WICHITA — Prosecutors say an anti-Muslim terror group in Kansas first came to the government’s attention when one member contacted FBI agents and became a confidential source. One of the men, 51-year-old Gavin Wright, is a former Manhattan resident. The new details came in a government court filing in the case of three men accused of conspiring to detonate truck bombs at an apartment complex where 120 Somali immigrants live in the western Kansas meatpacking town of Garden City. Prosecutors say the men pose a “substantial danger” to the community and should stay jailed until trial. Two are due in court Friday and…
Author: KMAN Staff
Manhattan Firefighters responded to a structure fire at 2:43 a.m. Friday at 3809 Kates Court. Upon arrival, crews found a single story residential structure with smoke showing from the garage. The fire was contained within ten minutes. A total of 19 firefighters responded on six fire apparatus with the last units clearing at around 4:41 a.m. There were two occupants and a dog in the single family residence at the time of the fire and they were able to exit the structure without injury prior to the fire department’s arrival. Loss is estimated at $50,000 to contents and $15,000 to the structure.…
The Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce is officially joining a coalition of other chambers of commerce who plan on pushing state leaders to expand Medicaid in Kansas in January. A Thursday morning press conference in downtown Manhattan featured speakers from Via Christi, Stormont Vail and state advocacy groups. While many people feel the Affordable Care Act has been executive overreach by the federal government, economists and health administrators both agree expanding coverage in Kansas would be a boon for a withered economy and failing healthcare system. “This is a common sense solution,” said David Jordan, executive director of Alliance for a…
Today’s edition of In-Focus featured Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce President Lyle Butler.
WICHITA — Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt is withdrawing a court brief that cites the slavery-era Dred Scott decision to support the state’s position that the Kansas Constitution does not guarantee a right to an abortion. Schmidt said Wednesday in a statement that the filing submitted to the Kansas Supreme Court a day earlier does not accurately reflect the state’s position and should not have been made. The state used the 1857 Dred Scott case to bolster its argument that the Declaration of Independence had no legally binding effect. Schmidt says the reference was “obviously inappropriate,” and he ordered it withdrawn once…
TOPEKA- A federal grand jury has indicted three Kansas men who are suspected of plotting to attack Somali immigrants in Garden City. Acting U.S. Attorney Tom Beall says the grand jury indictment returned Wednesday is based on the same facts presented Friday in U.S. District Court in Wichita. Forty-nine-year-old Curtis Allen and 51-year-old Gavin Wright, both of Liberal, and 47-year-old Patrick Eugene Stein of Wright, are each charged with one count of conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction. Gavin Wright lived in Manhattan several years ago. Prosecutors say the men were part of a small militia group called…
The USD 383 board of education held their second October meeting on Wednesday night at the Robinson Education Center. Vice President Pat Hudgins presided over the board in the absence of president Marcia Rozell. Board members approved multiple purchases including 100 new iPads and two iPad carts for Northview and Lee elementary schools, and the purchase of a SMART board projector for College Hill Preschool. There was also a unanimous vote to increase the rate it will cost to utilize district facilities and athletic venues. Assistant superintendent Eric Reid led a continued discussion of the school funding finance formula, as…
Kansas ACLU Executive Director Dr. Micah Kubic visits with K-MAN’s Cathy Dawes–he is speaking in the Leadership studies Town Hall Room at 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Video Courtesy of Wichita Eagle OAKLEY (AP) – Visitors will someday be able to walk through a natural wonder in western Kansas that has been privately owned for decades. The Nature Conservancy of Kansas last week bought a 330-acre tract that holds 250 acres of rising rock formations, some that reach up to 100 feet high. The formations between Scott City and Oakley are known as Little Jerusalem. The Wichita Eagle reports it’s unclear why it got that name. Jim McGuire, whose family has owned the land for at least five generations, says he wanted it to be opened so…
A 61-year-old Kansas Department of Corrections inmate serving time on Geary County aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary convictions will spend at least one more year in jail. Archie Watkins Jr. had been up for a public comment session in August, with a September parole hearing. According to a current status update from the Department of Corrections, Watkins’ earliest possible release date now is October first of 2017. Watkins was convicted in 1986 aggravated robbery and burglary cases in Geary County. He was also passed over for parole three years ago. He is currently being held at El Dorado.