TOPEKA (AP) — The U.S. Postal Service has told Topeka officials it intends to sell its office building and parking lot in downtown Topeka.

In a letter addressed to Mayor Larry Wolgast and City Manager Jim Colson, Angela Kuhl, a USPS real estate specialist, says services will be relocated to an undetermined new location.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reported the facility was consolidated earlier with a processing center in Kansas City, Mo., cutting 133 of the 150 jobs at the Topeka location.

City Councilman Chad Manspeaker, who tweeted an image of the letter Monday, said on Twitter the building once served as a courthouse, where the historic Brown v. Board of Education was tried.

WICHITA (AP) — A light earthquake has hit south-central Kansas for the second time in weeks.

The U.S. Geological Survey says a 3.9 magnitude earthquake was recorded early Monday. The epicenter was about 11 miles northwest of Caldwell, which is on the Kansas-Oklahoma state line in Sumner County. Officials say no damage was reported.

A 3.8 magnitude earthquake also shook the same vicinity Dec. 16.

Paul Caruso, a USGS geophysicist, told the Wichita Eagle it’s very unusual to have two earthquakes in a short amount of time in that area.

Small earthquakes in southern Kansas have become more common, with more than two dozen recorded over the past two years. The area has been the site of increased oil and gas drilling since 2011. Scientists disagree on whether that causes the earthquakes.

MOUNDRIDGE — A Claflin woman is in critical condition at a Wichita hospital following a two-vehicle accident Saturday morning in McPherson County.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, 38-year-old Alleda Hickel was transported to Wesley Medical Center in Wichita after the accident, which occurred less than a mile north of Moundridge on Interstate 135.

According to the KHP, Hickle was driving a 1995 Jeep SUV northbound on I-135 traveling at a reduced rate of speed due to weather conditions, when she was struck from behind at a high rate of speed by a 2004 Freightliner driven by 51-year-old Curtis Lewis, Wichita. Lewis was not injured in the accident, which occurred at 11:40 a.m. Saturday morning.

According to KHP, both drivers were wearing seat belts.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Kansas City, Kan., firefighters found a body while fighting a blaze at a home in the city.

The fire was reported about 2 a.m. Monday. The woman’s body was found inside.

Police said in a news release that they are investigating the death as a homicide.

Police spokesman Officer Tom Tomasic said the home was vacant and it’s unclear why the woman was inside the structure.

The name of the victim was not released.

TOPEKA (AP) — The city of Topeka will consider reinstating an ordinance that bans domestic battery.

The city drew national attention in 2011 when it dropped the ban as part of a conflict with the Shawnee County district attorney’s office.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reported the council will consider the issue at a Tuesday meeting. The city will consider adopting a revised version of Kansas statutes regarding misdemeanors, which would reinstate the ban.

The city dropped the ban when District Attorney Chad Taylor said budget cuts prevented his office from prosecuting domestic batteries committed in the city of Topeka. Repealing the ban was intended to pressure Taylor to prosecute the cases. The move worked, and Taylor eventually resumed prosecuting the cases.

ROELAND PARK (AP) — Law enforcement officers are investigating after a decomposed body was found in a wooded area of a Kansas City suburb.

The body was found Sunday evening in Roeland Park, Kan. Police say it was so badly decomposed that detectives were not able to determine the race, gender or age of the deceased.

Police took the body to the Johnson County Crime lab for further investigation.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new survey of business leaders suggests the economy will continue growing in nine Midwestern and Plains states in the months ahead.

The monthly Mid-America Business Conditions Index rose to 57.7 last month, compared with 53.2 in December.

Looking six months ahead, the business confidence index dropped to a still strong 62.2 from 66.5 in December.

The survey results are compiled into a collection of indexes ranging from zero to 100. Survey organizers say any score above 50 suggests growth, while a score below that suggests decline.

The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

LAWRENCE (AP) — Lawrence has received a $15,000 grant to promote the city’s basketball roots.

The Lawrence Journal World reports that the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism awarded the money Friday to the Lawrence Convention and Visitors Bureau. The money will be used to develop a documentary on Lawrence’s basketball history and a logo that promotes the city as the “cradle of basketball.”

