TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s budget director has apologized publicly for supplying him with an incorrect figure that led the Republican governor to make erroneous claims about his Democratic predecessor. Budget Director Steve Anderson said in a statement Monday the mistake occurred in entering data on an internal administration spreadsheet tracking total state spending. The error showed total state spending peaking at $16 billion during the state’s 2010 fiscal year, under Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson. The actual spending for fiscal 2010 was about $14 billion. In recent presentations to groups, Brownback has contrasted the purported $16 billion figure…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A new cafe in Topeka is serving breakfast and lunch to the public while providing valuable experiences for Topeka students and those who haven’t graduated. The Kanza Cafe opened last month in a building owned by the Topeka School district. The cafe’s food serving manager, Jake Taylor, says adult staff operates the cafe, with volunteer high school students helping out. Volunteers also include students in the Next Step program, which teaches job and life skills to 18- to 21-year-old who haven’t graduated from high school. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Taylor said the students learn such skills as…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Wichita’s Mid-Continent Airport says the number of passengers in 2012 fell 2 percent. The airport says the decline is the result of some airlines dropping flights from Wichita. Frontier Airlines halted service to Denver in November, a loss of about 200 seats each way. And Allegiant Air stopped seasonal service to Los Angeles in August 2011. Air carriers offered 33 daily departures out of Wichita in December, down from 53 daily flights in 2003. At the same time, 1.51 million passengers flew in and out of the airport, compared with 1.41 million in 2003. Passenger traffic in…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Wichita police say three people were arrested after a man couldn’t pay for the prostitute he called to his home. Police went to the 33-year-old man’s home early Sunday after a neighbor reported a disturbance. Spokesman Sgt. Bart Brunscheen says the man apparently wasn’t able to pay the full amount he owed the prostitute. She and an associate returned and forced their way into the man’s home, where the woman took his cell phone. The homeowner was charged with soliciting a prostitute. The 24-year-old woman was charged with burglary and prostitution and her 28-year-old associate was charged…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Two committees in the Kansas Legislature are close to finishing their work on proposed spending for public schools and the six regents universities. The House Appropriations Committee planned to hear a subcommittee’s recommendation Monday for funding K-12 education for the next two academic years. Kansas spends more than $3 billion on public schools annually. In the Senate, the Ways and Means Committee will review funding proposals for the University of Kansas and its medical center, as well as Kansas State, Wichita State, Pittsburg, Emporia and Fort Hays State universities. All of the spending recommendations will be folded…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Wichita housing developer has offered the winning bid for a vacant elementary school in the northeastern part of the city. The Wichita Eagle reports that Mark Cox, owner of Vintage Construction, offered $56,000 at last week’s auction of the former Mueller Elementary School. The Wichita school board will now decide whether to approve the sale. The 61-year-old school and the surrounding property of roughly four acres are zoned single-family residential. Cox says the building is in good shape, and he hopes to convert it into housing. Mueller was one of five Wichita school buildings that closed…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Lobbyists in Kansas reported spending almost 6 percent more in 2012 to influence state government officials than they did in 2011. A report released this month by the state Governmental Ethics Commission said 550 lobbyists reported spending a total of $765,000 last year. That’s $43,000 more than the figure for 2011. The biggest jump in spending was on newsletters and other communications from groups to their members or from companies to their employees, urging them to contact state officials. The figure for 2012 was almost $115,000, compared to less than $20,000 in 2011. But spending on media…
The 1st Infantry Division and Fort Riley welcomed home nearly 250 Soldiers of the 4th IBCT, 1st ID during an 11:30 a.m. ceremony on Feb. 17. Col. Joseph Wawro and Command Sgt. Maj. Wylie Hutchison uncased the brigade’s colors during the ceremony, signifying the brigade’s return to Fort Riley. (U.S. Army Photos by Stephanie Hoff, 1st ID Public Affairs)
For this first time in his career, K-State sophomore Angel Rodriguez has been named Big 12 player of the week. The 5-foot 11-inch point guard averaged 19.5 points, 8 assists, 3.5 rebounds, and 3 steals in games last week against Kansas and Baylor. Rodriguez posted a double-double with 22 points and 10 assists in a 81-61 victory over the Bears on Saturday night at Bramlage Coliseum. He grabbed five rebounds, snatched three steals, drained a perfect five-for-five from the free throw line, and connected on three of eight three-point shots against Baylor. Rodriguez also had 17 points, six assists, three steals,…
Riley County police made arrests in two separate incidents over the weekend. According to police reports, Christopher Murray,28 of Fort Riley, was taken into custody around 5:20 Saturday afternoon and charged with one count of aggravated assault. Bond was set at $5,000 Also on Saturday, Dirk Sparks,41 of Saint George, was arrested on a probation violation warrant. Sparks remains confined on a $5,000 bond. More information on these cases will be provided after Tuesday’s press brief with the Riley County police.