WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Feelings are mixed in Kansas over the inclusion of former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as one of 10 finalists for Time magazine’s Person of the Year award. Democratic Kansas House member Dick Ward told the Wichita Eagle it’s an honor for everyone whenever someone from the state is recognized for influencing major world events. But Republican Rep. Brenda Landwehr called the selection ridiculous and said she couldn’t think of anyone less deserving for the award. Sebelius serves as U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services. She has been in the spotlight since the Oct. 1 problems with the…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) An audit found that Kansas government agencies need to do a better job protecting sensitive information stored on their computer systems. The Legislative Post Audit Division found “chronic weaknesses” in several security controls, including weak passwords and software vulnerabilities. The information was presented Monday in a closed session of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Information Technology. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the audit looked at eight agencies, including the Department of Administration, attorney general and the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System. Auditors concluded that controls were insufficient to prevent hackers from accessing confidential information held by the…
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Cosmosphere has hired a consultant to help determine why attendance is falling at the space attraction in Hutchinson. Cosmosphere president Jim Remar says the center hired Boston-based Verner Johnson Inc. to help the museum develop a plan for its future. The Hutchinson News reports venue ticket sales at the Cosmosphere have dropped 21 percent between 2007 and 2012. Attendance dropped below 200,000 last year for the first time since at least 1992. The numbers represent how many venues people visit, such as the planetarium and the theater, rather than actual visitors. The Cosmosphere doesn’t count…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A 30-year-old Manhattan man has pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact in a fatal arson. U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom says in a release that Gavin Taylor Hairgrove pleaded guilty Monday for his role in a Feb. 6 fire at a Manhattan apartment building. Vansanta Pallem died as a result of inhaling gases from the fire. Grissom’s office says Hairgrove admitted to being present when three co-defendants talked about what to do to keep the Riley County Police Department from searching an apartment where two of the co-defendants lived. One of the co-defendants later poured…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The former chief financial officer of an Emporia manufacturing firm has pleaded guilty to embezzling nearly $266,000 from the company. The office of the U.S. Attorney for Kansas says in a release that 58-year-old Sandra Moore, former CFO of Sauder Custom Fabrication, pleaded guilty Monday to one count of embezzlement and admitted the crimes began in 2008 when she was CFO. Prosecutors accused her of using various methods to divert money from the company’s accounts to her own. Moore is scheduled to be sentenced March 3 and faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Wichita maintenance technician has pleaded guilty to selling equipment he stole from two Wichita companies where he worked. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Kansas says Mark A. Lankford, 45, pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in Wichita to two counts of wire fraud. He admitted stealing equipment from Spirit Aerosystems and Fiber Glass Systems. Prosecutors say he made more than $150,000 from selling the stolen equipment. Lankford was an equipment maintenance technician for Spirit Aerosystems in Wichita from October 2010 to Sept. 5, 2011. Prosecutors say he stole computer parts from Spirit worth about $466,000. He’s…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) A Douglas County jury has convicted a 38-year-old woman of distributing crack cocaine out of her home, which was also the site of a Lawrence day care. The Lawrence Journal-World reports a Douglas County jury found Tiffany C. Hubbard guilty last week of two counts of distributing cocaine, two counts of using a cellphone to distribute the drug and one count of drug possession. Jurors deliberated nearly a full day Friday before returning the verdicts against Hubbard, who operated the Children’s Playpen group day care out of her home. Investigators discovered drugs at the home during a…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Members of the Kansas State Board of Education are considering approval of a recommendation for new tests that will determine student proficiency in math and English. The board will act Tuesday afternoon on a proposal made during the November board meeting that Kansas use student testing from the Smarter Balanced consortium. The new tests are aligned to the Common Core standards that Kansas and more than 40 other states have adopted in recent years. The tests will be administered to students in third through eighth grade. Districts will have testing options available to test high school students…
On today’s InFocus, Cathy talks with Riley County Commissioner Ron Wells and County Clerk Rich Vargo.
Tuesday’s edition of “The Game” gets you ready for the upcoming bowl game for the Kansas State Wildcats. As Bill Snyder and company will head to Tempe Arizona to take on Michigan in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl on December 28th. Is this the match up that people wanted to see or was Nebraska a more hot commodity? The guys talk with Andy Bagnato who is the Chief of Communications for the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl. Also they chat with Jim Hollister who tells the Wildcat nation about hotel accommodations for the bowl trip down to Tempe. The Chiefs pick up a big win against the Redskins. Was it a great win or are the Redskins really bad? Get Fit, You can’t be serious and much more on Tuesday’s edition of “The Game” on KMAN.