Federal Tax Credits Spur Kansas Wind Development
(Information in the following story is from: The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, http://www.kansas.com)
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wind energy in Kansas could be in store for another round of development due to the one-year renewal of a federal tax credit. The Wichita Eagle reports that Kansas saw the most wind farm construction of any state last year. But by early fall, projects stalled and workers were laid off because the industry was expecting the tax credit to expire on January 1st. Now Congress has approved a tax credit for the production of wind, solar and other renewable energy at a cost of $12.2 billion. Industry experts say conditions are ripe for another burst of wind farm construction in Kansas late this year and next. Several new wind energy products are being discussed in central and western Kansas.
======================================
Salina man to be sentenced in Feb. in boy's death
(Information in the following story is from: The Salina (Kan.) Journal, http://www.salina.com)
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A 28-year-old Salina man is scheduled to be sentenced next month after pleading no contest to charges stemming from the beating death of his girlfriend's 14-month-old son. Antonio Brown Senior pleaded no contest Wednesday in Saline County court to first-degree murder during commission of a felony crime and two counts of child abuse in the 2011 death of 14-month-old Clayden Urbanek. The Salina Journal reports doctors testified at a hearing that the child was covered in bruises at the time of his death. A Wichita doctor also testified that the child's case was the worst abuse she had seen. Brown will be sentenced February 12th. Clayden's 21-year-old mother, Brittney Betzold, was sentenced January 4th to about 13 years in prison for second-degree murder and child abuse.
======================================
Man dies after falling while trimming Wichita tree
(Information in the following story is from: The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, http://www.kansas.com)
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A man in his 40s is dead after falling 40 to 50 feet while trimming a tree in Wichita. Police spokesman Sergeant Jeff Davis says the man was taken to Wesley Medical Center in critical condition after he fell around 1 p.m. Friday and died a short time later. Davis says the man, who wasn't being identified until his family was notified, secured himself with a rope around the waist and tied the rope to a very large branch. Davis says the man began sawing on a limb and didn't realize it was the one to which he was attached. When the limb fell, the weight of it pulled him down. The man was helping a friend and didn't work for a tree-trimming company.
======================================
Topeka Zoo Orangutan Undergoes Emergency Hysterectomy
(Information in the following story is from: The Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal, http://www.cjonline.com)
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — One of two pregnant orangutans at Topeka Zoo has lost her baby and was given an emergency hysterectomy to save her life. The animal named Lena was in the third trimester of her first pregnancy when zoo staff became concerned Wednesday about her eating habits and lethargy. The 30-year-old orangutan refused to present her belly for an ultrasound Thursday night, and at 12:30 p.m. Friday she was anesthetized and taken to the zoo's veterinary hospital. An ultrasound showed a fetus but no heartbeat. The medical team performed an emergency cesarean section that revealed the baby was outside the uterus. Lena is most widely known at the zoo as the orangutan that blows kisses. A second orangutan at the zoo is expected to give birth next month.
======================================
Cost of Frozen Mice Worrying Kansas Animal Rescue
(Information in the following story is from: Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World, http://www.ljworld.com)
LINWOOD, Kan. (AP) — An animal rescue group in northeast Kansas is worrying about the high cost of frozen, euthanized mice. Operation Wildlife says the mice cost nearly twice as much as the 45 cents charged at this time last year. That's a problem because the mice are a main food source for animals at the clinic, which is based in Linwood and has a satellite center in Shawnee. Executive director Diane Johnson says the center is OK financially now, but she's concerned about two or three months down the road. Johnson told The Lawrence Journal-World that a national mouse and rat shortage is causing the higher prices. She says the continuing drought also hurt by causing more animals to be emaciated and prompting higher prices for grains and other food sources.
======================================
Chiefs Hire Packers' Dorsey as General Manager
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Chiefs have hired longtime Packers personnel man John Dorsey to replace the fired Scott Pioli as their general manager. The Chiefs announced the hiring while the Packers were playing the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC playoffs on Saturday night. Dorsey will be introduced at a news conference Monday. Dorsey, who played linebacker for the Packers in the 1980s, was instrumental in building Green Bay into a perennial contender. He was the director of college scouting from 2000 to 2012, and spent last year as the director of football operations. Dorsey also worked with new Chiefs coach Andy Reid from 1992 to 1998, when Reid was an assistant coach for the Packers. Reid was hired to replace Romeo Crennel on January 4th.