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UPDATE: Kansas Legislative Negotiators Agree on Tax CutsTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Negotiators for the Kansas House and Senate have agreed on cuts in sales and income taxes. Three senators and three House members struck a deal Thursday to reconcile numerous differences between their chambers over tax policy. The proposal would cut the state's individual income tax rates and phase out income taxes over five years for 191,000 businesses. The sales tax would drop to 5.7 percent in July 2013, from its current 6.3 percent. However, the negotiators won't present their plan to either chamber until they get final figures on its potential effects on the state budget. The plan is expected to provide at least $119 million in tax relief during the fiscal year that begins July 1 and at least $500 million for the following fiscal year.=============================Negotiators Resume Kansas Budget Effort TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas House and Senate negotiators expect to begin work next week on a compromise version of a new state budget. The negotiators met briefly Thursday to outline a timetable for their work. The exact dates will depend on each chamber passing its own version of the budget for the 2013 fiscal year, which begins July 1. Senate Ways and Means Committee Chairwoman Carolyn McGinn expects her committee to finish its budget Friday and have it ready for debate next Tuesday. In the House, the chairman of the Appropriations Committee said it will probably be Monday at the earliest before his panel sends a budget bill to the full chamber, with debate possibly starting at mid-week.=============================Governor Brownback Agrees to Modify Medicaid PlanTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Amid pressure from advocates for the developmentally disabled, Kansas Governor Sam Brownback is going along with a proposal to modify his plans for overhauling the $2.9 billion-a-year Medicaid program. Brownback announced Wednesday that his administration is endorsing a proposal for a one-year exclusion of long-term services for the developmentally disabled from the Medicaid reforms. Those services wouldn't become part of the overhaul until 2014. House Majority Leader Arlen Siegfreid, an Olathe Republican who's normally a Brownback ally, confirmed that he is pursuing the proposal. His plan would allow pilot projects to test whether private managed-care companies can provide adequate services. Brownback's administration plans to turn the management of Medicaid over to three private companies, starting in 2013. Medicaid covers medical services for the poor, needy and disabled.===============================KS Senate Considering Creation of Disaster FundTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ Kansas lawmakers are considering a bill creating a special fund to cover the state's share of federal disaster assistance. Major General Lee Tafanelli, the Kansas adjutant general, testified before a Senate committee Thursday about the legislation. The bill would move $12 million a year into the special fund, which would be capped at $40 million. Tafanelli, a former legislator, says Kansas spends an average of $22 million a year to cover its 10 percent share of federal disaster aid. He suggested the Legislature transfer $22 million a year, instead of the $12 million in the bill, to build the special fund more quickly. The full Senate is expected to debate the bill next week.=============================== Kansas Senate Committee Schedules Redistricting TalksTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ A legislative committee in Kansas is preparing to discuss proposals for redrawing congressional and state Senate districts. Chairman Tim Owens scheduled a meeting of the Senate Reapportionment Committee for Friday morning. He set the meeting amid growing pressure on lawmakers to finish adjusting political boundaries to account for changes in the state's population over the past decade. Owens said the panel will consider both Senate and congressional redistricting issues. State officials have told legislators they risk creating administrative problems or postponing the state's August 7 primary election if district lines aren't settled by mid-May. A dispute between conservative and moderate Republicans in the Senate has prevented approval of a plan redrawing members' districts. Both chambers have approved their own congressional redistricting plans, but have killed the other's proposal.===================================Kansas Governor Says He Likes Direction of Tax TalksTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Governor Sam Brownback says he's pleased with the direction of negotiations among Kansas legislators about cutting taxes, saying he sees the core of a plan he offered emerging. Brownback told The Associated Press on Thursday that the key elements of any tax plan must be reducing individual income tax rates and exempting 191,000 businesses from income taxes. A compromise plan has started to emerge from negotiations between the House and Senate over the final version of tax legislation. Three senators and three House members planned to resume their talks Thursday afternoon. The governor said any plan that emerges also must not cause budget problems. Legislators didn't like elements of Brownback's plan that offset some of his cuts, such as eliminating tax credits and deductions.=================================== Kansas Senate Passes Plan to Merge Arts, Film PanelsTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Senate has approved a bill to create a new Creative Arts Industries Commission by merging separate arts and film services panels. Wednesday's 38-1 vote sent the measure to the House. Passage there would forward the bill to Governor Sam Brownback, who proposed merging the two commissions. The Wichita Eagle reports the final version was drafted by House and Senate negotiators to reconcile differences over how many people would serve on the commission and who would appoint them. The new commission would have 11 members and be part of the state Department of Commerce. Brownback sought last year to abolish the Arts Commission. He vetoed its entire budget, costing the state $1.2 million in outside arts funds but leaving the commission in existence.==============================Kansas Lawmakers to See Another Push on GamblingTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas Senate committee has sponsored a measure designed to bring a casino to southeast Kansas and slot machines to dog and horse tracks. Chairman Pete Brungardt, a Salina Republican, offered the measure in the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee as a late-session push for the gambling legislation. The bill must be read into the record in the full Senate before the committee can work on the issue. A 2007 state law allows slots at now-closed tracks in Kansas City, Wichita and outside Pittsburg, as well as a state-owned casino in southeast Kansas. Gambling supporters say the law's financial requirements are too strict for a southeast Kansas casino or slots at the tracks to be economically feasible. The committee's bill would change the requirements. Such efforts have found little support at the Kansas Legislature in the past.===============================U.S. Senate Panel Advances 5-Year Farm BillWASHINGTON (AP) _ The U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee has approved a five-year, half-trillion-dollar plan to overhaul the nation's food and farm policies. The measure goes now to the full Senate. It ends the practice of paying farmers for crops they don't grow. Instead, it shifts emphasis to crop insurance and a new federal risk management program. It also seeks to end some abuses in the federal food stamp program and cuts some $4 billion from food stamp spending, which makes up about 80 percent of the farm bill. In all, the bill reduces some $23 billion from the deficit. The current farm bill expires at the end of September, but it's unclear whether Congress can pass a bill by then. The House is calling for far greater cuts, particularly in the area of food stamps.===============================1 Killed, 2 Hurt in Crash at Kansas Rest AreaSOLOMON, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Highway Patrol says one person is dead after a tractor-trailer slammed into a recreational vehicle at a rest area along Interstate 70. The crash happened around 1 pm Thursday near the north-central Kansas town of Solomon, about 90 miles west of Topeka. Troopers say the semi was eastbound when it pulled into the rest area at a high rate of speed and slammed into the back of the parked RV. The motor home was pushed into a grassy area, where bystanders pulled two people from the vehicle before it caught fire. A man who was in the RV was killed and a woman traveling with him was injured. The driver of the semi was also hurt. I-70 was briefly closed in both directions.=============================== Cattle Truck Overturns Near Kansas CityBONNER SPRINGS, Kan. (AP) — A truck full of cattle drove off an embankment of an interstate near Bonner Springs, and burst into flames, killing several cattle and closing one lane of the interstate. The accident happened about 2:30 am Thursday on westbound Interstate 70 near 110th Street in Bonner Springs. Police say one lane of the interstate could be closed for most of the day as cleanup continues. The driver of the truck has been hospitalized but the extent of his injuries was not immediately known. About 30 to 40 cattle either died in the accident or had to be euthanized, while officials were rounding up several other cows.===============================Guns Stolen from Wyandotte County Cabela's StoreKANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Police in Kansas City, Kansas have been investigating the theft of several guns from an outdoor recreation store in a suburban retail development. Police said the guns were stolen early Thursday from the Cabela's store in a retail area near the Kansas Speedway in Wyandotte County. Police said thieves broke into the business but did not say how many or what variety of guns were taken. Police say they have no suspects.=============================== Cessna Aircraft Recalling Workers, Hiring MoreWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Cessna Aircraft is trying to fill about 150 jobs through recalling employees and hiring new workers. Cessna spokesman Andy Woodward says the employees are needed because of an increase in production. The company also is increasing its sales force. He declined to say which production lines are increasing. The company has cut thousands of workers since 2008 during the recession. The Wichita Eagle reports Cessna posted $669 million in revenue in the first quarter of 2012, compared with $556 million for the same time a year ago. The company had $6 million in losses in the quarter, down significantly from a loss of $38 million a year ago. The company delivered 38 Citation jets in the first three months of the year, compared with 31 a year ago.==================================Kansas Senate Honors Chamber's Longtime SecretaryTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Senate has honored the leader of the chamber's staff of clerks, who's planning to retire in December after 22 years in the job. Senators approved a resolution for Secretary Pat Saville and held a reception for her outside the chamber. Saville is the longest-serving secretary of the Senate in state history. The resolution praised Saville's dedication. It noted that she served as president of the American Society of Legislative Clerks and Secretaries in 2000 and 2001 and received its staff achievement award in 2007. The 69-year-old Saville joined the Legislature's staff in 1975 as a secretary to House members and later served as a secretary and administrative assistant to three legislative leaders. She became secretary of the Senate in December 1990.==================================Saline County Reopens 30-Year-Old Murder CaseSALINA, Kan. (AP) — Saline County authorities have reopened an investigation into the 1981 shooting death of a Kansas man. Thirty-year-old William Farmer was found shot to death in a car in a remote area near New Cambria on May 31, 1981. Saline County Deputy Jim Hughes announced Thursday that new information has surfaced on the case. He says some of the people considered persons of interest in the case have died, prompting new information from people who may have been afraid to come forward. Farmer's wife, Brenda, who has remarried, told KSAL that it's way past time to solve the case. And the couple's two sons said they were encouraged by the new interest in their father's death.==================================Woman Sentenced to Prison for Shooting at Kansas TroopersGOODLAND, Kan. (AP) — A California woman will spend more than 13 years in prison for shooting at two Kansas Highway Patrol troopers during a chase last year on Interstate 70. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt says 31-year-old Piper Lacey Stout-Briese was sentenced Thursday in Sherman County District Court. She pleaded no contest to two counts of attempted second-degree murder for the shooting in January 2011. Stout-Briese, of Palmdale, California, was a passenger in a car driven by Anthony Patrick when it was stopped in northwestern Kansas for a tag violation. Patrick drove off, and Stout-Briese fired shots from a .22-caliber rifle that struck the troopers' vehicle during the ensuing chase. Patrick pleaded no contest earlier to the same charges and received the same sentence.================================== TSA Defends Pat-Down of 4-Year-Old at Wichita AirportWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The grandmother of a 4-year-old girl who became hysterical during a security screening at a Kansas airport says security agents forced her to undergo a pat-down, and even yelled at the child and called her an uncooperative suspect. The incident has been attracting increasing media and online attention since the child's mother, Michelle Brademeyer of Montana, detailed the ordeal in a public Facebook post last week. The Transportation Security Administration says its agents followed proper screening procedures. The child's grandmother, Lori Croft, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that mother and daughter initially passed through security at Wichita's airport without incident. But then the child ran to briefly hug Croft, who was awaiting a pat-down after tripping the alarm. That's when TSA agents insisted the child undergo a physical pat-down.