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(Image credit: www.livingstreetsalliance.org)WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — More than 50 Kansas schools will participate in International Walk to School Day on Wednesday. The idea is to encourage physical activity and teach children pedestrian safety. The schools plan organized walks to school and lessons on safety. The Wichita Eagle reports that Safe Kids Kansas is one of several groups promoting the annual event. Cherie Sage of Safe Kids Kansas says parents are encouraged to participate in the events. Sage says adults should show children hazards they might encounter while walking, act as role models and help them learn to be safer pedestrians.

(Photo credit: business.financialpost.com)WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Copper thieves tore out electrical systems at a Wichita industrial park, causing about $750,000 in damage. The theft was reported Friday at Kamen Industrial Park in Wichita. Police said the vandals stole about 2,000 feet of copper wiring. The Wichita Eagle reports that police received the call Friday afternoon after someone with the company found a large pile of heavy-strand copper wire on the ground. The thieves hit the roof of the building tearing out electrical systems to get to the copper wiring. Sergeant Bart Brunscheen, a spokesman for the Wichita Police Department, says detectives are looking at a potential suspect.

Clint Bowyer celebrates his win at Charlotte Motor Speedway (Photo Credit: Nigel Kinrade, AP)Emporia native Clint Bowyer (BOY-yur) had a big weekend at Charlotte Motor Speedway. As KPR’s Greg Echlin explains, Bowyer’s latest NASCAR victory is a great stepping stone, leading into this week's stop at Kansas Speedway.Stock car racing's best drivers are gathering in Kansas City this week for the running of the “Hollywood Casino 400” race on Sunday Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Kan.

(Photo Credit: energizedevents.com)TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas regulators are considering whether they need new rules for providers of promotional tours to three state-owned casinos. The state Racing and Gaming Commission has scheduled a hearing Friday on the issue. The commission regulates the companies that operate casinos for the Kansas Lottery in Dodge City, Mulvane and Kansas City, Kansas. The commission also licenses companies that provide casino junkets financed in part or entirely by the casino managers. Commission spokesman Bill Miskell says the agency wants to make sure that the trips are safe and their providers operate honestly. Miskell says the commission is soliciting comments about the current licensing process and whether changes are needed.

First Bank in Chase, Kan. (Photo Credit: Jim Misunas, Great Bend Tribune)GYPSUM, Kan. (AP) — A bank robbery suspect has been captured in central Kansas after a chase that ended with him exchanging gunfire with a trooper. The Kansas Highway Patrol says the chase started Tuesday night in Saline County. After the suspect crashed his vehicle near the town of Gypsum, he and the trooper pursuing him fired their weapons. The suspect then fled on foot. He was caught later in the evening after a search that involved aircraft, police dogs and multiple law enforcement agencies. Authorities suspect that earlier Tuesday, the man walked into the First Bank of Chase, showed a weapon and demanded money. Chase is a town of 500 people, located west of Lyons on U.S. Highway 56.

Flickr photo by Jimmy EmersonThe Kansas House has approved legislation that supporters call the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act.” It’s aimed at eliminating state subsidies for abortions, including indirect support through tax credits and exemptions. Representative Steve Brunk, a Wichita Republican, lauded the bill.00000184-7fa7-d6f8-a1cf-7fa7ad600000Some opponents of the legislation say it would allow doctors to withhold information from women about their pregnancies and doesn’t get to the real causes of abortion. Ann Mah is a Topeka Democrat.00000184-7fa7-d6f8-a1cf-7fa7ad600001The legislation will now go to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future.

The credit rating agency Moody’s has downgraded its bond rating for the University of Kansas. The rating fell one grade to Aa2. The company cited what it calls “thin operating cash flow” and falling enrollment as the state faces budget challenges in the coming years. KU's Joe Monaco says despite the downgrade, the rating is still the third-highest an institution can receive.00000184-7fa7-d6f8-a1cf-7fa7cd360000Moody’s also downgraded Emporia State University's rating this week. Several other universities in Kansas had their bond ratings assessed, but left unchanged. Moody’s downgraded the overall state of Kansas bond rating last week.

Stefan Petrovic (steh-FAHN PET-roh-vitch), a seventh-grader from South Junior High in Lawrence, won third place honors in the National Geographic Bee in Washington, D-C today (WED). The national competition features students competing in a variety of tests on geographic knowledge. Stefan says he enjoys the study of geography, and thinks it will help him as he pursues some big dreams: Stefan credits his parents for his success in the competition, along with two of his teachers - Mary Van Dyke of Broken Arrow Elementary and David Olson of South Junior High.

Shawnee City Hall (Photo Credit: Shawnee Mission Northwest High School)SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) — Police in northeast Kansas are investigating after a boy reported that a man jumped out of a sport utility vehicle and attempted to grab him. Shawnee police say the reported abduction attempt happened Friday. The boy said that as he was walking home, a man told him to get into the SUV. The boy said he was able to run home and call his mother. The boy says the man was driving a faded red SUV, possibly a Cadillac Escalade or GMC Denali, with tinted windows. Police searched the area but were unable to locate a suspect.

(Photo credit: Flickr user Matthew Kenwrick)WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a burgeoning domestic marijuana industry has transformed the potency of the weed now hitting the streets. In the past, law enforcement says they mostly seized compressed marijuana bricks. Now they are mostly intercepting medical-grade, domestic marijuana. A Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area study found busts involving Colorado weed were made last year in 23 states. Information obtained by The Associated Press through an open records request shows the Kansas Highway Patrol made 468 felony drug trafficking arrests last year. The agency arrested 187 people during the first five months this year. Most of the pot seized came from Colorado.