Author: KMAN Staff

Ben McLemore celebrated his 20th birthday by pouring in 30 points and Jeff Withey added 17 points and tied the Big 12 record for blocks as 14th-ranked Kansas used a strong first half to pull away from 10th-ranked Kansas State for an 83-62 victory Monday night at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence. K-State whose only lead of the game was 2-0 tied the game at 7-7 on a three-point basket by Will Spradling but after that KU fashioned a 16-10 lead. From there the Jayhawks who snapped a rare three-game losing streak went on a 12-3 run capped by a McLemore…

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The Pottawatomie County Commission started their regular meeting in their own jurisdiction , but after lunch they moved to Alma to meet with the Wabaunsee County Commission on the issue of the Belvue Bridge. More discussion over what to do come as a Kansas Department of Transportation representative talked about the preliminary test that was done to the bridge to decide whether this was a candidate for repair or if it should be replaced. The K-Dot representative made the recommendation to both commissions to spend a little more time once the temperature warms up to do a few more tests…

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SALINA, Kan. (AP) A Salina man awaiting sentencing for the murder of his girlfriend’s young son has escaped from jail. The Salina Journal reports Antonio Brown, 29, fled the Saline County Jail late Monday afternoon. Brown pleaded no contest in January to first-degree murder and child abuse. The charges stemmed from the beating death of 14-month-old Clayden Urbanek in November 2011. Brown had been held in the Mitchell County jail in Beloit. Sheriff Glen Kochanowski says Brown was brought back to Salina on Monday to prepare for sentencing Tuesday. The sheriff says Brown was placed in a cell in his…

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Abortion opponents are urging a Kansas Senate committee to back legislation barring doctors from terminating pregnancies solely because a woman doesn’t want a baby of a certain gender. Monday’s hearing by the Public Health and Welfare Committee began a push by anti-abortion groups and legislators for new restrictions on abortion and abortion providers. The bill on so-called sex-selection abortions would make it a misdemeanor the first time a doctor was caught performing such a procedure. Doctors also could face lawsuits from family members of abortion patients. Proponents of the bill said in other countries, such abortions are…

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Democrats in the Kansas Legislature are pushing measures on wages, hiring and government procurement aimed at helping workers. Senate Democratic Leader Anthony Hensley and House Democratic Leader Paul Davis outlined the proposals Monday at a news conference where they also criticized majority Republicans as unfriendly to wage earners. Their agenda includes measures that would require contractors on public projects to pay the prevailing union wage for certain jobs in a community and requiring Kansans to be hired first. Also, they’re arguing that the state should boost its $7.25-an-hour minimum wage. But the Democratic leaders devoted much of…

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A northeast Kansas woman who said she embezzled from the credit union where she worked to save the family farm has been sentenced to three years in prison. The U.S. attorney’s office says Pamela Emig, 48, of Solomon, must also pay $817,000 in restitution under the sentence she received Monday. Emig pleaded guilty in November to one count of embezzling from Enterprise Credit Union, in Enterprise, between 2005 and 2011. She was a manager and kited checks between accounts under her control to cover up the thefts. Defense attorney Christopher Joseph says in a filing that Emig…

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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) An eastern Kansas man has pleaded guilty to producing child pornography and is expected to spend 20 to 30 years behind bars. Michael Arnett of Roeland Park entered his plea Monday in U.S. District Court. As part of the deal, prosecutors will drop one count of possessing child porn and one count of distributing it. The 38-year-old admitted taking pictures of children engaged in sexual conduct from 2000 to the summer of 2008. Investigators tracked him to Kansas after discovering a water bottle in a photo on a Wisconsin man’s computer had the name of a…

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas public broadcasters are already struggling with budget problems, even before the Legislature considers again reducing their funding. Public broadcasting currently receives about $1.5 million from the state, which could be reduced to about $1 million this year. Last year, Gov. Sam Brownback tried to eliminate all public broadcasting funding. But some lawmakers resisted and approved smaller cuts. This year, the governor is again seeking to reduce state funding, or change the funding source to state lottery proceeds. The Kansas City Star reports managers of some public stations have cut staff, reduced programming or reduced their hours…

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