================================== H&R Block to Cut 350 Jobs, Close About 200 Store LocationsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — H&R Block is reorganizing its business and cutting hundreds of jobs in a bid to save the company up to $100 million per year by the end of fiscal 2013. The nation's largest tax preparer, based in Kansas City, Missouri, also says its earnings and revenue for its fiscal year will fall below Wall Street expectations, in part because of charges related to the restructuring. Block will offer severance packages to employees who volunteer to leave, and will lay off workers if it does not reach the goal of eliminating 350 full-time positions. The company also plans to close about 200 offices. In addition, Block says Jeff Brown, its chief financial officer, is resigning and a search for a successor is underway.================================== Kansas Wheat Tour Shows Off Crop at Critical TimeWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The annual Kansas Wheat Quality tour takes place next week at a pivotal time for the 2012 crop. Participants will begin May 1 in Manhattan and travel about 4,000 miles along four different routes throughout the state. They'll gather two days later at the Kansas City Board of Trade to share their production forecasts. The winter wheat is developing two weeks ahead of normal, and the yield looks promising. But the trade group Kansas Wheat says long-term drought stress is beginning to show in western Kansas, and much of the crop is battling leaf diseases. The Wheat Quality tour draws farmers, government personnel and members of the milling industry and other business groups. More than 100 participants are expected, making this year's event one of the largest in recent years.================================== Kansas Students Raise $500 for Historic Cabin RestorationTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas school children have responded to a legislative call to raise funds to help restore the cabin where the state song, "Home on the Range," was written. Senate leaders say that students from Horizon Elementary in Shawnee and Jayhawk Elementary in Mound City are the first to turn in their money, raising the first $500 to restore the historic building. The cabin near the Smith County town of Athol in north-central Kansas is where Dr. Brewster Higley wrote the poem "My Western Home" in 1871. The poem began to circulate and was eventually put to music. Legislators helped launch the "Coins for the Cabin" drive in February. The program challenged students, teachers and administrators to raise money for the project while learning more about the history of the state and the song.===================================Underground Salt Museum Marking 5th Anniversary HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Underground Salt Museum plans to throw itself a 5-year birthday party next Monday. Organizers of the event say they want to note the anniversary as a way to thank everyone who helped make the museum possible. The museum offers tours in a still-functioning salt mine operated by the Hutchinson Salt Company. The Hutchinson News reports the museum opened in 2007 but no grand opening was ever held because the museum has been developed in stages. More than 46,000 people visited in the museum's first eight months in 2007. In 2008, when the museum was named one of the "Eight Wonders of Kansas," there were 58,305 visitors. Since then, the number of visitors has fluctuated between 53,000 and nearly 56,000.=================================== Restitution Added to Kansas Man's Child Porn Sentence KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge has added victim restitution to the terms of punishment for a northeastern Kansas man who admitted distributing child pornography. The U.S. Attorney's office said Wednesday that 55-year-old Leon Smith of Leavenworth, was sentenced to more than 12 years in prison. Judge Carlos Murguia also ordered Smith to pay restitution of $3,000 to one victim and $2,000 to another whose photos were distributed on the Internet. Smith admitted in his guilty plea that he searched for child pornography on the Internet and saved the material in folders on his computer. An FBI agent in Oklahoma downloaded more than 50 images from Smith's computer in 2010, using peer-to-peer file sharing software.================================== Gunshot-Detection System to Be Deployed in KCKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City, Missouri police are teaming up with the city's transportation authority to deploy gunshot-detection technology that can instantly pinpoint the location of shots fired. The Kansas City Star reports officials with the company that developed and markets the ShotSpotter system say it can be operational in the city within 60 to 90 days. ShotSpotter uses multiple sensors to pick up the sound of gunfire and pinpoint its location. The information goes into computers at California-based SST Incorporated, where acoustic experts assess the data to determine whether the sounds were gunfire or something else. Gunshots are instantly reported back to the area's 911 operators, or in some cases patrol officers. SST vice president Lydia Barrett says 68 police agencies across the U.S. use the technology.================================== Klein to Lead K-State Wildcats in Annual Spring Football GameMANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State fans are eager for Saturday's spring game to see how good Collin Klein could be now that he's comfortably in charge. A year ago, the plucky "run-first" quarterback was just starting to assume control of the offense. He'd thrown all of 18 passes the previous season, and much like the rest of the Wildcats, nobody really knew what to expect. What happened is that Klein put together one of the best seasons in school history, leading the surprising Wildcats to 10 wins and a berth in the Cotton Bowl. Klein threw for nearly 2,000 yards and 13 touchdowns with six interceptions, but it was on the ground where he really soared. The junior ran for 1,141 yards and 27 touchdowns, setting a Big 12 record for rushing scores and breaking a 42-year-old school record.================================== Kansas Tax Cut Plan Starting to Emerge from Legislative TalksTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The outlines of legislation cutting sales and income taxes in Kansas are emerging from negotiations between the state House and Senate. Three senators and three House members reviewed proposals Wednesday and moved closer to reconciling dozens of differences between their chambers. They're working on a plan to cut the top individual income tax rate and to phase out income taxes for 191,000 businesses. Negotiators also are leaning toward reducing the 6.3 percent state income tax to 5.7 percent, effect in July of next year. Negotiators said they may finish work on the plan this week. Meanwhile, more than three dozen former Republican legislators are expressing concerns about the tax-cut debate. The former Kansas lawmakers say they're worried that public schools won't be properly funded. **this story has been updated. Please see more recent story above.

Brownback Names Former Adviser to Kansas Supreme Court TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Governor Sam Brownback says Caleb Stegall is "one of the most qualified people" to ever be named to the Kansas Supreme Court. Brownback named his former aide to the high court on Friday and called him "brilliant." He put the 42-year-old on the Court of Appeals last year after he spent three years as the governor's chief counsel. Stegall was one of 13 people who applied for the seat Justice Nancy Moritz gave up to take a seat on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The appointment does not require state Senate confirmation. An online magazine Stegall edited in 2005 encouraged "forcible resistance" to state and federal court orders to save the life of a brain-damaged Florida woman, though he later said it only advocated civil disobedience. In a 2008 online newspaper chat, he called the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 ruling legalizing abortion "weak."==============================Kansas Tax Collections $4M Lower Than Expected in AugustTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A new report says Kansas collected $4 million less in taxes than expected in August. The Department of Revenue said Friday the state took in $421 million in taxes, about 1 percent below the official forecast of $425 million. The department called revenues flat but said there are signs of economic growth in the figures. Corporate income tax collections exceeded expectations for the month. The state saw a slight surplus in tax collections in July. Since the current fiscal year began July 1, the state has collected about $829 million in revenues, against projections of nearly $832 million. The difference is about $2.4 million, or 0.3 percent. The numbers are likely to renew a political debate over massive income tax cuts enacted at Republican Governor Sam Brownback's urging.==============================Kansas Gets One-Year Waiver of Federal Schools LawKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas has received a one-year extension of a waiver that gives it more flexibility in meeting some of the provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind education law. The U.S. Department of Education also granted an extension Thursday to Indiana. Kansas first was granted a waiver in 2012, but was told last August it was at "high risk" of losing it because the state hadn't taken enough steps to use student achievement data as part of teacher evaluations. Interim Kansas Education Commissioner Brad Neuenswander said he was "pleased." The Kansas Department of Elementary and Secondary Education says education evaluation systems will incorporate the student data as a "significant" factor this year. But those student growth measures will not be used to make personnel decisions until the 2017-18 school year.===============================Thousands Lose Power After Wichita Car CrashWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Most of the thousands of people who lost electricity in south Wichita after a car hit a utility pole have had their power restored. Westar Energy spokeswoman Gina Penzig says 11,600 Wichitans were affected Thursday night after the car overturned and rolled into the power pole. The utility replaced the power pole overnight and says all but a handful of customers had their power back Friday morning. Wichita police say the car driver was taken into custody.=============================== Judge Says Suspect's Statements Can Be Used in TrialOTTAWA, Kan. (AP) — A judge has ruled that statements from the suspect in a quadruple homicide in Kansas can be used at his trial. Franklin County District Court Judge Eric Godderz ruled Friday that statements from 29-year-old Kyle Flack will be admitted during his trial in September 2015. Flack is charged in the deaths of two men, one woman and the woman's 18-month-old daughter in May 2013. The adults' bodies were found outside Ottawa. The child's body was found in nearby Osage County. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Flack made the statements during questioning by investigators. The defense contended the questioning should have ended at least twice because Flack twice mentioned legal representation. Godderz ruled that the statements appeared to be voluntary.==============================KU Police Using New Body-Mounted CamerasLAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - University of Kansas police officers have begun wearing body-mounted cameras this week. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the department spent more than $7,000 to buy eight cameras this spring to outfit all officers on duty at any given time. Officers tested the new technology this summer before introducing it Monday. The department's captain, James Anguiano, says it's now department policy for officers to wear the technology at all times during their shifts. The University of Kansas Police Department is the only law enforcement agency serving Lawrence to use body-mounted cameras. Anguiano says he thinks the cost of the cameras is why some other law enforcement agencies don't use the technology.===============================Spirit AeroSystems Offers Voluntary RetirementsWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Spirit AeroSystems is offering a voluntary retirement program to some management and salaried employees in Wichita and Kinston, North Carolina. Company spokesman Ken Evans said Thursday the employees must be older than 55 and have worked at least 10 years with Spirit to qualify for the program. Employees have until September 12 to express an interest in the buyout, although that doesn't commit them to retiring or guarantee they will be offered the buyout. Executives and stress and design engineers are excluded from the offer. Evans says the company has no specific number of employees it wants to retire. The Wichita Eagle reports ( http://bit.ly/VUVLrf ) Spirit is making other changes to cut costs, such as bolstering top management, reducing overtime for hourly workers and trying to sell its Tulsa wing plant.==============================Westar Energy Changes Retirees' BenefitsTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Westar Energy is notifying its retired employees that they will have to find their own Medicare supplemental plans beginning January 1. Previously, the employees had received group coverage through the company. Westar spokeswoman Gina Penzig says the change will affect about 1,700 retirees who are older than 65 and qualify for Medicare. She says the employees will be paid a stipend to buy individual Medicare supplemental plans, known as Part B. Penzig says the company believes at least 96 percent of the employees will end up with better plans than they had under the current Westar benefits. Westar says it currently spends about $3.5 million a year for retiree health benefits.