TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Police say they have recovered a bronze statue stolen from a Topeka church. The 10-foot bronze statue, called “Forgiven Man,” was stolen Oct. 3 from a memorial garden in front of the First Congregational Church. Detectives recovered it Thursday after police received a telephone tip. Police had said the statue was worth at least $10,000. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports police did not provide any more information on how the statute was found. No arrests have been made and the case is still under investigation. The church’s pastor, Tobias Schlingensiepen, is the Democratic nominee for the 2nd Congressional…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) One of four inmates who fled a north-central Kansas jail has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for a carjacking after the escape. Prosecutors announced Thursday that Eric James, 22, was sentenced on one count of carjacking. He admitted that after escaping from the Ottawa County Jail in April, he assaulted a man leaving his home and stole the man’s vehicle. James was arrested April 20 in Omaha, Neb. The sentence will follow the 12 years that James still must serve for robbery and other state charges. As part of the plea deal, James was not…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service has revised upwards its estimate for the size of this year’s soybean crop. The agency reported Thursday it expects Kansas growers to harvest 82.5 million bushels of soybeans. That is up 17 percent from last month, but is 19 percent less than what farmers harvested a year ago. The state hasn’t had a soybean crop this small since 2003. The estimate for corn production in Kansas of 382.2 million bushels remains unchanged from last month. This year’s corn harvest is forecast to be 15 percent smaller than last year. Grain sorghum production is…
MATFIELD GREEN, Kan. (AP) The Flint Hills has a new tourism destination spot. On one of the highest hills in the middle of nowhere is a minimalist version of Stonehenge. The Wichita Eagle reports that the Walk in Peace Ranch commissioned the environmental sculpture from artist Steve Murillo. It features four limestone pillars quarried near Winfield. They stand 13 to 15 feet tall and weigh an average of 10,000 pounds each. The artwork is a tribute to wildlife, indigenous people, the past, the four stages of life and the four directions. On Saturday, the public is invited to the 200-acre…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Wichita delegation plans to meet with the potential buyer of Hawker Beechcraft during a five-city business development trip to China. Mayor Carl Brewer wants to ask Superior Aviation Beijing whether the work and employees will remain in Wichita, should the deal go through. The Wichita Eagle reports that Brewer, the delegation he’s leading and Hawker Beechcraft representatives will be on hand for Monday’s meeting with Superior’s chairman. Hawker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May, and Superior signed an initial agreement in July to buy the aircraft manufacturer. The agreement won’t include the company’s defense…
EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) Emporia State University students and alumni will mark the rededication of the Memorial Union, which recently underwent a $23 million renovation. The ceremony is scheduled for Saturday during the university’s homecoming activities. Crews broke ground on the renovation in April 2010 after students approved a fee increase to fund $14.5 million of the cost. The project was completed in three phases, ending this fall. The original building was opened in 1925 with additions built in 1958, 1963 and 1972. It was last remodeled in 1989. New features of the most recent renovation include a 5,500-square-foot addition for…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration is trying to reassure Kansas legislators that Medicaid participants won’t suffer if the federal government delays an overhaul of the program. State Division of Health Care Finance Director Kari Bruffett said Wednesday that services won’t be interrupted if the state can’t go ahead with its Medicaid overhaul in January as planned. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Bruffett told the Legislative Budget Committee that the state remains committed to the Jan. 1 start date. Critics say Brownback’s administration is moving too quickly, which it denies. Brownback plans to turn administration of the $2.9 billion-a-year Medicaid…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A federal judge has again refused to toss out an abuse lawsuit brought by families of 11 former cadets at St. John’s Military School in Salina. The academy wanted the lawsuit dismissed or an order putting the dispute into arbitration. The school contends the enrollment contract signed by cadets’ parents requires any claims to be submitted to arbitration. U.S. District Judge John Lungstrum on Wednesday denied the school’s request on the same grounds that he denied it in June. He had previously ruled the arbitration clause agreed to by the parents does not apply to claims from…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) The University of Kansas plans to offer a master’s degree program in social work in western Kansas. The university announced this week that its School of Social Welfare will offer its advanced Master of Social Work Program in western Kansas starting next summer. The program will be offered through partnerships with Fort Hays State University and Garden City Community College. The school’s dean, Mary Ellen Kondrat, says the program will blend classroom and online instruction. Currently, all social work master’s degree programs are offered in eastern Kansas. That had made it difficult for social workers in western…
Kansas State University’s public safety team was notified Tuesday afternoon that soil under the L.P. Washburn tennis courts was contaminated with diesel fuel. A contractor found the layer of contaminated soil 12 to 36 inches below the surface as crews were leveling the ground. The area has been blocked off and covered. According to Steve Galitzer, the university’s director for public safety, roughly 100 cubic yards of soil is being removed. The North Central Regional Office of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, or KDHE, was immediately contacted Tuesday afternoon. A KDHE official surveyed the area Wednesday morning. The…