TOPEKA — The League of Women Voters of Kansas has joined a federal class action lawsuit seeking to overturn a state law that requires voters to show proof of U.S. citizenship to register. The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit in November on behalf of all individuals who’ve unsuccessfully attempted to register since the state’s citizenship requirement took effect in 2013. Plantiffs say that since then, nearly 23,000 Kansas residents have had their registrations placed “in suspense” or have been slashed from the voting lists altogether for failing to show the required proof of U.S. citizenship.…
Author: KMAN Staff
ALMA — Kansas residents are cleaning up from another round of rural wildfires that have burned at least 18 square miles. KSNT-TV reports that Alma City Councilmen Dan Deiter spent Wednesday sorting through debris at the Catholic school where he taught in northern Kansas. He says there was “no hope” for saving the building, which burned Tuesday. In nearby Riley County, authorities say workers from a Kansas State University agriculture program started a fire that burned about 300 acres and destroyed a mobile home. Riley County emergency management director Pat Collins told The Manhattan Mercury that the workers had been building a…
The Kansas Supreme Court has reappointed Judge Meryl D. Wilson to a two-year term as chief judge of the 21st judicial district. Chief Justice Lawton R. Nuss announced the news through a press release from the court. Wilson’s term is effective Feb. 1, 2016, to Dec. 31, 2017. Wilson has served as district judge in the 21st judicial district since April 1997. He presides over cases in Clay and Riley counties. “We are glad that Judge Wilson agreed to serve another two years as chief judge, providing continuity in capable leadership in the 21st judicial district,” said Nuss. “It is my honor to…
19-year-old Shawn Crowder was sitting at home watching TV, when he came across a televised meeting of the Manhattan City Commission. The topic? Protections against the discrimination of LGBT individuals. Crowder left his home at 10 p.m., determined to share his plea for help with local leaders. With several states around the nation considering bills said to encourage discrimination, the young gay man who hopes to one day become a politician simply told commissioners, “Please let us have our rights.” His sentiment followed a tale of teenage discrimination that forced him to drop out of high school. Like the teen’s,…
Firefighters responded to the scene of a house fire Thursday morning. The Riley County Fire Department said crews from the Keats station arrived to smoke billowing from the attic of an unoccupied home at 3090 Keats ave. Additional crews arrived on the scene and a living room ceiling was opened to expose and extinguish the flames. Total damages are believed to be under $10,000.00.
Today’s guests on In Focus included Executive Director of the Governor’s Military Council John Armbrust, and Riley County Farm Bureau advocates Mary Mertz and Melissa Wahl.
Officers with the Riley County Police Department arrested Danielle Jones, 37, of Junction City, while in the 400 block of Holiday Drive in Manhattan on several warrants for failure to appear. These five warrants originated in Geary County and were served on Wednesday at approximately 6:20 p.m. Jones was given a total bond of $215,000 and at the time of this report was no longer located at the Riley County Jail.
Members of the USD 383 Board of Education were left scratching their head after hearing a report about a new House bill which could replace block grant funding. Director of Business and Accounting Lew Faust spent more than 30 minutes briefing Wednesday nights audience about recent legislative actions, including moves legislators to secure funding and appease the Supreme Court’s orders. According to Faust, the state is hoping to meet the court order by securing funds through the extraordinary needs fund, which is money that is already allotted to schools. Faust also spoke about HB 2741, which drew remarks from board…
Destructive fires that saw the close of Tuttle Creek Boulevard Tuesday, were ignited by workers at the K-State Beef Stocker Unit. As reported by the Manhattan Mercury, Riley County emergency management director Pat Collins revealed the news Wednesday afternoon – saying a “torch or a welder” ignited the blaze while a fence was being built. As previously reported by KMAN, approximately 100-150 residents of a mobile homepark were assisted in leaving their homes as a result of the fire. According to Collins, one home was lost as crews battled the flames.
WICHITA — The man convicted of killing abortion provider George Tiller is in a Kansas court for arguments over resentencing issues. Scott Roeder’s life sentence with no chance of parole for 50 years was among many vacated after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2013 that juries, not judges, must decide whether aggravating circumstances existed to warrant increasing the punishment above mandatory minimum sentences. Wednesday’s hearing is expected to take up a number of routine issues, such as jury questionnaires, aggravating factors and other motions. Roeder was convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Tiller, who was shot in a church…