==============================Sedgwick District Attorney Warns of Mail TheftWICHITA, Kan. (AP) - The Sedgwick County district attorney says reports of mail theft are increasing in Wichita. Marc Bennett said Thursday that thieves are targeting government checks and credit card applications. He says they typically steal during the day. Wichita police recorded 134 cases of mail theft since January. Sixty of those happened in the past three months. Bennett says thieves use personal information from stolen mail for identity theft. He suggests residents collect their mail when it's delivered, buy a mailbox lock or rent a post office box. Mail theft can be a misdemeanor, felony or federal crime depending on what is taken.===============================Kansas Woman Convicted in Death of 4-Year-OldHIAWATHA, Kan. (AP) — A northeast Kansas woman has been convicted in last year's beating death of her boyfriend's 4-year-old son. KNZA-FM reports that 30-year-old Janice Summerford entered Alford pleas Friday to second-degree murder, child abuse and interfering with law enforcement. An Alford plea does not admit guilt but acknowledges that prosecutors can likely prove the charges. Summerford, of Hiawatha, had been facing trial next month for the death of Mekhi Boone in March 2013. She was initially charged with aiding and abetting a death, but Brown County prosecutors upgraded the charge to first-degree murder after learning Summerford was the child's primary caregiver. Mekhi's father, Lee Davis IV, was convicted earlier of second-degree murder and felony child abuse and sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison.==============================KHP Seeks Witness to Pedestrian DeathOVERBROOK, Kan (AP) - Authorities are asking the public for help in finding witnesses to the hit-and-run death of a northeast Kansas pedestrian. Twenty-year-old Timothy Kemble of Carbondale was found dead around 5am Sunday along U.S. Highway 56 in Osage County. The Kansas Highway Patrol said Thursday that investigators hope to talk with anyone who was driving on the highway near Overbrook between 4:30 and 5:30 am Sunday. Investigators are also trying to locate the driver of a tractor-trailer that was in the area at that time. The Highway Patrol says the driver is not a suspect, but could have helpful information.==============================Osage County Sheriff Investigates Infant DeathYNDON, Kan. (AP) - A northeast Kansas sheriff's office is investigating the death of a baby who stopped breathing at a day care facility. Osage County Sheriff Laurie Dunn said in a news release that the infant died earlier this week while being taken to a hospital. The baby was identified as 4-month-old Brody Johnston, of Scranton. The sheriff says his parents wanted the public to know their donation of their son's organs have saved the lives of two other infants. An autopsy has been performed, but the sheriff said Thursday the cause of death has not been determined. Osage County health officials closed the day care for two days while they investigated.==============================Newton Council OKs Financing for Chemical PlantNEWTON, Kan. (AP) - The City Council in Newton has approved financing for a company that plans to build a chemical manufacturing plant at the city's airport. The estimate for Wichita-based ABI Group's project is $6.5 million, which would fund a 20,000-squre-foot manufacturing facility, a 5,000-square-foot hangar and a taxiway. The Wichita Eagle reports ABI Chemicals plans to use the space to make aerospace coatings being developed in conjunction with Wichita State University's National Institute for Aviation Research. Newton plans to lease the facilities to ABI Chemicals for 20 years at rates that will cover debt service payments on a loan from Citizens State Bank.==============================Salina Man Found Guilty in Bicyclist's DeathSALINA, Kan. (AP) - A Saline County jury found a 64-year-old Salina man guilty of misdemeanor vehicular homicide in the hit-and-run death of a bicyclist. Lewis Grider also was found guilty Thursday of felony leaving the scene of an accident in the May 2013 death of bicyclist Gail Kline. He will remain free on bond until his sentencing October 20. The Salina Journal reports that before the verdict, Grider testified that he felt something hit his delivery van and stopped to survey the damage. Believing he had hit a deer, he continued on his trip. The 49-year-old Kline was hit as she was riding alone west of Salina as part of the Kandango Bicycle Tour. A trucker found her in a ditch and called emergency officials.==============================Kansas City Man Gets Lower Sentences for 2 MurdersKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Jackson County jury has recommended new, lower sentences for a man convicted of two murders in Kansas City. Twenty-three-year-old Eria Doss was earlier sentenced to four life sentences plus 200 years for the April 2009 deaths of Andrew Eli and Justin Burdreau during a robbery at Eli's apartment. A Missouri appeals court last year ordered that he be resentenced because the jury in his trial heard improper evidence about his juvenile records. On Wednesday, the jury recommended 30 years each on two convictions of second-degree murder, 10 years for a first-degree robbery conviction and three years on three counts of armed criminal action. He will be sentenced September 26. Prosecutors will recommend the sentences run consecutively. Two co-defendants are already serving prison sentences.===============================Man Sentenced to 11 Years for Trying to Kill Mother WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita man has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for trying to kill his 86-year-old mother. Fifty-three-year-old Glenn Fishburn was sentenced Wednesday for attempted second-degree murder and kidnapping after he attacked his mother with a baseball bat and machete in April. Police say Fishburn became upset with his mother when she confronted him about his drinking. She suffered cuts and broken bones. The Wichita Eagle reports that Fishburn originally was charged with attempted first-degree murder but pleaded guilty in July to the reduced charge.==============================Principal Helps Save Kansas Man with CPRKANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - A Kansas cardiologist says a school principal who performed CPR on one of his patients helped save the man's life. 70-year-old John Williams was stricken August 18 outside Turner Sixth Grade Academy in Kansas City, Kansas, where he had to gone to pick up a child. A secretary alerted principal Miranda Hoit that a man had collapsed in the parking lot. Hoit found Williams unresponsive and began CPR while others called 911. Williams was in a coma for eight days and awoke Wednesday at Providence Medical Center. Dr. Hector Rodriguez, a cardiologist, said Williams has a damaged heart and is prone to arrhythmia. Without Hoit's actions, the doctor says, Williams "would not be here today." Williams said he's feeling pretty good, but can't believe he missed eight days.==============================Topeka Jeweler Accused of Buying Stolen GoodsTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas man is accused of knowingly buying stolen jewelry at his Topeka store, then reselling it as scrap gold. The U.S. Attorney's office says 53-year-old John Dasher, of Silver Lake, made a first court appearance Thursday on 32 counts of money laundering and one count of transporting stolen property. Court records did not list an attorney for Dasher. Prosecutors said Dasher bought gold jewelry at his store, The Diamond House, that he knew had been stolen in home invasions in the Topeka area. The indictment alleges he melted the stolen jewelry and sold it as gold scrap to precious metal wholesalers. Authorities allege the wholesalers paid Dasher more than $430,000 from November 2008 to April 2013.==============================Smoking Materials Caused KU Fraternity FireLAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Investigators say a fire at a University of Kansas fraternity house was caused by improperly disposed of smoking materials. No injuries were reported after the fire Tuesday at the Sigma Chi fraternity house. Lawrence-Douglas County Fire official Shaun Coffey said Thursday the fire caused an estimated $150,000 in damage. Flames were contained to the third floor but lower floors had smoke and water damage. The Lawrence Journal-World reports fraternity members said a bathroom and bedrooms sustained the most damage. The 74 residents of the home were allowed to return to the house Tuesday evening. Coffey said he did not know what type of smoking materials caused the fire.==============================Kansas State University to Offer Massive Open Online CourseMANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Kansas State University has announced that a health and wellness course will be its first "massive open online course." The school joins dozens of leading universities that have begun offering free, digital versions of their most popular courses. The so-called MOOCs allow tens of thousands of students to take a class at the same time. But dropout rates often hover around 90 percent. The Kansas State course will teach about the changes that can be made to improve health, physical fitness and overall well-being. The first cycle of the course will be taught October 6 to November 15, with content remaining open to students until December 12. Assistant human nutrition professor Linda Yarrow says the class format encourages instructors to be creative and innovative in their educational offerings.==============================Effort Underway to Bring Movie Theater to HiawathaHIAWATHA, Kan. (AP) — A group of residents in Hiawatha are trying to bring a movie theater back to the northeast Kansas town. Hiawatha's Twin Theatre closed about a week ago after voters in April rejected an initiative that would have funded the construction of a new city-owned theater. Now, a nonprofit group called Hiawatha ACES has launched a fundraising drive to buy and renovate the 40-year-old Twin Theatre. The St. Joseph News-Press reports that the group estimates it would cost $200,000 to update the theater. For now, small improvements and maintenance will begin, with a goal of reopening the theater by the holiday season. However, a second proposal to fund a city-owned movie theater will be on the ballot in November. If it passes, the plans to renovate the Arrow Twin will stop.==========================KC Man Accused of Stealing Police Car DisappearsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Two days after a homeless Kansas City man is accused of stealing a police squad car and abandoning it in northern Missouri, investigators say they've not seen any signs of the 30-year-old suspect. Joshua Boyd was charged Thursday in Jackson County with second-degree robbery and resisting arrest in connection with the theft early Wednesday of a Kansas City police cruiser from a gas station after an officer confronted him. The car was found on Interstate 35 near Pattonsburg, about an hour north of Kansas City, but a shotgun that had been in the vehicle was missing. Missouri State Highway Patrol spokesman Jake Angle said Friday his agency has received no tips or reports of suspicious activity, which he says is surprising because Boyd was believed to be on foot.===============================No. 20 K-State Wary of Opening Against FCS FoesKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas State...ranked number 20 in national college football polls...knows well the perils of playing an FCS school the first weekend of the season. The Wildcats were stunned by North Dakota State last year. This time, it's Stephen F. Austin that rolls into town looking for an upset. The Wildcats return a bevy of talent from a team that rebounded from its season-opening loss to win eight times, though. And the Lumberjacks are coming off a three-win season that resulted in the hiring of coach Clint Conque away from Southland Conference rival Central Arkansas. Kansas State will be guarding against looking ahead on Saturday night. Big 12 play begins next week at Iowa State, and a showdown with number 6-ranked Auburn looms after that.===============================Kansas City Chiefs Turn Attention to Roster, Regular SeasonKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — After four preseason clunkers, the Chiefs know things are about to get real. General manager John Dorsey and coach Andy Reid were planning to meet Friday to discuss final roster cuts, which are due Saturday afternoon. Then, a chance to sign waived players on Sunday and the start of preparations for the regular-season opener against Tennessee. Dorsey and Reid have several difficult decisions to make. They are enamored of all four quarterbacks on their roster, though Reid can't recall ever keeping that many when he was in Philadelphia. And with suspensions and injuries at wide receiver, the Chiefs could be keeping some around simply out of necessity.===============================Sporting KC, Fluminense FC Agree to PartnershipKANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — MLS Cup champion Sporting Kansas City and Brazilian power Fluminense FC have agreed to a partnership that will encompass player transfers, academy exchanges and other opportunities. The partnership, which includes international friendlies, goes through the 2016 season. Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes said Friday the clubs have been discussing a partnership since February, but that they "did not want this to be a marketing ploy. We wanted this to be beneficial for both clubs on the business and technical side." Fluminense has agreed to loan at least one player per MLS season to Sporting KC and another player to the club's USL PRO affiliates. The two clubs will also collaborate on exchanging youth players, academy staff and training over the course of the partnership.

