The Board of Directors of the Flint Hills Regional Leadership Program has acknowledged the completion of coursework and graduation of twenty-six participants of the&nbsp;2025-26&nbsp;program year. Ceremonies were completed at the Columbian Theatre in Wamego.

Executive Director, Jack Lindquist explained, “As we completed each segment and thanked each speaker and host, this class reflected the maxim as the Eagle Class — They accepted the charge they must be fearless in the face of adversity, knowing that the Eagle soars above the ordinary. With courage to fly against the wind, this class rose and will continue to rise to extraordinary heights.”

Board Chair Jeremy O’Donnell summarized the class experience saying, “This region needs vision to meet the needs and convert challenges into opportunities. When we shaped the Class of 2025-26, we sought those willing to learn leadership skills to rise above the chatter to find a pathway as change unfolds. We found this class is inherently caring and are now well trained, focused servant leaders.”

Organization treasurer Tiffany Cutter shared the roster of financial and in-kind supporters including:

Class members recognized are listed by name, hometown, county and occupation:

Abby Amick&nbsp; Alma WB&nbsp; Wabaunsee County Clerk

Alex Bonebrake Manhattan RL Owner, Konza Painting

Julie Bortnick Wamego PT Senior Manager, Varney &amp; Associates, CPA's, LLC

Jenna Brown White City MR Senior Director of Development, Carl Ice College of Engineering, K-State

Lauren Chard Manhattan RL&nbsp; Sports Sales Manager, Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce

Raquel Cinco Wakefield CL Executive Director, Geary County Convention and Visitors Bureau

Jayme Coffey Junction City GE Accounts Payable/Financial Analyst, Geary County Board of Commissioners

Tyler Conard Manhattan RL Member Services Coordinator, Flint Hills Association of REALTORS

Eric Fleuter Enterprise DK Army Substance Abuse Program Manager, Fort Riley DHR

Heather Gladbach Wamego PT Assistant County Administrator/ Finance Officer, PT County

Cheryl Greathouse Manhattan RL EEO Complaints Manager, Fort Riley

Chris Herbel Alma WB Undersheriff, Wabaunsee County Sheriff's Office

Melanie Highsmith Manhattan RL Curator of Education &amp; Design, Riley County Historical Museum

Bailey Hinkle Wamego PT Business Operation Manager, WTC Fiber

Michelle Horstmeier Manhattan RL Public Health Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Riley County

Gabby Jensen Wamego PT&nbsp; Communications &amp; Outreach Specialist, City of Wamego

Maci Murillo Manhattan RL Library Director, Wamego Public Library

Mark Otte Manhattan RL Director of Public Affairs, Fort Riley

Josh Perkins Junction City GE Facilities Director, CORVIAS Property Management

April Philippi Junction City GE Leadership &amp; Workforce Development Specialist, DHR, Fort Riley

Carl Seelye Junction City GE Management Analyst, DOD Fort Riley

Timothy Sifuentes Junction City GE Safety and Occupational Health Specialist, IMCOM Fort Riley

Mikayla Springer&nbsp; Alma WB Branch Manager, Community First National Bank, Manhattan

Bernadette Trieb Alma WB Extension Agent, K-State Extension Wabaunsee County

Brian Zachary Junction City WB Lieutenant, Geary County Sheriff's Office

Marissa Ziegler Milford GE Patrol Sergeant, Junction City Police Department

Board Chair Jeremy O’Donnell introduced the closing address speaker, Cassie Hartwich, for an inspiring challenge. In response, class members Mikayla Springer and Raquel Cinco shared lessons learned and appreciation remarks.&nbsp; The class project, Rock Creek Batting Cages, was announced by class member and project chair, Julie Bortnick, closing out the evening.

&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

   Flint Hills Regional Leadership Program class completes course

RILEY COUNTY —Law enforcement are investigating a suspect for alleged theft.

Just after 4p.m. Thursday police arrested 38-year-old&nbsp;Kelli Wilson of Salina in the 400 block of E. Poyntz Avenue in Manhattan, according to the Riley County Police Department activity report.

