Nearly half of all Kansas counties have declared burn bans until further notice because of hot and dry conditions.

The Kansas adjunct general’s office on Monday said 45 of the state’s 105 counties have bans in place, while one other has instituted a “strong restrictions” ban, meaning burning is allowed only if a fire department has deemed the site safe for burning.

Counties with burn bans include Anderson, Atchison, Barton, Bourbon, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Clark, Clay, Decatur, Edwards, Ellsworth, Ford, Franklin, Graham, Grant, Greenwood, Gove, Hodgeman, Johnson, Lane, Lincoln and Logan. Others are Marshall, Meade, Miami, Mitchell, Morton, Ness, Norton, Osborne, Ottawa, Pawnee, Phillips, Rawlins, Riley, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Stevens, Thomas, Trego and Wyandotte.

Stafford County has the “strong restrictions” ban.

 

By Brett Regan ~ Junction City Post

A 28-year-old Fort Riley soldier was taken into custody following an incident with police officials over the weekend.

Riley County Police Department officials say they were contacted by Fort Riley Police about a vehicle pursuit with an alleged suicidal soldier. FRP reported the soldier was leaving Fort Riley and possibly exiting at the Ogden Gate.

Riley County Police made an unsuccessful stop at the Ogden Gate, but were able to lay down spike strips to flatten the suspect’s tires. There was a low speed pursuit for approximately two blocks in Ogden before the suspect attempted to flee on foot. Police say he was armed with a handgun and indicated he was allegedly suicidal.

After several minutes of unsuccessful communication, Riley County Police fired rubber baton rounds, disarming the suspect. The suspect was then taken into custody and transported to Irwin Army Community Hospital on Fort Riley with minor injuries from the baton rounds.

RCPD officials say the suspect’s handgun was a BB gun that was modeled to look like a handgun.

The suspect’s name has been withheld.

High levels of toxic algae are closing several Kansas lakes heading into the Fourth of July holiday.

The Kansas City Star reported that lake management officials have posted warning signs prohibiting recreational activities at four lakes. They are the Marion Reservoir in Marion County, Old Herington City Lake in Dickinson County, Logan City Lake in Phillips County and Memorial Veterans Lake in Barton County.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment also has also issued health advisories for South Lake in Overland Park and Lowell Reservoir in Jewell County. Under an advisory, fishing and boating may be safe. But the department still strongly discourages swimming or any other direct contact with the water.

A health advisory at Cedar Bluff Reservoir in Trego County was lifted this week.

Flags will be lowered throughout Kansas on Tuesday as a soldier from Johnson County is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Army Sgt. Michael J. Knapp, of Overland Park, was killed May 18 during his third tour of duty in Afghanistan. The 28-year-old graduate of Shawnee Mission North High School had become a father last year when his wife, Abby, gave birth to a girl.

Knapp was a member of the 1st Battalion (Air Assault), 377th Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Fires Brigade based out of Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington.

Gov. Sam Brownback ordered that flags be flown Tuesday at half-staff from sun-up to sundown.

Water levels on some Kansas rivers are approaching record lows amid a drought and heat wave.

Water in the Arkansas River is reportedly stagnant now from limited flow.

U.S. Geological Survey officials say this will be the river’s lowest June flow in 53 years of record keeping. On Friday, the flow was down to about 27 cubic feet per second, far below the typical flow of 475 cubic feet per second.

And the Arkansas River isn’t alone. Several other rivers were recording lower-than-normal water levels, prompting state officials to curtail junior irrigation rights in some areas.

Reservoirs also are hurting. The U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Reclamation says Cedar Bluff is only 43 percent full.

A newspaper report says a man at the center of a large-scale marijuana case allegedly supplied the drug to multiple players from the 2010-11 Kansas men’s basketball team.

The Kansas City Star reported Friday that an assistant U.S. attorney made the claim during a detention hearing for Samuel Villeareal III.

Villeareal was among numerous defendants charged June 11 with a scheme to distribute more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana.

The newspaper obtained a court transcript from a June 18 hearing in which prosecutor Terra Morehead claims Villeareal supplied pot to multiple members of the Jayhawks squad.

Kansas athletic officials declined comment Friday when reached by The Associated Press. Two players from the team contacted by the Star said they’d never heard of Villeareal. Two others refused to comment.

A Russell man and a Ness City man were injured in a two-vehicle accident two miles west of Monument around 10:45 Friday morning.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, Duane Pool, 57, of Ness City was eastbound on US40 in a 2007 Peterbilt when he made a lefthand turn onto K25 and was struck by a 2007 Kenworth driven by Joseph Kurth, 45, of Russell, as Kurth attempted to pass.

Both drivers were transported to Logan County Hospital with undisclosed injuries.

State revenue officials say Kansas will not pay the final 10% of its contract for a new $40 million motor vehicle system until problems are fixed.

The Kansas Department of Revenue notified the 3M Co. Thursday that it needs to improve the new software, which has caused long lines and frustration at motor vehicle offices across the state since it was installed seven weeks ago.

Donna Shelite, the state director of vehicles, told the Shawnee County Commission that as many as 73,000 records didn’t convert correctly to the new system.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Shelite told the commission that Kansas officials have asked 3M to address the system’s response times, availability, bugs and maintenance.

Starting July 1, licensed retail stores in Kansas will be able to offer taste tests of their wares in the shop, and bars and restaurants will be able to offer happy hour drink specials.

Suppliers will also be able to participate in tasting events hosted by a store. While there are no limits on the size or number of samples one person may receive, the samples must be consumed in the store.

Manufacturers will also be able to serve free samples of liquor on their premise if the manufacturer’s premise is located in a county where the sales of liquor or individual drinks are permitted.

Currently, bars and restaurants can offer all day drink specials but cannot have “happy hours” where drinks are discounted between specific times.

With the new law, bars and restaurants will also be able to offer discounted drink prices at any time or to specific groups – such as “ladies night” drink specials.

Blistering heat is helping Hill City get a national reputation.

The western Kansas town hit 115 degrees on Wednesday – a day after hitting the same mark to earn the distinction of recording the nation’s highest temperature, according to the National Weather Service.

Tuesday’s reading was also a new record for that date in the town.

Numerous Kansas communities are shattering records for high temperatures this week as an intense heat wave bears down. Farmers fear they’re losing valuable corn crops to the heat, and emergency management officials are urging residents to take extreme caution and avoid being outside.

As of late Wednesday afternoon, several other cities were still topping 110 degrees, including Russell, Dodge City, Great Bend and Hays.