11 years ago
A newspaper analysis of court records in the county where the University of Kansas is located has found that alcohol-fueled acquaintance rape cases are challenging to prosecute. In the past 10 years, Douglas County juries convicted three rapists. In the cases, the rapists overpowered their victims, threatened them with weapons or broke into their homes. ...

11 years ago
Police suspect suicide in the death of a Fort Riley soldier at a shooting range in Kansas. A report from the Riley County Police Department says the 20-year-old man died of a gunshot wound Dec. 20 at Ogden's Best Gun Range. Police said they do not believe his death was accidental. The man had rented ...

11 years ago
The Obama administration is on the verge of proposing long-awaited rules for commercial drone operations in U.S. skies, but key decisions on how much access to grant drones are likely to come from Congress. Federal Aviation Administration officials have said they want to release proposed rules before the end of this month, but other government and ...

11 years ago
Farmers and ranchers across Kansas are wrapping a growing season marked by rapidly changing fortunes buffeted by weather and markets. The 2014 farming year in Kansas brought a meager winter wheat harvest before late spring rains eased drought conditions just in time to green up pastures and sustain bountiful fall crops of corn, soybeans and sorghum. Cattle ...

11 years ago
The Kansas Supreme Court has reversed the murder convictions of a Salina man who was convicted of killing two people, one during a burglary and another after an argument. Back in December of 2010 a Saline County jury convicted Willie Smith-Parker of first-degree premeditated murder and second-degree intentional murder. The appeal was from the two prosecutions that ...

11 years ago
About 125 people protesting police violence have marched in St. Louis to the Gateway Arch, prompting park police to close the monument early. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that protesters, holding signs with slogans including "Black Lives Matter," also briefly blocked some streets Saturday. Many participants had the names of people killed by police written on ...

11 years ago
A Salina teen was hurt in a single-vehicle crash on an icy road in western Kansas Friday afternoon. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, 18-year-old Courtney Ziegler was driving a car headed west on Interstate 70. As she began to take exit 70 she lost control due to icy road conditions. The car struck a sign ...

11 years ago
A missing Salina woman has been found. According to family, 25-year-old Shyla Bisterfeldt was found in a ditch near Hutchinson. She was taken to a hospital as a precaution, but has no serious injuries. No details on how she came to be in the ditch were immediately available. Shayla had been missing since early Christmas Day. She had ...

11 years ago
A recent audit of Kansas' rural telephone service program has found that it is generally well-run and efficient, but it also suggests that lawmakers consider the types of services taxpayers are now subsidizing. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the audit was conducted of the Kansas Universal Service Fund which was established in 1995. The audit notes ...

11 years ago
Heated challenges to conservative Republic incumbents in Kansas during November's election that left the status quo in place finished as the top two Kansas stories of 2014. Longtime U.S. Senator Pat Roberts narrowly fended off the challenge of independent Greg Orman after a bitter campaign, while Governor Sam Brownback slipped past Democrat Paul Davis to retain ...

11 years ago
Traffic-related fatalities and injuries in Kansas are up on roads with newly increased 75 mph speed limits. The Kansas City Star reports numbers from the state's transportation department show a 54 percent increase in highways deaths on those roads since the speed limit was raised. The number of crashes overall have been steady. Injuries are up about ...