TOPEKA — Local property taxes could rise across Kansas under an education funding bill approved by legislators. Critics also contend the distribution of state dollars would become less fair to poor school districts. Republican supermajorities in both the House and Senate passed the plan last month to comply with a state Supreme Court order in February to improve funding for poor schools. They hoped to head off the court’s threat to shut down schools statewide if lawmakers didn’t fix education funding problems by June 30. Republican Gov. Sam Brownback has until Friday to act on the bill. The bill redistributes $83 million…
Author: KMAN Staff
The Kansas State University Police Department is currently investigating the death of a K-State student, according to a press release sent to KMAN Saturday afternoon. On Saturday at approximately 11:09 a.m., the K-State police department was notified of a possible deceased person in a parking lot on the Manhattan campus. Upon arrival, officers found a male student deceased in a vehicle of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The investigation is ongoing and the name of the student is not being released pending notification of family.
KMAN’s Cathy Dawes had a chance to visit with Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Lawton Nuss, Justice Marla Luckert, and Riley County Chief Judge Meryl Wilson. Chief Justice Nuss tells KMAN the three day trip through several cities and towns began with an invitation by the Saline and Ottawa County Bar Associations:
TOPEKA — Kansas is reporting that its tax collections came close to hitting projections in March, falling short by less than $2 million. The report Friday from the Department of Revenue said the state collected almost $447.8 million in taxes last month, when it expected to take in $449.4 million. The shortfall was about four-tenths of 1 percent. Sales and insurance premium taxes exceeded expectations. But since the fiscal year began in July 2015, the state still has collected 1.9 percent less in taxes than anticipated. The $4.13 billion collected is about $81 million less than expected. The department’s report…
Friday’s guests were: State Rep. Susie Swanson of Clay Center Riley County Extension 4-H Agent John Job and intern Sydney Winston Manhattan Long Range Planner Ben Chmiel, Senor Planner Lance Ebans, Steering Committee member Kathy Hasler
MEDICINE LODGE — Crews continue extinguishing hot spots from a wildfire that has burned hundreds of square miles since starting last week in Oklahoma and spreading into rural Kansas. The heaviest damage is in Kansas’ Barber County, where the fire remained 89 percent contained Thursday night when the most recent update was provided. Officials overseeing the firefight in the county said in a news release that there were at least seven calls for service Thursday and that 10 new acres burned. Efforts are underway to calculate the damage. An estimated 600 cattle died in Oklahoma; Kansas officials are working to calculate how…
Officers with the Riley County Police Department took Sidney Brown Jr., 15, of Manhattan into custody for the offense of aggravated robbery on March 31, 2016 at approximately 1:00 PM while in the 400 block of Laramie Street. This arrest stems from an incident that RCPD first alerted to the community to on March 28, 2016. Brown was given no bond. This arrest is in addition to an arrest made on a 17-year-old male the day prior for the same incident. Eladio Alvarez, 37, of Manhattan was arrested on April 1, 2016 at approximately 12:50 AM while in the 800…
U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, visited the new Irwin Army Community Hospital on Fort Riley Friday to learn about the continued progress made toward the hospital’s opening to serve the Fort Riley community. “The new Irwin hospital will serve thousands of men, women and children who call the Big Red One home, and they deserve the best care possible as soon as possible,” Sen. Moran said. “I was assured during my visit today that in the next two weeks the Army will announce an official opening date. It was good to see the…
A Topeka man faces sentencing April 11 for sex trafficking in a case involving Junction City and Manhattan. Reginald Newman, 29, pleaded guilty in early February. His wife Tiara Jade Newman, 22, also of Topeka, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to committing sex trafficking. In her plea, she admitted that on March 21, 2015, she and her husband took a 17-year-old girl from Topeka to Junction City for the purpose of prostitution. The Newmans rented two rooms at a Value Place motel in Junction City. The rooms — one room for performing commercial sex acts and the other…
Following a national search, Kansas State University has named Peter K. Dorhout as vice president for research. Dorhout has served as the interim vice president for research since January. He will continue to lead the university’s research, scholarship, creative activities and discovery programs as they align with the goals of K-State 2025 strategic plan. “Peter Dorhout has been an effective leader and collaborator at Kansas State University,” said President Kirk Schulz. “His comprehensive understanding of the challenges researchers encounter along with his strategic vision of increasing research at a land-grant university will continue to move Kansas State University forward to…