Jury duty has never been easier. A local filmmaker is still in need of extras for a jury in his courtroom drama. The film, titled “Objects in the Mirror” centers around a manslaughter case involving a county attorney. “As (the Manhattan Arts Center) is a community theatre with volunteer-only workers, it is not easy to get people together, but we’ve mostly managed to get this project off the ground,” Hal Dace, the movie’s co-director, told KMAN Thursday. “But we need one last push to get more extras to commit to perform.” Penny Cullers is the other co-director. In April, Riley…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA — Gov. Sam Brownback has allowed a bill designed to keep concealed guns out of public hospitals and mental health centers to become law without his signature. The governor acted Thursday and broke with gun-rights allies. The new law allows a permanent ban on concealed guns at state hospitals, other public hospitals, community mental health centers, publicly owned nursing homes and indigent clinics. It also allows the University of Kansas Health System and the university’s medical school in Kansas City, Kansas, to ban concealed guns. A 2013 state law required public buildings to allow concealed guns if those buildings…
Gov. Sam Brownback has signed into law a measure to increase the state’s funding on public schools in response to a court mandate. Brownback acted Thursday on the bill, which would phase in a $293 million increase in aid to public schools over two years. The Kansas Supreme Court ruled in March that the state’s $4 billion a year in education funding was inadequate. “The legislature missed an opportunity to substantially improve the K-12 funding system,” Brownback said to KMAN in a release Thursday afternoon. “They did, however, direct more dollars into the classroom by limiting bond and interest aid,…
Wamego Health Center broke ground Wednesday afternoon on their $10.8 million expansion. According to their website, the year-long project will add 11,000 square feet to the facility, including more patient rooms, an expanded laboratory, surgery department, and improved ER and radiology departments. Wamego Health Center Administrator Steve Land said that the hospital staff is “excited” for the project, adding that they are ready for the construction to begin. Throughout the project, several departments will be displaced, but Land indicated that the hospital will be running as close to normal as construction allows. The main entrance to Wamego Health Center will…
Today’s guest was Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce President Lyle Butler.
Officers filed a report for theft in the 200 block of William Dr. in Ogden, Kansas, on June 14, 2017 at approximately 8:55 AM. Officers listed Jesse Burton, 26, of Ogden, Kansas, and Mario Chavez, 25, of Ogden, Kansas, as victims when it was reported that 6 pistols were stolen sometime in the past 8 months. The total loss associated with this case is approximately $4,150. Police ask that anyone with information contact RCPD or the Manhattan Riley County Crime Stoppers. Officers filed a report for burglary in the 2100 block of Little Kitten Ave. on June 14, 2017 at approximately…
Manhattan P.E.O. Chapter IW presented a $2,000 continuing education grant Wednesday to Manhattan Christian College student Krysta Wise, who is majoring in the LEAD program, pursuing a degree in Management and Ethics. Wise, of Manhattan, was presented with the check by IW’s Continuing Education Chair Cathy Scroggs, with committee members Cheryl Arthur and Carol Keltner present. Committee member Candace Pannbacker was not available for the presentation. Also pictured is MCC representative Alicia Spalding. The PEO Program for Continuing Education is a grant program providing financial assistance to women whose education has been interrupted and who find it necessary to…
FORT RILEY — Fort Riley officials are hopeful a $37 million program to conserve energy will save the Army post $92 million during the next 22 years. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports construction began Tuesday as part of 15 energy conservation measures for the fort’s 280 buildings. Michael Witmer, with the fort’s public works department, says the plan is to reduce energy usage by 25 percent by 2025. The project will be funded over the 22 years by a third party and doesn’t require taxpayer dollars. The money from the energy savings will help pay the contractor back for its capital…
SALINA — Officials with the Rolling Hills Zoo near Salina say a southern white rhinoceros has been euthanized. The zoo said in a news release that the rhino, named Milly, was euthanized Wednesday because of declining health and old age. Milly was one of the first animals at Rolling Hills, arriving in 1996 as part of the White Rhinoceros Species Survival Plan. She was born in South Africa and came to Salina from the Knoxville Zoo. The rhino’s age was between 46 and 51. White rhinos are considered a near-threatened species, with about 20,000 remaining in the wild. Milly’s body…
A Manhattan man charged with murder made his first appearance in court Tuesday. Steven Harris, who faces charges of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder, had his preliminary hearing set for July 21 at 1 p.m. in the Riley County District Courthouse. Harris is suspected of being the man behind the trigger on the night of May 21 in a shooting at the 2800 block of Nelson’s Landing in Manhattan that left 39-year-old German Gonzalez-Garcia dead at the scene. A second man, Adrian Ortega, was also shot. He was transported in critical condition to Stormont Vail Hospital in Topeka and survived.…