OSAGE COUNTY—A Kansas school district superintendent is now on administrative leave following an arrest.

Just before 5p.m. Friday, police arrested 53-year-old Bradley Marcotte, the superintendent of school at USD 421 in Lyndon, according to online jail records.

He was jailed on requested charges of child endangerment and interference with a law enforcement officer.

The Lyndon Jail reports Brad Marcotte was arrested by the Lyndon Police Department (LPD) on Oct. 18 on charges of child endangerment and interference with a law enforcement officer. Just after 7p.m. Friday, he met the requirement of a $2,500 bond and was released.

On Monday, USD 421 reported in a media release signed by school board president Bryant Derley,&nbsp;&nbsp;"The school board voted to place Marcotte on administrative leave. We want to thank our staff for acting quickly and following safety procedures to protect students and keep them out of harm’s way."&nbsp; Law enforcement have not released details on specifics of what prompted the arrest.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729541994425.png" alt="Marcotte photo Osage County" />
 <figcaption>Marcotte photo Osage County</figcaption>
 </figure>OSAGE COUNTY—A Kansas school district superintendent is now on administrative leave following an arrest.Just before 5p.m. Friday, police arrested 53-year-old Bradley Marcotte, the superintendent of school at USD 421 in Lyndon, according to online jail records.He was jailed on requested charges of child endangerment and interference with a law enforcement officer.The Lyndon Jail reports Brad Marcotte was arrested by the Lyndon Police Department (LPD) on Oct. 18 on charges of child endangerment and interference with a law enforcement officer. Just after 7p.m. Friday, he met the requirement of a $2,500 bond and was released.On Monday, USD 421 reported in a media release signed by school board president Bryant Derley,&nbsp;&nbsp;"The school board voted to place Marcotte on administrative leave. We want to thank our staff for acting quickly and following safety procedures to protect students and keep them out of harm’s way."&nbsp; Law enforcement have not released details on specifics of what prompted the arrest.

Kan. school district superintendent placed on leave after arrest

Hutchinson, KAN. –&nbsp;Hutchinson Correctional Facility (HCF) resident Kevyn Lopez, 26, died Monday, according to a media release from the Kansas Department of Corrections.

Lopez was found unresponsive in his cell Monday morning. Staff began life-saving measures immediately and continued after emergency medical services arrived but were unsuccessful. The cause of death is pending the results of an independent autopsy.

Lopez was serving a 94-month sentence for convictions of voluntary manslaughter in Wyandotte County, Kansas.

Per protocol, when a resident dies in the custody of the Kansas Department of Corrections, the death is under investigation by the agency and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The investigation is ongoing.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729524765329.png" alt="Lopez photo Wyandotte Co." />
 <figcaption>Lopez photo Wyandotte Co.</figcaption>
 </figure>Hutchinson, KAN. –&nbsp;Hutchinson Correctional Facility (HCF) resident Kevyn Lopez, 26, died Monday, according to a media release from the Kansas Department of Corrections.Lopez was found unresponsive in his cell Monday morning. Staff began life-saving measures immediately and continued after emergency medical services arrived but were unsuccessful. The cause of death is pending the results of an independent autopsy.Lopez was serving a 94-month sentence for convictions of voluntary manslaughter in Wyandotte County, Kansas.Per protocol, when a resident dies in the custody of the Kansas Department of Corrections, the death is under investigation by the agency and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The investigation is ongoing.

Kan. inmate serving time for manslaughter found dead in cell

Democratic and Republican nominees in 3rd District hit voters with new ads

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA —Third District congressional candidates Prasanth Reddy and Sharice Davids escalated their policy dispute on abortion rights by presenting voters with clashing campaign ads.

Davids, a Democrat seeking reelection to a fourth term in Congress, positioned her campaign to appeal to voters who rejected an amendment to the Kansas Constitution in 2022 that would have allowed more restrictive state laws on abortion. She’s worked in Congress to codify into federal law provisions of Roe v. Wade, the landmark precedent struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Davids aired an attack ad that opened with a Kansas physician saying she swore an oath to put her patients first, the same oath Reddy pledged to uphold. But, the doctor said, Reddy betrayed that vow by supporting demise of Roe v. Wade and encouraging state politicians to deny women lifesaving medical care.

It closed with the doctor declaring Reddy’s affiliation with conservative organizations and politicians seeking to ban all abortions was “wrong and dangerous.”

Zac Donley, spokesman for the Davis campaign, said the point was to highlight Reddy claimed to respect Kansas voters who defeated the constitutional amendment on abortion rights while simultaneously taking on the political cause of donors eager for Kansas to curtail access to reproductive health care.

“When Prasanth Reddy calls abortion a ‘states’ rights issue,’ he’s endorsing state politicians interfering in Kansans’ most personal health care decisions,” Donley said. “While Reddy tries to mask his extremism and cozy up to Washington politicians advocating for a national abortion ban, Sharice Davids is working to ensure health care decisions remain between a woman and her doctor — not politicians.”

Reddy, the Republican challenger, is a Johnson County physician backed by Kansans For Life’s PAC, the state’s leading anti-abortion organization. KFL helped write the failed constitutional amendment, which didn’t include exceptions for rape, incest or to save the life of a mother.

He entered the home stretch of the campaign ending Nov. 5 with a commercial, “Real Truth,” that accused Davids of misleading voters.

“You’ve seen the negative ads, but what you haven’t seen is the real truth,” Reddy said in the commercial. “Let me be clear. Sharice Davids is lying about me as a cancer physician. My patients’ wishes come first and I respect the decision Kansas made on abortion over two years ago.”

“I’m running for Congress to secure the border, stop inflation and keep fentanyl out of our communities — not ban abortion. And that’s the real truth,” he said.

During the congressional campaign, Reddy said the issue of abortion was “deeply personal and sensitive,” but no federal tax dollars should be used to finance the procedure. He promised to vote against a national ban on abortion. He welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v. Wade, because it granted states an opportunity to craft their own provisions on abortion.

Reddy said abortion legislation should include exceptions for rape, incest, to protect the health of the mother and in instances with “fetal abnormalities inconsistent with life.”

He said he didn’t cast a vote on the state constitutional amendment two years ago, because he wasn’t certain of implications of the measure passing.

The issue of abortion is complicated for Republican candidates in the five-county 3rd District, which is dominated by voter-rich Johnson County. More than two-thirds of the county’s voters opposed the 2022 abortion amendment. Amanda Adkins, a pro-life candidate who ran against Davids in 2022, lost by more than 35,000 votes after Davids linked Adkins to an effort to further limit abortion. Davids deployed the same strategy to undermine Reddy.

In September, the Johnson County Republican Party added complexity to Reddy’s campaign by posted to Facebook a statement that said the idea that abortions were medically necessary was false because “the trauma of abortion delivering a dead baby is not less than delivering a live baby.”

The Kansas Democratic Party also urged Reddy to respond to the Johnson County GOP’s claim: “As for rape and incest, how do two wrongs make a right? A woman or girl is raped, so now a murder must also occur?”

“Sharice Davids will continue fighting for the rights of all Kansans, ensuring that personal health care decisions stay between individuals and their doctors, free from political interference,” said Andriy Bilyk, executive director of the state Democratic Party.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729284170171.png" alt=" Republican 3rd District congressional candidate Prasanth Reddy criticized attacks from the campaign of Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids and alleged his views on state and federal restrictions on abortion were being distorted. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)r" />
 <figcaption> Republican 3rd District congressional candidate Prasanth Reddy criticized attacks from the campaign of Democratic U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids and alleged his views on state and federal restrictions on abortion were being distorted. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)r</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Democratic and Republican nominees in 3rd District hit voters with new ads</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA —Third District congressional candidates Prasanth Reddy and Sharice Davids escalated their policy dispute on abortion rights by presenting voters with clashing campaign ads.Davids, a Democrat seeking reelection to a fourth term in Congress, positioned her campaign to appeal to voters who rejected an amendment to the Kansas Constitution in 2022 that would have allowed more restrictive state laws on abortion. She’s worked in Congress to codify into federal law provisions of Roe v. Wade, the landmark precedent struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.Davids aired an attack ad that opened with a Kansas physician saying she swore an oath to put her patients first, the same oath Reddy pledged to uphold. But, the doctor said, Reddy betrayed that vow by supporting demise of Roe v. Wade and encouraging state politicians to deny women lifesaving medical care.It closed with the doctor declaring Reddy’s affiliation with conservative organizations and politicians seeking to ban all abortions was “wrong and dangerous.”Zac Donley, spokesman for the Davis campaign, said the point was to highlight Reddy claimed to respect Kansas voters who defeated the constitutional amendment on abortion rights while simultaneously taking on the political cause of donors eager for Kansas to curtail access to reproductive health care.“When Prasanth Reddy calls abortion a ‘states’ rights issue,’ he’s endorsing state politicians interfering in Kansans’ most personal health care decisions,” Donley said. “While Reddy tries to mask his extremism and cozy up to Washington politicians advocating for a national abortion ban, Sharice Davids is working to ensure health care decisions remain between a woman and her doctor — not politicians.”Reddy, the Republican challenger, is a Johnson County physician backed by Kansans For Life’s PAC, the state’s leading anti-abortion organization. KFL helped write the failed constitutional amendment, which didn’t include exceptions for rape, incest or to save the life of a mother.He entered the home stretch of the campaign ending Nov. 5 with a commercial, “Real Truth,” that accused Davids of misleading voters.“You’ve seen the negative ads, but what you haven’t seen is the real truth,” Reddy said in the commercial. “Let me be clear. Sharice Davids is lying about me as a cancer physician. My patients’ wishes come first and I respect the decision Kansas made on abortion over two years ago.”“I’m running for Congress to secure the border, stop inflation and keep fentanyl out of our communities — not ban abortion. And that’s the real truth,” he said.During the congressional campaign, Reddy said the issue of abortion was “deeply personal and sensitive,” but no federal tax dollars should be used to finance the procedure. He promised to vote against a national ban on abortion. He welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v. Wade, because it granted states an opportunity to craft their own provisions on abortion.Reddy said abortion legislation should include exceptions for rape, incest, to protect the health of the mother and in instances with “fetal abnormalities inconsistent with life.”He said he didn’t cast a vote on the state constitutional amendment two years ago, because he wasn’t certain of implications of the measure passing.The issue of abortion is complicated for Republican candidates in the five-county 3rd District, which is dominated by voter-rich Johnson County. More than two-thirds of the county’s voters opposed the 2022 abortion amendment. Amanda Adkins, a pro-life candidate who ran against Davids in 2022, lost by more than 35,000 votes after Davids linked Adkins to an effort to further limit abortion. Davids deployed the same strategy to undermine Reddy.In September, the Johnson County Republican Party added complexity to Reddy’s campaign by posted to Facebook a statement that said the idea that abortions were medically necessary was false because “the trauma of abortion delivering a dead baby is not less than delivering a live baby.”The Kansas Democratic Party also urged Reddy to respond to the Johnson County GOP’s claim: “As for rape and incest, how do two wrongs make a right? A woman or girl is raped, so now a murder must also occur?”“Sharice Davids will continue fighting for the rights of all Kansans, ensuring that personal health care decisions stay between individuals and their doctors, free from political interference,” said Andriy Bilyk, executive director of the state Democratic Party.

