TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A recent spate of earthquakes across the southern border in Oklahoma isn’t likely to change the way Kansas officials think about disasters that could strike the state. In fact, other than fog, no other hazardous event ranks lower on the state’s list of 22 potential threats than earthquakes. Tornadoes and flooding are on the top of the list, based on the frequency of such damaging events in Kansas. Emergency management officials say that despite the low priority of earthquakes on the hazard list, Kansas is prepared to respond to any event. That’s in part to the experience…
Author: KMAN Staff
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) The 2011 Kansas State Fair was profitable, but some numbers fell below figures for 2009 and 2010. The Hutchinson News reports that the numbers from the fair’s board of directors show that total audited attendance for the 2011 fair came in at about 339,000. That was nearly 4.2 percent behind 2010, and only the fifth-best year in the past 10 years. The 2011 attendance was however better than the 10-year attendance average. Receipts for gate admission totaled about $1.2 million for the year. That’s off about $86,200, or about 6.5 percent, from 2010. Opening day attendance was…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Department of Commerce is holding a two-day gathering this week for rural entrepreneurs and telecommunications professionals. The agency’s Rural Opportunities Conference takes place Wednesday and Thursday at the Bicentennial Center in Salina. Gov. Sam Brownback is scheduled to speak at the opening luncheon. The Commerce Department says the gathering will focus on expanding broadband access in rural Kansas and using the technology to help growing businesses. Other speakers include Don Macke, director of the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship in Lincoln, Neb., and Ron Wilson of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Leaders of five Indian tribes plan to join Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback this week for a commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the state’s admission to the union. The event is set for 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Kansas State Historical Society in west Topeka. Participants will include leaders from the four tribes with reservations in Kansas the Iowa, the Kickapoo, the Prairie Band Potawatomi and the Sac and Fox. Also joining them will be representatives from the Kaw Nation, now based in northern Oklahoma. The Kaw were a prominent tribe in what became Kansas, but treaties…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The commemoration of Kansas’ 150th birthday will wrap up with a symposium discussing the state’s future. The Kansas in Question Symposium will be Dec. 5 and Dec. 6 at the Hyatt Regency Wichita. Ted Ayers, vice president and lawyer for Wichita State University, says people in leadership positions from throughout the state are expected to attend. She says 88 of the 300 spots in the symposium were open as of late last week. The Wichita Eagle reports that groups at the symposium will discuss six areas: education, employment, the environment, health, rural Kansas and urban Kansas. Gov.…
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) Libraries across the state will be tracking their patrons on Tuesday in an effort to show how valuable libraries are to Kansans. The project is conducted by the Kansas Library Association, the Kansas Association of School Libraries and the State Library of Kansas. Patrons will be asked what library services they use and what makes the library important to them. Hutchinson Library Director Gregg Wamsley says the data compiled will help the State Library lobby lawmakers to assure funding for libraries. The Hutchinson News reports that data collected in last year’s snapshot found that in one day,…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A group of music educators is encouraging grassroots advocacy to protect music programs in Kansas schools. Members of the Kansas Music Educators Association say they are fighting against a steep drop in funding for their programs. KMEA president Craig Manteuffel of Hays recently told the state board of education that budget cuts have hurt school districts across the state, although some suffered more than others. He says a 2010 survey conducted by the association found that since 2007, 185 music education positions have been dropped, including 124 positions eliminated in the 2009-2010 academic year. The Topeka Capital-Journal…
PRAIRIE VILLAGE, Kan. (AP) Two Johnson County cities are joining with a private company to offer citizens a chance to buy warranties on their sewer and water lines. Residents in the Kansas City suburbs of Prairie Village and Roeland Park are able to buy warranties to protect themselves from the cost of repairing water or sewer lines between their homes and the main connection. The breaks can cost thousands of dollars and most insurance companies don’t cover the costs. A private company, Service Line Warranties of America, is allowed to use a city’s logo and the mayor’s name to sell…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has named an interim chief information technology officer for the executive branch. Brownback said Monday that Anthony Schlinsog of the Kansas Department of Transportation would fill the job in the short term. Schlinsog has been with KDOT since 2008 and has 16 years of private sector technology experience. The governor is searching for a permanent IT officer after the abrupt resignation last week of the governor’s first choice. Last week, Jim Mann was named chief IT officer for the executive branch. But he resigned a day later after it was made public that…
Riley County Police are investigating the weekend rape of a Manhattan woman. RCPD Captain Kurt Moldrup tells KMAN the rape occurred in the Northcentral portion of Manhattan sometime between seven and eight Sunday morning and involved a 20-year-old female. Moldrup says they have a possible suspect in the case, though no further details were released.