12 years ago
The state's top environmental regulator is considering whether to clear the way again for a new coal-fired power plant in southwest Kansas. But environmentalists contend Gov. Sam Brownback's administration is taking short cuts to ensure that the $2.8 billion project is built. Sunflower Electric Power Corp. needs a pollution-control permit from the state Department of Health and ...

12 years ago
Experts say the chances of a Dust Bowl repeat are unlikely because of improved soil conservation, but parts of four Southern Plains states are drier now than during that infamous time in the 1930s. The multiyear drought has brought on more dust storms in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico and Kansas. University of Texas-El Paso geology professor ...

12 years ago
Fort Riley is preparing to welcome a contingent of veterans from World War II's famed Battle of the Bulge. The veterans will take a tour on Wednesday. The Battle of the Bulge in the winter of 1944 was the costliest single battle for the Allies in World War II. It was Germany's final desperate attempt to turn the ...

12 years ago
A severe weather outbreak is possible Sunday afternoon into Sunday evening. According to the National Weather Service, severe thunderstorms are likely from mid to late afternoon through the evening across the region, as a strong cold front approaches from the northwest. The greatest threat for severe weather will be across western Oklahoma, southwest, central and north-central Kansas, ...

12 years ago
Out of more than 7,500 U.S. state parks, Kansas makes a new list three times. According to the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism, while compiling a list of some of the country's best state parks, The Active Times couldn't ignore the state of Kansas. Out of more than 7,500 U.S. state parks to choose ...

12 years ago
Gov. Sam Brownback appears to have been eager to sign a bill declaring that the federal government has no authority to regulate prairie chickens in Kansas. Brownback spokeswoman Eileen Hawley said Saturday that the governor signed the measure late Friday after returning to Topeka from an Urban League of Kansas dinner in Wichita. The measure protests the ...

12 years ago
The Kansas Republican Party has stepped into a dispute over whether U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts is eligible to run for re-election and suggested to a state board that it probably doesn't have the authority to settle the issue. Three-term incumbent Roberts faces a claim that he's not truly a Kansas resident and should be barred from ...

12 years ago
Westar Energy is seeking a rate increase that's expected to cost most residential customers an average of about 25 cents more a month. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports  the utility has filed documents with the Kansas Corporation Commission requesting a rate increase of less than 1 cent per kilowatt hour. The company says the increase is intended ...

12 years ago
Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts' re-election campaign is questioning the professional ethics of his tea party foe in the state's Republican primary. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that Roberts spokesman Leroy Towns attacked challenger Milton Wolf over Physician's Own. The now-defunct company registered in Texas sold herb, vitamin and mineral supplements. Records available online from the Texas secretary of ...

12 years ago
A box truck and an SUV were involved in a wreck on Interstate 70 Friday afternoon at 12:36 just west of Russell where both vehicles ended up on their sides. Eastbound I-70 between mile markers 180, the Balta exit, and 184, the Russell exit, was closed for about an hour and a half due to the ...

12 years ago
The government's first forecast of season anticipates the smallest winter wheat crop in Kansas since 1996. The National Agricultural Statistics Service estimated production this year at 260.4 million bushels, based on May 1 crop conditions. The report was done before this week's searing temperatures descended on the already drought-stressed crop. The production estimate is down 18 percent ...