WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Several Kansas faith, labor and community groups gathered in Wichita to mobilize opposition to an effort to move up the start date for new Kansas voter identification laws. Participants oppose a push by Secretary of State Kris Kobach to require people who are voting for the first time to show proof of citizenship starting in March, rather than in January 2013 as the law now requires. The Wichita Eagle reports that the group says starting the requirement in March could keep thousands from participating in the 2012 elections. They said people who don’t have driver’s licenses or…
Author: KMAN Staff
BELOIT, Kan. (AP) A misunderstanding over a required waiting period has delayed the start of a 0.3 percent sales tax in Beloit. City voters approved the sales tax in June. The tax would bump the total sales tax in the city from 8 percent to 8.3 percent — to pay for a new pool, estimated to cost about $3.9 million. Plans were to begin collecting the tax Oct. 1, which is Saturday. But The Salina Journal reports that the Kansas Department of Revenue has told officials that a 90-day waiting period is required after the city passes an ordinance to…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Topeka Rescue Mission has announced plans to buy a 11,300-square foot warehouse to help handle an increase in homeless people needing shelter. Barry Feaker, executive director of the mission, says the purchase of the warehouse could help the mission serve 70 percent more homeless people that it’s currently helping. Feaker said an increase in the number of homeless people in Topeka has put a strain on the mission. The Topeka Capital Journal reports that Feaker said Thursday the mission plans to take possession of the warehouse on Monday. The mission now has a capacity of about…
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) The KU Endowment says it distributed about $112 million to the University of Kansas this year and that the endowment’s total assets improved to $1.65 billion. KU Endowment, an independent, nonprofit organization, is the official fundraising and fund-management organization for the University of Kansas. The organization also said in a release Friday that during fiscal year 2011, its total assets, which include endowed funds, real estate and other holdings, climbed to $1.65 billion, up from $1.48 billion in fiscal 2010. The KU Endowment said that the $112.3 million given during this fiscal year that ended June 30…
The Strategic Plan Action Program was approved by the Riley County commission during Thursday’s meeting. Special projects director Monty Wedel was on hand during the meeting to elaborate on the goal of the plan. “It outlines the main priorities of the county,” Wedel said. “We simplified it dramatically from what we’ve had in the past so we can focus on the major priorities that are county-wide.” Some of the focal points of the plan concern road classification, long-term facilities plan among other items. The commission did ask Wedel to make one minor adjustment. “The one change that they wanted was…
After a lengthy debate, the Riley County commission settled on a new county district map during Thursday’s meeting. The new boundaries won’t come into play until August primaries next fall. Selecting one of the options wasn’t an easy task. “We’ve tried to make it as equal as possible, but we don’t have a lot of wiggle room,” commission chair Karen McCulloh said. “We did include in the third district, which is my district, some county areas. My district has only had the city of Manhattan (in past years). “I think it’s important for each district to have a piece of…
Fort Riley officials are reporting a Soldier has died due to injuries sustained from an improvised explosive device in southern Afghanistan earlier this week. Specialist Garrett Fant, 21, of American Canyon, California., was on patrol in southern Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province when an IED detonated Monday. Fant was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, currently deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Fant joined the Army in March 2009 as an indirect fire infantryman. This was his first deployment. Fant’s awards include the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, NATO Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with one…
A couple of Kansas State students face serious charges in Goodland, following their arrest on campus at about noon Wednesday. Fernando Martinez, 21, and Eduardo Martinez, 20, both of 823 Ratone Street, were taken into custody by Riley County and Kansas State police on a warrant from Sherman county. The case reportedly involved the robbery of an A-T-M machine at the First National Bank on the campus of the Northwest Technical College, overnight August 13th of this year. Loss is estimated at $6,000. Charges on the warrant include burglary, felony theft, and criminal deprivation of property. Bond for each Martinezes was set…
A pallet of cantaloupes at the heart of a nationwide recall due to listeria was sold in Manhattan. Terri Olsen with Eastside and Westside Market says they received the shipment of Rocky Ford Canatloups from Jensen Farms in Holly, Co., on August 24, and that they were sold prior to notification of infection. Olsen urges anyone who purchased the cantaloupes to be tested for listeria infection, as symptoms may not show for up to two months. The Centers for Disease Control Tuesday linked 72 illnesses and 13 deaths to the tainted fruit, though officials are investigating three additional deaths they believe are…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas is among the 26 states asking the U.S. Supreme Court to quickly strike down the federal government’s overhaul of health care. The states requested Wednesday that the high court consider the overhaul’s constitutionality by summer 2012. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said states and the American public need certainty about whether the overhaul law is constitutional. Schmidt, a Republican, had Kansas join the other states in a federal lawsuit in Florida against the overhaul championed by President Barack Obama, a Democrat. A judge in Florida struck down the entire law. A federal appeals court in Atlanta…