Sedgwick County—Police are investigating the death of a man and a woman at a home in Wichita.

Just before 3p.m. Sunday police were dispatched to a home in the 900 Block of North Glendale, according to Lieutenant Todd Ojile during Monday’s online media briefing.

Officers found the bodies of 21-year-old Antreese Bland and 24-year-old Aris Brown.

An investigating revealed the two had been dating for over a year and she was 7-months pregnant, according to Ojile.

On Sunday morning, Brown arrived at the residence. Just after 1p.m., Bland went to a neighbor’s home in an effort to contact her family.

She was unable to do so, according to police.

Family members ultimately arrived at the residence, forced entry and found the victims.

Police believe Brown shot her then took his own life.

Brown was recently charged for criminal threat against the victim, according to Ojile.

In 2014 he was sentenced for a drug conviction, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

SHAWNEE COUNTY – Law enforcement authorities are investigating a pair of Sunday robberies in Topeka.

Just after 9:30 p.m., police officers responded to a report of an armed robbery at the Phillips 66 at 931 SW 37th Street in Topeka, according to a media release.

A black male armed with a gun took an undisclosed amount of cash and was last seen leaving the area on foot.

Just after 12:30a.m. Monday, a second robbery occurred at the Kwik Shop at 102 SW 37th Street in Topeka. The suspect description was the same as the first robbery earlier in the shift. Topeka Police detectives and CSI responded to the scene and the investigation is ongoing at this time.

POTTAWATOMIE COUNTY – A Kansas man died in an accident just before 6p.m. on Sunday in Pottawatomie County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2002 Harley Davidson motorcycle driven by Smith, Justin A. Smith, 42, Centralia, was northbound on Carnahan Road one mile south of Greene Road south of Olsburg.

The driver failed to negotiate a curve. The motorcycle crossed the center line, went left off the roadway, struck a ditch, went airborne and the driver was ejected.

Smith was pronounced dead at the scene. He was wearing a helmet, according to the KHP.

HOLTON, Kan. (AP) — Unsealed transcripts show that prosecutors during a Kansas trial in which a man was acquitted of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl questioned the impartiality of a juror after her husband posted online that the case was a “witch hunt.”

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the juror was kept on the Jackson County panel that last month cleared Jacob Ewing of sex charges.

The newspaper said unsealed transcripts of a closed-door meeting with the judge show that a prosecutor voiced concerns about the juror and the town where the trial took place.

Allegations against the Ewing man have divided 3,300-resident town of Holton. Transcripts show the juror admitted that she didn’t want to be on the panel out of fear of being confronted in Holton by people involved in the case.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita police officer who was injured when he was hit by a car is beginning to walk on his own and can now talk.

A family spokesman David Nienstedt says officer Brian Arterburn still has memory loss and a long recovery ahead.

Arterburn has been hospitalized since he was injured early February, when he was run over by a fleeing and stolen SUV.

The 25-year police veteran suffered chest, abdomen and brain injuries when the vehicle hit him as placed spike strips on a road in south Wichita.

Arterburn had surgery after he was run over to relieve pressure caused by brain swelling. He had two additional brain surgeries in April.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas cities may soon be able to designate districts where patrons can move among bars, restaurants and entertainment venues with their drinks in hand.

Both the House and Senate have passed versions of a bill that would allow areas similar to Kansas City, Missouri’s Power and Light District, where patrons can leave bars with their alcoholic beverages and move around a common area. Lawmakers are continuing to work toward a resolution between the two versions.

Lenexa city leaders sought the bill so vendors could sell liquor at the city’s new public market, which it plans to open this summer. Supporters there and elsewhere say it will help create vibrant entertainment districts. Some lawmakers were concerned the bill would present a public safety problem and yield more drunk drivers.

CINCINNATI (AP) — The company that makes Nathan’s and Curtis hot dogs is recalling more than 200,000 pounds (90,700 kilograms) of the products after getting complaints of metal found in the packages.

John Morrell and Co., of Cincinnati, Ohio, said it had gotten three complaints and notified the federal government Friday. There have been no confirmed reports of injuries or adverse reactions from the products.

The recall applies to 14-oz sealed film packs labeled “Nathan’s Skinless 8 Beef Franks” with a use-by date of Aug. 19, 2017, and to 16-oz sealed film packs labeled “Curtis Beef Master Beef Franks” with a use-by date of June 15, 2017.

