TOPEKA — A veteran Topeka police officer will now lead the department. City Manager Brent Trout announced Friday that Bill Cochran, who has been with the department since 1987, will become the new chief. Cochran has been interim chief since November and will take over the department immediately. He has worked in several areas in the Topeka department, including homicide, patrol and criminal investigations. He also was an officer for 20 years in the Kansas Army National Guard and was deployed to Iraq. Trout will earn $135,500 per year. The new chief takes over a department that saw a record…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA — A Wichita church is celebrating the return of a baby Jesus that was stolen from its manger last week. The Church of the Blessed Sacrament said the statue was found Wednesday in a yard of a home and returned to the parish office. “Hallelujah! The Baby Jesus is back!” the church posted on Facebook. The church thinks the statue was stolen the night of Jan. 3 or early Jan. 4, prompting the church to say on its sign “This is why we can’t have nice things.” The Wichita Eagle reports pieces of the manger scene have been stolen…
Today on In Focus, Representative Roger Marshall joined KMAN via telephone. Other guests today were USD 475 Executive director of Marketing and Media Relations Mat Droge and Representative Tom Phillips. Roger Marshall: Mat Droge: Tom Phillips:
The T. Russell Reitz Animal Shelter is closed while undergoing interior renovations. according to a press release from the City of Manhattan. The animal shelter will still accept animal surrenders and process reclaims during this time, however, adoptions will be on hold until the Shelter re-opens Tuesday. Renovations include new flooring throughout the building, as well as portions of the building, are being repainted. All care areas of the animals will not be affected by the installation. “We want the community to know we are still here to help care for the animal population at this time, however, due to…
MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Barry Brown wanted to get right back in the gym after Kansas State’s loss to Texas Tech over the weekend, but coach Bruce Weber told him NCAA rules limited how much the team could practice. So, Brown organized his own workout. He gathered the whole team Sunday without any of their coaches, running up and down the floor in an otherwise empty gym. It was a reset for a team with NCAA Tournament expectations that had just lost its third-leading scorer, Kamau Stokes, for quite a while with a foot injury. “That,” Weber said, “just showed…
Today’s Guests on In Focus were Fort Riley Tax Assistance Center Director Elizabeth Thurston, Master Sergeant Jason Snell and Rachelle Wolford. We also had Linda Teener with UFM Community Learning Center.
Early morning patches of ice and blowing snow throughout the morning closed several schools Thursday in the KMAN listening area. Manhattan-Ogden USD 383 canceled classes Thursday, along with Junction City, Wamego and Rock Creek school districts. Rile County government offices were also closed Thursday. Sunset Zoo in Manhattan also closed for the day. A full list of closings and cancellations can be read here. The Geary County Sherrif’s Office said Thursday morning it is under emergency accident reporting protocol. The Geary County Sheriff’s Department will not respond to non-injury accidents when the vehicles are operable. Drivers should move to a…
Guests for the first half of In Focus today were Wamego Superintendent Tim Winter and Rock Creek Superintendent Kevin Logan. In the second half, KMAN had Spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award organizer Debbie Nuss, MLK Celebration Committee Vice Chair Kevin Bryant, committee member Robin Edmunds in the studio. Tim Winter and Kevin Logan: Debbie Nuss, Kevin Bryant, and Robin Edmunds:
The Fort Riley museum complex, which includes the U.S. Cavalry and 1st Infantry Division museums, will close for a renovation beginning Monday, Jan. 15. During the closure, Fort Riley will establish a temporary museum located at 247 Cameron Ave. That facility is scheduled to open by the end of March. The Fort Riley Museum Gift Shop will remain open in its current location until the temporary site is ready to open. The main museum buildings will be closed for at least two years during the renovation project, which includes updating lighting and technology and redesigning the display spaces. A third…
A Junction City woman was indicted Wednesday on charges of producing child pornography, U.S. Attorney Tom Beall said in a press release from his office. Kayla Michelle Simpson, 22, is charged with one count of using a child to produce child pornography and one count of violating the conditions imposed on a registered sex offender. The crime is alleged to have occurred in July 2016 in Junction City. The indictment alleges that Simpson, who was registered sex offender, enticed a 16-year-old victim to engage in sexual activity for the purpose of producing child pornography. If convicted, Simpson faces a penalty…