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.
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA — Democrats have picked a self-described “social justice activist” who runs two stores selling legal products derived from hemp to replace Lt. Gov.-elect Lynn Rogers in the Kansas Senate. The Wichita Eagle reports that Democratic precinct committee members in Rogers’ district in Wichita selected political newcomer Mary Ware during a weekend meeting. She will serve the final two years of Rogers’ four-year term. Ware runs two CBD stores offering oils from cannabis. Ware said that her top legislative priorities include legalizing marijuana, along with criminal justice reform and expanding the state’s Medicaid health coverage for the needy. She defeated…
Dayton Hunter-Clay, 20, of Topeka, was arrested while in the 1000 block of S Seth Child Rd. in Manhattan on November 30, 2018, at approximately 2:00 PM. Hunter-Clay was arrested on a Riley County District Court warrant for failure to appear. Hunter-Clay was issued a total bond of $20,000.00. Hunter-Clay was not confined at the time of this report. Officers responded to the report of an injury accident in the 800 block of Denison Ave. in Manhattan on November 30, 2018, at approximately 6:55 PM. When officers arrived on scene they found a pedestrian, Susan Keller, 61, of Manhattan had…
Update 4:30 p.m. Republicans in the Kansas House have elected a new, more conservative majority leader. Rep. Dan Hawkins of Wichita won a vote of GOP members and members-elect over moderate Majority Leader Don Hineman of Dighton. The vote was 48-35, with one member not voting and another absent. Hawkins’ election is likely to complicate Democratic Gov.-elect Laura Kelly’s efforts to pass her legislative agenda. She wants to expand the state’s Medicaid health coverage for the needy, and Hineman backed the idea. Hawkins opposes Medicaid expansion. Hineman has served as majority leader for the past two years. His election in…
It’s the end of an era at K-State. Ryan Black of the Manhattan Mercury reports that Hall of Fame head coach Bill Snyder will announce his retirement today after 27 seasons with the Wildcats. News of a 2:00 team meeting Sunday afternoon was first reported by K-State Online and later confirmed by KMAN. Snyder orchestrated the greatest turnaround in college football history in Manhattan. He won 215 games during two stints as the Wildcats head coach after inheriting a program mired in a 26 game winless streak. Those 215 wins are 176 more than anyone else in school history. Snyder…
Former President George H.W. Bush has died at the age of 94. Family spokesman Jim McGrath says Bush died shortly after 10 p.m. Friday, about eight months after the death of his wife, Barbara Bush. The nation’s 41st president served from 1989 to 1993, and eight years later watched his son George W. became the 43rd president. The elder Bush saw his popularity swell with the United States’ success in the Gulf War in 1991, only to watch it evaporate in a brief but deep recession. The Republican was defeated in his bid for a second term by Democrat Bill…
MANHATTAN — Mental health in the Manhattan area is getting a major boost thanks to a state of Kansas grant awarded to Pawnee Mental Health Services recently. The $725,000 grant will help toward construction soon of the new Community Crisis Stabilization Center. Executive Director Robbin Cole, a guest on KMAN’s In Focus Thursday, says this is a specific level of care that provides a next step for patients before being admitted to a hospital. Cole says Pawnee is working with an architect to remodel one of their existing buildings to create the crisis stabilization center. Every few weeks, Pawnee Mental…
SALINA — Salina police are investigating the death of a 30-year-old man as a homicide. Police Capt. Paul Forrester says police went to a house early Friday after receiving a call about shots fired. Officers found the man dead inside the home. The Salina Journal reports it is the city’s first homicide of the year. Forrester said detectives are interviewing witnesses who were inside the house during the shooting. No suspect has been taken into custody. The victim’s name has not been released.
TOPEKA — The Kansas Attorney General has asked a judge to dismiss two criminal charges against a former employee at a Kansas water park where a 10-year-old boy died. The Kansas City Star reports a motion filed Thursday asks a Wyandotte County judge to dismiss charges against Tyler Miles. He was director of operations at Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kansas, when Caleb Schwab was decapitated on a water slide in August 2016. The charges accused Miles of lying to authorities and concealing evidence from investigators. Miles is still charged with involuntary manslaughter, aggravated child endangerment and aggravated battery.…
TOPEKA — Kansas lawmakers are discussing raising the state’s gas tax and implementing new fees as a way to help fund future highway improvements. The Wichita Eagle reports that a state task force finalized recommendations Thursday for a long-term transportation plan as Kansas prepares to transition out T-WORKS, the 10-year, $8 billion transportation program that began in 2010. The recommendations call for transportation funding through sales taxes, a fee on electric vehicles and raising the gas tax. State lawmakers and the Kansas Department of Transportation will consider the recommendations as they develop a new transportation program in the coming year.…