Newspaper: School Funding Changes Would Hit Poorer Districts Harder
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A newspaper analysis has found that a proposal for changing how Kansas public schools are funded appears to cut money from most of the state's poorest school districts while protecting the wealthiest. The Topeka Capital-Journal examined the effect of a proposal to use block grants to distribute money instead of the state's existing per-student formula. The review found that many of the reductions in the plan are achieved by shrinking a type of state aid meant to help less wealthy school districts that aren't able to raise as much money with property taxes. The newspaper says it appears 90 percent of the state's richest districts would gain state aid for operational expenses under the plan. But 80 percent of the poorest districts would lose money, about $170,000 on average.
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Kansas Democrats Meet for Annual Convention
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Democrats are rethinking political messages for voters and pondering how to rebuild their party. The conversations were part of their biggest annual convention Saturday. Hundreds of Democratic activists and party leaders in Topeka for the annual Washington Days convention have had little to celebrate in the way of election results since 2010.
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Kansas Senate to Vote on Appellate Court Nominee
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Senate is set to consider Governor Sam Brownback's nominee to the Court of Appeals. The full Senate will vote Tuesday on appointee Kathryn Gardner. Gardner has served as the law clerk for U.S. District Judge Sam Crow since 2000.
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Families of Jewish Sites Shooting Victims Plan Remembrance
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. (AP) — The families of three people who were shot to death outside two Jewish sites in Kansas are planning a week to remember and heal. The week of events, called SevenDays: Make a Ripple, Change the World, will be April 7-13. The events will remember 69-year-old William Corporan and his 14-year-old grandson, Reat Underwood, who died last April in a shooting at the Jewish Community Center, and 53-year-old Terri LaManno, who was shot to death at Village Shalom in Overland Park. The families said they hope the week will help people overcome acts of hate and embrace diversity. The Kansas City Star reports that relatives announced the events Tuesday, the same day a judge ruled that the suspected shooter, Frazier Glenn Miller, will stand trial for capital murder.
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Three Charged in KCK Armed Robbery
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have charged three men in an armed robbery and are investigating whether the crime is connected to another holdup in which a deputy was wounded. The Wyandotte County prosecutor's office said 24-year-old Dyron King, 35-year-old Cecil Meggerson and 18-year-old Charles Bowser were charged Friday with Tuesday's robbery of a Family Dollar store in Kansas City, Kansas.
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Body Found in Park; Suspect in Custody
NORTON, Kan. (AP) — Authorities have found a man's body in a western Kansas park and arrested a suspect after he repeatedly shot at officers along U.S. Highway 36. Norton police said that an officer was investigating a report of a man with a gun Friday night when shots were fired. Officers began searching and found that an unidentified 48-year-old Norton resident had been fatally shot. Police said the suspect was taken into custody around 12:40 am Saturday, about 5 miles north of Oberlin.
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Feds: Hotel Owners Replaced Legal Workers with Immigrants
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A suburban Kansas City hotel owner who illegally hired immigrants to cut labor costs soon will learn his punishment in a case that highlights a shift by the government in its handling of immigration-related cases. The government is seeking a 27-month sentence for Munir Ahmad Chaudary at a hearing Monday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kansas. He and his wife pleaded guilty to conspiracy to encourage immigrants to reside unlawfully in the United States. U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom says the case should "serve as an alarm" to anybody doing it that there are consequences. Chaudary's wife, Rhonda R. Bridge, was sentenced last month to 21 months in prison. The government seized their hotels and their bank accounts.
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Man Killed, Another Wounded in KCK Shooting
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — One man has been killed and another critically wounded in a Kansas City, Kansas, shooting. The Kansas City Star reports that police said they arrived shortly after 3 pm Saturday and found both victims in the street. The dead man was in his early 20s, but his name was not released pending notification of relatives. A man in his mid-40s was taken to a hospital suffering from several bullet wounds. Police say the shooting is under investigation. Authorities are urging anyone with information to come forward.
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86-Year-Old Man Dies in Single-Engine Plane Crash Near Pratt
PRATT, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say an 86-year-old pilot is dead after his single-engine plane overturned while landing southwest of Pratt. The Kansas Highway Patrol says the crash was reported Saturday afternoon. The patrol says Harrison Rosenbaum, of Pratt, was landing the kit-built plane when it went off the side of the private runway and flipped in a pasture. No one else was aboard the RV-6. Emergency responders pronounced Rosenbaum dead at the scene. The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate.
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Salina Company Acquires 13 Vintage Record Presses
SALINA, Kan. (AP) — A Salina company that already presses about a million vinyl records a year has acquired 13 vintage presses that the owner says will double production. Chad Kassem, owner of Quality Record Pressings, says he found the presses in Chicago and persuaded the long-time owner to sell them. They arrived in Salina in late February. Kassem says the presses are in bad shape and will need a lot of repair. But once they are restored, they will double the company's capacity, making it one of the largest vinyl-pressing companies in the country. The Salina Journal reports that Kassem recently expanded his plant to three shifts and he still can't keep up with the increasing demand for vinyl records. He estimates he has an order backlog of three to four months.
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Bees Delay Start of Royals-Angels Game
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — A swarm of bees in the outfield delayed the start of the Los Angeles Angels and Kansas City Royals game for 10 minutes. The feisty bees disrupted play again in the fourth inning before they were removed by exterminators. The Angels had just taken the field when the Bees descended on the outfield and players were ordered to their dugouts. Royals and Angels players converged near the Royals' third base dugout. Many fans left their seats down the first base line and went up to the higher concourse. As the bees moved toward the backstop, those fans behind the plate left their seats. When play resumed, the bees settled together on a microphone attached to the backstop netting, about 20 feet to the left of Angels manager Mike Scioscia, who sits outside the first base dugout.