TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Proposals for cracking down on illegal immigration in Kansas are foundering because of a split among majority Republicans in the state House. But House GOP leaders were under pressure Wednesday to get legislation moving. House Speaker Mike O’Neal, of Hutchinson, told fellow Republicans during a caucus meeting that he’d prefer to avoid a debate on immigration because it would be divisive. Some conservatives want the House to debate proposals favored by Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who helped draft tough immigration laws in Alabama and Arizona. Some rural Republicans back a proposal from influential business groups to…
Author: KMAN Staff
PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) Pittsburg State University officials are working to repair the Veterans’ Memorial Amphitheater after it was damaged by strong winds about a month ago. The Pittsburg Morning Sun reports winds destroyed some red bud trees, knocked down a flagpole holding the U.S. flag and damaged all of the 50 flagpoles that hold state flags. Tom Amershek, the university’s director of building trades and landscape maintenance, says all the flags were also damaged. He says private donations are being sought to help pay for replacements. Amershek said he hopes to have all work completed before the university’s Memorial Day…
CARBONDALE, Kan. (AP) Authorities will test remains found on property in northeast Kansas to determine whether they are human. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the bones and fragments have been sent to a morgue in Kansas City, Kan., for further examination. Investigators found the additional remains on property near Carbondale after a woman hunting for mushrooms discovered a human skull on Saturday. Carbondale is about 15 miles south of Topeka. The Osage County sheriff’s office says DNA testing could take several months.
RUSSELL, Kan. (AP) A Russell native who died when part of a grain elevator collapsed will have a permanent memorial in his hometown. Russell High School has named a memorial patio and shelter house for Sean Banks, who graduated from the school. The 19-year-old Banks died June 24, 2010, when part of the Russell grain elevator collapsed. The Hays Daily News reports the memorial was introduced between the school’s baseball games Monday. The Sean Banks Memorial Patio and Shelterhouse is between the football field and baseball field. It was built using funds from Banks’ memorial, with some funds coming from…
SEDGWICK, Kan. (AP) The city of Sedgwick wants out of Sedgwick County. Sedgwick Mayor Donald DeHaven says he hopes to have the proposal on the November ballot this year. Most of Sedgwick is in Harvey County but about 10 percent is in Sedgwick County. Sedgwick County Commissioner Richard Ranzau said Tuesday that the request is driven by economic considerations. He says Sedgwick leaders believe Harvey County would do a better job of promoting an industrial park on the Sedgwick County side of the city. Changing the county’s boundary lines would require an election or action by the Kansas Legislature. KFDI…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The family of a Topeka woman who died after her house exploded plans to sue a utility company and a lawn service. An attorney for the family of Lucinia Tolliver say the family will sue Kansas Gas Service and N-Line Lawn Service of Wetmore. The 81-year-old Tolliver died after a natural gas explosion at her home on Jan. 30. Attorney Thomas Ruzicka said Tolliver’s family would seek more than $1 million after Kansas Corporation Commission investigators finish a report on the blast. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Kansas Gas Service said Tuesday it was cooperating with the KCC’s…
CARBONDALE, Kan. (AP) Law officers have ended a search in northeast Kansas where human remains were found. The Osage County Sheriff’s office said in a news release Tuesday that numerous bones and bone fragments were found near Carbondale, about 15 miles south of Topeka. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the bones and fragments were sent to a morgue in Kansas City, Kan., to determine if they were from humans or animals. The sheriff’s office says DNA testing on the remains could take several months. The search began when a mushroom hunter found human remains Saturday on her property. Osage County Sheriff…
ABILENE, Kan. (AP) A new exhibit featuring images of a young Elvis Presley opens next month at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene. “Elvis at 21” features photographs of the king of rock’n’roll taken by Alfred Wertheimer in 1956, near the end of Eisenhower’s first term as president. The exhibit opens April 1 and runs through July 1. A concert by Elvis tribute artist Joseph Hall takes place April 13 on the museum campus, or in the Abilene High School gym in case of bad weather. “Elvis at 21” is a traveling exhibit developed by the…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas House members are considering a redistricting bill that would split the city of Topeka between two congressional districts. The bill up for debate Wednesday adjusts the lines of the state’s four U.S. House districts to account for changes in population over the past decade. Topeka is now entirely in the 2nd District of eastern Kansas, but the bill would extend the 1st District of western and central Kansas into the capital city. The 1st District would take in the Statehouse and heavily minority neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city. Republican-leaning, predominantly white neighborhoods in…
EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) Officials with the Kansas Hall of Fame are preparing to announce the first three members of the 2012 class of laureates. The announcement was set for 11 a.m. Wednesday at the William Allen White House State Historic Site in Emporia. The rest of this year’s honorees will be announced at two future news conferences. The Kansas Hall of Fame opened last year at the Great Overland Station in Topeka to coincide with the state’s 150th birthday. Its mission is to recognize outstanding Kansans. This year’s honorees will be inducted at a June 15 gala at the Topeka…