Independent Candidate Joins Senate Race in KansasTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Greg Orman is now officially on the November ballot as an independent candidate in the Kansas U.S. Senate race. The Kansas Secretary of State's office said Friday it has certified enough signatures on Orman's campaign petition to qualify him for the general election. Orman is trying to unseat Republican incumbent Pat Roberts, who is seeking a fourth, six-year term. The Democratic nominee is Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor. Orman is an Olathe businessman and the co-founder of a business capital and management services firm. He says in a news release that his candidacy offers voters a choice between partisan politics of the past and an independent approach that focuses on practical problem-solving. Orman is on an eight-day, 18-stop bus tour around the state.===============================KS Regents Give Preliminary OK to Projects BudgetVALLEY FALLS, Kan. (AP) - The Kansas Board of Regents gave preliminary approval to a $38.6 million budget for specific projects. However, the Regents on Thursday rejected a request for $23.8 million to increase funding for post-secondary school to cover inflation. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the board will finalize the recommendations in September and forward it to Governor Sam Brownback to consider while he devises a budget to present to the Legislature. The list included top priorities from each of the state's post-secondary schools, including $10 million to build a technical institute in Dodge City as part of a proposed merger with Fort Hays, $5 million for ongoing funding of a drug and discovery institute at the University of Kansas, and $5 million to renovate and expand Seaton Hall at Kansas State University.===============================Hundreds in KCMO Protest Police BrutalityKANSAS CITY, Mo.- Hundreds of people gathered in Kansas City, Missouri last night (THUR) to protest the shooting death of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old near St. Louis last weekend. The rally was one of dozens taking place across the country as part of the National Moment of Silence, a movement encouraging people to assemble peacefully to protest police brutality. The Kansas City protesters gathered at the J.C. Nichols fountain on the Country Club Plaza last night, holding signs, chanting and encouraging cars to honk in support of citizens in Ferguson, Mo. Many people at the rally say they decided to come after seeing something about it on the internet. Organizers of the rally read the names and stories of a dozen unarmed people killed by police officers. Five mounted officers with the Kansas City Police Department waited on horseback away from the crowd, but the protest remained peaceful.===============================Supreme Court Upholds Murder Conviction of TeenTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has upheld the convictions and sentence of a northeast Kansas girl who was 13 when she was charged with murder during a botched carjacking. Justices unanimously agreed Friday that the district court was justified in prosecuting Keaira Brown as an adult for felony murder and attempted aggravated robbery in the 2008 killing of Scott Sappington Jr. The 16-year-old victim died of a gunshot wound to the head. Sappington had just dropped off his younger siblings at his grandmother's house and was on his way to work when he was killed. Brown, of Kansas City, Kansas, will be eligible for parole after serving 20 years. The Supreme Court held the mandatory minimum sentence could be constitutionally applied to a person under 18 years of age.===============================Supreme Court Upholds Conviction in Baby's DeathTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Supreme Court has upheld the felony murder conviction of a southwest Kansas man in the 2009 death of his girlfriend's baby daughter. The justices on Friday rejected all arguments raised by Gabriel De La Torre on appeal for his murder conviction. They ordered a retrial on the child abuse conviction because a required jury instruction was not given. At his first trial, a jury convicted the Dodge City man of abusing 11-month-old Joselyn Hernandez but deadlocked on the murder charge. A jury at a second trial convicted him of felony murder. Authorities said the baby had more than 40 bruises when De La Torre brought her to a hospital on September 6, 2009, because she had stopped breathing. Her mother was at work at the time.===============================10th Circuit Nixes Appeal in Wichita Quadruple Murder CaseWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal appeals court has refused to consider the appeal of a Kansas man convicted of killing four people in a Wichita duplex. The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday that Cornelius Oliver waited too long to seek federal relief after the Kansas Supreme Court made his convictions final in December 2005. The Kansas Supreme Court had upheld Oliver's four first-degree murder convictions and his life sentence for each. Because a judge ordered him to serve the sentences consecutively, the 23-year-old Oliver wouldn't be eligible for parole for 150 years. The shootings occurred in December 2000 in the home of Oliver's estranged girlfriend, 18-year-old Raeshawnda Wheaton. Wheaton was killed as were her roommate, 17-year-old Odessa Ford, Ford's cousin, 17-year-old Quincy Williams, and another man, 19-year-old Jermaine Levy.===============================Deere Plans Layoffs at Midwest Sites, Including CoffeyvilleMOLINE, Ill. (AP) — Agricultural equipment maker Deere is announcing it will indefinitely lay off more than 600 employees at four of its factories in the Midwest as demand slumps. The affected sites are in the cities of East Moline and Moline in Illinois, as well as Ankeny, Iowa, and Coffeyville, Kansas. Deere & Co. said in a news release Friday that "to remain globally competitive, the company must align the size of its manufacturing workforce with market demands for products." Deere is the world's biggest farm equipment supplier. The company said it is also implementing seasonal and inventory adjustment shutdowns and temporary layoffs at the four affected factories as well as one in Ottumwa, Iowa. Earlier this week, the company announced that its third-quarter profit dropped 15 percent as sales weakened.===============================Kansas Man Dies After Being Shot by Police OfficerNEWTON, Kan. (AP) — Harvey County authorities say a man died after being shot by a Newton police officer responding to a domestic violence call. Sheriff T. Walton said 52-year-old Sonny Wagner was shot Thursday after he refused orders from the officer to drop a hunting knife. He was shot twice and died at Newton Medical Center. Authorities say the officer went to the home after Wagner's 52-year-old wife reported that her husband had beaten her. The shooting occurred inside the couple's home. The officer who fired was a 20-year veteran of Newton's police force. The officer has been placed on administrative leave while the sheriff's office and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation investigate the shooting. =============================== Kansas Man Sentenced for Shooting at MotelWESTMORELAND, Kan. (AP) — A man who was wounded by police after firing shots at a Kansas motel has been sentenced to 18 months in prison. The Manhattan Mercury reports that 34-year-old Dustin Monroe, of Wamego, told the judge at Thursday's proceeding that he was ashamed of himself. Monroe pleaded no contest in May to charges including aggravated assault on an officer. Police were called to the Quality Inn in Manhattan last December 10 and found Monroe outside, firing a shotgun into the air and at the building. Officers shot Monroe several times after he fired at them. No one else was injured. A defense witness said Thursday that Monroe had been suffering from a drug-related delusion that he was being pursued by the "Mexican mafia" and was firing shots to attract police attention.===============================2-Year-Old Shoots Self at Kansas HomeNEWTON, Kan. (AP) — A 2-year-old boy is recovering after shooting himself in the hand at his grandparents' home in south-central Kansas. KAKE-TV reports that the toddler was released from a Newton hospital after being treated for a wound to his finger Friday morning. Police said a handgun had been left on a table at the grandparents' home in Newton. The toddler picked up the gun when his grandmother went to answer the telephone and fired one shot, grazing his finger. The bullet went through the front door and struck a neighbor's house. The Harvey County prosecutor will determine if the grandparents will be charged.===============================American Royal Asks KC to Tear Down Kemper ArenaKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - American Royal officials asked a Kansas City Council committee to recommend tearing down Kemper Arena, rather than renovating it. American Royal wants to replace the little-used arena with a smaller building for equestrian-related and other events. The proposal conflicts with one offered by a developer, who wants to renovate Kemper for use as a youth sports complex. Royal officials told the committee Thursday that they plan to spend $60 million to demolish the 40-year-old Kemper and erect a new building. The Royal has a long-term lease that requires the city to provide space for its events through 2045. The committee hopes to make a recommendation to the full city council next month, after a public hearing on August 25.===============================Health Officials: Toxic Algae Levels in Kansas LakesWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is cautioning the public about toxic levels of blue-green algae in several lakes. The agency issued health warnings Thursday for all of nine lakes and part of another, saying water conditions are unsafe. Officials say people, pets and livestock should not drink the water and should avoid swimming or wading. The warnings are posted for Cedar Park Lake, Deanna Rose Farmstead Pond and South Park Lake in Johnson County; Brown County State Fishing Lake; Hiawatha City Lake; Chisholm Creek Park Lake in Sedgwick County; Memorial Park Lake in Barton County; Jewell State Fishing Lake in Jewell County; Lake Warnock in Atchison County; and part of Milford Reservoir. A less serious advisory was also issued for Antioch Park Lake in Johnson County.===============================Judge Upholds Award Against Missouri DioceseKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A judge has affirmed an award of $1.1 million against the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City and St. Joseph for violating the terms of a 2008 settlement with victims of sexual abuse by priests. The Kansas City Star reports Jackson County District Judge Bryan Round agreed with an arbitrator's ruling in a breach-of-contract lawsuit. The plaintiffs argued the diocese failed to abide by the non-monetary terms of the 2008 settlement, including a requirement to report suspected abuse immediately. The diocese said Thursday it disputes many of the arbitrator's findings but would continue to honor a pledge to provide a safe environment for children. The breach-of-contract lawsuit centered on the failure of the diocese to quickly report suspected abuse by a priest who later pleaded guilty to child pornography charges.===============================Lawrence Man Sentenced for Child RapeLAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A 19-year-old Lawrence man will go to prison for raping a 13-year-old girl with whom he said he had consensual sex. Mackenzie Lottinville was accused of having sex with the girl last October after sneaking her into the trailer where he lived with his parents. The Lawrence Journal-World reports he pleaded guilty in June to one count of raping a child younger than 14. 6NewsLawrence reports a Douglas County judge on Friday sentenced Lottinville to nearly 13 years in prison. Lottinville told the judge that he had simply been hoping to make a new friend and "have some fun." He also said the sex was consensual but that he understood he was guilty. Lottinville worked as a night custodian in Lawrence schools from late January until his arrest in February.===============================Wichita State Opens New DormWICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Students will begin moving into a new, high-tech residence hall at Wichita State University this weekend. The university says Shocker Hall, which opened Thursday, represents the Wichita State's commitment to residential living on campus. The Wichita Eagle reports the hall offers about 780 beds in five different room styles, with a 24-hour front desk, five Wi-fi connections per person and high-tech lounges. Residents also will enjoy a 400-seat dining hall and coffee shop, a kitchen and laundry room on each floor and a main lounge. The project cost about $60 million.