Nebraska journalism student wins Africa trip

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- A University of Nebraska-Lincoln student has won a reporting trip to Africa.

The university says journalism student Mitch Smith was selected for "Win A Trip" on the strength of his winning essay.

The 19-year-old from Overland Park, Kan., will accompany New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof.

Kristof says "Win A Trip" is aimed at focusing attention on global poverty and possible remedies.

Past "Win A Trip" winners have reported from Cameroon, Rwanda, Burundi, the eastern Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

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------ Police: Bus that killed Kan. girl had left road

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) -- A police report says a bus that struck and killed a 9-year-old girl in Kansas City, Kan., last month had veered off the road.

The Kansas City Star says the report was released Monday. Police previously had not said how the accident happened.

The girl, Patience N. Cary, was at the school bus stop on March 4 when the bus struck her. None of the children on the bus were injured.

Kansas City, Kan., police officer Mike Golden says authorities are still trying to figure out whether the accident was a result of mechanical error or was the driver's fault.

Kansas City, Kan., school district spokesman David A. Smith says the driver has been suspended with pay during the investigation.

------ Key Kan. lawmaker unveils plan to raise taxes

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- A key state senator proposed Monday that Kansas increase taxes about $350 million -- and raise the cost of soda, beer, cigarettes and other goods -- to eliminate its projected budget shortfall.

Chairman Les Donovan outlined his proposals during a meeting of his Senate Assessment and Taxation Committee, after members heard testimony from business lobbyists opposed to increasing the state's sales tax. Despite that criticism, the Wichita Republican's package includes a sales tax increase.

The committee's meeting began what will be a busy legislative week on tax and budget issues.

The House was set to debate tax issues Tuesday, when hundreds of teachers, parents and students planned to rally against further cuts in education funding. Donovan's committee expects to vote on tax issues this week, and the Senate is supposed to debate a $13.8 billion budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson and the Republican-controlled Legislature must eliminate a projected $467 million budget shortfall for the next fiscal year.

"I think they have studied the budgets carefully, and they've realized there aren't responsible areas that we can cut anymore," Parkinson told reporters Monday.

------ Kan. House starts inquiry into speaker's lawsuit

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- The Kansas House began Monday to review a misconduct complaint from Democrats against its Republican speaker, and he could be asked to testify before a special investigating committee.

But the committee's chairman also didn't rule out a quick dismissal of the complaint against Speaker Mike O'Neal.

The committee had its first meeting Monday, only hours after being appointed. Six Democrats filed the complaint last week because O'Neal, a Hutchinson Republican and an attorney, is representing businesses, trade groups and insurance funds in a lawsuit against the state.

The Democrats contend O'Neal has created conflicts of interest for himself as a legislator by representing special interests. O'Neal said he's broken no state laws or ethics rules.

As required by House rules, Speaker Pro Tem Arlen Siegfreid, an Olathe Republican, named three Republicans and three Democrats to the investigating committee, announcing their appointments Monday. The House last established such a panel in 1951.

The committee has the authority to subpoena witnesses, but Chairman Clark Shultz said it's too early to know whether it will use that power. Shultz said O'Neal is a likely witness.

------ Soldier found dead at Kan.'s Fort Riley identified

FORT RILEY, Kan. (AP) -- A soldier found dead at Fort Riley last week has been identified as 33-year-old Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Miller.

The Army said Monday the cause of death remains under investigation.

Miller was found unresponsive March 10 in a vehicle parked on a trail behind the Fort Riley commissary. He was pronounced dead at the hospital on the northeast Kansas post.

Miller served two tours of duty in Iraq, from August 2004 to January 2005 and again from October 2008 to September 2009.

The Army says Miller had been stationed at Fort Riley since July 2008. He was assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division.

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------ Kan. man pleads in holdup that left bystander hurt

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) -- A northeast Kansas man has pleaded guilty to a bank holdup that left a bystander wounded by gunfire.

The U.S. Attorney's office says 26-year-old Nicholas E. Kamphaus of Lenexa pleaded guilty Monday to charges including armed bank robbery and attempted murder of a witness.

Kamphaus admitted holding up the Credit Union of Johnson County in Lenexa in March 2009. Kamphaus drove away after taking money from two tellers at gunpoint.

An elderly customer drove after Kamphaus in a minivan. The customer was found about a half-mile away and had been shot several times. The customer survived.

Kamphaus was arrested the next day.

Federal prosecutors have recommended a sentence of 28 years in prison without parole. Sentencing is scheduled for June 7.

------ 4 die in accident on Kansas Turnpike

MULVANE, Kan. (AP) -- The Kansas Highway Patrol has identified the four people killed Monday when an SUV driving north in the southbound lanes of the Turnpike hit a minivan head-on.

The crash happened about 4:40 a.m. south of Wichita. Both drivers and two other people in the minivan were killed.

The driver of the SUV is identified as 27-year-old Gregory Davis of Wichita. Killed in the minivan were 39-year-old Kyoung Yeon Choi and two of her passengers, 9-year-old Seo Won Choi and 17-year-old Yuna Choi, all of Wichita.

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Information from: KFDI-AM

------ Kansas gov uses road rank to pitch more projects

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- Joined by two former Republican governors who championed Kansas highway programs, Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson made a pitch Monday for more projects despite bleak state revenues.

Parkinson said while Kansas is ranked tops in the nation for its road system by Reader's Digest, it won't take long for that 10,000-mile system to deteriorate.

"If we go more than one or two or three years with the current level of spending on our highway maintenance, our roads will start crumbling," Parkinson said. "We can't let that happen. I'm very committed to get a new transportation plan so we can maintain this ranking."

Reader's Digest ranked Kansas tops in the nation, factoring safety statistics, pavement and bridge conditions, and congestion. Kansas was followed by Wisconsin, Montana, New Mexico and Utah. The rankings are listed in the April issue, which goes on sale Tuesday.

The bottom five were Louisiana, Hawaii, California, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma.

Speaking with Parkinson were predecessors Mike Hayden, who passed a 10-year plan in 1989, and Bill Graves, who pushed through a second, 10-year plan in 1999.