SALINA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Department of Commerce is holding a Rural Opportunities Conference aimed at entrepreneurs and telecommunications professionals next month. The department says the two-day gathering in Salina will focus on how businesses can support rural economic development through technology. Sessions will look at market research, analysis and data usage, advertising through social media, technology expansion, and the future of rural telecommunications providers. Scheduled speakers include Gov. Sam Brownback and rural development experts from Manhattan and Lincoln, Neb. The conference takes place Nov. 16-17 event at the Bicentennial Center.
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Deer in some parts of Kansas are dying from a disease spread by tiny insects. The state’s park department says epizootic hemorrhagic disease, or EHD, has been found in much of the eastern one-third of the state and as far west as Butler and McPherson counties. Lloyd Fox, a big game coordinator with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism, says the disease is most common in years with extended drought. That forces deer to drink from stagnant pools of water, which are breeding grounds for midges, tiny insects that pass infected blood from one deer…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration is offering plans to reform Kansas’ public school finance formula. The proposal includes setting a new baseline for state aid, giving block grants to districts and allowing counties to vote on a special sales tax for education. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the proposals were discussed Wednesday at a public forum in Topeka. Policy director Landon Fulmer says the proposal would allow the state to claim part of the money collected from a 20-mill local property tax collected for schools. That money would put in a state account and distributed to equalize financing…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The interim Topeka city manager has told Shawnee County that the city is offering to prosecute all misdemeanor cases except domestic battery. Dan Stanley met Thursday with Shawnee County Commission Chairwoman Shelly Buhler to discuss prosecution of misdemeanor domestic battery cases in Topeka. The city wants District Attorney Chad Taylor to prosecute those cases. It is the latest development in a flurry of activity that began after Taylor said in September that budget cuts were forcing him to stop prosecuting misdemeanors that occur in Topeka. That prompted the city to repeal its domestic battery ordinance so Taylor…
LINCOLN, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is examining the death of a 22-year-old Glen Elder man who was being held at the Lincoln County Jail. Lincoln County attorney Jennifer O’Hare says Nathaniel Grabast was jailed on Monday after being arrested in a non-injury hit-and-run accident in Barnard. During routine checks Monday evening, Grabast was found unconscious in a cell. O’Hare said a deputy administered CPR and an ambulance was called, but Grabast was pronounced dead at a hospital in Lincoln. The Salina Journal reports that O’Hare says the death is being investigated but no foul play is suspected.
While we’d already heard over the past several months, even years, of the possibility of a visitor’s center on I-70 at the Manhattan exit, that became a reality with an announcement in Junction City. Jay Nelson, who is a member of the Flint Hills Regional Welcome Center Core committee tells KMAN a lot of deliberation was involved, with the matter considered beginning in 1996. Nelson says the committee went into the decision making process with neutral expectations of all six sites along the interstate that were considered. Riley, Geary, Pottawatomie, Morris, and Wabaunsee counties were involved in the process.…
Smoke at the East Campus of Manhattan High School triggered a brief evacuation this morning, though no fire was discovered. USD 383 Communications Coordinator Michele Jones tells KMAN the fire alarm activated Wednesday morning and that all students and staff were evacuated safely. The smoke was coming from the area of the library. A burned out motor on a water fountain is listed as the cause.
A Manhattan man reported a theft to Riley County police on Tuesday. Tyler Thomas, 19, told RCPD that two wetsuits and a surfboard were taken from his home located in the 900 block of Claflin Rd. The theft occurred during a party that took place at the victim’s home over the weekend. The estimated loss is $1,125. RCPD representatives announced Wednesday that there are no suspects at this time and that the case is under further investigation.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Authorities in Missouri have searched woods, landfills, sewers and a 36-foot well at an abandoned house. They have chased down more than 300 tips in their effort to find a baby reported missing last week. But as the search for Lisa Irwin heads into its second week, there’s still no sign of the child, whose first birthday is now just a month away. Lisa’s parents reported their daughter missing Oct. 4. Her father said he returned from a late shift at work and found the house lights on, a window tampered with and his child gone.…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) About two dozen people are protesting a Kansas prosecutor’s decision not to pursue domestic violence and other misdemeanor cases. The protesters gathered Tuesday outside the Shawnee County Courthouse, where district attorney Chad Taylor has his office. Taylor announced in early September that he would no longer pursue misdemeanor cases from within the Topeka city limits. He says his office can’t afford to handle those cases because of a 10 percent cut in his budget for 2012. In theory the city of Topeka could prosecute the cases, but its officials say it doesn’t have the resources, either. Protesters…