9 years ago
Westar Energy says the increasing use of drones is helping it work faster, save money and improve safety for its employees. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports (http://bit.ly/2iAgWiu) that the company sends drones to inspect equipment, navigate remote areas and manage some emergency situations. The state's largest utility worked with Kansas State University's Polytechnic Campus to offer an unmanned ...

9 years ago
The Lawrence school district has appealed a nonprofit's finding that the district violated rules by receiving free residential internet service. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports (http://j.mp/2iMTWJ0) Lawrence Unified School District 497 this month appealed the ruling from the Universal Service Administrative Co., which found district officials violated rules by receiving free residential internet service accounts from a ...

9 years ago
A Kansas man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for killing another patient at a mental health facility three days after he was discharged from a state psychiatric hospital. The Hutchinson News  reports that 31-year-old Brandon Brown, of Haviland, was sentenced Wednesday in Kiowa County District Court for second-degree murder. He pleaded no contest ...

9 years ago
A Hutchinson hospital is getting ready to break ground on a $23 million expansion project. The Wichita Eagle  reports that the official groundbreaking for the Hutchinson Regional Medical Center project is planned for Jan. 5. The hospital said in a news release that the project includes a new $18 million intensive care unit. Work on the 15,000-square-foot ...

9 years ago
A Sedgwick County's chief deputy district attorney is retiring after more than three decades of prosecuting local criminal cases. The Wichita Eagle  reports that in her current role, 59-year-old Kim Parker has supervised and managed dozens of attorneys, investigators and legal support staff members as well as acted as lead counsel in more than 200 jury ...

9 years ago
A Kansas appeals panel says a former detective with post-traumatic stress disorder is entitled to disability benefits. The Lawrence Journal-World reports (http://j.mp/2iQkWas) the case involved Paul Hudson, a former Kansas City, Kansas, police detective who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after four years investigating hundreds of cases involving sex crimes against children. He was diagnosed with ...

9 years ago
An independent state agency has more than quadrupled the number of law enforcement officer's licenses it has revoked each year since 2011. The Kansas Commission on Peace Officers' Standards and Training has increased the number of actions it takes from about eight a year to about 35 a year. The Wichita Eagle reports (http://j.mp/2iN6dx5) that last year ...

9 years ago
The Kansas Supreme Court will hear arguments in a lawsuit involving a southeast Kansas casino in January. Oral arguments in the lawsuit over the Kansas Crossing Casino are scheduled to be held before the state Supreme Court on January 25. The Pittsburg Morning Sun reports (http://j.mp/2ipPsf3) the casino was awarded the Southeast Zone license, for the final ...

9 years ago
Two new Republican leaders in the Kansas Legislature want to move quickly to repeal an income tax break for more than 330,000 farmers and business owners. The policy under fire was championed by Republican Gov. Sam Brownback and passed by lawmakers in 2012. Assaria Republican and House Taxation Committee Chairman Steven Johnson says he hopes a bill ...

9 years ago
A Mexican man accused of raping a 13-year-old girl on a Greyhound bus that traveled through Kansas had been deported 10 times and voluntarily removed from the U.S. another nine times since 2003, records obtained by The Associated Press show. Three U.S. Republican senators — including Kansas' Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts — demanded this month ...

9 years ago
Salina Police are investigating a vandalism case in which windows in a car were shattered. Salina Police Captain Mike Sweeney says that sometime between 11:30 Thursday night and 4:30 Friday morning passenger and driver’s side windows on a 2008 Toyota RAV4 were damaged, possibly with a BB gun.  The front windshield and rear back glass were ...