Author: KMAN Staff

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Police say a landscaper doing edging work on a road in southwest Wichita died after he was hit by a vehicle. The 47-year-old man died Monday evening when a car swerved off the road and hit him. Police say it’s unclear why the car’s 20-year-old driver swerved into the man. No other injuries were reported. The streets surrounding the accident were closed because the driver also hit a fire hydrant, which briefly flooded the area.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas legislative leaders plan to send members of the House and Senate budget committee on a tour of higher education campuses later this year. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that a bipartisan council of the Legislature’s top leaders Monday approved six days of visits. Lawmakers will visit all six public universities, plus one community college and one technical college. Legislative leaders also will participate in the tour. Senate President and Wichita Republican Susan Wagle said she hopes the visits will provide “two-way communication.” The GOP-dominated Legislature voted earlier this year for cuts in higher education funding totaling $44…

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WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A new government report shows recent rain and cooler temperatures are relieving the stress on Kansas farm crops. The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Monday that producers in many areas of central Kansas saw beneficial amounts of rain in the past week. The agency said central Kansas had the biggest improvement in topsoil moisture, although eastern and western sections also showed some improvement. But topsoil moisture supplies are still short to very short across 56 percent of Kansas. The weekly snapshot rated corn condition as 28 percent poor to very poor with 39 percent in fair, 29…

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Medicaid program is mailing questionnaires to 130,000 households asking who lives in each one and how many expect to file income tax returns next year. Kansas officials said Monday they’re required to seek the information under the 2010 federal health care overhaul. Medicaid is a joint state-federal program covering health care for the needy and disabled. The forms are going to homes with children and pregnant women. They are not going to the elderly or disabled. The state is asking households to return the questionnaires by Sept. 15, so it can be collecting the information…

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On today’s InFocus, Cathy talks with Pat Collins Riley County Fire Chief, on their need for volunteer firefighters, followed by Ward Morgan, Chief Executive Officer of Civic Plus. [mp3-jplayer]

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Stagg Hill Road access to K-18 has been reopened to unrestricted traffic in Riley County. That’s according to the Kansas Department of Transportation, which indicates the road was reopened at 9:30 this (Tuesday) morning. Stagg Hill Road ties into the south end of Scenic Drive and continues east on the south side of K-18 into the existing Stagg Hill Road at the west edge of Manhattan. Access to the west side of Manhattan via Stagg Hill Road has been closed for several months due to the extension of Stagg Hill Road to Scenic Drive. This roadway reopening now allows all…

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