TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback and officials of the state’s public pension system aren’t saying publicly whether they favor issuing bonds to help close a close a long-term funding gap. A study commission is considering whether the state should issue up to $5 billion in bonds. The panel expects to make a recommendation by the end of the year. The Kansas Public Employees Retirement System projects an $8.3 billion gap between anticipated revenues and benefits promised to retirees, teachers and government employees through 2033. Brownback hasn’t been shy about pushing to move toward a 401(k)-style plan for new…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A newly formed Kansas advocacy group is planning a protest march and rally Saturday in Wichita. Kansans United in Voice and Spirit plans to march outside the headquarters of Koch Industries. The private company is led by brothers Charles and David Koch, who are active in supporting conservative causes. Organizers will lead a two-mile march to Koch Industries for a rally. The march is set to begin at 3 p.m. with a mobilization meeting afterwards. The group says it opposes what it calls secrecy in government, citing Gov. Sam Brownback’s elimination of public arts funding and the…
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Department of Agriculture and Kansas State University are holding four meetings next month to educate water rights holders about their options during drought. The department’s Division of Water Resources says the meetings will also include information about managing next year’s water supply. The meetings are planned for Nov. 15 in Larned and Pratt, and Nov. 16 in Garden City and Hugoton. Sections of Kansas have been experiencing severe drought lately. The dry conditions prompted the state to let water rights holders borrow from their 2012 allocation this year or spread out their allocations across a…
EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) Two Emporia State University students from China who died in a fire were remembered as kind and generous people with a thirst for education. Nearly 400 people attended a memorial Thursday night for 23-year-old Yawei Fan and 22-year-old Zheng Lin. They died Oct. 20 when items on the grate of a floor furnace ignited in their duplex. Fan was a sophomore studying chemistry. Lin was working toward a master’s degree in English. The university’s physics and chemistry student organizations plan a memorial project that will train student volunteers to inspect student housing for fire safety. They also…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Former Topeka Deputy Fire Chief Kathy Petty has filed a complaint accusing the city of sexual discrimination and retaliating against her when she complained. Petty is seeking $1.3 million in damages, who was the department’s first female deputy chief. After being a target of criticism from the firefighters’ union, she was fired in February 2010. She was also an unsuccessful applicant for a training officer’s job earlier this year. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the city attorney’s office is recommending that the city council deny the claim at its meeting next Tuesday. The city argues that Petty’s…
GREENSBURG, Kan. (AP) Greensburg will reach another milestone in its rebuilding from a 2007 tornado when it opens a county historical museum next week. The Kiowa County Historical Museum is scheduled to open Tuesday in a building that will also house the Kiowa County Library and the Media Center. The county’s Historical Society began planning the museum soon after the May 4, 2007, tornado leveled most of Greensburg, including wiping out most of the museum’s collection. The Dodge City Daily Globe reports that the museum features exhibits involving buffalo that once roamed the plains, the coming of stagecoaches and railroads…
Residents of the Valleywood attended Thursday’s Riley County commission meeting in hopes of resolving drainage issues that have plagued their subdivision for a number of years. Valleywood is part of a benefit district, but commission chair Karen McCulloh says that doesn’t grant the subdivision access to those funds. “If it benefits one area that area should pay for it, not the entire county,” McCulloh said. “That’s just the way we operate.” The comission asked SMH consulting to assess the situation earlier this month. SMH Representatives said the options were to place yard drains in each property or to do nothing.…
A man was taken by law enforcement officials from McCain auditorium Wednesday, during the Kansas State Landon lecture. Ryan Leathers, 38, of Manhattan was arrested at McCain auditorium shortly after 11:30 Wednesday morning. Charges include disorderly conduct and obstructing the legal process, with a bond for Leathers set at 750 dollars. The man caused a disturbance by speaking loudly during the question portion of former Senator Alan Simpson’s presentation. He also tried to interrupt the former Senator before law enforcement took him away. When it was all said and done, the disturbance at McCain Auditorium didn’t end up being as serious as it…
With the Riley County-Manhattan health board dissolving at the end of the calendar year, the county is still weighing it’s options as far as maintaining an advisory board. The subject was discussed at length during Wednesday’s meeting with the board moving unanimously to hire the Kansas Health Institute as a consultant to help with the process. Current health board president Brady Burton doesn’t expect anything major to happen for a number of months. “My guess is that it will probably be February or March before the new advisory board is put into place,” Burton said. Assistant Health Administrator Suzanne Kufahl clarifies the…