WICHITA — Officials for a Wichita school are raising concerns that trains are stalled for so long on nearby tracks that students are crawling under boxcars and across the couplings to get home. The Wichita Eagle reports that Hamilton Middle School principal Justin Kasel says trains traveling just north of the school sometimes are stopped for up to an hour, tying up traffic. More than two-thirds of Hamilton’s 600 students don’t qualify for a bus, so they either walk or get rides. A school employee posted a video to Facebook after witnessing students taking dangerous risks Tuesday when a train…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA — Topeka police are searching for a man who exchanged gunfire with officers before fleeing on foot. Police Lt. Andrew Beightel says the shots were fired as officers were responding early Thursday to a report of a suspicious person in south-central Topeka. There were no immediate reports of injuries. Beightel says officers were on assignment to address vehicle burglaries in the area when one officer saw a person carrying a baseball bat and backpack. The man fled and other officers saw him a few minutes later running into an apartment complex. Beightel says the man shot at officers as…
LAWRENCE — Two friends who were convicted of a fatal shooting at a Lawrence motel will serve different sentences. Twenty-year-old Tyrone Carvin was sentenced Wednesday to more than 23 years in prison, while 23-year-old Ramone Singleton was given about 10 years. Both men, from Kansas City, Kansas, were convicted of voluntary manslaughter and other charges in the September 2017 shooting of 23-year-old Cameron Hooks, of Lenexa, and the wounding of two other men. The Lawrence Journal-World reports Carvin received the longer sentence because he had several prior felony convictions and was on probation when Hooks was killed at a Motel…
Officers filed a report for rape in Leonardville on October 10, 2018, at approximately 9:00 PM. Officers listed a 17 year old female as the victim and a 17 year old male known to her as the suspect. Due to the nature of the crime reported, no additional information will be released. Officers filed a report for theft in the 2200 block of Claflin Rd. in Manhattan on October 10, 2018 at approximately 4:55 PM. Officers listed Boyu Bai, 24, of Manhattan as the victim when he reported an unknown suspect took his specialized Rockhopper bicycle. The estimated total loss associated…
Though Wildcat Creek didn’t reach the levels projected by the National Weather Service, other counties are experiencing localized flooding and flash flooding. Reno, Butler, Sumner, and Sedgwick Counties are among the counties that saw flooding. As a result, Gov. Jeff Colyer has declared a state of disaster emergency Wednesday in response to the heavy recent rains. “With such excessive rainfall, we realize that many may have need of recovery assistance. This declaration will help with that effort,” said Colyer. “At the same time, I encourage Kansans to reach out to your neighbors and those in your community who may have…
Wednesday’s guests were Wamego USD 320 Superintendent Tim Winter and Rock Creek USD 323 Superintendent Kevin Logan, Manhattan Fire Department Deputy Chief Ryan Almes and Deputy Fire Marshall Ryan Courtright, and National Wildlife Federation Senior Agriculture Program Manager Ryan Stockwell.
TOPEKA — Data shows Kansans waited an average of 573 days for decisions on their Social Security claims during the last fiscal year. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports Social Security data showed that is an increase from the previous fiscal year, when wait times were 557 days. However, the number of pending cases decreased from 4,290 in the previous year to 2,454 cases pending between September 2017, and August 2018. Jewell Colbert, spokeswoman for Social Security’s Kansas City region, says a complex appeals process and a “stringent definition” of disability requires detailed medical evidence before the decisions are made. Mike Stein…
LAWRENCE — The Dole Institute of Politics at the University of Kansas will honor former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker with the 2018 Dole Leadership Prize. The institute announced Wednesday the honor for Baker on Wednesday. Baker served in senior government positions under three U.S. presidents, including as secretary of state for President George H.W. Bush and chief of staff for President Ronald Reagan. Baker will accept the award on Nov. 7 at a public program at the institute. The Dole Leadership Prize is awarded annually to an individual or group whose public service leadership inspires others. The prize…
LAWRENCE — Lawrence city commissioners say they favor reducing the city’s penalties for marijuana possession. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the issue was discussed Tuesday at a work session in response to a request from a Lawrence resident this summer. Lawrence’s penalties for marijuana possession were adopted in 2006 and more severe than the state requires. First-time offenders in Lawrence pay a minimum fine of $200, and must also pay for and undergo a drug evaluation. Both city ordinance and state law set a maximum fine of $1000 and/or imprisonment up to 180 days. State law doesn’t require a minimum fine…
SHAWNEE — Fellow Republicans are condemning a local GOP official’s social media attack saying a Native American congressional candidate in Kansas would be “sent back packing to the reservation.” The Kansas City Star reports that in the same Facebook message, Republican precinct committee member Michael Kalny of suburban Kansas City also called Democratic candidate Sharice Davids a “radical socialist kick boxing lesbian Indian.” He sent the message Monday to the president of a local Democratic women’s group. Davids is an LGBT and Native American lawyer running against Republican Rep. Kevin Yoder. Yoder’s spokesman and Kansas GOP Executive Director Jim Joice…