Kansas City, Kan., firefighters were collecting donations for the family of Detective Brad Lancaster today near 78th and State Avenue in Kansas City, Kan. Collections will continue Saturday and Sunday. Kansas City, Kan., firefighters were collecting donations for the family of Detective Brad Lancaster today near 78th and State Avenue in Kansas City, Kan.
Kansas City, Kan., firefighters are holding a boot block drive this weekend to benefit slain Kansas City, Kan., Detective Brad Lancaster’s family.
The boot block campaign is sponsored by the Kansas City, Kan., Fire Department and the International Association of Firefighters, Local 64.
The firefighters are scheduled to accept donations from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, May 27, 28 and 29.
Firefighters are asking for donations at intersections in Kansas City, Kan., including:
18th and Minnesota
65th and State
7th and Kansas Avenue
82nd and Parallel
18th and Parallel
Village West Parkway and State
42nd and Strong
123rd and Leavenworth Road
18th and Central
43rd and Rainbow
38th and State
47th and Parallel
5th and Quindaro
55th and Swartz
47th and Shawnee Drive
55th and Leavenworth Road
78th and State
Kickoff for tonight’s match between Sporting Kansas City and D.C. United at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan., has been delayed until 8:30 p.m. due to weather concerns.
Originally scheduled for 6 p.m., the match will be televised locally on 38 The Spot with live pregame coverage starting at 8 p.m. UniMas will also broadcast the game nationally.
All parking lots around Children’s Mercy Park will open at 3 p.m. and stadium gates will open at 6 p.m.
Ticket holders with questions may contact their client services executive.
Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt (File photo)
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Opinion column by Murrel Bland
Many things that the office of the Kansas attorney general does may not make headlines. That was the message of Derek Schmidt, the current Kansas attorney general, when he spoke Friday, May 20, at the monthly meeting of the Congressional Forum.
Schmidt said during his five years in office, he has been able to recover about $600 million for Kansans who have been the victims of scams. His office also regulates metal dealers and licenses private investigators. He also regulates bounty hunters.
The attorney general provides legal counsel when someone sues the state of Kansas. One such case was the tobacco settlement. The tobacco companies alleged that the state of Kansas was not using the money in the way it was intended. He was successful in resolving that issue.
The attorney general enforces the open records and open meetings laws. Recently his office conducted a training session on these laws at Kansas City, Kansas, Community College for local officials.
Schmidt said he is proud that his office has been successful in strengthening the laws against human trafficking and to extend the “do-not-call” law to cell phones. He said he was able to prosecute a Florida company that was operating a telephone scam promoting a phony cruise offer; he recovered about $130,000.
The attorney general’s office helps law enforcement officers in small cities and counties in major criminal cases.
Schmidt said he has been able to provide all these functions of his office by keeping his budget fairly flat at about $22 million a year.
Schmidt was asked about his prediction on the school funding case before the Kansas Supreme Court. His office represented the state of Kansas, which is the defendant. He said he would not speculate. Schmidt said those who might offer views about how the case would be decided are simply guessing.
Schmidt has been mentioned as a possible candidate for Kansas governor. He was asked who the last attorney general was who was elected governor. He said it was John Anderson Jr.
Schmidt is serving his second term as attorney general. He previously was a state senator from southeastern Kansas. He is a journalism graduate of the University of Kansas, Lawrence. He also received law degrees from KU and Georgetown Law Center, Washington, D.C. He also served on the staffs of Gov. Bill Graves and U.S. Sen. Nancy Landon Kassebaum.
Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is the executive director of Business West.
