity when demand spikes and a greater diversity of power sources, Eftekharnejad and other experts said.Climate change also is hurting military readiness. Damage from a 2018 hurricane at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida and 2019 flooding at Nebraska’s Offutt Air Force Base, for example, led the Pentagon to send service members as far away as Britain to train.Another 2018 hurricane that hit North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune, home to one-third of the U.S. Marine Corps’ capability, caused enough damage to degrade training overall, senior U.S. military authorities concluded.Hardening military installations against worsening natural disasters will cost trillions. But it has to be done, said Joan VanDervort, a former longtime Defense Department climate expert now with the Center for Climate and Security think tank. “We have eyes overseas that are looking at our vulnerability and seeing how we respond. ... There are enemies out there that will certainly take advantage of it.”Michael Craig, an assistant professor of energy systems at the University of Michigan, said the events in California and Texas show that “what we have now is not going to do it in the face of climate change. It’s only going to get worse from here.″The disaster in Texas and other states “is a reminder that our nation’s critical infrastructure is vulnerable to extreme weather events and we can no longer turn a blind eye to the resiliency investments needed to protect it,″ said Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, who met with Biden at the White House last week.“The cost associated with addressing climate change and improving our infrastructure’s resilience is always going to be less than the cost of rebuilding or failing to act,″ Carper said.Meanwhile, federal regulators are looking into the operations of the bulk-power system during the severe winter storm that affected states from Louisiana to Minnesota.In Texas, where wind power is a growing source of electricity, the wind turbines generally are not equipped to withstand extended low temperatures, as they are in Iowa and other cold-weather states. Modifying the turbines slightly to withstand freezing temperatures is one step needed to confront climate change, said Roy McCann, professor of electrical engineering at the University of Arkansas.While some Republican politicians, including Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, have tried to pin blame on wind and solar power for the outages, traditional thermal power plants, which rely mostly on natural gas, provide the bulk of power in the state and were the larger problem.“The entire system was overwhelmed,” said Joshua Rhodes, a research associate on energy issues at the University of Texas.

US needs to brace itself for more deadly storms, experts say

DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating vandalism on sheriff's department vehicles in Douglas County.

The three vehicles were vandalized in the parking lot of the Judicial Law Enforcement Center, 1199 New Hampshire Street in Lawrence overnight Thursday or early Friday, according to a social media report from the Douglas County Sheriff.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Anyone who has information about this crime to please call Crime Stoppers, 785-843-TIPS (8477), or our non-emergency line, 785-843-0250.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613824872228.png" alt="The sheriff's department released photos of the vandalized vehicles late Friday and asked the public for help to identify suspects" />
 <figcaption>The sheriff's department released photos of the vandalized vehicles late Friday and asked the public for help to identify suspects</figcaption>
 </figure>DOUGLAS COUNTY —Law enforcement authorities are investigating vandalism on sheriff's department vehicles in Douglas County.The three vehicles were vandalized in the parking lot of the Judicial Law Enforcement Center, 1199 New Hampshire Street in Lawrence overnight Thursday or early Friday, according to a social media report from the Douglas County Sheriff.&nbsp;&nbsp;<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613824980890.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>Anyone who has information about this crime to please call Crime Stoppers, 785-843-TIPS (8477), or our non-emergency line, 785-843-0250.

Kan. sheriff's office vehicles vandalized in department parking lot

TOPEKA — Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatality crash that occurred Friday morning in Central Topeka have identified the victim as&nbsp;65-year-old Kathleen E. Bryson of Topeka, according to police department spokesperson Gretchen Spiker.

Just after 5:45 a.m. police were dispatched to the intersection of SW 10th Avenue and SW Washburn Avenue on a report of an injury accident involving two vehicles, according to Spiker. Both vehicles had single occupants and no passengers.

Bryson sustained life-threatening injuries in the crash. American Medical Response transported her to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.

&nbsp;The other driver involved in the crash sustained minor injuries, according to Spiker.&nbsp; The cause of the crash remains under investigation.&nbsp;

TOPEKA — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatality crash that occurred Friday morning in Central Topeka.

