WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A float trip on the Arkansas River isn’t much fun when your kayak scrapes the riverbed. A group called the Arkansas River Coalition has made a tradition of paddling the river in Wichita each New Year’s Day. But months of drought created special challenges Tuesday. The Wichita Eagle reports this year’s trip had been scheduled for the nearby Little Arkansas, where the water is deep enough for kayaks and canoes. But the Little Arkansas was frozen over, so the paddlers launched in the main Arkansas River instead only to hit sandbars or get stuck in mud. Several…
Author: KMAN Staff
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) A northeast Kansas police department says one of its officers has died in a one-car crash. The Lawrence Journal-World reports 29-year-old Officer Matthew Klock was off-duty when his car hit a traffic signal pole around 2 a.m. Wednesday. The crash happened near an intersection in the western part of Lawrence. Klock was alone in the car. The Kansas Highway Patrol’s report on the accident says he was not wearing a seat belt. Klock had been a member of the Lawrence Police Department since 2007.
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) University of Kansas administrators say the school is preparing to implement a new curriculum in the fall. All freshmen will be required to take the new Core Curriculum, and some upperclassmen could opt into the new requirements. The new curriculum is the first to apply to all undergraduates, regardless of their school. The university says it will provide more flexibility and focus on skills the students will develop. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the current Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of General Studies degrees include requirements that can be met by only one or a handful of courses.…
LECOMPTON, Kan. (AP) Residents of a northeast Kansas town are upset that the hours at their post office will be reduced five weeks earlier than expected. The U.S. Postal Service recently told residents of Lecompton that it will reduce the post office hours beginning Jan. 26. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports residents said they were told the cuts would happen March 3. Postal service spokesman Pete Nowacki says Lecompton residents were told at a November meeting that March was a likely date for implementation. He says the change was made so savings could begin immediately. The Postal Service announced in May…
NEOSHO RAPIDS, Kan. (AP) Lyon County authorities say a homeowner shot and injured one person breaking into an eastern Kansas home and held another suspect at gunpoint until police arrived. The incident happened Wednesday morning at a home about three miles north of Neosho Rapids. Lyon County Sheriff Jeff Cope says the homeowner fired one shot at the suspect, who was treated at Newman Regional Health for non-life threatening injuries. KVOE reports the second suspect was held at gunpoint until deputies arrived. The residents of the home were not hurt. Further details of the shooting were not immediately released.
ROSE HILL, Kan. (AP) A southeast Kansas 18-year-old is among the elite in the Boy Scout world. Jeremy Ebert of Rose Hill is only the 180th person in the country to ever earn all 134 merit badges offered by the Scouts. His scoutmaster, Mark Esslinger, says Ebert is the first person in Kansas to earn all the badges. Ebert belongs to Troop 0626 in Rose Hill. Ebert told The Wichita Eagle that he was driven to acquire all the knowledge learned from working on the badges. He says the biggest obstacle was the archery badge because his left hand has…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The condition of the Kansas winter wheat crop has deteriorated in the wake of December’s limited rain and snow. Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service reports that 31 percent of the state’s wheat crop ended 2012 in poor to very poor condition. Forty-five percent was rated in fair condition, with 23 percent in good shape and 1 percent in excellent condition. The agency notes that only three of the 53 reporting stations around the state received more than an inch of precipitation from Dec. 1 through Dec. 30. Range and pasture conditions declined as well, with 84 percent in…
LANSING, Kan. (AP) The mayor of the northeast Kansas community of Lansing is preparing to leave the office he first won 29 years ago. The Leavenworth Times reports Kenneth Bernard will retire Thursday as his successor, current City Councilman Billy Blackwell, takes the oath of office. Bernard has served as mayor of Lansing almost continuously since 1983. He took a short break from 1991 to 1993 before winning the office again. He decided against seeking another term in 2012. Blackwell was elected mayor in a three-way race in November. Bernard will be honored at a reception Thursday night in the…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Chamber of Commerce wants to allow the state’s groceries and convenience stores to sell wine, liquor and full-strength beer. Chamber vice president Kent Eckles says the chamber will be part of a coalition urging legislators to rewrite laws on alcohol sales in the upcoming session. Kansas law allows only retail liquor stores to sell wine, liquor and full-strength beer, while groceries and convenience stores can sell only so-called weak beer, also known as cereal malt beverage. The restrictions are a holdover from a Prohibition past that included famed saloon-smasher Carrie Nation. Eckles said the chamber…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Sweeping changes in the Kansas tax code take effect Tuesday, when new rates for individual income taxpayers take effect. The laws were approved by the Legislature in May and signed by GOP Gov. Sam Brownback. They are part of the administration’s efforts to improve the state’s business climate and increase the amount of money residents keep in their paychecks. The top individual income tax rate drops to 4.9 percent from 6.45 percent. The owners of 191,000 businesses are exempt from income taxes. The changes are expected to cost the state about $4.5 billion over the next six…