The Topeka Capital-Journal

Topeka City Councilman Larry Wolgast could support initiating a review of the city's form of government — but not under the wording of a proposal the council voted down this week, he told the editorial board of The Topeka Capital-Journal on Thursday. read more Full Story »

A 25-year-old convicted felon charged with leading police on a chase in November that ultimately led to Rochester Elementary School locking down as precaution is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in January. read more Full Story »

LYNDON — Following a four-minute hearing Thursday, James Kraig Kahler left the Osage County Courthouse under heavy guard and facing beefed-up charges in the slayings in late November of four members of his family. Kahler, 46, will face a preliminary hearing in the capital murder case starting March 18 and extending into the next day if needed. read more Full Story »

Topeka Cemetery has granted Topeka firefighters permission to provide a headstone for William R. Frazier, a fire department lieutenant who was buried there after being killed in an on-duty accident in 1952. read more Full Story »

By nearly anyone's standards, Thursday was hardly a day fit for a dip in the pond. Not with air temperatures around 30 degrees, water temperatures around 34 degrees and ice and snow on top of the pond. read more Full Story »

Mayor Bill Bunten will have veto power but no vote next week when the Topeka City Council takes up a proposal to keep the police helicopter program aloft with reduced hours and funding, assistant city attorney Braxton Copley said Thursday. read more Full Story »

Signed petitions targeted at overturning a city smoking ban have been disappearing from Topeka businesses, and organizers of the petition drive say they were stolen. read more Full Story »

LYNDON -- Following a four-minute hearing Thursday, James Kraig Kahler left the Osage County Courthouse under heavy guard and facing beefed-up charges in the slayings in late November of four members of his family. read more Full Story »

In the wake of losing their daughter to domestic violence in July 2008, Curt and Christie Brungardt knew they must follow their daughter's lead and take action. read more Full Story »

LAWRENCE — Surely, you've been where Elijah Johnson was on Tuesday. You've gotten some good news. Or, maybe that doesn't do it justice. You've gotten news that you were not prepared for and have a hard time digesting. read more Full Story »

Money not spent from a $7.9 million bond issue is helping meet some needs in the Silver Lake Unified School District 372 at a time of unprecedented cuts in state aid for all of Kansas' 295 school districts. read more Full Story »

Remnants of a massive winter storm that blasted much of the country made for a slow go in Topeka on Wednesday, as single-digit temperatures are expected to linger in the area for the next few days. read more Full Story »

A teenager named Mike Coker began his career at the Topeka Zoo in the late 1970s answering visitor questions from inside a booth. "He was enthusiastic like a lot of guys," recalled former zoo director Mike LaRue, who began at the zoo a few years before Coker. "You did anything you could to get into the zoo business." read more Full Story »

North Topekans responding to a poll taken in September took a firm stance in favor of ending the Topeka police helicopter program. Survey results show that among the 21 registered voters surveyed who lived in the 66617 ZIP code north of the Kansas River, 14 supported eliminating the helicopter unit while six opposed that move and one expressed no opinion. read more Full Story »

It is time for the Legislature to take a close look at tax exemptions, leaders of the Kansas National Education Association said Wednesday. Kansas public schools have seen more than $200 million in cuts for the current school year while continuing to face a bleak budget. Already, school districts have shed more than 3,700 jobs. read more Full Story »

It's time for the Legislature to take a close look at tax exemptions, leaders of the Kansas National Education Association said Wednesday. read more Full Story »

Kansas State Board of Education member Walt Chappell, who received a letter of reprimand from chairwoman Janet Waugh in November for comments he made to the media, questioned board attorney Mark Ferguson and Waugh about the incident at Wednesday's board meeting. read more Full Story »

After the Kansas State Board of Education on Wednesday upheld its decision not to grant Doug Wright a teaching license, the former Topeka mayor said he wasn't sure if he will continue the fight. Board members voted 6-4 to adopt additional findings and conclusions and send them back to Shawnee County District Court Judge Larry D. Hendricks. read more Full Story »

After a second stint at Larned State Hospital for mental evaluation, 36-year-old Adam Hooper was declared competent Wednesday to stand trial in the August slaying of a Jefferson County farmer whose body was found in a concrete cistern on his property. read more Full Story »

Shawnee County Treasurer Larry Wilson is scheduled Thursday to present county commissioners an annual financial report required by state law. read more Full Story »

The retirement of embattled Topeka Zoo director Mike Coker on Tuesday followed the city's recent discovery of documents confirming problems with the hippo pool's boiler. read more Full Story »

Denny Bogan said he felt threatened when he used "self defense" to stop a youth, who was riding a "weapon" at him on a summer day in 2008. The vehicle was a Big Wheel, nicknamed the "King of the Sidewalk for 40 Years," and the rider was a 6-year-old boy. Versions of what happened differ. read more Full Story »

University at Buffalo football coach Turner Gill has told members of his team he is interested in the job at Kansas. A UB player on Tuesday told The Capital-Journal via e-mail that Gill was waiting to hear from KU. read more Full Story »

As the records and personal awards accumulated throughout his college football career, Washburn linebacker Zach Watkins had the standard response that he would wait until he was done playing before he could appreciate his accomplishments. read more Full Story »

Jan Stegelman's contribution in the field of childhood injury prevention in Kansas was rewarded Tuesday afternoon when she received the Dr. Dennis Cooley Award of Excellence from Safe Kids Kansas. read more Full Story »