Just after 5:45 a.m. police were dispatched to the intersection of SW 10th Avenue and SW Washburn Avenue on a report of an injury accident involving two vehicles, according to police department spokesperson Gretchen Spiker. Both vehicles had single occupants and no passengers.

The occupant of one of the vehicles sustained life-threatening injuries in the crash. American Medical Response transported that person to a local hospital where they were pronounced dead.

&nbsp;The other driver involved in the crash sustained minor injuries, according to Spiker.&nbsp; Police have not released names of the drivers.

SW 10th Avenue between SW Garfield Avenue and SW Lane Street were closed while officers investigate.&nbsp;

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613749356424.png" alt="Friday morning fatal crash in Topeka - Photo by Phil Anderson courtesy WIBW TV" />
 <figcaption>Friday morning fatal crash in Topeka - Photo by Phil Anderson courtesy WIBW TV</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA — Law enforcement authorities investigating a fatality crash that occurred Friday morning in Central Topeka have identified the victim as&nbsp;65-year-old Kathleen E. Bryson of Topeka, according to police department spokesperson Gretchen Spiker.Just after 5:45 a.m. police were dispatched to the intersection of SW 10th Avenue and SW Washburn Avenue on a report of an injury accident involving two vehicles, according to Spiker. Both vehicles had single occupants and no passengers.Bryson sustained life-threatening injuries in the crash. American Medical Response transported her to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.&nbsp;The other driver involved in the crash sustained minor injuries, according to Spiker.&nbsp; The cause of the crash remains under investigation.&nbsp;--------TOPEKA — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a fatality crash that occurred Friday morning in Central Topeka.Just after 5:45 a.m. police were dispatched to the intersection of SW 10th Avenue and SW Washburn Avenue on a report of an injury accident involving two vehicles, according to police department spokesperson Gretchen Spiker. Both vehicles had single occupants and no passengers.The occupant of one of the vehicles sustained life-threatening injuries in the crash. American Medical Response transported that person to a local hospital where they were pronounced dead.&nbsp;The other driver involved in the crash sustained minor injuries, according to Spiker.&nbsp; Police have not released names of the drivers.SW 10th Avenue between SW Garfield Avenue and SW Lane Street were closed while officers investigate.&nbsp;

Police ID Kansas woman who died in 2-vehicle crash

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) — Ten horses died in a fire at a riding academy in southeast Missouri, fire officials said.

The blaze was reported Thursday evening at the Fox Run Riding Academy stables in Cape Girardeau. Workers were able to save 15 horses, KFVS&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kfvs12.com/2021/02/19/heartland-crews-battle-stable-fire-several-animals-lost/">reported</a>. No people were injured.

Interim Fire Chief Randy Morris said when firefighters arrived 40 percent of the building was engulfed in flames and some areas had collapsed.

The Missouri State Fire Marshal was investigating to determine the cause of the fire.

Eight of the 10 horses that died belonged to Fox Run and two others were being boarded at the academy, which provides riding lessons, boarding and horse training.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613771224945.png" alt="First responders on the scene of the fire photo courtesy KFVS TV" />
 <figcaption>First responders on the scene of the fire photo courtesy KFVS TV</figcaption>
 </figure>CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) — Ten horses died in a fire at a riding academy in southeast Missouri, fire officials said.The blaze was reported Thursday evening at the Fox Run Riding Academy stables in Cape Girardeau. Workers were able to save 15 horses, KFVS&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kfvs12.com/2021/02/19/heartland-crews-battle-stable-fire-several-animals-lost/">reported</a>. No people were injured.Interim Fire Chief Randy Morris said when firefighters arrived 40 percent of the building was engulfed in flames and some areas had collapsed.The Missouri State Fire Marshal was investigating to determine the cause of the fire.Eight of the 10 horses that died belonged to Fox Run and two others were being boarded at the academy, which provides riding lessons, boarding and horse training.

Officials: 10 horses die, 15 saved in fire at riding academy

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Two more Missouri residents have been charged in last month’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

The FBI said Zachary John Wilson, 31, was taken into custody without incident Friday in his hometown of Springfield on federal charges of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building.

