TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A group that wants Kansans to be able to buy liquor at grocery stores and convenience stores says it will try again to persuade state lawmakers to change state law. Currently, Kansans can buy most liquor only in retail liquor stores, except for 3.2 beer and wine coolers. Uncork Kansas, a coalition of convenience stores, grocery stores, and chambers of commerce, says it plans to introduce a bill to change state law as early in the upcoming legislative session as possible. The Wichita Eagle reports the Kansas Chamber of Commerce announced earlier this week that it will…
Author: KMAN Staff
SALINA, Kan. (AP) The Rolling Hills Wildlife Adventure in Salina is home to a new animal, a Sichuan Takin . Officials at the zoo say the 4.5-year-old male Takin is the first of its species at any zoo in Kansas. Peter Burvenich, curator at the zoo, says it will be at least two to three years before the zoo considers getting a female Takin to start a breeding program. KSAL reports that the animal had been in quarantine for 30 days but is now on public display. Takin are native to Tibet and China. They live in the same bamboo…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A former church vicar in Topeka pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting two young brothers. Thirty-two-year-old Hugh Denton Cranford, a former vicar at Faith Lutheran Church, will be tried starting May 6 on three charges of aggravated indecent liberties with a child younger than 14. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Cranford, a native of Kingwood, Texas, pleaded not guilty on Thursday. The mother of the two boys, who are now 7 and 9, testified that her husband and Cranford were friends and the family attended Faith Lutheran. She said her sons played with Cranford and he stayed overnight…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Wichita man who stabbed his girlfriend to death in a store parking lot was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison. Forty-year-old Eric Avila was sentenced Thursday for killing 35-year-old Alina Burkman at a south Wichita Kmart. He pleaded no contest in November to second-degree murder and kidnapping in the March 8 death. Wichita police said Avila and Burkman fought after being evicted from a nearby hotel. Police say Avila suffered stab wounds to the chest and abdomen, but the wounds were apparently self-inflicted. The Wichita Eagle reports Avila’s attorney said the two loved each…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Charlie Chaplin is among the classic movie stars who will be featured during the 17th annual Kansas Silent Film Festival. The free festival takes place Feb. 22 and 23 in White Concert Hall at Washburn University in Topeka. Several short Keystone comedies produced by Max Sennett will be featured. Kansas City film historian Denise Morrison will provide introductions for the films and give an overview of the artists and the era of the silent films. Some films will be shown on 16mm film, while others may be projected digitally, due to the rarity of actual film material.…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The largest wind farm ever built in Kansas is now in full commercial operation. BP Wind Energy and Sempra U.S. Gas Power said Thursday the $800 million Flat Ridge 2 Wind Farm generates 470 megawatts of electricity. Flat Ridge 2 is spread over a 66,000-acre site that spans parts of Harper, Barber, Kingman and Sumner counties in south-central Kansas. The companies say the farm uses 294 turbines each with the capacity to produce 1.6 megawatts, generating enough electricity to power more than 140,000 average American homes. Power generated from the facility will be exported to Missouri, Arkansas…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt plans to ask legislators to approve a new law he says will help prosecutors fight gang activity. The Republican attorney general and former state senator says the recommendation for a new anti-racketeering law is a product of a gang task force he assembled in 2012. The proposal would let prosecutors go after gangs for alleged patterns of criminal activity as well as single criminal acts. Schmidt says it would be another way to tackle what he calls the rising presence of street gangs in Kansas. The 2013 legislative session begins Jan. 14.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The influential Kansas Chamber of Commerce has created a position to oversee its communications and special events and promoted a staffer internally to fill the new job. Chamber CEO Officer Mike O’Neal announced Thursday that Emily Mitchell will serve as director of communications and special events. Mitchell has been the organization’s executive assistant since April 2011. She is a Kansas State University graduate. The chamber’s clout grew with the 2012 elections, which saw conservative Republicans retain their majority in the Kansas House and topple moderate GOP leaders in the Senate. Also, O’Neal is the departing House speaker,…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts is no longer the top Republican on the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, but he’s pledging to remain a strong advocate for farmers, ranchers and rural areas. Roberts said Thursday that he’ll retain a seat on the Agriculture Committee. He also remains on the Finance Committee, and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Roberts says he’s also expecting to become the ranking Republican on the Senate Rules Committee. He sees the position as important to opening up debates on issues such as the federal budget deficit. The new ranking Republican on the…
STAFFORD, Kan. (AP) A truck driver is unhurt but a central Kansas grain elevator is closed for a few days after an accident that left a tractor-trailer buried in corn. The Pratt Tribune reports the accident happened Wednesday afternoon at the Dillwyn elevator, located along railroad tracks in rural Stafford County. Manager Paul Eisenhour says the semi hit a loading chute on the side of the elevator. The chute was ripped away, allowing the corn inside the elevator to pour out. The driver managed to escape from the cab as the grain engulfed his rig. The Dillwyn elevator is owned…