Nearly half of all Kansas counties have declared burn bans until further notice because of hot and dry conditions.

The Kansas adjunct general’s office on Monday said 45 of the state’s 105 counties have bans in place, while one other has instituted a “strong restrictions” ban, meaning burning is allowed only if a fire department has deemed the site safe for burning.

Counties with burn bans include Anderson, Atchison, Barton, Bourbon, Cherokee, Cheyenne, Clark, Clay, Decatur, Edwards, Ellsworth, Ford, Franklin, Graham, Grant, Greenwood, Gove, Hodgeman, Johnson, Lane, Lincoln and Logan. Others are Marshall, Meade, Miami, Mitchell, Morton, Ness, Norton, Osborne, Ottawa, Pawnee, Phillips, Rawlins, Riley, Rooks, Rush, Russell, Sheridan, Sherman, Smith, Stevens, Thomas, Trego and Wyandotte.

Stafford County has the “strong restrictions” ban.

An eastern Kansas woman has been found guilty of trying to kill her newborn son by putting him in a bag and leaving it in the trash.

A  jury deliberated about six hours Monday before convicting 26-year-old Emporia resident Christina Devine of attempted first-degree murder.

Devine was charged after maintenance workers at an apartment complex found the 7-pound, 10-ounce baby alive in the trash in October 2010. Authorities said Devine’s route to the apartment complex took her past several places where she could have left her son, including Emporia’s police and fire stations.

Devine will be sentenced Aug. 10 in Lyon County District Court. Defense lawyer Paul Dean says an appeal is likely.

Dean said in closing arguments that Devine had a disease of the nervous system.

Fireworks are getting the blame for a Wichita fire that seriously injured a woman and her young child.

The Wichita Eagle reported that the blaze started early Sunday in a plastic trash can near the house where people had dumped fireworks remnants.

The trash smoldered for hours before sparking a fire that spread to the house.

Fire Lt. Kelly Zane says a 37-year-old woman and her 2-year-old son were the only ones in the home at the time of the fire. They were able to escape.

The mother and son have been taken to the burn unit at a Wichita hospital, where they are both in serious condition. Zane says neither the mother nor her son set off any of the fireworks.

High levels of toxic algae are closing several Kansas lakes heading into the Fourth of July holiday.

The Kansas City Star reported that lake management officials have posted warning signs prohibiting recreational activities at four lakes. They are the Marion Reservoir in Marion County, Old Herington City Lake in Dickinson County, Logan City Lake in Phillips County and Memorial Veterans Lake in Barton County.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment also has also issued health advisories for South Lake in Overland Park and Lowell Reservoir in Jewell County. Under an advisory, fishing and boating may be safe. But the department still strongly discourages swimming or any other direct contact with the water.

A health advisory at Cedar Bluff Reservoir in Trego County was lifted this week.

A nine-state Midwest and Plains economic survey index fell for the second straight month in June.

A survey report released Monday for the Mid-America Business Conditions Index says it dropped to 57.2 last month, compared with 57.6 in May. The index was 60 in April.

In the survey any score above 50 suggests growth. A score below 50 suggests decline.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss says the businesses that were surveyed are still benefiting from healthy farm income and exports, but the activity is slowing. Global economic problems are pushing export orders into negative territory.

A quarter of the managers surveyed say the biggest hurdle in the next year is implementation of health care reform.

The survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.

A large crowd is rallying at the Kansas Statehouse against what the state’s Catholic bishops and other social conservatives view as attacks by the federal government on religious freedom.

Gov. Sam Brownback and U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran were among the scheduled speakers at Friday afternoon’s event. The crowd appeared to swell to several thousand, and Brownback said it was the biggest rally he’d seen at the Statehouse.

The rally is part of a nationwide campaign prompted by a mandate announced by President Barack Obama earlier this year requiring most employers to provide health insurance covering birth control.

The mandate included a religious exemption for houses of worship but not religiously affiliated hospitals, charities, universities and social service agencies. Obama later announced a modification, but Catholic bishops nationwide viewed it as inadequate.