Although James Naismith didn’t invent the game of basketball here, Lawrence was his longtime home, and he was the University of Kansas’ first coach. Longtime Kansas coach Phog Allen often is cited as the father of basketball coaching and was the leader of the effort to get basketball added as an Olympic sport.

WICHITA (AP) — A custody battle is brewing over the young sons of a former Kansas lawman who killed his wife before setting their house on fire.

The Wichita Eagle reports that what began as a face-off between maternal and paternal families has evolved into a struggle between the mother and sister of Vashti Seacat. She was killed in April 2011 just days after she filed for divorce from her husband, Brett Seacat. He was sentenced in August to life in prison.

Judge Larry Solomon has set a two-day trial beginning March 27 to decide who will be the guardian. Solomon also presided over Brett Seacat’s trial. At the time of the killing, Brett Seacat worked for the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center, teaching police recruits from around the state.

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. (AP) — The handlers for groundhog Punxsutawney Phil say he’s forecasting six more weeks of what already has felt like a brutally long and cold winter.

Pennsylvania’s famed groundhog emerged from his lair in front of thousands of fans around daybreak Sunday.

Legend has it that if the furry rodent sees his shadow on Feb. 2, winter will last another month-and-a-half. If he doesn’t see it, spring will come early.

In reality, Phil’s prediction is decided ahead of time by a group called the Inner Circle, whose members don top hats and tuxedos for the ceremony on Groundhog Day each year.

Phil is the most famous of a small group of groundhogs said to forecast the weather, including Staten Island Chuck in New York and General Beauregard Lee in Atlanta.

PRATT – With the flick of a pen, taxpayers can help support a wide variety of non-game wildlife this tax season by making a donation to the Chickadee Checkoff program. To make a contribution, taxpayers simply mark the Chickadee Checkoff box on their state income tax forms and designate the amount they would like to donate. There is no minimum or incremental requirement. Donations can also be made directly to the Chickadee Checkoff program at any time throughout the year by mailing the donation to Chickadee Checkoff c/o Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism (KDWPT) at 512 SE 25th Ave, Pratt, KS 67124.

A program of KDWPT, Chickadee Checkoff uses donations to fund wildlife programs and initiatives, as well as numerous species assessments and habitat surveys statewide. Programs such as the Outdoor Wildlife Learning Sites (OWLS) at Kansas schools, Kansas Backyard Wildlife Habitat Improvement and Certification Program, and the Nursing Home Bird Feeder Program all benefit from Chickadee Checkoff proceeds. In addition, donations support much needed projects like the Prairie Windows project, Bluebird Nest Box Project, and the Small Grant Program.

Private donations are crucial in funding these vital programs, especially when Chickadee Checkoff proceeds are matched by federal funds. Contributions have been steadily decreasing in recent years, making it imperative that every Kansan mark the Chickadee Checkoff box this year. With the support of the Kansas Society of Certified Public Accountants (KSCPA), KDWPT hopes to see more boxes checked this tax season.

For more information, visit the KDWPT website www.ksoutdoors.com.

EMPORIA — The Kansas Historical Society announced that the Sundays on the Porch series returns Feb. 9 to Red Rocks State Historic Site, the home of the William Allen White family. The series is inspired by the White family’s legendary hospitality. If a member of the family was on the porch of their Emporia home, guests were welcome to join them for a visit. The series consists of three free weekly programs 2 p.m. Feb. 9, 16 and 23. Due to cooler temperatures, this winter series will meet in the visitor center. Red Rocks is located at 927 Exchange Street, Emporia. For more information, call (620) 342-2800 or visit kshs.org/red_rocks.

The following programs will be presented:
• Feb. 9 – William Allen White’s Boyhood Home: The History of El Dorado, Kansas – presented by Lisa Soller.
• Feb. 16 – General Frederick Funston: One of William Allen White’s Best Friends – presented by Dr. Chris Lovett, Professor of History, Emporia State University. Lovett’s expertise is in military history.
• Feb. 23 – Treasures of the White Collection – presented by the William Allen White Memorial Library Archives staff, Emporia State University.

