TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Many abortion opponents and conservative Republicans in Kansas are pushing to give the governor and legislators more influence over the appointment of appellate court judges. But a proposal seen as a step toward accomplishing their goals has stalled in the Legislature. The state Senate rejected a bill Thursday to have the governor appoint new Court of Appeals judges, subject to Senate confirmation. The measure would end the screening of applications for the court by a nominating commission controlled by attorneys. The Senate’s 22-17 vote against the measure showed Democrats and moderate Republicans still have misgivings about changing…
Author: KMAN Staff
FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is traveling to Fort Leavenworth to speak to officers studying at the Army’s Command and General Staff College. Rumsfeld served under Presidents Gerald Ford and George W. Bush and was in charge of the Pentagon during the start of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, retiring in 2006. He was scheduled to deliver a lecture at 10 a.m. Friday to more than 1,000 U.S. and international officers at the northeast Kansas post, then sign copies of his memoir, “Known and Unknown,” for the public. He has been touring the country promoting…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The FBI is investigating a suspicious letter sent to the downtown Wichita office of Sen. Pat Roberts, one of several congressional offices around the country receiving similar letters in recent days. KWCH-TV reports the letter containing a white, powdery substance arrived at the office Thursday. Traffic was restricted in the area while police and hazardous materials crews investigated. The FBI says no hazardous material has been found so far in similar letters sent to district offices of members of Congress around the country. Roberts’ communications director, Sarah Little, says the Kansas Republican was in Topeka on Thursday,…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Senate has narrowly rejected a proposed amendment to the state constitution aimed at challenging a key federal mandate on health care. Thursday’s vote on the so-called health care “freedom” amendment was 26-14 in favor, but backers needed a two-thirds majority, or 27 of 40 votes. The Senate’s decision came after members revised the measure so that a statewide vote on the proposition would have occurred only if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the federal health care overhaul of 2010. The amendment would have declared that Kansans have the right to refuse to buy health…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Senate has given first-round approval to a proposed amendment to the state constitution challenging a key federal mandate on health care. But before advancing the so-called health “freedom” amendment on a voice vote Thursday, senators modified it so that a statewide vote on the proposition would occur only if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the federal health care law. A final vote on the measure was expected Thursday evening. The amendment would declare that Kansans have the right to refuse to buy health insurance. A provision in the federal health care overhaul of 2010…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas House has passed more than two dozen bills rolling back laws, rules and regulations identified by the state’s official repealer as outdated or unnecessary. The repeal measures cleared the House and went to the Senate on Thursday. Gov. Sam Brownback designated Secretary of Administration Dennis Taylor last year as the state’s official repealer. Taylor gathered suggestions from throughout Kansas of laws and regulations that are burdensome to government, businesses or residents. Many of the statutes relate to special funds for fees that are no longer collected. Others spell out duties of county officials that were…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Legislation giving Kansas cities and counties $90 million in property tax relief over the next two years is on its way to the state Senate. The bill cleared the House on a vote of 122-2 Thursday afternoon. The measure, offered by House Democrats, was added during debate earlier in the day on a bill that would restrict the growth of property taxes in municipalities if the overall property valuation increases. The proposal would restore a revenue-sharing program between state and local governments that ran from 1938 through 2004. The program was halted because of budget shortfalls. Much…
The third group of soldiers from the Kansas National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 161st Field Artillery and 35th Military Police Company will be welcomed home from their year-long deployment to the Horn of Africa on Saturday in Topeka. The group involves soldiers from the Manhattan/Wamego area. The ceremony will begin at 12 p.m. at Forbes Field Hangar 662, 190th Air Refueling Wing, Kansas National Guard. Everyone attending the ceremony should enter Forbes through Gate B. The gate opens at 10 a.m. The first group was welcomed home on Feb. 9 and the second group on Feb. 20. The ceremony will honor…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A nurse from Fort Riley who diluted morphine solutions at a Salina nursing home is due in court for sentencing. Melanie Morrison was scheduled be sentenced Friday in federal court in Topeka for consumer product tampering and adulteration of a drug at the Holiday Resort Nursing Facility in Salina. Morrison admitted putting sodium chloride into solutions of morphine sulfate, reducing the painkiller’s quality and strength. Sodium chloride is dangerous to some patients, particularly those with congestive heart failure or severe renal insufficiency. Morrison struck a deal with prosecutors that could send her to prison for three years. She also…
Two people were taken to the hospital following a two vehicle accident in Geary county. Raquel Tomsin, 31, of Herrington and Alvin Schmedemann, 98, of Junction City were taken to Geary Community Hospital with possible injuries. The Kansas Highway Patrol reports the accident occurred on highway 77 at Lyons Creek Road southbound, about three miles south of Junction City. Raquel Tomsin was a passenger in a 2004 Lincoln Aviator, driven by Rineko Tomsin, 31, of Hawaii, which was southbound on U.S. 77. A ’99 Dodge Dakota driven by Schmedemann had been stopped at a stop sign, but failed to yield the right of…