TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s office has confirmed that he fired the state Department of Commerce’s top administrator in June partly over questions about agency contracts.

The statement from the Republican governor’s office Friday came after weeks of denials that former Commerce Secretary Antonio Soave had been terminated.

The Kansas City Star reports that the confirmation came less than a day after it published a detailed story on contracts with Soave associates.

The Star identified at least nine Soave friends or business partners who landed consulting or marketing contracts during Soave’s 18 months as secretary.

Brownback said Soave’s tenure presented problems resulting in his termination that included “inappropriate” contracts.

Soave said he resigned by mutual agreement with the governor and the department’s followed all existing policies in making the contracts.

SHAWNEE COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the discovery of a military munition near a restaurant in Topeka.

Just after 9:00 am, Saturday, Officers from the Topeka Police Department responded to 823 NW Gordon where an inert military training munition was located, according to a media release.  A restaurant is located in nearby.

Personnel from the Topeka Police Department’s EOD unit as well as personnel from 84th Fort Riley EOD responded to remove the object.

There were no injuries and police released no additional details.

DOUGLAS COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities are investigating a suspicions death. Just after 9a.m. Friday, Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to the 1100 Block of East 1200 Road to a residential fire with the sound of gunshots, according to a media release.

Due to the fire, deputies were unable to enter the house. Fire crews extinguished the blaze and found the body of a man. He was pronounced dead at the scene, according to deputies. There were no others found inside the home.

The man’s cause of death and identity have not been confirmed. Some of the roads in the area remained closed Saturday. The death is considered suspicious.

Deputies released no additional information early Saturday.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Douglas County Sheriff’s office.

RILEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities continue to investigate the October 25 battery of students involved with the high school football team in Manhattan.

Police reported multiple teenage suspects kicked and hit two victims including a 15-year-old and 16-year-old boy.

On Friday, the Riley County Police Department reported they want to ensure the public that every reasonable effort is being made to conclude the investigation in a timely but thorough manner. The duration of the investigation, however, is being driven by the number of people to be interviewed. There are approximately 70 students listed on the MHS varsity/junior varsity football roster, and we want to make sure everyone is given a chance to provide investigators with information relevant to the case.

USD 383 is fully cooperating with the police investigation. The initial investigation by the school did not provide a clear picture of the events, thus more expertise was necessary and appropriate. This investigation involves multiple people and will take time to complete properly.

In a media release, the school district said, “the safety and security of all our students remains a priority for USD 383 as is providing appropriate discipline based on facts. We trust that the investigative process of the Riley County Police Department will provide us the facts needed to make proper decisions.”

By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN

Anecdotal evidence from prosecutors across the state indicates opioid abuse is growing in Kansas, Attorney General Derek Schmidt said, but he urged lawmakers not to forget the state’s ongoing methamphetamine problem.

Schmidt answered questions about the issue Thursday from a panel of lawmakers in Topeka.

Citing anecdotes from county attorneys and statewide health department data on drug poisonings, Schmidt said he believes Kansas has so far been spared the full extent of the opioid crisis that states farther east are reporting. But he told lawmakers they shouldn’t count on things staying that way.

“I do worry that, because the trend appears to be growing in Kansas, that the problem is headed our way,” he said.

Schmidt has joined a multistate initiative of attorneys general to investigate pharmaceutical companies that produce opioids.

A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report earlier this year pointed to greater opioid use in western and southeast parts of Kansas. According to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Kansas has the 16th-highest opioid prescribing rate in the country and opioid overdose deaths grew between 2013 and 2015.

Schmidt said five years ago, county attorneys rarely mentioned heroin and prescription opioids as the substances plaguing their Kansas communities, but stories of problems surfacing across the state increased during the past few years.

“It’s also important from our vantage point to keep this discussion in Kansas in context of the overall problem we have with illicit narcotics on our streets,” Schmidt added. “We still have a very large methamphetamine problem.”

Schmidt told lawmakers he wanted to dispel any misunderstandings that the problem has been resolved just because Kansas Bureau of Investigation data on methamphetamine lab busts appears to indicate production has decreased.

“That doesn’t mean there’s less methamphetamine in the state,” he said. “It just means there’s less being manufactured here in the back of a pickup truck, or out in a barn on the back 40, or in an abandoned house.”

Unfortunately, he said, the market for methamphetamine remains.

“It’s being fed by out-of-state organizations that traffic meth,” he said.

Schmidt attributed the decline in methamphetamine lab busts to a 2005 state law that required pharmacies to keep cold medicines like Sudafed behind their counters. That made it more difficult for criminals to access the ingredients needed for methamphetamine production.

Asked about the multistate probe of opioid manufacturers, he declined to discuss any Kansas companies that are under investigation.

