TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas House committee endorsed a proposal to freeze admissions to the Kansas Neurological Institute for one year. The home for the disabled in Topeka has been the center of controversy since 2010, when a commission recommended it be closed. That recommendation was rejected but Gov. Sam Brownback and some legislators continue to look for ways to cut costs at the institute. Rep. Dave Crum, a Republican from Augusta, says care of disabled people is moving away from central institutions like KNI to community-based care. He says Kansans who need residential care could still live at Parsons…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A lieutenant who was the public face of the Wichita police department during several high-profile investigations, including the capture of the BTK serial killer, has retired. Lt. Ken Landwehr retired Monday after 35 years with the Wichita police force, the last 20 as commander of the homicide unit. The Wichita Eagle reports Landwehr helped his unit solve most of 600 homicides it investigated. During a ceremony attended hundreds of co-workers and friends, he gave credit to the detectives in the unit. He was best known for his work on the BTK case and the prosecution of Reginald…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) A defense attorney says a man who died after a confrontation with four Salina men started the fight that led to his death. Attorney Roger Struble made that argument in a motion filed on behalf of 20-year-old Justin Taddiken in the January 2011 death of 48-year-old Robert Unselt. Taddiken pleaded no contest to aggravated battery in Unselt’s fatal beating. On Monday, he was placed on two years of supervised probation. Unselt’s widow and sister disputed Struble’s account of the confrontation, saying Unselt was a peacemaker. The Salina Journal reports Unselt’s widow is seeking $1 million in a…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A proposal to name a state dog has lost its bite. A Kansas House committee on Tuesday declined to hear a bill that would have named the cairn terrier the official state dog. The breed is best known in Kansas for playing Toto in “The Wizard of Oz.” Brenda Moore, of the South Central Kansas Kennel Club, originally asked State Rep. Ed Trimmer, a Democrat from Winfield, to introduce the bill. She said she plans to conduct a statewide campaign this summer, including a petition drive to present to state politicians. The Wichita Eagle reports Trimmer said…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) After a one-day delay, the Kansas House is ready to debate a Republican plan to cut income taxes. The measure, which supporters say will improve the Kansas business climate, was originally set for debate Monday but pushed back to Tuesday by other issues. As written by a GOP-dominated committee, the bill would promise future cuts to individual income taxes as revenues grow, forcing 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 sales…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas commission is looking for artists interested in painting a mural at the Statehouse commemorating the historic U.S. Supreme Court decision declaring segregated schools unconstitutional. The Capitol Preservation Committee is asking artists to submit applications to be declared qualified to execute the project, which is to be completed in 2014. House member Valdenia Winn, a Kansas City Democrat who chairs the Preservation Committee, says applications will be taken until May 1. The mural will honor the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling, which declared that separate schools for black and white children where…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas winter wheat crop continues to come out of dormancy with the warm temperatures. In a report Monday, Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service said the crop’s condition improved slightly over the past week. The agency now rates 11 percent of the wheat in poor to very poor condition, 36 percent fair, 45 percent good and 8 percent excellent. Only 4 percent of the wheat is showing light freeze damage.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A new report shows the Kansas unemployment rate fell to 6.1 percent in January, with modest job growth over the previous year. The state Department of Labor said Tuesday the January jobless rate declined from 6.4 percent in December and 6.8 percent in January 2011, with the figures adjusted for seasonal factors. Department officials said one sign the state’s economy is improving was January’s increase in jobs from the same month a year earlier. The number rose by 12,200, or almost 1 percent. The agency noted that while government jobs declined, private employers added about 22,000 jobs…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback says that spending at his official residence has declined since he took office. Brownback’s office released figures Monday for Cedar Crest, the governor’s official residence, at the request of several news organizations. The numbers show a budget of $115,000 for the fiscal year that began last July. Two years ago, the annual budget for the residence was nearly $189,000. Brownback took office in January 2011 and cut the staff for Cedar Crest from two to one, leaving only a personal assistant for the first lady. Since July 1, about $8,300 has been spent…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Gov. Sam Brownback is asking Kansas legislators to add $3.4 million to the state budget to help with an overhaul of the Medicaid program. Brownback submitted his request for the funds Monday. His administration is planning to issue contracts this summer to three companies to manage the $2.9 billion-a-year Medicaid program, which provides health coverage for the poor, the disabled and elderly. The changes are designed to cut the state’s costs while improving the coordination of medical care. Brownback is asking legislators to add $1 million to the budget for what he called a robust public education…