Author: KMAN Staff

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Highway Patrol says a woman and her two children are dead after a car collided with their minivan on Interstate 70 west of Topeka. The crash happened around 3:15 p.m. Saturday when the eastbound car crossed the interstate’s grassy median and collided with the westbound van. The patrol says the van’s driver, 37-year-old Laura Geske of Salina, was killed along with 3-year-old Joy Geske and 8-year-old Joshua Geske. Laura Geske’s 41-year-old husband, Jeffrey, and another son, 3-year-old Jacob, were taken to a Topeka hospital. The patrol says their injuries don’t appear life-threatening. The driver of…

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Democratic leaders in the Kansas Legislature are criticizing Secretary of State Kris Kobach for serving as the honorary campaign chairman for a fellow Republican who’s running for a state Senate seat. Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, of Topeka, and House Minority Leader Paul Davis, of Lawrence, said Friday that Kobach is violating the ethics code of the National Association of Secretaries of State. They also said Kobach’s actions raise questions about whether he can run Kansas elections fairly. Kobach is the honorary chairman for Senate candidate Mark Gilstrap in Kansas City. Kobach said it’s common for secretaries…

MERRIAM, Kan. (AP) A 36-year-old Topeka man has been charged in the death of a woman whose body was found recently at a Johnson County motel. Jason Munjak was charged Friday with first-degree murder in the death of 37-year-old Toby Rock, a mother of five children. Rock’s body was found last week in a Merriam hotel. Authorities said she was killed Jan. 19. Police arrested Munjak on Wednesday. The Kansas City Star reports that police have also arrested a second man Thursday and are calling him a person of interest. Munjak was being held in the Johnson County jail. Bond…

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Wichita man has been found guilty for his role in a traffic accident that killed a 5-year-old girl. The Wichita Eagle reports that that a jury on Friday convicted 29-year-old Ronald Bevan of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Amber Randolph. Bevan was also found guilty of aggravated battery and involuntary manslaughter while driving under the influence. Police said Bevan was drunk and racing a friend last February. Bevan cut off his friend’s vehicle, which caused it to slide over the median and into the car driven by the child’s mother, Michelle Randolph. The driver of…

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Bioscience Authority funds are being used to pay the legal fees of former CEO Tom Thornton as an audit and investigation into his tenure continues. Invoices obtained Friday by The Associated Press show the KBA has spent more than $51,000 in public funds to Jim Eisenbrandt and a fellow law partner to represent Thornton. The fees began in April 2011 shortly after Thornton resigned and a forensic audit was started. The KBA’s bylaws provide for the agency to pay legal fees for its top executives in matters related to their tenure. The KBA is has also…

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The National Agricultural Statistics Service says the nation’s cattle herd has shrunk to its smallest size in 50 years. Ranchers in Texas and Oklahoma made the most drastic cuts to their herds amid drought conditions that shriveled pastures and drove hay prices to record levels. The agency’s inventory released Friday counts 90.8 million head of cattle and calves on Jan. 1 in the United States. That is 2 percent below last year. It’s the lowest inventory since 1952, when the nation had 88.1 million head of cattle. Texas still led the nation with 11.9 million head of…

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) A Reno County jury found a 28-year-old Wichita man guilty of using his sister as a shield during a standoff with police last year. Deron McCoy Jr. was found guilty Thursday of 12 of the 18 charges. He was arrested after a five-hour standoff on March 22, 2011, a Hutchinson hotel. The standoff began after McCoy’s former girlfriend came to pick up their child. Prosecutors say when emergency responders entered the room, McCoy was holding his sister and 7-month-old daughter as human shields. They were not hurt and McCoy eventually surrendered. The Hutchinson News reports the jury…

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) State officials say they will accelerate work on 32 road projects worth nearly $50 million to take advantage of low construction prices. Legislative leaders and Gov. Sam Brownback said Friday the accelerated projects will create 470 construction jobs and another 900 indirect jobs. Construction is expected to begin this fall. The projects are mostly repair and reconstruction of roads and bridges. Many of the projects had been scheduled for next year and others did not have a start date. The 32 projects are part of a 10-year, $8 billion transportation program passed by last year’s Legislature.