Grand Lake Boating Deaths Update
The Oklahoma medical examiner's office has ruled the deaths of two people in a Grand Lake boating crash to be an accident. 21-year-old Rachel Swetnam of Grove died from blunt force trauma to the head and neck; while 21-year-old William Varner the third of Texarkana, Arkansas died from blunt force trauma to the head. The two were riding on a boat Tuesday that crashed into a houseboat that was docked at Arrowhead Yacht Club. Investigators say they belive speed and alcohol were factors in the crash.
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KS Budget Talks Screech To Halt
Negotiations on the Kansas budget for the next two fiscal years have come to an abrupt halt after senators demanded a final offer from the House that could lead to ending the 2013 session.
The talks were scheduled to begin Friday morning, following three rounds of negotiations Thursday which saw legislators make steady progress.
Senate Ways and Means Chairman Ty Masterson asked his House counterpart to move the process further along, seeking a final offer on higher education and a state employee salary cap that would pass the GOP-dominated House.
But House Appropriations Committee Chairman Marc Rhoades said the request couldn't be accommodated and canceled Friday's meetings.
Rhoades says he hopes to meet with House leaders and resume talks with the Senate on Monday.
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MO Election Change - Lt. Governor
Missouri lawmakers have given final approval to a bill clarifying the way a vacancy is filled in the office of lieutenant governor.
Current law lets the governor appoint a replacement for a secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer, auditor or a U.S. senator who leaves office. But there's been uncertainty on how to replace a lieutenant governor if he or she steps down.
Thelegislation would put the office on the ballot at the next general election. Until then, the departing lieutenant governor's top aide would perform the office's ministerial duties.
The lieutenant governor's duties as Senate president would be handled by the Senate president pro tem, who is a state senator.
The House and Senate both passed the bill Friday.
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Joplin Schools Alumni Association
There's a new way for graduates of Joplin high schools to stay together. The Joplin Schools Alumni Association has been formed, with the graduating class of 2013 being the first official members. Superintendent Doctor CJ Huff tells News Talk KZRG the value of the alumni association.
"It's really important, I think, for students who graduate from Joplin High School to leave here still feeling a connection to the schools that gave them that foundation, so they can do great and wonderful things."
There's more information on the Joplin Schools Alumni Association Facebook page.
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Stormy Weather Coming Sunday
The weekend is supposed to start out nice, but could end up stormy. KZRG Chief Meteorologist John Wetherbee says a storm system will move into the Plains Sunday and it will bring a chance of thunderstorms Sunday evening through Tuesday night.
"This system's not going to move very quickly. But strong to severe thunderstorms are possible Sunday night through Monday night. Highest potential expected to be during the day on Monday."
John says hail, lightning and isolated tornados are possible. Remember, you can get severe weather text alerts sent directly to your phone. Sign up at News Talk KZRG dot com.
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Rohr On Joplin 2 Years After The Tornado
Joplin's recovery is ahead of schedule. Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr was happy to report to News Talk KZRG just how far Joplin has come since the May 2011 tornado.
"We're doing very well. Approximately 84% of the 7500 homes impacted have either been repaired, rebuilt, or have plans pulled to do so."
Rohr says 90% of Joplin's businesses that were impacted are already back up and running, or have plans to do so in the very near future. The second year anniversary of the May 2011 tornado is next Wednesday.
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Davis On EBT Bill
Missouri State Representative, Charlie Davis, shared with the KZRG Morning News Watch this morning that he was happy to see the House approve the bill that limits what you can buy with EBT cards.
"I want to help people that need help. But I don't want them to be able to take that cash and go buy booze or gamble it away, because that's not what that money is designedfor."
The bill now complies with the federal restrictions on purchases with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families EBT cards. The bill is just awaiting Governor Nixon's signature.