His arrest came on the same day that 28-year-old Nicholas Burton Reimler, of Cedar Hill, made his initial appearance in federal court on charges of violent entry or disorderly conduct and entry to a restricted building or grounds. Both charges are misdemeanors that carry maximum sentences ranging from six months to a year behind bars.

The men are among dozens of people who have been charged in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol while Congress was meeting to certify Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential race. Thousands of supporters of then-President Donald Trump descended on the Capitol after a rally nearby that day, and more than 800 are believed to have made it inside the building during the siege. Five people died in the melee, including a Capitol police officer who was struck in the head with a fire extinguisher.

At least five other Missouri residents have been charged in the insurrection —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-michael-brown-riots-arrests-electoral-college-7bb4d9a787d5a04bf9e38c3014740bd1">Michael Aaron Quick, Stephen Brian Quick,&nbsp;</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-kansas-city-michael-brown-kansas-arrests-e36fad2440cbcf1a4b73ca7cc7a18950">Louis Enrique Colon</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/c05f77233c3356ddeeb0b2d40e82f45f" target="_blank">Zachary Martin</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-joe-biden-capitol-siege-nancy-pelosi-michael-brown-9a7d93e17fc79e4ef2d9b8188e7232b3">Emily Hernandez</a>.

According to court documents, an anonymous tipster sent the FBI screenshots of a Facebook post Wilson made announcing he was one of the first people to enter the Capitol and that he had gone to the office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the Springfield News-Leader&nbsp;<a href="https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2021/02/19/us-capitol-riot-insurrection-springfield-man-arrested-connection-fbi-washington-dc/4512003001/" target="_blank">reported</a>.

Wilson acknowledged during an FBI interview that he had gone inside the Capitol, adding that he was a supporter of Trump and he wanted his “voice to be heard,” according to court records. But Wilson denied destroying any property while inside.

FBI spokeswoman Bridget Patton said Wilson was being held by the U.S. Marshals Service and that she didn’t know if he had an attorney yet.

Federal charging documents detailing the allegations against Reimler were not immediately released.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Noelle Collins followed the recommendation of federal prosecutors and released Reimler on his own recognizance. Reimler said his family was in the process of hiring an attorney for him. Cedar Hill is an unincorporated town about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southwest of St. Louis.

Reimler posted comments to Facebook supportive of Trump and critical of Biden and Democrats. On Dec. 31, he reposted “JANUARY SIXTH, SEE YOU IN DC!” from then-President Trump.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that his only other public court record in Missouri is related to a Dec. 21, 2014, arrest on a DWI charge after he was caught driving about 78 mph on Highway 55.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613774181002.png" alt="Reimler photo St. Louis Co." />
 <figcaption>Reimler photo St. Louis Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>ST. LOUIS (AP) — Two more Missouri residents have been charged in last month’s insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.The FBI said Zachary John Wilson, 31, was taken into custody without incident Friday in his hometown of Springfield on federal charges of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building.His arrest came on the same day that 28-year-old Nicholas Burton Reimler, of Cedar Hill, made his initial appearance in federal court on charges of violent entry or disorderly conduct and entry to a restricted building or grounds. Both charges are misdemeanors that carry maximum sentences ranging from six months to a year behind bars.The men are among dozens of people who have been charged in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol while Congress was meeting to certify Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential race. Thousands of supporters of then-President Donald Trump descended on the Capitol after a rally nearby that day, and more than 800 are believed to have made it inside the building during the siege. Five people died in the melee, including a Capitol police officer who was struck in the head with a fire extinguisher.At least five other Missouri residents have been charged in the insurrection —&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-michael-brown-riots-arrests-electoral-college-7bb4d9a787d5a04bf9e38c3014740bd1">Michael Aaron Quick, Stephen Brian Quick,&nbsp;</a><a href="https://apnews.com/article/capitol-siege-kansas-city-michael-brown-kansas-arrests-e36fad2440cbcf1a4b73ca7cc7a18950">Louis Enrique Colon</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/c05f77233c3356ddeeb0b2d40e82f45f" target="_blank">Zachary Martin</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-joe-biden-capitol-siege-nancy-pelosi-michael-brown-9a7d93e17fc79e4ef2d9b8188e7232b3">Emily Hernandez</a>.According to court documents, an anonymous tipster sent the FBI screenshots of a Facebook post Wilson made announcing he was one of the first people to enter the Capitol and that he had gone to the office of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, the Springfield News-Leader&nbsp;<a href="https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/crime/2021/02/19/us-capitol-riot-insurrection-springfield-man-arrested-connection-fbi-washington-dc/4512003001/" target="_blank">reported</a>.Wilson acknowledged during an FBI interview that he had gone inside the Capitol, adding that he was a supporter of Trump and he wanted his “voice to be heard,” according to court records. But Wilson denied destroying any property while inside.FBI spokeswoman Bridget Patton said Wilson was being held by the U.S. Marshals Service and that she didn’t know if he had an attorney yet.Federal charging documents detailing the allegations against Reimler were not immediately released.U.S. Magistrate Judge Noelle Collins followed the recommendation of federal prosecutors and released Reimler on his own recognizance. Reimler said his family was in the process of hiring an attorney for him. Cedar Hill is an unincorporated town about 35 miles (56 kilometers) southwest of St. Louis.Reimler posted comments to Facebook supportive of Trump and critical of Biden and Democrats. On Dec. 31, he reposted “JANUARY SIXTH, SEE YOU IN DC!” from then-President Trump.The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that his only other public court record in Missouri is related to a Dec. 21, 2014, arrest on a DWI charge after he was caught driving about 78 mph on Highway 55.

