Author: KMAN Staff

By Ryan Lackey KStateSports.com (Original Story) MANHATTAN, Kan. – Backed by a 10-for-16 performance in four games last week, Kansas State sophomore outfielder Jared King has been named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday. The designation was the second by a Wildcat this season as Jake Brown earned co-player of the week honors on March 12. King picked up the third weekly honor of his career after being named newcomer of the week on two occasions last year. A product of Dublin, Ohio, King saw half of his hits go for extra bases…

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas House Speaker Mike O’Neal says his chamber’s Redistricting Committee will take a quick vote on a plan for redrawing state Senate districts. O’Neal scheduled a vote on the plan for Monday evening. O’Neal, a Hutchinson Republican, is the committee’s chairman. The House broke at least several decades of tradition last week by not accepting a plan for redrawing the 40 Senate districts that senators had approved. Instead, the House is considering a Senate redistricting plan favored by conservative Republicans and narrowly rejected by the Senate. GOP conservatives, who have a House majority, say the map approved…

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas House has approved a bill designed to prevent the state from subsidizing abortions even indirectly through tax breaks, but the measure’s future in the Senate appears uncertain. The bill was adopted by an 88-31 vote on Monday in the House. It would prohibit Kansas taxpayers from claiming abortion expenses under a deduction for medical costs when filing their income taxes. It also would deny tax breaks to abortion providers, such as an exemption to the sales tax that nonprofit groups claim when purchasing goods. The measure also prohibits state employees from performing abortions on state…

SALINA, Kan. (AP) Some farmers in north-central Kansas say they are preparing to begin wheat harvesting weeks earlier than normal. The wheat crop is sprouting early because of a mild winter and spring. Wheat harvests generally begin in Kansas around mid-June. But The Salina Jounal reports some are predicting that combines could roll into Saline County this year during the last week of May, or no later than the first week of June. The harvest has already begun in Oklahoma and Texas. Pam Shmidl is operations manager for the U.S. Custom Harvesters Association, based in Hutchinson. She says the fast-ripening…

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Bureau of Investigation says a dramatic increase in the number of methamphetamine labs in the state is not as alarming as it sounds. The KBI says meth manufacturing cases increased 43 percent between 2010 and 2011 from 143 in 2010 to 204 last year. Deputy KBI Director Kyle Smith says the increase is partly due to changes in how reports are counted. And he says the operations uncovered last year were “one-pot” operations involving small amounts of methamphetamine. And Smith told The Wichita Eagle the number of meth labs isn’t close to the 600 to…

MULVANE, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Star Casino is looking for another 300 workers, as it begins a second phase of expansion. Casino officials say most of the workers hired this summer for the casino near Mulvane will be needed in the food and beverage areas. A temporary casino in an equestrian arena opened in December. The permanent casino is scheduled to open by the end of the year. The Wichita Eagle reports the next phase of expansion will include a permanent gaming area, as well as a hotel and space for restaurants and bars. Peninsula Gaming, based in Dubuque, Iowa,…

OSWEGO, Kan. (AP) Officers are investigating the death of a 2-year-old boy who was run over by a truck while walking through a pasture in southeast Kansas. Clayton James of Labette City was struck on Saturday in the pasture one mile southwest of Oswego in Labette County. The Kansas Highway Patrol says the driver of the truck, 30-year-old Christy Dunnic of Oswego, wasn’t able to see the boy before running over him. KAKE-TV reports it is unclear why the boy was wandering in the field.

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) Johnson County Community College is planning a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Hospitality Culinary Academy. The event is planned for 1 p.m. on May 22. Classes will begin in fall 2013 in the $12 million, 36,000-square-foot building. It will house offices, classrooms, a library, five culinary labs, an innovation kitchen and a demonstration kitchen in a culinary theater. The school says the culinary labs include two for professional cooking classes, one for pastry classes, a cold foods kitchen and a restaurant kitchen. The restaurant kitchen will adjoin a dining room on the east end of the…

By Kenny Lannou KStateSports.com (Original Story) MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State Director of Athletics John Currie announced today that volleyball coach Suzie Fritz has signed a new multi-year contract, securing the services of the program’s all-time winningest coach through the 2016 season. The new five-year deal, approved in April by the K-State Athletics (KSA) Board of Directors, is retroactive to January 1, 2012, extends to December 31, 2016, and replaces the five-year contract Fritz signed in 2008. Fritz will be paid $130,000 in 2012-13 and will receive a $3,500 base salary increase each year plus be eligible for a $20,000 per-year…