GOP races to narrow fields for Kan. state offices

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Experience and support for the new federal health care reform law are the defining issues in a Republican primary for Kansas insurance commissioner that will determine who holds the office for the next four years.

Republicans also must pick nominees in the Aug. 3 election for governor and attorney general, but each of those races has a candidate who's expected to win easily.

In the insurance race, most Republicans expect incumbent Sandy Praeger, of Lawrence, to defeat insurance agent Dave Powell, of El Dorado. No other party has a candidate, meaning the outcome of the GOP race will determine whether Praeger keeps the office.

Powell has the endorsement of several tea party organizations across Kansas and said he would do his best "to mitigate the impact" of the health care act until enough Republicans are in Congress to either defund or repeal the law.

"It's not good for Kansas; it's not good for our citizens," Powell said.

Praeger, who was elected in 2002 after serving in the Kansas Senate, said the law has provisions that are good for the state. She's already working to implement some portions as the law begins to take effect.

------ Kan. GOP hopeful seeks 'full-time' pledges

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- A Republican candidate for Kansas secretary of state is challenging his rivals to promise to be a full-time state official.

J.R. Claeys (CLAYS), of Salina, has signed his own pledge. He says he'll stop doing consulting work with nonprofit groups if elected.

His pledge ahead of Tuesday's primary is aimed at GOP rival Kris Kobach, a law professor known for his work on immigration issues. Kobach helped draft Arizona's new law against illegal immigration.

Kobach says he'll be a full-time secretary of state but still will have time to wind down immigration work.

The other candidate is Shawnee County Election Commissioner Elizabeth Ensley. She's also raised the issue of Kobach's work on immigration.

------ US Senate candidate defends anti-abortion stance

LENEXA, Kan. (AP) -- Kansas Rep. Jerry Moran is telling voters that his stance against abortion is an innate matter of faith as he responds to allegations that he tried to downplay his beliefs to avoid upsetting moderate voters in his bid for U.S. Senate.

The Republican congressman's former campaign manager, Paul Moore, recently said Moran hesitated to have his campaign describe him as conservative and "pro-life," because he didn't want to alienate moderate or abortion rights voters.

Moore stood by those statements Wednesday, a day after Moran told about 100 people at a town hall meeting that any suggestion that he was reluctant to be identified as pro-life was "ridiculous."

"I consider myself pro-life because my religious beliefs, my faith, the way I grew up," Moran told voters gathered Tuesday night at the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in Lenexa. "It's an absolute part of my faith. It's innate in me."

Moran is in a bitter primary race with fellow GOP Rep. Todd Tiahrt, who has been endorsed by the National Right to Life Committee. Both are seeking the GOP nomination to replace U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, a conservative Republican and vocal abortion opponent who is now running for governor.

Kansas' primary elections are Tuesday.

------ Proposed bus routes in Kansas hit obstacles

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) -- The launch of a new bus route between Kansas and Colorado and a smaller route in Kansas have been delayed because of a lack of bus stops, a delay in getting federal approval for an operating permit and a need for buses.

A daily service between Wichita and Pueblo, Colo., was expected to begin in July, but will be delayed at least two months because a suitable bus stop has not been found in Hutchinson, one of the larger cities along the route, according to the company that is contracting with the state to run the service.

A proposed twice daily route from Wichita to Salina also is delayed because no bus stop has been found in McPherson.

The routes are to be funded by federal stimulus dollars and a state subsidy, The Hutchinson News reported Wednesday.

"We thought we had someone (to provide a bus stop in Hutchinson), but they backed out," said Dave Rockey, chief executive officer of Prestige Charters, which will run the service.

The bus stops on the route must be staffed 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week, to sell tickets and provide a waiting area for customers. Typically the stop is a convenience store or a gas station, said Lisa Koch, with the Kansas Department of Transportation.

------ Missing NE Kan. man found alive on trail

SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) -- A northeast Kansas man whose disappearance baffled police and his family has been found alive in the same Johnson County park where his empty vehicle turned up July 8.

Police say 58-year-old Larry Schnackenberg of Lenexa was disoriented and dehydrated when a park patrol officer found him Wednesday afternoon on a trail in Shawnee Mission Park.

Authorities believe the Hallmark Cards retiree had been taking shelter staying in a shack in the sprawling park. He was suffering from exposure but was reported in good condition Wednesday night at Shawnee Mission Regional Medical Center.

Schnackenberg had been looking forward to his daughter's July 17 wedding when he failed to return from errands July 8. His wallet and keys were found in his empty SUV that night in Shawnee Mission Park.

------ Kan. mayor quits after sending 2nd obscene e-mail

TONGANOXIE, Kan. (AP) -- A northeast Kansas mayor has resigned after admitting sending a pornographic e-mail for a second time from a computer he used for the city's answering service.

Tonganoxie Mayor Mike Vestal apologized to the City Council on Monday night for the latest episode.

On Wednesday he resigned, telling the Lawrence Journal-World he plans to devote his life to Christ and hopes to continue serving on an economic development committee.

The Journal-World reports that Vestal admitted sending the latest obscene e-mail to the brother of City Council member Paula Crook.

Crook said she was with her brother, Tonganoxie police officer Danny Ruff, when he received the message July 14. Crook says she considered the 14 nude photos of the same woman hard-core pornography.

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------ 2 children die in NE Kansas collision

MERIDEN, Kan. (AP) -- Two young girls are dead following a collision at a northeast Kansas intersection.

The Kansas Highway Patrol says the accident happened shortly before 8 a.m. Wednesday in the Jefferson County town of Meriden, about 12 miles north of Topeka.

The patrol says the girls were among three children in an eastbound car that went through an intersection and was hit by a southbound SUV.

The crash killed 8-year-old Katelynn Spencer and 5-year-old Alissa Spencer, both of Meriden. A 4-year-old Meriden girl and the 33-year-old woman driving the car were both taken to hospitals.

------ Investigators bust marijuana farm north of Wichita

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) -- Investigators on Wednesday destroyed a clandestine marijuana farm in a rural area north of here that apparently had been tended by people living in a makeshift camp.

Agents from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation joined officers from the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Department cutting down the marijuana. Authorities said some stalks were described as 15 feet high.

The marijuana patch was the size of a football field with more than 3,000 plants, according to authorities, who estimated the plants' value at $1,000 apiece, or roughly $3 million altogether.

Authorities used chain saws and other equipment to cut down stalks before spraying the roots with a herbicide.

KBI Special Agent Rod Page said officials believe at least four people were living at the site at one time to the marijuana around the clock.

"They brought in potting soil, plastic cups, everything," Page said.