Riley County treasurer Shilo Heger has told KMAN she will be seeking to retain her seat this November. Heger took over for Eileen King, who retired during her term in June 2014. Before being voted in as King’s successor with 100 percent of the Riley County Republican Party precinct committee’s vote, Heger was King’s deputy in the treasuer’s office. “This year and a half has given me a lot of experience and I just feel like I still have a lot to offer to Riley County,” Heger told KMAN. “Our office, I think, provides very good customer service and I…
Author: KMAN Staff
LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas Endowment is using its own crowdfunding campaign to raise money for smaller projects on campus. The campaign, called Launch KU, is designed to bring in money for projects such as replacing 10 musicians’ chairs at Swarthout Recital hall or bringing therapy dogs to campus. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the first seven projects raised more than $50,000 from 200 donors. A second batch of eight projects ends in mid-April. The endowment’s senior director of giving, David Decker, says the campaign is a new approach targeting a different audience than the organization’s typical years-long, multimillion-dollar building…
TOPEKA — A union representing Kansas teachers has filed two district court lawsuits alleging three teachers were removed from their positions without independent hearings, even though they earned tenure before the state Legislature repealed teacher protections in 2014. The lawsuits filed by the Kansas National Education Association come as the union and the state prepare for a showdown before the state Supreme Court over the 2014 law. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the lawsuits filed against school districts in Wyandotte and Butler counties say three teachers were denied due process. The union argues teachers who earned tenure before 2014 can’t be…
On this President’s Day, host Cathy Dawes and program director Dave Lewis opened up the phone lines to KMAN listeners. Topics discussed included the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, recent decisions in the Kansas Supreme Court, and the speed limit on I-70 in Kansas.
A local author’s latest book tells the tale of his mother’s search for her biological mother. KelLee Parr’s mother was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and adopted by a couple from rural Kansas. Later on in her life, Parr helped his mother find her origins. “My Little Valentine” is not a traditional Valentine tale, but instead weaves the story of a mother and daughter catching up on years of lost love. KelLee Parr recently visited with KMAN about his new novel. Parr says his book is just as much about the hidden history of Kansas City as it is…
WICHITA — Kansas senators are working to keep Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration from approving new economic development projects that cost the state sales tax revenue. Senators approved a budget bill Thursday with an amendment preventing the Department of Commerce from approving new STAR bonds projects this and next fiscal year. The program has been used to finance construction of projects and allows municipalities to use sales tax revenue to pay off the bonds. Some lawmakers say the STAR bonds program should be halted temporarily because of the state’s dire financial situation. The Wichita Eagle reports the Department of Commerce says…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. — A 19-year-old Kansas City man accused of trying to kill a Wyandotte County deputy has been sentenced on an unrelated robbery charge. Charles Bowser is one of three men charged with shooting Deputy Scott Wood during a convenience store robbery last March in Kansas City, Kansas. The Kansas City Star reports that two other men were found convicted earlier this month of attempted capital murder in Wood’s shooting. Bowser is set for trial in May in that case. Bowser was sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison for a January 2015 home invasion robbery. A jury…
Two separate accidents in Geary county sent three people to the hospital on Friday evening. Shortly after 7 p.m. deputies responded to K-18 Highway mile marker 166 for a single vehicle non-injury accident. Kevin Langdon, of Talmage, was driving a 2006 Buick Lucerne eastbound when a cow entered the roadway. Langdon was unable to avoid striking the animal. Two hours later deputies responded to U.S. 77 mile marker 145 for a two vehicle injury accident. Jeff Prafke, of Dwight, was traveling northbound in his 1999 Ford Escort when he crossed the center line striking Stephen Newey of Herington who was driving…
A Manhattan woman has died following a three-vehicle accident Saturday morning on Tuttle Creek Boulevard. According to a report from the Kansas Highway Patrol, Jenna Michelle Lindsten, 30, was driving a 2014 Chevrolet Captiva Sport at 11 a.m. eastbound on Marlatt Avenue as she approached the Tuttle Creek Boulevard intersection. As she entered the intersection, a 1997 Kenworth semi truck driven by Ethan Mark Butts, 21, also of Manhattan, ran a red light and struck Lindsten’s vehicle, causing it to spin into northbound lanes and hit a 2008 Chevrolet Silverado driven by 42-year-old Quinton Lee Huncovsky, another Manhattan resident. Lindsten was…
A Manhattan man was arrested just after midnight Sunday morning in the 500 block of Colorado St for drug charges. Leon Friedrich Houk, 31, was arrested for unlawful possession of illegal drugs and driving with a suspended liciense. At the time of this report Houk is confined in the Riley County Jail with a $6,000 bond.