===============================Feds: No Charges Against Company in Guard ProbeWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Federal authorities say they have no plans to file charges against a company that contracted to provide dental services for the Kansas Army National Guard. The U.S. attorney's office in Wichita confirmed Thursday that the FBI has concluded its investigation of Dentrust, a Pennsylvania company that performs dental screenings and treatment for Guard soldiers. Both state and federal governments prohibit employees from accepting gifts from outside entities. The company's attorney says the investigation stemmed from a coupon that a dental worker gave a Guard member who mentioned he was going skiing. The coupon saved the Guard member $17. Attorney Ernest Baynard says Dentrust had no knowledge of the coupon or the interaction, and that no other interactions of any type were found. The federal reporting limit for gifts is $40.===============================Wichita Police Chief Will Resign in SeptemberWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita Police Chief Norman Williams, who has served in the department for nearly 40 years, says he will resign, effective September 5. Williams announced his resignation Thursday in a news release and police briefing. He began his career as a police officer in Wichita in 1975 and moved up to through the department before becoming chief on April 14, 2000. He said he had been considering retirement for about a year but wanted to wait until his command staff was in place. City Manager Robert Layton said information regarding an interim chief or successor will be released at a later date.===============================Kansas City Council Approves Subsidies for CernerKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Kansas City Council has approved city subsidies and rezoning necessary for Cerner Corp.'s 10-year, $4.45 billion expansion plan. The incentives and zoning passed Thursday will allow the health care information technology company to build a sprawling office campus on 290 acres in south Kansas City. The campus will have 3.7 million square feet of office space, with room for 16,000 employees. The council approved $1.7 billion in incentives for the campus. The Kansas City Star reports the project will include shops, restaurants, a hotel, parking, a conference and training facility, and an employee health clinic. Cerner says site preparation is expected to start this year and the first office building will be ready for occupants by the end of 2016.===============================Traveling Thieves Suspected in KC Wallet HeistsKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Restaurant patrons throughout the Kansas City metro area are being urged to be careful with their wallets. KMBC-TV reports that police have widened their investigation into a series of wallet thefts from women's purses, apparently by a group of traveling thieves. In many cases the purses were left open and hanging on the backs of restaurant chairs. The thieves quickly run up thousands of dollars in charges on stolen credit cards and bank cards. Investigators said some gift cards bought with the stolen cards have been spent in St. Louis, Chicago and Wisconsin. Police believe the thieves are from outside the Kansas City area and have been traveling across the Midwest. Surveillance pictures released this week show two men and three women thought to be involved.==============================Kansas Bicyclist Struck, Killed by Pickup TruckLAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A bicyclist who was struck and killed by a pickup truck in northeast Kansas has been identified as a 66-year-old university librarian. The Douglas County sheriff's office says the collision happened Wednesday afternoon south of Clinton Lake, near Lawrence. WIBW-TV reports the bicyclist was identified Thursday as Lawrence resident Cal Melick, who worked as a public services librarian at Washburn University in Topeka. Deputies said Melick was riding eastbound when he was hit by a westbound pickup truck that was trying to pass another vehicle. The 69-year-old pickup driver was taken to a hospital with minor injuries.==============================Kansas Judge Receives National Excellence AwardTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas Court of Appeals judge is this year's recipient of the national William H. Rehnquist Award for Judicial Excellence. The National Center for State Courts announced its selection of Judge Steve Leben on Thursday. Leben will receive the award from U.S. Supreme Court Chief John Roberts in November. The Rehnquist Award is presented to a state court judge who demonstrates excellence in fairness, integrity, ethics, intellectual courage and other qualities. The Center for State Courts noted what it calls Leben's groundbreaking work in procedural fairness, including an influential national paper on the topic. Leben is a former Johnson County district judge. He was serving as president of the American Judges Association when he was appointed to the state Court of Appeals in 2007.===============================Northwest Missouri County Cuts Sheriff's ServicesSAVANNAH, Mo. (AP) — Andrew County, Missouri residents will see a reduction in services from their sheriff's department after voters rejected a law enforcement tax earlier this month. The St. Joseph News-Press reported Wednesday that Sheriff Bryan Atkins told county commissioners three deputies who recently resigned will not be replaced and road patrols and public services will be reduced. The sheriff's administrative office will be open only three days a week from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and deputies will stop offering vacation household checks, unlocking assistance and other services. And Atkins says concealed-carry gun permits and sex offender registration will be offered only by appointment. Services at the county jail and 911 communications will not be reduced. On August 5, voters rejected a proposed levy of 30 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.===============================NFL Gives Chiefs WR Bowe 1-Game SuspensionKANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Dwayne Bowe has been suspended for the season opener against Tennessee for violating the NFL's substance-abuse policy. Bowe was pulled over for speeding in a Kansas City suburb on November 10, and was arrested after police found a black bag containing his wallet, driver's license and two containers of suspected marijuana. He later pleaded guilty to amended charges of defective equipment and littering, and his attorney said there was no admission of guilt for the marijuana charge, which was dismissed. Bowe issued a statement through the NFL Players' Association shortly after the suspension was announced in which he apologized for having to miss the Titans game on September 7. Bowe remains eligible to participate in all preseason practices and games.

Judges: Kansas School Funding Law Meets MandateTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A three-judge state court panel has ruled that an education funding law approved by Kansas legislators in April complies with a state Supreme Court mandate on aid to poor school districts. But the panel in Shawnee County District Court on Wednesday also declined to dismiss all claims about the fairness of the school funding formula in a 2010 lawsuit brought by school districts. The judges said they are ready to consider whether the state is spending enough money overall on public schools to meet its duty to provide an adequate education to every child. The Supreme Court ruled in March that past cuts to poor districts created unconstitutional gaps in aid. Legislators responded by passing a law increasing aid to poor districts by $129 million during the next school year.==============================Report: Effects of Kansas Tax Cuts 'Understated'TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A report from the Kansas Legislature's nonpartisan research staff is sparking new questions about explanations for recent revenue shortfalls from Republican Governor Sam Brownback's administration. The legislative report released Tuesday said the estimates for income tax cuts championed by Brownback in 2012 and 2013 appear to have been understated in the state's official revenue projections. State tax collections in April and May of this year were $310 million short of the projections. The Department of Revenue has blamed disputes in Washington over federal tax policy that caused investors not to claim capital gains in 2013. Secretary Nick Jordan stood by that explanation Tuesday. The Legislative Research Department's monthly report on revenues acknowledged the capital gains issue as a factor in the recent shortfalls but also cited understated estimates for tax cuts.==============================Report: Winter Wheat Forecast Revised DownwardWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The latest government snapshot shows the Agriculture Department has revised downward its forecast for the nation's drought-stricken winter wheat crop. The National Agricultural Statistics Service estimated on Wednesday that farmers will bring in 1.38 billion bushels of winter wheat. Their forecast is down 2 percent from a month ago and 10 percent from last year. An even bigger drop was estimated for the nation's hard red winter wheat crop, the type grown primarily to make bread. The government pegged that estimate at 720 million bushels, down 3 percent from a month ago. Kansas has been hit hard by drought and recent rains have come too late to help the wheat. The government now estimates the Kansas crop at 243.6 million bushels, down from 260.4 million bushels forecast a month ago.==============================Saline County Again Rejects Grant Money for IUDsSALINA, Kan. (AP) — The Saline County Commission has refused to reconsider a vote rejecting a federal grant to provide a type of birth control to county residents. Two weeks ago, the commission rejected a $6,064 grant through the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for intrauterine devices, after one commissioner said the devices are equal to murder. After being strongly criticized, the commission said it would reconsider that vote. On Tuesday, commissioners heard from citizens and doctors who offered differing views on whether IUDs caused abortions. The Salina Journal reports the three commissioners said they had taken time to listen to people and decided to stay with their original decision.==============================Valley Center Murder Trial Re-ScheduledWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The trial has been delayed for a 54-year-old man accused of killing a woman at a Sedgwick County commune more than a decade ago. The trial of Daniel Perez had been scheduled for next week but was continued Wednesday until September 29. The Wichita Eagle reports Perez faces several charges including first-degree premeditated murder in the 2003 death of 26-year-old Patricia Hughes. He's jailed on $2.1 million bond. Authorities say Perez led a commune in Valley Center, a suburb of Wichita, known as Angel's Landing. Perez is also accused of living off life insurance payments of the commune's dead members. Hughes was initially believed to have drowned while trying to rescue her 2-year-old daughter from the pool. Her life insurance payout was $2 million.==============================Sedgwick County Jail Will Not Honor ICE HoldsWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Sedgwick County will no longer honor requests from federal immigration officials to detain without criminal charges people who are in the country illegally. The Sedgwick County sheriff's office said in a news release Wednesday it wants to be proactive and avoid potential civil liability. Shawnee, Johnson and Finney counties have made similar changes. The move comes after recent court decisions in Oregon and Pennsylvania found that such detainer requests from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are not commands that local jurisdictions have to honor. Courts held that sheriffs could be liable for constitutional violations for holding people past the time they would otherwise be released. Sedgwick County has 18 inmates now with ICE detainers. The jail will no longer accept people booked solely for being in the country illegally.==============================Wildlife Officials Shock, Remove Carp from LakeNEWTON, Kan. (AP) — Kansas wildlife officials are hoping a day spent shocking carp and removing them from a south-central Kansas lake will ease conditions for other fish to thrive. The Newton Kansan reports that four boats staffed by members of the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism set out Tuesday to remove 1,000 pounds of carp from East Lake in Harvey County. They used electric shocking devices to stun the fish, which were taken from the lake and buried in a field. Carp grow and reproduce quickly, taking up valuable space and resources that would be used by largemouth bass. Fisheries biologist Jessica Mounts says removing a large number of carp could produce a noticeable improvement in the lake's water clarity and fishable population of both largemouth bass and crappie.