Two more Missouri men charged in Capitol insurrection

WINDERMERE, Fla. (AP) — Former All-Star baseball player Johnny Damon was arrested Friday in central Florida on a charge of resisting an officer after he was pulled over for suspicion of driving under the influence, according to court and jail records.

Damon, 47, was booked into the Orange County Jail early Friday after an incident in Windermere, Florida, a wealthy suburb of Orlando popular with professional athletes. He is charged with resisting an officer without violence, a first-degree misdemeanor.

An online court docket did not show an attorney listed for Damon who could comment. Jail records show that Damon's wife, Michelle Mangan-Damon, also was arrested. She is facing charges of battery on an officer and resisting with violence.

A police officer pulled over Damon's SUV after it swerved, hit a curb and drove past a stop sign, according to the Orlando Sentinel, citing a police report.

Authorities said Damon slurred his words and he seemed unsteady on his feet. When asked how much he had had to drink, Damon said, “Just a little bit," according to the police report.

Damon, who grew up in Orlando, was a two-time All-Star outfielder who played for seven Major League Baseball teams from 1995 to 2012. He was a key member of the 2004 World Series champion Boston Red Sox team that broke the franchise's 86-year title drought. He later signed with Boston's hated rivals, the New York Yankees, and helped the Yankees win the 2009 World Series. The Royals selected Damon in the first round of the 1992 Major League Baseball draft. He played for the Royals from August of 1995-2000

An online court docket did not list an attorney listed for Damon who could comment.

