WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The Kansas Rural Center is planning a series of “Women in Farming” risk management workshops this spring and summer.

The group says in a news release that all four workshops will highlight opportunities and challenges women face in farming.

Specialty crop production is the focus of the first workshop March 14 in Lawrence and the second on March 28 in Bird City.

A third workshop on May 9 in Linn will look at financial and legal risk management and cover conservation practices on the farm.

Wrapping up the series is a July 11 workshop in Emporia that focuses on soil health, cover crops and integrated crop and livestock farming.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Top Democrats in the Kansas Legislature are preparing to outline proposals for helping middle-class families.

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley of Topeka and House Minority Leader Tom Burroughs of Kansas City were to have a late-morning news conference Tuesday at the Statehouse with other Democratic lawmakers.

They were not specific about the proposals ahead of the event.

Hensley and Burroughs have been strong critics of aggressive personal income tax cuts enacted by the Republican-dominated Legislature in 2012 and 2013 at Gov. Sam Brownback’s urging.

Brownback argued the cuts would stimulate the economy, but the state now faces a shortfall of nearly $600 million in its budget for the fiscal year beginning in July.

Republicans hold large majorities of 32-8 in the Senate and 97-28 in the House.

JUNCTION CITY -Just prior to the Community Listening Session U.S. Senator Pat Roberts along with other members of the Kansas Congressional delegation briefed the media.

Roberts explained that the decisions that will be made at Fort Riley are personal to him,”The decision to locate the ‘Big Red One’ to Fort Riley was made by Dwight David Eisenhower. There were two men in the room advising him that the base should be in Kansas, obviously Dwight David Eisenhower was from Kansas.”

The two men in the room with President Eisenhower were the late Fred Bramlage of Junction City and Roberts’ father Wes Roberts who was the Republican National Chairman at that particular time.

Again in 2005 there was an opportunity to bring the ‘Big Red One’ Headquarters back to Fort Riley from Germany where it had been headquartered for a number of years.

“During that particular time we buffed up Fort Riley big time. I’d like to take a little credit for that along with a great team effort that we had from Fort Riley and the delegation, it was a team effort.”

In July of 2006 the 1st Infantry Division relocated it’s headquarters back to Fort Riley.

Now with sequestration threatening troop reductions to the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley Senator Roberts is going to bat once again for Fort Riley and the ‘Big Red One’.

“We have to fix this sequester, and this sequester was not exactly a bi-partisan effort with regards to coming in there with a meat ax. We don’t need to come in there with a meat ax, we to use it with a scalpel and we need to tell the truth about Fort Riley, so that Fort Riley’s mission can be preserved. Not only for Fort Riley, not only for the state of Kansas, but the United States of America and the Defense of our National Security. That is our first obligation when we go back to Washington. So to me, It’s personal.”

Only 1,200 seats were set up at the Convention Center for the listening session and each one of them were full with standing room only in both the great hall and hallway.

MANHATTAN -Beginning in October of last year over 25 buildings in and surrounding downtown Manhattan, K-State University Campus, and Pottawatomie County were vandalized by subjects using various colors of spray paint according to a release from the Riley County Police Department. In total officials anticipates the damages to be valued in excess of $15,000.00. These tags included multiple images, words, and offensive phrases.

Officers with the Riley County Police Department worked alongside officers with the Kansas State University Police Department and Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office as well as asked for the community’s help through the use of the Manhattan Riley County Crime Stoppers. Over the weekend as a result of a thorough investigation 3 arrests were made following a search warrant related to the crime of criminal damage to property.

Police served this search warrant at 2033 Arthur Drive in Manhattan, Kansas on February 5, and arrested Jackson Meyer, 19, of that address for criminal damage to property.

RCPD continued to investigate the matter and found that two additional subjects were involved.

Austin Cranston, 18, of Manhattan was arrested on February 6,  for the offense of criminal damage to property.

Also arrested for the offense of criminal damage to property was Justin Ward, 18, of Wamego, Kansas. He was given a bond of $3,000.0

In total, buildings operated by over 14 victims were vandalized and the clean-up process has been ongoing.

Further action may result as RCPD and the Kansas State University Police Department continue to investigate the matter.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas House committee is reviewing Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposal to issue $1.5 billion in bonds to help lower the state’s annual costs in funding pensions for teachers and government workers.

The House Pensions and Benefits Committee’s will discuss a bill authorizing the bonds if the state would pay interest of 5 percent or less to bondholders. A meeting scheduled for Monday was postponed so members could attend a funeral.

The Kansas Public Employees Retirement System has a projected long-term funding gap of $9.8 billion, and the state has committed to raising annual contributions to eliminate it by 2033.

The bonds would give KPERS an infusion of cash, boost its investment earnings and allow the state to lower annual contributions of tax dollars.

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Lawrence police are searching for two men after a shooting injured three people near the University of Kansas campus.

Police spokesman Sgt. Trent McKinley says police think the suspects and victims in Sunday’s shooting know each other but a motive for the shooting has not been released.

McKinley says the search for the shooters was continuing Monday morning.

The victims were taken to Kansas City area hospitals with injuries that were considered life threatening. Their identities weren’t released.

The shooting occurred in a residence just south of the University of Kansas campus and a few blocks from Schwegler Elementary School.

The college issued an alert late in the afternoon after authorities said one of the suspects was seen running toward the campus.