TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) After months of speaking in general terms, Gov. Sam Brownback is preparing to outline his goals for reforming the Kansas tax code and shoring up the state budget. Brownback delivers his annual State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature on Wednesday evening. Details of the budget and tax proposals will be outlined by the governor’s staff Thursday. The Republican governor has said his tax plan would be revenue-neutral meaning it would not reduce overall tax collections but will make the income tax fairer, simpler and, in his words, “flatter.” Brownback and the…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The American Civil Liberties Union is planning to question Kansas insurance providers about the impact of a new law restricting abortion coverage. The organization filed notice Tuesday in federal court in Wichita that it plans to take depositions later this month from officials of United Health Care, Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Coventry Health Care of Kansas. The ACLU has filed suit challenging a state law barring insurance companies from offering abortion coverage as part of general health plans in Kansas. The organization is seeking information on abortion riders offered by the insurance companies. It also…
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) A western Kansas woman is out $4,300 after she fell for an Internet scam that advertised education grants. The Garden City Telegram reports the unidentified Garden City woman received an email advertising an education grant of several thousand dollars. The woman applied for the grant and was asked to pay an application fee to receive the money. She paid with a credit card and was repeatedly contacted for more fees from Dec. 8 to Jan. 5, when police learned of the scam. Garden City police Sgt. Randy Ralston says the case is an example of why…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s campaign continued raising money after he took office last year and collected more than $247,000 in cash contributions. The campaign filed a report Tuesday with the secretary of state’s office, disclosing information about its activities in 2011. It began the year with more than $408,000 left over from Brownback’s successful 2010 run for governor. The campaign fund ended the year with about $439,000 in cash on hand. During the year, the campaign spent more than $216,000, including nearly $60,000 on consulting services. The campaign also made a $14,000 donation to the Kansas Republican…
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) A Garden City man will serve at least 50 years in prison for killing a 16-year-old girl whose body he left in a trash bin. Joaquin De Anda was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison with no chance of parole for 50 years for the December 2008 death of 16-year-old Julia Quintana of Deerfield. Her body was found in a trash bin behind De Anda’s Garden City apartment. KAKE-TV reports De Anda had pleaded guilty to one count of premeditated first-degree murder. As part of the plea agreement, charges of rape and aggravated sodomy were dropped.…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) A third member of a Kansas City, Kan., police unit plans to plead guilty next week to stealing while serving warrants. A U.S. District judge on Tuesday scheduled a change of plea hearing for Dustin Sillings for Jan. 17. The 10-year veteran was one of three officers indicted last year after an FBI investigation into the theft of video games, electronics and money while their unit was serving search warrants. The Kansas City Star reports that Sillings was charged with one count of conspiracy and one count of theft of government property in the theft of…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A man has been found guilty of killing a Topeka man during a crime rampage in June 2010. A jury on Tuesday found 44-year-old Stephen A. Macomber guilty of second-degree murder in shooting death of 26-year-old Ryan K. Lofton in Topeka. He had been charged with first-degree murder. Prosecutors say after Macomber shot Lofton, he shot and wounded a Marshall County sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop in Blue Rapids and then held an elderly woman hostage during a standoff with police. He’s serving 83 years in prison for those crimes. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Macomber also…
Overcrowding can be a deadly issue, and with Fake Patty’s Day looming on the horizon, the Manhattan City Commission came together last night to discuss the issue. An ordinance setting up new regulations and penalties for overcrowding was presented by city staff, which triggered much debate between the commission, business owners, and members of the public in attendance. The proposed ordinance would allow the Riley County Police Department to get involved, contrasted with the current policy of allowing only the fire department to make that call. Additionally, the ordinance would ramp up fines for overcrowding violations and make it possible…