PITTSBURG — The state’s newest casino and hotel complex is getting closer to opening. Officials with the Kansas Crossing Casino + Hotel say the $80 million facility near Pittsburg will have its grand opening April 8. The first day will include opening the casino floor and two restaurants, as well as the first concert at The Corral, the indoor entertainment venue. The act for that concert has not yet been announced. The development that will feature more than 625 slot machines, 16 gaming tables, a 123-room Hampton Inn and Suites and entertainment complex. Kansas Crossing will join state-owned casinos Dodge City,…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA — Kansas legislators have killed a bill containing Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposals to raise tobacco and liquor taxes to help fix the state’s serious budget problems. The GOP-controlled state Senate voted 37-1 to kill the bill Tuesday. Senate President Susan Wagle and other top Republicans had predicted there would be little support for Brownback’s proposals. Lawmakers so far are focusing on closing projected budget shortfalls totaling more than $1 billion through June 2019 by rolling back past income tax cuts championed by Brownback. The Legislature passed an income tax bill last month but Brownback vetoed it. The bill rejected…
New estimates indicate Kansas wildfires have burned more than 1,000 square miles, up from 625 square miles. The Manhattan Fire Department and Riley County Fire District No. 1 sent crews to assist with the fires near Hutchinson Monday and Tuesday. The Kansas Division of Emergency Management said late Tuesday that the heaviest damage is in Clark County, where 548 square miles have burned. That fire started in Oklahoma before moving into the Kansas ranching community. Another 235 square miles have burned in neighboring Comanche County, Kansas. The state says six other counties are battling blazes. Among them, estimates of the…
Today’s guests on In Focus were Supt. Kevin Logan of Rock Creek USD 323, and Tim Winter of USD 320 Wamego. Jo Brunner, Workforce Services Supervisor with Kansas Works, on an upcoming career fair.
Officers filed a report for criminal threat in the 2000 block of Little Kitten Ave. on March 7, 2017 at approximately 8:20 AM. Officers listed Stoneybrook Retirement Home as the victim when they reported that an unknown suspect called Stoneybrook claiming to have placed 3 bombs outside the facility. Officers at the scene were able to quickly determine there was no danger to Stoneybrook or to the community at large. No further calls have been reported at this time. Police ask that anyone with information contact RCPD or the Manhattan Riley County Crime Stoppers. Using the Crime Stoppers service can allow…
A proposal to bring new jobs to Manhattan was presented in Tuesday’s City Commission meeting. The K-State Foundation made the proposal to take advantage of city economic development funds to help facilitate job creation at the KSU Foundation Center. The funds are available to any business in Manhattan, given the approval of city officials. The KSU Foundation estimates the funds will result in more than 100 new residents moving to the Manhattan area for work. Mayor Usha Reddi says this investment in the K-State Foundation will also represent a large growth in property tax revenue for the city with estimated building costs for the…
WICHITA — A federal judge has delayed until summer the trial against three men accused of plotting to bomb an apartment complex and mosque used by Somali immigrants in western Kansas. U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren on Tuesday scheduled the trial for June 13. It had previously been set to start April 25. Prosecutors allege Patrick Stein, Gavin Wright and Curtis Allen plotted to detonate truck bombs at an apartment complex where 120 Somali immigrants live in the meatpacking town of Garden City. Wright is a former Manhattan resident. They have pleaded not guilty to conspiring to use a weapon of…
One of three people convicted in connection with a February 1997 murder in Riley County has apparently been passed over for parole. Duereal Campbell’s (37) next earliest possible release date is March first of 2018. Campbell and Delisha Branch (45) and Shakeer Davis (37) were convicted of the murder of Wanda Norman (44) of Manhattan at Norman’s home at Countryside Estates. All three were up for public comment sessions in January, with the earliest release in March of this year. There’s been no word from the KansasDepartment of Corrections yet regarding Branch and Davis. In addition to first degree murder, the…
WICHITA — An early snapshot of winter wheat fields in Kansas shows wide variations as the majority of the state remains warm and dry. The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Monday that 22 percent of the wheat crop in Kansas is in poor to very poor condition. About 35 percent is rated as fair with 43 percent in good to excellent condition. Rain and hail were reported in only a few southeastern counties this past week. Elsewhere, high winds are raising concerns of wildfires. Topsoil moisture is rated as short to very short across 62 percent of the state. Livestock…
TOPEKA — Kansas legislators are considering whether to increase tobacco taxes as part of a broader package for fixing the state budget and raising new dollars for public schools. The Senate planned to debate a bill Tuesday that contains Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s proposals to raise taxes on cigarettes, other tobacco products, liquor, wine and beer. The bill also would increase annual filing fees for businesses. Top Senate Republicans do not believe Brownback’s proposals have much support. But Majority Leader Jim Denning said higher tobacco taxes could be the exception. Lawmakers so far have been focused on raising income taxes to…