==============================Jury Gets Case in Attack on Kansas ProsecutorHUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Jury deliberations are underway in the trial of a Kansas man charged with attempted murder in a courtroom attack on county prosecutor. Michael Sherman jumped on Reno County district attorney Keith Schroeder last July 10, just after a judge had reaffirmed Sherman's life sentence for sodomizing a 4-month-old baby. Prosecutors contend Sherman tried to choke Schroeder with his belly chain. The Hutchinson News reports that the jury began deliberating around 9:30 am Wednesday after being instructed on charges of first- and second-degree attempted murder. The jury later asked if it could consider a lesser charge, such as assault, but the judge replied she could give no further instructions. Sherman testified Tuesday he had thought before the attack about how he could "get at" the prosecutor, but did not intend to kill him.==============================Missouri Governor Nixon Vetoes Tax Break BillsJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has vetoed several bills that he says would have jeopardized the state budget by providing special tax breaks to particular industries. The legislation vetoed Wednesday includes measures providing sales tax breaks for such things as computer data centers, power companies and restaurants. The tax breaks would have applied to certain equipment or electricity used by the businesses. The Democratic governor has said the tax breaks approved by the Legislature on its final day of session could have reduced state revenues by $425 million annually and local revenues by an additional $351 million. Republican legislative leaders have disputed those figures. They have defended some of the tax breaks as mere clarifications of policies that they contend have been incorrectly applied by the Department of Revenue.==============================Kobach: Some Voters to Get Provisional Ballots for PrimaryWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The top election official in Kansas says voters who registered using a federal form without providing proof of citizenship will be given provisional ballots when they vote in the August 5 primary elections. Secretary of State Kris Kobach told The Associated Press on Tuesday that while the provisional ballots will show all primary races, only votes cast for federal offices will be counted. Kobach says fewer than 100 Kansas voters who used the federal form to register to vote will be affected. A federal appeals court will hear arguments August 25 in a lawsuit attempting to force the federal government to help Kansas and Arizona enforce proof-of-citizenship requirements for voters. That hearing will take place after the Kansas primaries. About 18,600 Kansans have their registrations suspended pending documentation of citizenship.==============================Health Care Workers Set Surgical Safety ProtocolsWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Health care providers in Wichita have come together to develop surgical protocols for use citywide in operating rooms and ambulatory facilities. The announcement Wednesday in Wichita was designed to coincide with National Time Out Day. The Medical Society of Sedgwick County's Wichita Quality Health Collaborative coordinated the effort to make Wichita the safest place in the country to undergo surgery. Dr. Randall Morgan is chairman of the group's safety committee. He says in a news release that developing a common process and checklist that is consistently used whenever the surgery or procedure is performed will reduce the risk of errors and improve patient safety. Health care providers from across the city have met for a year to research and develop the common procedures.==============================KS Board of Education Makes 2 Districts "Innovative"TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas State Board of Education has approved creating two "innovative" school districts, which will exempt them from most state laws and regulations governing public schools. The board voted Tuesday to make McPherson and Concordia the state's first innovative districts, with several conditions. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the districts are exempt from state regulations if they have a plan to improve education. The board attached conditions and added rules that will give the state board more control over how the innovative schools system will be operated. The Kansas Department of Education had previously recommended against approving both districts' applications because they sought waivers from federal laws and regulations. The orders approved Tuesday commit the state board to working with the districts to seek federal approval for the waivers.==============================Kansas Might Withhold Annual School Test DataTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The agency that administers math and reading tests for Kansas schools says the state should not release some of this year's test scores The Center for Educational Testing and Evaluation at the University of Kansas told the Kansas State Board of Education Tuesday that the test results were compromised by cyberattacks and technical problems this year. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the state usually releases test data that show how students performed in each grade and at specific schools and school districts. Marianne Perie, director of the testing center, recommended that state-level scores be released, but school and district-level results should be withheld. This year's tests were a new form, and many schools encountered technical problems that disrupted administering them. Those problems were followed by outside cyberattacks.==============================Kansas Court Won't Hear Abortion Referrals CaseTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Court of Appeals is forcing the state's medical board to reconsider its decision to revoke the license of a doctor over referrals of young patients to the late Dr. George Tiller for late-term abortions. Executive Director Kathleen Selzler Lippert said Tuesday that the Board of Healing Arts will review the case of Dr. Ann Kristin Neuhaus of Nortonville this summer or fall. The board in 2012 revoked Neuhaus's charity care license, saying her mental health exams for 11 young patients in 2003 did not meet accepted standards before she referred them to Tiller in Wichita. In March, a Shawnee County judge overturned the finding and ordered the board to reconsider. The board asked the Court of Appeals to step in, but it refused last week.==============================Wichita Repeals Local Firearms OrdinancesWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Wichita City Council has voted to repeal local ordinances on firearms ahead of a new Kansas law nullifying county and city regulations on owning, carrying and transporting guns. KFDI-FM reports that council members reluctantly took the action Tuesday. The state law takes effect July 1. Among the Wichita ordinances taken off the books are laws requiring private security officers to have gun permits and safety training. A member of the city's legal department said Wichita would still regulate the private security industry, with background checks and basic education requirements. The City Council also repealed ordinances on possession of guns, knives and air rifles. Members were told the state still prohibits people from carrying knives with the intent to harm another person, but the city can't outlaw knives in public buildings.==============================Kansas Leads Nation in Wheat and Sorghum CropsWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A new government report shows Kansas leads the nation in the production of wheat and sorghum grain. The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Tuesday that 15 percent of last year's total U.S. wheat crop was grown in Kansas. About 42 percent of the U.S. sorghum grown for grain also came out of Kansas. The agency's rankings show Kansas second in the nation in the total number of acres used to grow farm crops. The 28.5 million cropland acres in Kansas represents 7.3 percent of the land used for farm crops in the nation.n Kansas also had 5.8 million head of cattle and calves, third in the nation behind Texas and Nebraska. The 2.13 million cattle in its feedlots also ranked Kansas third in that category.==============================University of Kansas Hospital Gets $2M GiftKANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas Hospital has received a $2 million donation toward construction of a 92-bed building on its campus in Kansas City, Kansas. The grant from the Sunderland Foundation was announced Tuesday by foundation president Kent Sunderland and Charles Sunderland, chairman of Ash Grove Cement. The new facility will be home to the hospital's neurosurgery and surgical oncology services. The hospital said in a news release that services in those areas have grown nearly 40 percent over the past five years. Hospital officials have said they hope to raise $100 million in donations for the project. Gifts announced earlier include $1 million from Deanna and Greg Graves and $2.5 million from the Burns & McDonnell Foundation.==============================Bombardier to Lay Off 200 in WichitaWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Aircraft maker Bombardier is planning to lay off about 200 workers in Wichita, citing delays in its Learjet 85 program. The Wichita Eagle reports the company said Tuesday the moves will affect about 70 contract and temporary workers, about 100 permanent employees and about 40 who will be reassigned. The cuts will also affect a plant in the Mexican city of Queretaro (kay-RAY'-tah-roh), which makes some components for the new business jet. About 250 workers there will be reassigned or laid off. The Learjet 85 made its first flight in early April. The company had hoped to put it into service this year. Spokeswoman Molly Edwards says the company will try to reassign as many workers as possible, so that they can return to the Learjet 85 program when production ramps up.==============================Douglas County AIDS Project to Close in JulyLAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — After 25 years, the Douglas County AIDS Project plans to close. Executive Director Trenton Garber announced the closing Monday. He said the group's services and programs for HIV and AIDS prevention and treatment will transfer July 1 to the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department and Heartland Community Health Center. Garber says HIV has changed from a generally fatal disease to one that can be managed with the proper medication and treatments. He says the services need to be transferred to more health-based settings. 6News Lawrencereports the AIDS Project is funded largely by two state grants, and those grants will now go to the other organizations. When the AIDS Project closes its doors July 31, the Health Care Access Clinic and Heartland will take over its offices and property.==============================Cheney Voters OK $15 Million School BondCHENEY, Kan. (AP) — Cheney residents overwhelmingly approved a $15.4 million school bond issue. The Sedgwick County Election Office says the issue unofficially passed Tuesday by a 550-198 vote, with about 34 percent of registered voters participating. The money will be spent on security enhancements, infrastructure repairs, and upgrades to academic and athletic facilities. Cheney Superintendent David Grover says the projects will include a tornado shelter, enhanced security system, new air conditioning for the high school and repairs at the elementary, middle and high schools. The district also plans a multiple-use baseball complex. The vote will mean a $7 to $8 monthly increase in property taxes for the owner of a $100,000 property. The length of the bond issue hasn't been determined.==============================Chanute Approves High-Speed Broadband ProjectCHANUTE, Kan. (AP) — The Chanute City Commission has voted to expand the city's ultra-high-speed broadband service to every home and business, if funding is found. The commission voted Monday to proceed with the $13.5 million project in the southeast Kansas town of 9,100 people. Public Works Director Larry Gates says the project depends on finding funding and doing a cash flow analysis of the next 20 years. The Wichita Eagle reportsthe new system would be 100 times as fast as the national average Internet connection. It would cost $40 a month for city residents and $50 a month for those outside the city limits, with no installation charge. The expansion would make Chanute the first municipality in Kansas to offer publicly run ultra-high-speed broadband service to all homes and businesses.==============================Cavs Taking Close Look at KU Standout EmbiidCLEVELAND (AP) — Former University of Kansas center Joel Embiid is working out for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are trying to decide what to do with the number 1 overall pick in the NBA draft. The 7-foot Embiid arrived in Cleveland on Tuesday night for his visit, the Cavs confirmed. The team is giving him a thorough medical physical as well as seeing his skills on the court. The team is eager to have its doctors examine Embiid, who missed the tail end of his freshman season with the Jayhawks because of a stress fracture in his lower back. Embiid only began playing basketball three years ago in his native Cameroon. The Cavs won the draft lottery and have the first pick for the second year in a row. They'll likely use the selection on Embiid, Kansas swingman Andrew Wiggins or Duke's Jabari Parker.

