The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri • A4

A4 WEEK 49, 2014 WWW.KANSASCITY.COMTHE KANSAS CITY STAR. Local Rain keep determined folks away from Swope Soccer Village on Friday as Ohio Wesleyan University took on Tufts University in the NCAA Division II soccer semifinals. Donna Rieger of Lewis Center, Ohio, came prepared for the weather to watch the match. Story, B8. Soggy soccer JOHN SLEEZER THE KANSAS CITY STAR umbers tell us lots of things: 61.

The percentage of Missourians who disapproved of the job Gov. Jay Nixon has done overseeing Ferguson, according to a new survey by the Republican pollsters Re- mington Research. Only 23 percent approved. overall job approval, once routinely in the 50s, has sunk to 28 percent. 600.

The number of manu- facturing jobs Kansas has re- gained since the recession. The state lost 29,300 manufacturing jobs between April 2008 and February 2010. The manufacturing jobs expected to return, experts said. The good news: The state has regained the private-sector jobs it lost during the down years. 3.

The (pathetically low) number of times that President Barack Obama and incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have met face-to- face without other lawmakers, including a meeting Wednes- day. The two discussed reform- ing the tax code. They have a chilly history, with McConnell once saying his goal was to make Obama a one- termer. 5. The number of net points Republicans have gained as the party of preference for Amer- icans.

Republicans are now favored over Democrats 42 to 41 percent. Pre-election, it was 43 to 39 percent Democrats, Gallup said. 67. The percentage of Amer- icans who think the on the wrong track, according to an Economist poll. Just 23 percent said headed in the right direction.

83. The record number of women who will serve in the 435-member U.S. House come January. It might reach 84, pending the results of one too-close-to-call Arizona race. 75.

The percentage of U.S. senators who began their Sen- ate careers after the Sept. 11 attacks. Translation: Turnover has come to the most deliberative body. 11.

The percentage of Repub- licans who approve of undocumented immigrant plan, compared to 79 percent who oppose it. 52. The percentage of Repub- licans who backed President George W. similar im- migration plan in 2006, com- pared to 44 percent who op- posed it. Yes, one big difference is Obama taking his plan to Congress.

0.4 percent: The rise in hourly earnings in November, double what economists had expected and possibly a sign that the benefits of the economic recov- ery are reaching the pocket- books of everyday Americans. The increase might eventually boost the next number. 42 percent. latest Gallup job approval rating, compared to 52 percent who disapproved. Ugly.

To reach Steve Kraske, call 816-234-4312 or send email to POLITICAL NUMBERS SPEAK VOLUMES STEVE KRASKE COMMENTARY JILL TOYOSHIBA THE KANSAS CITY STAR Carolers of Note singers Paul Davidson (from left), Coralie Price, Peggy Chilson and Jonathan Lightfoot performed Friday at Winterfest at the Olathe Community Center. Lightfoot said the carolers, who sang near people buying goodies from food trucks, were hoping to keep everybody happy in the cold outside. CAROLS TO WARM THE HEART issouri state Rep. Noel Torpey this year pushed a bill aimed at requiring lawmakers to wait two years be- fore becoming lobbyists. Torpey, an Independence Re- publican, wanted Missouri to match federal rules requiring members of Congress to wait two years before they can lobby.

the feds got that Torpey told Jeff Fox at the Inde- pendence Examiner in January. Now the two-term lawmaker, who made ethics reform a priority, is preparing to re- sign from the General Assem- bly effective Dec. 15 to become a lobbyist. Torpey, who was just re-elected to a third term last month, will become executive director of the Fair Energy Rate Action Fund. The group was formed in 2008 and lobbies lawmakers and regu- lators to keep rates low for the AmerenUE utility.

Torpey told The Missouri Times that pushing for low utility rates was because that helped poor Missourians. Torpey also said the new job would enable him to spend more time with his family. He did not return telephone calls from The Star. But in his interview with Fox, Torpey explained his opposition to lawmakers going directly from the General Assembly to the lob- bying ranks. Torpey pointed out that he was chairman of the House Small Business Committee.

