11 years ago
The Kansas House has given first-round approval to a budget bill that would spend more than $390 million for prisons in the next fiscal year. The bill includes more than $360 million from general revenue and restores funding that was vetoed last year by Gov. Sam Brownback. Lawmakers amended the bill Wednesday to place restrictions on where ...

11 years ago
A federal judge has put off this month's scheduled trial in the case of an avionics technician accused in a suicide bomb plot at a Wichita airport. The court's docket included a notation Wednesday indicating the Feb. 18 trial for Terry Loewen has been canceled with no new trial date set. Such delays are routine given ...

11 years ago
Kansas senators have advanced a bill shortening the time limits for inmates sentenced to death to complete their appeals to the state Supreme Court. The measure received first-round approval Wednesday on a voice vote. A second vote that would send the bill to the House is set for Thursday. Senate Vice President Jeff King says the bill ...

11 years ago
Minneapolis is mourning the loss of a longtime teacher and coach. Jeff Giles passed away on Tuesday. Giles was the head high school football coach, junior and senior high head wrestling coach, and he coached junior and senior high track all at the Minneapolis Junior Senior High School. Coach Giles began teaching and coaching in the Minneapolis ...

11 years ago
A Kansas Senate committee has endorsed a bill that would increase the campaign contribution limits for candidates, including those for statewide offices and legislators. The changes approved Wednesday by the Ethics and Elections Committee would apply to contributions in primary and general elections. The bill would increase the limit from $2,000 to $3,000 for governor, attorney ...

11 years ago
An evidentiary hearing in a quadruple homicide in eastern Kansas has been pushed back a month and will be open to the public after the state determined it wasn't allowed to close the proceedings. The hearing for 28-year-old Kyle Flack initially was scheduled for Thursday, but in an order recently made public, Franklin County District Judge ...

11 years ago
The Kansas House has approved a bill aimed at keeping individuals, groups and businesses from being compelled to help with same-sex weddings. The House's 72-49 vote Wednesday sends the measure to the Senate. Supporters describe it as a religious freedom measure. Opponents contend it will encourage discrimination against gays and lesbians. The bill would bar government sanctions when ...

11 years ago
Salina Police are investigating after someone closed fuel lines on 3 railroad engines. Officials with the Kansas and Oklahoma Railroad contacted police after someone tampered with 3 of their engines that were located in the 500 block of E. North Street sometime between February 6th and February 10th. The company told officers that it will cost approximately ...

11 years ago
The votes have been counted, and "Farmer" is Salina's favorite. "Farmer", by Colorado artist Lawrence Starck is the 2013 Salina Sculpture Tour People's Choice Award winner. The statue, located in the 100 Block of North Santa Fe, depicts a farmer leaning on a shovel, with his trusty dog by his side. "Farmer" was selected by popular vote ...

11 years ago
A distraught Ottawa County man leaves a path of destruction before police apprehend him. According to Lt. Sean Morton, staff at Salina Regional Health Center contacted police to report a suicidal man with a gun in the parking lot Tuesday afternoon. Lt. Morton tells KSAL News that a relative of the 29-year-old male was taking him to ...

11 years ago
The Kansas Senate is pushing the state toward a confrontation with the federal government over protecting greater and lesser prairie chickens. The Senate gave first-round approval Tuesday to a bill declaring that the federal government has no authority to set policies on prairie chickens or any activities that affect the birds' habitat. The Senate planned to take ...