Kansas congressional rivals Sharice Davids, Prasanth Reddy elevate feud on abortion rights

In the past week, U.S. forces successfully destroyed 20 one-way attack drones and Land Attack Cruise Missiles in the CENTCOM area of responsibility, according to a media release from the U.S. Central Command.

 These Iranian-supplied weapons, launched episodically by the Houthis and Iranian-Aligned Militia Groups (IAMGs) over several days during the week, posed a significant risk to United States, allies, and partner forces, as well as civilians in the region and beyond. The drones and missiles were downed by a combination of U.S. Air Force and U.S Navy assets deployed to the region.

No U.S. service members were injured in these actions. U.S. and coalition forces remain at a high level of readiness, postured to defend U.S. interests and those of our allies and partners in the region.

Here’s a general timeline of CENTCOM operational activities during the past week:

As previously released, CENTCOM forces conducted a series of airstrikes Oct. 11 against multiple known ISIS camps in Syria, resulting in at least 35 ISIS operatives killed, to include several ISIS leaders. The strikes will disrupt the ability of ISIS to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against the United States, its allies and partners, and civilians. Battle damage assessments are still underway and do not indicate civilian casualties. U.S. and partner forces continue to execute these critical operations that contribute to the enduring defeat of terrorist organizations in the CENTCOM AOR and the support of regional stability.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/8/1723583511919.png" alt="File photo U.S. Central Command" />
 <figcaption>File photo U.S. Central Command</figcaption>
 </figure>In the past week, U.S. forces successfully destroyed 20 one-way attack drones and Land Attack Cruise Missiles in the CENTCOM area of responsibility, according to a media release from the U.S. Central Command. These Iranian-supplied weapons, launched episodically by the Houthis and Iranian-Aligned Militia Groups (IAMGs) over several days during the week, posed a significant risk to United States, allies, and partner forces, as well as civilians in the region and beyond. The drones and missiles were downed by a combination of U.S. Air Force and U.S Navy assets deployed to the region.No U.S. service members were injured in these actions. U.S. and coalition forces remain at a high level of readiness, postured to defend U.S. interests and those of our allies and partners in the region.Here’s a general timeline of CENTCOM operational activities during the past week:As previously released, CENTCOM forces conducted a series of airstrikes Oct. 11 against multiple known ISIS camps in Syria, resulting in at least 35 ISIS operatives killed, to include several ISIS leaders. The strikes will disrupt the ability of ISIS to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against the United States, its allies and partners, and civilians. Battle damage assessments are still underway and do not indicate civilian casualties. U.S. and partner forces continue to execute these critical operations that contribute to the enduring defeat of terrorist organizations in the CENTCOM AOR and the support of regional stability.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728866585354.png" alt="File p hoto-A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) mobile launcher sits on display in the new Lt. Gen. C.J. LeVan THAAD Instructional Facility at Fort Sill, Oklahoma (Photo Credit: U.S. Army)" />
 <figcaption>File p hoto-A Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) mobile launcher sits on display in the new Lt. Gen. C.J. LeVan THAAD Instructional Facility at Fort Sill, Oklahoma (Photo Credit: U.S. Army)</figcaption>
 </figure><ul>
 <li>On Oct. 13, at the direction of the President, the Secretary of Defense authorized the deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery and associated crew of U.S. military personnel to Israel to help bolster Israel’s air defenses following Iran’s unprecedented attacks against Israel on April 13 and again on Oct. 1. The THAAD battery is now integrated into the regional air defense architecture.</li><li>Separately, during the past week, CENTCOM forces conducted a successful strike against a Houthi Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) launcher and its associated radar that presented a threat to U.S. and coalition aircraft. Additionally, CENTCOM forces conducted strikes against multiple UAS Ground Control Stations (GCS) used to direct Houthi OWAUAS targeting of U.S. and coalition forces against international shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. For operations security reasons, we won’t discuss specific dates or locations of these self-defense strikes.</li><li>U.S. and coalition forces assigned to Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) twice came under rocket attacks from IAMGs. In both instances, the rockets were successfully intercepted. No U.S. service members were injured in either incident.</li><li>Finally, on the evening of Oct. 16 EDT, CENTCOM forces conducted multiple airstrikes on numerous Iran-backed Houthi weapons storage facilities within Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen that contained various advanced conventional weapons used to target military and civilian vessels navigating international waters throughout the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. CENTCOM forces targeted the Houthi’s hardened underground facilities housing missiles, weapons components, and other munitions used to target military and civilian vessels throughout the region. U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy assets, including U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit long-range stealth bombers, were part of the operation.</li>
 </ul>

Busy week for U.S. forces across the Middle East

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>

The campaign opposing a sports betting constitutional amendment on Missouri’s November ballot canceled more than $1 million in television ads Thursday just as the group pushing the proposal launched new ads featuring former&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKgkOu4I0rA" target="_blank">St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith</a>.

The Independent’s tracking of broadcaster reports to the Federal Communications Commission show that Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/16/statewide-candidates-in-missouri-run-cheap-campaigns-while-ballot-measures-spend-heavily/">aired or reserved almost $4 million</a>&nbsp;worth of television ads opposing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sos.mo.gov/CMSImages/Elections/Petitions/2024-160.pdf" target="_blank">Amendment 2</a>.&nbsp;

Thursday’s cancellation took down $1.2 million of those ads, some of which had been purchased weeks ago.

The ads are being pulled so the campaign can shift to more direct contacts, saidBrooke Foster, a spokeswoman for Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment.

“While the out-of-state online gambling corporations continue to throw millions of dollars at misleading TV ads, we have decided to focus our efforts on grassroots outreach and community conversations during the two and a weeks that remain before Election Day,” she said in an email.

Since it was created Sept. 10, the committee has received $14.2 million from Caesars Entertainment-owned casinos in Missouri. In the $2.7 million of television ads that did run, the campaign has played on skepticism about how taxes from gambling are used, casting doubt on whether a promise of more than $100 million for education programs over the first five years will be fulfilled.

Caesars is the only one of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mgc.dps.mo.gov/MGCwebCrystalReports/dxClassALicensee.aspx" target="_blank">six casino operators</a>&nbsp;licensed in Missouri that is actively opposing the ballot measure. One aspect the company dislikes is that online gambling platforms could be licensed without having to create a business relationship with a Missouri casino.

Winning for Missouri Education, the committee backing Amendment 2, is the best-funded ballot measure campaign in state history. The two biggest online bookmakers, FanDuel and DraftKings, have each contributed $15.8 million, and the television and radio ad campaign has cost almost $10 million so far. The ads in favor of sports wagering emphasize that the Missouri Constitution directs all revenue from gambling taxes to education programs.

Jack Cardetti, a spokesman for Winning for Missouri Education, declined to say why he believed the ads were pulled.

“That’s something you’d have to ask them about,” Cardetti said. “We’re focused on the campaign and making sure our message is getting out. We feel really good about where we are right now.”

In an August St. Louis University/YouGov poll, 50% of voters surveyed said they supported sports wagering after reading the Amendment 2 ballot language while 30% were opposed. The television ads opposing Amendment 2, which began running in the first week of September, had narrowed that lead,&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/14/record-spending-fuels-missouri-campaigns-to-legalize-sports-gambling-new-casino/">Foster said last week</a>.

“It’s definitely tightened,” she said. “It’s margin of error type close, so we’re really pleased to see that.”

Winning for Missouri Education this week has increased the size of some of its television purchases and has begun emphasizing support for the measure from professional sports teams — which will be able to set up retail sports wagering locations and provide a branded online platform.

“The Amendment 2 campaign will continue to aggressively get our message out,” Cardetti said, “and ensure that Missourians know the benefits of legalizing sports betting, right up until the last hour.”

