Gov. Sam Brownback has allowed bills changing how Kansas regulates banks and real estate appraisers to become law without his signature.

Brownback said Monday he refused to sign the two measures to protest what he calls federal intrusion into the state’s regulation of businesses. Both measures were required for Kansas to comply with a federal law approved by Congress in 2010 to strengthen regulation of the financial system.

One of the bills requires companies that manage groups of appraisers who review properties for decisions on loans to register with the state Real Estate Appraisal Board. Brownback noted the board already regulates individual appraisers.

The other bill makes technical changes in laws dealing with state-chartered banks.

Brownback had opposed the 2010 federal legislation when he served in the U.S. Senate.

A man who led a public crime fight in Kansas City after his teenage son’s 2009 killing is headed to prison.

42-year-old Nelson Hopkins Sr. was sentenced to 20 years in prison Friday for an armed robbery committed last summer in suburban Blue Springs.

Hopkins had organized Operation Promise Land, a nonprofit aimed at fighting violent crime by encouraging witnesses to cooperate with police. Hopkins also became a paralegal and started a business to help inmates prepare parole plans.

Friends had urged Jackson County Circuit Court Judge Jack Grate to impose a lighter sentence, stressing that the Marine veteran suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

But prosecutors pointed out that Hopkins had served about 10 years in Missouri and Kansas prison for other

A military boarding school in Salina is asking a federal judge to dismiss the latest lawsuit against it. The suit claims a culture of abuse exists at St. John’s Military School in Salina.

The lawsuit claims the school allowed higher ranking cadets to beat and otherwise mistreat younger students.

The school is asking a judge to either dismiss the lawsuit or order arbitration of the dispute.

St. John’s officials filed several documents in the case Friday. In one motion, the school asked that an x-ray of a student’s broken leg and a photograph of a gagged, blindfolded and bound cadet be removed from public record. St. John’s claims the cadet posed for the photograph and complains about media coverage of the photo.

The U.S. natural gas market is bursting at the seams.

So much natural gas is being produced that soon there may be nowhere left to put the country’s swelling surplus. After years of explosive growth, natural gas producers are retrenching.

The underground salt caverns and depleted oil fields that store natural gas are rapidly filling up after a balmy winter depressed demand for home heating.

The glut has benefited businesses and homeowners that use natural gas. But with natural gas prices at a 10-year low — and falling — companies that produce the fuel are becoming victims of their drilling successes. Their stock prices are falling in anticipation of declining profits and scaled-back growth plans.

Some of the nation’s biggest natural gas producers, including Chesapeake Energy, ConocoPhillips and Encana Corp., have announced plans to slow down.

The Kansas Supreme Court has overturned a temporary injunction that had exempted some private clubs from the statewide public smoking ban.

In Friday’s ruling, the justices ruled against the Downtown Bar and Grill of Tonganoxie. At issue was a provision that allows a certain type of private club to permit smoking as long as the license was obtained before Jan. 1, 2009.

The problem is the Tonganoxie bar didn’t switch its license until May 4, 2009. That’s after the Legislature began discussing the ban but well before it won passage and took effect in July 2010.

The bar said the cutoff wasn’t fair. But the state argued it was necessary to make sure ordinary bars didn’t switch to private clubs to avoid the ban.

Ford is recalling more than 140,000 Focus compact cars because the passenger side windshield wiper can fail.

Federal Safety regulators say a seal in the wiper motor wiring may be missing. Water can get inside and cause the wiper to stop working, increasing the risk of a crash. Ford Motor Co. says there haven’t been any crashes or injuries from the problem.

The cars were built from August 1, 2010 through October 18th of last year. Ford dealers will clean and seal the wiring free of charge and fix any wipers that don’t work. Ford expects to begin the repairs in late May.

Owners with questions can call Ford at (866) 436-7332.

Committees of the Kansas House and Senate plan to resume work on budget issues before the Legislature formally returns from its annual spring break.

The Senate Ways and Means Committee has scheduled meetings for April 17 and 18. The House Appropriations Committee expects to convene April 19 and 20.

The full Legislature returns April 25.

The committees are expected to draft rival versions of a $14.1 billion state budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

Last month, lawmakers were close to taking final action on a spending plan crafted by House and Senate negotiators who settled dozens of differences between the two chambers. But their agreement unraveled just before lawmakers adjourned last week for their spring break.

By John P. Tretbar ~ St. Joseph Post

The winner of Kansas’ largest jackpot prize ever has claimed a share of the $656 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot.

But officials with the Kansas Lottery say the winner has chosen to remain anonymous.

Kansas Lottery authorities presented an oversized check for an estimated $218 million to a cardboard cutout figure with a smiley-face and the words “anonymous jackpot winner” printed on its chest.

Executive Director of the Kansas Lottery Dennis Wilson said in a press conference at Lottery headquarters the person purchased the ticket at Casey’s General Store, 940 N. Main St., in Ottawa.

For selling a jackpot-winning ticket, Casey’s 2668 will receive a $10,000 selling bonus from the Kansas Lottery. Robert Pizzini, District Manager, was present at the press conference to accept the bonus check for the convenience store.

The winner had the choice of taking the annuity option of $218.6 million, which is paid in 26 installments, or the cash option of $157.9 million paid in one lump sum. After taxes the winner will receive a check for $110.5 million.

Federal income withholding taxes (25%) on the prize are $39,470,517.50; state income withholding taxes (5%) amount to $7,894,103.50; bringing the total taxes withheld to $47,364,621.00.

The jackpot amount was originally estimated at $640 million but with sales from all 44 Mega Millions jurisdictions calculated and totaled, the final jackpot amount for the drawing came to $656 million dollars. That record-shattering amount was the result of unprecedented sales in all jurisdictions where Mega Millions is played.

The other tickets were bought in Illinois and Maryland.

A jury has found Adam Longoria guilty on all counts in connection to a 14-year-old Great Bend girl’s death.

It took jurors less than four hours to  reach a verdict of guilty in Alicia Debolt’s death.

To convict him of capital murder, jurors had to determine Longoria committed criminal sodomy, aggravated criminal sodomy or attempted rape during the killing. He was also found guilty of burglary and vehicle theft.

Longoria will be sentenced June 8, when he could face life in prison without parole.