Wilson was arrested on a Pottawatomie County District Court warrant for one count of theft by threat; $1,500 or less from three businesses in 72 hours. 

This arrest stems from an original report filed in November 2025. Wilson is being held in the Pottawatomie County Jail.

Kan. woman accused of theft from 3 businesses in 72-hours

The following is a summary of arrests, citations by the Riley County Police Department. Those arrested are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.&nbsp;

Riley County Arrest Report February 6

Kansas City, Mo. - February 5, 2026 – Evergy is warning customers to be vigilant after a new text scam.

Scammers are sending fake text messages to Evergy customers claiming the customer has overpaid their bill and is due for a refund. The scammer then asks customers to go to a fake website that appears to be from Evergy and enter personal financial information.

This is a scam and the text and website are not from Evergy.&nbsp;If customers receive a text like this, they should:

Fake texts are just&nbsp;<a>one way</a>&nbsp;scammers are becoming more deceptive. Scammers frequently try to get personal and financial information like credit card, debit card, Social Security, Evergy account number, checking or savings account numbers using methods like texts, calls, websites and even in person. Here are some signs of common scams and ways consumers can protect themselves:

Evergy urges customers to watch out for text scams

JUNCTION CITY, Kan. (Feb. 5, 2026) – Stormont Vail Health invites community members to join Walk With An APP, a free event designed to encourage movement, connection, and meaningful conversations about healthy living. • 

This will be on Saturday, Feb. 7 from 9 to 10 a.m. at the Old Junction City High School Football Field (900 N. Eisenhower Dr.)&nbsp; If temps fall below 32°F, meet at JC Municipal Building (700 N. Jefferson St.) 

This month’s walk will feature Christina Guhr, APRN, Weight Management Specialist at Stormont Vail Manhattan Campus. Christina will share facts on what really affects weight, how to build habits that stick, and tips to help overcome an overwhelming topic. All ages and activity levels are welcome. 

Stormont Vail encourages participants to bring a friend, water, and plenty of questions.&nbsp;

Christina Guhr, APRN, Helps Turn Overwhelming into Overcoming: Next Walk With An APP 

The Riley County Police Department has received multiple calls regarding possible Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Manhattan area on Thursday morning, according to a social media statement from police.

The Riley County Police Department confirms there were operations that were conducted. RCPD was not involved in these operations. 

The RCPD advised the public to refer all questions to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

RCPD issues statement on ICE operations in Manhattan

Riley County Arrest Report February 5

Fort Riley services return to normal operations on Wednesday, February 4, 2026. Employees had been temporarily furloughed due to a lapse in federal appropriations.

Fort Riley civilian employees return to work

There were no arrest reported on Tuesday, February 3. Below are the arrests for February 4.

Riley County Arrest Report February 3, 4

The latest data show enrollment fell about 12% in Missouri and 3.5% in Kansas for 2026. But experts say that doesn’t tell the full story

By:<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/megcunningham/">Meg Cunningham</a>

As small-business owners, Sonya Andrews and her husband are used to uncertainty.

Sonya runs a business offering graphic and web design services, while her husband is a commercial photographer. They also own a studio in Kansas City’s West Bottoms and have one employee who works remotely from Florida.

Every month is different for them when it comes to business. But this year, they’re feeling more pressure, thanks to the expiration of the enhanced premium tax credits available for Americans enrolled in the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Andrews and her husband also have a daughter with autism and need higher levels of coverage. Previously, they carried Aetna insurance through the marketplace, but Aetna is no longer an option for them. For 2026, as their daughter gets older and with enhanced subsidies expiring, they made the tough decision to downgrade their&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2025/11/10/aca-premiums-set-to-soar-out-of-reach-for-many-kansas-citians/" target="_blank">ACA coverage</a>&nbsp;rather than pay a much higher premium.

But arriving at that decision wasn’t easy. Sonya spent weeks researching and comparing plans with marketplace navigators and her husband. They’re planning to closely monitor their income to make sure they don’t make too much and lose their subsidies entirely, adding more pressure to the realities of owning a small business.

