PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) Some Crawford County residents saw an unexpected fireworks show when six containers of rockets and other explosives caught fire. Federal, state and county officials are trying to determine what caused the fire Tuesday evening outside Jake’s Fireworks Warehouse about a mile west of Pittsburg. Baker Township fire chief Mike Ryan says firefighters had to dodge fireworks while fighting the blaze. They successfully kept it from spreading to the warehouse, which was about 30 feet away. No firefighters were injured. The Joplin Globe reports several employees at the business also escaped injury. Six fire departments fought the blaze…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The FBI is investigating allegations of misconduct at the Sedgwick County Jail. An FBI spokeswoman confirmed the investigation Wednesday, the day after a jail deputy was arrested after two inmates alleged they had been raped. Sheriff Robert Hinshaw announced Tuesday that the 21-year-old detention deputy was arrested on suspicion of several offenses, including aggravated criminal sodomy and mistreatment of confined persons. Hinshaw tells the Wichita Eagle that he welcomes the separate FBI investigation and would cooperate completely. Hinshaw said sheriff’s detectives will present results of their investigation soon to prosecutors, who will decide if charges will be…
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) The real-life story of a troubled Hutchinson stove restoration business has inspired a film. The Hutchinson News reports that several weeks of filming are expected to wrap up by Monday on a feature film called “Salvation.” Writer/director Bernie Van De Yacht was among the people who lost money with a man who repaired and restored gas stoves from the 1950s and 1960s. Complaints started to pile up in 2007 for non-delivery of stoves and refusal to refund down payments. There were also complaints about the quality of the finished stoves. “Salvation” producer Danny Rodriguez says the filming…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A new aerial survey of Kansas has revealed new breeding grounds for the lesser prairie chicken as the bird’s habitat appears to be moving north. The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism says the survey was part of a five-state project to determine the numbers of birds in the region and their breeding grounds. The survey was conducted ahead of the release of a proposed rule by the U.S. Department of Wildlife and Parks on the status of the birds. Lesser prairie chickens have been considered a candidate under the Endangered Species Act since 1998 as…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas has received more than $560,000 from a multistate settlement with insurance company American International Group Inc. Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger said Wednesday the money has been deposited and will be used to support general government programs. The agreement settled a complaint from state regulators that AIG underreported workers’ compensation premiums in past years. AIG agreed to pay a $100 million penalty plus $47 million in taxes and other assessments under the settlement.
The Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s office is investigating the theft of a truck earlier this week. A news release from Sheriff Greg Riat indicates Frieling Auto Sales located on HWY 24 in East Manhattan reported the theft of a black 2001 Dodge Dakota pickup Monday. The pickup is described as a black, two door extended cab 4×4 with black wheels on it. The pickup had no license plate at the time of the theft. The keys were not left in the vehicle. It is believed the truck was taken sometime in the last week and a half. Anyone with information is asked…
CHICAGO (AP) A source tells the Associated Press the national semifinals would rotate between the major bowls and a selection committee will be involved in picking the teams in the four-team playoff plan the BCS commissioners will present the presidents for approval. After meeting for four hours Wednesday the BCS commissioners announced they had come to a consensus on a playoff model. The semifinals will be incorporated into the bowl games and the site of the national championship game will be bid out like the Super Bowl. Two people tell AP the plan calls for the semifinal sites to be…
(Courtesy K-State Sports Information) All of Kansas State’s 16 athletic teams met and exceeded the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate multi-year standard for the second straight year, which included surpassing the newly implemented 930 four-year benchmark, as the NCAA released its latest Division I APR data from the 2010-11 academic year. K-State, which has led the Big 12 in graduation rate in four of the past five years, scored record-high marks across the board for the second straight year. Also, the women’s golf, women’s basketball and men’s cross country programs were awarded APR Public Recognition distinction for posting multi-year APRs in…
HOUSTON (AP) Bruce Chen pitched into the sixth inning on three days’ rest and the Kansas City Royals beat the Houston Astros 2-1 on Wednesday. Alex Gordon tripled and scored for the Royals, who won the last two games of the three-game set. Thirteen of Kansas City’s last 14 games have been decided by two or fewer runs. Chen (6-6) struck out six in 5 2-3 innings and was charged with one run and five hits. Pitching on three days’ rest for the sixth time in his career, Chen bounced back from his last outing when he yielded six…
SEATTLE (AP) Jacob Peterson scored on a deflected shot in the eighth minute for Sporting Kansas City, and Patrick Ianni’s electrifying volley goal just a few minutes later was enough for the Seattle Sounders to earn a draw 1-1 on Wednesday night. Kansas City is unbeaten in its last four matches (two wins and two draws), and continues to inch toward the top of Major League Soccer’s Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Sounders are slumping, winless in their last six league matches and with a rivalry game at Portland coming up Sunday. Seattle nearly pulled out the victory in the…