The central Kansas town of Russell is close to moving into its most stringent water conservation stage.

Russell is already in the third stage of its conservation plan, which involves restricting outside watering to one day a week. City officials have also discussed the idea of building a pipeline from an area reservoir to wells closer to town. Early estimates suggest the pipeline could cost about $25 million.

Water levels in Russell’s water wells along the Smoky Hill River are low, and the city’s conservation plan, which is under review, calls for moving into the fourth stage when levels fall about another foot.

If Russell goes into the fourth stage, most of the water would be only for human consumption.

A seven-month investigation into sales of synthetic marijuana commonly known as “potpourri” has culminated in raids in Emporia, El Dorado, Arkansas City and Wichita.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation said Thursday that 10 search warrants were served. Two men were arrested, and more arrests are expected.

The investigation began with undercover agents buying potpourri and investigating emergency room admissions of people using the substances.

Agents made controlled purchases from Blitzed Detox Shop in Emporia along with All Out Detox and Price Right Smoke Shop/JKL Liquor in El Dorado. Searches of those businesses led to other raids, including an alleged packaging operation in El Dorado. An undercover purchase was made in Wichita.

The KBI says agents seized several pounds of treated potpourri plus vehicles and more than $100,000 in cash.

The Kansas Star Casino in Mulvane is looking for 400 more workers as it prepares to open a permanent casino and hotel.

The casino’s general manager, Scott Cooper, says 80 to 85 percent of the jobs will be full-time positions. The casino currently has 600 employees.

The jobs will include 40 dealers and 150 food and beverage workers, along with various other positions such as housekeeping, office staff and security.

The Wichita Eagle reports Cooper says the permanent casino and hotel is likely to open before the end of the year.

The current casino is housed in an arena that will eventually be used for equestrian and other entertainment events.

Authorities are trying to identify a man who was arrested after leading officers on a 72-mile chase through northwestern Kansas.

The Colby Free Press reports the chase started Thursday morning after a state trooper tried to stop the man on Interstate 70 about 25 miles west of Colby.

The driver dodged traffic spikes as he led officers on several highways between Colby and Oakley at speeds that reached 130 mph.

Authorities said the man briefly drove along railroad tracks in Colby and onto a street where he became boxed in by trees. He abandoned the car and was found under a pickup truck.

Officers hoped to identify the man from his fingerprints because he won’t provide his name.

A 91-year-old Kansas prison inmate convicted in a botched murder for hire has been granted parole.

The Kansas Prisoner Review Board recently granted Joseph Johnson’s second request for parole.

A spokesman for the state Corrections Department said Thursday it takes effect Jan. 1, provided he moves to what the agency called a structured living environment that can address his medical needs.

A Topeka man hired Johnson in 1992 to arrange the killing of the man’s estranged wife. Johnson paid a 16-year-old boy $300 to carry out the attack and drove him to the address they’d been given.

The teen shot and killed a man who opened the apartment door — but the victim was a new tenant. The intended victim had moved out sometime earlier.

by Randy Picking ~ Salina Post

UPDATED: 1:40pm Saline County Sheriff Glen Kochanowski says fingerprint comparison has been used to identify the body of a man found in Lincoln County Wednesday evening as that of 37-year-old Jeffrey Powell.

Sheriff Kochanowski says the family of Powell has been notified.

UPDATED: Saline County Sheriff Glen Kochanowski says a body of a man, that could be the victim in a 2nd degree murder case has been located in Lincoln County just outside of the northwest Saline County boundary.

The sheriff says the Kansas Bureau of Investigation contacted the Sheriff’s Office about 7:00 Wednesday evening, and informed them that a body was found and could be that of 37-year-old Jeffrey Powell, who was last seen late July 31st into the early hours of August 1st.

Kochanowski says an autopsy is being conducted in Kansas City and that a positive ID could come as early as Thursday.

29-year-old Kyle Nelson of Salina was arrested on August 2nd on a 2nd murder charge in connection with the disappearance of Powell.

Authorities believe that Powell was killed east of Salina on North Street.

No other details on the case have been released, and all questions concerning the case have been referred to the Saline County Attorney’s office.

Nelson was in the Lincoln County Jail on charges unrelated to the murder case, and was brought back to the Saline County Jail on August 2nd.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation, Lincoln County Sheriffs Office, Saline County Sheriffs Office and Salina Police Department continue to investigate and gather evidence in the case.

ORIGINAL 10:11 AM: According to Saline County Sheriff Glen Kochanowski, a body was located at 7PM just northwest of Saline County, in Lincoln County.

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation is currently working the crime scene.

Authorities had been searching the area in connection with missing Salina man, 37-year-old Jeffrey Powell, who was last seen in the early morning hours of August 1st.

29-year-old Kyle Nelson of Salina was arrested Aug. 2 on a charge of second-degree murder in connection with Powell’s death, and is currently being held in the Saline County Jail on a $500,000 bond.

Kochanowski would not comment on any connection to the missing person case, saying that the investigation is ongoing.

The body was transported to Kansas City for an autopsy and a positive identification could come as early as today.

Dogs are under quarantine at the Junction City/Geary County Animal Shelter after tests found parvovirus.

The shelter euthanized five puppies after the virus was discovered. Shelter director Lisa Junghans says the virus was found in four puppies that were brought to the shelter from the Westwood area of Junction City on July 27.

Parvo is a contagious disease that is potentially life-threatening. The dogs were euthanized because the shelter did not have the resources to treat the disease.

Thirty-five dogs are under quarantine while staff clean the shelter and monitor the dogs for any symptoms.

WIBW reports if no other dogs test positive for the disease, dog adoptions and drop offs will resume next Monday. Cats and animals other than dogs can still be taken to the shelter.

Sixty-eight military officers from around the world will join U.S. officers next week to study at the Army’s Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth.

The 10-month term will open Monday with a parade and flag ceremony. The international officers will include the first students from the Caribbean island state of Antigua and Barbuda.

The college trains U.S. and international officers in military tactics, strategy and leadership. Most of the students are Army majors, but the class includes officers from the Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines and Navy.

Seventy years after a large chandelier was removed from the Kansas Statehouse rotunda, workers will install a new one.

Statehouse Architect Barry Greis says the new fixture is expected to arrive Monday at the Capitol. It was built by a St. Louis company working from historical photographs.

Greis says workers expect to assemble the chandelier and hoist it into place Tuesday. It will hang from the inner dome.

The installation is a small part of the ongoing, 12-year renovation of the Statehouse. Work on the interior is expected to be finished by October.

The old chandelier was removed in 1942 and, according to an Associated Press report, sent to a scrap heap. State officials saw its removal as a safety measure.