Jail records show that Damon's wife, Michelle Mangan-Damon, also was arrested.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613766669774.png" alt="Damon photo Orange Co. Dept. of Corrections" />
 <figcaption>Damon photo Orange Co. Dept. of Corrections</figcaption>
 </figure>WINDERMERE, Fla. (AP) — Former All-Star baseball player Johnny Damon was arrested Friday in central Florida on a charge of resisting an officer after he was pulled over for suspicion of driving under the influence, according to court and jail records.Damon, 47, was booked into the Orange County Jail early Friday after an incident in Windermere, Florida, a wealthy suburb of Orlando popular with professional athletes. He is charged with resisting an officer without violence, a first-degree misdemeanor.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613766722917.png" alt="Mangan-Damon photo Orange Co. Dept. of Corrections" />
 <figcaption>Mangan-Damon photo Orange Co. Dept. of Corrections</figcaption>
 </figure>An online court docket did not show an attorney listed for Damon who could comment. Jail records show that Damon's wife, Michelle Mangan-Damon, also was arrested. She is facing charges of battery on an officer and resisting with violence.A police officer pulled over Damon's SUV after it swerved, hit a curb and drove past a stop sign, according to the Orlando Sentinel, citing a police report.Authorities said Damon slurred his words and he seemed unsteady on his feet. When asked how much he had had to drink, Damon said, “Just a little bit," according to the police report.Damon, who grew up in Orlando, was a two-time All-Star outfielder who played for seven Major League Baseball teams from 1995 to 2012. He was a key member of the 2004 World Series champion Boston Red Sox team that broke the franchise's 86-year title drought. He later signed with Boston's hated rivals, the New York Yankees, and helped the Yankees win the 2009 World Series. The Royals selected Damon in the first round of the 1992 Major League Baseball draft. He played for the Royals from August of 1995-2000-------------WINDERMERE, Fla. (AP) — Former All-Star baseball player Johnny Damon was arrested Friday in central Florida on a charge of resisting an officer after he was pulled over for suspicion of driving under the influence, according to court and jail records.Damon, 47, was booked into the Orange County Jail early Friday after an incident in Windermere, Florida, a wealthy suburb of Orlando popular with professional athletes. He is charged with resisting an officer without violence, a first-degree misdemeanor.An online court docket did not list an attorney listed for Damon who could comment.Jail records show that Damon's wife, Michelle Mangan-Damon, also was arrested.Damon, who grew up in Orlando, was a two-time All-Star outfielder who played for seven Major League Baseball teams from 1995 to 2012. He was a key member of the 2004 World Series champion Boston Red Sox team that broke the franchise's 86-year title drought. He later signed with Boston's hated rivals, the New York Yankees, and helped the Yankees win the 2009 World Series. The Royals selected Damon in the first round of the 1992 Major League Baseball draft. He played for the Royals from August of 1995-2000

Former KC Royal Johnny Damon, wife arrested in Florida  

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A new Kansas legislator accused of abusive behavior before taking office received a written warning Thursday from a committee that investigated his conduct, and it directed him to accept a fellow lawmaker as a mentor.

The letter told state Rep. Aaron Coleman, of Kansas City, Kansas, that allegations in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/legislature-kansas-city-kansas-topeka-a8396d22a454fb712cce1bf40193e8c7">a complaint&nbsp;</a>from fellow Democratic lawmakers “are true” based one evidence presented during a hearing last month. The House’s investigating committee said Coleman’s past conduct was “unfitting” for a lawmaker and that he and the House’s top Democrat, Minority Leader Tom Sawyer, must choose a mentor.

Sawyer and 12 other Democrats filed the complaint against the 20-year-old Coleman last month, hoping that the full House would remove him from office. But some Republicans in the GOP-controlled House were uneasy about overturning an election or disciplining a lawmaker for conduct before he or she took office. The letter of “warning and admonition” means Coleman won’t face being the first Kansas lawmaker ousted by colleagues unless his behavior prompts another complaint.

Coleman was accused of abusive behavior toward girls and young women and of&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/committees/ctte_spc_select_investigating_committee_1/misc_documents/download_testimony/ctte_spc_select_investigating_committee_1_20210122_08_testimony.html" target="_blank">telling an aide to Sawyer</a>&nbsp;last year that he would physically harm the legislative leader. The complaint also cited a now-deleted&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-city-kansas-topeka-elections-fd91a21ee706c19194c7d302a2315d28">tweet in November</a>&nbsp;criticizing Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly for not being progressive enough that said, “People will realize one day when I call a hit out on you it’s real,” which Coleman acknowledged was inappropriate.

Sawyer has refused to appoint Coleman to any House committees and said Thursday that he won’t until Coleman gets counseling and expresses remorse for his past behavior. Coleman, who is Jewish, issued a public statement earlier this week suggesting Sawyer and other top House Democrats were seeking “to suppress the Jewish Community,” an accusation Sawyer called “scurrilous.”

“I wish it had been stronger,” Sawyer, from Wichita, said of the committee’s letter to Coleman. “At least they make it clear — they put him on record — that his actions were unfitting of a legislator.”

Coleman declined to comment after the six-member investigating committee’s chair, Republican Rep. John Barker, from Abilene, handed the letter to him in front of reporters outside Barker’s office at the Statehouse.

“Please heed the warning that’s given to you,” Barker told Coleman.

