TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Concealed weapons will not be allowed in public buildings in Shawnee County for another six months. The council commission voted Thursday to seek a delay in a new state law that allows concealed-carry permit holders to bring weapons into public buildings, beginning July 1. The law permitted local governments to seek a six-month delay until Jan. 1, 2014. Before Thursday’s vote, Commissioner Kevin Cook said county leaders need time to consider all options. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Earl McIntosh, the 2nd Amendment chairman for the Kansas Libertarian Party, asked the commission not to seek the delay, which…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is urging Gov. Sam Brownback to veto provisions in a proposed state budget for each of the next two years. Schmidt said in a statement Thursday that he and county prosecutors object to two provisions that would take funds from his agency. Both Brownback and Schmidt are Republicans. Schmidt opposes a provision diverting $600,000 in fees from applications for concealed carry permits, saying the money shouldn’t be used for general government programs. He also opposes a salary cap for state agencies. Brownback has until Sunday to act on the budget bill. The…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas health officials are cautioning people to stay out of three lakes where toxic blue-green algae has been confirmed. The Department of Health and Environment issued warnings Thursday Logan City Lake in Phillips County, Memorial Park Lake (Veteran’s Lake) in Barton County and the Marion Reservoir in Marion County. The agency says people, pets and livestock should not drink or have contact with water in the lakes. Any fish caught in the lakes should be cleaned and rinsed with clean water, and only the fillet portion should be eaten. KDHE says boating and fishing may be safe,…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Police in Topeka are searching for a shirtless man spotted running from an apartment building where another man was found dead. Officers were called to the building in central Topeka shortly before 2:30 p.m. Thursday on a report of a shooting. They found the victim inside an apartment, where he was pronounced dead. The victim has been identified as Benjamin D. Jackson, 24, of Topeka. The shooting is being investigated as a homicide. Police were looking for a man in his late teens or early 20’s who ran from the area wearing red shorts and no shirt.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A federal agency has rejected Wichita-based Beechcraft’s protest of the award of an Air Force contract for light air support planes to Sierra Nevada Corp. and its Brazil-based partner, Embraer. Both companies issued statements Thursday announcing the decision by the Government Accountability Office. It’s the latest development in a high-stakes competition that has taken nearly three years with legal challenges from both sides. The contract for 20 planes for use in Afghanistan is worth more than $427 million. It could be worth as much as $1 billion, depending on future orders. Sierra Nevada and Embraer lauded the…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Wichita police believe the shooter who fired on a home and struck a sleeping 4-year-old boy targeted the wrong address. The shooting happened around 3 a.m. Thursday. Police say the boy and his mother were asleep in a bedroom of a duplex at the time. The 4-year-old was taken to St. Francis Hospital with a gunshot wound in his back. Police said he was in stable condition after surgery and is expected to recover. Police said five shots were fired from outside the home. A search for suspects continued Thursday afternoon.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Topeka man who faces more than 100 child pornography charges will get a new attorney. A Shawnee County judge on Wednesday appointed a new attorney for Jason W. Hachmeister, who said he no longer trusted attorney Napoleon Crews, of Lawrence. The 39-year-old Hachmeister is charged with 108 counts of sexual exploitation of a child. His trial is scheduled to start June 24. Hachmeister is charged in another case with killing his mother in 2011. Prosecutors say the child pornography was found on Hachmeister’s personal computer during an investigation into the September 2011 killing of 58-year-old Sheila…
HOLCOMB, Kan. (AP) Holcomb city officials have voted to delay implementing a new state law that allows concealed weapons in public buildings. The law takes effect July 1 but local governments are allowed to seek a delay until Jan. 1, 2014. The law requires local governments to allow concealed weapons in public buildings unless they have an adequate plan for security at the buildings. The Holcomb City Council voted Wednesday to seek the delay. City administrator Robin Pena said the six-month extension will give Holcomb time to create a plan to keep everyone safe. The Garden City Telegram reports council…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A woman whose husband was convicted of killing a Kansas woman is no longer facing charges of helping him avoid arrest. Charges were dismissed Wednesday against Rebecca Hollister, wife of Roger Hollister, who was convicted of killing Patricia Kimmi, 58, of Rural Horton in 2009. Rebecca Hollister, of Topeka, was charged in March with aiding a felon. Prosecutors had alleged she tried to help her husband avoid arrest and conviction after Kimmi’s death. Roger Hollister died in March while serving a life sentence in the El Dorado Correctional Facility. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Nemaha County Attorney Brad…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Gov. Sam Brownback is preparing to sign legislation making additional cuts to Kansas income taxes over the next five years. The Republican governor scheduled a signing ceremony Thursday in Overland Park, with another ceremony later in the day in Wichita. The changes in income tax rates include an adjustment in the standard deduction for personal income taxes. The legislation also addresses the state sales tax, which had been scheduled to drop in July from 6.3 percent to 5.7 percent. Lawmakers voted instead to trim the rate slightly to 6.15 percent, which will raise an estimated $777 million…