High Tornado Risk in Kansas, Oklahoma on SaturdayNORMAN, Okla. (AP) — The Storm Prediction Center says a dangerous tornado outbreak is likely Saturday in parts of Kansas and Oklahoma as intense storms move into the southern Plains. Forecasters at the center in Norman, Oklahoma, say there's a high risk of severe weather from Oklahoma City north to Salina, Kansas. The severe storms are expected to strike Saturday afternoon and evening. They warn that baseball-sized hail could pummel some isolated areas and winds of up to 70 mph are possible. The Storm Prediction Center says Saturday's outbreak could be a "high-end life threatening event." Forecasters say there's a slight risk of severe weather Saturday in the country's midsection, stretching from central Texas northeast to Iowa. The Storm Prediction Center is part of the National Weather Service. For information on how to prepare for severe weather or any emergency, and quick links to the Kansas Division of Emergency Management, the National Weather Service, and various resources listed by Kansas county, visit ksready.gov.==============================UPDATE: New Kansas Fiscal Forecasts More OptimisticTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials have raised their forecast of state revenue through the middle of next year by $252 million. Economists and state officials had predicted last November that revenue would total $6.2 billion both in the current budget year, which ends June 30, and in the following fiscal year. On Friday, they raised those projections to slightly less than $6.4 billion this year and more than $6.4 billion in the 2013 fiscal year, which starts July 1. Steve Anderson, Governor Sam Brownback's budget director, said the new numbers reflect that the economy continues to grow.==============================Committee Holds Hearing on NBAF, the Federal Bio Lab in ManhattanTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Department of Homeland Security officials are telling a panel of researchers that a new animal research lab is still needed, even though federal funds are scarce. Undersecretary Tara O'Toole said Friday in Washington that the threat of existing and emerging animal health disease remains real. She says construction of the proposed $650 million National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility in Kansas should move forward. A panel of the National Research Council is reviewing plans for the lab, which is to be built near Kansas State University in Manhattan. The National Research Council is part of the National Academy of Sciences. Among the issues are whether the threat of deadly animal diseases warrants construction of the lab, and whether the planned size and scope are appropriate.===============================1 Dead, 2 Wounded in Shooting by Wichita PoliceWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Wichita police say one of three men shot by police officers has died. The shooting occurred early Friday at a home in southwest Wichita. No officers were wounded. Deputy Police Chief Terri Moses says police are looking for a fourth suspect who got away. KFDI reports that Moses says a woman called 911 to report men with guns were in the house. When officers arrived, shots were exchanged in the backyard of the house. It's not known if the wounded men were trying to rob the residents of the home, or if any of the wounded lived there. The two wounded men were taken to Via Christi Hospital on St. Francis. Spokeswoman Maria Loving was unable to provide a condition and referred questions to police.==============================Kansas Delays Decision in Abortion Referrals CaseTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas regulators have postponed deciding whether a doctor should lose her license over allegations of substandard care for young patients she referred to the late Dr. George Tiller for late-term abortions. The State Board of Healing Arts has decided that it would wait until June 22 to take up the case of Dr. Ann Kristin Neuhaus, from Nortonville in northeast Kansas. In February, an administrative judge ordered the revocation of Neuhaus' license, concluding she had performed inadequate mental health exams in 2003 on 11 patients, aged 10 to 18. The board must decide whether to accept the order. Neuhaus provided the second medical opinion Tiller needed under Kansas law to perform the late-term abortions at his Wichita clinic. She argues her exams met accepted standards of care.===============================Amtrak Says Kansas Rail Service Could Move by 2016HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) — Amtrak officials say if money isn't found by the end of 2014 to fix railroad lines it uses in Kansas, the rail service will likely move one of its routes out of the state by 2016. The track Amtrak uses for its Southwest Chief route is owned by BNSF Railway. The rail line between Hutchinson and Garden City is in such bad shape that Amtrak is forced to slow down its trains in Kansas. The Hutchinson News reports Amtrak officials said Thursday in Garden City that the rail service would need some assurance by 2014 that funds will be found to upgrade the line, or Amtrak will start the process of moving the route. Officials in Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico are working to find funding.===============================Infant Killed in South-Central Kansas Collision OXFORD, Kan. (AP) — A collision between a trash truck and a passenger car has left a baby dead and two people hospitalized in south-central Kansas. Sumner County Sheriff Darren Chambers tells KWCH-TV the car was eastbound on a road in Oxford when it collided with a northbound trash truck. The sheriff says there are no stop signs or yield signs at the intersection where the crash occurred around 11:30 am Friday. Authorities say the infant in the car was killed on impact. A man and woman in the car were flown to a Wichita hospital with what were described as critical injuries. The 73-year-old driver of the track was not hurt. Oxford is located about 30 miles south of Wichita.===============================KU Receives $5 Million Pledge Toward New Energy CenterLAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The University of Kansas has received a $5 million pledge toward the new Energy and Environment Center that will be built as an addition to Lindley Hall. The university said Friday that the gift from Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corporation will fund an interactive, high-tech auditorium that will anchor the $28 million center. The 40,000-square-foot Energy and Environment Center will be the setting for a team approach to teaching future geologists, engineers and environmental scientists. Construction will be funded by private gifts raised through the independent KU Endowment. University officials say the endowment has received commitments totaling $17 million in the past six months.===============================Corps: More Flood Storage Offers Limited BenefitOMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says having more space free in the Missouri River's reservoirs would have reduced but not eliminated last year's flooding. The corps says in a new report released Friday that flooding still would have caused widespread damage along the Missouri last year because of the massive volume of water that moved through the river. And any increase in the amount of flood storage space in the reservoirs would reduce the economic benefits the river offers through barge traffic, recreation and hydropower. The corps says increasing flood storage space in reservoirs is only one option to reduce flood risk. It says officials may need to consider increasing the capacity of the Missouri River channel and reducing development in the flood plain.=============================== Bill Kurtis Selling Part of Ranch Near SedanSEDAN, Kan. (AP) — Television documentary producer Bill Kurtis is selling part of his Red Buffalo Ranch near Sedan. Kurtis has purchased land in Chautauqua County and several buildings in Sedan since the 1990s. He said yesterday (THUR) that he's selling land on the north end of his ranch because he wants to pay off some debt. He is not selling the part of the ranch that includes Butcher Falls, considered to be one of the most scenic waterfalls in Kansas. He also plans to keep a buffalo herd on the ranch. The Wichita Eagle reports the 3,600 acres will be sold in six tracts. The auction will be May 17 at the Sedan Country Club. The land is part of the Flint Hills, part of the remaining North American tallgrass prairie.==============================Medical School in Salina Touts New Anatomy LabSALINA, Kan. (AP) — The first class at the University of Kansas Medical School in Salina has the opportunity to work in a modern, state-of-the-art anatomy lab. Yesterday (THUR), the students and school officials held a ceremony to thank Russell physician Dr. Earl Merkel and his wife, Kathleen, whose donation made the lab possible. The Salina Journal reports the school accepted its first eight students last fall and is the smallest four-year medical school in the country. Merkel has been a longtime advocate of recruiting physicians to practice in western Kansas. One of the Salina school's main objectives is to train more doctors for rural areas.==============================Truck Driver Sentenced to 3 Years for Police ChaseTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A trucker who led police on a chase through three northeast Kansas counties last year has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison. Fifty-five-year-old Robert Smith was sentenced Thursday to two years and eight months in prison. He will serve the sentence in Pottawatomie County. He will also be on probation for two years after his release. KMAN Radio reports Smith entered a no contest plea last month to attempted aggravated battery of a law enforcement officer and aggravated battery. He was originally charged with several other counts, including attempted second-degree homicide. Police chased Smith's 18-wheeler from Shawnee County to just north of Wamego. Four people were hospitalized after their vehicles were run off the road.==============================Wichita Holds Annual Walk Against Gang ViolenceWICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Organizers of the annual Wichita Walk Against Gang Violence hope this year's march will draw twice as many participants as there are gang members in the city. This year's walk begins at 10am tomorrow (SAT) at McAdams Park. The route is different from the first two years because Vice Mayor Lavonta Williams says gang violence doesn't have a district. The Wichita Eagle reports that there are about 3,000 documented gang members in the city, and organizers hope 6,000 walkers show up for the event. More than 50 groups will be offering information about summer youth activities and resources for addressing gang involvement. Williams says she would like to see the walk held in a different part of Wichita each year to illustrate the point that gang violence happens everywhere.==============================Finney County Temporarily Lifts Burn BanGARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) — The Garden City Fire Department has temporarily lifted a burn ban in Finney County that has been in place since last year. Fire Chief Allen Shelton said in a news release Thursday that enough rain had fallen in recent weeks to allow a temporary lifting of the ban, which began April 5, 2011. The Garden City Telegram reports that open fires still are prohibited by ordinance in Garden City. But Finney County residents now can burn according to Kansas regulations. Shelton says state law still requires residents to alert the fire department before a burn. Residents within 1,000 feet of a roadway must contact law enforcement. Other factors, such as time of day, material to be burned and weather conditions also are considered.==============================KS 2011 Alfalfa Hay Production Lowest Since 1956WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A newly released government report is putting some hard numbers on the dismal hay crop last year in Kansas. Kansas Agricultural Statistics Service reported Thursday that the state produced 1.95 tons of alfalfa hay last year, the lowest production since 1956 and a 21 percent drop from 2010. Production of other types of hay totaled 2.45 million tons in 2011. That was 24 percent less than the previous year's production and the lowest since 1983. ==============================Kansas Officials to Issue New Fiscal ForecastTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas officials and university economists are meeting to draft new forecasts of state revenue through June 2013. The team convening today (FRI) includes legislative researchers, members of the governor's budget staff, Revenue Department officials and economists from three universities. The forecasters expect to issue revised revenue projections later today (FRI) for the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, and for the 2013 fiscal year, which starts July 1. The most recent forecasts were issued in November and predicted Kansas would collect $6.2 billion in revenues in both fiscal years. But since last July, revenues are running $108 million ahead of the forecast, a surplus of nearly 3 percent. Governor Sam Brownback and legislators will use the new forecast to finish a state budget for the next fiscal year.**this story has been updated. Please see above.

