KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) A federal judge has declined to dismiss a northeast Kansas lawsuit challenging the state’s cap on how much money residents in a school district can raise through taxes. U.S. District Judge John Lungstrum ruled Tuesday the plaintiffs can continue pursuing claims that the cap violated their constitutional rights of equal protection. The plaintiffs are parents in Johnson County’s Shawnee Mission School District. They allege the Legislature acted without a rational basis in the way it altered the state’s funding formula. As part of the formula, districts are restricted in how much money they can raise beyond…
Author: KMAN Staff
NESS CITY, Kan. (AP) A western Kansas man has died after trying to free his pickup truck from a muddy ditch. The Kansas Highway Patrol says the accident happened shortly before midnight Tuesday on a Ness County road southwest of Ness City. The patrol says 46-year-old Ness City resident Darren Eugene Mcvicker was driving south when his pickup repeatedly entered the ditches on both sides of the road. The truck became stuck in one ditch, and Mcvicker was trying to get the vehicle out when he fell under the rear tire and was run over.
PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) Talks to change and improve an existing partnership between Fort Scott Community College and Pittsburg State University have stalled. The community college’s Board of Trustees on Monday voted to discontinue the discussions. The Joplin Globe reports the two schools have had a partnership since 1985, with some Fort Scott operations in Crawford County. Community college students also can take courses and live in Pittsburg State dorms. Senior officials at both schools were discussing a more formal partnership, with a goal of being more efficient. Fort Scott president Clayton Tatro says he was surprised by the board’s decision.…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Police say a man who died after a rollover crash in southeast Wichita was shot before the wreck. Investigators are trying to determine if the man who died after the accident early Tuesday was killed by the gunshot or the car crash. The car came to rest in the yard of a private residence. No one else was injured. Emergency crews freed the 47-year-old man from the car but he died at a Wichita hospital. His name has not been released. Police discovered the victim had been shot in the torso, and also found a bullet hole…
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) The lawyer for the family of a missing northeast Kansas man says a body found Tuesday matches the description of the man, who has been missing since Sunday. Attorney Henry Cox says Johnson County sheriff’s deputies contacted the family of Brad Cook, 22, of Olathe on Tuesday to confirm what clothing Cook was wearing when he disappeared. Cox says the clothes on the body found in De Soto match what Cook was wearing. Cox told The Kansas City Star that deputies would not say anything about the cause of death. A medical examination will be conducted Wednesday. Cook…
KINGMAN, Kan. (AP) Kingman County voters have rejected a tax increase that would have been used to build a new law enforcement center. Unofficial returns from Tuesday’s voting showed the measure lost 802 to 749. The proposal was for a new one-quarter percent retailers’ sales tax for 20 years and to extend a current three-quarters percent sales tax, also for 20 years. KAKE reports the county planned to use the sales tax revenue and payments from a commercial wind farm to build an $11.8 million law enforcement center. It would have housed the county sheriff’s office and Kingman police. The…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Kansas legislators say a two-week tour of the state’s public colleges and universities has provided a good exchange of information ahead of their 2014 session. Members of the House Appropriations and Senate Ways and Means committees finished the tour Wednesday at two campuses of the University of Kansas. Lawmakers submitted dozens of detailed questions to higher education officials about universities’ budgeting ahead of the tour, and they’ve received more than 200 pages of answers. But in the past, tours of campuses, prisons and state hospitals have allowed legislators to judge conditions for themselves and talk to workers,…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A rule that prevents utilities from disconnecting Kansas customers during extreme cold takes effect when November arrives. The cold weather rule is enforced by the Kansas Corporation Commission and runs from Friday through March 31. The rule bars utilities from disconnecting electric or natural gas service for nonpayment when temperatures of 35 or lower are forecast for the following 24 hours. Utility companies must offer customers a 12-month payment plan to maintain or re-establish service. Shutoffs must be announced 24 hours in advance, and may be carried out only if the temperature is expected to top 35…
On today’s InFocus, Cathy talks with Maribeth Kieffer, Executive Director of the Flint HIlls Breadbasket, followed by Melanie and Aaron Appel of Big Poppi, then Phil Anderson on Manhattan Bridge Pier project, and ending with Jen Rezac with Americans for Prosperity.
Story by: Mary Lou Peter Communications Specialist K-State Communications and Agricultural Education Kansas State University has been chosen to lead a new effort focused on developing wheat varieties that are resilient to the warming effects of climate change. The initial focus will be on wheat in South Asia, which typically produces 20 percent of the world’s wheat crop. “Globally, wheat production is increasing at a rate of 1 percent annually, but there is evidence of yield stagnation in some regions, including South Asia,” said Jesse Poland, research geneticist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a K-State adjunct assistant professor…