“I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to make this decision,” Andrews said. “You’re making choices like, ‘Well, we’re in our mid-40s. Our daughter is young and has already had most of the expensive things done. Can we roll the dice for a few years?’”

But, unlike Andrews, tens of thousands of Missourians have opted out of the Affordable Care Act marketplace altogether after the enhanced subsidies expired.

Enhanced subsidies came into Obamacare in 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan Act, in an effort to ease the cost of the Affordable Care Act for Americans. The enhanced subsidies were extended again through the end of 2025, but were allowed to expire ahead of open enrollment in 2026.

Without the enhanced subsidies, which offered tax credits to Americans enrolled in Obamacare, people were told they could expect an average 114% increase in their premium costs for 2026.

For someone with a household income of $55,000 (about 351% of the federal poverty line), premium costs shot up nearly $1,500 annually heading into 2026, KFF estimates.

Experts like the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that hundreds of thousands of Americans would move away from Obamacare in 2026 as a result.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.kff.org/quick-take/aca-signups-are-down-but-still-an-incomplete-picture/" target="_blank">Nationwide</a>, enrollment so far has dropped by about 1.2 million people.

In Missouri, nearly 51,000 people dropped off the Affordable Care Act rolls from January 2025 through the end of the 2026 open enrollment period, the latest data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services show. Nearly 366,000 people enrolled this year, compared to 417,000 enrollees in January 2025.

Kansas had a smaller drop. Nearly 193,000 people enrolled, compared to about 200,000 who were enrolled in January of last year, the data show.

More people are enrolled in both states than in 2024, data shows.

Still, in Missouri, 50,000 people potentially without insurance is a large number when the state’s uninsured population is already around 457,000, said Timothy McBride, a health care economist and professor at Washington University in St. Louis.

“That’s over a 10% increase in that number,” McBride said.

Plus, McBride said, the numbers don’t reflect those who may have downgraded their plans to lower premiums, like the Andrews family did, or those who may disenroll or let their plans lapse by not paying their now-higher premiums.

Data&nbsp;<a href="https://chir.georgetown.edu/clues-in-state-data-suggest-declines-in-early-marketplace-enrollment-data-may-be-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg/" target="_blank">compiled</a>&nbsp;by Georgetown University’s Center on Health Insurance Reforms found that several state-based marketplaces were reporting that Americans were canceling their plans at higher rates than in the past. In Idaho and Pennsylvania, disenrollments have so far quadrupled compared to last year, with more people citing affordability concerns.

In December, Pennsylvania’s state-based marketplace reported that only 77% of enrollees had paid their initial premium for the year, compared to 88% the year before.

Without data from the federal government on what plans people chose, it’s too early to say what the impact of more bronze than silver plans will be, McBride said.

But people are generally choosing to trade lower premiums for higher deductibles, based on what Kevin Wehner, a marketplace navigator at Missouri Connections for Health, saw throughout the open enrollment period.

“The silver plan premiums were just out of reach for a lot of people,” Wehner said. “They ended up switching to bronze or gold plans.”

Others opted for the higher monthly premiums — up to&nbsp; $1,000 in some cases — or chose to become part of a health-sharing community, where a group of people all pay into a shared pot to split the cost of care.

It’s a consideration Craig Heimericks and his husband have had for years, amid rising health care costs. The pair co-own rental properties around Rolla, Missouri, and the variable costs of the business constantly keep them on their toes, especially when it comes to health insurance.

“My husband and I had a plan on the exchange last year. It was great coverage, but was getting more and more expensive every year, to the point where we had been discussing ways to drop coverage and self insure,” Heimericks said in an email.

“But as a business owner, the risk is just too high that one big medical event would bankrupt everything we’ve worked for the last 20 years. Honestly, sometimes it feels like we’re being held hostage by the health care industry as a whole, and there doesn’t seem to be a way out,” he said.

Heimericks ended up downgrading his plan for 2026, with deductibles just under $5,000 per person and their maximum out-of-pocket costs capped at $20,300. Still, Heimericks and his husband are planning on over $1,655 a month in premiums, and they don’t yet have a grasp on what the cost of their prescriptions will be under their new plan.

In 2025, they paid about $1,630 a month, but had lower deductibles and caps on out-of-pocket costs.

