11 years ago
A fire damages a soutern Kansas refinery. Flames were shooting out of the roof of the Mag-Plant in Harper County on Tuesday after the fire started in a cooling tower. Emergency Manager Thomas Winter says the area was cleared in about a mile radius until the flames were put out. No injuries were reported. It's unclear what ...

11 years ago
Republican Gov. Sam Brownback and Democratic challenger Paul Davis are making funding for Kansas public schools a key issue as their hotly contested race nears its end. Davis was rallying Tuesday evening with teachers at the Statehouse after kicking off a 30-stop campaign tour through eastern Kansas with an event in Iola in southeast Kansas. Brownback's allies ...

11 years ago
A federal judge has set a new hearing on the lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union challenging the state's ban on same-sex marriage. A court notice filed Tuesday shows the hearing on the ACLU's request for an order forcing Kansas to allow gay marriages is set for 2:30 p.m. Friday before U.S. District Judge ...

11 years ago
A tiny bobcat that was rescued from a central Kansas oil rig is proving to be a big hit at a northern California wildlife refuge. The Great Bend Tribune reports the little cat, called "Whisper," was brought to the Great Bend-Brit Spaugh Zoo this spring. She was sent in late May to Turtle Bay Exploration Park ...

11 years ago
A construction worker is hospitalized in serious condition after a 3-ton steel beam fell on him at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport. The Wichita Eagle reports the 25-year-old man was alert and responsive when emergency crews arrived shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday. The accident took place at the site where a new parking garage is being built. A spokeswoman ...

11 years ago
Records from the Kansas attorney general's office show taxpayers spent more than $34,000 in legal fees for the secretary of state's failed effort to force Kansas Democrats to field a candidate for U.S. Senate. Secretary of State Kris Kobach told The Wichita Eagle that's not a lot of money, in litigation terms. The state paid Wichita-based Hinkle ...

11 years ago
The Justice Planetarium at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson will be renovated and upgraded next year, including installation of a new digital project system. The $400,000 renovation will be funded by contributions from the Walter E. & Velma G. Justice Fund for Reno County and from Dave and Dee Dillon. The Hutchinson News reports ...

11 years ago
Police in central Kansas say a woman has been arrested after leading officers on a high-speed chase. The woman faces charges of attempted felony fleeing and eluding, as well as possession of stolen property. Halstead police say the woman tried to cash a stolen check at an area bank and then fled in a Chevrolet Equinox. They ...

11 years ago
Whooping cranes will be passing over central Kansas as they leave their breeding grounds to migrate south from Canada to Texas. A few dozen of the rare birds are sighted each year in or near the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge. The massive cranes use Quivira's open salt flats and wetlands to roost during their visits, but ...

11 years ago
A man who leases his land in Pawnee County so children with life-threatening illnesses can hunt says some of the deer are being poached. Tim Schaller says he was upset earlier this month when he found a poached buck with meat, head and antlers intact. It was at least the fourth deer he's found poached on ...

11 years ago
A Kansas man has admitted stealing $62,000 in cash from an Army fund he managed at Fort Riley. The U.S. Attorney's office says 59-year-old Michael Steffens, of Junction City, pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to one count of stealing public money. Steffens was a business manager of the Army's Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation program ...