TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas House has given first-round approval to a bill creating a prayer room at the Statehouse. The House planned to take final action on it Thursday. Approval would send it to the Senate. During a debate Wednesday, supporters said other states, including Florida and Arizona, and Congress have set aside capitol space for prayer. The bill does not list a location within the Statehouse for the prayer room. House Majority Leader Rep. Arlen Siegfreid, an Olathe Republican, originally sought to create an all-faiths Chapel. But he and other supporters said the Prayer and Meditation Room would…
Author: KMAN Staff
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Ten Kansas communities have been selected to be champions for workplace wellness. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the participating communities are Lawrence, Beloit, Clifton, Coffeyville, Great Bend, Independence, McPherson, Clearwater, Newton and Wellington. They are benefiting from a new three-year state initiative called WorkWell KS. The effort is funded with a $700,000 grant from the Kansas Health Foundation and administered by the Wichita Business Coalition on Health Care. In each community, at least seven businesses will complete an in-depth assessment of their wellness efforts. Then, leaders will be sent to training sessions on how to develop or strengthen…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas House has passed a redistricting bill splitting Topeka between two congressional districts. But key senators said even before Thursday’s vote 81-43 vote in the House that they oppose the measure. The Senate approved its own plan last month, and negotiators for the two chambers must compromise. Topeka currently is in the 2nd District of eastern Kansas, and the House’s plan would move part of it into the 1st District of western and central Kansas. House Speaker Mike O’Neal, a Hutchinson Republican, noted that his chamber rejected other plans that kept Topeka in a single district.…
COLUMBUS, Kan. (AP) A former assistant prosecutor in southeastern Kansas has been convicted of methamphetamine-related charges stemming from a search of his former Galena law office. A Cherokee County jury on Wednesday found Jeffrey Pittman, 47, of Carterville, Mo., guilty of conspiracy to possess meth and to traffic contraband into a correctional institution. He was also convicted of two counts of using a communication facility in a conspiracy to possess methamphetamine. Pittman was stopped in Galena for a defective brake light in June 2009 and arrested on an Oklahoma warrant for possessing meth ingredients. Authorities said a search of his…
CONCORDIA, Kan. (AP) A 105-year-old restored theater in north-central Kansas has suspended live performances over concerns about the safety of its curtain rigging system. The Salina Journal reports that crews have had problems raising and lowering the curtain at the Brown Grand Theatre in Concordia. Executive director Susan Cantine-Maxon says that some pulleys are starting to come apart and some ropes are fraying. The Brown Grand opened in 1907 and was considered for a time to be the most elegant theater between Denver and Kansas City. It was later used as a movie house and was placed on the National…
A man shot a dog that approached him while he was out walking his dogs Tuesday afternoon. A large, brown, male mastiff belonging to Michael Oakley, 29, ran at the man near 6th and Fremont, causing him to lose his balance and fall off a sidewalk. After hitting the curb, the man withdrew a gun and fired at the dog, striking one of its front legs. The shooter was transported to Mercy Regional for back pain. Police filed a report for unlawful discharge of a firearm in public, but did not make any arrests. Oakley, of the 600 block of Fremont, was cited for…
A Riley County police officer on foot witnesses a series of reckless events, resulting in vehicle accidents and two transports. Around 3:30 A.M. Thursday morning, an officer walking near the intersection of 11th Street and Fremont witnessed a vehicle slide around the corner. The driver was recklessly driving when he ended up in a yard in the 1000 block of Fremont. The officer attempted to stop the vehicle, but it kept going. After driving through numerous yards, the vehicle entered the intersection going northbound on to 10th street when it struck another vehicle. The vehicle was next seen in the…
The jewel of the K-State 2012 men’s basketball recruiting class was 7 foot 275 pound Robert Upshaw of Fresno, CA. But, the four-star player only signed a financial aid agreement with the Wildcats last November, which isn’t binding, and not a national letter of intent. When Frank Martin departed for South Carolina, Upshaw has now decided to reopen his recruitment. He had K-State, Louisville, Georgetown, and Fresno State in his final four, but will look beyond that group as well. Andy Boogard of the Fresno Bee spoke to Upshaw and his mother on Tuesday. He appeared on KMAN’s “The Game” and says…
KMAN has learned Matt Figger will follow his boss, Frank Martin and become an assistant coach at South Carolina. Figger said in a text message that his hire won’t be finalized until next week. He spent five seasons at K-State as an assistant and recruiting coordinator. The Kentucky native will be returning to familiar territory in South Carolina, as he was an assistant for five years at South Alabama and the director of basketball operations at Arkansas for one year. Figger also spent 10 years as an assistant in the junior college ranks. No decision has been made publicly whether to…
SURPRISE, Ariz. (AP) Royals right-hander Felipe Paulino will begin the season on the 15-day disabled list with a sore elbow. Kansas City announced the move Wednesday. Paulino was competing for a rotation spot, but has been erratic in spring training. He’d allowed 10 runs and 13 hits in 9 2-3 innings in his last three appearances. He went 4-6 with a 4.11 ERA in 21 games after the Royals acquired him from Colorado. With Paulino out, left-hander Danny Duffy and right-hander Luis Mendoza, who is 4-0 with a 0.54 ERA this spring, will fill the final two slots in…