WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A Wichita man who stabbed his girlfriend to death in a store parking lot was sentenced to more than 24 years in prison. Forty-year-old Eric Avila was sentenced Thursday for killing 35-year-old Alina Burkman at a south Wichita Kmart. He pleaded no contest in November to second-degree murder and kidnapping in the March 8 death. Wichita police said Avila and Burkman fought after being evicted from a nearby hotel. Police say Avila suffered stab wounds to the chest and abdomen, but the wounds were apparently self-inflicted. The Wichita Eagle reports Avila’s attorney said the two loved each…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Charlie Chaplin is among the classic movie stars who will be featured during the 17th annual Kansas Silent Film Festival. The free festival takes place Feb. 22 and 23 in White Concert Hall at Washburn University in Topeka. Several short Keystone comedies produced by Max Sennett will be featured. Kansas City film historian Denise Morrison will provide introductions for the films and give an overview of the artists and the era of the silent films. Some films will be shown on 16mm film, while others may be projected digitally, due to the rarity of actual film material.…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The largest wind farm ever built in Kansas is now in full commercial operation. BP Wind Energy and Sempra U.S. Gas Power said Thursday the $800 million Flat Ridge 2 Wind Farm generates 470 megawatts of electricity. Flat Ridge 2 is spread over a 66,000-acre site that spans parts of Harper, Barber, Kingman and Sumner counties in south-central Kansas. The companies say the farm uses 294 turbines each with the capacity to produce 1.6 megawatts, generating enough electricity to power more than 140,000 average American homes. Power generated from the facility will be exported to Missouri, Arkansas…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt plans to ask legislators to approve a new law he says will help prosecutors fight gang activity. The Republican attorney general and former state senator says the recommendation for a new anti-racketeering law is a product of a gang task force he assembled in 2012. The proposal would let prosecutors go after gangs for alleged patterns of criminal activity as well as single criminal acts. Schmidt says it would be another way to tackle what he calls the rising presence of street gangs in Kansas. The 2013 legislative session begins Jan. 14.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) The influential Kansas Chamber of Commerce has created a position to oversee its communications and special events and promoted a staffer internally to fill the new job. Chamber CEO Officer Mike O’Neal announced Thursday that Emily Mitchell will serve as director of communications and special events. Mitchell has been the organization’s executive assistant since April 2011. She is a Kansas State University graduate. The chamber’s clout grew with the 2012 elections, which saw conservative Republicans retain their majority in the Kansas House and topple moderate GOP leaders in the Senate. Also, O’Neal is the departing House speaker,…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts is no longer the top Republican on the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, but he’s pledging to remain a strong advocate for farmers, ranchers and rural areas. Roberts said Thursday that he’ll retain a seat on the Agriculture Committee. He also remains on the Finance Committee, and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Roberts says he’s also expecting to become the ranking Republican on the Senate Rules Committee. He sees the position as important to opening up debates on issues such as the federal budget deficit. The new ranking Republican on the…
STAFFORD, Kan. (AP) A truck driver is unhurt but a central Kansas grain elevator is closed for a few days after an accident that left a tractor-trailer buried in corn. The Pratt Tribune reports the accident happened Wednesday afternoon at the Dillwyn elevator, located along railroad tracks in rural Stafford County. Manager Paul Eisenhour says the semi hit a loading chute on the side of the elevator. The chute was ripped away, allowing the corn inside the elevator to pour out. The driver managed to escape from the cab as the grain engulfed his rig. The Dillwyn elevator is owned…
MAIZE, Kan. (AP) A 3-year-old boy has died and his 9-month-old sister is hospitalized with serious injuries following a two-vehicle collision in south-central Kansas. The Wichita Eagle reports the crash between an oil tanker truck and a minivan driven by the children’s mother happened around 12:30 p.m. Thursday in Maize. Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter says both children apparently were riding in car seats. The little boy was still in his car seat when he was thrown from the minivan. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. The sheriff says investigators believe the minivan ran a red light and was…
According to sources a suspected drunk driver struck a pedicab in Scottsdale Arizona, and seriously injured two Kansas State fans. The accident occurred around 3 a.m. Friday morning as the pedicab carried Great Bend residents Cody Clark and Michael Tysver north on Scottsdale Road. The pedicab was struck by a Ford sedan in the median lane, and the fans were taken to the hospital. According to the Scottsdale Police Department, Clark is in very serious condition with severe head trauma, and Tysver is in stable condition with a spinal injury. The pedicab driver, was treated and released from the hospital. The…
Riley County Police saw a couple of people in jail for failure to appear. Jeffrey Hughes, 39, of Manhattan was being held on an $8,000 bond for two counts of failure to appear. These stemmed from original charges of forgery and criminal use of a financial card. —- An Odgen woman remains confined after not just one, but three separate failure to appear charges. Rhonda Rand, 42, was arrested for three counts of failure to appear with original charges being for two DUI charges and driving while suspended. Rand’s bond is $3,250. —- A report came to the Riley County…