TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas House committee has endorsed legislation that backers say would protect religious freedom but opponents believe would allow discrimination based on sexual orientation. Monday’s adoption by the House Judiciary Committee on a voice vote sends the bill to the full House. Committee chairman Lance Kinzer, an Olathe Republican, says the bill puts into law the language of Kansas court decisions for determining when government policies place too heavy a burden on practicing religion. It also allows people to sue state and local government agencies if they feel their religious freedoms have been abridged. Critics, including the…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas House committee has approved a plan for cutting individual income taxes, reducing taxes for business owners and keeping a promise to cut the state sales tax next year. The measure endorsed Monday by the House Taxation Committee is an alternative to a tax plan proposed by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback. The committee’s voice vote sends the measure to the House for debate. The committee modified a plan drafted by Republican leaders in the House. The plan would reduce individual income tax rates for 2013, but not as aggressively as Brownback had proposed. It would also…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Police in Topeka believe they’ve solved a rash of storage unit burglaries in which more than $250,000 worth of property was stolen. Police announced the arrests Tuesday of two men and two women suspected of breaking into dozens of storage units beginning last October. One of the suspects is charged with 84 counts of burglary and 77 counts of theft. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that detectives executed a search warrant Jan. 4 at a home where they found two stolen vehicles including a 1968 Chevy Chevelle and two 26-foot trailers’ worth of stolen goods. Other search warrants…
It’s that time of year again for change value notices, which were mailed out this past Friday by the Riley County Appraiser’s Office. “That change value notice, or CVN, contains the previous year’s value, as well as the updated value for 2012,” Greg McHenry, Riley County Appraiser, says. The change value notice also instructs how to use the county website to obtain property data during this appeal season. “If a property owner feels their property should be a different number than what the county chose, they have an option to have an informal appeal with the appraiser who did the appraisal…
A suspicious fire broke out Saturday night at a local salvage yard. Around 11:50 P.M., neighbor Steven Erichsen reported a fire at Superior Auto Salvage. The Riley County Fire Department arrived at the scene to find five junk vehicles on fire. The five vehicles include a 1983 Saub 900, a 1993 Dodge Dynasty, a 1989 Mazda RX7, a 1999 Ford Contour, and a 1988 Chevy. There was a total loss of $5,000 and the incident is still under investigation by the Riley County Fire Department.
Two Manhattan men were charged with robbery on Tuesday morning. Cole Brun, 22, and James Norton, 26, were arrested by KSU police. Brun was arrested in the 2100 block of Claflin, and Norton was arrested in the 2100 block of College Heights. Kansas State Police Spokeswoman Jessica Brooks tells KMAN the robbery occurred just before 11 p.m. Monday. The victim was reportedly Christopher Morton, a Kansas State student, who told police he was approached by two males who took three dollars from him. It doesn’t appear a weapon was involved. Brooks adds the case was not related to last week’s early morning aggravated burglary…
Officials at Kansas State University and at Australia’s leading plant pests research center are finalizing an agreement for a collaboration aimed at increasing agricultural security in both countries. Once formalized, the six-year partnership will pair Kansas State University plant pathology and entomology experts with those from the Australian Plant Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre, or CRC. The center is a consortium among several of Australia’s leading governmental research institutions and universities. Through this partnership, researchers will study emerging plant diseases and insect pests that threaten American and Australian agricultural systems and develop new strategies and technologies to defend against them. Kansas…
No cause yet, but the Manhattan Fire Department has released a dollar amount regarding loss from a fire Friday morning at an unoccupied residential structure at 2715 Browning Avenue. The Manhattan fire department indicates fire loss is estimated at 350-thousand dollars. KMAN news told you about the fire early last Friday morning, involving a residence under construction. Heavy smoke was apparent when firefighters arrived. It took more than an hour to get the fire under control, with crews having to evacuate the structure due to the floor collapsing. Part of Browning Avenue was closed most of Friday morning. The cause of…
KMAN’s Chris Swick talks about a recent study revealing how lifestyle changes could reduce cancer risks for KMAN’s Morning News.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – CSU Bakersfield’s DC Legg hit a pair of home runs, including a three-run shot in the bottom of the first, and pitcher Taylor Aikenhead threw a complete game as the Roadrunners took the three-game set from Kansas State with an 8-1 victory Monday at Hardt Field. CSUB came back to win the final two games of the series after K-State took a 7-5 extra-inning victory in the season opener on Saturday. Monday’s loss marked the first time the Wildcats lost a three-game road series to open the season since going 1-2 at Arkansas to open the 1992 campaign.…