Say the Na- tional Federation of Independent Business, a strong advocate for small-business issues, wanted to hire him at a high salary. Advo- cates of ethics reform would say such an offer could have a big im- pact on actions as chair- man. Nothing bars such an arrange- ment from occurring, Torpey said. no Torpey was planning on push- ing again in the 2015 session for ethics reform. His departure will be a loss for Kansas City because he often han- dled bills important to the city.

As the news spread Friday in the capitol, Torpey won praise from his fellow Republicans and even House Democratic leader Jake Hummel, who told the Times that the fund was a good To reach Steve Kraske, call 816-234-4312 or send email to MISSOURI HOUSE Independence Republican leaving a month after re-election AREA LAWMAKER RESIGNING Noel Torpey, who pushed two-year wait for former legislators to lobby, takes job as a lobbyist. By STEVE KRASKE The Kansas City Star Torpey TOPEKA A judge has blocked the University of Kansas from re- leasing hundreds of pages of emails and other documents to a student group looking for ties be- tween an economic research cen- ter and billionaire brothers Char- les and David Koch. Douglas County District Judge Robert Fairchild issued his tem- porary restraining order on Thursday, the same day Art Hall, executive director of the Center for Applied Economics, sued the university to prevent the release of years of emails, correspond- ence and notes. His lawsuit said the university notified him this week that it would release docu- ments Friday to Students for a Sustainable Future. The president, Schuyl- Judge blocks KU from giving up records on Koch brothers Student group had asked for documents to see ties pair have with Center for Applied Economics.

The Associated Press SEE KU A5 The story of a Northland teen suffering a rare genetic disorder took a new twist Friday when he was taken by ambulance from Kansas City to Chicago. Isaiah Rider want to go. His family want him to go. His grandmother followed the ambulance in her car. But Rider is a ward of the state of Illinois.

He got that way when a Chicago hospital ac- cused his mother of interfering with his medical treatment. Rider had been released and al- lowed to stay with his grand- parents in the Kansas City area. The family learned late Thursday that guardian ad litem in Illinois said he need- ed to return. But Rider is 17. In Missouri, according to the Depart- ment of Public Safety, he is an adult.

He likely have a guardian ad litem in his home state. Rider made clear in a video plea that he did not want to re- turn to Chicago. very scared and want to leave my he said. just wish I could stay Michelle Rider said her son was taken against his will. was she said.

made clear he did not want to go. been trauma- According to a story this summer in the Chicago Tri- bune, officials at the Ann Robert H. Lurie Hospital said Michelle Rider displayed characteristics asso- ciated with Munchausen syn- drome by proxy, a condition in which a caregiver subjects a child to unnecessary medical care. Rider had moved her son from hospital to hospital in several states. In 2012, doctors amputated part of her leg.

Rider often disagreed with advice and insisted on pain medication for her son. Lurie staff members also re- ported that the pain less- ened when his mother around. Rider had taken her son to Chicago earlier this year for treatment of neurofibromato- sis, a genetic condition in which tumors develop on nerv- es throughout the body. In April, she raised the possibility of moving the teen to another hospital in another state. when the Lurie hospi- tal reported Rider, a former hospice nurse, to state officials Teen back in Chicago against wishes Son of woman accused of medical interference still a ward of Illinois.

By DONALD BRADLEY The Kansas City Star SEE CHICAGO A6 SUSAN PFANNMULLER SPECIAL TO THE STAR Leslie Tardy, a calligraphy artist from Warrensburg, diligently personalized ornaments at the annual Craft Patch craft show Friday at the John Knox Pavilion in Summit. The free event, with about 100 vendors, continues today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. A CRAFT YOU CAN CALL YOUR OWN FOR PHOTO ALBUMS OF EVENTS ACROSS KANSAS CITY, SEE COMMUNITY FACES AT WWW.KANSASCITY.COM.