PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The autobiography of prairie author Laura Ingalls Wilder is proving to be a blockbuster for the South Dakota Historical Society Press.
The small state-owned publishing house released “Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography” in November. Wilder penned the popular children’s series of “Little House” books, but her autobiography was written for an adult audience and gives a more realistic, grittier view of frontier living.
The book was the No. 1 best-seller on Amazon late last week. It was still in the Top 10 on Friday. Publishing house Director Nancy Tystad Koupal calls it “a definite blockbuster.”
The initial print run was 15,000 copies. A second run of 15,000 copies was made, and a third run of 45,000 copies is on the press. Koupal says a fourth run is now being considered.
KANSAS CITY, MO (AP) -Pitcher Danny Duffy has agreed to a one-year contract with the Kansas City Royals worth $2,425,000, avoiding a salary arbitration heading.
The 26-year-old left-hander was 9-12 with a 2.53 ERA in 25 starts and six relief appearances last year for the AL champions and held opponents to a .209 average. He won the AL Division Series opener against the Los Angeles Angels, when he pitched a scoreless 10th inning.
Duffy can earn $25,000 in performance bonuses under Friday’s agreement: $10,000 for 20 starts and $15,000 more for 25. He would get a $50,000 bonus if he’s an All-Star.
Duffy made $526,000 last year and was eligible for arbitration for the first time. He had asked for $3 million when proposed arbitration figures were exchanged last month, and the Royals had offered $1.75 million.
Kansas City has three players remaining in arbitration: relievers Greg Holland and Kelvin Herrera, and first baseman Eric Hosmer.
Kansas State will play its spring football game at Sporting Park in Kansas City, KS, on April 25. The Cats are not able to use Bill Snyder Family Stadium due to construction.
“It will be a great experience for our team to go play in a first-class venue like Sporting Park,” Wildcats offensive lineman Cody Whitehair said in a KSU news release. “We are looking forward to a stadium packed full of purple on April 25.”
Tickets will go on sale March 2. They run anywhere from $5 to $175.
The Legends shopping area next to Sporting Park will also play host to a number of other Kansas State events leading up to and after the game. In order to invite recruits to an off-campus event, Kansas State had to receive permission from the NCAA.
The 19,000-seat stadium is expected to be sold out.
Filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) can be a daunting task, but Barton Community College’s Financial Aid Department will offer students and parents free assistance in making sure the application is filled out correctly. Barton is participating in a national initiative “College Goal Sunday,” from 2-4 p.m. Feb. 22 in the Learning Resource Center on the Barton County campus.
All area students (high school or college) and parents are invited to complete their 15-16 FAFSA online. Barton’s Financial Aid personnel will be on-site to answer any questions. All first-semester freshmen (fall of 2015) will be entered into a drawing for a $500 scholarship for the 2015-16 school-year.
Financial aid tips from the Kansas Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and info about the event:
• Students and their parents (or guardians) should plan to spend 30 minutes to an hour at College Goal Sunday. They will get help from a financial aid professional to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
• Families should bring their 2014 income tax returns and/or 2014 W-2 forms, or their 2014 year-end pay stubs and 2013 tax returns.
• Families who have not completed their 2014 income tax forms can learn valuable information to help them finish filling out the FAFSA at home.
• Most colleges and vocational schools require the FAFSA to assess a student’s financial need. Financial need is defined as the difference between the total cost of attending a specific college and the amount a family is expected to contribute toward that cost.
• According to the College Board, the average 2012-13 tuition/fees increase was 4.8 percent at public four-year universities, 4.2 percent at private four-year universities, and 5.8 percent at public two-year colleges.
• Two out of three full-time students pay for college with assistance of grant aid.
• About 20 percent of traditional-aged undergraduates come from families with incomes below $20,000 per year.
• A college degree is necessary to compete in the labor market of the future, and College Goal Sunday can help students get there.
For more information about the event, contact Financial Aid Officer Shanda DeYoung atdeyoungs@bartonccc.edu or (620) 792-9268. For more information about College Goal Sunday nationally, go to https://collegegoal.org.
The Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University is conducting a statewide survey for the Reformation Project, a non-profit organization in Wichita, to measure Kansans’ opinions and policy preferences regarding the rights of people with alternative sexual orientations.
Docking Senior Policy Fellow Dr. Chapman Rackaway, professor of political science at FHSU, is the principal investigator on the study, which will survey opinion on the legal rights of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Kansans.
