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In softcover fiction, Mark Helprin sets a romance against the backdrop of midcentury New York, and Ian Frazier presents the journals of a mother who swears an extremely blue streak. In softcover nonfiction, Yael Kohen collects an oral history of women in comedy, and Jon Ronson gathers some funny stories of his own.

This season's final competition, originally scheduled for mid-March, had to be bumped up by two weeks. "The river was already melting," the town's mayor explained.

Federal prosecutors say Santos schemed to defraud campaign donors of their cash when he allegedly used the money to pay for personal expenses, including luxury clothes.

The brands of cinnamon are typically sold at discount retailers, such as Save a Lot, Family Dollar and Dollar Tree. The alert follows the recalls of 3 brands of cinnamon-flavored applesauce pouches.

House Speaker Ray Merrick. (Photo by Stephen Koranda)Kansas House Republicans have re-elected Ray Merrick to a second, two-year term as speaker. The representative from Stilwell was challenged by fellow conservative Virgil Peck, but Merrick easily won in an 80-16 vote.00000184-7fa8-d6f8-a1cf-7fac247a0000“I would like to think that most of them have seen me for two years and know what I’ve done and what we got accomplished and I think it validates that,” says Merrick.Merrick says one of his priorities this session will be finding ways to fill a budget hole. He says he’ll focus on spending cuts, rather than raising revenues.House Democrats elected a new leader to replace Paul Davis, who gave up his seat to run for governor.Tom Burroughs, from Kansas City, Kansas, will serve as the House minority leader. He defeated Jim Ward, of Wichita, 17-11.====================(VERSION TWO)Kansas House Speaker Ray Merrick will hold on to his position as the top lawmaker in that chamber. Republicans have re-elected him for a second two-year term. As KPR's Stephen Koranda reports, he faced a challenge from Virgil Peck, a fellow conservative Republican from Tyro.00000184-7fa8-d6f8-a1cf-7fac247a0001(SCRIPT)Representative Randy Garber, from Sabetha, spoke in favor of Peck, specifically touting his budget experience.“With the revenue shortfalls we are experiencing, his time served as a member of the Appropriations Committee and chair of the budget committee will be a valuable asset as we make tough decisions concerning our current budget as well as the future years,” says Garber.But Peck ultimately didn’t put up a big challenge. Representative John Barker, from Abilene, supported Merrick and pointed to his track record.“With his leadership, it has been reported that the last legislative session was one of the most productive and successful in recent history,” say Barker.Barker says Merrick has an open-door policy to discuss issues with legislators.Merrick was praised for building consensus among Republicans and credited with helping them pick up additional seats in this year’s election.Merrick, from the Johnson County town of Stilwell, won re-election by an 80-16 vote, and he credits his experience in the office.“Most of them have seen me for two years and know what I’ve done and what we got accomplished and I think it validates that,” says Merrick.Merrick’s first term wasn’t without controversy. It was under his tenure that the House passed a so-called religious freedom bill last session that attracted criticism and later died in the Senate.Recently, he caught attention for comments about state employees, saying they “produce nothing.” He says he was talking about the state budget and believes House Republicans understood.“I wasn’t saying anything derogatory about state employees, they do things that we need to have done. My point was economics 101,” says Merrick.Merrick’s challenger, Virgil Peck, also has caught headlines. In 2011 he apologized for a comment comparing illegal immigrants to feral hogs, which are hunted from helicopters.Right now, Merrick says fixing a budget hole is one of his top priorities. Some republicans have hinted the state should look at amending tax cuts passed in recent years. Merrick says he’d rather look at spending cuts.“I’m a little confused that you’d come out making those suggestions on the front end and not look at the spending first,” says Merrick.Democrats in the House also chose their new leaders. Outgoing minority leader Paul Davis left his seat to unsuccessfully run for governor.Democrats chose Tom Burroughs, from Kansas City, Kansas, to lead the caucus. He set a tone that says he’s willing to work with Republicans, who have a big majority.“Good policy knows no partisan politics. And I stand ready to do what I can to ensure that this caucus has a chance to at least advance their issues and speak up and speak out in reference to policy decisions that will come forth from the majority party,” says Burroughs.Burroughs defeated Wichita Democrat Jim Ward for the job. Ward sent a more combative message.Representative John Wilson, from Lawrence, decided to support Burroughs.“Those folks who are ready to be vocal and fight have the authority to do that. But we need to make sure that at the end of the day our leadership can build bridges where we can and stand firm where we can’t,” says Wilson.The newly elected leaders of both parties will take over their jobs in earnest when the Legislature convenes in January.

(Flickr Photo by Sgt. Pepperedjane)The Kansas Senate has voted to expand a program aimed at stopping population loss in rural Kansas counties. Some counties with declining populations have been designated as so-called Rural Opportunity Zones. The program helps repay student loans and offers income tax credits to attract people to those counties. Senator Les Donovan, a Republican from Wichita, says the program has helped rural areas.00000184-7fa7-d6f8-a1cf-7fa7beba0000The bill would expand the number of counties in the program from 50 to 73. Senator Carolyn McGinn, a Republican from Sedgwick, is a former chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee. She isn’t sure there’s evidence the program is working.00000184-7fa7-d6f8-a1cf-7fa7beba0001The bill will now go to the Kansas House.

Image Credit: Flickr user phy.colin (Colin Young)WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police have turned to Facebook in search of two men who are believed to have committed crimes of a sexual nature in public places. KAKE-TV reports it's the first time the department has used social media to seek help in solving a sex crime. Police aren't saying exactly what the two men are accused of doing, other than to say it's not rape. Police say one reason they're staying vague is that revealing too much too soon could hurt their case. They also say they have to be more careful what they say when dealing with sex crimes. Spokesman Lieutenant Doug Nolte says Facebook has become one of the department's best crime-fighting tools since it joined the site in 2009.

(Image Credit: fourstateshomepage.com) TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Attorney General Derek Schmidt says more Kansas residents sought and obtained permits for concealed carry permits for guns in 2013 than any year since the law took effect. Schmidt's office issued a report Monday saying that 24,000 applications were filed last year, an increase of more than 50 percent over 2012. The office received 24,181 applications in 2013, including 1,036 in December, which take an average of 30 days to process. More than 75,000 active permits have been issued in Kansas. Permits are good for four years before they have to be renewed. Permit holders who allow their licenses to lapse more than six months from their expiration date must complete required training to have it reinstated.

(Image credit: U.S. Department of Agriculture)TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials say the state will join several others in letting a federal waiver that allows an estimated 20,000 Kansans to receive food assistance without keeping a job expire. The Kansas Department for Children and Families says it wants to encourage employment over welfare dependency. Able-bodied adults with no dependents would need to work no less than 20 hours per week to qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps. The federal waiver expires September 30. That means that come October 1, adults will have three months to either find work or enroll in federally-approved job training. Other states that do not use the waiver include Delaware, New Hampshire, Vermont, Wyoming and Utah. Oklahoma and Wisconsin also plan to let the waiver expire.

The city of Topeka will pay more than $400,000 in damages in a federal gender discrimination lawsuit. Following this month's deadly shooting at a school in Georgia, numerous threats have been made against schools in Kansas and Washburn University School of Law has received a large grant to expand its rural law education program. Those headlines and more, inside.