The Pottawatomie County Commission rendered a major decision regarding the construction of the new jail / courthouse. “Given the information they received during the interview process and also having the construction manager on a little later than originally anticipated, the commission went ahead and decided to go with the bid process,” county administrator Robert Reece said. Originally J.E. Dunn Construction out of Kansas City had been selected as the construction manager at risk for the project. Reece said the commission will inform the company that its services will no longer be required. J.E. Dunn Construction will be permitted to bid…
Author: KMAN Staff
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) TCU says it will have a “major announcement” on Monday evening in what is expected to a move to the Big 12 Conference. An Associated Press source says that TCU trustees were scheduled to meet Monday to discuss and likely accept the Big 12’s invitation to join. TCU had said it was joining the Big East next July. It isn’t an official conference member, so it wouldn’t be required to give 27 months’ notice to leave the Big East. TCU would be required to pay a $5 million exit fee. The TCU football team, now…
An incident during the aftermath of K-State’s win over Missouri Saturday led to a Riley County Police officer being shot with what is believed to be a pellet gun. RCPD Capt. Kurt Moldrup tells KMAN Officer Juila Goggins was directing traffic at the intersection of Kimball and Browning Avenues around 6:30 P.M. when an intoxicated male decided to run into traffic and help. After a confrontation of several minutes, the unknown male left the intersection and went into a nearby residence. Goggins reports she then heard a loud ‘pop’ and was then struck in the head by an object, again…
SOLOMON, Kan. (AP) Westbound lanes of Interstate 70 had to be rerouted for several hours after a tractor-trailer carrying hazardous materials caught fire in central Kansas. The Kansas Highway Patrol says the rig’s driver reported a fire at the rear of his trailer about 5 a.m. Sunday. The driver stopped on the shoulder of the westbound lane of I-70 just east of the Solomon exit. The Salina Journal reported that the Kansas Department of Health and Environment was called to the scene after firefighters contained the blaze. The patrol says the tractor-trailer was hauling aluminum hydroxide, printer ink, motor oil…
BALDWIN CITY, Kan. (AP) Renovation and expansion of the science and math building at Baker University is getting a large boost from two donors. At a recent groundbreaking for the $10.3 million project, Baker president Pat Long announced a donation of $3.5 million from a couple who want to remain anonymous. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the gift is the largest in the history of the northeastern Kansas university. Baker was founded in 1858 and ranks as the oldest university in Kansas. Mulvane Hall is undergoing a complete renovation and will also get a 9,000-square-foot addition. Long says at the request…
LIBERAL, Kan. (AP) A southwest Kansas school district is hiring a translator to help its 35 students from the southeast Asian nation of Myanmar. The High Plains Daily Leader reports the board of Liberal USD 480 has voted to create a new paraprofessional position in teaching English as a second language. Several families from the country formerly known as Burma have arrived recently in Liberal. District official Laura Cano says communication can be difficult, and not just because of the language barrier. Cano says there are also cultural issues. For example, she says, some students don’t understand that they must…
IOLA, Kan. (AP) An eastern Kansas county is making an investment in teaching its youngest citizens to make 911 emergency calls. For a third year, dispatchers from the Allen County Emergency Response Center are going into kindergarten through three-grade classrooms to give programs on emergency calls. The Iola Register reports that (http://bit.ly/rmvp2q ) that this time, they’ll have a new piece of equipment for staging mock 911 calls. The county commission voted recently to spend slightly more than $900 for a 911 TeleTrainer. The kit has phones and a connector that lets children and their trainers practice calling 911. Allen…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) Owners of the new casino at the Kansas Speedway are looking for nearly 1,000 employees. A job fair for the Hollywood Casino is planned for this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Overland Park Convention Center. KSHB-TV reports that the casino complex will eventually include seven restaurants and lounges and more than 2,000 gaming machines. Casino executive Dean Doria says open jobs include such things as food and beverage workers, environmental services and security officers.
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) A trip to the Kansas State Fair might have been a lifesaver for 371 men. The Wichita Eagle reports that’s the number of potential prostate cancer cases found during screening by the Hutchinson Clinic at last month’s fair. Lynn Harris, spokeswoman for the clinic, says 2,569 men got the free blood test at the fair. Of those, 160 had a level of 4 or higher for prostate-specific antigen, or PSA. That is the protein that can indicate the presence of cancer in the prostate. Another 211 men tested between 2.5 and 4. A reading of less than…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The largest electric company in Kansas has a new program to encourage customers to test the energy efficiency of their homes. Westar Energy says for $100, residential customers can obtain a professional energy audit that normally costs $300. The audit will result in a plan for making a home more energy- efficient. The company says customers will be eligible for a $100 rebate if they provide receipts showing they spent at least that amount on making improvements recommended after the audit. The program is available to customers whose homes are at least 10 years old. Also, Westar…