Author: Brandon Peoples

*Read the full Supreme Court decision here.* Kansas lawmakers are responding very differently over the state Supreme Court’s declaration of a right to abortion. The 6-1 ruling Friday notes the Kansas constitution protects the “right of personal autonomy,” meaning state law cannot abridge the right “to control one’s own body, to assert bodily integrity and to exercise self-determination.” It prevents the state from enforcing a 2015 law that could have reduced second-trimester abortions and allows challenges to other restrictions under the state constitution. 67th District House Rep. Tom Phillips (R-Manhattan) disagrees with the high court’s decision. He believes a challenge…

Area veterans and Wamego High School students have returned home after a whirlwind two-day trip to Washington, D.C. and back thanks to the Kansas Honor Flight program. The veterans capped off the trip receiving a warm welcome at Wamego High School Thursday night. The trip featured stops at many of the U.S. military branch memorials, Arlington National Cemetery, the White House, the U.S. Capitol and the Smithsonian Museum. Among those who attended was veteran Jerry Tullis. He spoke with KMAN about the experience. Tullis also commented on the warm greeting they received. Veteran Stan Smith says it was a unique…

USD 378 Riley County and USD 384 Blue Valley/Randolph Schools recently went through building audits to measure educational growth. Each year an outside visiting team visits each district through a five-year cycle. USD 378 Superintendent Cliff Burton says his district is moving forward with hiring of an at risk teacher to help improve reading skills from some students who may be falling behind. For Blue Valley/Randolph, superintendent Brady Burton says his district is aiming to improve how they approach their goals. Both districts are in year two of the five-year audit and received glowing scores by the outside visiting team.…

One person was injured Wednesday night after a vehicle pursuit in Geary County. The Kansas Highway Patrol says 39-year-old Allen Harroald of Wichita was northbound on U.S. 77 fleeing from officers with the Geary County Sheriff’s Office when his Chevy Camaro failed to negotiate a curve. As a result, the car struck a guardrail and overturned several times before entering a ditch on the east side of the highway. Harroald was ejected from the car. He was not wearing a seat belt. The crash occurred around 10:30 p.m. near mile marker 166, about 12 miles north of Junction City. Harroald…

WESTMORELAND — The man accused in the December murder of a Wamego teenager is set for a preliminary hearing next month. A Pottawatomie County judge Tuesday set a 10 am. hearing May 31 for 23-year-old Cody Lamia-Beck, also of Wamego. Lamia-Beck was arrested earlier this year in connection to the death of 19-year-old Jacob Bouck. His body was located Christmas Eve on the banks of the Kansas River near Wamego. Bouck had been missing for several days. Lamia-Beck is represented by attorney Andy Vinduska.

MANHATTAN — A familiar face will lead Lee Elementary School as its next principal. Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 announced Tuesday that current Lee assistant principal Erica Bammes is taking the job, replacing Mindy Sanders, who is leaving the district for a principal job in the Abilene School District. Bammes has been at Lee Elementary since 2017. She’s a former elementary teacher in USD 383 as well as Plainville and Paradise, Kansas school districts. In a release from the school district, Bammes said she is honored to become the next principal at Lee Elementary, noting her time spent the last two years…

MANHATTAN — A 28-year-old St. George woman is awaiting extradition to Idaho after a number of charges there from a 2017 arrest. Riley County Police arrested Brandi Danielle Sunderman just before 1 a.m. Wednesday. Sunderman is charged in Bingham County, Idaho District Court with one felony count of possession of a controlled substance (methamphetamine); a misdemeanor drug paraphernalia possession charge and driving without privileges. An Idaho District Court Clerk tells News Radio KMAN that Sunderman failed to appear for an arraignment hearing in January 2017. A warrant was issued and she was arrested in March 2019. She posted bond, but…

A report out by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment shows over 2.2 million acres of grassland were burned in Kansas and Oklahoma between March 15 and April 14. Controlled burns are up substantially in the Manhattan area as 43,908 acres were burned in Riley County (up 36 percent) and 69,870 acres were burned in Pottawatomie County (up 78 percent). KDHE Air Monitoring and Planning Chief Doug Watson says that was expected as conditions this spring were more favorable to burning. Just a half dozen air quality exceedances have been noted this month, occurring on April 8 and 9.…

A Manhattan man was treated for injuries he sustained in a rollover accident in north Riley County early Tuesday morning. According to the Riley County Police Department, 19-year-old Justice Sensley was traveling in the 16,000 block of Barton Road west of Leonardville just before 6 a.m. when his vehicle left the roadway and overturned. It wasn’t immediately clear why the truck left the roadway. Sensley was transported to Ascension Via Christi Hospital for treatment of his injuries.

MANHATTAN — Riley County Police made a pair of notable arrests overnight in Manhattan. According to the RCPD arrest report, 43-year-old Savalas Tolliver was arrested just after 12:30 a.m. in the 900 block of Kearney Street. He’s charged with one count of abuse of a child; torture of cruelly beating a child under 18 years old as well as four counts of battery. Tolliver remains confined in Riley County Jail on a $15,000 bond. Separately on Monday night, a 57-year-old Cowley County man was arrested for exposing himself in public in the Aggieville area. The RCPD arrest report says Curtis…