The Wichita business owner says he’s considering some changes after two suicides at shooting ranges this month.

Wichita police say a man shot himself Monday after renting a gun at Bullseye Shooting Range. Another man shot committed suicide Dec. 2 at The Bullet Stop in Wichita.

Don Holman, owner of The Bullet Stop, told KWCH that his employees are trained to judge a customer’s state of mind. His customers also are required to fill out forms saying they aren’t under the influence of any substance and detailing any history of firearms use or mental illness.

Holman says he’s considering requiring new customers to become members who would have to wait a few days before shooting. He also is considering requiring gun renters to be supervised by an employee.

The Kansas attorney general’s office says a program designed to help keep children safe on the Internet reached more than 56,000 kids this year.

The Netsmartz program uses activities to teach children aged 5 to 17 about dangers they might face in interacting with others on the Internet. The program also has advice for parents, teachers, and law enforcement officers.

The attorney general’s office began the Netsmartz program in 2006, working through the Kansas Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs. Trainers visit classrooms and after-school programs to speak to students.

A Kansas police officer has been charged with firing at an occupied car on Christmas morning.

The Kansas City Star reports that Wyandotte County prosecutors charged 32-year-old Michael Mills on Tuesday with aggravated assault and criminal discharge of a firearm at an occupied vehicle. He has been placed on unpaid administrative leave.

Mills, a Kansas City, Kan., police officer, was off-duty at the time of the alleged shooting, which happened between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. Sunday near his home. One shot hit the car’s right rear quarter panel, but no one was hurt.

Mills was later arrested and released on $25,000 bond. He could not immediately be located Tuesday for comment, and it wasn’t clear if he has an attorney.

Authorities didn’t disclose what led to the shooting.

Members of the Kansas Geological Survey will be in western Kansas next week to measure groundwater levels.

The work is part of the survey’s efforts to track changes in the depth of the region’s aquifers.

The University of Kansas said in a news release Tuesday that crews will work near Colby on Tuesday, Goodland on Wednesday, Syracuse on Thursday and Liberal on Friday. Several counties will be surveyed.

About 1,400 wells in 47 western and central Kansas counties are monitored each year. The data is used by landowners, state and federal agencies, local groundwater management districts, private entities and the general public.

Brownie Wilson, KGS water-data manager, says the research helps determine how the aquifers are changing over time and how water levels are affected by climate and pumping.

A southwest Kansas town’s election next month on a sales tax question will be the first test of a new state law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls.

The new law takes effect Sunday.

On Jan. 10, Cimarron, with 2,200 residents about 175 miles west of Wichita, voters will decide whether to impose a 1.25 percent sales tax to help finance construction of a new swimming pool.

Gray County Clerk Bonnie Swartz said Tuesday that she’s not anticipating problems. The city has one polling place, and Swartz said seven experienced poll workers will staff it.

Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who persuaded legislators to enact the law earlier this year, says he’ll travel to Gray County to observe.

Between 100 and 120 Sears and Kmart stores will be closed, the retailer said Tuesday, after terrible holiday sales during what is the most crucial time of the year for retailers.

Sears has yet to determine which stores will be closed, but there has been a clear shift in where the retailer will devote its resources.

The company is moving away from its practice of propping up “marginally performing” stores in hopes of improving their performance. Sears said it will now concentrate on cash-generating stores.

“Given our performance and the difficult economic environment, especially for big-ticket items, we intend to implement a series of actions to reduce ongoing expenses, adjust our asset base, and accelerate the transformation of our business model,” said CEO Louis D’Ambrosio. “These actions will better enable us to focus our investments on serving our customers.”

Sears (SHLD) would not discuss how many, if any, jobs would be cut.

Sears Holdings Corp., based in Hoffman Estates, Ill., said that the store closings will generate $140 to $170 million in cash from inventory sales. The retailer anticipates additional proceeds from the sale or sublease of real estate holdings.

The company, which operates Kmart stores, Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Land’s End, has seen rival department stores like Macy’s Inc. and discounters like Target Corp. steal customers away. But the economy is put a sustained financial squeeze on its most loyal customers, those in the middle-income bracket.

The retailer had announced numerous closings this year, but this is the largest group of closings to date by far. Hoped for holiday sales to not materialize.

Same-store revenue fell 5.2% to date for the quarter at both Sears and Kmart, the company said Tuesday. That includes the critical holiday shopping period, a time that most retailers depend on for a sales surge that will put them in the black.

