LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Kansas retailers say they’ll have plenty of helium on hand to blow up those heart-shaped Valentine’s Day balloons despite tight supplies across the country. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that retailers have been stockpiling helium for months to meet Tuesday’s expected demand. Marty Fish, head of the Wichita-based International Balloon Association, says that stores around the country have been coping with the helium squeeze. The nation’s helium supply has been reduced in recent years because the gas is used in industries that take priority over retailing. Helium is used in hospitals to cool MRI machines and for other…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A farm equipment trade group says January sales of combines in the United States were down 50 percent from the same month a year ago. A report released Monday by the Association of Equipment Manufacturers shows 445 combines were sold in January, compared with 890 sold in January 2011. But tractor sales were up. The association says that slightly more than 9,300 tractors were sold nationwide last month, an increase of 3.5 percent from January of last year.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A gay rights group is mobilizing against a bill before a Kansas House committee that supporters say is an attempt to preserve religious freedom. The House Judiciary Committee scheduled a hearing on the measure Tuesday afternoon. The bill would declare that state and local government policies shall not “substantially burden” people’s right to exercise their religious beliefs without showing a compelling interest and imposing the burden in the least restrictive way possible. The measure also would allow people to sue state and local government agencies if they feel their religious freedoms have been abridged The Equality Kansas…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Board of Education is receiving one more update about the state’s proposal for seeking a waiver from some provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind education law. The update is planned for Wednesday during the second day of the board’s two-day meeting in Topeka. Kansas officials plan to submit the request by Feb. 28, the deadline for the second round of requests. Ten states were granted waivers last week from the first round of requests. States excused from following the law no longer have to meet a 2014 deadline for ensuring that 100 percent…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A southeastern Kansas man has admitted pulling down a power pole in an attempt to steal copper wire, an act that knocked a radio station off the air for several hours. The U.S. Attorney’s office says 39-year-old Jeffrey Blake, of rural Scammon, pleaded guilty Monday to one count of damaging an energy facility. He faces up to 20 years in prison when he’s sentenced April 30. Prosecutors said Blake damaged equipment in Cherokee County owned by Heartland Rural Electric Co. and KKOW-AM around 12:30 a.m. on Sept. 7, 2011. An indictment noted that KKOW is part of…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) Salina will name the basketball court at its Bicentennial Center after Kurt Budke, a native of the city who died in a plane crash while coaching Oklahoma State’s women’s basketball team. Salina city commissioners voted unanimously Monday to name the court after Budke. He was one of four people killed in a plane crash during a recruiting trip in Arkansas Nov. 17. The Salina Journal reports that two friends who suggested honoring Budke hope to unveil the name on the court at the NJCAA Women’s National Championship in March. The friends plan to pay all costs associated…
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) A Hutchinson man died when he was run over by a trash truck while riding his bicycle. Hutchinson police say 35-year-old Julian Olea Tomas died Monday at the scene of the accident. The Hutchinson News reports a Stutzman Refuse truck was turning when Tomas’ bicycle collided with the truck. Tomas fell off his bicycle and was run over by the truck Assistant Police Chief Troy Hoover says the truck driver didn’t see the bicycle.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A group of Kansas lawmakers have proposed a bill that would require a third of Kansas welfare recipients to pay to be tested for drugs. Under the proposal, the state will refund the cost of the tests to anyone who tests negative for drugs. Someone who tested positive would have to undergo a drug evaluation and possibly be required to attend an education or treatment program. A second positive test would require the person to attend an education or treatment program and remove him or her from welfare for a year. A third positive test would cause…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A plan from Kansas House Republicans would divert $320 million from transportation projects to replace revenue lost by a cut in state income taxes. A Department of Kansas Transportation spokesman says highway, rail and air projects could be delayed or shelved if the proposal is approved. St. Marys Republican Rep. Richard Carlson, chairman of the House Tax Committee, says financing for the transportation department would stay the same in fiscal years 2014 and 2015, before climbing again in 2016. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the GOP plan is an alternative to one proposed by Gov. Sam Brownback, who…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Wichita might have struck oil when it acquired land for a new library. City officials confirmed Monday that they are considering drilling on the land after oil experts said significant deposits of oil might be found under the site. Mayor Carl Brewer says city officials feel compelled to check the possibility that oil might be found under the land, which is in downtown Wichita near the Arkansas River. The Wichita Eagle reports oil has been found in downtown Wichita before but regulations now make it difficult to drill inside city limits. The city council hasn’t officially considered…