WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A federal judge has ordered a convicted child sex predator to pay restitution to the 9-year-old Kansas girl he used to produce pornography. A court filing on Tuesday modified the 260-year-prison sentence handed down in May for Philip Andra Grigsby, 50, of Marquette. U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten amended his sentence to include nearly $140,000 in restitution. The figure includes more than $126,000 for the girl and more than $13,000 for her mother. Grigsby pleaded guilty last year to sexually exploiting a child, possessing child porn and illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. The…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) An anti-abortion group’s leader says he wants Kansas lawmakers to consider banning most abortions early in pregnancy during their special session in September. Kansas Coalition for Life Chairman Mark Gietzen said Tuesday that he believes proposed fetal heartbeat legislation would pass if it were put to a vote in both chambers. The measure would prohibit abortions when doctors can detect a fetal heartbeat, which can occur as early as the sixth week of pregnancy. Gov. Sam Brownback called the special session for Sept. 3 to rewrite a state law allowing judges to sentence convicted murderers to at…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback wants the state’s interim securities commissioner to remain in the job. Brownback announced the promotion of Joshua Ney to commissioner on Tuesday. Ney has served on an interim basis since commissioner Aaron Jack resigned in February. The appointment requires state Senate confirmation. Ney joined the securities commissioner’s office in 2011 as a special assistant attorney general and an attorney handling policy issues. He also has served on the Kansas Human Rights Commission and as a prosecutor in Jefferson County. The Senate expects to consider Ney’s appointment during a special session beginning Sept. 3.…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) The former CEO of Westar Energy and his wife have donated a 65-acre farmstead to The Land Institute of Salina. Land Institute founder Wes Jackson on Monday announced that Jim and Cindy Haines will donate the farm northwest of Lawrence. The land is appraised at $1.2 million. The property includes a farm home built in the 1880s, listed on the Register of Historic Kansas Places as the Gorrill Farmstead. Jackson says the land will provide a closer link with University of Kansas scientists to continue the Institute’s efforts to research a sustainable agriculture system that reduces environmental…
GREAT BEND, Kan. (AP) The trial of a woman accused of stealing more than $100,000 from a group that flew World War II veterans to Washington D.C. has been delayed because of problems between her and her attorney. The attorney for LaVeta Dianne Miller of Great Bend told a judge Monday that Miller had stopped communicating with him since her preliminary hearing in April. He asked to be removed from the case. Miller said she hasn’t worked since the preliminary hearing and has had trouble paying her bills and with her phone. After hearing the explanation, her attorney, Robert Anderson,…
PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) A southeast Kansas woman will be sentenced Sept. 3 after pleading no contest to involuntary manslaughter in the death of her 4-month-old son. Heather Buckalew, 25, of Arma entered the plea Monday in a deal that calls for her to be placed on probation. Buckalew’s attorney said the plea deal grants her probation. And the state won’t seek a fine. The Joplin Globe reports prosecutors said they will seek a 60-day jail sentence as part of Buckalew’s probation but the defense can argue for a reduction to 30 days. Buckalew initially was charged with second-degree murder in…
LINDSBORG, Kan. (AP) Emergency management workers will be out in Lindsborg assessing damage from flash flooding that forced several evacuations. McPherson County emergency management director Dillard Webster says emergency crews had to evacuate about 35 to 40 people on Monday because of the flooding. The crews used boats to evacuate some of the residents. Only one injury was reported. Between 4 and 5 inches of rain fell in about an hour Monday. City officials said a retention pond couldn’t hold all the water, causing flooding in the streets and about 50 homes on the town’s north side. Heavy rains also…
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.
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…
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…