TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Department of Revenue is mailing brochures to 146,000 business owners about state income tax cuts enacted earlier this year. The mailings began Wednesday, just six days before the state’s general election. On Thursday, House Democratic Leader Paul Davis criticized Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration over the timing. Revenue Department spokeswoman Jeannine Koranda says the mailings cost the agency $52,000 for printing and postage. The tax cuts will exempt the owners of 191,000 Kansas businesses from state income taxes. Koranda says the brochures are designed to answer questions that Revenue officials frequently get from business owners…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The trial of a Topeka man charged with killing his mother is postponed until next May. The trial of 38-year-old Jason Hachmeister was scheduled to start Dec. 3. It was postponed on Wednesday to May 13 at the request of defense attorney Mark Bennett. Hachmeister is charged with premeditated first-degree murder in the September 2011 strangulation death of 58-year-old Sheila Hachmeister. Jason Hachmeister called 911 to say he had found his mother’s body on the floor of her home in Topeka. He was arrested in December after his DNA was allegedly found on a ligature around his…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Officials with a new $25 million hydroelectric power plant in Lawrence say the plant is expecting to begin producing electricity by Friday. Leaders with the Bowersock Mills Power Co. said the plant on the Kansas River will start operating about a month ahead of schedule. They say the summer drought allowed construction to proceed with few disruptions. However, The Lawrence Journal-World reports the reduced water levels in the river means the plant will not be able to produce electricity at full capacity right away. It will eventually generate enough electricity to power about 5,400 homes. The plant…
COLWICH, Kan. (AP) ICM of Colwich has laid off 25 more employees in response to slowing growth in the ethanol industry. The company now employs 275 people. ICM, which designs and manages ethanol plants, had 671 employees in April 2008. In a statement e-mailed Wednesday to The Wichita Eagle, ICM CEO Dave Vander Griend says the company is focused on retrofitting existing plants and introducing new products and services. He says the company remains committed to its long-term growth and expansion in the renewable energy industry as a whole.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) Hutchinson police say a 26-year-old man died after being shot outside a Halloween party. The victim, Dustin Brooks, was shot Wednesday in an alley near a home where the party was held. He was driven to a fire station, where emergency responders took him to a hospital. Police say Brooks died at the hospital. The investigation continues. No one has been arrested.
HOLTON, Kan. (AP) A northeastern Kansas man has been sentenced to life in prison for sexually abusing his 4-year-old daughter. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Jackson County Attorney Shawna Miller announced in a news release Wednesday that the man was sentenced late last week. Miller says the 34-year-old man was on probation after being convicted of crimes against the girl when he confessed to sexual crimes that had not been discovered. He was charged with aggravated criminal sodomy after sheriff’s detectives corroborated his confession. He pleaded no contest in September. The man will not be eligible for parole for 25 years…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) Salina has installed a massive new stainless steel sculpture along a busy city corridor. The sculpture was designed by Arizona-based artist Barbara Grygutis and is called “Dawn’s Silver Lining.” It’s made up of six pieces of steel, each standing 20 feet tall and weighing 2,500 pounds. The Salina Journal reports the sculpture was installed and hooked up to power Tuesday south of an expanding intersection. The sculpture will be illuminated at night. City commissioners voted in 2010 to spend about $246,000 for the sculpture, then approved an additional $53,000 this year to build a foundation for the…
Sometime between 7pm Tuesday and 10am Wednesday, an unlocked vehicle parked at the 300th block of Denison, was entered by an unknown suspect. The vehicle’s owner, Dean Rightnowar (32) reports that items that were taken include a first generation ipod touch, an Nintendo DS, a Surefire flashlight, a Gerber knife, and a pair of Oakley sunglasses. Total loss from the theft is $1,138 and police are investigating. _______________________________________________________________________________________ Sometime between 10:15pm on Tuesday and 8 am on Wednesday, a vehicle was stolen from the 2000th block of CandleCrest Dr. The victim, Michelle Colyer (21), reports that her 2000 Chevy Impala was…
Executive Director of the Flint Hills Regional Council, Ty Warner recently announced his resignation. Warner will be leaving the position to accept a RPO position in Indiana. This announcement was made by Planning/Special Projects Director, Monty Wedel at Thursday’s Riley County Commission meeting. Before coming to the council, he formerly provided community assistance, regional collaboration, and participatory workshops for a population of eight million across 284 municipalities as a Principal with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, the regional planning agency and Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for northeastern Illinois. He also served as adjunct faculty at the University of Illinois…
SAN DIEGO (AP) At the last minute, a group of corporate sponsors stepped up to bail out the struggling San Diego Chargers and make sure that Thursday night’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs will be televised in Southern California. Depending on the outcome, they might regret guaranteeing to cover a whopping 10,000 tickets that remained unsold 72 hours before kickoff. Already prime-time flops twice this year, the Chargers (3-4) will try to get it right against the staggering Chiefs (1-6), arguably the NFL’s worst team. Although the Chiefs have the same record as Jacksonville and Carolina, their issues…