Author: Brandon Peoples

Following nearly two hours of interviews Wednesday, the 21st Judicial District Nominating Commission has sent the names of four nominees for district judge on to Governor Laura Kelly. Gov. Kelly has 60 days (Sept. 22) to decide who will fill the vacancy left by Chief Judge Meryl Wilson, who retired June 16 after more than two decades on the bench. The 21st Judicial District is comprised of Riley and Clay counties.  The four nominees are Amy Bipes of Manhattan, legal assistance attorney with the Office of the Staff Judge Advocate at Fort Riley; Riley County District Magistrate Judge James Kepple…

WESTMORELAND, Kan. — A Wamego woman convicted of mistreatment of a dependent adult was sentenced recently in Pottawatomie County District Court. According to the Office of Attorney General Derek Schmidt, 54-year-old Jana Paczkowski was sentenced July 18 to 24 months of supervised probation with an underlying sentence of 12 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections. She was also ordered to pay $11,100 in restitution to the victim in addition to a $500 fine and $613 in court costs and fees. Judge Jeff Elder presided over the case. During a May trial, a jury found Paczkowski guilty of one felony…

Wednesday’s program featured Thrive! – Flint Hills Director Jayme Morris-Hardeman previewing their upcoming Thrive in the Heat bike ride fundraiser Aug. 17 and ongoing need for volunteers. USD 378 Riley County Schools Superintendent Cliff Williams and Blue Valley High School Principal Marion Mazouch joined us to highlight enrollment schedules and a potential maintenance bond coming up in USD 378.

The field of candidates continues to grow for the 2020 U.S. Senate race in Kansas. That race could soon include a Manhattan City Commissioner. Earlier this week, speaking on KMAN’s In Focus, Mayor Pro Tem Usha Reddi confirmed she is considering a possible Senate run for the seat occupied currently by Pat Roberts. Reddi, a Democrat, would face an uphill battle as no Democrat has won a Senate seat in Kansas since the 1930s. The current field of Democrats includes former U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom, former U.S Representative Nancy Boyda and retired court services officer Robert Tillman. State Sen. Barbara…

Longtime Kansas Senator Susan Wagle has become the fourth Republican to enter the 2020 U.S. Senate race in Kansas. Wagle is the current Kansas Senate President and has nearly three decades of experience in both the Kansas House and Senate. She filed the paperwork with the Federal Election Commission Tuesday, according to a report from the Kansas City Star. The Wichita Republican was expected to officially announce her campaign Wednesday. Wagle was first elected to the Kansas House in 1990 and made the jump to the Kansas Senate in 2000. She launched an unsuccessful campaign for lieutenant governor alongside Jim…

WESTMORELAND, Kan. — The Pottawatomie County Commission is inching closer to having its 2020 budget finalized for submission. The proposed budget for 2020 was approved for publication last week, with a projected mill levy at 28.246 mills, compared to 29.983 mills in the 2019 budget. “We’ve had increased valuation, so we took that into consideration and went to where the tax lid would allow,” Pottawatomie County Commissioner Dee McKee said Tuesday on KMAN’s In Focus. During Monday’s commission meeting, the board discussed the public works budget and appropriations moving forward. Public Works Director Peter Clark informed commissioners that the proposed…

CLAY CENTER, Kan. — A Kansas lawmaker has announced she’s filed for re-election in 2020. Republican Suzi Carlson, Kansas State Representative for the 64th District, filed last Thursday with the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office for the 2020 election. Carlson’s district encompasses most of Clay County and portions of Riley County including the communities of Leonardville, Ogden, Randolph and Riley. The district also includes part of Manhattan and Fort Riley. Carlson is a Clay Center resident who in 2019, served on the Kansas House Financial Institutions and Pensions Committee as well as the Kansas House Children and Seniors Committee. Carlson…

Manhattan City Commissioner Usha Reddi is hoping to inspire victims of sexual abuse to come forward. Reddi, who is now 53, shared a very personal story of the abuse she sustained as a youth at the hands of her own father, Venkata Yeleti during an exclusive interview on KMAN’s In Focus Monday. Yeleti was convicted Friday for the crimes which occurred between 1975 and 1977 in Virginia. “Everything I’ve ever done in my life was to put this behind me and to move forward. People never thought of me as a victim of sorts in this instance, but that is…

Sentencing has been delayed for a Manhattan man convicted last month of attempted voluntary manslaughter. Mark Harrison was due to be sentenced Monday, but according to Riley County District Court Administrator Lanna Nichols that hearing was postponed for another week. Harrison entered a no contest plea in June to the charge. He had previously been convicted of criminal damage to property. Harrison had originally faced a capital murder charge involving a police officer, of which he was set to go on trial for in early August. A previous trial ended in a hung jury in February. Prosecutors said he fired…

Monday’s show featured a personal story as Manhattan Mayor Pro Tempore Usha Reddi opened up about a deeply personal, traumatic experience involving sexual abuse at the hands of a family member. That family member has now been convicted of the abuse that happened during Reddi’s childhood, from age 10 to age 16. Usha was joined on the program by Riley County Attorney Barry Wilkerson and Pawnee Mental Health Director Robbin Cole. Guest host for Monday’s show was Usha’s longtime friend and former KMAN News Director Cathy (Dawes) Scroggs.