TOPEKA – Kansas revenue receipts for July started the fiscal year on a positive note beating estimates by $1.6 million.
The figure includes a strong performance from withholding tax receipts – the amount taken out of workers’ paychecks – which was about $168.2 million for the month compared to $167.6 million for July 2013. That is even after individual income tax rates decreased up to 10 percent on Jan. 1.
“Withholding tax receipts show that more Kansans are working and earning more money, helping grow the state’s economy. We are cautiously optimistic about these results but pleased to see further evidence that Kansans are getting back to work,” said Revenue Secretary Nick Jordan.
ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (AP) – Eric Berry left Chiefs practice on Thursday after hurting his lower right leg, the second injury that the Pro Bowl safety has sustained so far in training camp.
Berry missed some time earlier with a dislocated finger.
It was unclear what happened to Berry during one of the early sessions of practice at Missouri Western. He was checked by trainers in the injury tent next to the field, then talked with other team officials on the sideline before leaving the field on a cart.
Berry was able to put weight on the leg, but was noticeably limping. Chiefs coach Andy Reid was expected to discuss the nature and severity of the injury after practice.
PARSONS, Kan. (AP) — A southeast Kansas company that makes tanks for customers worldwide is planning a major expansion.
The Parsons Sun reports Tank Connection is adding equipment and employees to expand production by 50 percent.
The Parsons-based firm was established 10 years ago with two employees. The addition of 35 workers will bring total employment to more than 400.
Tank Connection manufactures shop-welded, field-welded and hybrid storage tanks as well as aluminum dome covers. The company has two plants in Parsons and one each in Baxter Springs, Oswego and Galesburg.
Company president Bill Neighbors most of the new equipment will be installed at the Galesburg plant. A third shift will be added there and at the Parsons facilities.
Next stop on The Garth Brooks World Tour? Atlanta, GA. Pearl/RCA’s Brooks will play Philips Arena Sept. 19 at 6:30 pm ET with special guest Trisha Yearwood. This follows the 10 dates he’ll play in Chicago in early Sept. and it’s the first time he’s played Atlanta in 18 years. Tickets go on sale Aug. 8 at 10 am ET and are available via Ticketmaster here or by calling 1-800-745-3000.
A much-loved husband, father, grandfather, son and brother, Dean D Duncan, 80, of WaKeeney, Kansas, passed away peacefully July 27th, 2014.
He had bravely fought Alzheimer’s and cancer. He was born November 1st, 1933, in Oklahoma, and resided in Wakeeney, Kansas, for the past 11 years, having moved from California in 2003 to enjoy his retirement in Kansas.
Dean was in the US Navy and received an Honorable Discharge.
He is survived by his wife of 27 years, Genevieve Duncan of WaKeeney; daughters Teri Young-Hightower of Elk Grove, CA, Robin Duncan of Elk Grove, CA, Penny Mcelreath of West acramento, CA and Cheryl Lopez Elk Grove, Ca. Step sons Mitchell Caruthers of Wakeeney KS and Michael Caruthers, Wakeeney KS, 18 Grand Children and 26 Great Grand Children, Cousin Jack Huckleberry of OK.
He was preceded in death by his Father, Preston D Duncan, Mother Hazel Huckleberry; Brother Donald Kemp.
A memorial service will be held at 11 am on Wednesday August 6th, 2014, at Kansas eteran’s Cemetery at WaKeeney in Wakenney, Kansas. Interment will follow after.
“He fought a good fight, he kept the faith, he won the race!”
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A Wichita couple who left their baby in an apartment closet while the mother drove the father to work have appeared in court on charges of misdemeanor child endangerment.
The Wichita Eagle reports a judge entered not guilty pleas Wednesday for 18-year-old Destiny Lee and 19-year-old Donivan Turner. Preliminary hearings for both are scheduled Aug. 13.
A maintenance worker repairing an air conditioner found the 1-year-old boy May 6 inside a closet in the couple’s apartment. Police said at the time the temperature in the closet was about 90 degrees. The baby had been there about 20 minutes.
The mother told officers she had been putting the sleeping boy on a mattress inside the closet for about two months while she took the father to work.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — The top election official in Kansas is predicting 22 percent of registered voters will participate in next week’s primary election.
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach says of the more than 1.7 million registered Kansas voters, he expects more than 381,000 will cast ballots in the Aug. 5 primary. Kobach says turnout was about 23.2 percent in the state’s 2012 primary.
Kobach says the predicted turnout for next week is based on recent primary voting history, early voting totals in the current primary and lack of a statewide get-out-the-vote operation.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports (https://bit.ly/1koW2yv ) that voter turnout in Wichita and other areas of the 4th Congressional District could approach 27 percent because of the contest between U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo and Republican challenger Todd Tiahrt.
DENVER (AP) — Colorado will begin issuing driver’s licenses and identification cards to immigrants who are in the country illegally or have temporary legal status.
The documents will start being issued Friday amid high demand. About 9,500 people are signed up for appointments through the next 90 days, with more people getting scheduled every day.
