TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Two leaders in the Kansas Legislature worry about how the state’s budget would be affected by spending cuts tied to the federal government’s so-called fiscal cliff. House Minority Leader and Lawrence Democrat Paul Davis said Thursday he fears the cuts would have a profound effect on social services and highway projects. Congress and President Barack Obama are trying to work out a deal by the end of the year to avoid the fiscal cliff. If they can’t, taxes are set to increase automatically, and spending cuts will be triggered. Incoming Senate Majority Leader and Hutchinson Republican Terry…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas congressman Mike Pompeo is pessimistic about the ability of Congress and President Barack Obama to reach a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff. The conservative Wichita Republican told reporters on a Thursday telephone conference call that he’s disturbed by comments from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner that the administration will let the country go over the cliff if Republicans won’t allow taxes to increase on the wealthiest Americans. Pompeo opposes such a tax increase and said the administration is “fixated” on the idea. He said the right path is lower taxes and smaller government. Without a deal…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Topeka school district leaders say Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and the state’s two U.S. senators refused to help it secure a $40 million federal grant. Topeka School Superintendent Julie Ford said Wednesday that Brownback and U.S. Sens. Pat Roberts and Jerry Moran declined to help the district obtain a three-year Race to the Top Grant from the U.S. Department of Education. Representatives for the three political leaders say the grant encourages the use of Common Core standards. They say implementing the standards will be costly, and bring more federal interference into state education. The Lawrence Journal-World reports…
WAKEENEY, Kan. (AP) Trego County commissioners are working to cover a cash shortfall at the county-owned hospital caused by a temporary reduction in Medicare reimbursements. The commissioners agreed to seek $1.8 million in no-fund warrants, which is similar to issuing general obligation bonds, for cash obligations at Trego County-Lemke Memorial Hospital. The Hays Daily News reported Wednesday that Trego County residents will have to repay the money, plus interest, during the next four years, through a special levy. Hospital administrator Harold Courtois says the temporary drop in Medicare reimbursements over three months cost the hospital about $600,000. The cash shortfall…
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) Passenger boardings at the Garden City Regional Airport have soared since it began offering new routes to Dallas-Fort Worth this year. Airport officials recorded 16,051 boardings in the last eight months, surpassing the 11,690 for all of last year. Airport director of aviation Rachelle Powell says the increase started after American Eagle began offering round trips to Dallas-Fort Worth in April. Previously, Great Lakes Aviation offered flights to Denver. The Garden City Telegram reports the increased business will allow the city access to more federal funding for the airport. Powell says because the airport exceeded 10,000…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A 19-year-old man accused of killing two people at a Wichita Dollar General store could face the death penalty, after being charged with capital murder. Marquis Marshall was charged Wednesday in the killing of 22-year-old Zachary Hunt, a store employee, and 79-year-old Henry Harvey, who was at the store to buy candy for his grandchildren. Police say both men were shot several times last Friday. Police have not discussed a possible motive for the shootings. Marshall’s bond was increased to $5 million from $1 million. The Wichita Eagle reports an attorney from the Death Penalty Defense Unit…
More honors were bestowed on Kansas State Quarterback Collin Klein and Linebacker Arthur Brown Thursday night when the two Wildcat Football players were named Walter Camp All-Americans. The announcement was made at the Home Depot College Football Awards Show in Orlando, Florida by the Walter Camp Football Foundation. Brown and Klein were named to the second team and became the ninth and 10th K-State players in history to earn Walter Camp honors. The two players were major contributors to Kansas State’s 2012 Big 12 Championship season, just the third conference title in the 117-year history of the Football program. Klein…
MERRIAM, Kan. (AP) A Kansas City couple has given a $1 million gift to the foundation for the Shawnee Mission Medical Center. The medical center announced the gift from Benny and Edith Lee on Wednesday. Benny Lee is chairman and chief executive officer of DuraComm Corp., which manufactures and distributes power supplies, lighting, solar power and other energy conservation products. The Kansas City Star reports the atrium of the hospital’s $44 million birth center will be named after the Lees. The birth center is scheduled to open in late February next year. The center will have a capacity to care…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) A man and woman are under arrest after ramming three police cars and driving through backyards in Kansas City, Kan. Police say in a news release that no officers were injured in the chase Wednesday evening. Officers were en route to a reported automobile accident when they learned a woman who was injured in the wreck got into a car and left the scene. Police saw the car and but the driver refused to stop. Police say during the chase, the car lost at least one tire, left the road and drove through residential backyards before…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The Wichita Art Museum has put together an exhibition depicting the dignity and plight of workers over 150 years. “Occupy Art: Protest and Empathy for the Worker” reflects the empathy artists have for the common man. Occupy Wall Street protests were launched in September 2011 setting off an Occupy movement. Artists have long pictured the common man in their works. Visitors to the Wichita Art Museum will soon have the chance to examine works of arts spanning 150 selected from the museum’s permanent collection. The museum says unsafe working conditions and the impact of wars on the…