“The big difference was people who would normally qualify for the cost-sharing reduction would enroll in the silver plan in previous years,” Wehner said. “Hardly anyone did that this year.”

So far, California’s state-based marketplace is seeing more people enroll in bronze plans, at 37% in 2026 compared to 23% in 2025. Other states like Maine, New Jersey and Rhode Island are reporting a higher share of customers switching to bronze plans for 2026, the Georgetown data shows.

What the data doesn’t show, McBride said, was the higher deductible cost that those in Missouri and Kansas will take on.

People may have a costly health event and not expect to have to pay higher out-of-pocket costs before meeting their deductible, McBride said, which ultimately can pass the cost onto other health care customers.

“One of the things we saw early on, because the premiums were so low for bronze plans … younger people, especially healthy people, would pick that plan and have a $7,000 or $8,000 deductible,” McBride said. “They’d get bad luck … and then they’d show up to the hospital and get a bill for $8,000 and they’d be like, ‘Wait a minute, I thought I had Obamacare.’”

Ultimately, many aren’t prepared to take on that higher cost and end up unable to pay their bills, McBride said, and that is then passed onto the consumer.

“The hospital or health system can try to get the money from them but usually can only get a fraction of it,” McBride said. “Then the hospital just has to bury that cost, or shift it to the rest of us. It has a short or long-term effect on someone’s health status, and it also ends up rippling to all the rest of us.”

This&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/stories/2026/02/02/affordable-care-act-enrollment-missouri-kansas-2026-enhanced-subsidies/" target="_blank">article</a>&nbsp;first appeared on&nbsp;<a href="https://thebeaconnews.org/" target="_blank">Beacon: Kansas City</a>&nbsp;and is republished here under a&nbsp;<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/" target="_blank">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.

As ACA subsidies expire, thousands drop coverage or downgrade plans

JUNCTION CITY, Kan. — Geary County K-State Extension is inviting community members to participate in the Hypertension Awareness &amp; Prevention Program (HAPp), a self-monitoring blood pressure program designed to help individuals better manage and lower their blood pressure.

The HAPp Kick-Off Session will be held on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. at the Geary County 4-H/Senior Center, located at 1025 S. Spring Valley Road in Junction City. During the session, participants will learn how self-monitoring blood pressure can support and improve blood pressure management.

In addition to the kick-off meeting, participants are encouraged to attend a series of Nutrition Education Workshops, which will also be held at the Geary County 4-H/Senior Center. 

For more information or to register, contact Renae Riedy, Geary County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, at 785-238-4161 or <a>renaer@ksu.edu</a>.

Hypertension Awareness & Prevention Program Scheduled in Junction City

BOURBOUN COUNTY—Three people were injured in an accident just after 3:30p.m. Thursday in Bourbon County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2024 Sportsman 570 ATV driven by Gary M. Foster, 70, Fort Scott, entered Kansas 39 northbound from a field entrance at 1037 K39 Highway.&nbsp; The ATV continued north across the eastbound lane and traveled into the westbound lane. A 2024 Hyundia Elantra driven by Cheryl E. Anderson, 46, Winfield, and the ATV collided near the&nbsp;driveway of 1037 K39 Highway. 

Foster was thrown from the ATV as it rolled into the westbound ditch.

EMS transported Foster to Mercy Hospital in Joplin. EMS also transported&nbsp;Anderson and her 14-year-old female passenger to Freeman Hospital in Fort Scott.&nbsp; Foster was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.

Kansas man hospitalized after car, ATV crash

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s social media post featuring former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, as primates in a jungle was deleted after a backlash from both Republicans and Democrats who criticized the video as racist.

The Republican president’s Thursday night post was deleted Friday and blamed on a staffer after widespread backlash, from civil rights leaders to veteran Republican senators, for its treatment of the nation’s first Black president and first lady. The deletion, a rare admission of a misstep by the White House, came hours after press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed “fake outrage” over the post. After calls for its removal for being racist -- including by Republicans -- the White House said a staffer had posted the video erroneously and it had been taken down.

