12 years ago
Severe thunderstorms that rolled through central Kansas Sunday evening brought with them damaging wind, heavy rain, hail, and a brief tornado in Ottawa County. Storms fired up in the Russell County area. Wind in excess of 60 miles per hour downed 25 to 30 power poles along highway 281. In Ottawa County, law enforcement reported ...

12 years ago
A nonprofit anti-tobacco advocacy group's latest survey shows Wichita tobacco retailers have a heavier presence in less affluent parts of the city than in wealthier ones. Tobacco Free Wichita presented its findings at the Tobacco Marketing Summit at the Kansas Leadership Center this past week. The study found six ZIP codes along the Interstate 135 corridor in ...

12 years ago
A Salina man is killed in a motorcycle crash near Wilson Lake. KRSL radio in Russell reports that at approximately 11:50 AM Saturday, Russell County 911 Dispatch received a report of a motorcycle accident near the east end of the Wilson Lake Dam. Officers from the Russell County Sheriff's Office along with Russell County EMS, Lucas ...

12 years ago
A Cowley County Sheriff’s Deputy shot and wounded a suspect in a traffic stop Saturday evening south of Dexter. That person later died as a result of their injuries, according to Sheriff Don Read. The officer was also injured and hospitalized. He has since been treated and released. Around 7:10 p.m. Saturday, authorities were called to the ...

12 years ago
A veteran Republican legislator has filed to run for Kansas insurance commissioner and joined an already crowded field of candidates. Senator Clark Shultz of Lindsborg filed the necessary paperwork Friday for a spot on the state's August 5th primary ballot. Five Republicans and one Democrat are running to replace three-term Republican incumbent Sandy Praeger. ...

12 years ago
Congressman Mike Pompeo says former congressman Todd Tiahrt is practicing political "doublespeak" in their Republican primary race in the 4th District of south-central Kansas. Pompeo reacted Thursday to Tiahrt's suggestion that he's aloof from his constituents and doesn't listen enough to their concerns. Tiahrt announced Thursday he's challenging Pompeo in the Aug. 5 GOP primary for the ...

12 years ago
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach says he expects to give up hosting a Sunday night radio talk show while he campaigns for re-election. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports it's not Kobach's choice to drop out of the two-hour program on Kansas City station KCMO-AM. Federal regulations allow Kobach's political opponents to demand equal time. Kobach recently asked his ...

12 years ago
A prominent southeast Kansas businessman and his wife are locked in a dispute over a $42 million tax bill and questions over which state they resided nearly a decade ago. For the past two years, Gene Bicknell has fought the tax bill that was levied based on where he lived at the time of the 2006 ...

12 years ago
Under a new plan, a federal wildlife refuge in south-central Kansas will remain closed to hunting when whooping cranes are migrating through, but hunters will get a chance to go after deer and turkey in the refuge. The plan approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge requires Quivira to ...

12 years ago
The opening of the world's tallest waterslide has been pushed back again as Schlitterbahn water park crews continue to tweak the attraction. Schlitterbahn officials on Friday announced the Verruckt is now slated to open June 29. The Kansas City Star reports the slide initially was to open May 23, but that was delayed until June 5 ...

12 years ago
The trial for a Kansas bail bondsman accused of coercing several women he bailed out of jail to have sex with him has been pushed back for a sixth time. The Hutchinson News reports 67-year-old Dwight Jurgens was granted another continuance Friday, nine days after he suffered a major heart attack. Jurgens is facing 10 counts, including ...