In a press release on Friday, it was announced that the Manhattan Ogden USD 383 and the Manhattan Ogden NEA have reach a tentative agreement after seven meetings spanning over the past three month. The highlights of the new contract include: -a 3% compensation package increase -an increase of $900.00 on the base salary, meaning starting salary for a teacher will be $34,900. -continued coverage of the basic health insurance premium. -small increase in supplemental contracts, which include advisors and coaches. -Continued longevity increment increase -continued payment for National Board Certification. -provides a new stipend for bully prevention teacher leadership. -continue…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Gov. Sam Brownback has urged a large crowd at the Kansas Statehouse to work to overturn a federal government policy designed to ensure that most employers’ health plans cover contraceptive. Brownback joined the state’s Roman Catholic bishops Friday in decrying the policy as an attack on religious freedom. Several thousand people attended. The rally is part of a nationwide campaign prompted by the mandate announced by President Barack Obama earlier this year. The mandate included a religious exemption for houses of worship but not religiously affiliated hospitals, charities, universities and social service agencies. Obama later announced a…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A federal judge has again barred Kansas from stripping federal family planning funds from Planned Parenthood clinics in Wichita and Hays as well as an unaffiliated clinic in Dodge City. U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten on Friday extended his preliminary injunction first issued a year ago. Planned Parenthood of Kansas and Mid-Missouri and the Dodge city Family Planning Clinic sought the extension after the Legislature this year re-enacted restrictions on family planning funding. The dispute stems from a Kansas law requiring the state to first allocate some federal family planning money to public health departments and…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Kansas farmers planted 20.4 million acres this season to their four major crops of wheat, sorghum, corn and soybeans. Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service said Friday that acreage is up slightly from the previous year. Almost half of it, or about 9.6 million acres, went into winter wheat. But growers this spring put in 4.7 million acres of corn. That is down about 4 percent from a year ago, but it is still the third largest planted corn acreage since 1936 in Kansas. The service also reported that Kansas farmers have planted or plan to plant some 3.6…
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Kansas has extended the hours for hunting sandhill cranes, raising concern among conservationists who say the longer hours could imperil the endangered whooping crane. The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism recently approved extending the hours for sandhill crane hunting from sunrise to sunset. The hours previously had been one half hour after sunrise until 2 p.m. The season runs from early November to early January. Ron Klataske, director of the Audubon of Kansas, says the longer hours put the endangered whooping crane at risk because whooping cranes migrate through some of the same habitat…
HAYS, Kan. (AP) A plan to build two wind turbines to supply energy to Fort Hays State University is closer to reality. The Ellis County planning and zoning commission on Wednesday approved a conditional-use permit for two 2.1-megawatt wind turbines on private land near the university. The turbines would use underground cables to provide electricity to the university. The commission’s approval hinges on the developer providing insurance certification and a final transportation plan. The Ellis County Commission would make the final decision. The Hays Daily News reports the turbines are part of a long-term plan by Fort Hays State to…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Police say robbers have targeted two fireworks stands in the Wichita area this week. In the first robbery on Wednesday, three men took fireworks, but no money, from a Wholesale Fireworks stand in Derby. Derby police say one of the men fired a shot into the ground with a silver-colored revolver. No one was injured. Sedgwick County authorities say two men armed with a weapon held up a stand early Friday in Wichita. It was not immediately clear if any fireworks or money were taken in the second robbery. The suspects in both robberies are described only…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) State revenue officials say Kansas will not pay the final 10 percent of its contract for a new $40 million motor vehicle system until problems are fixed. The Kansas Department of Revenue notified the 3M Co. Thursday that it needs to improve the new software, which has caused long lines and frustration at motor vehicle offices across the state since it was installed seven weeks ago. Donna Shelite, the state director of vehicles, told the Shawnee County Commission that as many as 73,000 records didn’t convert correctly to the new system. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Shelite told…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Roman Catholic bishops in Kansas are sponsoring a Statehouse rally over what their church views as attacks by the federal government on religious freedom. The rally is set for Friday afternoon, with Gov. Sam Brownback and U.S. Jerry Moran among the scheduled speakers. The event is part of a nationwide campaign prompted by a mandate announced by President Barack Obama earlier this year requiring most employers to provide health insurance covering birth control. Many Catholics and other religious conservatives oppose the mandate. The Obama mandate included a religious exemption for houses of worship but not religiously affiliated…
Below is a press release from the Kansas Department of Revenue, Division of Vehicles sent Friday afternoon after yet another glitch with the tag renewal system. As a result, motorists whose last names begin with H or I now have until July 13 to renew their tags…. The Kansas Department of Revenue, Division of Vehicles has asked law enforcement to extend a two week grace period for drivers with tags expiring June 30. The grace period will extend to July 13 and will apply to those with last names starting with H or I, or vehicles with 30 day temporary…