KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas Supreme Court has struck down a state law that punished suspected drunken drivers who refuse to submit to sobriety testing even if police have not obtained a search warrant. In a 6-1 ruling, the court declared the state law a violation of constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure, and by extension due process. The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to decide the issue on a national scale.
Author: KMAN Staff
The City of Manhattan will host an open house from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 1, for the City Hall expansion project. A ribbon cutting with comments from those involved in the project will be at 4:30 p.m. The public is invited to tour the new Parks and Recreation offices and see renderings of plans for Peace Memorial Auditorium.
Today’s guests were Rep. Tom Phillips of Manhattan, Riley County Police Department Director Brad Schoen and Rep. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas.
Police arrested Justin Kendrick, 19, of Manhattan on February 25, 2016, at approximately 4:10 p.m. while at the Riley County Police Department. Kendrick was arrested on a warrant for probation violation from Nemaha County, Kansas and was given a bond of $5,000. At the time of this report he was confined at the Riley County Jail.
WICHITA – A criminal charge filed Friday alleges a Newton woman unlawfully transferred guns to a convicted felon who was killed Thursday in a shootout with police in Hesston, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said in a press release sent to KMAN. Sarah T. Hopkins, 28, is charged with one count of knowingly transferring a firearm to a convicted felon. An affidavit filed in the case alleges Hopkins knew Cedric Ford was a convicted felon who was prohibited from possessing a firearm when she gave him a Zastava Serbia, AK-47 type semi-automatic rifle and a Glock Model 22 40-caliber handgun. Cedric…
A Wamego man was sentenced to 55 months with the Department of Corrections Thursday. Pottawatomie County Attorney Sherri Schuck told KMAN Gerald Holley, 53, was convicted on five counts that included possession of methamphetamine and marijuana with intentions to distribute. Also, Schuck said Brian Duzan, 38, of Manhattan, pled no contest to charges that included burglary, forgery and theft. Duzan will be sentenced on April 21.
TOPEKA — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback is criticizing a legislative effort to block his administration’s effort to lure the American Royal horse and livestock exhibition out of Kansas City, Missouri. But the Republican governor said Thursday that he’s willing to work with lawmakers to overhaul a program in which the state authorizes bonds backed by sales tax revenues to help finance economic development projects. Brownback said the so-called STAR bonds program is “loose.” Legislators included a provision in budget legislation that blocks Brownback’s administration from issuing such debt for any Wyandotte County project through June 2017 unless lawmakers tighten up…
TOPEKA — The Kansas Supreme Court has struck down a law that shielded some residents from property tax hikes. The high court ruled Wednesday that the law unconstitutionally granted preferential treatment to “a discrete group of taxpayers.” The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that nearly two dozen counties across the state asked the court last year to consider the constitutionality of the state law, which was passed by the Legislature in 2014 and imposed a two-year moratorium on increases in tax valuation for citizens who requested, and won, a valuation appeal. The state’s high court sided with the counties on a 5-2…
This week was a rare win for counties in the state of Kansas. Riley County commissioners were informed Thursday morning that the Kansas Supreme Court ruled 5-2 in favor of counties in a case that dealt with appeals on appraised property values. Assistant County Counselor Craig Cox told commissioners that the court said the state freezing disputed property values for three years was unconstitutional. Before, recent changes to the appeal process — which were largely championed by commercial tax representatives — allowed any property owner who won a valuation appeal to have their value frozen for two years after the…
TOPEKA — The great-grandson of President Dwight D. Eisenhower will serve as Kansas’ next aviation director. The Kansas Department of Transportation says Merrill Eisenhower Atwater of Basehor will become part of the agency’s staff in his new job. The Lawrence Journal-World reports he will work with the Federal Aviation Administration and other aviation groups, as well as overseeing the transportation department’s aviation programs. Atwater’s last job was national sales director for Housby, a Des Moines, Iowa, company that handles Mack and Isuzu truck retail sales, truck maintenance, auctions and more. Atwater replaces Tiffany Brown, who went to work for the FAA in…