WICHITA — The latest government report shows winter wheat in Kansas is turning color as harvest draws closer. The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Monday that 96 percent of the wheat has headed, with 16 percent now coloring Wheat condition is rated as 8 percent poor to very poor while 33 percent is in fair shape. The agency says 51 percent is in good condition and 8 percent is in excellent condition. Meanwhile, spring planting made some progress last week despite some rainy days that kept farmers out of fields. About 90 percent of the corn has now been seeded in Kansas,…
Author: KMAN Staff
Zoning and subdivision rules in Riley County could be rewritten soon. Riley County Planning and Development director Monty Wedel told county commissioners Monday morning his department has hired LSL Planning of Northglenn, Colo. Their first visit will be this week. Wedel said the firm will interview a variety of “stakeholder groups” to gather perspectives related to current regulations. A Steering Committee, which Wedel said will represent many different sectors of the community, has also been formed to provide guidance to the project. Commissioners will meet with the firm along with the county planning board and the Manhattan Urban Area Planning Board in…
TOPEKA, KAN. – A Topeka man pleaded guilty Monday, admitting to conspiring with a man who planned to detonate a vehicle bomb at Fort Riley. Alexander E. Blair, 30, Topeka, Kan., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy. During a plea hearing, Blair admitted he conspired with co-defendant John T. Booker, Jr., 21, Topeka. Asked after he was arrested about the fact Booker’s plan called for American service members to die in the bombing, Blair said: “That’s what they signed (up) for.” During an investigation of Booker, law enforcement officers learned that Blair shared some of the man’s extremist views and…
Police in Riley County were alerted to a single vehicle motorcycle collision on May 22, 2016 at approximately 4:00 PM in the 1300 block of S. Scenic Drive at the intersection of Fort Riley Blvd. This collision occurred when a 1995 Honda motorcycle lost control and left the roadway striking the traffic roundabout median. Richard Harrison, 71, of Manhattan was transported to Via Christi Hospital where he was pronounced deceased. The cause of death and it’s relation to the collision are unknown at the time of this release.
LAWRENCE — A man who spent nearly 16 years in prison for a rape and killing to which his brother confessed wants Kansas to pull the plug on the death penalty. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that 39-year-old Floyd Bledsoe shared his story over the weekend in the basement of a Lawrence church. Bledsoe never faced the death penalty himself. But he was sentenced to life in prison after he was convicted of raping and killing 14-year-old Camille Arfmann. He was released in December after a DNA test and suicide notes indicated his brother, Tom Bledsoe, killed Arfmann. Bledsoe says the court system…
A Grandview Plaza man faces a July 18th sentencing after entering a plea last week in Geary county Court to one count of aggravated indecent liberties of a child under 13 and 10 counts of sexuial exploitation of a child. Richard Tilton was arrested last September, with manufacturing child pornography also reported involved in a multi-jurisdictional investigation involving at least four counties. The presumptive sentence is life.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – A federal judge is slated to hear a change-of-plea request from a 29-year-old Topeka man accused of helping another man who plotted to bomb Fort Riley last year. The hearing is scheduled for Monday in Topeka. Alexander E. Blair previously pleaded not guilty to charges that he helped 21-year-old John T. Booker in his plot to plant a 1,000-pound bomb at the Fort Riley military base to aid the Islamic State group. Booker has pleaded guilty and acknowledged the plot. Authorities say Blair loaned Booker $100 for a storage space for the explosives and failed to…
Hip-hop artist Kanye West was brought up not once, but twice, and the day wouldn’t be without a large public selfie. The Class of 2016 certainly did it the way only the Class of 2016 could. Over 340 seniors from Manhattan High School were honored Sunday afternoon in Bramlage Coliseum and received their diplomas to the cheers from family, friends and faculty. MHS Principal Greg Hoyt congratulated the Class of 2016 for their academic and athletic achievements, but also their tenacity. “This class has earned approximately $1.2 million in scholarship money,” he said. “But more impressive to me has been…
WICHITA — Secretary of State Kris Kobach has asked a federal appeals court to stay a judge’s order to add to voting rolls for federal elections thousands of Kansans who did not provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote at motor vehicle offices. The Kansas Republican argued in a filing Friday to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals that the process would be administratively burdensome and would involve thousands of hours of work by election officials. U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson issued the preliminary injunction Tuesday after finding more than 18,000 eligible voters would be disenfranchised in the November federal election…
UPDATE: 4:06 p.m. The boy reported missing earlier was found safe by a Junction City Police officer about a quarter mile from his home. A Command Post had been set up and numerous volunteers along with law enforcement resources from the area to include the Junction City Police Department, Geary County Sheriff’s Office, Geary County Emergency Management, Kansas Wildlife & Parks, Kansas Highway Patrol, Kansas Rescue Dog Association, Fort Riley DA Police, Geary County Volunteer Fire Department, Junction City Fire Department, and a representative of the Missing & Exploited Children were en route to assist. The JCPD would thank all…