OTTAWA—A man flagging traffic in a Kansas Construction Zone was injured in a Thursday accident in Franklin County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1989 Chevy Pickup driven by William R. McNish, 73, Ottawa, was westbound on K-68 highway just east Ottawa entering a construction zone.

William R. VanDorn, 62, Overbrook, was in the lane of traffic flagging traffic for a separate non-injury accident involving a dump truck.

The driver of the pickup did not see VanDorn and struck him with the passenger-side front corner of the vehicle.

VanDorn was transported to KU Medical Center,

The KHP also reported McNish was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — A 67-year-old Lawrence man who told investigators he killed his wife because of her many health problems has been sentenced to life in prison.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that Larry Hopkins will be eligible for parole after 25 years under the sentence he received Thursday in Douglas County District Court.

Hopkins shot and killed 61-year-old Margaret Hopkins on Nov. 5, 2013, at their Lawrence home. He pleaded no contest earlier this year to first-degree murder, turning down a plea deal that included lesser offenses.

In court Thursday, Hopkins read a statement describing the many ailments suffered by his wife of 24 years, including diabetes, multiple strokes and knee replacement surgeries.

Larry Hopkins also had suffered a stroke and had heart problems as well.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Sedgwick County jury has convicted a driver of first-degree murder for killing another motorist while fleeing from police in a stolen pickup truck.

The Wichita Eagle reports the jury took less than an hour Wednesday to find 35-year-old Keith Ritz guilty on seven charges, including murder and fleeing from police.

Prosecutors said Ritz was speeding through residential areas when he drove through a stop sign and struck a pickup driven by 38-year-old Venancio Perez. The crash occurred on March 5, 2013, after a chase that lasted about 90 seconds.

No sentencing date has been set.

The victim’s family has sued the city of Wichita for $3 million, claiming police carried out the chase without regard for public safety. The city’s legal department has declined to comment.

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GALENA (AP) — An 8-year-old Kansas girl is being hailed for her quick thinking after she took control of the family’s SUV when her mom fell unconscious at the wheel during their highway ride to school.

Abby Porter and her mom, Shelly, were on Kanas 66 headed to school in Riverton early Wednesday when Shelly had a medical emergency and passed out.

Galena Police Officer Jimmy Hamilton noticed the SUV weaving along at about 20 mph and saw Abby at the wheel alongside her unconscious mom. Hamilton positioned his car in front of the SUV, and Abby steered into the patrol car until they both stopped.

The police department in Galena, about 150 miles south of Kansas City, is presenting Abby with a plaque for “outstanding bravery in a life-threatening situation.”

ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The League of Women Voters has told a federal appeals court that it has mostly confined its voter registration drives in Kansas to naturalization ceremonies where people readily have the proof-of-citizenship documents required to vote in Kansas.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas political icon Bob Dole says the federal government should not have listed the lesser prairie chicken as threatened.

Dole said Thursday that the listing announced in March is an example of a growing federal government that’s inserting itself into issues that should be left to states.

The 90-year-old Dole is a former U.S. Senate majority leader and the 1996 Republican presidential nominee. He came Thursday to the Statehouse for the kickoff of GOP Gov. Sam Brownback’s re-election campaign.

Brownback and other state officials argue that the listing for the lesser prairie chicken could lead to restrictions on farming, ranching an oil and natural gas production.

But federal officials say the designation is justified by a steep decline in the birds’ population.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A new Kansas law will change how property at cement manufacturing plants is valued for tax purposes and help settle a dispute involving an Overland Park company.

Officials at Ash Grove Cement estimated Thursday that the dispute could lower their property taxes in Neosho County in southeast Kansas by $4 million a year. The company has a plant in Chanute with about 140 employees.

The issue has been whether property at the plant falls under the state’s property tax exemption for business machinery and equipment. The company appealed to legislators, and they included a provision in a tax bill signed Wednesday by Gov. Sam Brownback.

The company says the change will protect jobs. Neosho County Appraiser David Thornton says it will shift the property tax burden to others.

According to the Kansas Board of Regents official Twitter account, the board elected Regent Shane Bangerter of Dodge City as the vice-chairman for the board for the 2014-2015 school year. Kenny Wilk of Basehor was elected chairman of the board.

Bangerter was named to the board in 2013 by Gov. Sam Brownback. He grew up in Leoti working on a farm. After graduation, Bangerter earned a bachelor’s degree from Oral Roberts in 1987 and earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1990. He has also previously served as a member of the Board of Trustees at Dodge City Community College and on the Board of Governors for the KU School of Law. The American Trial Lawyers Association has honored Bangerter as a Top 100 Trial Lawyer and as the “Top Lawyer of the Year” in 2013.

Along with his duties as a regent, Bangerter works as one of the founding partners of Rebein Bangerter Rebein P.A., a legal practice that specializes in workers compensation claims in Dodge City and Tampa, Fla.