Rep. Boog Highberger, of Lawrence, the top Democrat on the investigating committee, said to Coleman: “You’re under a microscope and I hope that you can rise to the occasion.”

The Kansas State Library has found no record of any state legislator being removed from office by the House or Senate, but in the past six years, lawmakers in at least four states have been expelled for misconduct.

Coleman narrowly ousted a veteran Democratic lawmaker in the August primary while running on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/d7ea4a5bc168f3b608ea96c81efb6c78">a platform</a>&nbsp;that included providing universal health coverage, ending college tuition and legalizing marijuana. He’s since introduced bills to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/hb2288_00_0000.pdf" target="_blank">decriminalize&nbsp;</a>illegal drug possession,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/hb2018_00_0000.pdf" target="_blank">increase the state’s minimum wage&nbsp;</a>from $7.25 to $17.25 an hour over 10 years and require lobbyists at the Statehouse to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/hb2235_00_0000.pdf" target="_blank">wear body cameras</a>&nbsp;and record all conversations with lawmakers.

He won his primary race even after admitting on social media that he had circulated revenge porn as a “sick and troubled” middle school-aged boy. Later, facing only write-in candidates ahead of the November election, at least two other accusations of threatening or&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-kansas-city-kansas-elections-topeka-d6ea4066903abd8ef70d60bebe6c8a3c">abusing</a>&nbsp;girls or young women came to light.

Coleman issued a statement Tuesday over his lack of committee assignments, accusing top House Democrats of “continuing Kansas’ anti-Semitic history by not allowing Jews to participate in the political process.”

“This anti-democratic, anti-Semitic and unprecedented obstruction of the transfer of power must not be tolerated,” Coleman said.

Sawyer responded Wednesday that his refusal to give Coleman committee assignments is based only on a “pattern of abusive behavior.” Sawyer said by making “unfounded and untrue” accusations, Coleman again demonstrated that he is unfit for office.