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a> The campaign opposing a sports betting constitutional amendment on Missouri’s November ballot canceled more than $1 million in television ads Thursday just as the group pushing the proposal launched new ads featuring former&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKgkOu4I0rA" target="_blank">St. Louis Cardinals shortstop Ozzie Smith</a>.The Independent’s tracking of broadcaster reports to the Federal Communications Commission show that Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/16/statewide-candidates-in-missouri-run-cheap-campaigns-while-ballot-measures-spend-heavily/">aired or reserved almost $4 million</a>&nbsp;worth of television ads opposing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sos.mo.gov/CMSImages/Elections/Petitions/2024-160.pdf" target="_blank">Amendment 2</a>.&nbsp;Thursday’s cancellation took down $1.2 million of those ads, some of which had been purchased weeks ago.The ads are being pulled so the campaign can shift to more direct contacts, saidBrooke Foster, a spokeswoman for Missourians Against the Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment.“While the out-of-state online gambling corporations continue to throw millions of dollars at misleading TV ads, we have decided to focus our efforts on grassroots outreach and community conversations during the two and a weeks that remain before Election Day,” she said in an email.Since it was created Sept. 10, the committee has received $14.2 million from Caesars Entertainment-owned casinos in Missouri. In the $2.7 million of television ads that did run, the campaign has played on skepticism about how taxes from gambling are used, casting doubt on whether a promise of more than $100 million for education programs over the first five years will be fulfilled.Caesars is the only one of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mgc.dps.mo.gov/MGCwebCrystalReports/dxClassALicensee.aspx" target="_blank">six casino operators</a>&nbsp;licensed in Missouri that is actively opposing the ballot measure. One aspect the company dislikes is that online gambling platforms could be licensed without having to create a business relationship with a Missouri casino.Winning for Missouri Education, the committee backing Amendment 2, is the best-funded ballot measure campaign in state history. The two biggest online bookmakers, FanDuel and DraftKings, have each contributed $15.8 million, and the television and radio ad campaign has cost almost $10 million so far. The ads in favor of sports wagering emphasize that the Missouri Constitution directs all revenue from gambling taxes to education programs.Jack Cardetti, a spokesman for Winning for Missouri Education, declined to say why he believed the ads were pulled.“That’s something you’d have to ask them about,” Cardetti said. “We’re focused on the campaign and making sure our message is getting out. We feel really good about where we are right now.”In an August St. Louis University/YouGov poll, 50% of voters surveyed said they supported sports wagering after reading the Amendment 2 ballot language while 30% were opposed. The television ads opposing Amendment 2, which began running in the first week of September, had narrowed that lead,&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2024/10/14/record-spending-fuels-missouri-campaigns-to-legalize-sports-gambling-new-casino/">Foster said last week</a>.“It’s definitely tightened,” she said. “It’s margin of error type close, so we’re really pleased to see that.”Winning for Missouri Education this week has increased the size of some of its television purchases and has begun emphasizing support for the measure from professional sports teams — which will be able to set up retail sports wagering locations and provide a branded online platform.“The Amendment 2 campaign will continue to aggressively get our message out,” Cardetti said, “and ensure that Missourians know the benefits of legalizing sports betting, right up until the last hour.”

Opponents of Missouri sports betting amendment pull TV ads in campaign’s homestretch

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — The train named Big Boy was late. Anticipation and impatience built as 30 minutes passed.

Some had been on the edge of the tracks of Great Overland Station in North Topeka for hours waiting to see a piece of American history pass through town.

Just before 1 p.m., the teeth-chattering whistle of Big Boy No. 4014 announced its arrival.

The 83-year-old steam locomotive stopped briefly Thursday afternoon spewing steam in Topeka on its way from Kansas City, Missouri, to Salina while on the last leg of its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.up.com/heritage/steam/schedule/" target="_blank">Heartland of America Tour</a>. It was met with at least 1,000 people from across Kansas, eager to catch a glimpse of the living legend.

Crowds have gathered at almost every stop on the eight-week, nine-state tour, ranging from hundreds to thousands to see the more than 1.2 million lb. locomotive, said Mike Jaixen, spokesman for Union Pacific Railroad.

“There’s a legend of the Big Boy,” he said.

The way Jaixen explains the draw of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.up.com/heritage/steam/4014/" target="_blank">Big Boy</a>&nbsp;begins in 1941 when the first Big Boy rolled out of the factory in Schenectady, New York. It wasn’t named Big Boy then. It was going to be named after the Wasatch Mountains, through which it would travel for 20 years and more than 1 million miles between Utah and Wyoming hauling freight before retiring in 1961.

But one crew member, who was amazed at the sheer size of it, took a piece of chalk and scrawled the name “Big Boy” on the locomotive, Jaixen said. Crew members today still draw the name in chalk on the locomotive’s front.

The Big Boy No. 4014 was one of 25 manufactured exclusively for Union Pacific, and it’s now the only one in operation after it was brought out of retirement and restored between 2013 and 2019, which allowed it to reclaim its title as the largest steam locomotive in the world. It’s almost as long as two typical diesel locomotives and produces more than 6,000 horsepower.

Jeff and Lena Appenfeller of Topeka waited from behind a fence on the northeast side of the tracks. Others were sitting on the hoods and in the trunks of their cars or in pools of crowds near the station. Lena Appenfeller, a 7-year-old, had the day off from school, and it was Jeff Appenfeller’s second time seeing Big Boy No. 4014 in Topeka. The locomotive’s whistle will “rattle your teeth,” he said.

As Big Boy churned around the bend and slowly rolled into the station, railroad police and crew tried to keep excited spectators from lingering on the tracks. It stopped for about 40 minutes, and people swarmed the front of the train for photos or to get a closer look while crews performed minor maintenance work.

One couple came to watch from El Dorado, more than 100 miles away, and had plans to chase the train to Wamego, to witness it among the sparsely populated fields, they said.

Doug Edwards drove the 30 miles from Holton to see Big Boy.

Trains were a big part of his life as a kid. Now a retired electronics businessman, they remind him of the northeastern Kansas farm he grew up on, and recalling those memories made him emotional as he looked out at the tracks.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729265876120.png" alt="Hundreds of Kansans greet the world’s largest steam locomotive, Big Boy No. 4014, on Oct. 17, 2024, in North Topeka. (Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Hundreds of Kansans greet the world’s largest steam locomotive, Big Boy No. 4014, on Oct. 17, 2024, in North Topeka. (Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/akaminski/">ANNA KAMINSKI</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — The train named Big Boy was late. Anticipation and impatience built as 30 minutes passed.Some had been on the edge of the tracks of Great Overland Station in North Topeka for hours waiting to see a piece of American history pass through town.Just before 1 p.m., the teeth-chattering whistle of Big Boy No. 4014 announced its arrival.The 83-year-old steam locomotive stopped briefly Thursday afternoon spewing steam in Topeka on its way from Kansas City, Missouri, to Salina while on the last leg of its&nbsp;<a href="https://www.up.com/heritage/steam/schedule/" target="_blank">Heartland of America Tour</a>. It was met with at least 1,000 people from across Kansas, eager to catch a glimpse of the living legend.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729265844799.png" alt=" The world’s largest steam locomotive, Big Boy No. 4014, rolls into Topeka on Oct. 17, 2024. (Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> The world’s largest steam locomotive, Big Boy No. 4014, rolls into Topeka on Oct. 17, 2024. (Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>Crowds have gathered at almost every stop on the eight-week, nine-state tour, ranging from hundreds to thousands to see the more than 1.2 million lb. locomotive, said Mike Jaixen, spokesman for Union Pacific Railroad.“There’s a legend of the Big Boy,” he said.The way Jaixen explains the draw of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.up.com/heritage/steam/4014/" target="_blank">Big Boy</a>&nbsp;begins in 1941 when the first Big Boy rolled out of the factory in Schenectady, New York. It wasn’t named Big Boy then. It was going to be named after the Wasatch Mountains, through which it would travel for 20 years and more than 1 million miles between Utah and Wyoming hauling freight before retiring in 1961.But one crew member, who was amazed at the sheer size of it, took a piece of chalk and scrawled the name “Big Boy” on the locomotive, Jaixen said. Crew members today still draw the name in chalk on the locomotive’s front.The Big Boy No. 4014 was one of 25 manufactured exclusively for Union Pacific, and it’s now the only one in operation after it was brought out of retirement and restored between 2013 and 2019, which allowed it to reclaim its title as the largest steam locomotive in the world. It’s almost as long as two typical diesel locomotives and produces more than 6,000 horsepower.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729265799147.png" alt="Jeff and Lena Appenfeller of Topeka react to the world’s largest steam locomotive, Big Boy No. 4014, rolling into town on Oct. 17, 2024. (Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Jeff and Lena Appenfeller of Topeka react to the world’s largest steam locomotive, Big Boy No. 4014, rolling into town on Oct. 17, 2024. (Anna Kaminski/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>Jeff and Lena Appenfeller of Topeka waited from behind a fence on the northeast side of the tracks. Others were sitting on the hoods and in the trunks of their cars or in pools of crowds near the station. Lena Appenfeller, a 7-year-old, had the day off from school, and it was Jeff Appenfeller’s second time seeing Big Boy No. 4014 in Topeka. The locomotive’s whistle will “rattle your teeth,” he said.As Big Boy churned around the bend and slowly rolled into the station, railroad police and crew tried to keep excited spectators from lingering on the tracks. It stopped for about 40 minutes, and people swarmed the front of the train for photos or to get a closer look while crews performed minor maintenance work.One couple came to watch from El Dorado, more than 100 miles away, and had plans to chase the train to Wamego, to witness it among the sparsely populated fields, they said.Doug Edwards drove the 30 miles from Holton to see Big Boy.Trains were a big part of his life as a kid. Now a retired electronics businessman, they remind him of the northeastern Kansas farm he grew up on, and recalling those memories made him emotional as he looked out at the tracks.“It’s a childhood thing,” he said.

World’s largest steam locomotive, Big Boy, rattles into Topeka

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military continues working to determine the source of mysterious drones that have been allowed to fly over U.S. bases.

Kansas U.S. Senator Jerry Moran responded to a Wall Street Journal account of the mystery. "As drone technology continues to evolve, the tactics used against the United States grow more alarming each day, " Moran wrote on social media. 

