WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A judge has tossed out a subpoena seeking to force a Wichita Eagle reporter to testify about contacts he had with attorneys for inmates who claim they were sexually abused by a former guard. The Wichita Eagle reported Judge Joe Kisner on Tuesday quashed the subpoena filed by attorney Charles O’Hara, who represents the former jail guard. O’Hara argued the reporter emailed a news release sent out by O’Hara to an attorney representing victims in the pending civil case. O’Hara claimed the email opened the door to questions about conversations the reporter had with the attorneys. The…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The city of Wichita won’t allow people with permits to bring concealed firearms into public buildings until at least early next year. A Kansas law taking effect July 1 allows people with concealed-carry permits to take weapons into public buildings unless the buildings have adequate security in place. But cities and counties can exempt their buildings for six months. KFDI-FM reports the Wichita City Council voted 5-2 on Tuesday for such an exemption. Wichita officials say the delay will allow time to study the security needs for the more than 280 city-owned buildings and properties. The county…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) A former Kansas agriculture secretary has joined the Land Institute, which seeks to create a new sustainable agriculture that minimizes environmental damage. The Salina Journal reports that Josh Svaty, a farmer from Ellsworth County, former state lawmaker and state agriculture secretary from 2009 through 2011, joined the Land Institute on Monday as a vice president. He’ll work on public policy issues, promote the institute’s pursuit of natural systems agriculture and raise money. Land Institute founder and president, Wes Jackson, says Svaty can pull from his wide area of public experience in furthering the goals of the Salina-based…
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) Hutchinson police say a man lost part of his arm in an industrial accident at the Tyson Foods plant in Hutchinson. Lt. John Moore says the man’s arm was caught in a conveyor belt and he was pulled in the machine on Monday afternoon. He lost his arm from about the elbow down. The Hutchinson News reports the man was taken by medical helicopter to Via Christi’s St. Francis in Wichita. The man’s identity has not been released.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas man who was a fugitive for nearly two years was sentenced to more than four years in prison for a Wichita homicide. Donald L. Jackson, 32, was sentenced Monday to four years and five months in prison for killing Leroy Fields, 44, in May 2009. Police say Fields died after being shot by two masked men at his Wichita apartment. Jackson was caught in Baltimore in September 2011 after a routine traffic stop. Jackson was charged with murder but pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in March as part of a plea deal that included dropping…
LANSING, Kan. (AP) State corrections officials are looking for a minimum security inmate who escaped from the Lansing Correctional Facility. The Kansas Department of Corrections says Paul D. Cohagen, 43, was discovered missing from the prison Monday evening. Cohagen is a white male with hazel eyes and brown hair. He’s 6-feet tall and weighs about 160 pounds. He was sentenced for burglary in Osage County.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Lawrence officials are taking aim at a bed bug problem that’s emerging at apartment complexes with new rules allowing the city to tell people how and when to exterminate the critters. City code enforcement manager Brian Jiminez says bed bugs are becoming an issue at apartment complexes because of the large turnover in tenants. The tiny insects can cause health problems because they bite their victims and suck their blood, sometimes without being noticed. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the City Commission was expected to approve a new property maintenance code Tuesday. The code could require people to…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas House Speaker Ray Merrick has hired an attorney in the secretary of state’s office as his new legislative director. Merrick, a Stilwell Republican, said Monday that B.J. Harden will join his staff in July. Harden will replace Wade Hapgood, who recently was promoted to chief of staff. Merrick’s former chief of staff, Christie Kriegshauser, left to take a job with the Kansas Chamber of Commerce. Harden has worked in the secretary of state’s office since August 2011. He also serves as a volunteer deputy executive director for the Kansas Republican Party. He received his law degree…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has asked for an investigation into an immigration reform protest held outside his Wyandotte County home. Kobach said Monday he has contacted state and Wyandotte County officials seeking an investigation into the protest held Saturday outside his Piper home. Event organizer Sunflower Community Action says about 300 participants chanted and left several shoes at Kobach’s door to represent deported parents. Kobach has built a national profile presenting tough policies on illegal immigration issues. He and his family weren’t home during the protest. Kobach told The Associated Press he wants authorities…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach says the state’s proof-of-citizenship requirement for new voters can still be enforced after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling against a similar Arizona law. Kobach says the Kansas law differs enough from Arizona’s version that the high court’s Monday decision doesn’t apply to Kansas. County election officials in Kansas said they were waiting for guidance from Kobach. But Kobach’s position could prompt a federal lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union. The law took effect in January and applies to people registering to vote for the first time in Kansas. They must…