Sunset Zoo initiates a new agreement with Kansas State University, and new water meters are on the way for Manhattan after the Manhattan City Commission meeting on Tuesday night at city hall. The commission passed an initiative to allow the Kansas State University Veterinary Outreach, incorporated, to improve the Zoo’s veterinary facilities. The old facility was around 30 years old, and the expanded partnership would allow renovation for the interior and exterior of the building. Sunset Zoo Director Scott Shoemaker says the agreement would enhance the zoo’s capability by allowing animals to be housed overnight in the zoo itself, and give a better experience…
Author: KMAN Staff
Tuesday saw the departure of two 56,000 pounds pieces of a bucket load. Beginning at 6 am, the company loaded the bucket onto the trucks that will be hauling it south to Houston, Texas. At 10 am, the load actually left. Though counted as a super-load, the transportation really didn’t cause much of a traffic disturbance. The load is expected to make it to Houston in about four days.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) Federal prosecutors have accused an Internal Revenue Service agent in Kansas of receiving more than $26,000 in salary and mileage payments for meetings with taxpayers that never took place. Becky L. Book was charged Tuesday in a criminal information filed in federal court in Kansas City, Kan., with one count of theft of public money. Such a charging document is filed with the defendant’s consent and typically indicates a plea deal in the works. Prosecutors allege Book claimed she worked 744 hours between March 2010 and April 2011, when she actually took those hours off as…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas officials are gauging public opinion about opportunities for bicycling and walking around the state. The Kansas Department of Transportation said Tuesday it has posted an online survey on its website for residents to identify statewide biking and pedestrian needs. There are two versions of the survey one to be filled out by adults, the other by parents on behalf of children. Becky Pepper, KDOT’s bicycle-pedestrian coordinator, says the responses will help the agency decide how to use what she calls limited resources for bicycling and pedestrian facilities in Kansas. Pepper says one key issue is whether…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A member of the Kansas commission that screens applicants for the state’s appellate courts says it was biased against conservative candidates in its most recent deliberations. Commission member Felita Kahrs of Topeka said Tuesday the panel finally advanced one conservative’s nomination to the governor last month to avoid angering legislators seeking to change the selection process. Kahrs provided a copy of testimony for a Kansas House committee to The Associated Press before it met Tuesday. It’s unusual for someone involved in that process to advocate change. Kahrs is among four non-lawyers on the nine-member commission and was…
MCPHERSON, Kan. (AP) A preliminary hearing for two suspects in the death of a Tabor College football player was continued because prosecutors are searching for a key witness. Former McPherson College football players Alton Franklin and DeQuinte Flournoy, both 19, are charged in the death last September of 26-year-old Brandon Brown, a redshirt defensive lineman for Tabor. Brown died about a week after being found unconscious after a fight at a party in McPherson on Sept. 16. The Hutchinson News reports four witnesses testified Monday before the hearing was postponed until Jan. 31 while prosecutors locate Taajon Richardson, a witness…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A judge in Topeka has a suggestion for taxpayers wondering how to spend their refunds: Pay off your fines in Municipal Court. The Capital-Journal reports nearly 7,700 of the city’s Municipal Court cases are in collection. The Collection Bureau of Kansas is under contract with the city to pursue payment on those cases. Municipal Court Judge Vic Miller says many people with unpaid fines are surprised to learn their balances have grown because of interest and the addition of fees for collections. Miller says people without outstanding balances should contact the court and arrange for payment. He…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas task force has presented its final report on ways to get public schools to devote more of their state funding to classrooms. Gov. Sam Brownback created the School Efficiency Task Force last fall, filling it mostly with accountants but no teachers. The panel released its final list of 12 recommendations Monday. Brownback already included many of the suggestions in the proposed budget and the State of the State address he presented to legislators last week. Among other things, the task force recommends that the state adopt a two-year budget cycle to give schools more stability…
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) A national charity that helps military service members has opened an office in the Kansas City area. Operation Homefront said in a release Monday that it opened an office in December in Overland Park, Kan., to serve the Missouri and Kansas region. The Texas-based nonprofit was founded in 2002 to provide emergency financial aid and other help to families of service members and wounded veterans. The organization says its Missouri and Kansas operation will be led by Paul Cupach, who retired last spring after 30 years in the Air Force.
Cathy talks with other survivors. [mp3-jplayer]