Members of the Manhattan business community talked about the future of economic development in the city at Tuesday’s Manhattan City Commission work session. The discussion followed a presentation on the annual economic development report. The city performs an accountability review of all organizations which receive Manhattan Economic Development Opportunity funds — including recipients of funds from the 1994 half-cent city-wide MEDOFAB sales tax as well as the half-cent RICOED Riley County Roads and Jobs sales tax from 2002 and its renewal in 2012. According to their report, economic development funds contributed toward the creation of 1463 jobs since the city’s…
Author: KMAN Staff
Wednesday’s guests on In Focus were Wamego USD 320 Superintendent Tim Winter, Rock Creek USD 323 Superintendent Kevin Logan, Riley County Extension Agent Greg McClure, and Riley County Seniors Service Center Community Care Coordinator Whitney Short.
Manhattan Deputy City Manager Jason Hilgers expects the city won’t see any more return on $317,000 of investments it made in the Tallgrass Brewing Company. He presented the annual economic development report at the city commission work session Tuesday. Tallgrass suspended operations last August after negotiations with new investors languished. Recapitalization efforts seem to have failed for the time being as Hilgers says the company and its real estate is now held by Landmark Bank. “I do believe they’re obviously trying to find a prospective buyer or someone to occupy that space,” Hilgers says. “A lot of rumors around about whether another brewery will be there…
TOPEKA — A 54-year-old woman has admitted that she operated a prostitution business out of massage parlors in Lawrence and Topeka. U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said in a news release Tuesday that Weiling Nielsen pleaded guilty to conspiracy. She owned and operated Naima Asian Massage and Serenity Health Spa in Lawrence, and Jasmine Massage in Topeka. In her plea, she admitted the massage parlors provided sexual services to customers for payment in cash. The services were advertised on the internet. Prosecutors say Nielsen and her husband deposited cash into various bank accounts and bought money orders to deposit in bank…
WICHITA — A Kansas attorney eying a possible run for U.S. Senate has been arrested for driving with a suspended license. The Wichita Eagle reports that Democrat James Thompson was arrested on Jan. 27 in Greenwood County. The Wichita attorney has run twice for the south-central Kansas congressional seat once held by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Thompson is weighing a 2020 campaign to replace retiring Republican U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts. Thompson says his license was suspended in January because of a speeding ticket he failed to pay in Sedgwick County. He said he didn’t realize it had been suspended…
TOPEKA — Kansas’ corrections secretary has declared an emergency at the state’s most crowded maximum-security prison because of what the state calls “serious staffing shortages.” Gov. Laura Kelly’s office released a statement Tuesday announcing Corrections Secretary Roger Werholtz’s declaration for the El Dorado Correctional Facility, but it provided few details about what actions will follow. Past declarations have allowed the prison to force employees to work longer shifts. El Dorado saw multiple inmate disturbances in 2017 and 2018, and the state spent nearly $177,000 repairing damage from a July 2018 riot. Kelly said she met Tuesday morning with legislative leaders…
TOPEKA — Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt wants to change state law to prevent judges from easing sentences for adult sex offenders because a child victim is purportedly an “aggressor” in the crime. The legislation proposed Monday was sparked by the decision of Leavenworth County Judge Michael Gibbens to give a 67-year-old man a more lenient sentence after saying the sex abuse victims, ages 13 and 14, were “more an aggressor than a participant.” State law now allows judges to reduce sentences below the guidelines by finding the victim contributed to the criminal conduct. The proposed bill would prohibit that…
WICHITA — The alleged ringleader of a foiled plot to massacre Somali Muslims in southwest Kansas is appealing his conviction and prison sentence. The attorney representing Patrick Stein filed Monday a formal notice of appeal to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. Stein was one of three militia members convicted of planning to blow up a mosque and apartments housing Somalis in Garden City. A judge sentenced Stein last month to 30 years for conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and 10 years for conspiracy against civil rights. The sentences will run concurrently. Stein will also return to…
LAWRENCE — A Silicon Valley company has donated $2 million to the University of Kansas to support research related to cryptocurrency and digital payments, such as Bitcoin. The university says in a news release that the donation from Ripple will provide $400,000 each year for five years. It will go to the Information and Telecommunication Technology Center at the Kansas School of Engineering. The university will determine its own research topics and Ripple, which provides digital commerce services, will collaborate with students and faculty and provide technical resources and expertise. The gift also will support the KU Blockchain Institute, a…
LAWRENCE — The Kansas Farm Bureau has given an achievement award to a 28-year-old, first-generation farmer who had a profitable year by diversifying his offerings. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the bureau recognized Scott Thellman as its Young Farmer and Rancher of the Year. Bureau official Edie Doane says Thellman is unique because he doesn’t fit the mold of the average young farmer working within a multigenerational family farm. Doane says it’s challenging for first-generation farmers to enter the industry. Thellman owns the 50-acre Juniper Hill Farms, LLC, near Lawrence. He grows specialty crops, including lettuce, watermelon, pumpkins and winter…