WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Police in Wichita are looking for a gunman suspected of robbing four people, including one who died of an apparent illness several hours later. KFDI-FM reports the 73-year-old man told police he was driving out of a parking lot in southwest Wichita about 8:30 p.m. Monday when the robber opened a passenger door and pointed a gun. The victim handed over some money and the robber left in another vehicle. The 73-year-old died several hours later of what was described as a sudden illness, but police don’t believe the death and the robbery were related. The same…
Author: KMAN Staff
DERBY, Kan. (AP) The state’s biggest electric utility is cautioning residents in south-central Kansas town about a man posing as one of its workers. Topeka-based Westar Energy said Tuesday it received a report of a man knocking on doors in the Derby area and asking to enter homes. The company says the man claimed to be a Westar employee performing home electricity audits. The utility says the man doesn’t work for Westar or any of its partner companies. Westar workers carry company identification, and many wear clothing with its logo.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Senate is preparing to take up legislation blocking tax breaks for abortion providers, but some lawmakers want to go further by pursuing a ban on most abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. The measure on the Senate’s agenda for debate Tuesday or Wednesday not only deals with tax exemptions and credits for abortion providers but bars them from providing materials or instructors for sex education classes in public schools. It also includes a statement that life begins at fertilization and is worth protecting. The measure has passed the House. But a House committee heard…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Wichita police say 2-year-old twins are fine after they were found outside in freezing weather wearing only their pajamas. The Wichita Eagle reports that the children were found outside Monday in 27-degree weather with no shoes and wearing pajamas but nothing else. Police Lt. Doug Nolte said Tuesday that the children had been living with their mother when they were found Monday, and that they have been released to their father. He says the children’s mother has a medical condition that contributed to the situation, and that police did not suspect child neglect or endangerment.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas House and Senate negotiators have started meetings to settle differences over the 2014 state budget, a process expected to continue over the next two weeks. Two Republicans and one Democrat from each chamber met Tuesday morning to hear an offer from the House on resolving several hundred line items. The House and Senate have both approved $14 billion spending plans for the 2014 fiscal year, which starts July 1. Leaders have said the negotiations could last several weeks. The work is tied to progress on tax legislation pending in both chambers. The House and Senate’s budgets…
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) Rocket engine parts that were recovered last week from the ocean will be preserved by a division of the Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson. The F-1 engine parts arrived Monday at the SpaceWorks division of the Cosmosphere. They were part of the Saturn V rocket that boosted Apollo moon missions in the 1960s and 1970s. The engines broke up after falling back into the ocean. The Hutchinson News reports parts from two of the engines were raised last week from the ocean about 360 miles off the coast of Florida. Cosmosphere officials say the goal of…
ARKANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) Three finalists have been chosen in the search for a new president for Cowley County Community College in Arkansas City. The three finalists are: Clark Williams, vice president and chief operating officer of Blue Mountain Community College in Pendelton, Ore.; Robert Riza, vice president of student services for Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas; and Michael Calvert, campus president and college vice president for Central Community College in Grand Island, Neb. The Arkansas City Traveler reports the finalists will be on campus for public forums and interviews next month. The three were chosen from 28 candidates presented…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) A Salina man was sentenced to nearly six years in prison for killing a man in a dispute over a stolen go-kart. Kyle A. Nelson was sentenced Monday for voluntary manslaughter in the July 2012 shooting death of Jeffrey B. Powell, 37. The Salina Journal reports Nelson testified during the trial that he shot Powell in self-defense during an argument over the go-kart, which had been stolen from Nelson’s children. However, prosecutors argued there was no evidence to back up Nelson’s testimony that Powell had threatened him before the shooting.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The latest government snapshot of the Kansas winter wheat crop is still portraying a grim picture. Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service reported Monday that 31 percent of the wheat is in poor to very poor condition. About 40 percent is rated fair with 27 percent in good and 2 percent excellent condition. About 5 percent of the crop has now jointed. The agency also says that topsoil moisture levels statewide are 47 percent short to very short. Subsoil moisture supplies are faring far worse, with 82 percent reported as short to very short.
Michael DeChant (19) of Ogden appeared in Riley County District Court, via web cam, Tuesday afternoon. DeChant is charged with possible first degree murder, after 6 month old Dominick Lubrano died. The original charge was aggravated battery, with his bond set at $500,000. After the child passed away, his bond increased to one million dollars. DeChant appeared with his attorney-Larry McRell, who asked that the case be set for another status hearing, in order to give him time to speak with the county attorney. His next appearance was set for April 9th at 1:00 p.m.