"The recent reports of unidentified aircrafts hovering for 17 days over a U.S. military base without intervention is not just concerning, but an affront to our national security."

"This violation of our airspace highlights the threat of below-the-threshold activity that hostile actors can pose to our nation."

"Military leaders currently lack the authority to engage until there is an imminent threat posed to our men and women in uniform. I am working on legislation to provide the Department of Defense with the necessary authorities to engage drones or unidentified aircrafts that breech our military airspace before it is too late to respond."

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military continues working to determine the source of mysterious drones that have been allowed to fly over U.S. bases.Kansas U.S. Senator Jerry Moran responded to a Wall Street Journal account of the mystery. "As drone technology continues to evolve, the tactics used against the United States grow more alarming each day, " Moran wrote on social media. "The recent reports of unidentified aircrafts hovering for 17 days over a U.S. military base without intervention is not just concerning, but an affront to our national security.""This violation of our airspace highlights the threat of below-the-threshold activity that hostile actors can pose to our nation.""Military leaders currently lack the authority to engage until there is an imminent threat posed to our men and women in uniform. I am working on legislation to provide the Department of Defense with the necessary authorities to engage drones or unidentified aircrafts that breech our military airspace before it is too late to respond."

Kan. U.S. Senator wants action on mysterious drone swarm at military base 

Bismarck, ND– Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach Tuesday asked the U.S. District Court in North Dakota to temporarily stop the Biden-Harris administration from implementing a regulation that would give Obamacare to illegal aliens, according to a media release from the Attorney General's office.

The regulation, set to take effect on Nov. 1, would make more than 200,000 deferred action for childhood arrival (DACA) recipients eligible for taxpayer-subsidized health plans, including 4,350 DACA recipients in Kansas.

“Congress made it clear on two separate occasions that illegal aliens cannot receive Obamacare. First, a 1996 law makes clear that illegal aliens are generally prohibited from receiving federal benefits. Second, in the affordable care act itself, an alien has to be lawfully present in the United States to receive the subsidized health insurance,” Kobach said. “The Biden administration does not have a good response.&nbsp; I have argued immigration issues in many different cases, and I feel particularly good about the states’ chances in this one.

”North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley and South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley also appeared in court. Kobach served as lead counsel.“Washington has failed to secure our southern border, and the cost of DACA is not the right solution for the states,” Jackley said. “DACA’s subsidized health insurance for illegal immigrants would be at the cost of struggling working citizens.”

Attorneys general from 15 states joined the lawsuit. In addition to Kobach, Wrigley and Jackley, attorneys general from Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia joined the lawsuit.Read latest filings in the case&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ag.ks.gov/divisions/special-litigation-unit/high-profile-cases">here</a>.

Bismarck, ND– Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach Tuesday asked the U.S. District Court in North Dakota to temporarily stop the Biden-Harris administration from implementing a regulation that would give Obamacare to illegal aliens, according to a media release from the Attorney General's office.The regulation, set to take effect on Nov. 1, would make more than 200,000 deferred action for childhood arrival (DACA) recipients eligible for taxpayer-subsidized health plans, including 4,350 DACA recipients in Kansas.“Congress made it clear on two separate occasions that illegal aliens cannot receive Obamacare. First, a 1996 law makes clear that illegal aliens are generally prohibited from receiving federal benefits. Second, in the affordable care act itself, an alien has to be lawfully present in the United States to receive the subsidized health insurance,” Kobach said. “The Biden administration does not have a good response.&nbsp; I have argued immigration issues in many different cases, and I feel particularly good about the states’ chances in this one.”North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley and South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley also appeared in court. Kobach served as lead counsel.“Washington has failed to secure our southern border, and the cost of DACA is not the right solution for the states,” Jackley said. “DACA’s subsidized health insurance for illegal immigrants would be at the cost of struggling working citizens.”Attorneys general from 15 states joined the lawsuit. In addition to Kobach, Wrigley and Jackley, attorneys general from Alabama, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia joined the lawsuit.Read latest filings in the case&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ag.ks.gov/divisions/special-litigation-unit/high-profile-cases">here</a>.

Kan. AG leads coalition to stop Biden-Harris from giving Obamacare to illegal aliens

Eight-foot statue of warrior brings to ground level massize statue atop dome

TOPEKA — Dedication on the Kansas Capitol grounds Tuesday of an eight-foot statue depicting a Kansa warrior’s drawn bow and arrow pointed to the North Star closed a monumental 22-year effort to complete the Ad Astra Plaza.

The privately financed project placed on a pedestal southwest of the Capitol a version of the 22-foot, 4,400-pound bronze artwork installed in 2002 atop the dome in honor of the original inhabitants of land incorporated into the state and to symbolize determination of people to achieve goals, as the state motto declared, “to the stars through difficulties.”

Gov. Laura Kelly joined members of the Kaw Nation, a bipartisan set of legislators and the son of late Salina sculptor Richard Bergen to mark installation of the Kansa statue, bronze plaques describing Kansas history and hundreds of bricks purchased to help finance the project.

“In its own right,” the governor said, “to the stars through difficulty is an accurate description for this project. This plaza has been a long time in the making. It’s a poignant reminder of our past and inspiring representation of the bright future that lies ahead.”

Rich Bergen, son of artist and educator Richard Bergen, said the sculpture on the dome stood 300 feet above the ground, but the brethren installation on the lawn made the artwork more accessible to visitors. He said the plaza honored Native Americans through the story of the Kansa people.

“If we don’t remember the past, we will not learn from it,” Bergen said. “My dad really would have loved to have been here today.”

Kimberly Jenkins, chairwoman of the Kaw Nation Tribal Council, said Kansa people lived and hunted for centuries on land that became Kansas. She said the Kaw population had dwindled to about 500 when forced to move in the 1870s to present-day Oklahoma. Citizenship eventually fell to approximately 200, she said, but the Kaw emerged as a self-governing, federally recognized tribe.

“This warrior, to me, is a symbol of how strong our people were and still are,” Jenkins said. “Even though our loved ones suffered from being moved from their homeland and forced to adapt to ways of others, they fought hard.”

Polling of Salina-area students led to the decision to create a statue depicting a Kansa warrior. However, the pedestal meant to host the ground-level version of the artwork sat empty for two decades.

Former Sen. Randall Hardy, who represented Salina in the Legislature from 2017 to 2021, said he was strolling on the statehouse grounds when he came across the bare six-foot pedestal. A plaque donated by former Gov. Bill Graves said the pedestal held a replica of the statue on the dome.

“It was empty. Seventeen bronze plaques had not been cast and placed on the walls. Two-thousand-six-hundred bricks for the plaza were not in place. I was, frankly, embarrassed by what I saw,” Hardy said.

He returned to his office and spoke to Sen. Elaine Bowers, a Concordia Republican who served on a legislative committee dedicated to preservation of the Capitol. Together, with lobbyist John Peterson and others a plan was developed to kickstart development of the plaza.

“I’m so pleased to be here, even though we’re 20 years late. It’s a great day,” Bowers said.

Fundraising was inspired by friends of Bill Brady, a legislator and lobbyist who died in March 2023. He was a presence in the statehouse for more than 40 years.

“His colleagues led the fundraising campaign to help complete the plaza in memory of Bill,” said Nancy Brady, his widow. “I can’t think of anything more meaningful to Bill and our family. I look forward to bringing my family and friends here for many years to come.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729090833791.png" alt="Gov. Laura Kelly led a bipartisan celebration of the new Ad Astra Plaza on the Kansas Capitol lawn centered on a copy of the Kansa warrior that sits on top of the statehouse. The statue on the dome was installed in 2002, but it took 22 years to finish the ground-level plaza.- courtesy photo" />
 <figcaption>Gov. Laura Kelly led a bipartisan celebration of the new Ad Astra Plaza on the Kansas Capitol lawn centered on a copy of the Kansa warrior that sits on top of the statehouse. The statue on the dome was installed in 2002, but it took 22 years to finish the ground-level plaza.- courtesy photo</figcaption>
 </figure><h2>Eight-foot statue of warrior brings to ground level massize statue atop dome</h2>BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://kansasreflector.com/author/tim-carpenter/">TIM CARPENTER</a> <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Dedication on the Kansas Capitol grounds Tuesday of an eight-foot statue depicting a Kansa warrior’s drawn bow and arrow pointed to the North Star closed a monumental 22-year effort to complete the Ad Astra Plaza.The privately financed project placed on a pedestal southwest of the Capitol a version of the 22-foot, 4,400-pound bronze artwork installed in 2002 atop the dome in honor of the original inhabitants of land incorporated into the state and to symbolize determination of people to achieve goals, as the state motto declared, “to the stars through difficulties.”<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Today, we celebrated the new Ad Astra Plaza at the Statehouse. The plaza, with its replica of the iconic Native American hunter statue atop the Statehouse, is a poignant reminder of our past &amp; an inspiring representation of how we&#39;re reaching for the stars to move Kansas forward. <a href="https://t.co/ntKVZGBiNO">pic.twitter.com/ntKVZGBiNO</a>&mdash; Governor Laura Kelly (@GovLauraKelly) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovLauraKelly/status/1846242116554440962?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Gov. Laura Kelly joined members of the Kaw Nation, a bipartisan set of legislators and the son of late Salina sculptor Richard Bergen to mark installation of the Kansa statue, bronze plaques describing Kansas history and hundreds of bricks purchased to help finance the project.“In its own right,” the governor said, “to the stars through difficulty is an accurate description for this project. This plaza has been a long time in the making. It’s a poignant reminder of our past and inspiring representation of the bright future that lies ahead.”Rich Bergen, son of artist and educator Richard Bergen, said the sculpture on the dome stood 300 feet above the ground, but the brethren installation on the lawn made the artwork more accessible to visitors. He said the plaza honored Native Americans through the story of the Kansa people.“If we don’t remember the past, we will not learn from it,” Bergen said. “My dad really would have loved to have been here today.”Kimberly Jenkins, chairwoman of the Kaw Nation Tribal Council, said Kansa people lived and hunted for centuries on land that became Kansas. She said the Kaw population had dwindled to about 500 when forced to move in the 1870s to present-day Oklahoma. Citizenship eventually fell to approximately 200, she said, but the Kaw emerged as a self-governing, federally recognized tribe.“This warrior, to me, is a symbol of how strong our people were and still are,” Jenkins said. “Even though our loved ones suffered from being moved from their homeland and forced to adapt to ways of others, they fought hard.”<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729090744229.png" alt=" Members of the Kaw Nation present a ceremonial blanket to Rich Bergen, son of the late Salina sculptor Richard Bergen, who created the Kansa warrior statue atop the Capitol. Bergen spoke on behalf of his father at dedication of Ad Astra Plaza, which incorporated a smaller version of the Kansa warrior. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption> Members of the Kaw Nation present a ceremonial blanket to Rich Bergen, son of the late Salina sculptor Richard Bergen, who created the Kansa warrior statue atop the Capitol. Bergen spoke on behalf of his father at dedication of Ad Astra Plaza, which incorporated a smaller version of the Kansa warrior. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>Polling of Salina-area students led to the decision to create a statue depicting a Kansa warrior. However, the pedestal meant to host the ground-level version of the artwork sat empty for two decades.Former Sen. Randall Hardy, who represented Salina in the Legislature from 2017 to 2021, said he was strolling on the statehouse grounds when he came across the bare six-foot pedestal. A plaque donated by former Gov. Bill Graves said the pedestal held a replica of the statue on the dome.“It was empty. Seventeen bronze plaques had not been cast and placed on the walls. Two-thousand-six-hundred bricks for the plaza were not in place. I was, frankly, embarrassed by what I saw,” Hardy said.He returned to his office and spoke to Sen. Elaine Bowers, a Concordia Republican who served on a legislative committee dedicated to preservation of the Capitol. Together, with lobbyist John Peterson and others a plan was developed to kickstart development of the plaza.“I’m so pleased to be here, even though we’re 20 years late. It’s a great day,” Bowers said.Fundraising was inspired by friends of Bill Brady, a legislator and lobbyist who died in March 2023. He was a presence in the statehouse for more than 40 years.“His colleagues led the fundraising campaign to help complete the plaza in memory of Bill,” said Nancy Brady, his widow. “I can’t think of anything more meaningful to Bill and our family. I look forward to bringing my family and friends here for many years to come.”