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2 Arrested For Drugs In Pittsburg
Five pounds of pot, two rifles, a handgun and drug paraphernalia. That's what Pittsburg Police found Thursday when they executed a search warrant at 204 West Kansas. The two men who live there, 22-year-old Theodore Thompson and 23-year-old Nicholas Pugh, were arrested. Thompson's charged with having marijuana with intent to distributte and criminal possession of a firearm. Pugh's charged with having pot and drug paraphernalia.
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MO Congressman Long On Obamacare Vote
The US House yesterday voted to repeal President Obama's Affordable Health Care Act. Missouri Congressman Billy Long was among those in favor of repeal. Long told the KZRG Morning Newswatch why he wants to erase Obamacare.
"The public is on our side. Only 35% of the people like Obamacare. 53% want full appeal, so we're on the right side of this issue."
Whileit's unlikely the repeal will get through the Democrat-led Senate, Long says it's important to get across what the American public wants.
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OK & KS Unemployment Drops
Oklahoma's unemployment rate is now below 5%. The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission says the state's unemployment felll one-tenth of a percent to 4.9% last month. That's well below the national unemployment rate of 7.5%.
The Kansas unemployment rate dipped to 5.5% last month. The report says the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate edged lower from 5.6% in March. The rate for April 2012 was 6.1%. The number of people applying for jobless benefits also fell.
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MSSU Budget Approved
Missouri Southern State University's Board of Governors has approved its budget for 2014. At Thursday's regular meeting, the Governors approved a budget that will spend 76-point-4 million dollars, three million more than last year. The budget includes a two percent across the board pay increase for employees. Tuition will also go up two percent starting in the fall.
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MO Legislative Session Ends
Missouri's 2013 legislative session has come to an end.
The House and Senate each wrapped up their work Friday shortly after 6 p.m. a few minutes after the mandatory adjournment time set by the Missouri Constitution.
The session included the passage of an income tax cut for individuals and businesses that is projected to eventually reduce state revenues by $700 million. Other measures passed by the Republican-led Legislature include a $25 billion budget and a funding fix for an insolvent state program for disabled workers.
Republican lawmakers also approved numerous pro-gun measures this year, as well as restrictions on labor unions.
Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon now will have several weeks to decide whether to sign or veto the bills.
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OK Abortion Bill Signed
Abortion providers in Oklahoma will be required to report dozens of new details about each procedure under a bill signed into law by Republican Governor Mary Fallin. The bill adds several new questions to the Individual Abortion Form that abortion providers are required to fill out and submit to the Oklahoma State Department of Health. It's one of 20 bills signed into law by Fallin today.
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MO Concealed Weapons Permit Bill
Missouri lawmakers want county sheriffs rather than the state Revenue Department to print concealed weapons permits.
The Senate passed legislation 24-5 on Thursday handing the task to sheriffs. The measure now heads to Governor Jay Nixon.
Missouri's sheriffs already make sure that applicants meet all the criteria for carrying a concealed firearm. But the Revenue Department is responsible for printing concealed-carry endorsements on people's drivers' or non-drivers' ID card.
Republican lawmakers pushed for the legislation after learning the Revenue Department compiled a list of Missouri gun permit holders to share with a federal agent in the Social Security Administration.
The legislation would also require school personnel to undergo training on responding to an active shooter in school buildings.
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Drunk Driving In MO
The National Transportation Safety Board is recommending that the U.S lower the legal Blood Alcohol Limit from .08 to .05; toughening the drunk driving law. Missouri State Highway Patrol Seargent Mike Watson didn't comment if they're in favor of the recommendation, but he did give The KZRG Morning News Watch some statistics when it comes to alcohol related fatalities on the roadway.
"When you look at just alcohol-related fatalities, that covers about 25 percent of all of our fatalities on Missouri roads."
Watson then went on to say that when you combine drugs with alcohol, the percentage of all traffic fatalities rises from 25% to 33% in Missouri.
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Empire's Name Used In Phone Scam
Criminals keep finding ideas to separate you from your money. Their latest idea is to pretend to be from a utility company, say you have an overdue bill and that you have to buy a prepaid debit card to pay that bill. When they get your credit card number, they get your money. Julie Maus of Empire District Electric tells News Talk KZRG that's not the way her company does things.
