WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Construction of the Kansas Star Casino’s permanent facility is running ahead of schedule, thanks to the mild winter weather. The Wichita Eagle reports the permanent casino is scheduled to open by the end of the year. Its temporary casino in an arena opened in December. The permanent casino will be more than 180,000 square feet. That is much more space than the 100,000 square feet it now has in the arena facility, with its 53,000 square feet of casino space. It will offer expanded gaming, including a poker room, as well an events center, five restaurants and…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Gov. Sam Brownback has ordered flags at state buildings to be flown at half-staff Saturday to honor a Kansan who had been the oldest sitting federal judge in U.S. history. U.S. District Judge Wesley Brown died Jan. 23 at an assisted living center in Wichita at age 104. A memorial service for Brown is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, and Brownback ordered flags to remain lowered from sunrise to sunset. Brown was appointed as a federal district judge in 1962 by then-President John F. Kennedy. In 1979, Brown officially took senior status, a type of semiretirement that…
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) Two men will stand trial for allegedly gunning down a Hutchinson woman in what apparently was a case of mistaken identity. A Reno County judge Wednesday ordered Billy Joe Craig Jr. and Charles Christopher Logsdon to stand trial for the June, 2011, killing of 27-year-old Jennifer Heckel. Craig and Logsdon face first-degree murder and several other charges in the death of Heckel, who was shot at her home while her 5-year-old son was nearby. The Hutchinson News reports testimony during the hearing indicated the men intended to rob a drug dealer but went to the wrong home.…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Senate is considering a bill that would require certification of programs that treat domestic violence offenders. Under the bill, the attorney general’s office would certify and regulate the batterer intervention programs. Advocates say many current domestic violence programs are cursory, drop-in efforts that don’t take domestic violence seriously. Assistant Attorney General Travis Harrod said the proposed legislation follows up on a 2010 bill that established tracking of domestic violence convictions and sent offenders to batterer intervention programs. He says if batterers are not going to be sent to jail, the state needs to ensure that…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A House committee is hearing testimony on a bill that would make several changes to laws surrounding abortion. The hearings began Wednesday on the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.” The bill would, among other things, require physicians to tell women that abortion increases the risks of premature birth and breast cancer. It also would require medical providers to try to locate the fetal heartbeat and give the woman the chance to hear it before she undergoes an abortion. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the bill also would eliminate tax credits for drugs used for abortions and some…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A federal magistrate judge has set a trial date for next year in the government’s lawsuit against an abortion opponent accused of sending a threatening letter to a Wichita doctor who was training to offer abortion services. U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth Gale scheduled the trial against anti-abortion activist Angel Dillard for Feb. 5, 2013. His order on Thursday also sets a timeline for the parties to try to settle the case. The Valley Center woman told Dr. Mila Means in January that she would have to check under her car every day because someone might place an…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Attorney General Derek Schmidt says Kansas residents will share about $50 million of a $25 billion settlement reached between the federal government, states and several mortgage lenders. The deal announced Thursday is the largest industry settlement since the 1998 multistate tobacco settlement. Schmidt said the state’s share of the settlement would be direct payments to some homeowners who lost their homes to foreclosure. Under the agreement, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial will reduce loans for about 1 million households. They will also send checks of $2,000 to about 750,000 Americans, including…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The owner of a Kansas grocery store is pleading with a federal judge to spare him from prison for his role in a scheme that targeted people willing to sell their food stamps for cash. Ahmed Ajami Al-Maleki asked the judge in a letter for mercy so he can return to his family and live an honest life. His letter was part of a filing Wednesday by his attorney, Kurt Kerns, who is seeking a probationary sentence below the federal sentencing guidelines. Kerns said his client was a conduit for the food stamp scheme rather than a…
GARDNER, Kan. (AP) A northeast Kansas woman injured after a hit-and-run crash involving a tractor-trailer has delivered a healthy baby girl. The Kansas City Star reported that 33-year-old Nikki McClure is in critical but stable condition following Wednesday’s collision on Interstate 35 near Gardner. The Kansas Highway Patrol reported that McClure had to be extricated from her car after rear-ending the slow-moving tractor-trailer. After the crash, the rig’s driver drove off with the hood of her car impaled on the back of the trailer. As of Thursday, the truck and its driver hadn’t been found. McClure’s husband calls the baby…
KINGMAN, Kan. (AP) Police say an 89-year-old Kingman man who was the subject of a Silver Alert has been found dead. The search for Wallace “Gene” Fairchild ended after his body was found Wednesday afternoon. His body was found at Calvary Cemetery south of Danville in eastern Harper County, which is south of Kingman. Fairchild, who suffered from dementia, was last seen about noon Tuesday driving on U.S. 54 near Kingman. Family members contacted police after he didn’t show up at either of two daily visits with family members.