Author: KMAN Staff

WICHITA — A federal judge is refusing to again delay the trial of Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell after plea negotiations break down. U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren on Monday noted O’Donnell’s trial had already been postponed four times. The judge chided co-defense attorney Joshua Ney for not attending the status conference where the date was set and then waiting until two weeks before trial to ask for another continuance. Ney cited in a motion last week his heavy workload, telling the court plea negotiations stalled on Feb. 4. The government has accused O’Donnell of fraudulently obtaining $10,500 from his…

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Riley County was proclaimed a POW MIA (prisoner of war, missing in action) county from the Jefferson Barracks Museum out of St Louis during the Riley County commission meeting on Monday. VFW Post 1786 Commander Dan Watkins, along with fellow VFW members, presented the POW MIA county sign to commissioners.  He said this day was an important day for the county since the county will be the first POW MIA county in Kansas and the second in the country. Watkins was also joined Museum Executive Secretary Richard Heigert who provided the proclamation.  He said this POW MIA City and County program…

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MARSHALL COUNTY — A Frankfort woman was hospitalized after her vehicle was struck by a semi in rural Marshall County Monday. The Kansas Highway Patrol says shortly before 12:30 p.m., 18-year-old Elizabeth Taylor was attempting a northbound turn from Parallel Road onto Kansas Highway 99. The location is about five miles north of Blaine. As she did so, a northbound semi struck her vehicle from behind. Taylor was transported to Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka with a suspected serious injury. She was wearing a seat belt. The semi driver, 47-year-old William Fuller of Platte City, Missouri was not injured. He…

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Manhattan area vexillologists have an opportunity to show off their skills in a new city contest announced Monday, Feb. 11. Manhattan is seeking designs for a new flag and will accept submissions through Friday, March 29. Submissions will be reviewed and narrowed down to one or two options by the Arts and Humanities Advisory Board, with the winning design to be decided by a public vote sometime in May. The winner will also be recognized by Mayor Mike Dodson and receive a flag of their own. Assistant City Manager Dennis Marstall says the city hopes the new flag will be…

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A bridge about 1 mile east of Tuttle Creek Boulevard in Northern Riley County is closed indefinitely, according to a release from Riley County Public Works. The Stockdale Park Road bridge over Mill Creek — located in Grant Township — has sustained critical concrete section loss in its deck. Photos released by the department show that enough concrete has been lost that re-bar is showing in some sections. Officials recommend any motorists use alternate routes.

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TOPEKA — Kansas has a 100 percent annual turnover rate among entry-level equipment operators on highway maintenance crews. Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has pointed to Department of Transportation staffing woes as a prime example of where she found worse-than-expected problems before she took office last month. But some Republican legislators are skeptical that KDOT faces a crisis. They believe Kelly is overstating state government’s problems to push the GOP-controlled Legislature into higher spending. Kansas has had a national reputation for good highways because of its commitment to big, multi-year transportation programs since the late 1980s. But the department says it…

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Monday’s program featured a discussion on nutritional cardiomyopathy secondary to grain-free diets with Dr. Justin Thomason, Assistant Professor of Cardiology with the K-State Veterinary Health Center. We also spoke with Deb Watkins, Director of Animal Services with the T. Russell Reitz animal shelter in Manhattan about its My Furry Valentine adoption event happening now through Feb. 16. Deb also brought in special guest pet of the month Sasha who’s looking for a forever home.

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Regulations for the Kansas Industrial Hemp Research Program went into effect Friday, Feb. 8, and the Kansas Department of Agriculture is now taking license applications for the program. Originally made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill, which included a provision allowing universities and state departments of agriculture to cultivate hemp — varieties of the plant cannabis sativa L that contain a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration of no more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis — for research purposes if legal under state law. Now the 2018 Farm Bill has removed federal restrictions on hemp cultivation and leaves planning…

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Officers filed a report for criminal damage to property in the 1600 block of McCain Ln in Manhattan on February 8, 2019, at approximately 7:30 AM.  Officers listed Alpha Tau Omega; Tate Hassenflu, 18 of Manhattan; Matthew Cummings, 21 of Manhattan; Seth Pollock, 18 of Manhattan; Oscar Saferstein, 19 of Manhattan; Benjamin Hartman, 19 of Manhattan; Ty Alholm, 20 of Manhattan; Jakob Coacher, 20 of Manhattan; Luke Saville, 20 of Manhattan; Jake Sells, 19 of Manhattan; Brady Wang, 19 of Manhattan; Stephen Henderson, 19 of Manhattan; Justin Novak, 20 of Manhattan; Landen King, 20 of Manhattan; Patrick Schilly, 20 of…

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