Riley County commissioners were updated on the latest EMS statistics on Country Stampede Monday morning. The annual Country Stampede music festival began Thursday and wrapped up Saturday night. This is the first year the festival opted to end on Saturday night rather than Sunday. Riley County EMS director Larry Couchman told commissioners the shortened event resulted in slightly fewer patients, but some numbers were still up. “EMS saw 92 patients, compared to 104 last year,” Couchman said. “So that number’s down, but consider that that’s one less day of statistics. “I would call it an average year for us for the type…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA — A government snapshot shows farmers have now harvested about 58 percent of their winter wheat crop in Kansas. The National Agricultural Statistics Service said Monday that the harvest this year is well ahead of both the 37 percent cut statewide at this time a year ago as well as the five-year average of 50 percent for this date. Harvest activity extends across Kansas. Southeast Kansas has cut 91 percent of its wheat, with the south-central Kansas harvest now 74 percent finished. Central Kansas has cut 78 percent. Harvest in northwest Kansas reached 13 percent. For the wheat still…
TOPEKA — Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback has signed legislation that would increase aid to poor school districts to meet a court mandate and end a threat that the state’s public schools might shut down. The bill signed Monday increases poor districts’ state funding by $38 million for the 2016-17 school year by diverting funds from other parts of the budget. It also redistributes some funds from wealthier districts, which is in line with a state Supreme Court ruling last month. The court said Kansas’ school funding system is still unfair to poor districts and gave lawmakers until Thursday to make further changes.…
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Army has identified a man who died in an Alaska motorcycle crash as a soldier from Junction City. Thirty-one-year-old Staff Sgt. Maurice Tucker crashed on Anchorage’s Minnesota Drive just before 8 p.m. Saturday. Witnesses say the Tucker had stopped for a red light at Spenard Road while heading south. On a green light, he took off at high speed, lost control and began doing “speed wobbles.” Witnesses tell police Tucker was thrown from the bike and struck the pole at Jefferson Avenue as the motorcycle slid several hundred feet down the roadway. Emergency responders declared Tucker…
A Wichita man was arrested Sunday afternoon at approximately 3:15 PM in the 3200 block of Claflin Road on several offenses including possession of stolen property and a hallucinogenic drug. Aaron Petit, 30, received a bond of $11,000. The arrest took place after a police officer initiated a traffic stop for a traffic violation. A 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 and a flat-bed trailer were recovered as a result of the traffic stop. ### The Riley County Police Department filed a report for two counts of battery of a law enforcement officer, interference with law enforcement, and battery. Robert Ling was arrested on these…
Updated 2 p.m. Monday: Three people were injured in a two vehicle accident at the U-S 24/Blackjack Road intersection three miles east of Manhattan, at 10:20 a.m. Monday. Carl Behrens, 40 of Wamego, and Alyssa McCormack, 15, and Kyla McCormack, 13, both of St. George were taken to area hospitals following the accident. According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, the accident occurred while Behrens was eastbound in the slow lane of highway 24, driving a 2006 Ford Taurus. A 2007 Ford Focus driven by Alyssa McCormack was southbound crossing Highway 24 on Blackjack Road when her vehicle was struck by…
The 2016 Country Stampede came to a close on Saturday night, bringing down the curtain not only on the concerts but also the massive operation headed up by Pottawatomie County Sheriff Greg Riat. Riat oversees a staff comprised of his own deputies, as well as officers from the Riley County Police Department, Wamego City Police, Kansas Highway Patrol, and other agencies. Riat credited the entire staff for hard work under challenging conditions. “The officers that are out there walking and working do such a good job”, he said. “It was hot, and they walk a lot of miles out there,…
The final day of the 2016 Country Stampede was understandably the busiest, with plenty of orthopadic and heat related injuries that required treatment from the medics on site at the festival and in the campground area. But there was also some good news to report in regard to the number of patients seen. “I think our numbers, considering it was a three-day event (as opposed to the former four-day format), are down slightly”, said Riley County EMS Director Larry Couchman. But there was another side to the story. “I think we had a little bit more of a mix of…
A Wichita man was arrested during the early Sunday morning hours on a variety of charges. Aaron Petit, 30, was arrested at 3:13 a.m. Sunday morning in the 3200 block of Claflin Road in Manhattan. He was charged with possession of stolen property, unlawful possession of and use of hallucinogenic drugs and driving while suspended. His bond was set at $11,000 and at the time of this report is still confined in the Riley County Jail. A man arrested on battery charges against law enforcement officers is in the Riley County Jail. Robert Ling, 25, was arrested at 5:23 a.m.…
RUSSELL — A 59-year-old Russell man has died after the motorcycle he was driving collided with a cow. The Kansas Highway Patrol says James Zordel was riding a motorcycle when he hit the cow Friday night about six miles south of Interstate 70. The patrol says Zordel was not wearing a helmet.