Kansas governor, Kansa tribe members cap 22-year project by dedicating Capitol plaza

BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>

Chariton County cannot block construction of the&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/10/13/grain-belt-express-transmission-line-wins-final-approval-in-missouri/">Grain Belt Express electric transmission line</a>&nbsp;by refusing permission to cross county roads, the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.

The county can establish rules for how the transmission line crosses its roads, the court ruled as it modified a trial court decision that said the county could make no regulations at all.

“The decision as to whether Grain Belt’s overhead transmission lines for the project would be constructed across Chariton County’s public roads was already made by the (Missouri Public Service Commission) when it issued its Report and Order on Remand granting the (certificate of convenience and necessity) and approving the final proposed route of the project,” Judge Lisa White Hardwick wrote in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=213613" target="_blank">unanimous decision</a>&nbsp;of the three-judge panel.

Grain Belt will be constructed by Chicago-based Invenergy and be a 5,000 megawatt line to move wind-derived power from western Kansas to the Indiana border. Half the power it carries will be delivered to Missouri utilities.

At first welcomed by many of the counties it will cross in north Missouri, the line has become controversial with complaints about aesthetics, whether high-voltage lines cause health issues and the power of the Public Service Commission to grant eminent domain power to obtain land for construction.

Republican legislators and agricultural groups tried repeatedly to strip Grain Belt’s right of eminent domain, which would have killed the project. But in 2022, lawmakers&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/06/08/missouri-governor-to-sign-compromise-legislation-after-efforts-to-stymie-grain-belt-express/">passed compromise legislation</a>&nbsp;requiring, in the event of future large transmission lines, greater compensation for landowners and setting a seven-year time limit for companies to build transmission lines after obtaining their easements.&nbsp;

Grain Belt’s disagreements with Chariton County began in 2014, Hardwick wrote in the decision, two years after it had initially received consent from the Chariton County Commission to cross its county-owned roads. Chariton County withdrew its consent and made it contingent upon the PSC approving the project.

When it received initial approval from the PSC, Grain Belt’s owners tried to negotiate with Chariton County. When it refused again to give its consent, the lawsuit followed.

Associate Circuit Judge Daren Adkins, assigned to the case from Daviess County, ruled that a state law&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=49.650&amp;bid=1714&amp;hl=" target="_blank">barring counties</a>&nbsp;from adopting ordinances “governing” utilities within their boundaries meant that&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=229.100&amp;bid=12358&amp;hl=" target="_blank">an older law</a>, requiring utilities to obtain consent from utilities to go “through, on, under or across” its roads could not be enforced.

The decision Tuesday modified that ruling. The law prohibiting an ordinance governing a utility is designed to protect against local rules that are in conflict with state rules, the court said.

But it doesn’t mean the law requiring consent to cross a road doesn’t have any effect, Hardwick wrote. The county can set standards but it cannot withhold its consent, she wrote.

“A fair interpretation is that (law) requires a county commission’s agreement regarding how a utility’s infrastructure will be constructed across the county’s public roads,” she wrote “not whether such utility’s infrastructure will be constructed across the county’s public roads in the first place.”

Overall utility policy is set at the state level, not the county level, she wrote.

“Doing so usurps the authority granted the MPSC in Chapter 386,” she wrote, “and exercises a power granted to the county in a manner contrary to the public policy of this state.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/8/1598444309811.png" alt="The project, will stretch about 800 miles from Kansas to Indiana, on a route crossing Missouri and Illinois." />
 <figcaption>The project, will stretch about 800 miles from Kansas to Indiana, on a route crossing Missouri and Illinois.</figcaption>
 </figure>BY:&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/rudi-keller/">RUDI KELLER</a> <a href="https://missouriindependent.com/briefs/missouri-senate-committee-advances-bill-to-ban-texting-while-driving/">Missouri Independent</a>Chariton County cannot block construction of the&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2023/10/13/grain-belt-express-transmission-line-wins-final-approval-in-missouri/">Grain Belt Express electric transmission line</a>&nbsp;by refusing permission to cross county roads, the Missouri Western District Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday.The county can establish rules for how the transmission line crosses its roads, the court ruled as it modified a trial court decision that said the county could make no regulations at all.“The decision as to whether Grain Belt’s overhead transmission lines for the project would be constructed across Chariton County’s public roads was already made by the (Missouri Public Service Commission) when it issued its Report and Order on Remand granting the (certificate of convenience and necessity) and approving the final proposed route of the project,” Judge Lisa White Hardwick wrote in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.courts.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=213613" target="_blank">unanimous decision</a>&nbsp;of the three-judge panel.Grain Belt will be constructed by Chicago-based Invenergy and be a 5,000 megawatt line to move wind-derived power from western Kansas to the Indiana border. Half the power it carries will be delivered to Missouri utilities.At first welcomed by many of the counties it will cross in north Missouri, the line has become controversial with complaints about aesthetics, whether high-voltage lines cause health issues and the power of the Public Service Commission to grant eminent domain power to obtain land for construction.Republican legislators and agricultural groups tried repeatedly to strip Grain Belt’s right of eminent domain, which would have killed the project. But in 2022, lawmakers&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/2022/06/08/missouri-governor-to-sign-compromise-legislation-after-efforts-to-stymie-grain-belt-express/">passed compromise legislation</a>&nbsp;requiring, in the event of future large transmission lines, greater compensation for landowners and setting a seven-year time limit for companies to build transmission lines after obtaining their easements.&nbsp;Grain Belt’s disagreements with Chariton County began in 2014, Hardwick wrote in the decision, two years after it had initially received consent from the Chariton County Commission to cross its county-owned roads. Chariton County withdrew its consent and made it contingent upon the PSC approving the project.When it received initial approval from the PSC, Grain Belt’s owners tried to negotiate with Chariton County. When it refused again to give its consent, the lawsuit followed.Associate Circuit Judge Daren Adkins, assigned to the case from Daviess County, ruled that a state law&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=49.650&amp;bid=1714&amp;hl=" target="_blank">barring counties</a>&nbsp;from adopting ordinances “governing” utilities within their boundaries meant that&nbsp;<a href="https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=229.100&amp;bid=12358&amp;hl=" target="_blank">an older law</a>, requiring utilities to obtain consent from utilities to go “through, on, under or across” its roads could not be enforced.The decision Tuesday modified that ruling. The law prohibiting an ordinance governing a utility is designed to protect against local rules that are in conflict with state rules, the court said.But it doesn’t mean the law requiring consent to cross a road doesn’t have any effect, Hardwick wrote. The county can set standards but it cannot withhold its consent, she wrote.“A fair interpretation is that (law) requires a county commission’s agreement regarding how a utility’s infrastructure will be constructed across the county’s public roads,” she wrote “not whether such utility’s infrastructure will be constructed across the county’s public roads in the first place.”Overall utility policy is set at the state level, not the county level, she wrote.“Doing so usurps the authority granted the MPSC in Chapter 386,” she wrote, “and exercises a power granted to the county in a manner contrary to the public policy of this state.”

Grain Belt Express clears another legal hurdle with Missouri appeals court ruling

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/shauneen-miranda/">SHAUNEEN MIRANDA</a> <a href="https://statesnewsroom.com/">States Newsroom</a>

As former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris sprint to the November finish line, one sprawling policy area has largely fallen out of the spotlight — education.

