LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) The University of Kansas has signed on to a technology upgrade that helps its faculty and students who are working overseas. The university has signed onto Eduroam, which allows faculty and students to log onto a wireless network at any other participating research or education institution overseas. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the University of Kansas is one of only a few schools in the Midwest that has signed up for the service, which is used throughout Europe. Kansas faculty who travel abroad for research say the service is valuable when they are at universities or research labs…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Department of Transportation is joining Wichita’s efforts to persuade Amtrak to run a passenger route through the city. The transportation department says an initial planning study for expanded service is a good first step toward Amtrak expanding its rail service to Wichita on a route from Dallas to Oklahoma City. The Wichita City Council has made funding more passenger rail studies a lobbying priority for the upcoming legislative session. Transportation secretary Mike King is talking to Oklahoma officials who currently are more interested in a northeast route toward Tulsa. The Wichita Eagle reports the next…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Wichita man says he plans to begin rebuilding a collection of more than 500 Ken Griffey Jr. baseball cards that were stolen from his home. Christopher Fevurly says thieves broke a window in his home and stole the cards, a television and computer monitor while he was in Arizona to watch the Fiesta Bowl. Fevurly told KAKE-TV he was 11 years old when he began collecting Griffey’s baseball cards in 1989. Griffey began playing in the major leagues that year and quickly became Fevurly’s favorite player. Some of the cards might be worth $50 to $75…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Congressman Tim Huelskamp has a new committee assignment in the U.S. House after the chamber’s Republican leadership took him off two others in December. The Kansas Republican was among four House members who were removed from prominent committees for not voting with the GOP leadership on key issues. Huelskamp was taken off the budget and agriculture committees. He’ll continue to serve on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and has a new assignment on the Small Business Committee. Huelskamp said the new assignment will give rural Kansas a voice on a variety of issues. Huelskamp, who represents…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Gov. Sam Brownback has named a northeast Kansas physician to the State Board of Healing Arts. The Republican governor’s office says Dr. Joel Hutchins of Holton will serve a four-year term on the 15-member board, which licenses and regulates physicians. Hutchins will replace Dr. Nancy Welsh, of Topeka. Welsh was appointed by Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius and served on the board since 2004 before stepping down in November. A biography posted online by his family medical practice at Holton Community Hospital says Hutchins is a former Air Force pilot who has practiced medicine for more than 20…
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) Pioneering rap artist, author and motivational speaker Chuck D will be the keynote speaker at Garden City Community College’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day events. The Garden City Telegram reports the Jan. 21 speech is free and open to the public. Now 52, Chuck D was the co-founder of the rap group Public Enemy from 1987 to 2009. The group toured worldwide, focusing on social justice and political activism, and was chosen last month for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Colin Lamb, co-sponsor of the college’s Student Government Association, says the Martin…
OSWEGO, Kan. (AP) A southeast Kansas family is reunited with their family dog nearly two months after it disappeared and somehow ended up 1,500 miles away. KWCH-TV reports Ty and Nikki Lewis and their two children picked up their Jack Russell terrier mix, Rascal, at the airport Saturday night. Rascal ran away Thanksgiving weekend, and several weeks later turned up at an animal shelter in San Diego. The dog’s ID tag listed his owners as the Lewis family from Oswego, Kan., and an animal charity paid for his plane ticket home. Ty Lewis says the children had no idea their…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Wichita police say a 15-year-old has been arrested after threatening to cut off his older brother’s genitals during an argument over a video game. The Wichita Eagle reports the incident happened at 1:20 a.m. Sunday. Police say the 15-year-old pulled a knife, held it to his 20-year-old brother’s throat and made the threat. The brother wasn’t hurt, and police don’t know which video game prompted the fight. Police spokesman Sgt. Bart Brunscheen says the 15-year-old is listed as an active runaway in a separate case. The boy was arrested on a charge of aggravated assault and criminal…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Advocates for impoverished Kansas residents say tougher welfare rules are making it hard for the state’s needy to pull themselves out of poverty. Members of Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration say the stricter policies are forcing people to find jobs instead of relying on handouts. The Kansas City Star reports the most drastic statistics involve Temporary Aid to Needy Families, also known as welfare, which has seen a 38 percent drop in the number of poor people who receive the aid. Among those are about 9,000 children who no longer benefit from the TANF payments that averaged about…
For their first meeting of the new year, the Pottawatomie County Commissioners continued to see a number of items on their agenda. Like most every week, a number of departments came in to give their monthly updates and for some this included year end numbers. “We discussed the environmental health program,” said Scott Schwinn, County Sanitarian and Transfer Station Supervisor. “The numbers for the Blue Township Sewer district were up considerably, however, the numbers for in the county for health permits were down.” For the county zoning department, numbers ending in December were more than those presented last year as Gregg Webster, zoning administrator, talked about…