Author: KMAN Staff
Fort Riley officials announced late Tuesday the death of Staff Sgt. Jesse Grindey, 30, of Hazel Green, Wis. Grindley died Monday in Kandahar Province in Afghanistan while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. He was a military policeman assigned to the 287th Military Police Company, 97th Military Police Battalion at Fort Riley. This was his second deployment in support Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. Grindey entered the Army March 2002. He was assigned to Fort Riley in July 2011. His awards include the Army Commendation Medal with five oak leaf clusters, the Army Good Conduct Medal with three oak leaf…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A longtime Republican activist in Kansas has filed two ethics complaints against a state senator, accusing him of misusing campaign funds and filing a false campaign finance report with the state. Kris Van Meteren, of Ozawkie, filed the complaints Tuesday against Sen. Dwayne Umbarger, a Thayer Republican, with the state Governmental Ethics Commission. Van Meteren is a reviving a case he pursued unsuccessfully in 2008, but he’s also added new allegations. Umbarger called the complaints a waste of taxpayer dollars. He said it’s a sign he’s likely to face opposition in the GOP primary in August. Van…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Wichita grocery store owner will go to federal prison for his part in a scheme that paid customers cash for less than the value of their food stamps and pocketed the difference. Ahmed Al-Maleki was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten to six months in prison followed by six months of home detention. The owner of Kansas Food Market had pleaded guilty to conspiracy, wire fraud and food stamp fraud. Marten also found that the loss to taxpayers amounted to $130,000, and ordered Al-Maleki to pay restitution in that amount. Marten said there…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas would no longer charge sales tax on groceries under an amendment approved by the House. The 76-44 vote Tuesday came as the chamber debated a plan that would reduce income tax rates for individuals and some classes of businesses. Rep. Jana Goodman, a Leavenworth Republican, offered the amendment on groceries, arguing that all Kansas residents deserved to have more money in their pockets. Ending the sales tax on groceries would cost the state an estimated $350 million annually. Goodman says Kansas is struggling in a recession and the best way to start a recovery is by…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A man is jailed in Topeka after an 8-year-old girl was found dead. The girl, Ahliyah Irvin, was reported missing about 5 a.m. Tuesday and police announced about 9:45 a.m. that she had been found dead. Police did not immediately say how the girl died or where her body was found. A 28-year-old man was taken into custody later Tuesday. Police did not say how he was connected to Ahliyah.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas House has begun debate on a Republican plan to cut income taxes. The bill includes amendments that would restore several refundable tax credits and raise the spending cap to 3 percent. Supporters say the measure will improve the Kansas business climate. As written by a GOP-dominated committee, the bill promises future cuts to individual income taxes as revenues grow and would force the state to check the annual growth in its spending at 2 percent. The state would phase out taxes on the earnings of thousands of partnerships, sole proprietorships and other small businesses. The…
SCOTT CITY, Kan. (AP) Authorities have identified a Scott City woman and three children who died in a house fire in the western Kansas town. The fire on Saturday killed 28-year-old Jackie Ann Coberly and her son, 4-year-old Brandon Carter. Eight-year-old Terra Renee Murphy and 6-year-old Cassie Linn Murphy also died. They were the daughters of Coberly’s boyfriend. Scott City Police Chief Chris Jurgens said Monday the fire is believed to be accidental but an investigation is continuing. The Garden City Telegram reports that the fire started Saturday morning near a heater in the laundry room of a home the…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A proposed $14 billion budget for the state of Kansas is drawing bipartisan criticism because it would withhold some education funds to push local school districts to tap their cash reserves first. The issue for critics Tuesday was the elimination of $29 million in new money for the state’s 286 school districts to cover higher-than-expected costs during the current school year. Republican Gov. Sam Brownback endorsed the spending. But the House Appropriations Committee removed the money before endorsing a bill containing its proposed budget Monday night. The change would force districts to absorb the costs and potentially…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) The head of the Environmental Protection Agency told students at the University of Kansas that her job involves ensuring their future. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson told the students Monday that they have the power to influence the course of environmental policies. She also said students should look at how they already live on campus by using public transportation, choosing efficient foods and living in small spaces. The Lawrence Journal World reports that Jackson acknowledged the criticism the federal agency has received recently from those who say environmental regulations have “hobbled” the economy. But she defended the EPA’s…