Retired U.S. Air Force General Richard B. Myers has been officially sworn in as the 14th President of Kansas State University.

Myers’ inauguration ceremony was held on the main Manhattan campus of the University on Friday, April 28th almost a year after taking over as interim President for the University.

Watch the ceremony here.

“Almost a year ago to this day, I accepted the opportunity to serve as interim President at Kansas State, and I really did not intend to pursue the permanent position,” said Myers. “What changed my mind – the people; we often talk about the K-State family and believe me when I say it is truly special.”

In his inaugural address to the University, Myers noted that the faculty, staff, students and community were motivating and defining factors in his decision to once again call Kansas State University home.

“We are fortunate to have such dedicated and accomplished faculty and staff who work hard everyday to provide critical knowledge, guidance and support to ensure the best possible learning environment and educational experience for our students,” said Myers. “Our K-State students are some of the best in the nation, right now we have some of the brightest students enrolled here with record ACT scores for our incoming freshman; we also have the highest retention and graduation rates in school history, and our university remains the number one choice for Kansas high school seniors.”

Kansas State University was also named one of the Best College Towns in the nation, a mark that Myers takes great pride in. “K-Staters are just as friendly and passionate as ever.”

In addition to the K-State family and community, Myers said the the mission of the land-grant institution was a selling factor in his decision to lead the university as its President.

“You may have heard recently that Kansas State University was the Silicon Valley of Bio and Agro-Defense, that of course is given our expertise in animal health, biosciences and food safety research; and with the National Bio and Agro-Defense facility expected to be operational in Manhattan within the next five to six years, I think we are well equipped to live up to that title and continue to lead in protecting our national food supply in the interest of national security.”

With all the good news for Kansas State University, there will be challenges in the future and President Myers didn’t avoid addressing them.

“An educated workforce is one of the keys to our State’s future prosperity;we must be a leader in providing what Kansas needs and frankly, we need to do more,” said Myers. “The continued decline in state funding for higher education is a real challenge, as it leads to increased to increased tuition and financial burden for our students; we can’t fully achieve our land grant mission, including accessibility and affordability goals without adequate support from the state of Kansas.”

Myers graduated from K-Sate in 1965 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering; he went on to join the Air Force through the ROTC program at the university – later becoming a Four Star General and serving as the 15th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Myers and his wife Mary Jo met while in college at Kansas State and currently serve as Co-Chairs of the Kansas State University Innovation and Inspiration Campaign to raise $1 billion.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Short skirts and revealing shirts are among the garments Kansas Department of Revenue employees are barred from wearing under a new dress code.

The Topeka Capital-Journal  reports that Revenue Secretary Sam Williams authorized implementation of the fashion rules Monday. Employees who meet face-to-face with customers aren’t allowed to expose people to “obscene or offensive tattoos or facial or body piercings.” The policy also stipulates clothing with a deep neckline may be worn only with a “non-revealing shirt underneath.”

Dress and skirt hems more than 3 inches above the knee are banned, as is clothing that reveals undergarments or the wearer’s anatomy. Agency spokeswoman Jeannine Koranda says the goal is to “present a professional image” to customers.

But Democratic Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, of Topeka, says it’s “over-the-top.”

JOHNSON COUNTY- Law enforcement authorities are investigating an armed robbery and have made an arrest.

Just after 9:15 p.m. Thursday, officers were dispatched to the Jimmy Johns located at 3900 Broadway Boulevard in Kansas City after report of an armed robbery.

An unknown black male wearing a light blue hooded sweatshirt entered the restaurant, placed an order, then pointed a gun at the cashier demanding money from the register.

Caught on camera: robbery at Jimmy Johns, 39th & Broadway, last night. VERY clear video. Can you help ID suspect? https://t.co/AlbgmPFe0n

— Kansas City Police (@kcpolice) April 27, 2017

Police requested assistance and received help in identifying the suspect in the surveillance video.

On Friday morning, police reported they found the suspect and he is in custody. Name of the suspect was not released.

CRAWFORD COUNTY — A Kansas man has been sentenced to eight years in prison on drug charges, according to Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

A Crawford County judge sentenced Austin Gossett, 25, Pittsburg, to 96 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections.

Gossett pleaded no contest in March to one count of possession with intent to distribute more than 1,000 units of MDMA (Ecstasy). The crime was committed in September 2016.

The charges stemmed from an investigation by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation.

The case was prosecuted by the late Steve Wilhoft, assistant attorney general, of Schmidt’s office.

By Sam Zeff

A Republican leader in the Kansas Senate says he’ll propose a fee on all utility bills in the state to help fund education.

Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning, a Republican from Overland Park, says his plan calls for a $3 monthly fee on residential electric, gas and water bills in the state. Those with all three utilities would pay $9 more a month. For commercial customers, the monthly fee would be $10 per bill.