"These are not employees of Empire District or any utility, as far as we are aware. So we wanted to put the word out there and let our customers know so they could avoid being victims of this type of scam."
Maus says if you get a call like this, hang up and call your local police.
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AG Sues CA Company For Tornado Ripoffs
Missouri's Attorney General is suing a California construction company for not providing services that Joplin tornado victims had paid for. The lawsuit alleges that Clark Baxter of Dana Point and his business, Sustainable Design, had received tens of thousands of dollars for construction materials needed to rebuild their homes. But Baxter didn't come through with the materials and stopped working on the homes.
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Joplin Surprise Delivered
As News Talk KZRG told you, Joplin Mayor Melodee Colbert-Kean made a surprise visit to the State Capitol Thursday to give proclamations thanking Senators John Lamping and Kurt Schaefer for their help getting a bill passed that gives $15 million to Joplin for rebuilding curbs and gutters damaged in the storm. Lamping talks about the bill.
"We're lucky it's one of those years we've got the money. Really quite frankly, Senator Schaefer and Jeannie, his staff on the budget, they found a very creative way that made sense and came to be."
Lamping says now there's a precedent to help another Missouri city in the same way if a disaster were to strike.
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Gas Prices Soaring
Your eyes aren't deceiving you. The price of gas has skyrocketed the last few weeks, rising to $3.84 in the Joplin area. Mike Right of Missouri Triple-A tells News Talk KZRG the Memorial Day weekend isn't the reason for the higher prices, but something that happens this time of year is: refineries switching to summer grades of gasoline.
"Some of those refining operations are not up to speed, so to speak. So we've got some supply issues. And when there is a lack of supply and a continuing demand, the price of the available product goes up."
Oklahomans are also feeling the pinch at the pump. Gas prices have risen 20 cents a gallon over the last week in the Sooner State.
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Joplin House Fire
A cigarette butt can cause plenty of damage. Just before ten last night, fire crews were called to 519 South Connor. They found smoke coming from the roof vents or attic eaves of the one story home. Thermal imaging also showed a kitchen wall was hot. It turns out someone dropped a cigarette butt into the void between the house and back porch and that caused the fire. No one was injured.
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Two Arrested For Drugs
A Pittsburg couple was arrested Wednesday after a search found meth and pot in their home. Police executed a search warrant at 104 East 16th at 10:18am and found the drugs, along with stolen property and a handgun. There was also a five week old child there. 31-year-old Ryan Coonrod and 30-year-old Kimberly Coonrod were arrested. The five week old and the couple's two other children are in protective custody.
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Big Spring Park Gift
Third graders at Neosho's South Elementary School recently held a walk-a-thon to raise money for a city project. City of Neosho spokesman Wes Franklin tells News Talk KZRG how much was raised.
"They raised $200 and presented the check to the city manager, the mayor and the mayor pro tem."
The money will go toward repairing the flight of steps at Big Spring Park. When the kids presented the check Wednesday, the Neosho chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution matched the gift, giving another $200 toward fixing the steps.
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Joplin Mayor In Jefferson City Today
Two Missouri state senators are going to get a surprise today. Joplin City Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Bill Scearce tells News Talk KZRG Senators John Lamping of St. Louis and Kurt Schaefer of Columbia will get a thank you for legislation that will give Joplin $15 million to fix street curbs and gutters damaged by the May 2011 tornado.
"They were the ones who co-sponsored and pushed through the legislation to get it done. The Mayor is going to present those two gentlemen a thank you proclamation for getting that done for us."
The bill is now awaiting Governor Nixon's signature.
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Petro America Stock Fraud Trial
A jury has convicted the founder of a Kansas City, MO company and four of his associates of cheating investors by selling millions of dollars of worthless stock and spending the money on themselves.