The packages have “Est. 296” on the sides and were shipped to retail locations nationwide.

FORD COUNTY- A Kansas woman died and 7 were injured in an accident just before 11p.m. Saturday in Ford County.
The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 2015 Dodge Journey driven by Alma M. Bencomo, 66, Dodge City, was westbound on U.S. 400 twenty-six miles east of Dodge City.

The vehicle struck a bull that was standing in the westbound lane, went left of center and collided with an eastbound Mercedes Benz SUV driven by Phouthavone Tony Thirakul, 41, Wichita.

Alma M. Bencomo was transported to Western Plains Medical Center where she died.

Passengers in the Dodge Alma D. Bencomo, 23; Eleni Rodriguez, 1; Louis Bencomo, 3; Leanai  Bencomo, 3, all of Dodge City were transported to Western Plains Medical Center.

A sixth passenger in the Dodge Leadele Rodriguez, 7, Dodge City, was flown to a Wichita hospital.

Thirakul and a passenger in the Mercedes Benz David E. Durben, 55, Wichita, were also transported to Western Plains Medical Center.

Alma D. Bencomo was not wearing a seat belt, according to the KHP.

By SAM ZEFF

Gov. Sam Brownback’s approval rating among Kansans continues to flounder and ranks lower than that of President Donald Trump, according to the spring Kansas Speaks survey released Tuesday.

The survey, published twice a year by the Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University, found that Brownback has an approval rating of 21 percent, while 56 percent said they are “very dissatisfied” with him. The very dissatisfied number is down from the 62 percent the governor received a year ago.

Read the Spring 2017 Kansas Speaks survey.

The president, however, did a bit better among Kansans — at least when they were surveyed from Feb. 23 to April 11.

Forty-five percent of Kansans said they were “very satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with Trump, the survey revealed. The president gets a 44 percent disapproval rating from Kansans.

“The other thing we were curious of is who would do better, President Trump or the governor, and it looks like the president did quite a bit better,” said Gary Brinker, director of the Docking Institute.

The survey also asked Kansans what they think about Trump’s relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian government. Seventeen percent said they are “very comfortable” with the relationship, while 39 percent said they’re “very uncomfortable.”

Brinker said it was the first time the survey included a question along those lines.

“To think that you’d ask a survey question about a president like that, it’s unusual,” he said.

The survey also provides some insight on public sentiment as Kansas legislators try to come up with a budget, tax plan and school funding formula. Lawmakers have a projected $900 million budget gap to close over the next two years.

Overwhelmingly, Kansans want to repeal the 2012 income tax cuts that exempted many small-business owners: 56 percent of those surveyed “strongly support” reversing the cuts while 13 percent “strongly oppose.”

When asked whether taxes “should increase, remain the same or decrease” on large corporations, top income earners, small businesses or the middle class, about 60 percent of surveyed Kansans agreed corporations and the wealthy should pay more.

The survey also suggested that Kansans are OK with higher taxes on alcohol and cigarettes, something that has been proposed in the state Senate to raise revenue.

If programs have to be cut to balance the budget, about 30 percent prefer cuts to social services or higher education, 25 percent to roads and highways, and 13 percent to public education.

Overall, only 10 percent said the state’s economy was excellent or very good, while 26 percent rate the Kansas economy as poor or very poor.

Sam Zeff covers education for KCUR.org and the Kansas News Service and is co-host of the political podcast Statehouse Blend Kansas. Follow him on Twitter @SamZeff. 

JEWELL COUNTY – An earthquake hit north central Kansas late Saturday.

The quake at 11:54p.m. measured a magnitude 3.4 and was centered approximately 8 miles southeast of Mankato, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

This is the fifth quake in Kansas in May.

A pair of small earthquakes were reported in Harper County early Friday, May 19.

A 2.7 magnitude quake hit 10 miles northwest of Conway Springs on May 10.

The agency reported a 3.5 magnitude quake in Harper County on May 5.

The USGS recorded nearly a dozen Kansas earthquakes in April, seven in March and six in February. They measured from 2.5. to 3.3.

There are no reports of damage or injury from Saturday’s quake, according to the Jewell County Sheriff’s Department.