By Beth Day The new assistant Pottawatomie County attorney is a member of the Topeka Westboro Baptist Church, the crusading anti-LGBTQ organization. Rachel Hockenbarger is the daughter of the late Fred Phelps, the driving force behind Westboro Baptist. She confirmed in an interview Thursday with The Times of Pott County that she is still an active member of the church. Westboro Baptist Church is known for its aggressive condemnation of LGBTQ people and for picketing funerals — especially of law enforcement and military — schools, plays and other events around the country, including in Manhattan and Wamego. Its pickets involve…
Author: KMAN Staff
By Rose Gruenbacher WESTMORELAND — A woman accused of murdering her ex-husband and his fiancée watched the victims’ houses and confronted them before their deaths, according to her daughter. Hailey Seel, the adult daughter of Michael Sisco and Dana Chandler, continued her testimony Friday in Chandlers trial for the double-murder of Sisco and his fiancée, Karen Harkness, in July 2002. Chandler is charged with killing Sisco and Harkness in Topeka, but she’s in court in Pottawatomie County with local jurors after a Shawnee County District Court judge granted a change of venue for her third trial. Chandler, who is representing…
Christopher Larsen, 38, of Covington, Kentucky, was arrested on February 21, 2025, at approximately 1:47 PM in the 1000 block of S. Seth Child Road. Larsen was taken into custody on a Riley County District Court warrant for three counts of failure to appear and interference with law enforcement officers. His total bond was set at $32,500, and he was confined at the time of the report. Click here for more local news.
On February 22, 2025, officers responded to a theft report at approximately 11:40 AM in the 500 block of McCall Road. Pizza Ranch reported that a large store sign was stolen by an unknown suspect, resulting in a loss of approximately $2,000. Authorities are seeking any information regarding the theft. Those with tips can contact Crime Stoppers, which allows for anonymous reporting and could earn a cash reward of up to $1,000. Click here for more local news.
Matthew Klingforth, 18, of Haysville, was arrested on February 22, 2025, at approximately 5:01 PM in the 1000 block of S. Seth Child Road. The arrest came after Klingforth was served with a Riley County District Court warrant for several serious charges, including rape, aggravated sexual battery, and sexual battery. His bond was set at $50,000, and is currently in custody at the Riley County jail. Click here for more local news.
Christopher Larsen, 38, of Covington, KY, was arrested on February 21,2025, at approximately 1:47 PM in the 1000 block of S. Seth Child Road. Larsen was arrested on a Riley County District Court warrant for failure to appear x3 and interference with an LEO. Total bond was set at $32,500. Larsen was confined at the time of this report. Abner Garcia, 38, of Houston, Texas, was arrested on February 21, 2025, at approximately 5:20 PM in the 1000 block of S. Seth Child Road. Garcia was arrested on a Riley County District Court warrant for aggravated battery and domestic battery.…
Kansas State baseball scored nine runs in a three-inning span Sunday, backing Lincoln Sheffield’s quality start to clinching the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series title with a 10-2 defeat over No. 22 TCU at Globe Life Stadium. “Our mindset was to treat this four-team tournament like a regional,” said head coach Pete Hughes in a written statement. “Proud of how our boys embraced that mindset.” The Wildcats (4-4) announced their presence on a national scale, defeating three teams featured in the national polls — No. 5 Arkansas (D1Baseball), No. 25 Michigan (Baseball America), No. 22 TCU (D1Baseball) — in a…
Click here for past RCPD reports.
About a dozen people ultimately lost their jobs this week at the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Manhattan after federal officials made cuts and then tried to rehire some employees, a USDA spokesperson said in a statement. The Mercury earlier this week reported that according to a source, at least 28 people at NBAF had been notified by email that they had lost their jobs. The email said the decision was related to job performance, but it seems they were part of the nationwide federal workforce reductions by the Trump administration. The USDA subsequently announced it was rehiring some…
By Megan Moser Eleven people have been terminated this week at a USDA agricultural research facility in Manhattan as part of broad cuts to the federal workforce by the Trump administration, a source said Friday. The people fired were employees at the Center for Grain and Animal Health Research, 1515 College Ave. The center is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service department. The source, who spoke to The Mercury on the condition of anonymity, said he was among the people fired. Like many federal employees across the country, he said he and his coworkers were notified…