The Konza Prairie Biological Station , or KPBS, is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The long term research facility encompasses over 8,500 acres, and houses many long term research projects. Director of the KPBS and Professor of Biology at Kansas State University John Briggs says that one of the research projects concerning the importance of fire in prairie systems has been conducted for the past 40 years. Briggs explains that without occasional burnings the prairie would revert to woodland scrub, and drastically change the ecosystem currently in place. To find out more about KPBS, and the current research, you can…
Author: KMAN Staff
CUPERTINO, Calif. (AP) Apple Inc. said the company’s co-founder Steve Jobs died Wednesday. He was 56. “We are deeply saddened to announce that Steve Jobs passed away today,” the company said in a brief statement. “Steve’s brilliance, passion and energy were the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives. The world is immeasurably better because of Steve.” Steve Jobs has died after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Jobs is credited for pioneering many advances in personal computing, and for being the man behind such technological staples as the iPod and iPhone. Jobs first created…
A homeless man was taken into police custody on Tuesday. Riley County police arrested 21-year old Caleb Sullivan in connection with a robbery that occurred on August 8 of this year. Sullivan is believed to be one of two individuals who held 33-year old Armando Cantu-Penafort at gunpoint and forcibly entered his home located at 1031 Yuma. The victim fled the scene, escaping through the backdoor. The burglars stole the victim’s wallet which contained $500. Only Sullivan has been arrested at this time but RCPD has identified a suspect for the accomplice. Sullivan is expected to face one felony charge of aggravated robbery. Sullivan is being…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas health officials say two additional cases of listeria have been linked to tainted cantaloupes from Colorado, bringing the total to seven. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment said Tuesday the seven cases include two resulting in deaths. The agency did not say when or where the cases occurred. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 100 confirmed illnesses and 18 deaths nationwide linked to bacteria in cantaloupes from a single Colorado farm. Symptoms of a listeria infection include fever, muscle aches, diarrhea and vomiting and can show up two months after the tainted…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The top official at the Kansas Department on Aging says an allegation of abuse against a Wichita nursing home could not be substantiated. Aging Secretary Shawn Sullivan confirmed Tuesday that an investigation by his agency of the Deseret Nursing and Rehabilitation home found no wrongdoing. He declined to give more details, citing patient privacy. The investigation began after doctors reported two weeks ago that they found open sores and maggots on a resident’s feet when he was brought to a hospital with chest pains. Police said the 67-year-old man told them he was being mistreated at the…
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) Employees of a southwest Kansas county will continue getting rewards for generous donations to the United Way. A policy in place for at least a decade allows Finney County employees to donate half a day’s pay to the county United Way’s annual fundraising drive in return for a full vacation day. The Garden City Telegram reports the county commission voted 4-1 on Monday to keep the policy in place. Finney County Administrator Randy Partington said the reward program typically raises a little more than $10,000 for the United Way’s annual campaign. County Commissioner Don Doll cast…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Two new surveys have found that Kansas grape growers tend nearly 350 acres of vines and produced more than 100,000 gallons of wine last year. The surveys were released this week by the National Agricultural Statistics Service office in Kansas. Kansas Agriculture Secretary Dale Rodman says the data will help the state better understand how to encourage growth in the grape and wine industries. He says Kansas is committed to spurring growth in both traditional and specialty commodities. The surveys found the Kansas grapes were valued at slightly more than $400,000 last year. The state’s wineries had…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) The University of Kansas has received a federal grant to help public school students become more proficient in the arts. The three-year, $777,000 grant comes from the U.S. Department of Education. The money will fund a joint effort between the schools of music and education at the university and the Kansas City, Kan., school district. The initiative is called Project Starts short for Skillful Thinking in the Arts. It’s intended to enhance arts-based education and to help students apply their knowledge of the arts to problems in other areas. University staff will train Kansas City arts teachers…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas legislators are getting an update on efforts by Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration to promote the arts after he vetoed state funding for them. The Joint Committee on Arts and Cultural Resources expected to hear testimony at a Wednesday meeting from members of the Kansas Arts Commission and the nonprofit Kansas Arts Foundation. The foundation formed in February after Brownback outlined a plan to eliminate the Arts Commission and scale back state funding for arts programs. Legislators rejected the plan, keeping the Arts Commission in place, but Brownback vetoed the commission’s $689,000 in state funding. In turn,…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Police say two cars that had been submerged in a Topeka lake contained no bodies. A 1990s model Oldsmobile and a 1980s model Chevrolet Camaro were pulled from Lake Shawnee Tuesday. Shawnee County Sheriff Sgt. Todd Stallbaumer says police found nothing of interest in either vehicle. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that authorities were investigating to determine more information about the cars’ owners, or whether they were stolen. A car removed from the lake in June contained the remains of 84-year-old Leonard Jordan of Milwaukee, who disappeared in 1984. Investigators later determined that no foul play was involved…