WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Authorities say a chemical spill at Wichita’s water treatment plant into the Arkansas River killed some fish but poses no risk to public health.

The ferric sulfate spilled early Wednesday from a corroded drain pipe at the plant and into the river near downtown Wichita. The chemical is used to settle out particles in untreated water as it flows into the plant.

Public works deputy director Joseph Pajor says between 1,700 and 2,000 gallons of the chemical spilled.

He says that when a pipe linking two storage tanks broke, a pump continued to spill the chemical onto the floor of a building. The chemical then flowed through a storm drain into the river.

A small number of small fish were killed. They were found downstream behind a sandbar in shallow water.

ABILENE — One person was injured in an industrial mower accident just after 1 p.m. Wednesday in Abilene.

Assistant Fire Chief Ron Rein said an employee of Brown’s Memorial Park was mowing in the 1800 block of Hawk Road south of Abilene.

The mower overturned, but the driver of the mower was not trapped. He was transported to Memorial Hospital for treatment. His name has not been released.

Dickinson County Sheriff’s deputies are investigating.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A survey of colleges and universities finds that many schools have gone years without investigating a sexual assault.

About 40 percent of respondents reported not having conducted a sexual assault investigation in the past five years. That includes 6 percent of the nation’s largest public institutions.

The survey was conducted by the office of Sen. Claire McCaskill. The Missouri Democrat says federal law requires investigations when an incident is reported, and the number is alarmingly low.

The survey also finds that only about a quarter of respondents said there are written protocols between campus and local law enforcement on handling sexual assault cases.

McCaskill and other senators are considering legislation to address the issue.

Read the entire report HERE.

SEATTLE (AP) — A coalition of immigrant rights advocacy groups is suing the federal government over the fact that few minors have legal representation during deportation proceedings.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in federal court in Seattle on behalf of eight plaintiffs, all minors. The plaintiffs are from Mexico and Central America, and they range in age from 10 to 17.

At deportation hearings, immigrants must hire their own lawyers or find someone to represent them pro bono, while the federal government has attorneys arguing for them to leave the U.S.

The groups say as a result, thousands of children end up with no legal representation at deportation proceedings every year. And they say the issue could be compounded with the recent influx minors attempting to enter the country through the southern border.

The Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security did not immediately comment.

PLYMELL, Kan. (AP) — A second member of a western Kansas family has died after an explosion at their home last month.

Garden City Fire Chief Allen Shelton says 14-year-old Riley Unruh died Tuesday at a Wichita hospital. His 17-year-old brother, Spencer Unruh, died in the explosion June 28 in Plymell, about 10 miles south of Garden City.

The boys’ mother, Kelly Unruh, remains in critical condition from injuries she suffered that day.

Investigators say the explosion was caused by a concentration of natural gas. Chief Shelton says investigators have not determined why the natural gas concentrated at the home.

Family members said in a statement that they were saddened by Riley’s death but rejoice that he is now in heaven with his Savior and his brother.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal judge has ordered an Oklahoma tribe to show cause why the court shouldn’t dismiss the last remaining claim in their lawsuit seeking to build a casino on suburban Wichita land.

U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson on Wednesday gave the Wyandotte Nation until July 19 to make its pleading.

The Interior Department has notified the court that it rejected the tribe’s application to take the land into trust so the tribe can build a casino there.

Robinson refused last year to order the agency to accept the Park City land into trust, leaving the decision to the Interior Department. But she retained jurisdiction to ensure the agency processed the tribe’s application in a timely manner.

The government wants the court to dismiss the lawsuit’s remaining claim of unreasonable delay.

WICHITA (AP) — The Office of Inspector General for the Veterans Affairs Department has released its recommendations for improvements at the six community-based outpatient clinics across Kansas overseen by the Dole VA Medical Center in Wichita.

The recommendations are based in part on a site visit to the Parsons clinic in May along with other data gathered for VA outpatient facilities in Hays, Salina, Hutchinson, Parsons, Dodge City and Liberal.

Issues cited in the report include no panic alarm system, incomplete diagnostics, inadequate staff training and poor medication management.

The report also compares how well the different clinics are able to meet wait-times of under seven days.

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran has long criticized the VA for not having a primary care provider at its Liberal clinic for the past three years.

STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal government says it made about $100 billion in payments last year to people who may not have been entitled to receive them.

Tax credits went to families that didn’t qualify, unemployment benefits went to people who had jobs and medical payments were made for treatments that might not have been necessary.

Congressional investigators say the figure could be even higher.

The Obama administration has reduced the amount of improper payments since they peaked in 2010. Still, estimates from federal agencies show that some are wasting big money at a time when Congress is squeezing their budgets.

The improper payments include overpayments, underpayments, payments to the wrong recipient and payments made without proper documentation.

A House Oversight subcommittee is holding a hearing on the issue Wednesday afternoon.

By KHI News Service