LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) A microbiologist at the University of Kansas has won a national award for his research into bacteria cells. Joe Lutkenhaus, a distinguished professor of microbiology, molecular genetics and immunology at Kansas, has been named one of three winners of Columbia University’s 2012 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Lutkenhaus won the honor along with Richard M. Losick of Harvard University and Lucy Shapiro of the Stanford University School of Medicine. Columbia announced the awards last week. Lutkenhaus says his discoveries showed that bacterial cells are more similar to the larger cells found in plants…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The rate increase that Kansas Gas Service is seeking is far higher than the amount staff at the Kansas Corporation Commission has recommended. The gas company is asking for a net increase of about $32 million a year, and KCC staff recommends the company get only $3.6 million. The Wichita Eagle reports that the recommendations are cited in documents filed last week. The gas company’s proposal would raise the average customer’s bill by $5.68 a month. The KCC proposal would boost those bills about $1. KGS spokeswoman Dawn Ewing says the company’s still analyzing the KCC staff…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) About 100 people attended a weekend rally in Topeka to support legalizing marijuana. Marijuana is already legal medically in a lot of states, and is even legal for recreational use in some. However, in Canada, the substance is fully legal for recreational sale, growth and use, leaving many Canadian citizens to wonder ‘how much does weed cost’ whenever they go into one of the many dispensaries open all over the country. Topeka City Councilman Andrew Gray, a Libertarian, said during the rally Saturday outside the Statehouse that legalizing marijuana would open up a source of tax revenue…
Kaitlynn Pelger pounded out a season-high 23 kills as K-State beat Baylor at the Ferrell Center in four sets 18-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-16. The Cats broke a three-match losing streak to the Bears in Waco, and won for just the second time in their last seven tries against Baylor. Lilla Porubek added 12 kills, and Courtney Traxson sparked the Cats off the bench with 10 kills and hit .476. Caitlyn Donahue led the K-State’s (15-1, 2-1 Big 12) offensive attack with 57 assists & 10 digs. Kuulei Kabalis posted a season-high 17 digs. Senior outside hitter Zoe Adom led the…
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) A 41-year-old man has died after being struck by a hit-and-run driver on Interstate 35 in Johnson County. Christopher Randolph Sr., of Kansas City, died at the scene of the crash, which occurred early Saturday. The Kansas City Star reports that a 39-year-old woman with the victim also was hit but survived. Randolph’s car was pulled onto the right shoulder of the highway, and he was putting gas into the car when they were hit. The Kansas Highway Patrol has been seeking the driver of the car that struck the couple. The fatal wreck occurred on the…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A new postage stamp features a satellite view of irrigated Kansas crops. The new stamp is in the Forever series and scheduled to be released Monday. The sheet of 15 first-class stamps will be sold for $6.75. The Wichita Eagle reports that the geometric shapes on the Kansas stamp are fields of wheat, alfalfa, corn and soybeans watered by center-pivot irrigation. The picture is one of 15 Forever stamps called Earthscapes, which are stamps with aerial shots of natural, agricultural and urban subjects in the U.S. Other stamps in the series include a skyscraper, a highway interchange,…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Department of Revenue says the state’s tax collections in September topped expectations by $28 million. State officials released the figures Friday, calling the unanticipated bulge in revenues a positive signal about the Kansas economy. A revenue forecast issued earlier this year predicted that the state would receive $582 million in taxes in September. The Revenue Department says the state actually collected nearly $611 million, a difference of almost 5 percent. The surplus in September was more than enough to wipe out a shortfall in August. For the fiscal year beginning July 1, the state is…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has created a task force charged with finding ways for schools to put more of their state funding directly into classrooms. Brownback announced formation of the Governor’s School Efficiency Task Force on Friday, to be chaired by State Board of Education member Ken Willard of Hutchinson. Several accountants and the governor’s budget director are also on the panel. A news release from Brownback’s office says a recent survey found just 15 of the state’s 286 school districts are meeting the statutory requirement to spend 65 percent of their state aid on the classroom.…
LENEXA, Kan. (AP) Police in northeastern Kansas say they’ve seized about 2,700 pounds of marijuana from a vacant landscaping company warehouse in a Johnson County industrial park. The seizure Friday morning by Lenexa police follows a recent investigation and arrest by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration in Indianapolis, plus an arrest in the Kansas City area. Lenexa police say undercover officers investigated the warehouse for the past week and found hundreds of boxes of plastic cups. Police say each box contained two bundles of marijuana hidden behind plastic cup sleeves. Authorities estimate the street value of the marijuana at $1.5…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Democratic leaders of the Kansas House and Senate are renewing concerns about the effects of new cuts in state income taxes. Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration has asked agencies to cut 10 percent of their spending in their budget requests for the fiscal year that starts next July. House Minority Leader Paul Davis and Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley said Friday they’re concerned those cuts will be just the start. They said essential services, including public schools, will face cuts while the state relies more on property and sales taxes. Brownback’s spokeswoman, Sherriene Jones-Sontag, says agencies…