The post was part of a flurry of social media activity on Trump's Truth Social account that amplified his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, despite&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-2020-election-lies-debunked-4fc26546b07962fdbf9d66e739fbb50d">courts around the country</a>&nbsp;and a Trump attorney general from his first term finding no evidence of fraud that could have affected the outcome.

An Obama spokeswoman said the former president, a Democrat, had no response.

Nearly all of the 62-second clip, which was among dozens of Truth Social posts from Trump overnight, appears to be from a conservative video alleging deliberate tampering with voting machines in battleground states as the 2020 presidential votes were tallied. At the 60-second mark is a quick scene of two primates, with the Obamas' smiling faces imposed on them.

Those frames were taken from a separate video, previously circulated by an influential conservative meme maker. It shows Trump as “King of the Jungle” and depicts a range of Democratic leaders as animals, including Joe Biden, who is white, as a jungle primate eating a banana.

“This is from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle and Democrats as characters from the Lion King,” Leavitt said by text, referring to Disney's 1994 feature film, which does not feature the range of jungle primates featured in the original video. “Please stop the fake outrage and report on something today that actually matters to the American public.”

By noon, the post had been taken down with responsibility placed on a Trump subordinate.

Trump did not comment on the video in the post, which comes in the first week of Black History Month and days after&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/02/national-black-history-month-2026/">a presidential proclamation</a>&nbsp;that cited “the contributions of black Americans to our national greatness and their enduring commitment to the American principles of liberty, justice, and equality.”

Condemnation across the political spectrum

While it was still up, Trump's post drew condemnation from across the political and ideological spectrum.

The Rev. Bernice King, daughter of the assassinated civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., resurfaced her father's words: “Yes. I'm Black. I'm proud of it. I'm Black and beautiful.” She praised Black Americans as “diverse, innovative, industrious, inventive” and added, “We are beloved of God as postal workers and professors, as a former first lady and president. We are not apes.”

The U.S. Senate's lone Black Republican, Tim Scott of South Carolina, called on Trump to take down the post. “Praying it was fake because it’s the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House,” Scott, who chairs Senate Republicans' midterm campaign arm, said on social media.

Another Republican, Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, is white but represents the state with the largest percentage of Black residents. Wicker called the post “totally unacceptable” and said the president should apologize.

NAACP President Derrick Johnson said in a statement, “Donald Trump’s video is blatantly racist, disgusting, and utterly despicable.”

Johnson asserted that Trump is trying anything to distract from economic conditions and attention on the Jeffrey Epstein case files.

“You know who isn’t in the Epstein files? Barack Obama,” Johnson said. "You know who actually improved the economy as president? Barack Obama.”

Trump and the official White House social media accounts frequently&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/ai-videos-trump-ice-artificial-intelligence-08d91fa44f3146ec1f8ee4d213cdad31">repost memes and artificial intelligence-generated videos</a>. As Leavitt did Friday, Trump aides typically dismiss critiques and cast the images as humorous.

There is a long history in the U.S. of powerful white figures associating Black people with animals, including apes, in demonstrably false and racist ways. The practice dates back to 18th century cultural racism and pseudo-scientific theories in which white people drew connections between Africans and monkeys to justify the enslavement of Black people in Europe and North America, and later to dehumanize freed Black people as an uncivilized threat to white people.

Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, wrote in his famous text “Notes on the State of Virginia” that Black women were the preferred sexual partners of orangutans. President Dwight Eisenhower, discussing the desegregation of public schools in the 1950s, once argued that white parents were concerned about their daughters being in classrooms with “big Black bucks.” Obama, as a candidate and president, was featured as a monkey or other primate on T-shirts and other merchandise.

Trump, for his part, has a record of intensely personal criticism of the Obamas and of using incendiary, sometimes racist, rhetoric.

In his 2024 campaign, Trump said immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country,” language&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-hitler-poison-blood-history-f8c3ff512edd120252596a4743324352">similar to what Adolf Hitler said</a>&nbsp;to dehumanize Jews in Nazi Germany.

