Author: KMAN Staff

It’s a busy month for the Wildcat Creek working group, with two meetings –one which was held Thursday evening. Co-Chair Rich Jankovich tells KMAN a lot of things are coming together… The next meeting of the group is set for April 26th

GREAT BEND, Kan. (AP) Jurors have begun deliberations in the capital murder trial of a central Kansas man accused of killing a 14-year-old cheerleader whose badly burned body was found at the asphalt plant where the suspect worked. Prosecutors recounted in Friday’s closing arguments the hundreds of text messages that Adam Longoria of Great Bend exchanged with Alicia DeBolt before her August 2010 death. Prosecutor Kevin O’Connor also noted that Longoria’s semen was found mixed with DeBolt’s DNA in his vehicle. The defense conceded that the relationship between the then-36-year-old man and the teenage girl was inappropriate but insisted he…

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) The Kansas State Fire Marshall has pulled the plug on about 20 automated roll-your-own cigarette retail outlet stores in Kansas, citing fire hazards from the machines. The Topeka Capital-Journal reported Friday that the Kansas Department of Revenue licenses the venues, which involve dual machines that allow customers to convert bags of loose tobacco and boxes of unfiltered papers into cigarettes. Cease-and-desist letters went out in February noting a fire-safety law stipulating cigarettes rolled at commercial establishments had to use a type of paper that resists quick burn rates. Seth Valerius, general counsel with the Kansas fire marshal,…

NORWICH, Kan. (AP) Imagine having to celebrate the birthdays of six children in the same day. Sondra and Eldon Headrick of Norwich face that task Friday, and they couldn’t be happier about it. The Headricks’ sextuplets three girls and three boys turn 10 Friday. Ethan, Melissa, Grant, Sean, Jaycie and Danielle were born April 6, 2002, after Sondra underwent fertility treatments to try and have a sibling for the couple’s first child, Aubrianna. After 10 years of too much laundry and not enough sleep, the Headricks say their life functions as an “organized chaos.” The Wichita Eagle reports the next…

CHANUTE, Kan. (AP) Spirit AeroSystems has officially opened a new plant in Chanute. Gov. Sam Brownback helped cut the ribbon Thursday at the Chanute plant. KFDI reports the plant will produce engine assembly parts that will be shipped to Wichita. It currently has 16 employees but the company hopes to have more than 100 employees in the next two years. The work in Chanute is currently performed by workers in Wichita, who will be assigned to new tasks. Spirit CEO Jeff Turner said the decision to open the plant in Chanute was based on the quality of the workforce and…

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A veteran who died 61 years ago in a North Korean prisoner of war camp will be buried in Wichita on Saturday. Army Cpl. Henry Johnson’s great-niece and her mother live in Wichita, and are the only known remaining relatives of Johnson. He had no known ties to Wichita. A memorial service for Cpl. Johnson will be at 11 a.m. Saturday at Jackson Mortuary and burial will be in Lakeview Gardens Cemetery. The Wichita Eagle reports Johnson’s Army record shows he was taken prisoner in North Korea in 1950. Soldiers returning from prison camps in 1953 said…

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for its 2012 specialty crop grant program. Kansas will receive nearly $260,000 for the program this year from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service. The money is given to projects and organizations in Kansas that promote competitiveness of specialty crops. The Agriculture Department defines specialty crops as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, floriculture and nursery crops. Deadline for applications is May 18.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Department of Agriculture is urging residents to remove dead pine trees in April to prevent the spread of disease. Trees that are killed by pine wilt can become hosts to the pine sawyer beetle, which spreads the disease from tree to tree. The agency says pine wilt disease has been established in the eastern half of Kansas but can be controlled. Plant pathologist Jon Appel says pine sawyer beetles typically emerge from dead trees in May and continue through July. The Agriculture Department recommends removing and cleaning up dead pine branches more than an inch…

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Committees of the Kansas House and Senate plan to resume work on budget issues before the Legislature formally returns from its annual spring break. The Senate Ways and Means Committee has scheduled meetings for April 17 and 18. The House Appropriations Committee expects to convene April 19 and 20. The full Legislature returns April 25. The committees are expected to draft rival versions of a $14.1 billion state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1. Last month, lawmakers were close to taking final action on a spending plan crafted by House and Senate negotiators who…