Though the respective GOP and Democratic presidential candidates have spent comparatively more time campaigning on issues such as immigration, foreign policy and the economy, their ideas surrounding K-12 and higher education vastly differ.

Trump’s education platform vows to “save American education,” with a focus on parental rights, universal school choice and a fight for “patriotic education” in schools.

“By increasing access to school choice, empowering parents to have a voice in their child’s education, and supporting good teachers, President Trump will improve academic excellence for all students,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump campaign national press secretary, said in a statement to States Newsroom.

Trump “believes students should be taught reading, writing, and math in the classroom — not gender, sex and race like the Biden Administration is pushing on our public school system,” Leavitt added.

Meanwhile, the Harris campaign has largely focused on the education investments brought by the Biden-Harris administration and building on those efforts if she is elected.

“Over the past four years, the Administration has made unprecedented investments in education, including the single-largest investment in K-12 education in history, which Vice President Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to pass,” Mia Ehrenberg, a campaign spokesperson, told States Newsroom.

Ehrenberg said that while Harris and her running mate, Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, “will build on those investments and continue fighting until every student has the support and the resources they need to thrive, Republicans led by Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda want to cut billions from local K-12 schools and eliminate the Department of Education, undermining America’s students and schools.”

Harris has repeatedly knocked the Heritage Foundation’s&nbsp;<a href="https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf" target="_blank">Project 2025</a>&nbsp;— a sweeping conservative agenda that includes education policy proposals like eliminating Head Start, ending time-based and occupation-based student loan forgiveness and barring teachers from using a student’s preferred pronouns different from their “biological sex” without written permission from a parent or guardian.

Trump has fiercely disavowed Project 2025, although some former members of his administration crafted the blueprint.

Trump has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Zxfnqj_3XQ" target="_blank">called for shutting down</a>&nbsp;the U.S. Department of Education and said he wants to “move education back to the states.” The department is not the main funding source for K-12 schools, as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.urban.org/policy-centers/cross-center-initiatives/state-and-local-finance-initiative/state-and-local-backgrounders/elementary-and-secondary-education-expenditures" target="_blank">state and local governments</a>&nbsp;allocate much of those dollars.

In contrast, Harris said at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/lets-fight-it-harris-vows-chart-new-way-forward-defeat-trump" target="_blank">Democratic National Convention</a>&nbsp;in August that “we are not going to let him eliminate the Department of Education that funds our public schools.”

Living wage for school staff; parental bill of rights

Trump’s education plan calls for creating a “new credentialing body to certify teachers who embrace patriotic values, and understand that their job is not to indoctrinate children, but to educate them.”

He also wants to implement funding boosts for schools that “abolish teacher tenure” for grades K-12 and adopt “merit pay,” establish the direct election of school principals by parents and “drastically cut” the number of school administrators.

In contrast, the&nbsp;<a href="https://democrats.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FINAL-MASTER-PLATFORM.pdf" target="_blank">Democratic Party’s 2024 platform</a>&nbsp;calls for recruiting “more new teachers, paraprofessionals and school related personnel, and education support professionals, with the option for some to even start training in high school.”

The platform also aims to help “school-support staff to advance in their own careers with a living wage” and improve working conditions for teachers.

Trump also wants to give funding boosts to schools that adopt a “Parental Bill of Rights that includes complete curriculum transparency, and a form of universal school choice.”

He’s threatening to cut federal funding for schools that teach the primarily collegiate academic subject known as “critical race theory,” gender ideology or “other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children.”

The Democrats’ platform opposes “the use of private-school vouchers, tuition tax credits, opportunity scholarships, and other schemes that divert taxpayer-funded resources away from public education,” adding that “public tax dollars should never be used to discriminate.”

Earlier this year, the Biden-Harris administration&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/much-attacked-final-title-ix-rule-goes-effect-while-still-blocked-26-states" target="_blank">released a final rule for Title IX</a>&nbsp;extending federal protections for LGBTQ+ students.

The updated regulations took effect Aug. 1, but a slew of GOP-led states challenged the measure. The legal battles have created a policy patchwork and weakened the administration’s vision for the final rule.

The updated regulations&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/biden-administration-roll-back-betsy-devos-title-ix-rules" target="_blank">roll back Title IX changes</a>&nbsp;made under the Trump administration and then-Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.

Trump vowed to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qU5EDho3qs" target="_blank">terminate the updated regulations</a>&nbsp;on his first day back in office if reelected.

Harris has repeatedly touted the administration’s record on student loan forgiveness, including nearly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/biden-harris-administration-approves-additional-12-billion-student-debt" target="_blank">$170 billion</a>&nbsp;in student debt relief for almost 5 million borrowers.

The administration’s most recent student loan repayment initiative came to a grinding halt in August after the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/bidens-newest-student-loan-repayment-plan-temporarily-blocked-supreme-court" target="_blank">U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked</a>&nbsp;the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan.

Although little is mentioned about education in Harris’&nbsp;<a href="https://kamalaharris.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Policy_Book_Economic-Opportunity.pdf" target="_blank">extensive economic plan</a>, the proposal makes clear that the veep will “continue working to end the unreasonable burden of student loan debt and fight to make higher education more affordable, so that college can be a ticket to the middle class.”

She also plans to cut four-year degree requirements for half a million federal jobs.

Trump — who dubbed the Biden-Harris administration’s&nbsp;<a href="https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/transcript/donald-trump-speech-political-rally-racine-wisconsin-june-18-2024/" target="_blank">student loan forgiveness efforts</a>&nbsp;as “not even legal” — sought to repeal the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program during his administration.

His education platform also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/agenda47-the-american-academy" target="_blank">calls for endowing</a>&nbsp;the “American Academy,” a free, online university.

Trump said he will endow the new institution through the “billions and billions of dollars that we will collect by taxing, fining, and suing excessively large private university endowments.”

BY:&nbsp;<a href="https://missouriindependent.com/author/shauneen-miranda/">SHAUNEEN MIRANDA</a> <a href="https://statesnewsroom.com/">States Newsroom</a>As former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris sprint to the November finish line, one sprawling policy area has largely fallen out of the spotlight — education.Though the respective GOP and Democratic presidential candidates have spent comparatively more time campaigning on issues such as immigration, foreign policy and the economy, their ideas surrounding K-12 and higher education vastly differ.Trump’s education platform vows to “save American education,” with a focus on parental rights, universal school choice and a fight for “patriotic education” in schools.“By increasing access to school choice, empowering parents to have a voice in their child’s education, and supporting good teachers, President Trump will improve academic excellence for all students,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump campaign national press secretary, said in a statement to States Newsroom.Trump “believes students should be taught reading, writing, and math in the classroom — not gender, sex and race like the Biden Administration is pushing on our public school system,” Leavitt added.Meanwhile, the Harris campaign has largely focused on the education investments brought by the Biden-Harris administration and building on those efforts if she is elected.“Over the past four years, the Administration has made unprecedented investments in education, including the single-largest investment in K-12 education in history, which Vice President Harris cast the tie-breaking vote to pass,” Mia Ehrenberg, a campaign spokesperson, told States Newsroom.Ehrenberg said that while Harris and her running mate, Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, “will build on those investments and continue fighting until every student has the support and the resources they need to thrive, Republicans led by Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda want to cut billions from local K-12 schools and eliminate the Department of Education, undermining America’s students and schools.”Harris has repeatedly knocked the Heritage Foundation’s&nbsp;<a href="https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf" target="_blank">Project 2025</a>&nbsp;— a sweeping conservative agenda that includes education policy proposals like eliminating Head Start, ending time-based and occupation-based student loan forgiveness and barring teachers from using a student’s preferred pronouns different from their “biological sex” without written permission from a parent or guardian.Trump has fiercely disavowed Project 2025, although some former members of his administration crafted the blueprint.<h2>Closing the U.S. Department of Education</h2>Trump has&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Zxfnqj_3XQ" target="_blank">called for shutting down</a>&nbsp;the U.S. Department of Education and said he wants to “move education back to the states.” The department is not the main funding source for K-12 schools, as&nbsp;<a href="https://www.urban.org/policy-centers/cross-center-initiatives/state-and-local-finance-initiative/state-and-local-backgrounders/elementary-and-secondary-education-expenditures" target="_blank">state and local governments</a>&nbsp;allocate much of those dollars.In contrast, Harris said at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/lets-fight-it-harris-vows-chart-new-way-forward-defeat-trump" target="_blank">Democratic National Convention</a>&nbsp;in August that “we are not going to let him eliminate the Department of Education that funds our public schools.”<h2>Living wage for school staff; parental bill of rights</h2>Trump’s education plan calls for creating a “new credentialing body to certify teachers who embrace patriotic values, and understand that their job is not to indoctrinate children, but to educate them.”He also wants to implement funding boosts for schools that “abolish teacher tenure” for grades K-12 and adopt “merit pay,” establish the direct election of school principals by parents and “drastically cut” the number of school administrators.In contrast, the&nbsp;<a href="https://democrats.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FINAL-MASTER-PLATFORM.pdf" target="_blank">Democratic Party’s 2024 platform</a>&nbsp;calls for recruiting “more new teachers, paraprofessionals and school related personnel, and education support professionals, with the option for some to even start training in high school.”The platform also aims to help “school-support staff to advance in their own careers with a living wage” and improve working conditions for teachers.Trump also wants to give funding boosts to schools that adopt a “Parental Bill of Rights that includes complete curriculum transparency, and a form of universal school choice.”He’s threatening to cut federal funding for schools that teach the primarily collegiate academic subject known as “critical race theory,” gender ideology or “other inappropriate racial, sexual, or political content on our children.”The Democrats’ platform opposes “the use of private-school vouchers, tuition tax credits, opportunity scholarships, and other schemes that divert taxpayer-funded resources away from public education,” adding that “public tax dollars should never be used to discriminate.”<h2>Title IX&nbsp;</h2>Earlier this year, the Biden-Harris administration&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/much-attacked-final-title-ix-rule-goes-effect-while-still-blocked-26-states" target="_blank">released a final rule for Title IX</a>&nbsp;extending federal protections for LGBTQ+ students.The updated regulations took effect Aug. 1, but a slew of GOP-led states challenged the measure. The legal battles have created a policy patchwork and weakened the administration’s vision for the final rule.The updated regulations&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/biden-administration-roll-back-betsy-devos-title-ix-rules" target="_blank">roll back Title IX changes</a>&nbsp;made under the Trump administration and then-Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.Trump vowed to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qU5EDho3qs" target="_blank">terminate the updated regulations</a>&nbsp;on his first day back in office if reelected.<h2>Student debt and higher education&nbsp;</h2>Harris has repeatedly touted the administration’s record on student loan forgiveness, including nearly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/biden-harris-administration-approves-additional-12-billion-student-debt" target="_blank">$170 billion</a>&nbsp;in student debt relief for almost 5 million borrowers.The administration’s most recent student loan repayment initiative came to a grinding halt in August after the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/bidens-newest-student-loan-repayment-plan-temporarily-blocked-supreme-court" target="_blank">U.S. Supreme Court temporarily blocked</a>&nbsp;the Saving on a Valuable Education, or SAVE, plan.Although little is mentioned about education in Harris’&nbsp;<a href="https://kamalaharris.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Policy_Book_Economic-Opportunity.pdf" target="_blank">extensive economic plan</a>, the proposal makes clear that the veep will “continue working to end the unreasonable burden of student loan debt and fight to make higher education more affordable, so that college can be a ticket to the middle class.”She also plans to cut four-year degree requirements for half a million federal jobs.Trump — who dubbed the Biden-Harris administration’s&nbsp;<a href="https://rollcall.com/factbase/trump/transcript/donald-trump-speech-political-rally-racine-wisconsin-june-18-2024/" target="_blank">student loan forgiveness efforts</a>&nbsp;as “not even legal” — sought to repeal the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program during his administration.His education platform also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/agenda47/agenda47-the-american-academy" target="_blank">calls for endowing</a>&nbsp;the “American Academy,” a free, online university.Trump said he will endow the new institution through the “billions and billions of dollars that we will collect by taxing, fining, and suing excessively large private university endowments.”

