(AP) – American Royal leaders say it’s time to tear down the aging Kemper Arena and replace it with a new equestrian center that better fits the needs of Kansas City’s premier annual livestock show.

The Kansas City Star reports the idea has the backing of R. Crosby Kemper Jr. and his son Mariner Kemper, who pledged Tuesday to help raise millions of dollars in private donations for the new center.

R. Crosby Kemper Jr. donated the land and initial funding for Kemper Arena in 1972 in honor of his father, who had just died. Kemper says the arena now is too big for what the American Royal needs, especially with the Sprint Center downtown pulling away concerts and sporting events that used to be held at Kemper.

Part of I-70 in Topeka has been shut down all day following a fatal, early-morning crash at I-70, around Adams Street. The single-vehicle crash involved a commercial motor vehicle hauling asphalt oil.

Following notification of the family, the driver can now be identified as Paul D. Cardwell, 57 years of age, of Abilene, Kan. Cardwell was driving a 2000 Freightliner hauling a tanker.

The crash occurred at 4:48 a.m. on I-70 westbound, at milepost 364 (Adams Street), in Topeka. Troopers advised the synopsis of the crash: Vehicle 1 was traveling westbound on I-70, when for an unknown reason it left the roadway, drove up onto the concrete jersey barrier, and rolled over. The cause of the crash and additional details are still under investigation.

The asphalt oil that was being hauled was considered hazardous material, and was spilled, however that spill was contained. Crews were on scene throughout the day investigating the crash, and cleaning up debris. The overhead sign was struck, and came down, blocking the entire eastbound lane. The sign has since been removed.

I-70 eastbound remained closed as of 5pm Tuesday.

Topeka – Kansas Governor Sam Brownback today announced that Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) Secretary Deb Miller will be stepping down to take a position with Cambridge Systematics, a national transportation planning and policy firm. Secretary Miller has served under three Governors in her tenure at KDOT.

Originally appointed by former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius in 2003, Sec. Miller was the first woman to lead KDOT.  During her 26 years in the field of transportation, Miller was closely involved in the state’s comprehensive transportation programs of 1989, 1999 and 2010.

“While there is never a perfect time to make this kind of transition, this feels like the right time,” Sec. Miller said of her departure.  “One of the reasons I stayed on after the election was to get TWORKS launched.  I feel good about getting that done and appreciate very much Governor Brownback giving me the opportunity. Working at KDOT, on behalf of the citizens of Kansas has been more than a job to me, it has been a labor of love.”

Miller also has worked to shape national transportation policy as a member and chairwoman of national boards and committees.  Prior to her service as KDOT Secretary, Miller worked for HNTB and provided assistance to state Departments of Transportation and municipalities.  She also served as KDOT Director of Planning and Development and as a special assistant to the KDOT Secretary.

Sec. Miller’s last day with KDOT will be on December 16, 2011.

(AP) — A central Kansas sheriff’s department is looking for a man who a 12-year-old girl says tried to abduct her from a city park.

KAKE-TV reports the incident happened late Sunday afternoon in the Marion County town of Ramona.

The girl told officers the man drove up in a black Ford Mustang and said the girl’s mother had told sent him to get the girl. The girl says she told the man she doubted the story, and asked him if he knew her mother’s name.

When the man didn’t know the name, the girl ran home and told her mother what had happened.

The Marion County Sheriff’s Department is investigating.

(AP) – A Kansas man accused of threatening President Barack Obama will have a psychological examination.

U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten ordered the exam Monday for Michael Scott Ramsey, of Hutchinson. Ramsey will be evaluated for his ability to understand the charges and to properly assist in his defense.

Federal prosecutors requested the exam, and Ramsey’s public defender did not oppose it.

Ramsey was indicted in July on charges of threatening to kill or harm the president in 2009 and again this year.

He was sentenced last month to 3½ years in prison for taking an electronic monitoring device off his ankle last year while on parole in a Stafford County drug case.

(AP) – With cooler weather bringing an end to toxic blue-green algae in Kansas waterways, health officials are working on a plan to combat the problem in the future.

This summer, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment tracked toxic blue-green algal blooms in more than 40 lakes and ponds. At least 16 people became ill from the algae-infested water, which also killed or sickened animals. The warnings also kept people away from some of the state’s most popular summer recreation spots.

State agencies are collecting data on the blooms. They plan to publish their findings and share what they’ve learned with other states.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the state health department also will have an epidemiologist study the health effects of the blooms.

(AP) — A foundation started by the daughter of the named plaintiff in the Brown v. Board of Education school desegregation case has been asked to move out of the National Park site that tells the story of the civil rights movement.

The move came after a federal investigation found conflicts of interest stemming from Cheryl Brown Henderson’s brief stint leading the Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka.

The investigation released this summer found that Brown Henderson continued to participate in foundation activities after becoming superintendent of the National Park site despite a recusal agreement that barred her from doing so. The foundation receives $300,000 in annual funding from the National Park Service.

Deborah Dandridge of the foundation says the Park Service wants to “diminish the family legacy.”

(AP) – Dirt is slowly filling lakes and ponds in Kansas, and experts are divided over how much to worry.

The Wichita Eagle reported that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says there is still plenty of room for flood control. But some experts fear the influx of silt will threaten water quality and quantity.

About 60% of Kansans currently get their water from lakes. And that number is expected to grow.

Consider the John Redmond Reservoir, which supplies water to several Kansas towns and the Wolf Creek nuclear plant. It has only about 58% of its original capacity.

The cost of dredging a large reservoir could cost $1 billion. Building a new one would be even more costly and could take 20 years from initial planning to completion.

(AP) – Growing discontent is bringing together diverse groups in Kansas who share a common concern about the direction cities, the state and the national government is heading. While they may not share the same demographics, they share the belief that something must change.

Both Kansans for Liberty and Kansans United in Voice and Spirit agree that the state and nation are facing challenges brought on by poor policy decisions and the influence of corporations. Their messages may be different, but organizers say they may not be that far off on solutions.

Gov. Sam Brownback, a Republican nearing the end of his first year in office, has been the subject of much of the protests as he prepares tax, school and health care changes.

Brownback says he’s fine with Kansans speaking out.