During his first White House term, Trump referred to a swath of developing nations that are majority Black as “shithole countries.” He initially denied using the slur but&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-slur-haiti-africa-immigration-28aa0785d6f3c68fd4d9e823b6397429">admitted in December 2025</a>&nbsp;that he did say it.

When Obama was in the White House, Trump advanced the false claims that the 44th president, who was born in Hawaii, was born in Kenya and was constitutionally ineligible to serve. Trump, in interviews that helped endear him to many conservative voters, repeatedly demanded that Obama produce birth records and prove he was a “natural-born citizen” as required to become president.

Obama eventually released his Hawaii records. Trump&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/united-states-presidential-election-general-news-events-61f7085d848248cd98410027d33f2101">finally acknowledged</a>&nbsp;during his 2016 campaign, after having won the Republican nomination, that Obama was born in Hawaii. But he immediately said, falsely, that his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton started those birtherism attacks on Obama.

White House explains now deleted Trump 'racist' post about Obamas

SEDGWICK COUNTY —A man accused in a fatal shooting at an American Legion Hall in Wichita is due back in court Friday.

Darrell E. Buckner, Jr., 52, Wichita, will attend a preliminary hearing in Judge Rodger Woods courtroom, according the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

He was charged with First degree murder and aggravated battery, according to the District Attorney's office.

Just before 7:30p.m. October 11, police responded to a report of a shooting inside the American Legion, 1135 North Hydraulic in Wichita, according t a media release.&nbsp; First responders found 55-year-old Anthony Grayson from Wichita unresponsive with multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced deceased at 7:55 p.m.

A second victim, a 56-year-old man, arrived at a hospital by private vehicle with a gunshot wound to the torso.&nbsp;

Investigators confirmed that the suspect, identified as Buckner, and Grayson were involved in a fight inside the bar. Buckner then left, retrieved a firearm from his vehicle, and returned. Employees attempted to prevent him from reentering, but he pushed past them and went back inside, where another fight broke out. During the altercation, Buckner fired the gun, striking Grayson and the second victim, who was attempting to intervene.

Buckner was taken into custody at the scene and booked into the Sedgwick County Jail.&nbsp; He remains jailed on a one-million dollar bond, according to the district attorney's office.

Kan. man in deadly fight at American Legion Hall is due back in court

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement

The sale and trafficking of counterfeit goods is a multimillion-dollar criminal industry.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.iprcenter.gov/opteamplayer" target="_blank">Operation Team Player</a>&nbsp;is a year-round initiative led by the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.iprcenter.gov/" target="_blank">National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Center</a>&nbsp;in collaboration with all major U.S. sports leagues to prevent counterfeit sports merchandise and apparel from reaching fans ahead of high-profile sporting events.

<a href="https://www.iprcenter.gov/opteamplayer">Click here to learn more</a>

Together with major sports leagues, the IPR Center:

Buying fake merchandise may seem harmless, but it has serious consequences. Whether it’s a fan losing hard-earned money on a fake jersey they were led to believe was authentic, or small businesses that purchased an expensive vendor license losing vital sales, intellectual property theft is a real crime with real victims and real negative financial impacts. This may sound absurd when talking about sports merchandise, but has real consequences for medications, cosmetics, electronics and other types of counterfeit or unlicensed goods and merchandise.

Counterfeit jerseys, hats, rings and other sports merchandise may look like the licensed version, but you could be scammed out of your hard-earned money thinking you are spending money on licensed gear. Counterfeit and unlicensed merchandise is often cheaply made with inferior stitching, dyes and other dangerous materials that can affect consumers’ health. It may not hold up to wear and tear like licensed gear.

Counterfeiting is a worldwide issue and combating it requires a united front. By working together — law enforcement, industry leaders and everyday consumers — we can make a significant impact.

Many people don’t think twice about counterfeit goods — until they personally experience the consequences. Whether it's being scammed, suffering harm, or having their intellectual property stolen, counterfeiting has real-world effects.

As the Super Bowl approaches officials warn of fake sports gear

SEDGWICK COUNTY&nbsp;— A suspect accused in the deadly shooting of a Dodge City man is due back in court on Friday.

