The space that formally housed the iconic Varney’s Bookstore in Manhattan’s Aggieville district on 623 N. Manhattan Ave. won’t be vacant for much longer. Rally House and Kansas Sampler have announced they will open a store in the Varney’s building on Saturday. It will be called Rally House Aggieville. Rally House is a specialty sports boutique that offers a large selection of apparel, gifts and home décor representing local NCAA, NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS teams. It currently operates stores throughout Kansas, Missouri, Texas, Philadelphia and Cincinnati. “We’re very excited about the opportunity to open in Manhattan,” CEO Aaron Liebert said in…
Author: KMAN Staff
LARNED — Kansas has launched an audit of a state mental hospital’s finances a day after the announcement that its chief financial officer no longer was affiliated with the site. The Wichita Eagle reports that the Larned State Hospital’s superintendent and special counsel announced David Fender’s departure Monday in an email to staff. Fender was hired last year. A spokeswoman for the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, Angela de Rocha, declined to discuss reason’s for Fender’s departure, calling it a private personnel matter. De Rocha said Tuesday that though the department has “no reason to believe anything is amiss” at…
OKLAHOMA CITY — Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has named several Oklahomans to his newly created Agriculture Advisory Committee, including Gov. Mary Fallin. Trump announced the creation of the 64-member committee in a press release on Tuesday as a way to “strengthen our nation’s agriculture industry as well as provide support to our rural communities.” It includes current and former elected officials, farmers and officials with agriculture trade groups. The governors of several other agriculture states were named to the panel, including Govs. Terry Branstad of Iowa, Sam Brownback of Kansas, Jack Dalrymple of North Dakota and Dennis Daugaard of…
The Kansas Court of Appeals has affirmed a ruling in State v Barrett–a second degree murder case in Riley County District Court a couple of years ago. The Howard Barrett case has actually gotten recognition state-wide for mental health implications, with Barrett, 57, found guilty in November of 2014 of the reckless fatal stabbing of Thomas James, 48, of Clay Center in February of 2008. Barrett was sentenced to 123 months or more than 10 years, with the secretary of corrections. The appeal for Barrett maintained the 6-year delay in bringing him to trial violated his constitutional right to a speedy trial;…
After a summer in Topeka that at moments had the first day of school in question across the Sunflower State, Northview Elementary School Principal Dr. Cleion Morton said she was happy to see full classrooms Tuesday morning as Manhattan-Ogden 383 opened its fall semester. “We are so thankful just to be moving forward and obviously not shutdown or anything like that,” she said. On June 24, state lawmakers passed a school finance bill that redistributes some funds from wealthier districts to meet a Kansas Supreme Court mandate to make the education funding system fairer to poor districts. The court threatened…
Wamego’s USD 320 Board of Education held one of the shortest meetings to date. At Monday’s meeting, Superintendent Tim Winter briefly went over the 2016-2017 budget that was reviewed in detail at the special July 25th meeting, and approved for Public Hearing at this meeting. Winter noted the Code 99 budget is frozen because of block grant funding. The board approved the budget by a vote of 7 to 0. In other business, the Board approved the only bid for the HVVAC system for the PLC Building (8th Street Campus). The only bidder was Thermal Comfort Air of Manhattan with…
TOPEKA — Plaintiffs in the ongoing Kansas school finance lawsuit have told the state Supreme Court that some student test scores show the state is failing to fund its public schools adequately. But attorneys for the state counter that funding is at record levels, that all schools are meeting state accreditation standards, and a court order for additional funding would be “a flagrant violation of the separation of powers.” The Lawrence Journal-World reports both sides in the dispute filed briefs with the court Friday. The Supreme Court could have a lot to say about what that new formula looks like and how…
The Riley County Police Department has received several reports of vehicle burglary in the past several weeks. If you have been the victim of a vehicle burglary (even if nothing was taken) please contact police to report this crime. If you meet the criteria for online reporting of crime you can file a police report from a computer or mobile device with internet access. This online report can be filed through RileyCountyPolice.org. RCPD encourages you to lock and secure doors and windows on your vehicles and homes. Please remember to remove valuables from your vehicle and report suspicious activity or…
Pottawatomie County Commissioners approved a budget Monday following a public hearing with a mill levy increase of about 2 mills. KMAN’s Cathy Dawes asked Commission Chair Dee McKee for highlights:
A suspect is in custody in Junction City after a two hour negotiation with law enforcement following a reported domestic disturbance Monday night. Junction City Police report shortly before nine p.m they were dispatched to the 300 block of 5th Street, and upon arrival contact was made with a woman who advised her common law husband had threatened her as she exited the residence. It was reported the man in the apartment, identified as 49 year old Scott Robins, had a shotgun and had threatened to harm himself and others. Contact was made with the subject by telephone and he refused to exit the apartment to speak with the investigating officers. Members of the Junction City / Geary County Swat Team were called in to assist with the…