MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health officials say ice cream is still safe to eat — even amid recalls by two ice cream companies after the discovery of listeria bacteria in their frozen confections.

The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say there’s no reason to think that listeria illnesses and deaths linked to Texas-based Blue Bell Creameries and the discovery of listeria in Ohio-based Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams are related.

Still, Tauxe says the discovery of listeria is a “wake-up call” for the industry, since the bacteria isn’t very common in ice cream.

The FDA agrees that consumers should feel safe eating any ice cream products that haven’t been recalled.

PARK CITY – Two people including a Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Deputy were injured in an accident just before 4 p.m. on Saturday.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1995 Mitsubishi Mirage driven by Ashley Ann Parker, 23, Wichita, was westbound on 85th Street north at Broadway.

The vehicle failed to stop at a stop sign and struck a 2011 Ford Crown Victoria with its emergency equipment activated and driven northbound on Broadway by 32-year-old Deputy Jacki Diane Cinotto.

Parker and Cinotto were transported to St. Francis Medical Center.

Both drivers were properly restrained at the time of the accident that remains under investigation.

Hutch Post

HUTCHINSON — A Kansas man convicted of aggravated indecent liberties with a child was sentenced Friday to more than 15 years in prison.

David Baldwin, 34, Hutchinson, pleaded guilty to the single count in which he admits occurred some time between Aug. 1 and Sept. 30, 2012.

The case involves the inappropriate touching of a 7-year-old child.

The case fell under Jessica’s Law, meaning the sentencing called for a life with out parole for 25 years without parole.

However, as part of a plea agreement, both sides recommended a downward departure of the sentence.

Baldwin had pleaded no contest to the single county on January 9th.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas judge has ordered genetic testing to determine whether a man who donated sperm to a lesbian couple is the biological father of their 5-year-old daughter.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports William Marotta of Topeka answered a Craigslist ad seeking a sperm donor in 2009. He didn’t intend to be the child’s father and signed a contract waiving parental rights and responsibilities while agreeing to donate sperm to Jennifer Schreiner and Angela Bauer.

The state began seeking to have Marotta declared the father in late 2012 so he could be forced to pay child support after the couple split up and Schreiner sought state health insurance for the child.

Shawnee County District Judge Mary Mattivi said on Friday that Marotta was more than a simple sperm donor.

FAIRVIEW – A Kansas woman was injured in an accident just before 12:30 p.m. on Saturday in Brown County.

The Kansas Highway Patrol reported a 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Vincent A. Gann, 25, Solomon, was northbound on U.S. 75 ten miles south of Fairview.

The vehicle rear-ended a 2008 Ford Escape driven by Theodore J. Leonard, 41, Manhattan, that was turning westbound onto 130th from U.S. 75.

A passenger in the Jeep Tara E. Gann, 23, Junction City, was transported to the hospital in Horton.

Both drivers avoided injury and all were properly restrained at the time of the accident according to the KHP.

JOHN HANNA, AP Political Writer

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is expected to increase taxes to close a budget shortfall, but Republicans who control the Legislature don’t yet agree on the outlines of a plan.

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback wants to protect major income tax cuts he pushed legislators to enact in 2012 and 2013 to help stimulate the economy.

He’s proposing to slow down future income tax cuts and is pushing to increase tobacco and alcohol taxes. He also has said he’s open to raising the state’s sales tax.

But at least a few GOP legislators contend the state must rethink a personal income tax break for business owners — sparking a radio ad campaign by a group representing small businesses to counter such an effort.

Lawmakers also could consider raising the state’s gasoline tax.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Wichita school district, already one of the most ethnically diverse in the state, is undergoing more changes.

In the last two years the district has seen an increase in students who have never lived outside a refugee camp, many of whom speak Arabic and Swahili.

The Wichita Eagle reports that has created new challenges for teachers and administrators. Because federal law requires schools to provide information to parents in the language they prefer, an Arabic speaker is on call to help teachers and other staff communicate with families.

The district also uses a service that lets teachers quickly connect by phone with parents in any language. It has more than 350 students from other countries this year, with another 160 students who speak minimal English from other states.