HUTCHINSON, Kan. (AP) Reno County will seek a one-year exemption from a new state law that requires counties to allow concealed handguns in public buildings unless adequate security is installed. The county commission voted Tuesday to seek the exemption. Commissioners said they hoped during the year that some questions about the new law will be clarified. The Hutchinson News reports the county will make a plan for new security measures at the county courthouse. County Administrator Gary Meagher said if the county develops a plan for the courthouse, it could then ask for a four-year exemption from the law. The…
Author: KMAN Staff
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) Olathe residents gave overwhelming approval to a $244.8 million school bond issue that will be used for new schools and improved school security. Unofficial results of Tuesday’s election showed the issue passed with over 77 percent approval. The Kansas City Star reports it is the 11th consecutive bond package voters have approved in a district that has been growing for 40 years. Superintendent Marlin Berry said the district will now buy 80 acres and begin planning for a $114.4 million high school. The district also plans to build its 36th elementary school. New security measures include tightening…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A former Kansas high school football coach avoided jail time by agreeing to plead guilty to a misdemeanor count of patronizing a prostitute. Former Garden Plain football coach and teacher Todd Puetz was given a 30-day suspended sentence after his plea. The plea agreement was approved on Friday. He was one of seven men arrested in October 2011 who police say used electronic media to try to meet underage girls for sex. He was acquitted of two charges in April but the jury could not reach a verdict on a third count of electronic solicitation of a…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas House Speaker Ray Merrick has a new chief of staff after his top aide took a high-level job at the state Chamber of Commerce. Merrick says Wade Hapgood will replace Christie Kriegshauser as his chief of staff. Kriegshauser is joining the Kansas Chamber of Commerce next week as vice president for political affairs. She previously worked for Mike O’Neal, the chamber’s president and CEO, when he was speaker of the House. Hapgood has been Merrick’s legislative director since Merrick became speaker in January. Hapgood previously was an aide to Merrick when the Stilwell Republican was House…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) An autopsy shows that a man whose body went undiscovered in his Wichita apartment for 12 weeks after a fire died of smoke inhalation. The Wichita Eagle reports investigators have ruled out foul play in the death of Louis Cervantes, 65, described by authorities as a “hoarder.” The autopsy showed some burns to the head but no other injuries, and no drugs or alcohol in his system. The fire occurred Dec. 27 and has been ruled accidental. It was confined to an area around a space heater and extension cord. The cluttered apartment was searched after the…
Cathy checks in with the Pottawatomie County schools as Darrel Stufflebeam, Rock Creek’s USD 323 Superintendent, and Tim Winter, Wamego’s High School Principal, stop by on today’s InFocus. [mp3-jplayer]
The number of houses destroyed by a wildfire near Colorado Springs could grow to around 100, and the county’s sheriff says unpredictable winds still make it a dangerous blaze.
Ariel Castro, accused of holding three women captive in his Cleveland home for about a decade, pleaded not guilty Wednesday to hundreds of charges.
The Big Red One held its annual Victory Park Ceremony this Wednesday morning at Fort Riley. The ceremony honors the Soldiers who have died in combat while assigned or attached to the Division. “These men and their families have sacrificed everything for the greater good, an ideal which our country’s principles are based upon. Through their noble actions, they continue to pay forward every freedom used and known by all those who breathe,” said Maj Gen Paul Funk, commanding general of Fort Riley and 1st Infantry Division. The ceremony also provides friends and family an opportunity to pay tribute to…
At a recent City Commission meeting Floodplain Specialist Steve Samuelson presented a plaque to Mayor John Matta acknowledging the city’s certification as a member of the Community Rating System. After becoming a new member of the National Flood insurance’s Community Rating System, Manhattan residents will be eligible to receive up to a 10 percent discount on their flood insurance premiums. The city anticipates further reduction in the upcoming year following new processes, campaigns and other programs. For more information regarding the program, contact City Planner Chad Bunger at 587-2424.