The study is currently ongoing and the results are expected to be released later in February.
The Reformation Project, an organization that petitions for the rights of LGBT people, will present the results to the governor, the Kansas Legislature and the public.
TOPEKA — In a procedural flurry on Thursday, the Senate Corrections and Juvenile Justice committee passed two bills and heard a third. The committee unanimously passed Senate Bills 12 and 13 and heard testimony on Senate Bill 90.
When a convict is released from confinement by the Department of Corrections, Senate Bill 13 would allow the department to notify the victim of the release.
“Say there was a domestic violence case where a husband assaulted and battered his wife, and maybe he’s being released or he gets to go on a work release program or something like that, this bill allows them to release that information to the wife,” said committee chair Sen. Greg Smith (R-Overland Park).
Also on Thursday, after four amendments the committee passed Senate Bill 12, which would increase sentences for battery and aggravated battery against judges, attorneys, and court services officers.
Topeka defense lawyer David McDonald critiqued the bill by saying it’s language didn’t include defense attorneys. McDonald was punched in the face by a client during a trial in December.
The bill’s amended language includes public defenders, their assistants, and attorneys contracted with the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, and the Kansas State Board of Indigents’ Defense Service. It does not explicitly mention private attorneys.
The two bills that passed through the committee do not yet have a set date to be heard on the Senate floor.
The committee also heard testimony on Senate Bill 90, which would allow the Attorney General to issue Fugitive Apprehension Licenses to independent bounty hunters, officially called bail enforcement agents.
Bondsmen and their bail agents currently go through background checks to get licenses in order to post bail bonds and track down fugitives but they sometimes work with freelance bounty hunters who currently don’t need licenses. Under the new bill freelancers would need to get a background check for a license in order to apprehend fugitives.
Shane Rolf, a bail bondsman from Olathe and executive vice president of the Kansas Bail Agents Association, supported the bill and said it would ensure that freelance bounty hunters are not convicted felons.
“While we do not believe that there is a huge problem with convicted felons acting as independent bounty hunters, there is no agency that checks the status of these independent agents who are not also authorized to post bail,” Rolf said.
Spencer Duncan, a private investigator from Topeka representing the Kansas Association of Licensed Investigators, supported the bill saying the bail enforcement industry needs to be regulated.
“Licensing allows those in an industry who are not following the proper procedures to be weeded out of the system, which is good for the industry and the general public,” Duncan said.
The committee will work the bill Tuesday.
Austin Fisher is a senior studying journalism at the University of Kansas from Lawrence, Kansas.
DENVER (AP) — As vaccine skeptics fight laws that would force more parents to inoculate their kids, they are finding unexpected allies in conservative Republicans.
The stereotype of a vaccine skeptic is a coastal, back-to-the-land type, but it’s generally been Democratic-controlled states that have tightened vaccination laws.
This week, Democrats in California and Washington state proposed eliminating laws that allow parents to opt out of vaccination for personal reasons after a measles outbreak was traced to Disneyland.
Republicans objected to a similar effort in Maine. In Colorado, it was largely Republicans who squashed a 2014 effort to force parents to get a physician’s approval if they chose not to inoculate their kids.
There are exceptions. Some Democrats have fought vaccine requirements, and some members of the GOP have sought to increase the shots.
PRATT–If you’re looking to make some memories this spring turkey season but are unsure where to go for a quality hunt, explore the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism’s Special Hunts Program. Special Hunts provide access to public and private lands that are not open to unrestricted public access. One hundred special hunts for spring turkey will be offered this year and applications are being accepted now through 9 a.m. on Feb. 23. To obtain detailed information on all available hunts, and to download an application, visit: ksoutdoors.com/Hunting/Special-Hunts-Information.
Out of the 100 hunts available, 33 are open hunts (open to all), 39 are mentor hunts (both beginner and mentor may hunt), and 28 are youth hunts (youth hunt only). These hunts will occur on a variety of private lands, wildlife areas, city and county properties, and one national wildlife refuge. There is no fee to participate and application is open to residents and non-residents.
Successful applicants will be notified shortly after the random drawing has occurred. Hunters must still purchase all licenses and permits required by law.
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The autobiography of prairie author Laura Ingalls Wilder is proving to be a blockbuster for the South Dakota Historical Society Press.
