LAWRENCE — A 26-year-old Missouri woman accused of driving her car into the Kansas River has pleaded not guilty in her daughter’s drowning. Scharron Dingledine, of Columbia, Missouri, pleaded not guilty Monday to first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. The Lawrence Journal-World reports Dingledine is accused of driving into the river near downtown Lawrence on Aug. 3 in an effort to kill her children and herself. Rescuers pulled Dingledine and her 1-year-old son, Elijah Lake, from the water soon but were not able to save her 5-year-old daughter, Amiyah Bradley. The child’s body was recovered from the river the next…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA — The last weekly government report for the 2018 growing season shows fall harvest for the major farm crops in Kansas is nearly finished. The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Monday that the corn harvest is 96 percent in, while soybean harvest stands at 95 percent complete. About 89 percent of both sorghum and sunflower crops are cut. Winter wheat condition is rated as 16 percent poor to very poor. About 39 percent is listed as fair while 45 percent is in good to excellent condition. About 89 percent of the 2019 winter wheat crop has emerged.
KANSAS CITY — A Minnesota man was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for driving a load of 471 pounds of marijuana to Kansas. U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said 40-year-old Mark Anthony Berg, of Coon Rapids, Minnesota, was sentenced Monday for one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana. He will serve three years of probation after serving his sentence. A Kansas Highway Patrol trooper stopped Berg’s van in December 2017 on Interstate 70 in Ellsworth, Kansas. Berg told the trooper he had been in Las Vegas and drove through Denver on his way back to Minnesota. After…
TOPEKA — Kansas will swear in its first two openly LGBT state lawmakers next month and its new Democratic governor has expressed strong support for LGBT-rights measures. In addition to these breakthroughs, LGBT-rights activists want to expand the state’s anti-discrimination law covering landlords and private employers. But Republicans still will have large majorities in the Legislature, and it will be a little more conservative after this year’s elections. Kelly’s election may prevent new laws that LGBT-rights advocates oppose, but they are likely to struggle to undo policies enacted in recent years when Republicans held the governor’s office.
Tax collections in Kansas continue to improve over last year. Governor Jeff Colyer’s office released the latest tax revenue numbers for the state on Tuesday. Fiscal year 2019 tax collections total $2.7 billion so far, exceeding fiscal year 2018 numbers by more than $221.20 million. Revenue also exceeded expected collections by $2.74 million. Breaking it down, state tax collections this November were $38.60 million more than collections in November of 2017. That’s an increase of 8.41 percent. Individual income tax collections in November totaled $235.02 million, $27.40 million more than what was collected the previous November. The only downside was…
Kansas State Police Department officers are once again collecting toys for children in need this holiday season. K-State PD has teamed up with the US Marine Corps and Texas Roadhouse for its second Toys for Tots drive. New and unwrapped toys can be brought to the west lobby of Edwards Hall on the KSU campus from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. as well as near the hostess stand in the Texas Roadhouse at Manhattan Town Center during business hours. Donations will be accepted through Friday, December 14th.
If you’re looking to warm up on the K-State campus today, the Psi Chi fraternity is selling hot chocolate Monday, Dec. 3, and Tuesday, Dec. 4. The sale is a fundraiser benefiting the national CASA for Children organization, which supports abused and neglected children going through the court system. Cups of cocoa will be available for 2 dollars, cash or venmo payments will be accepeted. They’ll also be accepting donations as well. They’ll be set up in front of Bluemont Hall and will be selling drinks from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Monday’s guests were Manhattan Kiwanis president-elect Doug Meloan and secretary Kitty Pursley previewing Saturday’s pancake feed and silent auction. We also chatted with Geary County Convention & Visitors Bureau members Rick Dykstra and Michelle Stimatze on upcoming community events. Our final two segments featured Manhattan Assistant Director of Community Development Chad Bunger discussing the city’s Flood Resiliency Plan.
TOPEKA — A group of Washburn University students have launched a startup that aims to combat hunger and change how Americans think about food by creating a protein powder made from crickets. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that six students formed the startup Agrotech Enterprises, which recently won the Washburn Entrepreneur Pitch Competition for their cricket protein powder business idea. Senior Jonathan Barnell directs the group’s research and development. He says crickets are an excellent prospect for the company because of their nutritional value. Barnell says that crickets are “basically a superfood,” and contain all nine essential amino acids. It takes…
SALINA — Police say a man has been arrested on charges in a Salina shooting death, the city’s first homicide this year. Television station KWCH reports that 25-year-old Mika Lee Thille was booked Friday afternoon into the Salina County Jail on charges of murder, burglary and robbery. Thille and a 24-year-old woman were taken in for questioning Friday afternoon, hours after police found the body of 30-year-old Justin Willingham in a home after someone reported gunshots. Willingham had been shot to death.