TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A bill to honor 37 servicemen from a small northeast Kansas town who died in World War II is headed to Gov. Sam Brownback for his signature. The Kansas Senate on Wednesday passed the bill, which was approved earlier by the House. It would name part of Kansas Highway 99 “The Frankfort Boys World War II Memorial Highway.” Frank Benteman, a Frankfort native and WWII veteran who pushed the honor, says Frankfort had more men killed in action in World War II than any other town its size. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that American Legion Post No.…
Author: KMAN Staff
ATCHISON, Kan. (AP) A Sabetha man convicted of capital murder in the death of a rural Horton woman is seeking a new trial. An attorney for 60-year-old Roger Hollister says he deserves a new trial because the Atchison County judge who heard his case did not properly instruct jurors. Hollister is serving life in prison with no chance of parole for the November 2009 death of 58-year-old Patricia Kimmi. Hollister’s attorney argued in a court motion that evidence presented in the trial was insufficient, errors were made in closing arguments and other errors deprived Hollister of a fair trial. The…
DODGE CITY, Kan. (AP) One of two Dodge City women accused of attacking a pregnant woman in an effort to kill the unborn child reached a plea deal in the case. Eighteen-year-old Kaila Vargas pleaded no contest Tuesday to intentional aggravated battery and criminal threat. In exchange for the plea, an attempted murder charge was dropped. Assistant Ford County Attorney Scott James says Vargas and Mary Gobin attacked the woman, who was seven to eight months pregnant, at her home last June. They allegedly threw her to the ground and punched her stomach several times. The Dodge City Daily Globe…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas House members will consider a series of bills recommended by the Office of the Repealer that identify laws, rules or regulations that are deemed no longer necessary. The bills on Thursday’s debate calendar were advocated by secretary of administration Dennis Taylor, who was designated by Gov. Sam Brownback as the state’s official repealer. Brownback asked Taylor last year to gather suggestions throughout Kansas of laws and regulations that are burdensome to government, businesses or residents. Many of the statutes relate to special funds for fees that are no longer collected. Others spell out duties of county…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A federal judge has granted a sentencing delay for a Kansas researcher who admitted falsifying data in a 2010 clinical trial of an allergy pill on human subjects. Lisa Sharp, a nurse from Olathe, had been scheduled for sentencing March 5, but a judge on Wednesday moved the proceeding to March 23. Sharp’s co-defendant, Topeka physician Wayne Spencer, will still be sentenced March 5. Both defendants worked for Lee Research Institute, which was paid by Schering-Plough to conduct the clinical trial on the allergy medication. Spencer was the principal investigator and Sharp was the lead research coordinator.…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas lawmaker says a run-in with a deer made him see a proposal on crossbow hunting in a new light. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that House Republican Anthony Brown voted Tuesday against a bill creating a crossbow hunting season. But when the bill came up for a final vote Wednesday, Brown was for it. The measure now goes to the Senate. Brown says he was driving home from Topeka to the Douglas County town of Eudora on Tuesday night when a collision with a large doe did substantial damage to his truck. He says a deputy…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Senate has given first-round approval to Gov. Sam Brownback’s plan to modify technical education programs. The measure advanced Wednesday on a voice vote. Final action planned for Thursday would send the bill to the House. The proposal would provide incentives for high school students who don’t plan to pursue four-year degrees and are interested in a career in a vocational or technical program. The plan would allow them to earn certificates in qualified programs through community or technical colleges while still in high school. Financial incentives would be included to encourage high schools and technical…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas has received bids from five companies for three contracts for managing the state’s $2.9 billion Medicaid program. Legislators who have been skeptical of Gov. Sam Brownback’s Medicaid overhaul plan saw the number of bidders Wednesday as relatively low and suggested it signals trouble. Medicaid provides health coverage for the needy, disabled and elderly. But House Majority Leader Arlen Siegfreid, an Olathe Republican, said he thinks the five bids are sufficient for a competitive process. Brownback’s administration plans to award the contracts this summer. The bidders include Amerigroup Corp., of Virginia Beach, Va.; Wichita-based Coventry Health Care…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Prosecutors in Sedgwick County have dropped drug charges against former heavyweight boxing champion Tommy Morrison, less than a year after unrelated drug charges were dismissed in Emporia. The Wichita Eagle reports the Sedgwick County charges were dropped Tuesday, the same day Morrison faced a court hearing. The Oklahoma native was arrested in March 2010 outside a Wichita fitness club and later charged with possessing marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Morrison had told The Eagle he often sat in his car reading the Bible before going into the club to lift weights. He said his car had items from…
KMAN’s Chris Swick takes a look at Your Family for KMAN’s Morning News.