Author: KMAN Staff

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas House committee is narrowly backing a congressional redistricting proposal that would split the Kansas City area between two U.S. House districts. The Redistricting Committee approved the proposal Wednesday on a 12-11 vote, with House Speaker Mike O’Neal breaking a tie. O’Neal, a Hutchinson Republican, drafted the plan and serves as the panel’s chairman. The vote indicates the proposal probably will go to the House for further debate. However, O’Neal said he’ll hold another committee meeting Thursday to see whether another plan garners more support. His plan divides Wyandotte County in the Kansas City area, keeping…

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A suspect has been arrested and is being held on $10 million bond in the death and sexual assault of an 8-year-old Topeka girl. The suspect was booked into the Shawnee County jail late Tuesday in the death of Ahliyah Nachell Irvin. Matt Patterson, senior assistant district attorney, told The Topeka Capital-Journal that the suspect appeared before a judge Wednesday and an attorney was appointed for him. The Shawnee County court clerk’s office said formal charges were still pending Wednesday. Police found the child’s body early Tuesday in the same southeast Topeka apartment complex where family members…

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas House has approved a sweeping package of tax cuts, sending it to the Senate despite misgivings that it costs too much and favors the wealthy over poor residents. Supporters say the plan approved Wednesday is a step toward tax relief and job creation. Critics say some provisions favor the wealthy and businesses. Others say Kansas can’t afford the plan, estimated to cost between $375 million to $425 million. It’s the second plan approved by the House in two years to cut income taxes. Last year plan’s never got a vote in the Senate. And on…

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A delay in a major Kansas computer project is complicating Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s effort to have a proof-of-citizenship rule in place for new voters ahead of this year’s presidential election. A law taking effect Jan. 1, 2013, will require people registering to vote for the first time in Kansas to prove their citizenship. Kobach wants to move the effective date of the rule to June 15. The Senate Ethics and Elections Committee learned Wednesday that a key phase of a $40 million upgrade of the Department of Revenue’s computers won’t be ready until at least…

SALINA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas military school is being sued by parents of cadets who say their sons were regularly abused by older students with the blessing of school officials. The Salina Journal reports the federal lawsuit was filed against St. John’s Military School last week in Kansas City, Kan. It claims the school allows older students, called “Disciplinarians,” to discipline younger students who step out of line. The parents of four boys claim their sons suffered severe beatings by the Disciplinarians, and when the boys reported the abuse to school officials, the beatings got worse. School President Andy England…

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A former health insurance executive is raising questions about Gov. Sam Brownback’s plan to move the state’s Medicaid program to a managed-care system. Wendell Potter spoke to advocates for the disabled and testified before a Kansas Senate committee Tuesday about his concerns over the proposal, called KanCare. He is a former public relations specialist for Humana and Cigna. Potter told the advocates that he does not question Brownback’s motives for suggesting the changes. But he says there are better ways to serve vulnerable citizens than turning health care over to for-profit insurance companies. Currently, five insurance companies…

SALINA, Kan. (AP) The Salina Human Relations Commission is supporting a proposal to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the city’s anti-discrimination ordinance. The commission voted Tuesday to recommend that the Salina City Commission make the changes to discourage discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations. The Salina Journal reports businesses with city contracts that have fewer than four employees and those who do less than $20,000 a year in business with the city would be exempt. Commissioners agreed to recommend the city take a year to make the changes in contracts for goods and services as the contracts…

GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) The ongoing drought prompted the state to temporarily move a bison herd from the Sandsage Bison and Wildlife Area near Garden City. The 40 bison were moved to the Maxwell Wildlife Refuge in McPherson County. The Garden City Telegram reports 10 bison were left at the Sandsage area. They’ll be fed hay until enough forage grows for them to graze. Tom Norman, area manager for the state wildlife department, says the drought has reduced forage in the Sandsage area. He says normal precipitation is 18 inches per year and the 3,670-acre wildlife area has not been…

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Topeka man will be sentenced May 8 for a fatal shooting during an attempted robbery. A Shawnee County jury on Tuesday convicted Kyree Mashon McClelland of first-degree murder and four other felonies in the August shooting of 32-year-old Timothy James Stone. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that testimony at the trial indicated that Stone was shot during a struggle with McClelland and another man after McClelland had pulled a gun and demanded money. McClelland was severely beaten and had to be put into a medically induced coma to help with recovery from blunt force trauma to the…