BASEHOR, Kan. (AP) Residents of an eastern Kansas town voted by a wide margin to recall the mayor and two city council members. Tuesday’s vote in Basehor to recall Mayor Terry Hill and council members Dennis Mertz and Iris Dysart centered on the firing of former City Administrator Mark Loughry. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that about 65 percent of voters approved Hill’s recall, 61 percent went for Mertz’s and 59 percent for Dysart’s. Residents had mounted dueling efforts to remove the three, with one committee targeting Mertz and Dysart and the other seeking to recall Hill. Mertz and Dysart supported…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Wichita voters resoundingly rejected a proposal to give $2.25 million in hotel guest tax money to developers of a downtown hotel. The vote on the proposal for a 177-bed Ambassador Hotel lost Tuesday by a margin of 61 percent to 38 percent, or 16,198 to 10,107 votes. The proposal would have allowed the hotel developers to keep 75 percent of the guest taxes collected for 15 years. The special election was forced by a petition drive conducted by opponents, who argued the city was giving too many tax incentives to the developer. The hotel developer, Paul Coury,…
HARVEYVILLE, Kan. (AP) The small eastern Kansas town of Harveyville took a direct hit from an apparent tornado late Tuesday, injuring 11 people and reducing much of the town to ruins. Kansas Highway Patrol trooper Mark Engholm said there were no reports of fatalities, and all of the town’s residents were believed to be accounted for. Three of the victims suffered critical injuries, said Sharon Watson a spokeswoman for the Kansas Adjutant General’s office. Another eight had minor injuries, and many of the victims were taken to a Topeka hospital, Watson said. Much of the town appeared to be heavily…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas officials have developed a new index of leading economic indicators to help better assess business activity in the state. The index is called Indicators of the Kansas Economy, or IKE. It offers a review of economic trends and the overall health of the Kansas economy. The matrix was developed through the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors, created by Gov. Sam Brownback last year as he developed proposals for tax cuts, government efficiency and overall economic growth. Brownback says the index will give policymakers a better picture of how Kansas compares to similar states, such as the…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas House committee is preparing to act on a bill aimed at preventing the state from indirectly subsidizing abortions through tax credits or deductions. Wednesday’s agenda for the Federal and State Affairs Committee included a vote on the measure, which would make several changes in state tax laws, all designed to cut off indirect support for abortions. For example, people who deduct medical expenses from their income taxes couldn’t include abortion expenses in the calculation. A nonprofit organization that provides abortion services would have to pay the state sales tax on what it buys, unlike other…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The former wife of the highest-ranking official caught in a ticket scalping scandal at the University of Kansas has asked a federal judge to rule in her favor in the civil lawsuit filed by the government over assets. A court filing Tuesday by Mary Jean Kirtland seeks a summary judgment, arguing she did not participate in the scheme or receive property deriving from it. Her ex-husband, Ben Kirtland was the associate athletic director in charge of development. Her filing argues the government wants to enforce a criminal restitution judgment against an innocent spouse and to set aside…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas aircraft excluded from bidding on a $354 million military contract is commending a decision by the Air Force to rescind the contract award. But the Nevada-based company that had won the contract calls Tuesday’s decision disappointing. The Air Force says it plans to set aside the disputed contract for 20 light air support planes and open an investigation into the award. Wichita-based Hawker Beechcraft chairman Bill Boisture says the company believes the decision is the right thing for taxpayers, the Air Force and employees of his company. But Taco Gilbert, a vice president at Sierra…
The death of a 27 year old Lawrence man with Kansas State and Fort Riley connections is being investigated by Lawrence police. Authorities indicate Nicholas Sardina might have been injured in a physical altercation Saturday, several hours before his death over the weekend. Sardina attended both Kansas State and Kansas University and was an Iraq war veteran who served at Fort Riley. Lawrence police were called to a medical emergency involving Sardina Saturday afternoon, but life support measures were unsuccessful. While Sardina was reportedly at a residence in the 1500 block of Tennessee, the alleged altercation occurred earlier in the…
Changes to the overcrowding ordinance were passed Tuesday but the changes aren’t to the actually ordinance itself but for who enforces it in the community. “The only change they made was to clarify that the PD is specifically permitted to enforce the overcrowding ordinance,” Riley County Police Director Brad Schoen told KMAN News. The RCPD will be working closely with the Manhattan Fire Department in taking over the enforcement but the change isn’t happening overnight. “We haven’t started doing that yet,” Schoen said. “We don’t know what we’re doing to be able to do it, as we haven’t gotten together with…
A proposal to update nearly 5,000 outdated water meters with funds from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment was tabled Tuesday by the Manhattan City Commission. At the heart of the discussion was the funding from the KDHE for the project, which is estimated to cost $3,084,230. The funds would come from a low-interest loan entitled “Kansas Public Water Supply Loan Fund,” which carries a loan originating fee of $7,729. However, there is a 40 percent principal forgiveness, which translates into a savings for the City of $1,233, 700. “Are we making a mistake today, just because we get…