Wednesday’s program featured a preview of the July 3 USD 383 Manhattan/Ogden School Board meeting with Superintendent Marvin Wade and Board Vice President Karla Hagemeister. We also heard from members of the Farm and Food Council in Manhattan, including coordinator Vicki James, board member Adrian Self and intern Rachel Van Gilder.
Author: KMAN Staff
OLATHE — A judge has thrown out a defamation lawsuit filed by Kansas Senate Majority Leader Jim Denning against The Kansas City Star over a column on Medicaid expansion. Johnson County District Judge Paul Gurney ruled Tuesday that the Overland Park Republican didn’t show that The Star acted with malice in publishing Steve Rose’s column in January. The judge ordered Denning to pay The Star’s estimated $40,000 in legal fees. Denning alleged The Star and Rose defamed him because Rose attributed statements against Medicaid expansion to him that he never made. Rose contends the statements came from a 2018 conversation.…
MANHATTAN — After two and a half hours of public comment Tuesday night, the Manhattan City Commission unanimously voted to authorize USD383 Manhattan/Ogden Schools to use an off-site lot as staff parking for Woodrow Wilson Elementary. Mayor Pro Tempore Usha Reddi says for her, the decision wasn’t a huge dilemma. “Sometimes in the city, we think of parking problems, and it’s usually a convenience problem. This is not a convenience problem. This is just a necessity that we need to have,” Reddi said. The lot is located at the corner of Osage and North 6th Street, currently vacant due to…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas is reporting that it collected nearly $33 million more in taxes than anticipated in June and ended its 2019 budget year with solid revenue growth. The state Department of Revenue said Tuesday that Kansas collected nearly $782 million in taxes last month. The state’s fiscal forecast had predicted a little more than $749 million in taxes, making the surplus about 4.4%. Tax collections exceed expectations 24 of the past 25 months. The state collected nearly $7.5 billion in taxes during its 2019 budget year, or $191 million more than expected. That was a surplus of 2.6%.…
WICHITA — Kansas drivers can no longer be charged with a crime for refusing a field sobriety test under a new state law. The Wichita Eagle reports that a change in state law that took effect Monday means police can’t ticket suspected drivers for not taking one. But refusal to comply comes with a year-long license suspension. That is as long as the longest suspension for failing a breathalyzer or blood test. Drivers who refuse to be tested can still be prosecuted for a DUI based on other evidence. The decision to strike the law making it a separate violation…
TOPEKA — Authorities have confiscated an estimated $1 million in illegal drugs during a traffic stop on Interstate 70 just west of Topeka. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that the Indianapolis driver was booked into jail after last week’s traffic stop. The stop stemmed from a registration violation. Shawnee County sheriff’s Sgt. Todd Stallbaumer says the drugs found inside the woman’s vehicle included 9 kilograms (about 20 pounds) of cocaine and 1 kilogram (about 2 pound) of black tar heroin.
Tuesday’s guests were Manhattan Mayor Mike Dodson and City Manager Ron Fehr. They previewed the upcoming City Commission meeting which includes a public partnership agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers, a public hearing and vote on a new parking lot near Woodrow Wilson Elementary, a professional services agreement to complete the Kirkwood Drive extension design as well as a discussion of the 2019 Community Survey results.
TOPEKA — The DUI case against Kansas Sen. Vic Miller has been referred to Shawnee County District Court from Topeka Municipal Court, where Miller used to be chief judge. City spokeswoman Molly Hadfield says the case was referred to the county for charging consideration due to potential conflicts. Miller was the municipal court’s administrative judge from 2011 to 2015. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the court’s website shows that the municipal charges for DUI and inattentive driving were dismissed on June 20. Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay says his office has received the charging affidavit from Topeka police and the…
TOPEKA — A government transparency group says the Kansas attorney general’s office has dismissed part of a formal complaint, while continuing to investigate whether the public was denied the right under the Open Meetings Act to observe Senate business after the visitor gallery was closed during a protest. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the Kansas Sunshine Coalition for Open Government sought intervention by Attorney General Derek Schmidt after the May 29 Senate session was interrupted by supporters of Medicaid expansion. Reporters were removed from the chamber during the protest. Senators, legislative staff, employees of the governor and others were allowed to…
WICHITA — Prosecutors say a 35-year-old man was sentenced to more than two years in prison for a series of attacks on a Kansas internet service provider. The U.S. attorney’s office said in a news release Monday that Michael D. Golightley of Larned contacted an entity called DDosCity to arrange for a series of denial of service attacks on Nex-Tech’s computer. Nex-Tech is an internet provider with multiple offices across Kansas. Its commercial customers include the Pawnee County Courthouse. The company was hit by three denial-of-service attacks that overloaded its servers on March 30 and 31, 2017. The government alleged…