(AP) A missing Kansas man spent his final days trapped in the wreckage of his van in a rural Utah ravine _ writing goodbye letters to the family he unexpectedly left in early September. David Welch, 54, was found on Oct. 18 by a hitchhiker who spotted the crash in a desolate stretch of eastern Utah more than 50 miles from any town, said Utah Highway Patrol trooper Gary Riches. They found Welch trapped inside his mangled minivan at the bottom of a 50-foot ravine _ with hand-written notes to his wife and four adult sons. What’s in those letters,…
Author: KMAN Staff
Alex Gordon won his third straight American League Gold Glove yesterday (Tuesday), and this time a couple of his Royals’ teammates joined him. Catcher Salvador Perez and first baseman Eric Hosmer earned their first Gold Glove. Gordon again won the award in left field as the Royals tied the Orioles for the most by any one team. Four Gold Gloves were won by the two teams battling for the World Series title. St. Louis pitcher Adam Wainwright and catcher Yadier Molina earned the hardware, as did Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia and right fielder Shane Victorino.
A recent feasability study seems to be the impetus behind the city commission’s decision to review the structure of the convention and tourism committee along with the Convention and Visitors Bureau during Tuesday’s work session. The Fieldhouse development feasability study was funded by the Manhattan Area Chamber of Commerce against the advice of an advisory board consisting of many of the area’s hoteliers. Chamber of Commerce Chairman Frank Beer said the study seemed to fit into the 2015 plan to develop more sporting venues for the area. Hilton Garden Inn General Manager Brad Everett disagreed saying the chamber went against…
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) No criminal charges will be filed after a Kansas woman fell to her death from a party bus. The Kansas City Star reports that the family of Jamie Frecks, 26, responded Tuesday in a statement released through their attorneys. The statement said the family appreciated the investigative work of the Wyandotte County district attorney’s office and understood the burdens of pursuing criminal charges. The family also is pursing civil litigation, and said in the statement that they hope to learn more as discovery continues. Frecks died while celebrating a friend’s bachelorette party May 4 when she…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Fifty-two Kansas counties have filed suit claiming the state shortchanged them by about $7.6 million in making payments from a fund set up to offset the effects of declining oil and natural gas production. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Shawnee County District Court. It contends Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration improperly accelerated a cut in payments mandated by budget legislation approved this year. The state sets aside part of the tax it collects on oil and gas production to help counties facing declining production. Payments are distributed in October, based on the previous fiscal year’s tax collections.…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A former treasurer for a Kansas rural fire district is facing federal charges accusing him of stealing more than $427,000 from his employer over a five-year period and leaving the district unable to pay its bills. Prosecutors say Richard Bontrager, 67, of Holton, was charged Tuesday with one count of embezzlement. He is accused of making unauthorized transfers from the Mayetta Rural Fire District’s bank account into an account belonging to him and his wife at the same bank from 2008 through 2013. Bontrager, who had served as treasurer since 1994, also is accused of issuing checks…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Wichita store owner has admitted trafficking in fake luxury items bearing such designer labels as Prada and Chanel. Glenda Sue Morgan pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to one count of trafficking in goods bearing counterfeit trademarks. Morgan and her business, The Fabulous Store LLC, were indicted in April on charges of conspiracy and trafficking. In exchange for Morgan’s plea Tuesday, prosecutors agreed to drop at sentencing the remaining charges against her and all charges against the store. Prosecutors allege Morgan sold handbags, wallets, sunglasses and jewelry bearing brand names that were not made by the…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Wichita police say officers ended a chase two minutes before a fleeing motorist was involved in a fatal collision. Officials said Monday that the pursuit ended just after 2 a.m. Sunday after speeds reached 60 to 70 mph. The Wichita Eagle reports that the driver of the fleeing van then ran a stop sign and slammed into a car. Capt. Brent Allred says the car’s driver, 34-year-old Maria Martinez, was taken to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. Her husband was a passenger, and he was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries. Two people in the…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback says the state’s top bank regulator plans to step down this week to spend more time with his family. Brownback’s office on Monday announced the resignation of Bank Commissioner Edwin Splichal, effective Friday. The governor’s office said Splichal is leaving because of an unspecified illness in his family. Splichal has served as commissioner since March 2011. He had spent 32 years at the First National Bank in Belleville and retired as its president in 2008. Brownback’s office also announced that Deputy Commissioner Judi Stork will serve as acting commissioner. Stork has served as…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Two Kansas National Guard soldiers who died in a suicide bombing in Iraq are being honored by the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington. The agency will add the names of Sgt. 1st Class Clayton Wisdom and Sgt. Don Clary to a memorial honoring those who have died in service while protecting DIA personnel. Clary and Wisdom were killed in November 2004 while protecting a contingent of DIA staff and members of the Iraq Survey Group. The soldiers positioned their vehicle between a suicide bomber’s vehicle and the DIA staff vehicles traveling in a convoy in Baghdad. The…