On Monday, Governor Sam Brownback named Richard Carlson Acting Secretary of the Kansas Department of Transportation and Director of the Kansas Turnpike Authority. Carlson has served as Interim Secretary of KDOT since July 15. Carlson served in the Kansas House of Representatives for 10 years beginning in 2004, representing the 61st District of Pottawatomie County and northern Wabaunsee County. He was the Chairman of the House Taxation Committee for six years and served on the Appropriations Committee and Commerce and Labor Committee. Most recently Carlson was the legislative liaison for the Kansas Department of Revenue. This appointment will require confirmation by the…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA — A Kansas man will stay behind bars until trial for his role in an alleged conspiracy by a militia group to detonate truck bombs at an apartment complex where 120 Somali immigrants live. Curtis Allen waived his detention hearing Monday and entered a not guilty plea, the only plea a federal magistrate judge can accept at this stage of the court proceedings. Allen and co-defendants Patrick Stein and Gavin Wright — formally of Manhattan — are charged with conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction in the meatpacking town of Garden City. Prosecutors allege they are part of a…
WICHITA — A Wichita man has pleaded no contest to felony theft in the disappearance of Louie the Clown and other items from the former Joyland Amusement Park. The Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office says 41-year-old Damian Mayes entered the plea on Friday. The items were found in February 2015 at Mayes’ home. Mayes was an employee of the park who helped build and repair organs. The nearly life-sized carved clown played an automated organ near Joyland’s entrance for decades before the park closed in 2006. The clown statue disappeared from Joyland sometime in 2005 or 2006 and was officially reported stolen…
It’s not very often the local intergovernmental group that meets on the fourth Mondays of most months takes action, but the group seems to be close to doing so–with Manhattan City manager Ron Fehr offering to craft a resolution for the next meeting. The resolution would support more funding for education, specifically in the area of impact aid that comes from the federal government for ebbs and flows of military funding. Impact aid provided by the federal government is often held onto by the state of Kansas and re-distributed, but there are questions about whether most of that money actually gets to the…
TOPEKA — Kansas officials have voted to approve $33,000 for the settlement of a wrongful death lawsuit filed after a man died at a small lake northwest of Hays. The Topeka-Capital Journal reports that 65-year-old Tony Bieker and his wife were staying at Antelope Lake in July 2011. Authorities say Tony’s boat became stuck at least 50 yards from shore. He was unable to dislodge the boat and decided to wait for daylight to flag down help. A Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism officer arrived during the night and ordered Bieker to get his boat off the water. Bieker unsuccessfully…
The Riley County Police Department issued a citation for the offense of discharge of a weapon in the city limits to Taylor Pearson, 25, of Manhattan, on Friday at approximately 6:10 p.m. Police responded to the accidental discharge and were told that the firearm went off while Pearson was cleaning it. No injuries were reported. Officers filed are investigating a physical altercation and vehicle theft between persons known to each other. Police listed Tyler Espinosa, 20, of Hutchinson, as the victim after being made aware of an incident between he and a 21-year-old male who was known to him. This incident…
LAWRENCE — A proposal that would require all state universities to add a notation on a student’s transcript if the student is expelled for sexual violence has been dropped. The Lawrence Journal-World reports members of a Kansas Board of Regents’ Governance Committee discussed the issue last month. Minutes from the meeting show that the committee decided not to pursue the policy. That meant the proposal never reached the full Board of Regents for a vote. The minutes say that “currently no one is specifically interested in an across the board policy and believe that non-academic misconduct should be handled on a case-by-case…
ATCHISON — One person remains hospitalized a few days after a chemical spill sent a noxious chemical cloud over a northeast Kansas town. The spill occurred Friday morning after two chemicals were inadvertently combined at the MGP Ingredients plant in Atchison. The chemical release created a chemical cloud over sections of Atchison and sparked evacuations. Officials said dozens of people sought medical treatment Friday, largely for respiratory problems. Most had been treated and released by later Friday. A spokeswoman for Atchison Hospital said Sunday that one person remains hospitalized in stable condition. The Kansas City Star reports that the company said in…
Riley County Police arrested a Manhattan man saturday night for battery. Corman Smith (29) was taken into custody shortly after eight p.m. and charged with using a weapon to cause bodily harm. He was also charged with domestic battery. Smith was confined at the Riley County Jail on a $10,000 bond.
Kansas State entered Saturday’s matchup with Texas looking for a faster start than in its previous Big 12 games. That’s exactly what the Wildcats got, and it was the biggest reason for K-State’s 24-21 victory over the Longhorns at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. K-State jumped to a 21-7 halftime lead and overcame three turnovers in the second half to defeat Texas at home for the fifth straight time. “We played reasonably well in the first half and made a lot of mistakes in the second half,” K-State coach Bill Snyder said. “The consistency has to get better.” On the heels…