TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The chief of the National Guard Bureau says units should be able to maintain their readiness and deployment capabilities indefinitely despite a murky federal military budget outlook. Gen. Frank Grass told soldiers and airmen of the Kansas National Guard on Monday that the 460,000-member force is capable of continuing missions both overseas and domestically. Grass is a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He says while fewer soldiers and airmen may deploy in the coming years, those rotations will be for shorter durations than in the past decade. Grass says the National Guard isn’t immune to…
Author: KMAN Staff
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) Lawrence police say they have solved at least 20 burglaries and thefts that involved so much loot the thieves had trouble finding places to store it. Police say two men and a woman arrested last week committed the thefts in April and May, and more suspects and arrests are possible. Sgt. Trent McKinley says the thefts involved an estimated $77,000 in stolen items, many from storage units. He says there was so much loot that police had to store some of it in rented moving trucks parked outside the police station. McKinley says patrol officers who investigated…
PRATT, Kan. (AP) A man accused of killing a pregnant Pratt woman is scheduled for his first court appearance after being charged with two counts of first-degree murder. Bryant Seba will be in court Monday. He was charged Friday in the shooting deaths of Alexandria J. Duran, 22, and her unborn child. Seba is also charged with attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of Brandon Wright. Witnesses told police Duran and Wright were shot July 24 while walking in front of a house in Pratt. Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt says if Seba is convicted of any charges less than…
HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) The Hutchinson City Council is scheduled to take a peek at an ordinance that would ban public nudity in the city. The Hutchinson News reports the ordinance before the council Tuesday includes very specific definitions of what constitutes public nudity. City Attorney Paul Brown says laws against disturbing the peace and lewd and lascivious behavior don’t address the issue. He says those laws require that someone who is nude in public must have the intent either to disturb others or achieve sexual gratification before charges are allowed. Brown acknowledges the city doesn’t have a serious public nudity…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Gov. Sam Brownback and Kansas legislative leaders are preparing to review the proposed sale of a 100-year-old home near the Statehouse. Brownback and top lawmakers were meeting Monday to consider a $700,000 bid for the Hiram Price Dillon home. The bid came from the president of the Pioneer Group during an auction in June. The group converts historic properties into affordable housing and could use the home for its offices. The Department of Administration is recommending the sale. The 12,000-square-foot home is on the National Register of Historic Places. It’s known for its Italian Renaissance-style architecture. The…
KINGMAN, Kan. (AP) A former Kansas police instructor and sheriff’s deputy is due to be sentenced for the April 2011 shooting death of his wife. Brett Seacat was convicted in June of first-degree murder, aggravated arson and child endangerment. The body of Vashti Seacat, 34, was found in the charred remains of their Kingman home. The sentencing is scheduled for Monday. Prosecutors are no longer asking the judge for a sentence of 50 years without parole. That request was withdrawn after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that juries, rather than judges, may consider facts that could result in longer minimum…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Driver’s license offices in two Kansas cities will be open for four additional Mondays in August to help keep pace with summer demand. The Division of Vehicles will keep offices in Wichita and Mission open from 8 a.m. until 4:45 p.m. through Aug. 26. The offices are the two largest in Kansas. All other offices in the state will remain closed on Mondays. Division of Vehicles Director Donna Shelite says more than 3,000 people have taken advantage of the extra day of operations since July 8 when the extended hours began. Residents can shorten the wait at…
On today’s InFocus, Cathy talks with Dan Seeman, Sarah Saueressig and Laura Weiss-Cook, from the Flint Hills Financial Literacy Council. [mp3-jplayer]
A man from Manhattan has been sentenced to 20 months in federal prison for aiding and abetting an armed robbery that set in motion a series of events leading ultimately to a deadly arson in which a Kansas State University researcher died, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said Monday. Dennis James Denzien, 20, Manhattan, pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting a robbery. In his plea, Denzien admitted that on Feb. 6, 2013, he drove co-defendant Frank Joseph Hanson to Dara’s Fast Lane at 1816 Claflin Road in Manhattan. Wearing a mask and brandishing a revolver, Hanson entered…
Emergency radios and no till grass drills were two items previously approved during recent Riley County Commission meetings, and the bids were officially opened for these items during Monday’s meeting. Two bids were submitted for the radios, which will be installed in firetrucks and ambulances. TBS Electronics, Inc. separated their bid into different segments: mobile APX 6500-$2,760.40 portable APX 6500-$2,635.82 APX 7000 multi-ban portable-$5,711.23 The second bid came from Ka-Comm, of Manhattan. The company submitted one large base bid of $156,780. Both bids were approved for staff evaluation and recommendation. One bid was submitted for the no-till grass drill. Kan…