LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Lawrence cultural and arts organizations want the city’s downtown to be designated as a cultural district. Supporters say the designation would not require rezoning or any major changes. But they hope the city will develop a plan to improve lighting, sidewalks and provide pathways to connect historic, arts, natural and cultural heritage sites. The Lawrence Cultural Arts Commission met with more than two dozen groups that support the proposal on Sunday and agreed to forward it to the City Commission. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the details and potential costs of designating a cultural district have not been…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas House member says he wants the state’s juvenile justice system to remain separate from the adult prison system. Rep. Jim Ward, a Democrat from Wichita, has introduced a resolution to challenge Gov. Sam Brownback’s plan to merge the Juvenile Justice Authority with the Department of Corrections. The governor’s office says the merger will improve security in the juvenile facilities without hurting rehabilitation programs for minors. The Wichita Eagle reports that Ward said he is concerned that budget problems will cause the corrections secretary to cut juvenile treatment programs instead of reducing the number of adult…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas House is considering a bill that would exempt firearms, firearm accessories and ammunition made in the state from federal regulations. The “Made in Kansas” bill also would prevent physicians other than psychiatrists from asking patients if they have firearms in their homes. The Hutchinson News reports that the bill has 50 sponsors from both parties. Supporters say it is aimed at protecting both gun owners’ rights and states’ rights. A similar bill introduced last session passed in the House but stalled in the Senate. An initial hearing in the House Federal and State Affairs Committee…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Wichita couple is always going to have a bizarre story to tell about their child’s birth. The couple was preparing to head to the hospital early Tuesday when a determined thief stole their only means of transportation, a van warming up in the driveway. During the ensuing chase, police spiked the van’s tires. But the thief kept going on just rims, not stopping until the van was so damaged the front wheel shattered, grinding the brakes down to the axle. KFDI reports the man had several warrants out for his arrest and had violated probation. While…
The first reading of an ordinance to issue industrial revenue refunding and improvement bonds for Manko Window Systems Inc. passed after a public hearing at the Manhattan City commission meeting on Tuesday night. The ordinance is set to physically expand the company’s facilities by around 20,000 square feet. The company says the bond will also be used to create six salaried positions, and 27 new hourly positions with wages ranging from 12 to 16 dollars per hour. Those wages passed the muster for the Manhattan Living Wage Coalition. During the public hearing portion Commissioner Jim Sherow read a letter from coalition coordinator Geri Simon. …
PAOLA, Kan. (AP) Police and friends are looking for a missing 92-year-old man who walked away from his assisted living home in the northeast Kansas town of Paola. Police say Earl “Andy” Anderson suffers from dementia. He left the Country Club Estates on Monday evening and was last seen at a Casey’s General Store in Paola. Anderson is 5 feet 5 inches tall, 167 pounds and has gray hair. He was wearing a light gray sweatshirt, suspenders, dark-colored pants, a dark-colored coat and glasses.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas Senate committee is preparing to debate Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposals to cut income tax rates and scrap two popular deductions for homeowners. The Assessment and Taxation Committee planned to take up the governor’s proposals Tuesday morning. Brownback’s stated goal is to phase out individual income taxes, beginning with more reductions after aggressive cuts enacted last year. But he and lawmakers also must find revenue to stabilize the state budget. Brownback proposes eliminating income tax deductions for the property taxes paid on homes and the interest on home mortgages. He also wants to cancel a…
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is holding a public meeting in southwest Kansas on the proposal process for listing the lesser prairie chicken as a threatened species. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening at Garden City Community College. A final decision on listing the lesser prairie chicken as threatened under the Endangered Species Act is expected later this year. Kansas has the largest concentration of lesser prairie chickens. The birds are also found in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado. The five states are also involved in an effort to develop a range-wide conservation…
CLAY CENTER, Kan. (AP) A member of the State Board of Education says arming teachers or guards in Kansas schools should be a local decision. The Clay Center Dispatch reports Deena Horst addressed the issue during a weekend legislative forum in the north-central Kansas community. Horst is a retired teacher from Salina who also served 16 years in the Kansas House. She says she’s “personally fine” with having armed security in schools. But she believes it should be up to local districts to decide if they want to arm teachers or have armed guards in schools. Horst also says the…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Abortion opponents are preparing to deliver a rezoning petition to the Wichita City Council, aiming to block the opening of a clinic at the building once owned by slain abortion provider George Tiller. Kansans for Life planned to present the document to the council Tuesday. The group says thousands of residents have signed the petition, saying they don’t want an abortion clinic in the neighborhood. The abortion rights group Trust Women plans to open a center offering services including abortion in the building. Its owners have said the rezoning drive is an effort to limit reproductive health…