Riley County firefighters were called out the second time in less than a week to fight a brush fire in the northern part of the county. It took three hours to contain the fire, with a construction company having a cargo trailer destroyed, and other structures were threatened. “It really is dry out there and we have not had that much moisture,” Doug Messer, assistant fire chief, says. “We get these little showers and people think that’s adequate rainfall. That is just not the case.” Messer adds Thursday was a high category of risk day for such fires, as fires will…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A new assessment on the proposed National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility to be located in Manhattan concludes that changes in the lab’s design have sharply reduced the risk for accidental release of deadly diseases. The assessment released Friday by the Department of Homeland Security updates a report issued in 2010. The new document puts the risk of an accidental release at one-tenth of 1 percent, down from the previous calculation of a 70 percent chance of release. Supporters credit design changes made since the first report for the lower risk. Most of the Kansas Congressional delegation have commented…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Billionaire brothers and political donors Charles and David Koch have filed a lawsuit in Kansas over the ownership of a prominent, Washington-based conservative think tank. The Kochs, known for supporting conservative causes, are shareholders in the Cato Institute. Until October, the other two shareholders were its president and a former chairman. The brothers dispute whether the former chairman’s widow now controls his 25 percent voting interest. The Koch brothers contend that under shareholder agreements, the former chairman’s shares must be sold back to the institute. The Kochs filed their lawsuit in Johnson County because the institute lists…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A new report shows the nearly 18,000 people who visited the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in 2010 spent $866,000 at the Topeka attraction and the surrounding area. The site is dedicated to telling the story of the historic U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned segregated education. The National Park Service estimates that the spending supported 14 jobs. Fifty-two percent of the spending and jobs are related to lodging and dining. Another 29 percent of the spending was on retail, 10 percent was for entertainment and amusements, 7 percent was for gas and transportation…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) More bald eagles appear to be nesting in Kansas. The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism says a survey found eight eagle nests with eggs in south-central Kansas. That’s up from seven active nests last year in the area that stretches from Marion County to Kingman County. Charlie Cope, wildlife biologist at the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, told The Wichita Eagle that five active nests were found in Cowley County and one each in Sumner, Kingman and Sedgwick counties. The active Sedgwick County nest is near Derby on the Arkansas River. The U.S.…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) Salina officials are hoping a new tenant at an industrial park that used to house Hawker Beechcraft will be the first of many attracted to the area. The Salina Airport Authority and city leaders on Wednesday announced a lease agreement with Universal Forest Products to move into the Salina Airport Industrial Center. The company, which is based in Grand Rapids, Mich., builds wood packaging crates for shipping products. It signed a three-year lease. The Salina Journal reports Hawker Beechcraft on Wednesday turned over the keys to 10 buildings at the industrial park. The Wichita airplane maker closed…
LANSING, Kan. (AP) Leavenworth County authorities say a man shot and killed the father of a girl he dated before shooting and injuring the girl. The man then shot himself to death. Undersheriff Ron Cranor says the shootings occurred Wednesday night at a rural Leavenworth County home near Lansing. He says the man burst into the home, shot the man and his daughter, then went outside and shot himself to death. The wife and mother of the victims was able to escape unharmed. The victims’ identities have not been released. The Kansas City Star reports that Cranor says the suspect…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) House Majority Leader Arlen Siegfreid has introduced a bill to set aside space in the Kansas Statehouse for prayer, meditation and reflection. The Olathe Republican on Wednesday told the House Federal and State Affairs Committee that the U.S. Capitol and several other states have such chapels for use by all faiths. Siegfreid said the space would be paid for through private funds. He said Republican Gov. Sam Brownback has offered to allow legislators to use a portion of the space allotted to his office on the second floor in the Statehouse for the chapel. Siegfreid said eventually…