Riley County commissioners approved the latest revision of a letter Thursday addressed to the state’s congressional delegation regarding the National Bio and Agro-defense Facility and the hefty price tag of emergency radio system upgrades for the county. The county is hoping the federal government will chip in on the cost of a new radio system because NBAF, once completed, would benefit from the county’s emergency services. The new radio system will cost the county anywhere from $6-9 million. County officials have said the current radio system has aged well past its use and continued narrowbanding regulations from the Federal Communications Commission has…
Author: KMAN Staff
Republican Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas is apologizing for his comment about the possibility the GOP health care bill would ease federal requirements on coverage of basic services like mammograms. In an interview with a reporter for Talking Points Memo on Thursday, Roberts was asked about potential changes in the health care bill. He said: “I wouldn’t want to lose my mammograms.” He later tweeted an apology: “I deeply regret my comments on a very important topic. Mammograms are essential to women’s health & I never intended to indicate otherwise.” In related news, House GOP leaders have delayed the vote…
EMPORIA — A former Kansas driving school instructor has been sentenced to three years of probation for having a 16-year-old student drive to a country road and inappropriately touching her. The Emporia Gazette reports that Robert Jones, of Emporia, also was ordered to register as a sex offender and repay the victim’s family for the driving classes when he was sentenced Wednesday for sexual battery. He faces a 12-month jail sentence if he violates the probation terms. The victim’s mother said her daughter wanted to die after the August incident and was hospitalized after taking two handfuls of Tylenol. She says…
Riley County Police officers responded to a report of an injury accident at Tuttle Creek Blvd. and North Seth Child Road Wednesday at approximately 4:15 PM. When officers arrived on scene, they found a Lincoln MKZ, driven by Max McAdams, 84, of Clay Center had collided with a GMC Yukon, driven by Daniel Mathies, 52, of Manhattan. McAdams was transported to Via Christi for treatment. No citations were issued at the scene of the accident.
Wamego City Commissioners Tuesday night unanimously approved the city’s annual comprehensive plan update. The matter had been tabled at the last meeting, but passed on a vote of 5-0 Tuesday night. The commission also renewed its property/casualty insurance with Copeland Insurance. This is the end of a third year contract with Copeland. Commissioners also heard about a pool survey that is recommended by the City Recreation Board. The recommendation comes from a pool consultant and the pool ad hoc committee. The paper form of the survey is active now, with the website for pool information and the survey to go live…
Guests on today’s edition of In Focus included: Blue Valley/Randolph USD 384 high school/middle school principal Marion Mazouch, Ryan and Lissa Semmel, as well as Kristina Schmidt, on the Midwest Open Geocaching Adventure, and President of the Pilot Club of Manhattan Julie Clark with Vice President Karen Schroeder. Mazouch: Ryan & Lissa Semmel, Schmidt: Clark & Schroeder:
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Authorities say a welder accidentally started a fire that spread from a suburban Kansas City apartment complex that was under construction to nearly two dozen homes. The Kansas City Star reports that Overland Park Fire Marshal Mark Sweany said Tuesday evening that the fire started Monday when a welder ignited wooden building materials at the multimillion-dollar CityPlace development. The blaze leveled one large, four-story apartment building and heavily damaged a second. Intense heat and the burning debris that rained down also spread the fire into a nearby neighborhood. Three firefighters were treated for minor injuries. Overland…
Riley County Police arrested two individuals early yesterday morning. Justin Minor, 18, and Cherokee Hardemon, 19, of East Liverpool, Ohio, were arrested in the 2800 block of Pillsbury Drive. Both were taken into custody for distribution of marijuana, possession of marijuana, felony possession of drug paraphernalia, and misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia. Both of their bonds were set at $14,000.00, causing them to remain confined at the time of this report. Officers filed a report for criminal damage to property in the 1100 block of Garden Way yesterday at approximately 6:10 AM. CSL Plasma was the victim when a suspect destroyed two glass…
The city of Manhattan will be loaning the K-State Foundation $800,000 in economic development funds for a new building being constructed on Kimball Avenue. At Tuesday night’s city commission meeting, commissioners authorized the city to enter into an agreement with the K-State Foundation that would loan the entity money with one recently added stipulation — tenants of the proposed office space must maintain a minimum wage of $16.50 per hour. The loan consists of a $500,000 conventional loan and a $300,000 forgivable loan. Commissioners heard the first reading of the agreement earlier in the month, and deputy city manager Jason Hilgers…
TOPEKA — Kansas legislators are moving back toward distributing state dollars to public schools through a complicated per-student formula like one they junked two years ago. A special House committee outlined an education funding plan Tuesday that uses basic concepts from the state’s previous funding formula. The panel plans to have hearings Thursday and Friday. The Kansas Supreme Court ordered lawmakers to enact a school funding law by June 30 after ruling that the state isn’t spending enough on its public schools. Republican legislators in 2015 junked the old formula in favor of “block grants” for districts. The committee’s proposal would…