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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ Kansas ranks among the top 10 states in a study of government transparency, accountability and anti-corruption mechanisms. The state is one of 19 to receive an average grade of "C" in the State Integrity Investigation, conducted by the Washington-based Center for Public Integrity, Public Radio International and Global Integrity. The study found that states are doing a poor job delivering accountability and transparency to their residents. No state received an A from the months-long probe that looked at 330 ``Corruption Risk Indicators'' across 14 categories of government. Kansas scored a 75 in the study, ninth best in the nation, while Missouri also received a C grade with 72 points. New Jersey had the highest grade with a B-plus, while eight states received an F.

Basketball recruit Andrew Wiggins has declared that he will attend the University of Kansas (Flickr photo via SportsAngle.com)The University of Kansas men's basketball team got a huge boost in its prospects for a national championship title next season. The Jayhawks received a signed letter of intent from the young man who's considered the nation’s top-ranked high school prospect. KPR’s Greg Echlin reports.

The non-profit College Board reports that the average annual cost of a four-year private college is now above $30,000. Sending a student off to a year at a public school now costs, on average, nearly $12,800.

Poet Tracy K. Smith's three favorite poems of 2011 blur the private and public, the personal and political, and will refresh how you look at language and the world.

Kansas Senate chamberTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Governor Sam Brownback's tax cuts and the conservative majorities he now enjoys in the state House and Senate have been picked as 2012's top stories in Kansas.The Associated Press surveyed its newspaper editors and broadcast news directors for their choices. Pushed by the conservative Brownback, Kansas lawmakers approved massive income tax cuts in 2012 that supporters insisted would stimulate the state's economy. Then in August, Republican conservatives ousted moderates in the primaries, paving the way for easy November wins and setting Brownback up with can't-lose majorities for the upcoming legislative session. Other stories getting attention in the survey included the heat wave and drought that gripped the state, the botched rollout of the new computer system for handling driver's licenses, and Kansas State's return to prominence in college football.

KU Jayhawks Joel Embiid (number 21) and Andrew Wiggins (number 22) chat during a game last year at Paradise Island, Bahamas (Photo credit: Nick Krug/ KUSports.com)For the first time since 1988, a member of the Kansas Jayhawks basketball team was the overall number-1 pick in the NBA draft. The Cleveland Cavaliers selected Andrew Wiggins last night with that top pick. Teammate Joel Embiid went third overall to the Philadelphia 76ers. Kansas Public Radio’s Greg Echlin reports.Cleanthony Early of Wichita State was taken in the second round by the New York Knicks.

Former Vice President Joe Biden was steadier than in past debates; South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg came under attack; and the candidates defended their least diverse debate stage yet.

Obama's supporter and former South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle was nominated to be secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services and director of the new White House Office of Health Reform.

There is agreement on recreational use — they're all against it.

The new federal report found that nearly 63 million American adults volunteered last year through a nonprofit, civic or faith-based organization. Utah, Idaho, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Kansas are ranked as the states with the most volunteers.