WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A federal grand jury has indicted three people on charges of running a sex trafficking scheme at nine Asian massage parlors in Wichita. A six-count indictment returned Wednesday charges owner Gary H. Kidgell, 44, of Waltham, Mass.; Yan Zhang, 49, of Wichita; and employee Xiuqing Tian, 42, of Framingham, Mass., with a conspiracy lasting from 2009 to 2011. They had initially been charged last week in a criminal complaint. The indictment alleges they recruited women and coerced them into prostitution. A judge ordered Thursday that Kidgell and Zhang be held until trial, ruling both were flight risks…
Author: KMAN Staff
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A survey finds that up to 9 percent of Kansans are at risk of developing a gambling problem, and 26 percent of the state’s residents could be affected by the uncontrolled gambling of a relative or friend. The survey was presented Wednesday to the state’s problem gambling task forces and other service providers. A Kansas City firm conducted a telephone survey of 1,600 adults in Kansas to help determine how to spend $400,000 in new state funding to combat problem gambling. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the firm says the survey revealed a need for stronger educational campaigns…
EMPORIA, Kan. (AP) Kansas health officials say a substance that was removed during the weekend from the Cottonwood River was an algae bloom. KVOE reports the Kansas Department of Health and Environment confirmed this week that the algae bloom gave off an oil-like sheen that stretched from Hartford to Strong City. Officials at first thought the spill might be oil. Hazardous waste teams from Emporia and Topeka, as well as several county, state and federal agencies, responded to the report Sunday or were involved in testing the material. Lyon County officials said this week that the algae was non-toxic and…
OTTAWA, Kan. (AP) A Franklin County judge says DNA testing should proceed in the case of a man accused of killing four people in rural Ottawa. Franklin County District Judge Thomas H. Sachse issued an order this week in the capital murder case against Kyle Flack, 27, of Ottawa. He’s charged in the May deaths of Andrew Adam Stout, 30, Steven Eugene White, 31, Kaylie Kathleen Bailey, 21, and Bailey’s 18-month-old daughter, Lana-Leigh. Prosecutors sought the DNA testing of 13 items that could be used as evidence. The Lawrence Journal-World reports the items haven’t been detailed and Sachse sealed the…
ELLINWOOD, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Highway Patrol says a single-engine plane landed in a field after the pilot tried to abort a lift off at an airport in Barton County. The plane ended up in a field near the Ellinwood Municipal Airport Wednesday afternoon. The patrol says the pilot, Michael J. Yagel, 58, of Raymond, tried to abort take-off after the plane did not reach appropriate altitude. He lost control of the plane and the 1946 Luscombe 8A went into the field. Yagel and his passenger refused to be taken to a hospital. The Ellinwood airport is about 10 miles…
LIBERAL, Kan. (AP) A western Kansas company is recalling more than 50,000 pounds of ground beef products over E. coli concerns. The U.S. Agriculture Department said Wednesday National Beef Packing Company in Liberal produced the meat. The products carry the number “EST. 208A” inside the USDA mark. They were produced July 18 and shipped in 40 to 60 pound cases across the country. The recall includes 10 lb chubs of “National Beef” 93/ 7 ground beef, product code 0707. Also: 10 lb. chubs of NatureSource products: 80/20 ground chuck, code 7031; 85/15 ground beef, code 7054; 90/10 ground beef, code…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The Kansas Historical Society has received a grant of nearly $161,000 to convert 100,000 pages of old Kansas newspapers into a digital format. The Wichita Eagle reports that it’s the second grant to the state society from the National Endowment for the Humanities in nearly three years. In 2010, the society received nearly $210,000 to digitize nearly that same number of pages from old Kansas newspapers. The newspapers are from 1854 to 1922. Pages are now online through the Library of Congress, allowing anyone with Internet access to view them. The library and the National Endowment are…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) The Wichita State University Foundation says it received more than $22.5 million in giving in the past fiscal year, the highest amount in three years. The organization said Wednesday the total includes almost $5 million from 19 estate gifts. Foundation president Elizabeth King says the engineering college received the largest amount, mainly due a gift from the estate of Velma Wallace. The total value of the WSU Foundation’s endowment is about $230 million.
On today’s InFocus, Cathy talks with the Governor’s Military Council Executive Director John Armbrust of Manhattan. [mp3-jplayer]
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