TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Eight more Kansas counties have joined a rural economic development program that helps new residents repay their student loans. The Kansas Department of Commerce said Tuesday the counties have been certified to partner with the state to help new residents repay up to $15,000 in college loans. Each of the counties has been designated as a Rural Opportunity Zone under a 2011 law aimed at helping counties with population declines attract residents. The new counties taking part are Doniphan, Haskell, Meade, Morris, Nemaha, Ottawa, Rice and Stevens. Seventy-five of the state’s 105 counties have been designated as…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Kansas prosecutor says a Topeka police officer was justified in the fatal shooting of a knife-wielding man. WIBW-AM reports Shawnee County District Attorney Chad Taylor issued his findings Tuesday about the death of Daniel DeLong, 56, on July 29. Taylor says the officer’s use of force was justified as both self-defense and the defense of others under Kansas law. Police Chief Ron Miller said at the time that DeLong was shot after he ran at officers and other tenants of an apartment building with a knife. Three officers went to the apartment after managers said they…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas education officials say the state won’t apply this year for federal Race to the Top funds. The state’s two previous applications for the federal funds have been rejected. Colleen Riley, who oversees early childhood programs at the Kansas State Department of Education, says feedback from the previous bids made it clear the state didn’t meet all the criteria that the Department of Education required for the grants. She says state agencies believe another bid from Kansas would also be rejected. And she told The Topeka Capital Journal that the department would need more time to prepare…
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) A Garden City man is scheduled to stand trial in October in the death of a man who authorities say was stabbed 45 times. A pre-trial conference was held Monday for Fred Schmidt Jr., 34, who is charged with first-degree murder and other crimes in the March 2011 death of Jeffrey Nichols in Garden City. His trial was set for Oct. 21. The Garden City Telegram reports forensics reports indicated Nichols was stabbed 45 times when the men fought near his home. Schmidt was arrested in May in Mississippi. The next pre-trial conference in the case…
OTTAWA, Kan. (AP) An Ottawa man has been sentenced to more than four years with the state corrections department for accidentally shooting a 4-year-old boy. A judge will decide Sept. 30 whether Brian K. Bruno, 40, will serve the sentence in prison or on probation. Bruno was sentenced Monday to four years and four months for aggravated battery and a concurrent one year sentence for child endangerment. Bruno pleaded no contest to the charges last month. Authorities say the boy was shot in the leg with a handgun at his home. He survived and no one else was injured. Bruno…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Topeka officials say United Airlines’ plans to offer daily flights between Topeka Regional Airport and Chicago will boost the city’s image and economy. The Metropolitan Topeka Airport Authority announced Monday that the two daily flights will begin Jan. 7. Each flight will hold 50 people and tickets are expected to cost the same as a ticket out of the Kansas City International Airport. WIBW reports Topeka Mayor Larry Wolgast and Governor Sam Brownback both called the announcement big news for the city’s economy. Tickets are available to purchase immediately. Johnson said United has said it might add…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A former Kansas House member who narrowly lost her seat in 2012 has launched a campaign to regain it next year. Topeka Democrat Ann Mah kicked off her comeback bid Monday. She served eight years in the House before losing to Topeka Republican Ken Corbet by 21 votes out more than 10,800 cast last November. Mah was the Legislature’s most vocal critic of Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach. A political action committee formed by Kobach backed Corbet. After the 2012 election, Mah fought successfully in court to obtain the names of voters whose ballots had been…
LINCOLN, Kan. (AP) The son of a central Kansas sheriff has been charged in the fatal shooting of another man. Lincoln County Attorney Jennifer O’Hare says in a news release that Scott M. Weigel, 33, was charged Monday with second-degree murder. Weigel is the son of Lincoln County Sheriff Mike Weigel. The shooting occurred around 1:30 a.m. Monday in the city of Lincoln. Authorities identified the dead man as Keith David Ancell, 21. The younger Weigel was being held on $750,000 bond. It was not clear Monday night whether he had an attorney. O’Hare’s office and the sheriff’s department say…
It’s time to check in on what’s going on in Riley County as Cathy talks with Commissioner Robert Boyd, Patti Grub with county health department, and maybe Monty Wedel, Planning and Development Director. [mp3-jplayer]
Republican mayoral hopeful Joe Lhota fills out a paper ballot at his polling station during the primary election in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2013. The voting machines were not functioning. New Yorkers head to the polls Tuesday in a primary election that begins the process of replacing Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire mayor who has defined their city for 12 years. Republicans will look to continue an improbable winning streak. Though outnumbered by Democrats in the city 6-to-1, the GOP has won the last five mayoral elections. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)