Education: Where do Harris and Trump stand?

Zach Wendling <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/09/midwest-secretaries-of-state-host-election-security-and-integrity-summit-in-nebraska/">Nebraska Examiner</a>

OMAHA —&nbsp;Four secretaries of state and a federal agency director in cybersecurity described their work Wednesday as a line of defense in upholding election integrity and security ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen, in explaining the reason for Wednesday’s summit, asked simply, “Why not?” He said the Midwest states of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and South Dakota have demonstrated that elections can be safe, smooth and secure.

“Election security is not static. Election security is not a one-and-done deal. Election security is dynamic,” Evnen said at the news conference. “If you’re going to continue to address these dynamic challenges to elections, then you do so in a dynamic fashion.”

The ‘imperative’ of election confidence

The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unomaha.edu/ncite/index.php" target="_blank">National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center</a>, or NCITE, headquartered at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, hosted the event.

Evnen’s three counterparts from Iowa (Paul Pate), Missouri (Jay Ashcroft) and South Dakota (Monae Johnson) joined the event, which Evnen said he expects to be repeated in future years. Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab participated in other summit events, including briefings on NCITE research, but was unable to attend the news conference, officials said.

Pate, who is in his fourth term as Iowa’s secretary of state, said he has seen elections evolve and become “more aggressive” in the past two decades, particularly through technology.

Yet election confidence remains essential, Pate said, and secretaries of state are doing everything they can to uphold integrity and security.

“It’s imperative that Americans, and Iowans, have confidence in those election results because the day after the election, if they don’t believe that that’s their governor or their senator or their president, our Republic has fallen without a single bullet being fired,” Pate said. “That’s not acceptable, so we’re going to continue to be vigilant and do what we can on our front.”

Director Jen Easterly of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2018/11/19/cybersecurity-and-infrastructure-security-agency" target="_blank">U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency</a>, said CISA stands “shoulder to shoulder” with election officials nationwide. She said she has “tremendous confidence” in U.S. elections.

Easterly said CISA was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2018/11/19/cybersecurity-and-infrastructure-security-agency" target="_blank">established in 2018</a>&nbsp;from a previous U.S. Department of Homeland Security agency in part due to foreign attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election and after election infrastructure was designated as “critical” infrastructure.

The agency helps state and local election officials to prepare for any threats, including ransomware,&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nonhazardous-material-found-in-envelope-sent-to-ne-secretary-of-states-office-caution-urged/" target="_blank">physical threats</a>&nbsp;and threats from foreign adversaries (such as Russia, Iran and China). Some of the support the agency provides, Easterly said, are security assessments, hypothetical scenario training and training for de-escalation and anti-active shooter incidents.

“At the end of the day, we know that elections will be safe. They will be secure. They will be free. They will be fair. But there will be things that go wrong,” Easterly said. “The good news is these disruptions, while problematic, will not affect how votes are counted and how votes are cast.”

Evnen said some of the ways that Nebraska has partnered with CISA in the past two years have included weekly scans of all 93 Nebraska county election websites for vulnerabilities, giving local officials “.gov” emails and website addresses and setting up internal protocols for day-to-day security.

“These are important steps we’re taking across Nebraska to ensure that our cyberinfrastructure is protected,” Evnen said.

Pate said those steps are national standards as officials “plan for the worst and hope for the best.”

All five secretaries of state who partnered with NCITE this week are elected Republicans, and Ashcroft said the officials don’t serve just Republicans or Democrats or&nbsp; Libertarians or any other third parties in their respective states.

He said if officials do their job well, they are the basketball ref or linesman of a football game who “no one notices.”

The secretaries of state and Easterly invited more people to get involved in the election process, such as serving as poll workers or watchers, and for anyone who has questions to ask.

“We run elections for the people of the states,” Ashcroft explained. “We run elections for our government because it is how ‘we the people’ decide that our Republic will move forward.”

Ashcroft added that no matter who wins or loses, or which issues pass or fail, “at the end of the day, the American people can drink their beverage of choice and either celebrate or commiserate, but know that they were a part of the decision, that their votes counted and that the votes made a difference.”

The election officials noted that it is typical for “official” results not to be finalized for up to a week after Election Day, but they said that’s due in part due to the need to process provisional ballots, as well as conducting the “checks and balances” needed to ensure accurate results, particularly in close races, or possibly hand-count some ballots.

But for the most part, the secretaries of state said of their jurisdictions, most election results are typically available within a few hours of polls closing on Election Day.

“I believe in getting quick results out, my colleagues do, but we all believe in getting it right, and we believe in making sure that every American, no matter where Uncle Sam has sent them, has the right to participate in our elections,” Ashcroft said, indicating overseas voters.

Johnson, from South Dakota, said the “greatest unease” about the general election is the period between when polls close and when results are finalized. She said officials are workshopping scenarios with public safety teams to ensure that post-election events proceed smoothly and on time.

“Protecting the voting process and its facilitators is a collaborative process, and we have full faith in our state’s ability to overcome any disruptions,” Johnson said.

Gina Ligon, director of NCITE at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, said the center, which includes 38 partner universities, is working on four projects, such as tracking threats to election workers through federal charges and possible threats from emerging technologies.

Ligon said the federal charges are the “tip of the iceberg” as federal charges are a “really high bar,” while other NCITE research includes threats or violence specifically against election officials in swing states, including Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia.

Those states have seen the largest spikes in data in recent years, Ligon said.

That project is extending to Nebraska, partially with the competitiveness of Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District for president. There are currently no federal charges, according to Ligon.

Other research, out of the University of Arkansas, includes interviews of election workers who have faced threats of violence. Initial research has indicated women don’t always report when they are victims of violence, Ligon said, and that people don’t understand when they cross First Amendment protections from anger to prohibited threats.

“As much as people say this is nothing new&nbsp;— ‘we’ve experienced this for a long time’ — our data just doesn’t support that,” Ligon said.

As of this time, Easterly said, there have been no specific election threats from terrorists, though she noted federal authorities thwarted the apparent plans of an&nbsp;<a href="https://oklahomavoice.com/briefs/oklahoma-city-man-faces-charges-related-to-planned-election-day-terrorist-attack-authorities-say/" target="_blank">Oklahoma City man</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday and charged him with allegedly plotting a terrorist attack on Election Day in support of ISIS.

“If there are other things that we are seeing from the terrorist landscape, we will ensure that election officials are apprised of that immediately,” Easterly said.

Easterly said the period between Election Day on Nov. 5 and the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20 will be critical. She said foreign adversaries will try to create a “wedge” and attempt to “shred our institutions” or sow discord as each milestone of certification and validation passes.

“That’s why it’s up to all of us as Americans — as the secretary (Ashcroft) said, ‘We the people’ — these elections are for us,” Easterly said. “It’s up to all of us to do our part in protecting and preserving our democracy.”

