INDEPENDENCE, Kan. (AP) A 41-year-old Independence man has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the fatal stabbing of his 35-year-old girlfriend. The Independence Daily Reporter says Russell McQueen Arndt was arrested early Monday in the death of Rebecca Ann Whittley. Montgomery County prosecutor Larry Markle says the stabbing death occurred sometime over the weekend, but Whittley’s body wasn’t found until 2:30 a.m. Monday when officers went to the couple’s home to check on her. Earlier that night Arndt was picked up in the northern part of the county and told deputies his girlfriend may have been injured at…
Author: KMAN Staff
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A federal grand jury has amended the charges against a massage parlor owner and his wife accused of sex trafficking in Wichita. The four-count indictment returned Tuesday charges Gary Kidgell and Yan Zhang with sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion. One count also charges Kidgell with harboring for financial gain an immigrant who was in the country unlawfully. The couple is charged with recruiting women to come to Wichita to work at massage parlors, then coercing them into prostitution. A woman who worked for them has pleaded guilty to a harboring count. The amended indictment makes…
On Tuesday night the Manhattan city commission received a briefing form the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on a new proposed project to raise the levee currently protecting part of the city. The project would include a length of around 14,000 feet, and raise the structure 3.5 feet in sections. The price of the improvements is estimated to be 26.4 million dollars. Construction would be conducted in three phases over five years. The impetus behind the study was the dangerous water levels seen in the 1993 flood. At that time the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and city officials noted…
SOLOMON, Kan. (AP) Firefighters have recovered a body from the ruins of a north-central Kansas home destroyed by flames overnight. The Salina Journal reports the volunteer fire department in Solomon was called to the scene around 4 a.m. Tuesday. Neighbors said the house was fully engulfed as fire trucks approached. The home’s occupant was not immediately accounted for. The body was recovered several hours later, but Fire Chief Randy Paden declined to release an identity until relatives were notified. Neighbors said a man in his late 80’s lived in the home. Solomon is located about 15 miles northeast of Salina.
On today’s InFocus, Cathy talks with Manhattan Mayor John Matta and City Manager Ron Fehr.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) Two former officials of a San Antonio military medical center have signed plea deals to admit their guilt in a fraudulent scheme involving more than $7 million in military contracts. The San Antonio Express-News reports retired Army Master Sgt. Lawrence Peter Fenti, 42, of New Braunfels and Dr. Heidi L. Webster, 50, of Manhattan, Kan., will plead guilty in court Thursday to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Fenti also has agreed to plead guilty to accepting a bribe, while Webster will plead to giving him one. Fenti was the chief administrator for Brooke Army Medical Center’s radiology department and…
FORT RILEY, Kan. – A memorial ceremony for the five Soldiers assigned to the 1st Infantry Division’s 1st Combat Aviation Brigade who died in a UH-60 Black Hawk crash Dec. 17 in southern Afghanistan is scheduled for 11 a.m. Jan. 9 at Fort Riley’s Morris Hill Chapel. The ceremony is an opportunity for fellow Soldiers and Families of the fallen to honor them and recognize their sacrifice. Those Soldiers to be honored at the memorial ceremony are: Chief Warrant Officer 2 Randy L. Billings, 34, Oklahoma, of Company B, 3rd Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Aviation Regiment, 1st CAB, 1st Inf.…
A U.S. Army general who led U.S. forces through some of the most deadly years of the Iraq War says he opposes sending U.S. combat troops in response to the recent gains in that country by Islamic militants.
White House-backed legislation to renew benefits for the long-term unemployed unexpectedly cleared an initial Senate hurdle on Tuesday, clearing the way for bipartisan negotiations in the opening days of an election-year session of Congress.
A January 17th preliminary hearing has been set for a 21-year-old St. Mary’s man charged last week in a New Year’s Day homicide. Pablo Gonzalez made a first appearance in Pottawatomie County District Court Tuesday. He remains in jail on a one million dollar bond. Gonzalez was arrested in connection with the death of Levi Bishop, 24, of Rossville. Bishop was a passenger in a vehicle with Gonzalez and was found deceased inside the vehicle from a gunshot wound, at about 4:43 a.m. New Year’s Day.