The law is expected to receive tremendous scrutiny both from opponents who see it as legitimizing illegal behavior, and supporters who argue it will lead to safer roads and allow law enforcement to correctly identify people in traffic stops and accidents.
Colorado was among eight states that passed laws last year allowing identification documents for people in the country illegally. Two of those states, Illinois and Nevada, have already started issuing the documents. California plans to start in January.
WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., recently introduced legislation, S.2623, to protect producers from the consequences of the lesser prairie chicken listing as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The legislation would prohibit the U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of the Interior from altering any land management practices based on the lesser prairie chicken listing. This would provide certainty for landowners and assure them the rules in place today will not be arbitrarily changed by the federal government tomorrow.
“I am confident there are ways to address conserving the species while not hampering economic growth and farming and ranching activities,” Sen. Moran said. “The lesser prairie chicken listing has already resulted in real consequences for a number of Kansas industries including agriculture, oil and gas development, ranching, transportation and wind energy. I am committed to making certain the measures implemented are based on sound science and common sense, as well as represent the best interest of producers.”
Moran has worked to avoid the lesser prairie chicken’s listing. On June 13, 2013, he sent a bipartisan letter requesting a six-month delay to the lesser prairie chicken listing decision in order to provide the maximum amount of time to consider the lesser prairie chicken listing allowed under federal law. That letter was a follow-up to a letter on Feb. 20, 2013, requesting an extension to the comment period for the proposed threatened listing, which U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services Director Dan Ashe agreed to provide within a week of the request. Sen. Moran is a cosponsor of legislation, S.2677, to remove the lesser prairie chicken from the threatened species list for a five-year period to allow state-based conservation plans to take affect before reevaluating the listing, and also legislation, S.2635, requiring the data used as the basis for each listing determination under the Endangered Species Act to be made publicly available.
SALINA — A 61-year-old Salina man reported losing $2,500 in an Internet scam. The man found a travel trailer he wanted to buy on Craigslist and made contact via email with the purported seller.
The man was instructed to pay for the trailer with a PayPal money card for $2,500.
The man called a phone number (855) 781-2029 on July 26th and gave the number on the card as payment. He was told he would be notified when the trailer was going to be shipped
The man contacted police when his, emails were rejected and there was no answer at the phone number. Capt. Mike Sweeney with the Salina Police Department said a check found the telephone number was allegedly connected to other scams.
Midwest Energy is in the midst of a permitting process that would allow for the expansion of its Goodman Energy Center, 1713 230th Ave., Hays.
An interior look at the engines at Goodman Energy Center
According to Mike Morley, spokesman for the Hays-based utility, the proposed expansion would move Goodman from a 75-megawatt facility to 103 MW.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment is in the process of soliciting public comment on the project, estimated to be an approximate $30 million investment.
“If everything goes as planned, construction would begin next year, in 2015,” Morley said, noting it will take between one and two years to complete the project.
The expansion would involve the addition of three natural-gas-fired engines at Goodman, which already has nine engines generating energy at the site northwest of Hays.
The new engines are nearly identical to the Finnish Wärtsilä engines already in place. Morley said new air quality regulations will require the stacks on the exterior building to be taller, noting Goodman was built with the idea of future expansion in mind.
While the plant initially was built as a backup source when wind energy was lacking, Morley said Goodman has run “virtually every day” since it was completed in 2008.
The KDHE air permit is the most significant approval process Midwest must undergo, Morley added, noting the project is made simpler because it is an expansion and not a greenfield project.
Most of the energy generated at Goodman stays close to home.
“The vast majority of the power that Goodman generates is used right here in Midwest’s service territory,” Morley said.
Public comment on the proposed expansion should be submitted by Sept. 2 to Gerald McIntyre, KDHE Bureau of Air, 1000 SW Jackson, Ste. 310, Topeka, KS 66612-1366.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid all the debates on Capitol Hill, lawmakers are also wondering whether driving cars after smoking marijuana is dangerous.
Among the unanswered questions is: Would drivers who are ‘high’ travel too fast or too slow for safety?
Congressman John Mica, a Florida Republican, convened a hearing Thursday of a Transportation subcommittee. He says he’s worried that growing numbers of drivers are impaired, increasingly with a mix of drugs and alcohol. But he says it’s nearly impossible to gauge the danger. Unlike with alcohol, there there’s no way to quickly test drivers.
Congressman Gerald Connolly, a Virginia Democrat, says it’s just as possible that pot doesn’t pose as much a risk as alcohol. He says drivers who are high on marijuana may even drive slower.
AUBURN, Kan. (AP) — The city of Auburn has filed a civil lawsuit against a former city clerk who pleaded guilty to a federal embezzlement charge.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Auburn is seeking more than $200,000 in its civil lawsuit against 61-year-old Alice Riley. Riley pleaded guilty Tuesday to the federal charge and is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 17.
Federal prosecutors said Riley embezzled at least $186,000 from Auburn, where she managed payroll and other accounts as the city clerk for several years.
In the civil lawsuit filed July 23 in Shawnee County District Court and served to her Tuesday, the city of Auburn is seeking $196,000, as well as reimbursement in excess of $20,000 for the cost of investigation to determine the amount of the theft.
