TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) House members have approved a measure that provides Kansas cities and counties with $90 million property tax relief while requiring public notification when property valuations increase. The bill, approved Monday 101-23, goes to the Senate. It restores a city-county revenue sharing program that ran from 1938 to 2004, and it requires the local governments to use the money to reduce property taxes. The bill would share $45 million in both 2013 and 2014. The bill includes a requirement that cities and counties lower their property tax rates when the overall valuation has increased. The intent is to…
Author: KMAN Staff
HUGOTON, Kan. (AP) A Spanish company is building a plant in southwest Kansas where grass and other crop residue will be turned into fuel. Madrid-based Abengoa Bioenergy is building its first commercial plant in Hugoton. The facility is expected to use about 1,300 tons of crop residue and grass a day to make ethanol. Tom Robb, manager of the product division of Abengoa, tells The Hutchinson News the site is expected to be producing ethanol by late 2013 or early 2014. The plant is projected to have 65 permanent jobs with an annual payroll of $5 million when it’s operating.…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Hawker Beechcraft is furloughing employees because of a shortage of materials on two composite jets. The Wichita-based company says it will furlough employees who work on final assembly of Premier 1A and Hawker 4000 business jets inside Plant IV. Spokeswoman Nicole Alexander says the furloughs will be held on a rolling basis over the next 30 to 60 days, and last between 30 and 45 days. The Wichita Eagle reports employees working on the planes in Plant 3 are already on furlough because of the material shortages. She says the composite materials are in short supply because…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Heath Foundation is launching a new campaign to draw attention to what it calls a crisis in dental health care in Kansas. The campaign, called “Truth about Teeth,” launched Monday. It will use billboards, media ads, a website and a Facebook page to spread the message that poor dental health affects overall health. Steve Coen, CEO of the foundation, says a lack of access, high costs and a shortage of dentists have contributed to Kansas’ poor oral health. The Wichita Eagle reports the campaign will use ads with words such as “decay” and “gross” plastered…
COLUMBUS, Kan. (AP) A suspect in a traffic accident that killed a Kansas woman and her daughter is scheduled to go to trial on Tuesday. Kaston Hudgins of Galena is charged with first-degree murder in a July 2009 wreck that killed Teresa Kemp and her daughter, Taylor, both of Pittsburg. The Joplin Globe reports the trial is scheduled to start Tuesday in Cherokee County District Court. Prosecutors say Hudgins was drinking when he fled from a Cherokee County sheriff’s deputy and hit Kemp’s vehicle south of Pittsburg. A judge a civil trial last April found Hudgins solely responsible for the…
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) Motorists who depend on the Centennial Bridge connecting Leavenworth in northeastern Kansas and Platte County in Missouri can expect weeks of delays while crews carry out repairs. The Kansas Department of Transportation says that from Monday until late August, only one lane will be open at a time, meaning eastbound and westbound traffic will have to alternate. The bridge carries Kansas 92 from Leavenworth over the Missouri River to northwestern Missouri, where drivers can pick up Missouri Route 45 or connect with Interstate 29 a few miles farther east. KDOT suggests drivers consider alternate ways to cross…
GREAT BEND, Kan. (AP) Lawyers for a 38-year-old central Kansas man accused of killing a 14-year-old girl are trying again to get his trial moved. Adam Longoria is scheduled for trial March 26 in Barton County District Court on charges of capital murder and attempted rape. He would face life in prison if convicted. Longoria is accused of killing Alicia DeBolt, who disappeared in August 2010 after leaving her Great Bend home for a party. Her burned remains were later found at an asphalt plant where Longoria worked. Judge Hannelore Kitts denied a motion in February for a change of…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas policymakers say they sense that the state’s economy is on the mend. They point to recent job reports, increasing state revenues and sentiment among residents and the business community that conditions are turning around. But there is caution in the legislators’ sentiments, fueled by uncertainty regarding federal tax laws and how quickly consumer sentiment will be fully restored. The state Department of Labor will report Tuesday on the January unemployment rate, which finished 2011 at 6.3 percent. A federal report released Friday showed the nation added 227,000 jobs. One indicator of the rebound is state revenues.…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Wichita grocery store owner faces sentencing Monday in a food stamp conspiracy that targeted poor people willing to sell their benefits for cash. Ahmed Al-Maleki, the owner of Kansas Food Market, was convicted of conspiracy, wire fraud and food stamp fraud. His attorney has portrayed the Iraqi immigrant as a hard worker who saved enough to open his grocery store in 2009. The defense is seeking a probationary sentence, while the prosecution is recommending prison time. Prosecutors said Friday in a filing that losses amounted to more than $130,000 over six months. The filing said the…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A former south-central Kansas official accused of stealing trucks is due in court on federal theft charges. Forty-nine-year-old Steven Collier, of Nashville, Kan., is the former public works director for Barber County. Collier is scheduled for a change-of-plea hearing Monday. Collier and his wife, Diana Collier, of Medicine Lodge, are charged with theft, interstate transportation of stolen property and sale of stolen property. They’re accused of stealing trucks, a bulldozer, a tractor and other items from Barber County. Steven Collier was responsible for road and bridge maintenance and construction projects.