And Rabbi David Glickman, senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Shalom in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, said while anti-Semitism is a real issue, it appears that Coleman is being denied committee assignments because of his behavior, “independent of his faith.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613753256983.png" alt="Rep. Aaron Coleman answered questions during a Feb. 14 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxFi4QB4ins&amp;feature=emb_logo">virtual town hall event&nbsp;</a>" />
 <figcaption>Rep. Aaron Coleman answered questions during a Feb. 14 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxFi4QB4ins&amp;feature=emb_logo">virtual town hall event&nbsp;</a></figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A new Kansas legislator accused of abusive behavior before taking office received a written warning Thursday from a committee that investigated his conduct, and it directed him to accept a fellow lawmaker as a mentor.The letter told state Rep. Aaron Coleman, of Kansas City, Kansas, that allegations in&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/legislature-kansas-city-kansas-topeka-a8396d22a454fb712cce1bf40193e8c7">a complaint&nbsp;</a>from fellow Democratic lawmakers “are true” based one evidence presented during a hearing last month. The House’s investigating committee said Coleman’s past conduct was “unfitting” for a lawmaker and that he and the House’s top Democrat, Minority Leader Tom Sawyer, must choose a mentor.Sawyer and 12 other Democrats filed the complaint against the 20-year-old Coleman last month, hoping that the full House would remove him from office. But some Republicans in the GOP-controlled House were uneasy about overturning an election or disciplining a lawmaker for conduct before he or she took office. The letter of “warning and admonition” means Coleman won’t face being the first Kansas lawmaker ousted by colleagues unless his behavior prompts another complaint.Coleman was accused of abusive behavior toward girls and young women and of&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/committees/ctte_spc_select_investigating_committee_1/misc_documents/download_testimony/ctte_spc_select_investigating_committee_1_20210122_08_testimony.html" target="_blank">telling an aide to Sawyer</a>&nbsp;last year that he would physically harm the legislative leader. The complaint also cited a now-deleted&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/kansas-city-kansas-topeka-elections-fd91a21ee706c19194c7d302a2315d28">tweet in November</a>&nbsp;criticizing Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly for not being progressive enough that said, “People will realize one day when I call a hit out on you it’s real,” which Coleman acknowledged was inappropriate.Sawyer has refused to appoint Coleman to any House committees and said Thursday that he won’t until Coleman gets counseling and expresses remorse for his past behavior. Coleman, who is Jewish, issued a public statement earlier this week suggesting Sawyer and other top House Democrats were seeking “to suppress the Jewish Community,” an accusation Sawyer called “scurrilous.”“I wish it had been stronger,” Sawyer, from Wichita, said of the committee’s letter to Coleman. “At least they make it clear — they put him on record — that his actions were unfitting of a legislator.”Coleman declined to comment after the six-member investigating committee’s chair, Republican Rep. John Barker, from Abilene, handed the letter to him in front of reporters outside Barker’s office at the Statehouse.“Please heed the warning that’s given to you,” Barker told Coleman.Rep. Boog Highberger, of Lawrence, the top Democrat on the investigating committee, said to Coleman: “You’re under a microscope and I hope that you can rise to the occasion.”The Kansas State Library has found no record of any state legislator being removed from office by the House or Senate, but in the past six years, lawmakers in at least four states have been expelled for misconduct.Coleman narrowly ousted a veteran Democratic lawmaker in the August primary while running on&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/d7ea4a5bc168f3b608ea96c81efb6c78">a platform</a>&nbsp;that included providing universal health coverage, ending college tuition and legalizing marijuana. He’s since introduced bills to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/hb2288_00_0000.pdf" target="_blank">decriminalize&nbsp;</a>illegal drug possession,&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/hb2018_00_0000.pdf" target="_blank">increase the state’s minimum wage&nbsp;</a>from $7.25 to $17.25 an hour over 10 years and require lobbyists at the Statehouse to&nbsp;<a href="http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2021_22/measures/documents/hb2235_00_0000.pdf" target="_blank">wear body cameras</a>&nbsp;and record all conversations with lawmakers.He won his primary race even after admitting on social media that he had circulated revenge porn as a “sick and troubled” middle school-aged boy. Later, facing only write-in candidates ahead of the November election, at least two other accusations of threatening or&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-kansas-city-kansas-elections-topeka-d6ea4066903abd8ef70d60bebe6c8a3c">abusing</a>&nbsp;girls or young women came to light.Coleman issued a statement Tuesday over his lack of committee assignments, accusing top House Democrats of “continuing Kansas’ anti-Semitic history by not allowing Jews to participate in the political process.”“This anti-democratic, anti-Semitic and unprecedented obstruction of the transfer of power must not be tolerated,” Coleman said.Sawyer responded Wednesday that his refusal to give Coleman committee assignments is based only on a “pattern of abusive behavior.” Sawyer said by making “unfounded and untrue” accusations, Coleman again demonstrated that he is unfit for office.And Rabbi David Glickman, senior rabbi at Congregation Beth Shalom in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park, said while anti-Semitism is a real issue, it appears that Coleman is being denied committee assignments because of his behavior, “independent of his faith.”

Kansas lawmaker accused of past abuse gets written warning

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 2115 to a total of 290, 832, the state health department reported Friday afternoon.&nbsp;

Coronavirus deaths were reported at 4614 an increase of 93.

<a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data">Click here for Data</a> about the COVID-19 vaccine.

<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional virus numbers from the KDHE.

TOPEKA— The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kansas increased by 2115 to a total of 290, 832, the state health department reported Friday afternoon.&nbsp;Coronavirus deaths were reported at 4614 an increase of 93.<a href="https://www.kansasvaccine.gov/158/Data">Click here for Data</a> about the COVID-19 vaccine.<a href="https://www.coronavirus.kdheks.gov/160/COVID-19-in-Kansas">Click here&nbsp;</a>for additional virus numbers from the KDHE.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613758672426.png" alt="Friday February 19, 2021 KDHE image" />
 <figcaption>Friday February 19, 2021 KDHE image</figcaption>
 </figure>

KDHE: Latest coronavirus numbers in Kansas

PLATTE CITY (AP) — A suburban Kansas City mayor has pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated last year.

Parkville Mayor Nan Johnston, 60, entered the plea in a Platte County court on Wednesday and received a suspended sentence. She was also ordered to serve two years' probation.

