TOPEKA — Two Kansas legislative committees are resuming their work on budget issues this week before all lawmakers return to the Statehouse. The House Appropriations and Senate Ways and Means committees are scheduled to have a joint meeting Thursday morning. They plan to review a new fiscal forecast issued last week. The new forecast is more optimistic than one issued in November and boosted the state’s projected tax collections. But Kansas still faces projected budget shortfalls totaling $889 million through June 2019. And the budget gaps don’t include extra money for public schools following a Kansas Supreme Court ruling last month…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA — A magistrate judge has agreed to stay an order requiring Kansas’ top elections officials to turn over proposed changes to voting rights laws that he took to a meeting with President Donald Trump. The Kansas City Star reports that the action Judge James O’Hara took Sunday gives Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach time to appeal to U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson. At issue is whether Kobach will have to turn over two documents to plaintiffs in a lawsuit challenging a state law requiring voters provide proof of their U.S. citizenship when registering. After examining the documents, O’Hara ruled…
Today’s guests were Director John Briggs of the Konza Prairie Biological Station and K-State political science professor Dr. Timothy Shaffer. John Briggs: Dr. Tim Shaffer:
With a dozen players sidelined due to various injuries, Kansas State’s spring game Saturday afternoon was dominated by players hoping to see the field more this coming season. Purple defeated White, 38-6, in the team’s glorified final practice until fall camp opens. “The plus side of (the injuries) is the opportunity for twos and threes to move up the ladder and get more playing time,” coach Bill Snyder said. “The downside is that it destroys the continuity.” At least four of the 12 players who were held out of the game are regular starters, including quarterback Jesse Ertz. In his…
A Manhattan man was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound Friday night. According to a press release from the Riley County Police Department, 61-year-old Paul Walsh was deceased by the time officers arrived in the 700 block of Osage just before 9 p.m. Authorities say Walsh’s family has been notified. Police do not suspect foul play based on information and evidence collected at the scene.
An Ogden man was arrested for rape charges late Friday afternoon. 35-year-old Rondal Michael Genzel was arrested by the Riley County Police Department in Ogden. According to his arrest report, the victim was younger than 14. Genzel is confined in the Riley County Jail on a $100,000 bond. A Manhattan man was arrested in a separate just after midnight Saturday for traffic and drug charges. 20-year-old Jacob Vestweber was arrested in the 6000 block of Tuttle Creek Boulevard for possession of marijuana, DUI, driving while suspended and failure to stop at an accident. Authorities tell KMAN the arrest is unrelated to…
The Kansas State University Foundation’s board of trustees and K-State President Richard Myers announced the Innovation and Inspiration Campaign has surpassed its $1 billion goal ahead of schedule, and that a new goal has been set: $1.4 billion by 2020. Myers said that the decision to extend the campaign was based on the extraordinary success of the effort thus far. “Years ago, when we were first discussing the campaign goal, leaders at K-State and the KSU Foundation made the bold decision to pursue a $1 billion goal,” said Myers, who also serves as a campaign co-chair. “Over time, we’ve come…
K-State students who lost their lives in World War I were honored Friday afternoon with a re-dedication ceremony of Memorial Stadium. Now, it is officially World War I Memorial Stadium. “If we were to hold one second of silence for each death caused by the first World War,” Jed Dunham told the crowd. “It would require us to remain quiet for 162 days.” Fort Riley soldiers, dignitaries and a crowd filled the west side of the former KSU football stadium that has been a landmark on the campus of Kansas State University since 1922. Dunham, a writer and researcher for K-State’s Office of…
Today’s guests on In Focus included: State Representative Tom Phillips of Manhattan, Riley County Extension Director Jennifer Wilson, Riley County Senior Service Center Program Coordinator Melissa Colby, and Wamego Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Daryn Soldan. Phillips: Wilson: Colby: Soldan:
Unemployment rates across the area dropped during the month of March. According to a release from the Kansas Department of Labor, the unemployment rate in Riley county for March was 2.7-percent, which was nearly a .5-percent drop from February. The unemployment rate in Geary county dropped nearly one percent and currently sits at 5-percent unemployment. Pottawatomie county’s unemployment rate is 3-percent, down .3-percent from last month. The state average unemployment rate in March was 3.8-percent, and that was down from 4-percent in February.