WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service says the state’s corn and soybean crops are in the worst condition since the agency began keeping records in 1985. In its weekly update, the agency said Monday that 69 percent of the corn crop was in poor to very poor condition. About 22 percent was in fair condition, with just 8 percent rated good and only 1 percent rated excellent. About 7 percent of the state’s corn acreage had been harvested for grain by Sunday. The hot, dry weather is also hurting soybeans, with 67 percent in poor to very poor condition.…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Moderate Republicans trying to retain control of the Kansas Senate may get help from Democrats temporarily switching parties to vote against conservative challengers in Tuesday’s GOP primaries. The state GOP allows only registered Republicans to vote in its primaries. Kansas Democratic chairwoman Joan Wagnon says local party officials have seen hundreds of people switch their affiliations to the GOP in counties with contested Senate races. Wagnon said Monday she believes the party-switching will be a significant factor. Voter registration numbers from Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s office also suggested such a trend. But Kansas Republican Party executive…
WESTWOOD, Kan. (AP) Google says it’s reached tentative agreements to install its ultra-fast Internet service in three more Kansas communities. The technology company revealed plans and pricing two weeks ago for its Google Fiber service in Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas City, Kan. The Kansas City Star reports Google now has tentative agreements to offer the service in three small cities in northern Johnson County Westwood, Westwood Hills and Mission Woods. The city councils in each community will have to approve the agreements. The Star says residents would get a chance to register only after residents on the Missouri side…
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) Garden City Community College is adding a new program that teaches students to drill and extract oil from underground reservoirs. The western Kansas school recently received approval from the Kansas Board of Regents for the new program. The curriculum will involve a series of classroom, lab and field courses covering safety, moving, set-up and operation of equipment used in mineral exploration. Students must complete 22 credit hours to earn a certificate in oil exploration and 36 for one in production. Those credits also can be used to help complete an associate in applied science degree, which…
PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) Pittsburg and state officials are celebrating the planned $5.3 million expansion of a community health center. A groundbreaking ceremony was held Sunday for the expansion at the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, which has seen its patient load double in the first four years of operation. The Joplin Globe reports a grant through the new federal health care law will provide most of the funds for the project. The project will nearly triple the number of critical care exam areas at the clinic. Currently, doctors are using closets and restrooms to treat patients and as office…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The second of nine people accused in the shooting death of a Topeka woman goes on trial this week. Seventeen-year-old Daquan Wilkins’ trial on murder and other charges begins Monday in Shawnee County Court. He’s accused of participating in the shooting death of 40-year-old Natalie Gibson and the wounding of Gibson’s partner, 42-year-old Lori Allison. The women were shot in July 2011 during an attempted robbery at their home. Anceo Stovall was the first defendant tried in the case. In late July, a jury found Stovall guilty of aggravated robbery and acquitted him of burglary but could…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A 22-year-old man working on a highway improvement project on Interstate 470 near Topeka died after he was hit by a car. The Kansas Highway Patrol says Curtis James Harlan of Arma died on impact Sunday. The accident occurred Sunday under an interstate bridge in Topeka. Harlan worked for R.A. Knapp Construction Inc., a Kansas City, Kan., contractor hired by the state transportation department to work on the pavement repair project. The patrol says the cause of the collision is still under investigation. The accident closed a section of Interstate 470 for several hours Sunday.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates will return to his hometown in November to address the annual meeting of the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce. It will be the second Wichita appearance this year for Gates, who is also a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency. He was on hand in May when the Kansas National Guard renamed its intelligence complex at McConnell Air Force Base in his honor. The chamber’s meeting will be held at Century II on Nov. 12, coinciding with the national observance of Veterans Day. The chamber plans to honor area service…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Aircraft maker Airbus is reaching out to Kansas aviation suppliers with a Wichita event called the Air Capital Supplier Summit. Monday’s event is hosted by U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran and Airbus Americas chairman Allan McArtor. It comes just months after the aircraft maker’s biggest competitor, Boeing, announced plans to close its defense plant in Wichita. The conference is designed to increase business between Kansas companies and Airbus. More than 200 representatives from about 90 companies are expected to meet with Airbus representatives at the National Center for Aviation Training. Kansas’ aerospace industry encompasses more than 450 companies…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Emergency crews have rescued a man who became trapped inside a concrete mixer at a Topeka business. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the worker was cleaning a stationary concrete mixer shortly before noon Saturday when he slipped and fell into it. Emergency responders were able to get him out of the mixer within half an hour. Fire Department investigator Alan Stahl says the only opening on the mixer is 24 inches wide and about 20 feet above the ground. The unidentified worker sustained what officials characterized as non-life-threatening injuries.