&nbsp;Ricardo Talavera, 41, will appear in Judge Kathleen Watson's courtroom for a preliminary hearing, according to the Sedgwick County District Attorney's office.

Talaverais charged with involuntary manslaughter and interference with a law enforcement office in the death of 49-year-old Ruben Parga-Quintanar.

Judge could decide today if there is enough evidence for the case to move forward and set a date for his arraignment.

Just before 9a.m. August 1, officers and Wichita Fire Department crews responded to a report of a man down near the entrance to an alley in the 2400 block of North Jeanette in Wichita, according to a media release. When fire personnel arrived, they found Parga-Quintanar with a gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:53 a.m.

Early findings in the investigation suggested Parga-Quintanar was shot elsewhere and collapsed after fleeing on a bicycle. As the case progressed, detectives determined he was shot in the alley and then collapsed nearby.

Investigators identified Talavera as a suspect and served a search warrant at his home.&nbsp; On August 6, police arrested him and booked him into the Sedgwick County Jail.&nbsp; He remains jailed on a&nbsp;$1,000,000.00 bond, according to online jail records.

Preliminary hearing for suspect in murder of SW Kansas man

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

TOPEKA — The Kansas bill that would have&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2026/02/02/kansas-bill-would-require-kindergarteners-to-be-potty-trained-before-starting-school/">required kindergarteners to be potty trained</a>&nbsp;before starting school stalled in committee.

House Education Committee chairwoman Rep. Susan Estes, a Republican from Wichita, declined to bring the bill up for debate Wednesday. She said she wanted to give school districts more time to find a solution.&nbsp;

“I do think there are some very legitimate concerns,” Estes said. “Parents needing support if they are going through this. But also, how do we make sure that everything is being done in a way that is safe for the educator as well as the student?”&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.kslegislature.gov/li/b2025_26/measures/hb2486/" target="_blank">House Bill 2486</a>&nbsp;garnered double the amount of opponents compared to proponents. Critics worried the bill would leave vulnerable children behind by excluding them from school and urged legislators to leave the decision up to local districts.&nbsp;

Rep. Sherri Brantley, a Republican from Great Bend, introduced the bill to help educators mitigate distractions. It would have required parents to confirm in writing that their child is potty trained before enrolling in school.

Kansas lawmakers hold back school potty training bill to allow time for solutions

PAWNEE COUNTY- Michael EG Reynolds, 69 of Larned, appeared Thursday afternoon before Senior District Judge Nancy Parrish of Topeka, Kansas, to determine whether he is competent to stand trial, according to Pawnee County Attorney Doug McNett. The hearing was conducted via video teleconferencing.

After hearing the testimony of the court-assigned forensic evaluator and arguments of counsel, Judge Parrish found Reynolds not competent to stand trial. Based on this finding, the Court then entered an order directing the Defendant to be committed to the Secretary of the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) for up to ninety (90) days for competency restoration treatment.

A five-day Jury Trial was scheduled to commence February 23, 2026. The matter is now stayed until such time as the Court finds the defendant has regained competency.

Under Kansas law, a person is “incompetent to stand trial” when such person is charged with a crime and, because of mental illness or defect is unable: (1) To understand the nature and purpose of the proceedings against such person; or (2) to make or assist in making such person's defense.

Reynolds is charged with one count of Intentional Murder in the Second Degree, one count of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, and one count of Criminal Possession of a Firearm. The charges stem from a joint investigation by the Pawnee County Sheriff’s Department, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) and Coroner Dr. Lyle Noordhoek into the shooting death of Dr. Tomas Garza, 52 of Larned, on March 30, 2024. Reynolds was taken into custody at the scene without incident at the time of the alleged incident.

Rather than the State Security Hospital, which is on the campus of Larned State Hospital, the State anticipates Reynolds will be transferred to Osawatomie State Hospital to receive the court ordered treatment. At the time of his death, Dr. Garza served as the medical supervisor for Larned State Hospital.

Following the hearing, Judge Parrish denied the defendant’s request to reduce the bond finding Reynolds currently poses a danger to himself or others if released. The defendant will remain in the custody of the Pawnee County Sheriff pending his transfer to a psychiatric facility.

