TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A spokesman says a northeast Kansas prosecutor’s investigation into private meetings of Republican legislators with Gov. Sam Brownback is likely to continue into next month. Lee McGowan, chief of staff to Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor, said Thursday that Taylor’s staff is still interviewing some of the 90-plus lawmakers invited to seven meetings in January at the governor’s residence. Taylor, a Democrat, launched his investigation in February. Brownback, a Republican, met with GOP members of 13 legislative committees, but spokeswoman Sherriene (SHUH’-reen) Jones-Sontag said Brownback is confident the gatherings didn’t violate the Kansas Open Meetings Act.…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Wichita area students have been using their spring break to help others and that includes teaching senior citizens how to play video games. Students volunteered this week at the Andover Senior Center, where they helped residents master a Wii video game that mimics bowling. The center bought the video game system with a grant from the Butler County Department on Aging. Students from Maize, Goddard, Derby, Rose Hill and Wichita are making the trek to Andover this week to help out with the Wii training and spring cleaning at the senior center. The Wichita Eagle reports that…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas teenager who pleaded guilty in the death of his 9-year-old stepbrother has been referred to a psychiatric hospital. Ryan Velez of Assaria pleaded guilty in September to unintentional but reckless second-degree murder in the shooting death of his stepbrother, Kaden Harper. Velez had been certified to stand trial as an adult. The Salina Journal reported that Velez is referred to Larned State Hospital on Wednesday. His lawyer, Mitch Christians, said Larned is better equipped to deal with Velez’s mental health needs than prison. A sentence report recommended Velez be admitted to Larned. His maximum stay…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Closing arguments began Thursday in the trial of a 52-year-old Oklahoma woman charged with killing her former husband and his fiancee. Dana L. Chandler, of Duncan, Okla., is charged with two counts of premeditated first-degree murder in the 2002 slayings of Karen Harkness and 47-year-old Mike Sisco. They were found dead in Harkness’ home. Prosecutors allege Chandler shot the two after Sisco told her he planned to marry Harkness. Chandler was arrested in Oklahoma last July. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that prosecutors began presenting their closing arguments Thursday morning. During the 13-day trial, jurors heard 100 witnesses…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Closing arguments began Thursday in the trial of a 51-year-old Oklahoma woman charged with killing her former husband and his fiancee. Dana L. Chandler, of Duncan, Okla., is charged with two counts of premeditated first-degree murder in the 2002 slayings of Karen Harkness and 47-year-old Mike Sisco. They were found dead in Harkness’ home. Prosecutors allege Chandler shot the two after Sisco told her he planned to marry Harkness. Chandler was arrested in Oklahoma last July. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that prosecutors began presenting their closing arguments Thursday morning. During the 13-day trial, jurors heard 100 witnesses…
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) Garden City will host Amtrak and BNSF representatives next month for a discussion about the future of an Amtrak route that runs through the area. City Manager Matt Allen told the Garden City Commission this week that the meeting is scheduled for April 10. The Garden City Telegram reports that Allen said the objective of the summit is to discuss issues relating to the future of Amtrak’s Southwest Chief, Amtrak’s passenger rail route that runs from Chicago to Los Angeles daily, passing through Kansas. Amtrak uses BNSF Railway lines. Because of dispute over rail maintenance, Amtrak…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Governmental Ethics Commission has fined a Wichita City Council member for using his government computer to send an e-mail supporting a friend’s campaign. The commission fined Michael O’Donnell $500 on Wednesday. O’Donnell had agreed to a consent decree acknowledging that his actions violated state ethics law. The Wichita Eagle reports that the e-mail at issue was sent by O’Donnell to 39 people on Oct. 4 during a council meeting. It was an invitation to a political fundraiser on behalf of his friend, state Sen. Garrett Love, a Republican from Montezuma. O’Donnell on Wednesday expressed contrition…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A federal magistrate’s pretrial order shows that the Topeka housing manager rejected a settlement offer the city made late last year in a federal discrimination lawsuit she is pursuing. The order also shows that Corrie Lynn Wright is seeking more than $397,500 in the case filed last July. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathryn Vratil issued the order Friday setting legal ground rules for the case and indicating it would go to a jury trial as scheduled Aug. 27 in Topeka. The lawsuit contends the city denied Wright a promotion she was promised. The…
PAOLA, Kan. (AP) The Miami County Commission has decided once more to forgo government money for contraceptives. Commissioners on Wednesday revisited an earlier decision not to seek the government contraceptive funds. About 75 people attended the meeting, and audience members spoke on both sides of the issue. The Kansas City Star reports that the board voted 3-2 against taking the funds. The commission also voted 3-2 earlier this month to delete about $9,000 from the county’s annual grant request from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. The grant money has subsidized the cost of contraceptives for low-income women for…
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) Judges from the Kansas Court of Appeals will travel to Overland Park next month to hear cases at Johnson County Community College. The college says three-judge panels will hear arguments on cases from throughout the state on April 17 in the Nerman Museum for Contemporary Art. The public is invited to watch the sessions, scheduled from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Appeals court members sit in three-person panels at locations across the state. Each panel typically takes up 30 appeals during a two-day period each month.