Kmart’s 6% decline in revenue at stores open at least a year was blamed on diminished layaways and a drop in clothing and consumer electronics sales. Sears’ cited lackluster consumer electronics and home appliance sales for its 4.4% drop off. Sears’ clothing sales were flat, while sales of Lands’ End products at Sears stores rose mid-single digits.

Sears Holdings said that the declining sales, ongoing margin pressure and rising expenses pulled its adjusted earnings lower. The company predicts fourth-quarter consolidated adjusted earnings will be less than half the prior-year period’s $933 million. It also anticipates a non-cash charge of $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion in the quarter for a valuation allowance on some deferred tax assets.

This figure is a key gauge of a retailer’s health because it excludes results from stores recently opened or closed.

Sears Holdings said it also plans to lower its fixed costs by $100 million to $200 million and trim its 2012 peak domestic inventory by $300 million from 2011′s $10.2 billion at the third quarter’s end.

Sears Holdings has more than 4,000 stores in the USA and Canada.

Illinois-based Mead Johnson says another batch of tests done on its Enfamil Premium Newborn infant formula found no trace of the bacteria tied to the death of a Missouri baby.

Preliminary hospital tests indicated 10-day-old Avery Cornett died December 18th of a rare infection caused by bacteria known as Cronobacter sakazakii. The source of the bacteria hasn’t been determined, but it can be found in powdered formula.

Avery had consumed Enfamil Newborn formula.

National retailers including Wal-Mart Stores, Walgreens., Kroger and Safeway have since pulled a batch of the powdered infant formula from their shelves.

The Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and the Missouri Department of Health are investigating Avery’s death.

An $18.5 million expansion project has begun at the Pawnee Valley Community Hospital in Larned.

The hospital plans to continue its services throughout the construction project, which is expected to be completed by the spring of 2013.

Hays Medical Center took over operations of the critical access hospital in March 2010.

The north tower of the hospital has been taken down and excavation and dirt work is continuing at the hospital.

Hays Medical has added services and staff since taking over the hospital.

Even while two new casinos are scheduled to open in Kansas this year, state legislators have reduced the amount of money targeted for a fund meant to help people struggling with gambling addictions.

By law, 2 percent of gambling revenue in Kansas must go to a special fund for treatment of problem gamers and people with other
addictions. The casinos and Kansas Lottery are expected to generate about $3 million for the fund this fiscal year.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that lawmakers approved $717,000 to fight gambling addiction this fiscal year, including salaries of three gambling specialists. That’s a drop from $740,000 invested in the fund last year.

Only 6 percent of the fund’s overall receipts, or $200,000, is budgeted for direct counseling of gambling addicts.

Police in Wichita say a 51-year-old man has died after shooting himself at a gun range in the northeastern part of the city.

The shooting is being investigated as a suicide. KSNW-TV reports the man was pronounced dead at a hospital where he was taken from the Bulls Eye Shooting Range.

Investigators say the man rented a gun at the range just after noon Monday and received safety instructions. He began shooting at targets before turning the gun on himself.

About 20 people, including children as young as 9, were at the range at the time.

It’s the second self-inflicted death at a Wichita shooting range this month. In the first case, a man shot himself in the head at The Bullet Stop. That death was ruled a suicide.

University of Kansas researchers are developing new, smarter dashboard displays to keep drivers’ eyes on the road.

The effort includes researchers in design, mechanical engineering and psychology. They are working under the umbrella of the Center for Design Research.

Center director Greg Thomas says automakers are adding more bells and whistles to dashboards that don’t adjust for different drivers or conditions.

He says the failure to integrate all components into a customizable, easy-to-read and ergonomic console creates safety issues.

That’s what his group is trying to address with smart dashboards.

He says a smarter dashboard could feature a gas tank gauge that gets larger and brighter as the fuel level dips. The speedometer could change colors if the driver was going too fast or too slow.

A Hutchinson man is being credited with saving two young girls who fell through thin ice on a pond.

Reno County sheriff’s officers say Bud Brown saved the girls, ages 6 and 7 on Sunday. The girls were visiting their relatives, who live near Brown east of Hutchinson.

The Hutchinson News reports that the girls, 6-year-old Jenna McKay of Bernice, Okla., and 7-year-old Janessa Stringer of Belle Plaine, were treated at a hospital but were not seriously injured.

Brown said he saw the girls fall through the ice on the pond behind his house. He called 911 then waded into the chest-deep water, breaking the ice with his fists. He eventually reached the girls and was able to pull them from the water.