Update 3:30 p.m. RCPD has cleared the 2300 block of Tuttle Creek Boulevard and opened it back up to the public. No further details were released. Original story: Residents are being asked to avoid the area after shots were fired near Manhattan’s Blue Hills Shopping Center in the early morning hours of Saturday, March 2, according to an RCPD release. Authorities received the call to the 2300 block of Tuttle Creek Boulevard around 2:20 a.m. Two people were flown to Stormont-Vail Hospital in Topeka for treatment and the shopping center remains closed. The investigation is ongoing and KMAN will update…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA — A former Kansas legislator accused of fraudulently taking $10,500 from campaign funds for his personal use has told jurors it is offensive and outrageous to him that anybody would assume he would steal money. Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell took the stand Thursday to defend himself in his federal trial on 23 counts of wire fraud and three counts of money laundering related to his state and county campaigns. O’Donnell, a Republican, testified he is not rich, but he would never steal money. He detailed for hours on the stand his payments to staffers and other supporters that…
TOPEKA — Kansas lawmakers have hit the halfway point of their annual session and they haven’t had a hearing on a Medicaid expansion plan or pushed an education funding bill out of committee in the face of a court mandate to boost spending on public schools. And the GOP-dominated Legislature doesn’t just appear to be slow-walking new Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s big initiatives. Despite Republican supermajorities, an income tax relief bill that GOP leaders consider an urgent priority hasn’t cleared both chambers. Top Republicans began a long weekend Thursday by arguing that lawmakers’ annual 90-or-so-day session is not unusually sluggish…
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas is expanding care for transgender students at its campus health center. The Kansas City Star reports that transgender students will now be able to start and continue hormone therapy through the university’s student health center, Watkins Health Services. Transgender students seeking services related to gender transition previously had limited health care options at the school, often having to leave campus for the evaluations and lab work needed to begin the process. Student Senate President Noah Ries says students looking to start hormone therapy were forced to take buses or find rides to Kansas City…
WICHITA — A federal judge has set a new sentencing date for the California man who admitted making the hoax call that led police to fatally shoot a Kansas man following a dispute between two online gamers. A court notice posted Friday shows 26-year-old Tyler R. Barriss will be sentenced on March 29. The hearing had been initially scheduled for Friday but was delayed when an unrelated trial took longer than expected. Barriss pleaded guilty in November to 51 charges related to fake calls and threats across the nation. The most serious one is for making a false report about…
MANHATTAN — The Riley County Commission has approved a contract to purchase new election equipment. County Clerk Rich Vargo presented the contract to purchase a new ballot scanner and vote tabulator from Election Systems and Software during Thursday’s commission meeting. There have been some challenges finding the right equipment in the past when the county clerk’s office has searched for voting machines. Part of that Vargo says is because the machines must be certified at the federal and state level. Vargo says the current equipment has been needing to be replaced for some time now, but wasn’t satisfied with what…
Officers filed a report for criminal use of a financial card in the 100 block of E Bluemont Ave in Manhattan on February 28, 2019, at approximately 3:50 PM. Officers listed Chelsea Parks, 26 of Ft Riley as the victim when it was reported an unknown suspect used her card to purchase items. The estimated total loss associated with this case is approximately $1,400.00. Police ask that anyone with information please contact RCPD or the Manhattan Riley County Crime Stoppers. Using the Crime Stoppers service can allow you to remain anonymous and could qualify you for a cash reward of…
Four K-State veterinary students were awarded $1,000 American Veterinary Medical Association scholarships, according to a release Friday. The Auxiliary to the AVMA Legacy Endowed Scholarship is awarded to students attending the 32 AVMA-accredited veterinary colleges in the U.S. and a few in Canada and the Caribbean. Offered through the AVMA Foundation, its goal is to help offset the cost of veterinary education. Danielle Pickering of Los Angeles, Rebecca Tomasek of China, Michigan, Katya Luckenbach of Woxall, Pennsylvania and Katelyn Guill-Sanchez of Hudson, New Hampshire were this year’s recipients. “This scholarship will help me relieve some of the financial burden of…
Manhattan CVB Director Karen Hibbard joined In Focus to highlight an upcoming DECA Conference coming to Manhattan March 4. John Jobe with K-State Research & Extension highlighted the youth entrepreneurship challenge happening March 5 and a youth lawn mowing clinic coming up March 19. RCPD Capt. Richard Fink and Brad Millington with K-State Police previewed law enforcement efforts surrounding Fake Patty’s Day Saturday in Manhattan.
The trial of a man accused of trying to kill an RCPD officer in 2018 will continue after the jury couldn’t reach a unanimous decision in Riley County District Court Thursday. The case ended in a hung jury after it found Mark Harrison not guilty on two attempted murder charges for shooting at an armored vehicle containing two Geary County SWAT officers. They did find him guilty of criminal property damage for shooting that armored vehicle, but could not reach a unanimous decision on his attempted murder charge for wounding RCPD Sgt. Pat Tiede. Harrison was arrested following a standoff…