“We’re interested in an explanation for why the large number of opioid-based prescriptions has ballooned in recent years,” he said of the probe, “and whether it was truly a function of medical necessity and propriety or whether there might be other factors, such as marketing practices that played into that.”

Celia Llopis-Jepsen is a reporter for the Kansas News Service. You can reach her on Twitter @Celia_LJ.

RENO COUNTY — Authorities are investigating the cause of a fire in Reno County.

Just before 3 p.m. Friday, Hutchinson Fire crews responded to 18 South Lorraine for a structure fire.

Initial arriving units reported a working fire in a 6-story abandoned mill. Early reports by neighbors confirmed children seen in the windows of the structure and seen running from the scene.

Fire crews quickly located and contained the fire to the area of origin. Origin of the fire was confirmed to be old tires on the second floor of the structure. Hutchinson fire crews completed a primary and secondary search of the structure due to information of children inside the structure. No children were located.

Hutchinson fire investigators have now ruled the fire as arson. Investigators found tires located on the second floor of the structure with flammable liquids. These flammable liquids were located inside the structure that aided in the cause of the fire.

The incident was reported to 911 by an alert neighbor. Officials are working with the Hutchinson Police department in the investigation.

If you have any information that can assist the Hutchinson Fire department or Police department.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man who pleaded guilty to killing his 7-year-old son, whose remains were fed to pigs, says his lawyer pressured him to into the plea.

Michael Jones of Kansas City, Kansas, is serving a life sentence after the 2015 murder plea. The Kansas City Star reports that Jones was in court Friday seeking to withdraw the plea.

Deputy District Attorney Crystalyn Oswald argued there is “no manifest injustice,” as required by Kansas law to withdraw a guilty plea.

Judge Mike Grosko says he hopes to issue a decision within 60 days.

Adrian Jones’ remains were found in a pigsty outside the family home in November 2015. Jones’ wife and Adrian’s stepmother, 31-year-old Heather Jones, is also serving a life sentence after pleading guilty to first-degree murder and child abuse.

LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — A former physician assistant at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Leavenworth has been sentenced for sexual crimes against patients.

Mark Wisner, 66,  was sentenced Friday to 15 years and seven months in prison.

Wisner was convicted in August of sex crimes involving four patients at the Eisenhower Veterans Administration Medical Center in Leavenworth

Prosecutors said Wisner performed improper and medically unnecessary genital examinations on patients from 2012 to 2014. He resigned and had his license to practice revoked in 2015.

Dozens of other former patients have filed civil lawsuits claiming they were subjected to similar behavior by Wisner.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is investigating a fire at a Wichita restaurant run by a Middle Eastern family.

The Petra Mediterranean Restaurant was destroyed Wednesday and its owners say the fire might have been a hate crime. The words “Go back” were painted on a storage unit behind the restaurant.

The FBI, which investigates hate crimes, has been notified. The ATF says it is trying to determine if the FBI should be more involved in the investigation.

The restaurant’s owners, Ranya Taha and Bashar Mahanweh, say they are comforted by how the Wichita community has rallied around them. They say they have lived in Wichita for years and always found the community to be loving and supportive.

HARVEY COUNTY — Law enforcement authorities continue to investigate the October 15 shooting at a home in Newton.
On Friday, police reported on social media they have received numerous requests from community members for an update about the car burglary and shooting. Unfortunately, police say they have not had a breakthrough in the case.

The homeowner, Bob Brenneman, has been interviewed six times but is still unable to give us a complete picture of the incident. He does not remember some details, and some elements of his story are inconsistent with physical evidence from the scene.

Mr. Brenneman says that he witnessed a man trying to break into his vehicle at about 8:30 p.m. While his wife called 911, Mr. Brenneman says he confronted the suspect and the two got into a scuffle. Mr.

Brenneman was shot, the bullet passing through his abdomen and striking his left arm. Mr. Brenneman says the suspect then fled to the north on foot. Two K-9 units, including one Master Tracker dog, were unable to pick up any scent trail for the suspect leaving the scene. A trail of blood was later found leading from the vehicle to some bushes to the south, where a handgun belonging to Mr. Brenneman was found.

Mr. Brenneman described the suspect as a white male with facial hair in his mid-20s, approximately 5’9″ tall, but he was unable to describe the man’s face.
Because of Mr. Brenneman’s report that the suspect fled north, North Newton Police alerted Bethel College, and the campus was put on lockdown. Police began receiving reports of suspicious activity and gunshots at Bethel, and officers were pulled away from the crime scene to investigate those reports to 911, which were unsubstantiated.

Conflicting evidence has hindered progress in the investigation. They are still waiting on results of testing on the weapon and blood found at the scene.

Police ask that anyone with any information about the incident, please call 911 or use our anonymous tip line.