A Platte County sheriff’s deputy reported stopping Johnston in the early morning hours of Sept. 26 along Missouri 9 Highway after seeing her vehicle weaving on the road. Authorities said a breath test administered to Johnston gauged her blood alcohol content at 0.098, just over the .08 legal limit to drive.

Johnston has been mayor of Parkville since 2014.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/2/1613744344535.png" alt="Johnston-Platte County booking photo" />
 <figcaption>Johnston-Platte County booking photo</figcaption>
 </figure>PLATTE CITY (AP) — A suburban Kansas City mayor has pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated last year.Parkville Mayor Nan Johnston, 60, entered the plea in a Platte County court on Wednesday and received a suspended sentence. She was also ordered to serve two years' probation.A Platte County sheriff’s deputy reported stopping Johnston in the early morning hours of Sept. 26 along Missouri 9 Highway after seeing her vehicle weaving on the road. Authorities said a breath test administered to Johnston gauged her blood alcohol content at 0.098, just over the .08 legal limit to drive.Johnston has been mayor of Parkville since 2014.

Suburban Kansas City mayor pleads guilty to driving drunk

TOPEKA&nbsp;– Governor Laura Kelly is taking new steps to address data reporting issues that to date have inaccurately identified the number of individuals vaccinated for COVID-19 in Kansas, according to a media release from her office.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/1/1611798236929.png" alt="“We want Kansans to have confidence that we are vaccinating at-risk Kansans as quickly as possible."" />
 <figcaption>“We want Kansans to have confidence that we are vaccinating at-risk Kansans as quickly as possible."</figcaption>
 </figure>TOPEKA&nbsp;– Governor Laura Kelly is taking new steps to address data reporting issues that to date have inaccurately identified the number of individuals vaccinated for COVID-19 in Kansas, according to a media release from her office.To address this gap, the State will be implementing a series of policies - in partnership with enrolled health care providers -- to help solve the vaccine administration gap, beginning next week.Reported vaccine administration rates in Kansas have been lower than expected, despite qualitative reports of vaccines being administered quickly by health care providers. The gap in reporting is due to reporting inconsistencies and time lags between the state’s immunization registry (KS WebIZ) and the federal registry (CDC Vaccine Finder).“We want Kansans to have confidence that we are vaccinating at-risk Kansans as quickly as possible, and despite data lags, health care providers are administering all doses of vaccine to those who need them most,”&nbsp;Governor Laura Kelly said. “To fix these issues, we are working with local health departments and providers to urgently address the problem. The new processes we are implementing will allow us to spend more time and energy on getting vaccines in Kansans’ arms.”The Kelly administration is implementing three processes to address the vaccine administration “gap”:&nbsp;&nbsp; 1)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Introducing a new daily reporting snapshot&nbsp;for vaccine providers who have received or administered doses to report aggregate and a daily snapshot of their top-line data. This will provide a much-needed accurate daily picture of our progress getting vaccines to Kansans and allow for targeted resolution of reporting or administration issues impacting the state overall.2)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Improving existing reporting,&nbsp;by requiring a flat file fix&nbsp;(a templated excel file) of administration data to be submitted for providers with known reporting issues in WebIZ. This will help ensure more complete data is reported in Kansas and will help to directly correct reported CDC numbers to reflect reality.&nbsp;&nbsp; 3)&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Addressing underlying technical issues with a system-level solve, addressing the underlying system and data transfer issues between provider systems, WebIZ and the CDC.Starting Monday providers will be required to report data daily on doses received, administered, in inventory and transferred via the daily snapshot. This information will give the Kansas Department of Health and Environment a clear view of where vaccines are being administered and will help surface reporting issues in KSWebIZ so they can be addressed. Providers with identified reporting issues will be required to submit patient-level information to KSWebIZ and KDHE via flat files to reduce errors and account for doses that have been delivered but have not yet been reported as administered or in inventory.&nbsp;All three actions aim to address the gap in administration data between what we see in state and local sources and progress providers are making vaccinating Kansans. In tandem, the Kelly administration is working with the KSWebIZ vendor to identify and resolve the long-term data issues.