A proposal to rezone an area on Hudson Avenue was denied by Manhattan Urban Area Planning Board members Thursday night. Manhattan’s Assistant Director for Planning Eric Cattell tells KMAN there was considerable discussion on the matter. Cattell adds the owner of Body First Health and Fitness Club, Doug Sellers, was hoping to add a variety of office uses to the site, such as chiropractic, acupuncture, hairstylists, physical therapists and sports psychology However the board said no to the rezoning request, by a vote of 4-0. Cattell says eight or nine residents spoke against the request. While not speaking against the business itself, concerns…
Author: KMAN Staff
Manhattan has a new Assistant City Manager. Adam Bentley, who currently serves as Administrative Assistant to the City Manger in Iowa City, Iowa, was selected after a nationwide search, with four finalists in town the end of August. Bentley will take over the new position October 14th. He will be responsible for directing legislative and intergovernmental activities to facilitate interaction between city officials, city management, and the state legislature, along with congressional offices and other county, city, and regional government officials. Bentley will also serve as the city manager’s designated representative to the Riley county law board, and staff liaison…
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Mike Moustakas homered to lead off the 13th inning, lifting the Kansas City Royals to a 7-6 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Thursday. Moustakas homered to right on an 0-2 pitch from Chance Ruffin, who had not pitched in the majors since 2011. Louis Coleman, the eighth Kansas City pitcher, retired the only batter he faced in the top of the 13th. Kansas City rallied from five runs down and led 6-5 in the ninth inning before Raul Ibanez homered off Greg Holland into the Mariners’ bullpen with two outs to tie the score. It…
LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) The Eisenhower VA Medical Center in northeastern Kansas is expanding to meet new needs and standards. The Leavenworth Times reports construction is underway on a $2.75 million women’s health clinic. Meanwhile, bidding on a construction contract for a stand-alone, 27,000-square-foot nursing home closed Thursday. Jim Gleisberg, a spokesman for the VA Eastern Kansas Health Care System, says the medical center already offers health services for women. But the number of female veterans has grown, Gleisberg says, and the new, 4,700-square-foot clinic will be able to serve more women. The Eisenhower VA Medical Center also has an existing…
AUGUSTA, Kan. (AP) A southeast Kansas sheriff is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a man sought in the wounding of a deputy. The Augusta Gazette reports that Butler County Sheriff Kelly Herzet posted the reward Thursday while the search continued for Jan Tracy Kilbourne, 41. Investigators have been looking for Kilbourne since the deputy was shot in the shoulder during a traffic stop near Augusta early Monday. Herzet says the deputy is recovering at home. Butler County investigators are following leads in Liberal and in Hutchinson, because Kilbourne has ties to both…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Leaders of the Kansas House and Senate Judiciary committees expect lawmakers to renew consideration of the way judges are appointed to the state Court of Appeals and Supreme Court. House Judiciary chairman Lance Kinzer said Thursday the issue will be on the agenda for the Legislature’s 2014 session. Jeff King, who chairs the Senate panel, says he’ll still pursue a single system for selecting judges for both appellate courts. The two Republicans spoke a day after the Senate confirmed Caleb Stegall to the Court of Appeals. It was the first appointment under a new law that has…
GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) Visitors to Garden City will continue to be prohibited from smoking in any hotel and motel rooms. The Garden City Commission voted Tuesday to deny a request from some hotel and motel owners to allow smoking in up to 20 percent of their businesses’ rooms. State law allows smoking in 20 percent of rooms in hotels or motels, if the businesses choose to allow it. Kerry Spanier, of the Dusty Trail Inn, told the commission the city’s hotels and motels are losing business to nearby communities because smokers move on when they learn they can’t smoke…
KINGMAN, Kan. (AP) Kingman County residents will vote next month on two tax proposals that would fund a new jail and law enforcement center. The Hutchinson News reports one ballot issue on the Oct. 29 ballot would create a quarter-cent sales tax, effective July 1, 2014, that would continue for 20 years. The second question would extend an existing three-quarter-cent tax for two more decades. That tax is set to expire in 2021. If the taxes are approved, the county would build a 32-bed jail, offices for the Kingman County sheriff and Kingman police departments, an emergency operations center, a…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Corporation Commission has approved a $113 million transmission line between Saline County and Cloud County. The 60-mile line will connect a Westar Energy substation about five miles northeast of Assaria to ITC Great Plain’s substation about four miles northwest of Aurora. The Salina Journal reports Westar will pay about $66 million and ITC will pay $46.8 million for the line. Westar says construction of the 345-kilovolt line is expected to begin in mid-2014, with completion by late 2016. The project costs will be absorbed over 40 years by customers in the Southwest Power Pool region,…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas public pension system says it had robust investment gains last year but still saw its long-term funding gap grow to $10.2 billion. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the gap widened because the Kansas Public Employees Retirement System was still booking deferred losses from the 2008 collapse of financial markets. A Kansas House committee reviewed the figures Wednesday. The gap represents the difference between anticipated revenues and promised benefits through 2033. The figure for the end of 2011 was about $9.2 billion. KPERS reported earning 14.5 percent on its investments last year. Also, legislators enacted laws in…