New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Monday that his state suffered $32 billion in damage from Superstorm Sandy. He also said Sandy caused much more damage than Hurricane Katrina.
Author: KMAN Staff
Special interest groups are looking to protect their tax breaks ahead of fiscal cliff negotiations.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) A Topeka man is under arrest after allegedly swiping $150 worth of steaks from a grocery store, then trying to sell them at a nearby hookah bar. The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the 43-year-old man was taken into custody Sunday evening outside another bar. He was being held Monday on suspicion of theft, obstruction and disorderly conduct. According to police, employees of Genie Hookah House called authorities saying a man carrying a milk crate full of steaks was trying to sell them to customers. When the customers declined, the man reportedly became upset and hinted he had a…
PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) A 911 call to Pittsburg police has prompted a search of an old strip mining pit in southeast Kansas for a man whose whereabouts are unknown. The Joplin Globe reports a hiker called authorities on Saturday morning saying an adult male had fallen into the pit at Wilderness Park. Police on Monday identified the missing man as 22-year-old Pittsburg resident Mateo Vincent Lorenzo. While the search goes on, investigators are also hoping to hear from anyone with knowledge of his whereabouts. Authorities were sending boats and divers into the pit, which is described as 15 to 20…
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) Police in Wichita say a 16-year-old boy shot to death by a convenience store clerk on Thanksgiving also robbed the business a week earlier. Authorities identified the boy Monday as Giorgio Rock. Police said he and two others tried to rob KC Gas Groceries on North Broadway around 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Investigators said Rock was one of two armed robbers who forced a clerk back inside just after closing time on Nov. 16. They emptied the cash registers and ran off. In the Thanksgiving holdup, police say Rock and a 19-year-old entered the store while another 19-year-old…
SALINA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina will offer the state’s first four-year degree in emergency management, beginning this spring. The first two classes will be offered in the spring semester, with additional classes starting in the fall of 2013. John Burchill, an associate professor at Wesleyan, says the program is already drawing a lot of interest. Burchill expects most of the students to be from the private sector, with about half already working in an emergency management field. The Federal Emergency Management Agency recommends that people in emergency management have at least a bachelor’s degree in the field.…
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas will unveil its official Christmas tree ornament during a ceremony at the governor’s mansion in Topeka. The ceremony Monday night at Cedar Crest will also include the lighting of a 9-foot-tall Scotch Pine donated by Windy Knoll Tree Farm near Derby. A 14-foot Scotch pine from Country Christmas Trees in Wakarusa was lit Friday at the State Capitol. Last year, Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration kept the live trees outside after deciding state fire codes did not allow the trees inside the buildings. The Wichita Eagle reports the administration determined this year that a living tree is…
BURRTON, Kan. (AP) The state fire marshal is expected to be in a small central Kansas town Monday to determine the cause of a blaze that destroyed a family restaurant. The Paradise Grill in Burrton was reduced to rubble after a fire Sunday night. Police Chief David Becker says the restaurant had closed about 6 p.m. and no one was in the building when the fire was reported about 8:30 p.m.
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) A prisoner who allegedly walked away from a halfway house in Leavenworth is expected to plead guilty to a federal charge of escape from custody. Court filings show a change-of-plea hearing scheduled Monday for Timothy Whittington before U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia. He was charged with escaping from custody at the Grossman Community Corrections Center in Leavenworth. Prosecutors say Whittington left the halfway house on July 19 and reported to work, then failed to return to the halfway house. He had been sentenced in 2006 to 103 months in federal prison for possession of a short-barreled…
With the retirement of Public Works Director/Parks Director, Rod Meredith this year, Riley County Commissioners have began discussing what the different options are to fill this position. During Monday’s commission meeting, Human Resource Manager, Cindy Volanti listed off various scenarios the department came up with. The first two scenarios involve keeping the public works and parks departments seperate and rearranging and/or hiring staff. The rest of the scenarios involve the combination of public works and parks, and require rearranging and/or hiring as well. For example, the third option would involve a hire, but would also involve eliminating two of the nine…