LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Investigators in Lawrence are looking into the latest in a string of fires at apartment buildings. The Lawrence Journal-World reports reports no one was injured in the fire early Sunday at a complex on West 24th Street. Crews quickly extinguished the smoky blaze. A report released Monday by Lawrence Fire Chief Mark Bradford says the fire was deliberately set. No other information was released, and Bradford did not say whether officials believe it was related to several others in the area. The Journal-World says it used an open-records request last week to obtain all fire reports in…
Author: KMAN Staff
PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) A southeast Kansas hospital will break ground next week on an $18 million expansion. The Joplin Globe reports construction of the new surgery center at Via Christi Hospital in Pittsburg will begin Nov. 19. Crossland Construction Co., of Columbus, Kan., was chosen recently as the general contractor for the 40,000-square-foot addition. It’s the biggest expansion since the hospital was built in 1971. Via Christi officials hope the expansion will attract an additional 20 surgeons, physicians and other specialists to the Pittsburg hospital over the next three years. The surgery center is expected to open within two years.…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A fugitive immigrant who claims her family was killed in Mexico over a Kansas drug case faces sentencing in Wichita. Norma Quintana hopes to be sentenced to time served in Tuesday’s federal court proceeding. She was arrested in April and pleaded guilty to failing to appear at a 2010 trial for possession with intent to distribute 160 pounds of marijuana. Prosecutors agreed to drop the drug charge in a deal for her guilty plea for fleeing. Attorney Charles O’Hara argued that Quintana’s husband, son and brother were killed in Mexico while the criminal case was pending. He…
LYNDON, Kan. (AP) Officials in a northeast Kansas county are moving forward with certifying the vote in a state House race amid a legal battle involving another county. The Osage County Commission began reviewing provisional ballots Monday and planned to certify local election results. The move will affect the 54th House district race. Democratic Rep. Ann Mah of Topeka trails Republican challenger Ken Corbet by 27 votes out of nearly 11,000 cast. The district covers parts of three counties. Mah successfully sued Friday to force Shawnee County to turn over the names of voters who cast provisional ballots, hoping to…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Supreme Court will hear arguments Thursday in the ethics case against former Attorney General Phill Kline. A state board has recommended Kline lose his law license in Kansas because of his actions during an investigation into abortion providers. Kline has strongly denied any ethics violations. Lawyers for Kline and for the disciplinary administrator’s office will argue Thursday over whether Kline should be disbarred. Supreme Court spokesman Ron Keefover says it’s not clear when the court might rule. The case is being heard by five judges not usually on the court, after five Supreme Court justices…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Supporters of Wichita’s newest veteran’s memorial took an important step toward their goal of opening the memorial by Veterans Day next year. On Sunday, the site of the Operation Freedom Memorial was dedicated in Veterans Memorial Park in Wichita. The memorial will include a sculpture in the center of a 25-foot diameter circle. It will be surrounded by three 8-foot black granite walls, which will carry the names of the nearly 100 Kansans killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, Operation Freedom Foundation still needs thousands of dollars before the monument can be built. Anita Dixon…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The state still has not paid the final $2 million it owes to 3M Co. for a new motor vehicle system that created long delays after it was introduced in May. As of Friday, the last payment on the $25 million contract is six months overdue. Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan has said the state won’t make the last payment until all the problems with the system are fixed. The revenue department says the program is no longer experiencing statewide problems that occurred during the summer. But spokeswoman Jeannine Koranda says some local issues have not been resolved.…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Topeka school district is transforming a former milk barn into a center that will include exhibits on electricity and renewable energy. Located on the former grounds of the Topeka State Hospital, the center will be a key feature of the Kanza Education and Science Park. To the west of the barn is a 160-foot, 100-kilowatt wind turbine. To the east of it are mounds of dirt and construction machinery, where Westar Energy is building a new substation. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that once the learning center and substation are finished, students visiting the park will be…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Department of Education is asking school districts how extensively they’re teaching cursive handwriting. Results of a survey will be presented to the state Board of Education at a meeting this week in Topeka. Schools around the country are spending less time on handwriting instruction as students do more of their work on computers. Experts say students accustomed to writing on computers at home have a hard time seeing the relevance of spending hours practicing handwriting. But the National Association of State Boards of Education wrote in a September policy update that there are benefits. The…
HAYS, Kan. (AP) Hays education officials are moving ahead with plans for a middle-school addition that can also serve as a storm shelter. Deputy superintendent Richard Cain told The Hays Daily News that construction on the eight classrooms at Hays Middle School could begin in April. Cain says the district received an extension of the Sept. 16 deadline to submit plans to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Those plans are expected to be submitted soon. The Hays USD 489 Board of Education voted in February to accept a FEMA grant to help pay for the project. The addition will be…