TOPEKA — Kansas Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning has filed a defamation lawsuit against The Kansas City Star and one of its columnists. The lawsuit filed Monday in Johnson County District Court alleges that Steve Rose’s column Saturday subjected Denning to public ridicule by falsely attributing multiple statements to him. The column criticized Denning’s opposition an expansion of the state’s Medicaid health coverage. The lawsuit said Rose and Denning haven’t spoken since August 2016. Denning is seeking more than $75,000 in damages. Rose said in an email to The Associated Press: “I have been writing columns for almost 50 years,…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA — A retired 53-year-old highway patrol trooper was sentenced to a year of probation for lying to the FBI during an investigation into illegal gambling in Wichita. Michael Frederiksen, of Derby, was convicted in May of making false statements to FBI investigators. Testing during the trial indicated that in 2014 Frederiksen was filmed participating in an illegal cash poker game while he was still a trooper. Prosecutors say during an interview by FBI agents investigating illegal gambling in Wichita, Frederiksen made false statements and downplayed his involvement in illegal poker and his relationship with the poker game’s operator. An…
WICHITA — A judge is allowing a lawsuit to proceed against a Kansas City school district accused of violating students’ free speech and free press rights during a nationwide walkout protesting gun violence. U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson ruled Monday that the students have presented a plausible claim that the Shawnee Mission School District violated their First Amendment rights by stopping speakers from talking about gun control or gun violence. The walkout was sparked by last year’s school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Robinson also found students have a plausible claim under the Kansas Student Publications Act after a school official…
TOPEKA — Republican legislators in Kansas expect to push ahead this week with an income tax relief proposal. The move would defy Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s call for lawmakers to avoid adjusting state tax laws this year. A Senate committee is set to open hearings Tuesday on a bill aimed at preventing individuals and corporations from paying more to Kansas because of changes in federal income tax laws at the end of 2017. The panel could vote Thursday. Top Republicans in the GOP-dominated Legislature have made tax relief a priority and argue Kansas is receiving an unanticipated revenue “windfall.” Kelly…
Officers responded to a report of an injury accident in the 2000 block of McDowell Creek Rd in Manhattan on January 28, 2019, at approximately 6:50 PM. When officers arrived on scene they found a 2010 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by an unknown individual had left the roadway and overturned. Three passengers were transported to Via Christi for treatment of minor injuries. This is an active investigation at this time. Arrests
Wahoo Manhattan won’t be opening its doors to customers for an unknown amount of time. MHK Business News reports that the restaurant closed Friday and informed employees that they won’t re-open for some time. Wahoo was first opened in Aggieville in 2012 by Darin Eible as well as Megan and Austin Schuldt. MHK Business News contacted Wahoo ownership, who confirmed that they are closed but declined to comment further on the situation.
MANHATTAN — The federal government shutdown may be over, but officials at the Manhattan Regional Airport are cautiously monitoring to see if the shutdown had any long-term impacts. According to a release from the airport Monday, Transportation Security Administration staff who screen passengers prior to boarding their flights, were affected by the shutdown as were a number of federal employees who perform maintenance on weather reporting equipment and navigational aids. Those employees include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Federal Aviation Administration Sector Office, FAA Obstruction Evaluation Group and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. Airport Director Jesse Romo says they…
WICHITA — Kansas will allow hunters to kill turkeys this fall despite a call to suspend the season because the state’s wild turkey populations have been in decline for 15 years. The Wichita Eagle reports that the Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism Commission ignored a suggestion from a team of biologists and law enforcement officials to temporarily halt the fall season, except for an area near the Nebraska border. The fall season from October through January brings fewer hunters and less money than the spring season. Kansas wildlife official Kent Fricke says the fall season is one of many factors…
TOPEKA — Kansas authorities say a woman who was found with serious injuries resulting from exposure to the cold remains a patient at a Topeka hospital. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the woman’s identity is not being released. Police were called Friday morning as wind chills plunged below zero to a house for a report of a woman on the front porch. Police say the woman was found lying on the porch wearing only a t-shirt. She was rushed by ambulance to the hospital. Topeka police say officers have responded to at least four calls since Jan. 20 from people…
WICHITA — Wichita police are getting upgraded body cameras and new cameras for supervisors. The department has had some body cameras since 2015. Police officials say the upgrades are similar to upgrading a cell phone. Officers are training how to use the 479 upgraded cameras. Another 60 new cameras for field sergeants is expected to be in use early this year. The Wichita Eagle reports the upgrades come two months after a motorcycle officer had trouble turning his camera on during a chase that ended with the officer shooting at a suspect. The new body cameras from Axon can automatically…