Author: KMAN Staff

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas House and Senate are set to act on their respective versions of a $14 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The House planned a final vote on its budget bill Wednesday after debating it for more than four hours Tuesday. The measure would spend about $6 billion in general state revenue in the fiscal year that starts July 1. Senators are scheduled later Wednesday to debate their version of the budget, spending roughly the same amounts as the House on public schools, social services and public safety. A final version of the budget will…

Read More

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas House is preparing for a final vote on a bill that would block tax breaks for abortion providers and bar public schools from using sex education instruction from abortion providers. Approval on final action Wednesday would send the measure to the Senate. The Republican-dominated House has an anti-abortion majority, so the measure was expected to pass. Senate GOP leaders are promising their chamber will consider the bill quickly. The bill would prevent groups providing abortions from receiving tax exemptions or credits that go to other nonprofit groups or health care providers. It would also bar…

Read More

On today’s InFocus, Cathy talks with Brad Claussen, Manhattan Building Official, and Kevin Ingram, President at the Manhattan Christian College. [mp3-jplayer]

Read More

The Kansas House has given final approval to the chamber’s version of a $14 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, including cuts to higher education. The bill vote was 68 to 55 in favor of the budget on Wednesday morning, which now sends the bill to the State Senate to debate the bill. Kansas House Representative Sydney Carlin of Manhattan voted against the two year budget, citing that the 2015 budget would be $156 million in the red and that it would also include the sales tax (yet to be voted on) that would put the budget under another $300 million. The cuts…

Read More

Riley and Pottawatomie counties were in the top five counties for healthiest residents, according to the fourth annual County Health Rankings, released Wednesday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. The County Health Rankings rank nearly every county in all 50 states according to their summary measures of health outcomes and health factors. Health outcomes describe the current health status of a county’s residents and are influenced by a number of health factors, such as high school graduation rates, obesity, smoking, and family and social support. According to the 2013 Rankings, the five healthiest…

Read More

The Wamego Public Library had a busy and successful year. This is according to Library Director Leah Kulikowski in her presentation of the Library’s annual report at Tuesday’s City Commission meeting. She said the return on investment increased by a half-million dollars from last year, to over $2 million, at a cost of a little over $200,000, which represented only a $2,000  additional cost over last year. The numbers in other areas showed a sizable increase. Kulikowski said library usage increased by 18 per cent, with interlibrary loan services showing an increase of 31 percent. She said the library offered 179…

Read More

Mark Tatera cleared the bases with a three-run triple to give Minnesota the lead for good in an 8-3 victory over K-State on Tuesday night at Tointon Family Stadium.   Wildcat starting pitcher Jake Doller cruised into the 6th inning and got the first two outs before an error started a two-out rally for the Golden Gophers, aided by a walk and a hit by pitch.  Minnesota would score four runs in the inning with Tatera’s triple and he scored on an RBI single from Troy Larson.  The Gophers would put up another four-spot in the seventh. K-State missed out…

Read More