Red Rocks State Historic Site is one of 16 state historic sites operated by the Kansas Historical Society, a state agency.

Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism

PRATT – Five oil and gas companies are voluntarily enrolling nearly 1.5 million acres of land under an innovative plan to conserve the lesser prairie chicken. This represents the first enrollment in the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Range-wide Conservation Plan, developed by the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and state wildlife agencies in Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

Continental Resources, Devon Energy, Apache Corp., Occidental Oil and Gas Corp., and Samson Resources have committed to develop enrolled land in ways that minimize impacts on lesser prairie chicken habitat. They will also mitigate development impacts that cannot be avoided by providing funding for conservation on private land throughout the region. Other companies in various industries, including oil and gas, pipeline, electric transmission and distribution, and wind energy, are now considering enrollment in the plan.

“The oil and gas industry enthusiastically supports the WAFWA range-wide plan,” said Ben Shepperd, Permian Basin Petroleum Association president. All five enrolling companies are members of the association, which also helped fund aerial surveys to verify chicken populations in 2012.

“We’re proud to see these member companies stepping up early on to support the range-wide plan in a significant way,” Shepperd said. “We believe this plan offers the best, most comprehensive approach available to conserve the lesser-prairie chicken and its habitat, while providing some assurance for participating companies so we can continue to do business.”

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service endorsed the range-wide plan in October and verified that companies who enroll would get legal assurances that their business activities could continue if the bird is listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. The federal agency has proposed listing the lesser prairie chicken as threatened, and is expected to make a final decision in March.

“The Lesser Prairie-Chicken Range-wide Conservation Plan addresses all threats to the species and could represent an alternative to designating the bird as threatened,” said Ross Melinchuk, WAFWA Lesser Prairie Chicken Initiative Council chairman.

The USFWS recently announced it would accept public comments on a proposed special 4(d) rule that “…would exempt from regulation under the Act any activities that harm or result in take of the prairie-chicken if incidental to carrying out the state-developed range-wide lesser prairie-chicken conservation plan. The proposed special rule would also exempt take incidental to routine agricultural practices on existing cultivated lands and to landowner participation in the Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative.”

Under the range wide plan, mitigation fees are based on actual costs for habitat management and restoration. Fees range depending on factors like the number of acres impacted, quality of habitat affected, and habitat management costs. Basically, developing in higher quality habitat costs more, and working in lower quality habitat and cropland costs less.

“This landmark program allows for industry development within the region and incentivizes farmers and ranchers to conserve and restore habitat for this species,” said Bill Van Pelt, WAFWA Grassland Initiative Coordinator. “WAFWA and state fish and wildlife agency staff are now working to enroll farming and ranching lands with those mitigation dollars.”

Mitigation fees will help fund proven habitat management activities, such as voluntary agreements with landowners to protect or restore native grassland habitat. Already in Texas, as of today, 73 landowners across the Texas Panhandle and Rolling Plains have enrolled 594,253 acres in a similar though separate strategy, voluntary Candidate Conservation Agreements with Assurances, or CCAAs, for the lesser prairie-chicken. Texas CCAA acres have grown more than five-fold since September, 2010. New Mexico has more than 800,000 acres of oil and gas leases enrolled in their CCAA, plus 1.5 million acres of ranch land. Oklahoma has submitted 200,000 acres of ranch land for approval in their CCAA and has requested USFWS to allow enrollment of an additional 200,000 acres.

Besides industry enrollment, landowners are also able to voluntarily enroll in the plan to help conserve and restore habitat for the bird on private land in Texas and other states. In exchange for management practices such as prescribed grazing, burning, and brush management, landowners are assured they can continue to operate under provisions of a management plan if the bird is listed.

The plan includes habitat management goals and voluntary conservation practices to be applied throughout the lesser prairie-chicken’s range, guided by the Crucial Habitat Assessment Tool online database and mapping system (http://kars.ku.edu/geodata/maps/sgpchat/).

The Range-wide Conservation Plan for the Lesser Prairie Chicken can be viewed on WAFWA’s lesser prairie-chicken web page at http://www.wafwa.org. A recorded online seminar explaining the industry mitigation system is online at http://192.120.246.152/CTL/WAFWA.html.