KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) Federal prosecutor’s in Kansas have accused a former union employee of stealing about $50,000 from an employee benefit plan. The Kansas City Star reports that Angela Heninger worked as an executive assistant for the Mobilization, Optimization, Stabilization and Training Trust, or MOST. MOST is an affiliate of the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, which is headquartered in Kansas City, Kan. Heninger was charged last week in U.S. District Court in Kansas with one count of embezzlement, six counts of wire fraud and five counts of bank fraud. Online court records don’t list a lawyer for Heninger, and…
Author: KMAN Staff
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) A drug take back event in Douglas County has drawn a record response. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Lawrence law enforcement officials say they collected a record 875 pounds of unused prescription drugs Saturday as part of a nationwide “Drug Take-Back Day.” Lt. Steve Lewis, Douglas County sheriff spokesman, said last year the Drug Take-Back Day collected 300 pounds of unwanted prescription medicine. Federal authorities say nationwide about 1.5 billion doses of prescription drugs go unused each year, which can lead to accidents and dangerous misuse. All of the drugs collected Saturday were placed in a secure…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Cessna Aircraft is offering voluntary retirement buyouts for its hourly employees. The Wichita Eagle reports that Wichita-based aircraft company aims to get about 180 workers represented by the Machinists union to take the voluntary retirement offer. Cessna employs 8,200, including 5,800 in Wichita. The company has said it needs to cut employment figures because of sluggish demand for light business jets. Cessna’s senior vice president of human resources Jim Walters said in a statement that the buyouts and a similar program for salaried employees announced last month are expected to allow the company to make the majority…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Officials with some Kansas agencies say an increase in state employment in the last fiscal year was caused largely by reorganization and student employment. The Topeka Capital-Journal reported last week that the state had a total of 69,974 temporary and regular people at the beginning of fiscal year 2013. That’s an increase of 143 from fiscal 2012. The Department for Children and Families had 348 fewer employees. A spokeswoman for the department says 125 of those jobs were transferred to the Department of Aging and Disability Services. Three of the state’s universities increased employees in fiscal 2013.…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Douglas County officials say the county is applying for a federal grant to study the feasibility of establishing a “food hub” that would make it easier for county businesses to sell locally grown produce and meats. The county’s Food Policy Council is applying for a $58,250 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It wants to use the money to study a system of linking producers and farmers in the region with larger institutions that want a steady supply of locally grown foods. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the federal grant would be matched with $10,000 from the…
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) The family of two Leavenworth brothers who were shot to death in 2011 is unhappy with a plea agreement that allowed the killer to be sentenced to 18 years in prison. A Leavenworth County judge followed the plea agreement’s recommendations while sentencing Aundray D. McDonald, 37, Friday for two counts of voluntary manslaughter. He was originally charged with premeditated first-degree murder and first degree felony murder in the December 2011 deaths of Derrick, 25, and Marshall Jones, 28, outside a Leavenworth barbershop. The shootings resulted from a feud between McDonald and the brothers. The Leavenworth Times reports…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Wichita police say they arrested three juveniles after a confetti cannon went off inside a mall. Sgt. Jesse Boomer says no one was injured and no damage occurred after the explosion Sunday afternoon inside the Towne West Square. But Boomer says the sound frightened several people in the area. Witnesses say the confetti device went off near a movie theater. The juveniles were arrested soon after the incident. The boys were taken to juvenile hall but it was not clear if they would face charges.
HAYS, Kan. (AP) Two Fort Hays State University administrators are part of a delegation of U.S. higher education officials that is planning to travel to Brazil next month. The visit led by the New York-based Institute of International Education is scheduled from May 5 through May 10. The delegation will include representatives from 15 American higher education institutions, including Fort Hays State. Representing the western Kansas university are Assistant Provost for Strategic Partnerships Cindy Elliott and Graduate School Dean Tim Crowley. Fort Hays State says the group will meet with officials from both public and private higher education institutions in…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Hundreds of state employees are facing the dilemma of whether to move, commute more than 50 miles or retire when the Kansas Department of Agriculture moves from Topeka to Manhattan. Agriculture Secretary Dale Rodman announced earlier this month the department was making the 56-mile move to be closer to Kansas State University, the future National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility and other ag-related entities. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the department will keep its administrative staff of about 10 employees in Topeka and will maintain a lab and field office at Forbes Field. The other 150 KDA workers will…
LARNED, Kan. (AP) A sword presented more than 150 years ago to an Army officer who became one of only 19 men to have received two Medals of Honor has a new home in Kansas. Frank Dwight Baldwin served in the Civil War and later fought American Indians in outposts that included Fort Larned, Kan. The sword he was presented by the Michigan Horse Guards in September 1861 now will be on permanent display at Fort Larned National Historic Site. The Wichita Eagle reports the sword was presented by the fort’s Old Guard, a volunteer and support group whose members…