Manhattan: Interior Secretary to give Landon Lecture

Interior Secretary Gale Norton will deliver a Landon Lecture on May 6 at Kansas State University.

Norton was confirmed in January 2001 as the first woman to head the Department of the Interior. Before that she served as Colorado’s attorney general from 1991 to 1999. She has also been assistant solicitor of the Interior Department.

Topeka: AG’s office researching tribe’s casino quest

The Attorney General’s Office is checking whether it has jurisdiction to investigate the Wyandotte Nation’s move of 200 slot machines onto land it claims in Kansas City, Kan.

Gov. Bill Graves called on the attorney general and U.S. attorney to investigate the move, which Graves opposes.

The Oklahoma-based tribe says it never gave up its tracts of land in Kansas City, Kan., and that it now wants to build a casino there.

Winfield: 25 percent of teachers receive layoff notices

The Winfield school board voted to lay off 25 percent of its teachers Friday, though many could be recalled after state funding is settled.

Layoff notices will go to 49 of the district’s 200 teachers. State law requires that the notices be sent by mid-April.

Supt. Marvin Estes, who spent Thursday lobbying in Topeka, blamed the layoffs on state lawmakers, saying they’ve failed to fund education.

Still, he said at least some of the 49 teachers would be called back to work.

Kansas City, Kan.: Former IRS agent pleads to fraud conspiracy

A former IRS agent and tax company pitchman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud, the first conviction related to the legal case against Renaissance, The Tax People.

Thomas W. Steelman Sr., 65, of Blue Springs, Mo., pleaded guilty Friday to conspiring to commit mail and wire fraud, defrauding the IRS, and aiding in preparing and filing 10 false federal tax returns.

Federal authorities said Renaissance defrauded its clients of more than $100 million. The Attorney General’s Office has called Renaissance an illegal pyramid scheme.

Wichita: Olathe teen dies after turnpike police chase

An Olathe teen died after the car he was riding in crashed during a chase by a Kansas Highway Patrol trooper.

Raynell Reed, 16, died of internal injuries Wednesday night at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita.

Reed was a passenger in a Ford Explorer that had been reported stolen in Olathe, according to the Kansas Turnpike Authority.

The crash happened about 11 a.m. Wednesday near mile marker 80 of the Kansas Turnpike, in Butler County. The driver and two other passengers were treated at other hospitals.