(AP) – Kansas wildlife and parks officials are looking to spend about $1 million to lease access to private ponds, rivers and streams in hopes of boosting outdoor recreational opportunities.

The offer is through the Fishing Impoundments and Stream Habitat program with the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism. The leases give sportsmen access to the land from March 1 through Oct. 1. Landowners can get as much as $150 per acre for each pond and up to $2,250 for each mile of stream or river access.

Tom Lang, a fisheries program specialist, said the state funds for the program come from fees collected on licenses, excise taxes on sporting goods sales and $750,000 included in the latest version Farm Bill. The goal is to provide more recreational opportunities for residents while maintaining high-quality fish populations.

The program began in 1998 and seeks to increase the number of ponds available for public fishing. There are more than 150,000 private ponds in Kansas. Lang said as part of the lease the agency agrees to help manage the property, including stocking it with fish to keep the population stable and healthy.

“If they ever have an issue about people leaving trash all they have to do is call, and we will clean it up,” Lang said. “You have a lot of good people out there who take care of the land.”

There’s an economic benefit, as well, Lang said. More opportunities for fishing, boating or other activities helps attract visitors to rural areas, bringing increased spending on bait, supplies, food or fuel that stimulates local economies.

With recent drought conditions many farm ponds are down, increasing the chances of fish kills caused by heat and oxygen depletion. Lang said one incentive for landowners is they can get those fish replaced by participating in the lease program.

“Buying fish is expensive,” he said.

Lang said the state is also seeking to increase access points along the Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri rivers. While the rivers are public and navigable, the public needs locations to put in their boats, canoes or kayaks to go downstream. Other streams, such as the Neosho River, aren’t navigable and are part of the 9,800 miles of streams that require more access. Lang said the agency has to lease the entire length of the stream to allow public access for fishing or boating.

A map is published annually with the public access points and participating ponds.

An earthquake in Oklahoma rattled Kansas City and other communities across the state Saturday night.

The 5.6 magnitude earthquake struck near Sparks, Oklahoma just before 11pm Saturday night.

Earlier in the day quakes hit Oklahoma but the latest quake was also felt in the Kansas.

The quake late Saturday sent shockwaves for about 20-30 seconds and occurred at 10:53 p.m.

The quake was the second strongest in Oklahoma history, behind a 5.5 tremor on April 9, 1952, centered near El Reno.

(AP) – A 25-year-old solider with the 1st Infantry Division based at Fort Riley has died from wounds suffered in an enemy attack in Iraq.

The Wichita Eagle reports that First Lt. Dustin Vincent, of Mesquite, Texas, was on his first deployment. He joined the Army in 2009 as an artillery officer.

The Army said Friday that Vincent was killed by small-arms fire in northern Iraq’s Kirkuk Province during a patrol Thursday.

No other casualties were reported from the incident.

(AP) – A federal magistrate judge is limiting the public disclosure of some information in a lawsuit challenging a new Kansas law restricting insurance coverage for abortions.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth Gale issued a protective order Thursday in the lawsuit filed against the state by the American Civil Liberties Union. He says the parties agreed that since the case relates to the controversial issue of abortion, the release of certain information should be limited to the parties, their attorneys and the court.

His order notes that public disclosure of personal and identifying information may invite harassment or other “negative consequences.”

The law bars insurance companies from offering abortion coverage as part of general health plans in Kansas. Patients who want abortion coverage must buy riders that cover only that procedure.

(AP) – A federal grand jury in Kansas City, Kan., has indicted a 29-year-old Mexican national accusing him of illegally re-entering the U.S. after serving a prison term for a fatal drunken-driving crash.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports federal prosecutors allege that Adan Cruz-Santos returned to Douglas County illegally after he was deported in 2010 once he was paroled.

He was sentenced in 2005 to five and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to involuntary manslaughter and DUI in the death of a 25-year-old nurse from Olathe.

He was paroled in 2010 and deported to Mexico because of his felony conviction.

Online court records did not list a lawyer for Cruz-Santos.

(AP) – Former president George W. Bush spoke to about 5,000 people at the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting, giving the chamber its first sold-out crowd.

The Wichita Eagle reports that Bush on Thursday talked about the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the principles that guided his presidency, and some of his policy decisions.

Bush also said he regretted using the phrase “Bring it on,” during early fighting in Iraq. But he defended sending troops to Iraq.

Before the event, about 40 Occupy Wichita participants gathered to protest both Bush and the chamber.

Eight local businesses contributed to cover Bush’s speaker fee, which according to published reports ranges from $100,000 to $150,000. Hawker Beechcraft flew him to Wichita.

Ticket prices for the speech ranged from $25 to $125.

(AP) – Police in a Wichita suburb are looking for a man driving a gray Ford Crown Victoria that resembles a patrol car and using flashing lights in the grill to stop other vehicles.

Derby police tell KWCH-TV the man wears a silver badge and a name tag and has been impersonating an officer.

A Derby resident says the man pulled him over Wednesday, but left in a hurry after being asked for his badge number.

Police say drivers need to be careful when they’re being pulled over by someone driving an unmarked car. They say Derby has some unmarked vehicles, but those have flashing lights in the window, not in the grill.

(AP) – A Topeka man who pleaded no contest to sexual exploitation of a child has been sentenced to more than six years in prison.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that 43-year-old Richard Lee Seastrom will also be placed on lifetime post-release supervision under the sentence he received Thursday in Shawnee County District Court.

Seastrom was arrested in January and charged with 43 counts of sexual crimes involving young children. His trial was under way last month when he pleaded no contest to 35 counts of child sexual exploitation.

Seastrom said during the trial that he didn’t want the jury to have to look at video footage that Judge Nancy Parrish called “horrible.”

(AP) – Kansas is taking aim at childhood obesity with new grants totally nearly $350,000.

The state Education Department says the money from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be used to promote healthy eating and exercise habits among school children.

About $50,000 will be used to help schools apply for the HealthierUS School Challenge. The challenge is part of first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! Program, which aims to improve the health of the nation’s children by promoting healthier school environments.

(AP) – A Junction City man was killed in a head-on collision on I-70, around 6:30 AM Thursday morning.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, 39-year-old Kyle A. Junghans was westbound on I-70 (near the Wabaunsee/Geary County line) when he lost control of the vehicle, crossed the median, and was struck by an eastbound vehicle.

Junghans was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the second vehicle, 42-year-old Thomas F. McCoy of Manhattan, was transported to KU Med Center with injuries. His condition has not been released.

(AP) – A Kansas man pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other crimes in the death of his girlfriend’s 19-month-old son.

Chad Carr entered the plea Thursday under an agreement that reduced the charge from first-degree murder.

The 28-year-old Carr was charged in the March 2010 death of Vincent Hill. Carr was the boyfriend of the boy’s mother.

The Wichita Eagle reports that authorities said the boy suffered blunt-force injuries and most likely died by suffocation.

Carr also pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated battery and one count of child abuse. The sentences for each count will run consecutively.

The boy’s mother, Katheryn Nycole Dale, is serving a three–year sentence after pleading no contest in July to child abuse and aggravated child endangerment in her son’s death.