After getting swept in a three-game series by the New York Yankees at the end of their homestand, the Kansas City Royals turned things around against the underachieving Los Angeles Angels by winning two out of three in the series. Lorenzo Cain hit a three-run double and Billy Butler capped his most productive series of the season with a two-run single, leading the Royals (20-17) to a 9-5 victory Wednesday night and helping them climb within 1½ games of AL Central-leading Detroit. Butler, who entered this series in a 4-for-35 rut, went 8-for-13 with a home run and nine RBIs in…
Author: KMAN Staff
The Mutual of Omaha, Wild Kingdom TV series, was a popular show that aired for over 25 years, from 1963-1988. Hosts, Marlin Perkins and Jim Fowler, traveled around the world to educate viewers about animals and their natural habitats. The show will return this fall, and Mutual of Omaha is holding an online competition to find a new host, or “Wild Guide”. Out of 200 applicants, 12 semifinalists remain; and one of them, is nature enthusiast, world traveler and K-State alumna, Regina Busse. She began her travels in 2004, and has visited over 50 countries. To reach the next level in…
ABBYVILLE, Kan. (AP) The small central Kansas town of Abbyville is ready for its annual influx of cowboys. The 51st annual Abbyville rodeo is scheduled for this weekend. It draws thousands of contestants and spectators to the Reno County town of 87 residents. The Hutchinson News reports that Abbyville Frontier Days also includes good food, music, a parade and a cowboy church service on Sunday. Events begin Thursday, with the first rodeo competition on Friday evening.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) The widow of a man who became a successful geologist has donated $1 million to the University of Kansas. The university announced the gift Tuesday from Kathleen Hall of Lecompton. She and her husband, Hubert Hall, both earned bachelor’s degrees from Kansas in 1949. She says several other members of Hubert Hall’s family attended the university. The gift will establish the Hubert H. and Kathleen M. Hall Professorship in Geology. The Lawrence Journal-World reports it’s intended for a mid-career faculty member or an incoming professor. Hub Hall worked for Standard Oil, now ExxonMobil, and led the company’s…
HAYS, Kan. (AP) Ellis County voters easily approved a half-cent sales tax increase to improve county buildings. The Hays Daily News reports the issue was approved Tuesday with 82 percent of the vote, 2,603 to 569. The increased revenue will help pay for a $14.3 million building for the county’s EMS and rural fire trucks. It will also pay to expand and renovate the county jail, law enforcement center and courthouse. The sales tax will take effect no sooner than Oct. 1. It is scheduled to end in five years or when the project is paid off, whichever comes sooner.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The leak from a sewage treatment plant will cost the city of Wichita hundreds of thousands of dollars. The state health department has fined the city nearly $700,000 for the leak last May that dumped partially-treated sewage into the Arkansas River, killing over 800 fish. Wichita public works director Alan King said a gate at the plant failed, which allowed the sewage into the river. He also said two plant employees were fired because of the leak. The city will pay a fine of about $243,000. Another $455,000 will be used to help pay for a study…
HIAWATHA, Kan. (AP) A man is dead after an accident at a mill in northeast Kansas. Police chief John Defore says the man died Tuesday afternoon while working at the Fairview Mills facility in Hiawatha. Defore says the victim became entangled in a piece of machinery commonly known as a “clump buster.” KNZA reports the man’s name has not been released as the investigation continues.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A jury trial for a Topeka man charged with kidnapping and killing an 8-year-old girl has been postponed until next year. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Billy Frank Davis Jr. had been scheduled to go on trial Oct. 7. But a Shawnee County judge on Tuesday granted a defense request to postpone the trial. It’s now scheduled for March 24, 2014. Davis faces two alternative counts of capital murder in the March 2012 death of 8-year-old Ahliyah Nachelle Irvin. He’s also charged with rape, aggravated kidnapping and aggravated burglary. Davis could face the death penalty if he’s convicted.…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Top leaders of the Kansas Legislature aren’t ruling out the possibility that its annual session might extend into next week. In the Senate, leaders of its Republican majority already have scheduled sessions for Saturday and Sunday. In the House, Speaker Ray Merrick of Stilwell has warned fellow GOP members that it’s possible that lawmakers will still be meeting Monday. They’re discussing such plans as private negotiations over tax issues between Merrick and Senate President Susan Wagle of Wichita drag out. Lawmakers need to resolve tax issues to finish work on the next state budget and wrap up…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A former Kansas doctor will stay behind bars until his federal trial on a charge of using a gun to partially pay a bondsman who got him out of jail in a domestic case. A federal magistrate judge ordered Lawrence Simons detained following a hearing Wednesday. Simons was arrested Monday on a federal charge of unlawful possession of a firearm after a felony conviction. The 57-year-old Wichita man was sentenced in January 2010 to two years in prison followed by three years’ probation for unlawfully distributing controlled substances. Simons was out on supervised release when he was…