Kansas Senate Race Lawsuit May Cause Ballot DelayTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - A legal dispute over the lack of a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in Kansas could upend a key contest in the fight for control of the Senate. The national spotlight is on three-term Republican Senator Pat Roberts and independent challenger Greg Orman. But a case being heard Monday by a three-judge panel in Shawnee County District Court centers on whether state law requires Democrats to pick a new candidate after Chad Taylor withdrew earlier this month. Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has asked the court to render a decision by October 1st. But regardless of the court's decision, the losing side is expected to appeal the case. University of Kansas Law Lecturer Mark Johnson says that would further delay the printing of ballots for the November election. "We're going to end up with a lot of ballots that are defective and will have to be excluded and that may well be a violation of federal law." Johnson says a federal violation would likely trigger a Justice Department lawsuit against the state.==============================Jeb Bush in Kansas to Campaign for RobertsWICHITA, Kan. (AP) - U.S. Senator Pat Roberts is bringing in another Republican heavy-hitter to help bolster his troubled campaign for re-election. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush will be in Wichita on Monday for a fundraising event for the incumbent Kansas senator. His visit on the campaign trial comes just days after former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin campaigned with Roberts in southeast Kansas. Two former presidential nominees, U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona and former U.S. Senator Bob Dole of Kansas, joined Roberts on the campaign trail last week. Another potential 2016 White House candidate, U.S. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, is also expected to help with Roberts' campaign. ==============================1998 Strip-Club Raid at Issue in Kansas Governor's RaceTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Republican Governor Sam Brownback's Democratic challenger is on the defensive over disclosures that he was inside a southeast Kansas strip club during a 1998 drug raid and was found in a back room with a nearly naked woman. The GOP says the incident raises questions about Davis' character, while Davis supporters say Republicans are desperate over a potential Brownback loss. Democrat Paul Davis was 26, single and a young attorney in a firm representing the owner of the club near Coffeyville. The owner spent six years in federal prison, but Davis was not arrested. Davis is now 42, and says he was "in the wrong place at the wrong time." He released a statement from a participant in the raid saying Davis was not involved in any wrongdoing.==============================More KU Students Report Sexual AssaultsLAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - The University of Kansas is receiving more sexual assault reports from students after the school's handling of an alleged on-campus rape set off protests. The recent complaints include two reports of stalking, seven of sexual harassment, one of sexual assault, one of date violence, one of domestic violence and seven the office had not yet categorized. The reports began rolling in after a student who said she was raped in 2013 complained of her attacker's lenient punishment. The university has declined to comment on the case. Other women have come forward to say the school didn't take sexual violence seriously. The university is among 76 schools being investigated by the federal government for their handling of sexual assault cases.==============================Kansas Schools Report Rise in Teacher RetirementsTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas school districts report a higher pace of teachers retiring while the number of newly licensed teachers remains flat. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports more than 2,000 teachers retired last school year. The state's education department says that's double the number of teachers that retired five years earlier. Scott Myers is the department's director of teacher education and licensure. He says the teacher retirement figures are subject to error because it's self-reported data from school districtThe Education Department says about 2,500 new teachers received licenses last year, which is almost the same number of those who earned licenses five years earlier. Meanwhile, the state saw an increase of 13,400 students over the same period of time.==============================Wolf Creek Seeks More Time to Fix Faulty SensorWICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Wolf Creek nuclear power plant is asking federal regulators for more time to replace a faulty sensor unit that provides an early warning of reactor coolant leaks. Normally the plant would have 30 days to make the fix. But because the repair involves shutting down the plant, operators want to wait until a scheduled shutdown at the end of February. An unscheduled two- to three-day shutdown would cost customers more than $1 million. Problems began on August 31 when the sensor unit began to fail, providing false indications of a leak. Records show the sensor quit altogether on September 3 after operators reset it five times in three days.==============================Enrollment Drops at Kansas' Community CollegesLAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Newly released numbers show enrollment has dipped at Kansas' community colleges while it increased at technical schools and public universities. According to preliminary figures released by the Kansas Board of Regents, 184,403 students are enrolled in state universities, community colleges and technical schools this year. That is a less than 1 percent decrease from the fall of 2013. The slight drop came as community colleges saw a 4.3 percent decrease in enrollment. Meanwhile, enrollment was up 1.5 percent at the six regents' universities and 6.3 percent at technical schools. Kansas Board of Regents president and chief executive officer Andy Tompkins says people are apparently heading back to work instead of seeking additional education and training at the state's community colleges.=============================Ogallala Continues to be Tapped Despite ForecastsLAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Little use is being made of a law that allows farmers to form groups that can require deep reductions in irrigation. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the hope was that if enough western Kansas farmers pared their water use, the aquifer's lifespan could be extended. But two years later, only one group of 110 farmers, who own 99 square miles in Sheridan and Thomas counties near Colby, has formed. Kansas Water Office director Tracy Streeter says there were expectations of the program "catching on like wildfire." But Haskell County farmer Jay Garetson says farmers were never going to cut their use of water without mandates because it could harm them economically in the short term. Garetson has sued an oil and gas company for not conserving water.==============================University of Kansas Seeking More Defense DollarsLAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - The University of Kansas is hoping to attract more federal research funding from the U.S. Department of Defense. The university has received national security clearances to pursue classified contracts with all federal agencies. In fiscal year 2013, the university received $6.5 million in research funding from Defense Department agencies. That's about 2.5 percent of the school's research dollars. Spokesman Kevin Boatright says research dollars from defense could increase substantially in the future. He says researchers are already working on 60 projects for defense agencies. To publicize the research opportunities available, the Kansas Office of Research is planning a workshop on October 7.==============================KBI Forensic Center Takes Shape at WashburnTOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - The Kansas Bureau of Investigation's new forensic center is taking shape on the Washburn University campus in Topeka. Exterior construction on the $55 million project is expected to be completed by December. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the science center is expected to open in October 2015. The KBI currently uses a lab in the basement of an 86-year-old former junior high school, which has insufficient heating and air conditioning and doesn't meet standards for a modern forensic laboratory. Washburn will lease the land and finance the construction with bonds, and then allow the KBI to repay the bonds through rent payments over 20 or 30 years.==============================Topeka Man Dies in Oklahoma CrashARDMORE, Okla. (AP) - The Oklahoma Highway Patrol reports a Kansas man has died and two others in the vehicle have been hospitalized in a wreck on Interstate 35 south of Oklahoma City. Troopers say 29-year-old Christopher Partee was ejected from the vehicle and died on Sunday afternoon. The driver and another passenger from Topeka were hospitalized. Troopers say their vehicle was northbound on I-35 when another vehicle attempted a U-turn in front of them. They say the driver tried to avoid the turning vehicle and lost control of the car, which rolled over. The other vehicle left the scene. Authorities are investigating the crash.==============================Statements Admissible in Lawrence Murder TrialLAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Prosecutors will be able to use incriminating statements made by a Lawrence man charged in a deadly apartment shooting. Douglas County District Judge Paula Martin ruled Friday that the statements are admissible in court. Thirty-year-old Dustin D. Walker is charged with first-degree murder in the March killing of 39-year-old Patrick Roberts. The probable cause statement says the shooting happened while Walker was attempting to commit aggravated burglary. Walker is being held in Douglas County Jail on a $1 million bond. He will next appear in court on October 27, when a date for his jury trial will be set.==============================2 Dead in Kansas City-Area House FireGRANDVIEW, Mo. (AP) - Fire officials say an adult and an infant died in a fire in a Kansas City suburb. The fire was reported early Monday at a home in Grandview. Grandview Fire Chief Chuck Thacker says an adult's body was found in the home's basement. The infant was taken to a hospital and later died. Another person was taken to the hospital with critical injuries. Thacker said two children escaped through a bedroom window and ran to a neighbor's home to alert emergency workers.==============================Wichita Zoo Officials Detail Planned Elephant ExhibitWICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Sedgwick County Zoo officials say they will house the third largest elephant exhibit in the country once a recently funded renovation is completed. Construction on the 5-acre exhibit will begin next month and be complete in May 2016. Officials say it's a necessary move to comply with upcoming regulations by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. They plan to eventually house five African elephants in the exhibit, which will be the first in the country to offer boat rides through the elephant habitat. The county commission voted to spend $5.3 million for an elephant barn at the zoo. Officials say there will be an underwater fence so that the elephants and boats don't come too close in the canal.==============================Dog Rescued from Arkansas City Drainage CanalARKANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - Authorities have rescued a dog that was trapped for at least 30 hours in a southern Kansas canal. KAKE-TV reports police and firefighters lassoed the dog on Sunday after reports from concerned Arkansas City residents. Witnesses say the black Labrador retriever was first reported to be stuck in the drainage system on Saturday morning. The water is about 4 feet deep in some parts of the 12-feet-tall canal. Witnesses say they unsuccessfully tried to coax the dog out with treats and that one man waded through the water to try to reach the animal. The dog was taken to the Cowley County Humane Society. Staff members say the dog was wearing a collar but the ID tags are missing.==============================Royals Rally for 6-4 Victory over White SoxCHICAGO (AP) — Kansas City's chance for the AL Central title was erased by Detroit's victory on Sunday, but the Royals went on to a 6-4 win over the Chicago White Sox. Coming into the final day of the regular season, Kansas City was hoping for a one-game playoff on Monday in Detroit for the division crown. But the Tigers clinched the Central with a 3-0 victory over the Twins, sending the Royals to a wild-card game against Oakland in Kansas City on Tuesday night. It's their first playoff appearance since 1985.==============================KU Fires Weis 4 Games into SeasonLAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Kansas University football coach Charlie Weis has been fired four games into his third season as coach, with the downtrodden program languishing at the bottom of the Big 12. KU's athletic director met with Weis on Sunday, one day after a 23-0 loss to Texas on homecoming left Weis with a 6-22 record. Weis, who earned a reputation as an offensive mastermind with the New England Patriots, was also fired by Notre Dame in 2009 after five seasons at his alma mater. Defensive coordinator Clint Bowen will serve as interim coach of the Jayhawks, who are 2-2 this season. They play at West Virginia on Saturday.

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