KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Chester Owens, Jr., a historic figure in Kansas City, Kansas, whose accomplishments included a prominent role in the civil rights movement, died Thursday at his home.

Owens was 91.

“It is with great sorrow and a heavy heart to learn of the passing of our beloved community icon, Mr. Chester C. Owens Jr.,” KCK Mayor Tyrone Garner said in a statement Friday night. “As the sorrowful news has become known throughout Wyandotte County, all those that valued the tireless work of Mr. Owens, mourn with his family. Many are also reflecting, championing, and cherishing the profound positive advocacy of equality, peace, and love for all people that he promoted near and far. Mr. Owens will truly be missed, but his legacy of love, leadership, volunteerism, advocacy, mentoring, and commitment to community will live on forever! Sincere condolences and prayers are with his family and all those mourning his transition of life!”

Garner presented a key to the city to Owens in June at a Board of County Commissioner’s meeting.

“He lived a long, fruitful life, serving and he served well,” Karen Owens, his daughter. “We’re very thankful for all the many people who loved my dad and my mom in such a profound way. We will honor his legacy and continue to glean from his wisdom as we go on and live our lives to make he and our mother proud of us.”

He was a veteran of the United States Air Force and a respected historian.

The Unified Government’s Board of Commissioners also voted unanimously to put up an honorary street sign to recognize Owens and his late wife, Lillie Anne.

Jason Gould

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“I was assigned to be the principal of Hawthorne Elementary School,” James White, a KCK resident, said at the time Owens was honored by the city. “Mr. Owens was one of the first community people to show up at my door. He said, ‘Mr. White, I’m gonna show you how to run the school and he did.’”

The KCK Professional Firefighters Association released a statement Friday on the passing of Owens.

“It is with deep sadness that we acknowledge the passing of Chester Owens, a pillar of our community for many decades. Chester was not only a true leader in Kansas City, Kansas, but he also possessed a clear vision for what needed to be accomplished to create better neighborhoods and a stronger community. He was unwavering in his commitment to these ideals until the very last days of his life.”

Owens was KCK’s first Black councilman elected in the 20th century and helped bring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to the city.

“They would have Help Wanted Colored and Help Wanted White and that’s the way that it was and I challenged that,” Owens said.

KCK spent a full weekend celebrating Owens before he was expected to move out of town with his family this summer.

“Martin Luther King Jr. said it best: ‘We can live successfully as brothers and sisters or we can die together as fools,’” Owens said. “Me and my wife tried to do that all of our life, all of our life.”

A federal judge in Kansas has tossed out a machine gun possession charge and questioned if bans on the weapons violate the Second Amendment.

If upheld on appeal, the ruling by U.S. District Judge John W. Broomes in Wichita could have a sweeping impact on the regulation of machine guns, including homemade automatic weapons that many police and prosecutors blame for fueling gun violence.

Broomes, an appointee of President Donald Trump, on Wednesday dismissed two machine gun possession counts against Tamori Morgan, who was indicted last year. Morgan was accused of possessing a model AM-15 .300-caliber machine gun and a machine gun conversion device known as a “Glock switch” that can make a semi-automatic weapon fire like a machine gun.

“The court finds that the Second Amendment applies to the weapons charged because they are ‘bearable arms’ within the original meaning of the amendment,” Broomes wrote. He added that the government “has the burden to show that the regulation is consistent with this nation’s historical firearm regulation tradition.”

As of Friday, no appeal had been filed. A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Wichita declined comment.

Federal prosecutors in the case said in earlier court filings that the “Supreme Court has made clear that regulations of machineguns fall outside the Second Amendment.”

A June 2022 Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen was seen as a major expansion of gun rights. The ruling said Americans have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense.

Jacob Charles, an associate law professor at Pepperdine University who tracks Second Amendment cases, said the Kansas ruling is direct fallout from the Bruen decision.

“It gives lower court judges the ability to pick and choose the historical record in a way that they think the Second Amendment should be read,” Charles said.

Charles expects Broomes’ ruling to be overturned, citing Supreme Court precedent allowing for regulation of machine guns.

Communities across the U.S. have dealt with a surge of shootings carried out with weapons converted to fully automatic in recent years. These weapons are typically converted using small pieces of metal made with a 3D printer or ordered online.

Guns with conversion devices have been used in several mass shootings, including one that left four dead at a Sweet Sixteen party in Alabama last year and another that left six people dead in a bar district in Sacramento, California, in 2022. In Houston, police officer William Jeffrey died in 2021 after being shot with a converted gun while serving a warrant.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reported a 570% increase in the number of conversion devices collected by police departments between 2017 and 2021, the most recent data available, The Associated Press reported in March.

ATWOOD, Kan. (WIBW) – A man was killed Thursday night in a one-car crash in Rawlins County in northwest Kansas, authorities said.

The crash was reported at 8:34 p.m. Thursday just west of K-25 highway on Atwood Cemetery Road. the location was just west of the city of Atwood.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol’s online crash log, a 1997 Ford passenger car was traveling east on Atwood Cemetery Road when for an unknown reason, it left the roadway to the right — or south — side, striking a concrete bridge pillar. The car then spun 90 degrees in a counter-clockwise direction and came to rest in the ditch facing north.

The driver, identified as Mitchell C. Howard, 20, of Bird City, was pronounced dead at the scene. The patrol said Howard was wearing his seat belt.

The patrol said Howard was alone in the car.

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