9 years ago
A Kansas program that waives state laws and regulations for participating schools will remain its current size in 2016. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports no school districts applied to join the Coalition of Innovative School Districts in 2016. The Legislature created the Coalition of Innovative School Districts in 2013 as a deregulation program meant to remove barriers ...

9 years ago
Kansas congressman Tim Huelskamp believes his political fortunes shifted when the U.S. House named a new speaker. He's picked up some clout among fellow Republicans but doesn't plan to tone down the firebrand conservatism that has made him a tea party favorite. But his combative style still irritates enough Republicans back in his 1st District of western ...

9 years ago
A state official says abundant rainfall last year helped reduce the number of water use violators in Kansas. The Hutchinson News reports (http://bit.ly/1PzN9xM) that Kansas Department of Agriculture data show 10 Kansas irrigators were fined in 2015 for tampering with their water meter or falsifying their water use report. About 20 other water users were fined ...

9 years ago
A 25-year-old Kansas City man is charged with second-degree murder and 14 other felonies after a home invasion and shooting rampage that left one person dead, another injured and bullet holes in vehicles and houses near the crime scene. Vincent Jackson is charged with killing 17-year-old Gabriel Avila on Wednesday. Jackson County prosecutors say Jackson and several ...

9 years ago
A Kansas Court of Appeals panel has ruled that a Dodge City casino doesn't have to pay the state's "use tax" on electronic gaming machines it operates for the Kansas Lottery. The three-judge appeals panel agreed with a state Board of Tax Appeals decision that said the Kansas Department of Revenue was wrong in collecting $801,588 ...

9 years ago
The Kansas Bioscience Authority says it will become a private entity this year. The Olathe-based authority was established in 2004 to attract bioscience technology to Kansas, using both state and private funds. The Lawrence Journal-World reports it has been criticized in recent years for the types of investments it made. Some lawmakers also said it wasn't ...

9 years ago
The Powerball jackpot is up to $334 million dollars for Saturday night's drawing. The Multi-State Lottery Association says there were no jackpot winners Wednesday night. This would be the 12th-highest jackpot in Powerball's 23-year history. The largest winning jackpot ever was $656 million in a Mega Millions lottery drawing in March of 2012. The odds of matching all ...

9 years ago
Kansas lawmakers have approved a six-month contract with a software company that was criticized for technical delays last year. The Legislative Coordinating Council this week approved a $293,488 contract for Propylon, a Dublin-based technology firm with a U.S. office in Lawrence. The company will perform technical support and upgrades for the Legislature's custom software. The Wichita Eagle ...

9 years ago
A Kansas legislative panel is recommending that hepatitis C patients who drink alcohol or stop using their medications should lose Medicaid coverage. The KanCare Oversight Committee also recommended this week that the state health department use step therapy, which requires Medicaid patients to try cheaper treatments first and receive more expensive treatments only if the other ...

9 years ago
New Year’s resolutions often focus on inner change, but what about making a change this coming year that involves the outside? If resolving to learn something new, find a hobby, spend more time outdoors, or become more active is on your plate for 2016, consider entering in the 2016 Kansas Birding Big Year competition. You may ...

9 years ago
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A Kansas electric utility has announced a new wind power contract in south-central Kansas. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Westar Energy said Thursday in a release the company has a deal with an affiliate of NextEra Energy Resources to buy 200 megawatts of wind energy west of Wichita. The deal is for power ...