WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A new website allows Kansas voters to compare their views with those of candidates for the U.S. Senate, House and president. The interactive tool is called VoteEasy and was launched by the nonpartisan group Project Vote Smart. Voters can check their views on several critical issues against those of candidates who participated in a Project Vote Smart survey. For some candidates, the group researched public records to determine their positions. VoteEasy was launched in Kansas on Monday as part of a state-by-state national rollout. Online: Project Vote Smart: http://www.votesmart.org
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Top administrators at the University of Kansas and Washburn University are preparing to sign an agreement to offer special classes in Topeka for people 50 and older. Kansas Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little and Washburn President Jerry Farley plan to participate in a signing ceremony Wednesday on the Washburn campus. Classes will be offered through the University of Kansas’ Lifelong Learning Institute, which provides courses in the arts, history, philosophy, culture, health and other popular topics. The goal is to reach older students from a wide range of backgrounds. The institute began offering classes in 2004 in Lawrence. It…
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Court documents allege a Kansas couple charged in a Missouri killing helped forge a legal document used to deny the victim life-sustaining medical treatment. The indictments against Desre Dory (42) and his wife, Stacey (43), of Shawnee, Kan., were made public Monday. Their release came after the couple was extradited to Boone County and pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder and forgery. William Van Note (67), of Liberty, was shot in October 2010 along with his partner, Sharon Dickson (59), at their Lake of the Ozarks vacation home. Dickson died at the home in the Camden County…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) Wyandotte County jurors have acquitted a Kansas City, Kan., man in the apartment killing of another man last year. The Kansas City Star reported that Allen L. Mitchell (30) had been charged with first-degree felony murder in the June 2011 killing of Carlos Hernandez (21). Authorities allege the shooting happened during a drug transaction. Jurors began their deliberations Friday and returned the verdict Monday after breaking for the weekend.
EL DORADO, Kan. (AP) Authorities say a broken axle caused a delivery truck to crash into a fence at a south-central Kansas correctional facility. The Wichita Eagle reported that the El Dorado Correctional Facility was placed on lockdown for more than two hours afterward. Kansas Department of Corrections spokesman Jeremy Barclay says the axle on a UPS tractor-trailer had just made a delivery when it broke shortly after 2 p.m. Monday. The truck went crashing into the fence but didn’t breach it. Barkley says the fence wasn’t breached, and there was never a security risk. Normal prison operations resumed before…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A man who operates a Wichita inflatables company where a child died faces a third charge of running the business without proper licensing. The Wichita Eagle reported that the misdemeanor charge against Jesse Zogleman stems from a sting operation. Police allege Zogleman entered into a contract in July to operate rides in Wichita. Zogleman runs the day-to-day operations for Moonwalks for Fun and Pure Entertainment. In 2010, a 5-year-old boy died at Pure Entertainment in 2010 after falling off an inflatable provided by Moonwalks for Fun. Afterward, the city’s inflatables ordinances were tightened. Zogleman’s has faced several hurdles, including having Moonwalks for…
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) Wind power equipment maker Siemens Energy Inc. says it plans to lay off nearly half its Kansas workers. Siemens announced Tuesday that about 146 employees at its wind turbine plant in Hutchinson are among 615 being laid off company-wide. The others are at plants in Iowa and Florida. The Hutchinson plant opened in 2010. Siemens said it’s restructuring its wind power business because of changing market conditions and uncertainty about a tax credit for new wind turbine installations. The credit expires at the end of this year. The energy credit has split the all-Republican Kansas congressional delegation.…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan says he’s hopeful that both sides are close to agreement to end a teacher strike in Chicago. Duncan is the former CEO of Chicago Public Schools. He said during a stop in Topeka, Kan., Tuesday that the proposal made to teachers was one that respects and honors their profession while moving school reforms forward. He says both sides have compromised and it’s important to get students back in school. The Chicago strike is in its seventh day. Duncan spoke on the steps of the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site.…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A federal appeals court has upheld the way Kansas deals with small political parties. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday for Kansas in a lawsuit by the Constitution Party of Kansas, which is not among the parties recognized by the state. The Constitution Party filed suit over the secretary of state’s refusal to allow people to affiliate with it when registering to vote. In a summary judgment last year, a federal judge said the state’s system of tracking party affiliation did not unconstitutionally burden the rights of the Constitution Party. Kansas Secretary of State…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A new report for Kansas public schools shows that students slipped in their performance on standardized tests during the past school year. Deputy Education Commissioner Brad Neuenswander says officials are studying why the percentage of students meeting or exceeding standards in reading and math fell slightly in the 2011-12 school year. The figures from the Kansas Department of Education were presented Tuesday to the State Board of Education. They show 85.7 percent of students taking reading tests met or exceeded standards last year, compared with 87.6 percent the previous year. In math, 83.7 percent of test-takers met…