Hutchinson

WICHITA, Kansas — On Aug. 16, the second day of the school year, students in the Burrton district felt the shake of a 4.2 magnitude earthquake. They knew exactly what to do: hide under their desks until it stopped.

The city of Hutchinson is set to become a test site for new technology that’s designed to improve public safety and city operations.

AT&T selected Hutchinson to try out its new Smart City program beginning this summer. The company will provide and install sensors, cameras and communication technology at no cost to the city.

Hutchinson Police Chief Jeff Hooper presented the proposal to city leaders at a council meeting last Tuesday.

When Jon Powell moved from Kansas City back to his hometown of Hutchinson 10 years ago, "there was no LGBT support group, anything," he says.

So he and a few others decided to form Hutchinson's first chapter of Equality Kansas, then known as the Kansas Equality Coalition, a statewide group that advocates for LGBT rights. After a decade of politically focused work, the group is putting on its first-ever Pride event this weekend to celebrate the LGBTQ community.

Editor's note: This post was updated Tuesday at 3:40 p.m.

Reno County officials are starting to assess the damage caused by a large grassfire that has burned more than 6,000 acres since Saturday.

Four of five teenagers accused of conspiring to carry out a shooting at Hutchison High School have pleaded not guilty in juvenile court.

Three of the suspects denied the charges in court yesterday, while a fourth suspect previously denied the charges in writing.

The fifth suspect is scheduled for a court hearing today.

All five are charged with solicitation to commit first-degree murder and criminal threat. They were arrested in April after Hutchinson High School officials were alerted to postings on Facebook that threatened a mass murder at the school.

Plant officials at Siemens Wind Energy in Hutchinson say new orders will help the company avoid more layoffs for now.

The plant recently received orders to supply parts for wind farms being built in Southern California and Chile.

Siemens announced in September that it was cutting 60 percent of its Hutchinson workforce. The layoffs were completed this week, leaving the plant with 150 workers.

It once had more than 400 employees. Siemens also laid off 570 people at its Fort Madison, Iowa, plant and 62 others around the country.