A double-decker Megabus hit an interstate bridge support pillar in Central Illinois on Thursday. One person died and several dozen were hurt in the accident.
Author: KMAN Staff
The Manhattan Public Library Auditorium was the location of last night’s “What’s Happening with Medicare and Medicaid” public forum. Janet Witt, Grassroots Manager for the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, was invited to Manhattan by a joint effort from the North Central Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging, The Manhattan Alliance for Peace and Justice and the Manhattan Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Witt spent two hours talking about medicare, medicaid, social security and what is happening at the federal level. Through the presentation, Witt presented information, told stories and created discussions with the audience…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The discovery of bedbugs has prompted the Wichita public library to close its main branch. A patron reported seeing an insect Wednesday in a chair at the library’s downtown branch. An expert identified it as a bedbug. KWCH-TV reports the building was closed while personnel searched for more bedbugs. Library officials said as of Thursday afternoon, some were also found on chairs in two reading areas. Library director Cynthia Berner Harris says officials don’t believe any library materials have been infested, but transfers from the central branch to other branches have been suspended. It’s not known when…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Officials at the University of Kansas say thousands of books have been damaged by a water leak at the Spencer Museum of Art. The Lawrence Journal-World reports a break in a water line sent water into the building’s lower floors, which house the Murphy Art and Architecture Library. University spokesman Joe Monaco says there was no damage to the museum’s artwork, which is displayed on the upper floors. Officials estimate 15,000 to 20,000 of the museum’s 170,000 volumes were damaged. Students and staff worked Wednesday night and Thursday morning to box the books and load them onto…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Douglas County is the first county in Kansas to use a national safety database to find someone who places a 911 call from a cellphone. The county said Wednesday it hopes the system, called Smart911, will reduce the time emergency dispatchers use to find people who use cellphones to report an emergency. Unlike landlines, which show the address of the caller, cellphone calls display only the number and wireless carrier. With Smart911, residents voluntarily submit information, including cellphone numbers, to the national database. Dispatchers can access that database only after a 911 call, and the information isn’t…
PLAINVILLE, Kan. (AP) Voters in a north-central Kansas school district have the chance to recall a longtime school board member when they go to the polls next week. Voters in the Plainville School District will decide Tuesday if Darlene Jones should be recalled from the school board where she’s served for 33 years. The Salina Journal reports that the recall petition alleges Jones “committed misconduct in office” and accuses her of “verbally assaulting and committing battery upon” former Plainville principal Troy Keiswetter. Members of the recall committee say such actions are forbidden in a school setting. Jones denies the allegations…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Westar Energy crews are working to restore power to about 1,300 customers who lost electricity after thunderstorms with severe lightning rolled through Shawnee County and Topeka. Westar says the power outages from Thursday morning’s storms are spread across Topeka, with most in the central and northern sections. Police officers directed traffic at some intersections where the traffic signals are out. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports fire crews responded to several reports of power poles on fire after they were struck by lightning.
COLWICH, Kan. (AP) A groundbreaking ceremony launched construction on a 108-mile power line between Colwich and Medicine Lodge. Officials from the state, Westar and their partners broke ground on Wednesday near Colwich. Twin 345-kilovolt lines will stretch from Colwich to Medicine Lodge, where it will connect with another line being built by ITC Great Plains. That line will stretch to near Dodge City. The Wichita Eagle reports Prairie Wind Transmission will also extend a line south from Medicine Lodge to connect to major transmission lines at Woodward, Okla. Westar executive Doug Sterbenz says the new lines will make the region’s…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Frito-Lay officials are determining how much damage was caused by a fire at the company’s plant in south Topeka. No injuries were reported from the fire Wednesday night, which occurred in the company’s biomass boiler plant. Fire investigator Michael Martin says Frito-Lay employees tried to douse the fire themselves for several minutes before calling for help. He says the fire started in the boiler fuel hopper system and is considered accidental. Martin says production continued at the plant because the fire was in a separate building. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the biomass boiler fuel hopper uses recycled…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is preparing to offer his prediction for voter turnout in Tuesday’s primary elections. Kobach scheduled a news conference Thursday afternoon to talk about the first primary he’ll be conducting since he was elected in 2010 as the state’s top elections officer. Voters will choose nominees Tuesday for the state Legislature, U.S. House and the State Board of Education. Attention has focused mainly on contested Republican races for the state Senate, where conservatives are seeking to oust moderate GOP incumbents.