Author: KMAN Staff

Three plots once associated with the Manhattan Community Gardens now belongs to Howie’s Trash and Recycling Service, thanks to action taken Tuesday night by Manhattan City Commissioners. Up for discussion was the sale of three lots at 9th Street and Fair Lane to Howie’s Trash and Recycling Service, which would allow the company to expand their services. “To me, the expansion makes sense,” Greg Wilson, co-owner of Howie’s, told commissioners. “We bought three lots five years ago for $31,500, and these lots are now appraised for $31,900. I think you’re getting a more than fair price for what the land…

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas is moving closer to repealing a ban on happy hours at bars, taverns, clubs and restaurants. The state House gave first-round approval Tuesday to a bill repealing a law barring businesses that sell alcoholic beverages by the drink from setting different prices at different times of the day. The measure advanced on a voice vote with little debate. That struck some House members as unusual, given the state’s decades of prohibition and it status as the place where Carrie Nation became famous for smashing saloons. But supporters said the free market ought to dictate when drink…

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) A 32-year-old Lawrence woman has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for planning the murder of her ex-boyfriend in Missouri. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Annette Cross pleaded guilty last week and was sentenced for second-degree murder and other charges in the 2009 death of 37-year-old Andrew Day. Howell County, Mo., prosecutors accused Cross of driving her brother, Dale Cross, of Hannibal, to Day’s his home outside Mountain View, Mo. Dale Cross shot Day and they burned down the home, with Day’s body inside. Dale Cross was given the same sentence earlier this year. The Crosses’…

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Coffeyville Resources Refining Marketing has agreed to pay a civil penalty and install new pollution controls and processes to settle alleged environmental violations at its Kansas refinery. The settlement announced Tuesday by the Justice Department and the Environmental Protection Agency includes a $970,000 fine. It also requires the Coffeyville refinery to put in $4.25 million in upgraded pollution controls and $6.5 million in operating costs. Regulators say the improvements are designed to benefit the environment and protect the health of residents living near the facility. The agreement includes more stringent emission limits and more aggressive leak detection…

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Groups representing Kansas cities and counties are trying to block a legislative proposal aimed at controlling property tax increases for home owners 65 and older. Lobbyists for the Kansas Association of Counties and the League of Kansas Municipalities testified Tuesday during a Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee hearing. The groups oppose a proposed constitutional amendment to allow the Legislature to limit annual increases in values placed by county officials on homes owned by Kansans who are 65 or older. The constitution currently requires residential property to be valued uniformly. The lobbyists said taking such a step would…

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Sedgwick County jury has cleared two jail deputies who were sued by the family of an inmate who died while in the jail. The family of Terry Bruner alleged in a lawsuit that deputies Mary Staton and Marque Jameson deliberately ignored Bruner’s worsening health before he died in March 2008. The family sought up to $22 million in damages. The 46-year-old Bruner was in jail for driving under the influence. Bruner’s attorney argued during the trial that the inmate was obviously ill for six days before his death and the deputies did not help him before…

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The Wichita school board has voted to close five schools and change school boundaries. The board’s vote came after weeks of public controversy and emotional testimony at Monday’s night’s meeting. Wichita school board member Lanora Nolan said the board was forced to close four elementary schools and Northeast Magnet High School because of reductions in state funding in the past four years. The Wichita Eagle reports the vote came after several people stood and shouted in unison at board members before being ushered out by police. Board members and Superintendent John Allison say closing schools is necessary…

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. (AP) A couple from Wyoming has given $1.6 million to Baker University in Baldwin City. Baker University announced the gift Monday from Ross and Christine Hartley, of Jackson Hole, Wyo. Ross Hartley is a Baker alumnus who co-founded NIC Inc., an electronic government services company. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the money will bring Baker University close to its $10.3 million goal to fund a renovation and expansion of Mulvane Hall. The new 9,000-square-foot addition will be renamed Ross and Christine Hartley Hall. The Hartleys are natives of Baxter Springs. They have previously donated $1 million to Baker…