Author: KMAN Staff

Three people were taken to the hospital following a two vehicle accident in Marshall County Saturday morning. 20 year old Gentry Botkin of Blue Rapids, 20 year old Mallory Schmidt of topeka, and 57 year old William Roche, of Frankfort were taken to Onaga/St. Mary’s Community Hospital  following the Saturday morning accident at K-99 and Bobcat Lane, six miles south of Frankfort. The Kansas Highway Patrol reports Botkin was driving a 2005 Ford Taurus westbound on Bobcat, with the second vehicle a 2007 Chevrolet Silverado truck driven by Roche of Frankfort , southbound on K-99. Botkin’s vehicle failed to stop…

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WINFIELD, Kan. (AP) Five people are recovering from injuries suffered when a large tree toppled onto a group of people attending a swim meet in the south-central Kansas town of Winfield. The Winfield Fire Department says four of the injured were taken to hospitals in Winfield and Wichita. The Wichita Eagle reported that one of the injured people didn’t require hospital treatment. Fire Capt. Stuart Cassaboom says it appeared that the trunk of the tree snapped about 6 feet above the ground when a strong wind gust hit it Friday. Broadcaster KAKE-TV reported that the meet was disbanded after the…

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HAYS, Kan. (AP) County leaders in western Kansas are considering whether to allow Fort Hays State University to install wind turbines. The Hays Daily News  reported that Ellis County commissioners will take up a wind-energy related conditional-use permit at their Monday night meeting. Fort Hays State University has proposed the project, which includes two 2.1 megawatt turbines. Last month, the county’s planning and zoning commission gave the project a conditional recommendation. Plans call for the turbines to be placed 3.5 miles south of Fort Hays State. They are projected to provide 97-percent of the university’s electrical needs.

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Shawnee County District Court Judge Daniel L. Mitchell is retiring. Topeka Capital-Journal reported that Mitchell had served in the court’s juvenile division since 1985. His retirement takes effect Aug. 31. He says he was fortunate to spend his judicial career in juvenile court because it provided him the opportunity to assist children in “their time of need.” Mitchell served on numerous committees and commissions, including one established in the 1980s to end revolving door placement of foster children. Gov. Sam Brownback will pick Mitchell’s successor from the three names a nominating commission provides. The Kansas Supreme Court…

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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A University of Kansas researcher is using waste-water to manufacturer bio-fuel. The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that assistant professor Belinda Sturm grows algae in nitrogen- and phosphorus-laden Lawrence waste-water. Normally, the waste-water is discharged into the Kansas River after it’s treated. Instead, the resulting algae and water mixture is refined to a slurry. The substance then is processed to capture lipids an oily compound like soybean oil for manufacture of bio-fuel. Engineering professor Dennis Lane says the wastewater-to-algae approach could help communities comply with federal regulations being drafted. Those regulations are expected to reduce the concentrations of phosphorous…

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HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) A Fort Bragg solider was just one day away from being sentenced in Kansas for punching a woman in the face when he killed himself and a superior officer last month. On Friday, a Reno County judge formally dismissed the aggravated battery charge against Ricky G. Elder. Prosecutors said the 27-year-old Army specialist from Hutchinson was home on leave in April 2010 when he hit the woman so hard that he shattered her eye socket. The Hutchinson News reported that Elder’s military service led to numerous delays. In the midst of the case, he was deployed. The…

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