The whole package would raise $150 million a year, Denning estimates.

“I guess it is regressive, but on the other side it is very broad,” Denning says. “Everybody wants to pay for their schools. I’m convinced of that.”

The Legislature returns to work Monday with every big issue, including school finance, still unresolved. Lawmakers have to close a projected $900 million budget gap over the next two fiscal years and find millions more for public education to satisfy the state Supreme Court.

Denning says a utility fee is not only broad but manageable and stable.

“Schools take well over 50 percent of our budget,” he says. “So I want something that’s consistent, and the utility fee would be very consistent.”

While Denning says he’s fine with the regressive nature of the fee, other lawmakers are not.

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Democrat from Topeka, says the fee will be a “difficult sell” in the Legislature.

“To put a surcharge on utility bills would be a hardship for the elderly on a fixed income,” he says.

Hensley says he would rather raise income taxes “to not only balance our budget but put an extra $150 million a year” into K-12 public education.

While the Senate has no school funding plan on the table, the House is working on a bill that would add $150 million a year into school funding over the next five years for a total of $750 million.

Details of Denning’s utility fee plan are just beginning to dribble out. Many senators say they haven’t heard about the idea.

Sen. John Skubal, an Overland Park Republican who serves on the Ways and Means Committee with Denning, says the utility fee is regressive, but with the state’s budget issues lawmakers need to consider all ideas.

“I’ll have to study it,” he says.

Sam Zeff covers education for KCUR.org and the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @SamZeff.

SHERMAN COUNTY – A variety of weather rolled across portions of Kansas on Thursday night. The spring storm brought high winds, tornadoes, heavy rain and a lot of hail, according to the National Weather Service.

Just before 5:30 p.m. MDT, law enforcement reported a brief tornado near Kanorado in Sherman County. A short time later, snow plows were used to c clear hail from roads in that area.

The National Weather Service also issued tornado watches and warnings for Lakin in Kearny County and other areas of southwest Kansas.

There are no reports of damage from the storms.

There is snow in the forecast for wester Kansas this weekend.

SALINE COUNTY- Law enforcement authorities in Saline County are investigating a suspect for an alleged attack on a woman at a residence in Salina.

Just after 10a.m. on Wednesday, a Salina man became angry with a woman talking on her cell phone instead of taking care of the two children in the apartment in the 1500 Block of East Iron, according to Salina Police Captain Paul Forrester.

Keenan Geissert, 29, allegedly grabbed a large kitchen knife, smashing the victim’s phone and a glass top coffee table and then assaulted the woman and wouldn’t let her leave the apartment.
The confrontation moved to the bathroom, where Geissert held the knife to her throat and threatened her again.

The victim told police that a knock at the door took his attention off of her. She and the children, a seven-month-old and a two-year-old, were then allowed to leave the apartment around 4:45 p.m.

Police took Geissert was into custody and faces aggravated assault, aggravated intimidation of a witness, criminal damage to property, criminal threat, domestic battery and kidnapping charges, according to Forrester.

RILEY COUNTY- Law enforcement and school district officials in Manhattan are investigating a student who brought a gun to school on Thursday.

Manhattan High School principal Greg Hoyt issued this statement on the incident.

“This afternoon, in the process of conducting an unrelated investigation, an unloaded handgun was discovered in a student’s backpack by an administrator. There was no ammunition discovered on the student or in the backpack, RCPD was immediately contacted and the student was taken into custody by law enforcement.

Officials also found no ammunition in the student’s car.
“We are thankful for the safe outcome and I applaud the work of school officials and our school resource officer, and am especially thankful for the student who first reported on a separate incident,” said Hoyt.

No additional information was released.

LYON COUNTY -Law enforcement authorities in Lyon County are investigating the case of abandoning an animal and have made an arrest.

On Wednesday, resident found a guinea pig in her mailbox in the 1600 Block of G Road, according to social media report from the sheriff’s department.

Deputies asked the public for help to locate who left the animal. On Thursday, deputies reported they located the person who abandoned the pig. No arrests have been made. However, Cruelty to animal charges are pending through the Lyon County Attorney, according to the sheriff’s department.

They reminded residents Cruelty to animals includes knowingly abandoning any animal in any place without making provisions for its proper care.

BURDICK, Kan. (AP) — An application to inject wastewater from oil and natural gas operations into a well in an area that’s near a fault zone and national park is garnering opposition.

Some of the critics demonstrated this week at Emporia State University.

The Kansas Corporation Commission is gathering public comment through June 15 on the application from the Quail Oil and Gas. An official with the company didn’t immediately return a phone call or email message from The Associated Press.

His company’s proposal calls for pumping up to 5,000 barrels of wastewater per day into a Morris County well that would be near the Nemaha Ridge-Humboldt fault zone. That’s a relatively small amount. But concerns have arisen that a new well could trigger earthquakes because the fault zone is among the state’s largest.