Riley County Commissioners approved the 2019 budget for publication on Thursday morning. The county mill levy will increase 2.09 mills compared to last year. A mill is $1 in tax for every $1,000 in assessed, taxable property value. Commissioners have cited higher than expected ambulance service costs and new emergency radio infrastructure as the reasons for the hike. In earlier meetings, the commissioners decided to keep most of the requests made from county departments flat from last year. Robinson told commissioners the published budget will be in the Manhattan Mercury June 25-27. They will then hold a public hearing on…
Author: KMAN Staff
A representative of the Riley County Police Department usually visits the studio every third Friday of the month, but Country Stampede has the department busy for this month’s appearance. Instead, in celebration of the new Jurassic World sequel coming out this weekend, die-hard JP fan and KMAN News Director Brady Bauman battled Andrew Hammond of sister station Z96.3 to a Jurassic Park trivia contest. Later in the show, Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce Director of Economic Development saved the program with discussion on the latest ruling from the Supreme Court concerning online sales tax and what it means for local…
TOPEKA — The Kansas Board of Regents has approved tuition and fee increases for all six public universities, citing a need to keep pace with rising costs and declining state support. K-State is increasing its tuition by 1.1 percent after it announced in May a budget cut of $15 million for FY2019. Full-time resident undergraduate students attending the University of Kansas in Lawrence will see a combined increase of about 3 percent. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the increase will bring the total cost of tuition plus fees to nearly $5,574 per semester. The increase comes at a time when…
KANSAS CITY — A Kansas sheriff is remembering two sheriff’s deputies who were fatally shot by an inmate as “true heroes.” The Kansas City Star reports that Wyandotte County Sheriff Don Ash said Thursday during a joint service for Theresa King and Patrick Rohrer that they “literally put their lives between a cold-blooded killer and the citizens they swore an oath to protect.” The deputies were buried Thursday following a joint service at 9 a.m. at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kansas. Authorities say an inmate apparently overpowered the deputies last Friday in a gated area behind the courthouse and…
KANSAS CITY — A Kansas priest has been revoked of his rank years after an investigation into multiple child sexual abuse allegations against him. The Kansas City Star reports that Archbishop Joseph Naumann issued a decree in December removing the Rev. John Wisner from the clergy. The decree was announced May 25. The Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas says it suspended Wisner from active ministry in 2012 after receiving many allegations he sexually abused minors decades ago. The archdiocese says an internal investigation found the allegations credible. Wisner has denied the allegations. The archdiocese says it notified law enforcement,…
WICHITA — A federal judge has delayed the trial of a Sedgwick County commissioner accused of misspending more than $10,000 in campaign funds and trying to cover it up. The jury trial of Michael O’Donnell that had been scheduled for July 10 has been continued to Sept. 18 in federal court in Wichita. The unopposed change was requested by his defense attorney because he already had another trial scheduled on that initial week and needed more time to prepare pretrial motions. O’Donnell has pleaded not guilty to a 12-count indictment alleging fraud and money laundering. Prosecutors say the 33-year-old Wichita…
Thursday’s guest was Lyle Butler, president of the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce.
Congressman Roger Marshall of Kansas’ Big First District has joined Kansas Senators Jerry Moran and Pat Roberts in voicing opposition to separating and detaining immigrant children apart from their parents at the U.S./Mexico border. Marshall took time between meetings at Washington D.C. to speak with KMAN during Wednesday morning’s edition of “In Focus.” “The separation of children from their parents is a terrible situation and the situation on the border is really a crisis situation,” Marshall said. “I think to call it a crisis situation is really an understatement.” Marshall said he spoke with President Trump on the issue Tuesday. “I think the…
Wednesday’s guests were Congressman Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Manhattan Area Technical College Director of Allied Health Mark Ballinger and Director of Nursing Laurie Stegeman. The show concluded with Flint Hills Regional Leadership Program Executive Director Jack Lindquist and program alum Matt Walters.
The Junction City Police Department says the investigation into the identity of a deceased woman found between two buildings in Junction City on May 28 continues. Wednesday, JCPD Public Information Officer Capt. Trish Giordano said the identity is still unknown, but added one has been ruled out. “We have received several calls inquiring whether this individual could be Ashley Meiss, the missing woman from Ogden,” Giordano said. “Ashley has been ruled out as our Jane Doe by a fingerprint comparison.” According to a press release from the JCPD on May 28, officers were advised of the body at 2:25 p.m. that…