TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The legal fight over an air quality permit for a coal-fired power plant to be built in southwestern Kansas is going before the state Supreme Court. The court was scheduled to hear arguments Friday over the permit for Sunflower Electric Power Corp.’s plant near Holcomb. The Sierra Club and other environmental groups contend the permitting process was flawed. They argue the Kansas Department of Health and Environment took shortcuts for political reasons. Attorneys for Hays-based Sunflower and the state will argue the permit process relied on the best available scientific data, assuming the plant would use modern…
Author: KMAN Staff
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) A beetle that has killed millions of ash trees in the eastern U.S. and parts of the South has now been detected in Kansas. The Kansas Department of Agriculture said Thursday a live emerald ash borer was found in a tree in Wyandotte County. Trees there were being inspected after the presence of emerald ash borer was found last month in nearby Platte County, Mo. The U.S. Department of Agriculture notified Kansas of the confirmation Wednesday. Kansas has imposed an emergency 90-quarantine in Wyandotte County in hope keeping the insect from spreading in the state. All…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Wichita man who admitted stealing copper from dozens of air conditioning units won’t be going to jail. KAKE-TV reports Byron Stuckey (41) was sentenced Thursday to a year in prison, but the judge suspended the sentence to 12 months of probation. Stuckey was arrested by Wichita police in July, allegedly while trying to steal an air conditioner from a vacant home. He pleaded guilty in Sedgwick County District Court to one count each of felony theft and trying to elude officers. Police have said they believe Stuckey vandalized or stole 68 air conditioners from homes and churches…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) General Motors is planning a major expansion at its Fairfax assembly plant in Kansas City, Kan. Unified Government officials said the company plans to seek $120 million in industrial revenue bonds to fund a new paint shop at the plant, where the Buick LaCrosse and Chevrolet Malibu are assembled. Mayor Joe Reardon says the project would be the largest expansion at the plant since it was built. He says the plans could ensure Fairfax’s future for years. That’s good news for the more than 3,700 employees at the plant. The Kansas City Star reports a GM…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A group of senators used a confirmation hearing as a chance to raise their concerns about the level of support for funding the Kansas public defender system. The Topeka Capital Journal reports questions were raised Wednesday during hearings to confirm appointments by Gov. Sam Brownback to various state agency positions. Among them were Paul Eugene Beck and Kevin Mark Smith, who were named to the Board of Indigent Defense. Sen. Tim Owens, an Overland Park Republican, asked the pair if they would be willing to press Brownback for funding to keep the public defenders’ office functioning. Beck…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The U.S. Census Bureau says more Kansans under the age of 65 are living without health insurance. The bureau issued a report Wednesday showing that more than 380,000 Kansas residents under age 65 did not have health insurance in 2010. That’s 15.8 percent of that age group, an increase from 14.6 percent in 2009. The Wichita Eagle reports that the census for the first time estimated health coverage for people between ages 50 to 64, who are more likely to use health insurance than younger age groups. In 2010, about 60,800 people ages 50 to 64, or…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) Investigators are trying to determine what caused a two-alarm fire at a recycling plant in Kansas City, Kan. The fire early Wednesday at the Deffenbaugh Recycling Co. plant did an estimated $1.5 million in damage. Fire department spokesman Craig Duke says the fire occurred in a steel building that was a sorting and processing center at the plant. Crews had to use heavy equipment to cut a path through the material so firefighters could get to fire. No injuries were reported.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) A Washington woman who is serving a 26-year sentence for hitting and killing two highway workers in Kansas says she did not receive a fair trial. An attorney representing Ramona I. Morgan (53) of Chewelah, Wash., argued Wednesday that jury instructions and other factors in Morgan’s 2008 trial in Douglas County created a prejudice against her. She is suing the state of Kansas, alleging she is wrongfully imprisoned. Morgan was convicted of two counts of reckless second-degree murder and one count of aggravated battery. Prosecutors allege Morgan was driving recklessly through a construction zone on U.S. Highway 59…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) A Salina company says it will lay off 22 employees because of a drop in demand for fluorescent lamps. Philips Lighting announced Wednesday that the employees who will lose their jobs in November help make fluorescent lamps. Philips Lighting spokesman Silvie Casanova says Philips will employ just under 400 people in Salina after the layoffs. She says the plant also is not filling open positions. The Salina Journal reports the city and state have given Philips hundreds of thousands of dollars to expand and bring jobs to Salina. Plant manager Dan Mendicina says the jobs being eliminated…
A vehicle has been taken and not returned leading to a theft report. The Riley County Police Department said that James Shaffran (68) from Alabama has reported that his 1999 Ford Explorer has been stolen. About two years ago, Shaffran loaned his car to the person he suspects stole his car. Shaffran was supposed to be given the car back at a designated time, but that time has passes and the car still has yet to be returned. The total loss is 3 thousand dollars.