Petro America Corp. founder Isreal Owen Hawkins was convicted Wednesday of conspiracy, securities fraud, aggravated currency structuring and other charges. He faces up to 20 years in prison for the most serious charge.
Hawkins' co-defendants were each convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud, which could get each up to five years in prison.
Prosecutors say Hawkins and his associates sold $7.2 million in Petro America stock from 2008 through 2010, at an initial rate of $100 per 100,000 shares. They told investors the stock would sell for $24 per share when the company eventually went public.
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KS Taxes
Republicans in the Kansas House have drafted a new plan for cutting income taxes in hopes of breaking stalemate on tax issues.
The proposal presented during legislative negotiations Wednesday would stabilize the budget by canceling part of a sales tax decrease scheduled for July by law.
The 6.3 percent sales tax would drop to 6 percent under the new plan. Under current law, it would declineto 5.7 percent.
The Senate backed Republican Gov. Sam Brownback's plan to keep the sales tax at its current rate. The House wanted to allow the full, scheduled decrease.
Income tax rates would drop over four years, but not as much as Brownback or senators had wanted and more than the House's less aggressive reductions.
Private negotiations among top Republicans had been stalled.
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Boat Crash Update
Alcohol and speed may have been factors into Tuesday's boat crash on Grand Lake that killed two people. Grand River Dam Authority Police are continuing their investigation into the crash and they tell News Talk KZRG alcohol and speed are some of the contributing factors in the wreck. Rachel Swetnam of Grove and William Varner the third of Texarkana, Arkansas were killed when the boat they were in struck a houseboat that was docked at Arrowhead Yacht Club. Police say six others were in the boat when it crashed; two of those six were taken to a hospital with injuries.
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Longtime Royals Voice Fred White Dies
Longtime Kansas City Royals broadcaster Fred White died Wednesday of complications from cancer. He was 76.
The Royals were informed of White's passing by his son, Joe. White died in hospice one day after the team announced his retirement after 40 years working for the organization.
White was the sports anchor for Topeka's WIBW-TV and broadcast Kansas State athletics before joining the Royals in 1973. He would work with Denny Matthews as their primary broadcasting through the 2008 season, when the team was well into its lengthy decline.
Over those 25 years, though, White helped call six division championships, an American League pennant in 1980 and the Royals' only World Series championship in 1985.
White also broadcast basketball games for ESPN and other networks. Upon leaving the broadcast booth, he headed up the Royals Radio Network and supervised the Royals Alumni, assisting with clinics, appearances and the team's fantasy camp.
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Thomas Jefferson School's 20th Birthday
A Joplin school started celebrating its birthday today. Thomas Jefferson Independent Day School is turning 20. Academic Dean Steven McCollum is the only teacher still on the staff from 20 years ago. He tells News Talk KZRG the facilities have doubled and students are now coming from all over the Four States. But one thing hasn't changed.
"We don't do character classes. We have character. And that's what the kids pick up on right away. There's not a locker that has a lock on it anyplace in this school; and nothing at this school gets stolen. Nothing."
Thomas Jefferson plans many activities to celebrate its 20th anniversary during the 2013-14 school year.
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New Identity Theft Scam
If you get a call from the World Hacker Security Organization, hang up. Captain Derek Walrod of the Jasper County Sheriff's Office tells News Talk KZRG people have been getting calls from this group.
"This organization called them and advised them that their computer had been hacked and that they could fix it. They just needed their credit card number."
Walrod says the group also claims to be the only one in the world that can keep your computer from being hacked. It's a scam. Walrod says it's a reminder that you shouldn't give personal information over the phone to anyone you don't know.
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Anti-Scanning Bill Goes To Governor
Missouri lawmakers have sent Governor Jay Nixon a bill that would force the state Revenue Department to stop scanning driving applicants' documents into a state computer system. The measure passed the Senate 25-8 today after it was approved by the House earlier this week. The Revenue Department would be required to securely destroy the copies of the scanned documents.
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