Pawnee County Attorney Douglas McNett represented the State at the hearing. Reynolds was represented by David McDonald of Platte City, Missouri.

Judge rules on competency of suspect in murder of Kansas doctor

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

Just before 9:30p.m. Wednesday, officers were dispatched to a shooting in the 1800 block of East Front Street, according to KCPD Sergeant Phil DiMartino.

Upon arrival officers located a victim in the parking lot of Bally's KC Casino identified as 18-year-old&nbsp;Aundre Harris Jr. suffering from gunshot wounds. They began performing lifesaving measures and ordered KCFD EMS to the scene. Medics transported Harris to a local hospital, where he died a short time later.&nbsp;

This is being investigated as a homicide. A subject of interest was taken into custody on scene pending further investigation. The preliminary information revealed there was a disturbance between multiple individuals inside the casino. That disturbance subsequently led to an altercation in the parking lot where shots were fired and Harris was struck. Detectives and crime scene personnel canvassed the scene for physical evidence, witnesses, and surveillance footage.&nbsp;

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

Police: Teen killed after fight inside KC area casino

JOHNSON COUNTY—Police are asking for the public's help to identify jewelry theft suspect.

According to Overland Park Police, two individuals are suspected of committing felony theft from a jewelry kiosk at the Oak Park Mall.

The alleged theft occurred just after 7:30p.m. January 8. Two suspects entered a retail kiosk located at the Oak Park Mall,&nbsp; W.95th and Nieman after regular business hours. 

Once inside the kiosk, the suspects selected a significant number of necklaces before leaving the scene on foot.

 Both suspects are described as Hispanic males in their twenties. Police have no suspect vehicle information.

Anyone with information pertaining to the identity of these two individuals is urged to contact the Overland Park Police Department at 913-344-8729 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS.Public Information Officer J. Lacy #653

Police working to ID Kansas jewelry theft suspects

By SEJAL GOVINDARAO, JACQUES BILLEAUD and JOHN SEEWER Associated Press

TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — “Today” show host&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/hub/savannah-guthrie">Savannah Guthrie's</a>&nbsp;brother on Thursday renewed the family's plea for their mother's kidnapper to contact them, hours after an Arizona sheriff said investigators don't have proof&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/savannah-guthrie-mother-missing-nancy-042abd04a6d87e14eecb22f0bc2893d1">Nancy Guthrie</a>&nbsp;is alive but believe “she's still out there.”

“Whoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven’t heard anything directly,” Camron Guthrie said in a video posted on social media.

“We need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we can move forward,” but first the family needs to know the kidnapper has their mother, he said, echoing a statement his famous sister read the day before.

Five days into the&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/savannah-guthrie-mother-missing-arizona-tucson-0d6b55fd24f54b2526fd5f8894a52ff2">desperate search</a>&nbsp;for 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie, authorities have not identified any suspects or persons of interest, Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said.

Authorities think she was&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/savannah-guthrie-mother-missing-arizona-tucson-6c7b78d17d7b647c64f71f64ecaecf8b">taken against her will</a>&nbsp;from her home in Tucson over the weekend. DNA tests showed blood found on Guthrie’s front porch was a match to her, the sheriff said.

“Right now, we believe Nancy is still out there. We want her home,” Nanos said at a news conference earlier Thursday. He acknowledged, however, that authorities have no evidence she’s OK.

Investigators said they are taking seriously notes seeking ransom that were sent to some media outlets.

It's unclear if all of the notes were identical. Heith Janke, the FBI chief in Phoenix, said details included a demand for money with a Thursday evening deadline and a second deadline for Monday if the first one wasn't met. At least one note mentioned a floodlight at Guthrie's home and an Apple watch, Janke said.

“To anyone who may be involved, do the right thing. This is an 84-year-old grandma,” Janke said.

At least three media organizations reported receiving purported ransom notes, which they handed over to investigators. Authorities made an arrest after one ransom note turned out to be fake, the sheriff said.

A note e-mailed Monday to the KOLD-TV newsroom in Tucson included information that only the abductor would know, anchor Mary Coleman told CNN.

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