BURLINGTON, Kan. (AP) The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has scheduled a public meeting to address a recent inspection report on Wolf Creek nuclear power plant near Burlington. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the meeting is scheduled for March 6 in New Strawn to discuss the report that was done after the plant experienced an off-site power loss on Jan. 13. The federal agency says the power loss resulted in the failure of a main generator electrical breaker and the loss of power to a startup transformer, temporarily cutting the plant’s connection to the electrical power grid. The NRC says emergency diesel…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas legislators are scheduled to consider a proposal next week that would set aside space in the Statehouse for an all-faiths chapel. The Lawrence Journal World reports that House Majority Leader Arlen Siegfreid has proposed a place “reserved for prayer and meditation in the state Capitol building.” A hearing on the Olathe Republican’s bill is scheduled Wednesday and Thursday before the House Federal and State Affairs Committee. The measure says belief in God, prayer and meditation have played a significant part in the history of the U.S. and Kansas. Several lawmakers said the measure could raise legal…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) A 37-year-old central Kansas man has been sentenced to at least 50 years in prison for killing his wife. Judge Jerome Hellmer on Friday sentenced Davin R. Sprague to the `hard 50,” which is a life sentence with no possibility of parole for 50 years. Sprague, of rural Saline County, was found guilty of first-degree murder in September in the death of his 28-year-old wife, Kandi Sprague. The Salina Journal reports Hellmer ruled that the murder warranted the harsher sentence, and evidence presented about Sprague’s troubled childhood and emotional distress did not outweigh it. Hellmer also ordered…
KECHI, Kan. (AP) The Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office says a 28-year-old man has been pronounced dead in Kechi after a woman called to report she had run over him. The sheriff’s office says the driver, a woman who was not identified, called 911 to say she had run over a person early Saturday. When emergency crews responded they found the man under the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities identified the victim as Carson E. Shotton of Kechi.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Frito-Lay says several members of management at its Topeka plant have been laid off. Frito-Lay spokeswoman Aurora Gonzalez told The Topeka Capital Journal that the Topeka employees were affected by parent company PepsiCo’s global layoffs announced as part of PepsiCo’s earnings Feb. 9. PepsiCo said then that it was planning to lay off about 3 percent of its workforce to help offset higher costs for ingredients and increased spending on advertising in North America Gonzalez declined to give an exact number of employees affected in Topeka. She said, overall, PepsiCo laid off 8,600 employees. Gonzalez said there…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Senate has given first-round approval to a measure allowing oil and gas drilling companies to spread some waste produced by fracking operations over fields in Kansas. The Wichita Eagle reports that the move Thursday comes as southern Kansas is experiencing a surge in horizontal drilling involving the hydraulic fracturing technique known as fracking. The material companies could spread on Kansas fields involve clays, which often have high concentrations of chloride. It’s viewed as a cheaper and more efficient way to get rid of waste created by fracking. High levels of chloride can damage plants and…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Senate leaders are suggesting that Gov. Sam Brownback’s school finance proposal be shelved for the year and sent to a committee for further review. Senate Vice President John Vratil, a Leawood Republican, said even though he supports most of the Republican governor’s plan there doesn’t seem to be enough support in the Senate Education Committee to get the plan ready for debate. Brownback says he’s not giving up on his plan, which would give local school districts more flexibility in how they raise and spend their resources on education. He says the current funding formula is…
The 4th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, will hold a ceremony to uncase the unit colors following the unit’s return from a deployment to Afghanistan. The ceremony will be at 9 a.m. Friday at Building 727 on Fort Riley’s Marshall Army Airfield. The uncasing of the colors represents the unit’s readiness to train for future missions after successfully completing its mission in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The “Pale Riders” supported Operation Enduring Freedom as part of Combined Task Force Strike and Combined Task Force Spartan, while partnered with the 2nd Kandak, 3rd…
A Manhattan woman’s ID was stolen and used in Las Vegas. Riley County Police reports show a credit card was taken out from Chase Bank Services in the name of Wilasini Kanchai, 59, sometime between the first of the year and Feb. 13. The card was used for various goods and services in Las Vegas over that time, with the total loss valued at $4,967. The investigation is ongoing.
Riley County Police are investigating a reported rape from over the weekend. RCPD Lieutenant Josh Kyle says the rape was reported Saturday morning around 8:15 a.m. and involved a 22-year-old female victim and a suspect known to her. The rape allegedly occurred in the northwestern portion of Manhattan. No arrests have yet been made.