SALINA, Kan. (AP) An established winery in central Kansas is up for sale. The 20-year-old Smoky Hill Vineyards and Winery is located on 40 acres north of Salina. The Salina Journal reports that bids for the winery and its assets are being auctioned online through most of February. Norm Jennings and his wife have run the winery since his father, co-founder Steve Jennings, died in 2005. The couple announced last March they planned to sell the operation and embark on a career in lay ministry. The assets for sale include the intellectual property the names of the wines and production…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A former Wichita police officer pleaded guilty to inappropriately touching residents on two occasions while he was on duty. Joseph McGill pleaded guilty Monday to committing sexual battery. He was charged last year in two separate incidents in November 2010 and February 2011. The Wichita Eagle reports McGill had been a police officer for three years. He resigned shortly after the charges were filed. McGill will be sentenced March 6.
GARDNER, Kan. (AP) Two people died in an accident that shut down southbound Interstate 35 near Gardner for several hours. The Johnson County Sheriff’s office says in a news release that the accident occurred about 1:45 a.m. Tuesday. Two people were ejected from a car and died at the scene after the car rolled. No one else was in the car. Investigators are trying to determine what caused the car to roll. The interstate reopened about 6 a.m.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The president of the Kansas Senate says he questioned whether dinners of legislators invited to Gov. Sam Brownback’s official residence violate the state’s open meetings law. In the last month, Brownback has hosted members of 13 legislative committees at Cedar Crest for what he calls “legislative dinners.” The Kansas Press Association and The Topeka Capital-Journal are questioning whether the meetings violate the open meetings law. The law prohibits a majority of a legislative body from discussing government business without giving the public notice and access. Senate President Steve Morris, a Republican from Hugoton, says he raised that…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Bioscience Authority spent about $122,000 in public funds on legal fees for two former executives. The Wichita Eagle reports the KBA had said previously the legal fees cost about $64,000. Attorney Tariq Abdullah said Monday several pages had been inadvertently excluded from an electronic copy of legal billing records sent to The Eagle last week. The money was spent during a forensic audit that questioned some practices of former KBA chief executive officer Tom Thornton and Janice Katterhenry, former chief financial and operating officer. A Senate Commerce Committee and the Johnson County District Attorney’s office…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Fire investigators say a Topeka house exploded after a contractor hit a gas line. The home of 73-year-old Lucinia Tolliver exploded Monday. Topeka Fire Department investigator Michael Martin says the contractor hit the gas line while excavating to install a sprinkler system at a neighboring home. Police Lt. Jana Harden said Tolliver was “alert, conscious and aware” when emergency responders arrived at her home but she was hospitalized for treatment. The Topeka Capital-Journal reported Tolliver was a retired typesetter at the newspaper who lived alone. Green said gas was shut off to 77 homes shortly after the…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A gay-rights group wants Kansas legislators to repeal an unenforced law that makes sex between consenting adults of the same gender a crime. The Kansas Equality Coalition is seeking the repeal from the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is considering a bill making other technical changes to state criminal statutes. A hearing on the bill scheduled for Tuesday was delayed until Wednesday because of committee discussion on unrelated matters. In 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled state laws criminalizing gay sex between consenting adults are unconstitutional. The Kansas coalition has been trying since then to get legislators to…
FAIRWAY, Kan. (AP) A new clinical research center in Fairway will provide a place for the earliest stage of new drug and treatment tests. The Clinical Research Center started taking patients last week but its official grand opening is Tuesday. The center is part of the University of Kansas Medical Center. The $19 million renovation project was funded by a one-eighth-cent sales tax approved by Johnson County residents. The center’s medical director, Raymond Perez, says the research building will give the Medical Center a place to conduct Phase 1 clinical trials on patients. The Kansas City Star reports the center…
A fire in Wamego this past Friday morning is being investigated as an arson. Wamego Police chief Mike Baker confirmed Tuesday the fire at 314 Maple is under investigation. There were no injuries, but four people were home at the time of the fire, reported shortly before 1:30 a.m. The four individuals were all able to get out of the structure safely. Damage from the fire was minimal, according to Wamego Fire chief Phil Stultz. Stultz indicates damage was confined to the porch and part of the siding on the house.
The past few years have seen a proposed change in access to the internet for rural communities . Steve Sackrider, President and General Manager of the Wamego Telecommunication Company, Inc., talked with KMAN’s Joyce Mermis about the FCC’s plan for broadband in the interview above.