Nebraska Examiner, a States Newsroom affiliate,&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/09/midwest-secretaries-of-state-host-election-security-and-integrity-summit-in-nebraska/" target="_blank">produced this story</a>.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1729007505031.png" alt=" Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen, at podium, leads a news conference Oct. 9, 2024, in Omaha on election security and integrity. Behind him, from left, are Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson, Director Jen Easterly of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and Director Gina Ligon of the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)" />
 <figcaption> Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen, at podium, leads a news conference Oct. 9, 2024, in Omaha on election security and integrity. Behind him, from left, are Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson, Director Jen Easterly of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and Director Gina Ligon of the National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)</figcaption>
 </figure>Zach Wendling <a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/09/midwest-secretaries-of-state-host-election-security-and-integrity-summit-in-nebraska/">Nebraska Examiner</a>OMAHA —&nbsp;Four secretaries of state and a federal agency director in cybersecurity described their work Wednesday as a line of defense in upholding election integrity and security ahead of the Nov. 5 election.Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen, in explaining the reason for Wednesday’s summit, asked simply, “Why not?” He said the Midwest states of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and South Dakota have demonstrated that elections can be safe, smooth and secure.“Election security is not static. Election security is not a one-and-done deal. Election security is dynamic,” Evnen said at the news conference. “If you’re going to continue to address these dynamic challenges to elections, then you do so in a dynamic fashion.”<h2>The ‘imperative’ of election confidence</h2>The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unomaha.edu/ncite/index.php" target="_blank">National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology and Education Center</a>, or NCITE, headquartered at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, hosted the event.Evnen’s three counterparts from Iowa (Paul Pate), Missouri (Jay Ashcroft) and South Dakota (Monae Johnson) joined the event, which Evnen said he expects to be repeated in future years. Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab participated in other summit events, including briefings on NCITE research, but was unable to attend the news conference, officials said.Pate, who is in his fourth term as Iowa’s secretary of state, said he has seen elections evolve and become “more aggressive” in the past two decades, particularly through technology.Yet election confidence remains essential, Pate said, and secretaries of state are doing everything they can to uphold integrity and security.“It’s imperative that Americans, and Iowans, have confidence in those election results because the day after the election, if they don’t believe that that’s their governor or their senator or their president, our Republic has fallen without a single bullet being fired,” Pate said. “That’s not acceptable, so we’re going to continue to be vigilant and do what we can on our front.”Director Jen Easterly of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2018/11/19/cybersecurity-and-infrastructure-security-agency" target="_blank">U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency</a>, said CISA stands “shoulder to shoulder” with election officials nationwide. She said she has “tremendous confidence” in U.S. elections.Easterly said CISA was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/2018/11/19/cybersecurity-and-infrastructure-security-agency" target="_blank">established in 2018</a>&nbsp;from a previous U.S. Department of Homeland Security agency in part due to foreign attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election and after election infrastructure was designated as “critical” infrastructure.<h2>Security protocols and training</h2>The agency helps state and local election officials to prepare for any threats, including ransomware,&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/nonhazardous-material-found-in-envelope-sent-to-ne-secretary-of-states-office-caution-urged/" target="_blank">physical threats</a>&nbsp;and threats from foreign adversaries (such as Russia, Iran and China). Some of the support the agency provides, Easterly said, are security assessments, hypothetical scenario training and training for de-escalation and anti-active shooter incidents.“At the end of the day, we know that elections will be safe. They will be secure. They will be free. They will be fair. But there will be things that go wrong,” Easterly said. “The good news is these disruptions, while problematic, will not affect how votes are counted and how votes are cast.”Evnen said some of the ways that Nebraska has partnered with CISA in the past two years have included weekly scans of all 93 Nebraska county election websites for vulnerabilities, giving local officials “.gov” emails and website addresses and setting up internal protocols for day-to-day security.“These are important steps we’re taking across Nebraska to ensure that our cyberinfrastructure is protected,” Evnen said.Pate said those steps are national standards as officials “plan for the worst and hope for the best.”<h2>Elections for ‘we the people’</h2>All five secretaries of state who partnered with NCITE this week are elected Republicans, and Ashcroft said the officials don’t serve just Republicans or Democrats or&nbsp; Libertarians or any other third parties in their respective states.He said if officials do their job well, they are the basketball ref or linesman of a football game who “no one notices.”The secretaries of state and Easterly invited more people to get involved in the election process, such as serving as poll workers or watchers, and for anyone who has questions to ask.“We run elections for the people of the states,” Ashcroft explained. “We run elections for our government because it is how ‘we the people’ decide that our Republic will move forward.”Ashcroft added that no matter who wins or loses, or which issues pass or fail, “at the end of the day, the American people can drink their beverage of choice and either celebrate or commiserate, but know that they were a part of the decision, that their votes counted and that the votes made a difference.”The election officials noted that it is typical for “official” results not to be finalized for up to a week after Election Day, but they said that’s due in part due to the need to process provisional ballots, as well as conducting the “checks and balances” needed to ensure accurate results, particularly in close races, or possibly hand-count some ballots.But for the most part, the secretaries of state said of their jurisdictions, most election results are typically available within a few hours of polls closing on Election Day.“I believe in getting quick results out, my colleagues do, but we all believe in getting it right, and we believe in making sure that every American, no matter where Uncle Sam has sent them, has the right to participate in our elections,” Ashcroft said, indicating overseas voters.Johnson, from South Dakota, said the “greatest unease” about the general election is the period between when polls close and when results are finalized. She said officials are workshopping scenarios with public safety teams to ensure that post-election events proceed smoothly and on time.“Protecting the voting process and its facilitators is a collaborative process, and we have full faith in our state’s ability to overcome any disruptions,” Johnson said.<h2>NCITE research</h2>Gina Ligon, director of NCITE at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, said the center, which includes 38 partner universities, is working on four projects, such as tracking threats to election workers through federal charges and possible threats from emerging technologies.Ligon said the federal charges are the “tip of the iceberg” as federal charges are a “really high bar,” while other NCITE research includes threats or violence specifically against election officials in swing states, including Pennsylvania, Arizona and Georgia.Those states have seen the largest spikes in data in recent years, Ligon said.That project is extending to Nebraska, partially with the competitiveness of Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District for president. There are currently no federal charges, according to Ligon.Other research, out of the University of Arkansas, includes interviews of election workers who have faced threats of violence. Initial research has indicated women don’t always report when they are victims of violence, Ligon said, and that people don’t understand when they cross First Amendment protections from anger to prohibited threats.“As much as people say this is nothing new&nbsp;— ‘we’ve experienced this for a long time’ — our data just doesn’t support that,” Ligon said.<h2>‘It’s up to all of us’</h2>As of this time, Easterly said, there have been no specific election threats from terrorists, though she noted federal authorities thwarted the apparent plans of an&nbsp;<a href="https://oklahomavoice.com/briefs/oklahoma-city-man-faces-charges-related-to-planned-election-day-terrorist-attack-authorities-say/" target="_blank">Oklahoma City man</a>&nbsp;on Tuesday and charged him with allegedly plotting a terrorist attack on Election Day in support of ISIS.“If there are other things that we are seeing from the terrorist landscape, we will ensure that election officials are apprised of that immediately,” Easterly said.Easterly said the period between Election Day on Nov. 5 and the presidential inauguration on Jan. 20 will be critical. She said foreign adversaries will try to create a “wedge” and attempt to “shred our institutions” or sow discord as each milestone of certification and validation passes.“That’s why it’s up to all of us as Americans — as the secretary (Ashcroft) said, ‘We the people’ — these elections are for us,” Easterly said. “It’s up to all of us to do our part in protecting and preserving our democracy.”Nebraska Examiner, a States Newsroom affiliate,&nbsp;<a href="https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/10/09/midwest-secretaries-of-state-host-election-security-and-integrity-summit-in-nebraska/" target="_blank">produced this story</a>.

Midwest secretaries of state host election security and integrity summit

JOHNSON COUNTY —Members of Kansas Task Force 2 are on their way home from hurricane response duty.

While in Florida, the task force teams&nbsp; performed search and rescue efforts with one squad utilizing a boat and another squad using ATV’s, according to a social media report from the Kansas Fire Marshal's office.

Historic flooding remains a concern in the area where Task Force 2 was assigned for their search and rescue efforts. Being unfamiliar with the area, flood concerns are taken seriously so search and rescue operations are not jeopardized.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728954907312.png" alt="Photos Office of Kansaas Fire Marshal" />
 <figcaption>Photos Office of Kansaas Fire Marshal</figcaption>
 </figure>JOHNSON COUNTY —Members of Kansas Task Force 2 are on their way home from hurricane response duty.While in Florida, the task force teams&nbsp; performed search and rescue efforts with one squad utilizing a boat and another squad using ATV’s, according to a social media report from the Kansas Fire Marshal's office.Historic flooding remains a concern in the area where Task Force 2 was assigned for their search and rescue efforts. Being unfamiliar with the area, flood concerns are taken seriously so search and rescue operations are not jeopardized.<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2024/10/1728954961719.png" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>The Task Force was able to provide some true Kansas hospitality as they helped cook camp breakfast for members of various task forces. This type of teamwork is a great way to build rapport not only for KS-TF2, but also with other task force teams in the same area.In the field during disaster response, work areas are not the normal office setting many back home enjoy while in the office. For Randy Hill, former Kansas State Fire Marshal Search and Rescue (SAR) Coordinator and current contractor with the Kansas State Fire Marshal, that means setting up an office in the back of one of the Kansas State Fire Marshal trailers. Task Force members adapt and work with what they have so assignments can be completed in safe and timely manners. Kansas Task Force 2 members also assisted Florida-Task Force 7 with getting their new boat built and ready for service so they can continue their search and rescue efforts. "Kansas Task Force 2 members have stepped up to the call and delivered professional, meaningful, and much needed assistance to Florida. One of the reasons that is possible is training they receive and their compassion about Search and Rescue response."&nbsp;&nbsp;On Sunday, Kansas Task Force 2 was notified&nbsp; that they were going to be demobilized and released from their deployment. They began the two-day drive home back to Kansas on Monday.&nbsp; Last week, the Olathe Fire Department welcomed home a portion of Kansas Task Force 1 from their hurricane response duty.

Kbct